TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

For months, Republican cherry farmer Andy Vidak of Hanford has said he is going to give incumbent Democrat Jim Costa a race in the 20th Congressional District.

Finally, it seems, the national GOP agrees.

After flirting with Vidak and saying he is "on the radar," the National Republican Congressional Committee is sending the political neophyte $85,000, the maximum it can, spokesman Greg Blair said Wednesday.

The NRCC is also transferring $115,000 to the California Republican Party with no strings attached, he said.

"We're a real campaign," Vidak said. "This is a race that can be won. We're going to win."

Vidak will be on television and radio through Election Day in both Fresno and Bakersfield, and more than a half-dozen mailers will hit mailboxes in the district, which stretches from Kern County north to Fresno County.

Vidak also has raised $322,000 over the past three months.

Since first elected in 2004, Costa has easily breezed through his re-election campaigns. This year, with Democrats across the nation bracing for a beating, Costa has been advertising heavily -- even though the district strongly leans toward his party.

"We never doubted the NRCC's involvement," Costa said in a statement. "We remind you that (Bakersfield Republican Roy) Ashburn in 2004 outspent us by $1.5 million [and lost]. The decisive factor at the end of the day will still be who can do the most for the Valley."

-- Fresno Bee and Californian staff

Bakersfield City Council candidate Martin Bertram has been endorsed by the Kern County Young Republicans, his campaign announced.

"Martin Bertram is a man of conviction and principle when answering questions about the most pressing issues facing our city," Bryan Williams, chairman of the Kern County Young Republicans, said in a news release. "The fact that he has not taken any donations from government employee unions demonstrates to us that Martin will be an independent voice on the council, representing the people, and not the special interests. With a $100 million unfunded pension liability, we can't afford candidates that are beholden to the unions."

Bertram is running against Russell Johnson to represent Ward 7, a seat now held by Zack Scrivner.

Speaking of Johnson, he will hold a precinct walk every Saturday from now until Election Day Nov. 2, his campaign said. The next one will begin 9:30 a.m. Saturday at his campaign headquarters, 3351 Panama Lane (the corner of Panama and Wible Road, in the Walgreens shopping center behind the Autozone and next to the Pizza Hut).

To RSVP call 735-3969.

The California Farm Bureau endorsed Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio over farmer and real estate agent Tim Thiesen in the 16th District state senate race, the group announced Wednesday.

"Michael Rubio understands the crucial role that family farms and ranches fill in his district and in California, providing affordable food and farm products and providing jobs in both rural and urban areas," California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger said in a news release. "He will work for policies that ensure the future of farms and ranches, including reliable water supplies for the Central Valley and the entire state."

The Farm Bureau's stated goal is to protect the family farms and ranches of its 81,000 members in California.

Local health care and business officials came out against Proposition 23, which would suspend California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law, at a press conference at the American Lung Association in California's Bakersfield headquarters Wednesday.

"Air pollution is a very serious public health issue in California and here in Kern County," John Rodgers, board chair of the American Lung Association in California and a Kern Community College District trustee, said in a written statement. "Each year, air pollution causes thousands of people to be rushed to emergency rooms and thousands more to die early. Proposition 23 would make this worse."

"I am strongly opposed to Proposition 23 because it would kill California's clean-energy economy and hurt thousands of companies like mine that are employing more than 200 Kern County employees today," Ed Duggan, executive vice president of Oak Creek Energy Systems, said in the same news release.

A school nurse and Lung Association official also decried the measure.

Proponents of 23 say they, too, want to fight global warming but growing jobs and cutting the state's budget deficit are more important right now, according to a Yes on 23 website.

The website says a yes vote would save more than 1.1 million jobs, up to 60 percent in higher electricity rates, $3.7 billion a year in higher gasoline and diesel prices, an up to 56 percent increase in natural gas rates and local governments from hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

-- Californian staff