Ask The Californian: Whose helicopter is circling overhead?
By The Bakersfield Californian
Q: I keep seeing a helicopter at night around town that is shining a spotlight around the area it's hovering over. Who is running this helicopter? What are they looking for? And why are they shining it into my backyard and my house at odd hours of the night? This light has woken me up more than once before.
-- Kenneth Witham
A: What you're seeing is probably a Kern County Sheriff's Department helicopter. It could have been deployed for routine patrol, helping out on a call for service or backing up a patrol deputy, said agency spokesman Ray Pruitt.
The circumstances during which the helicopters are used vary greatly, he said:
The Air Support Unit patrols Kern County 365 days per year. Most of the patrol time is in the evenings or early mornings, however helicopters do patrol during daytime hours occasionally. The hours of patrol vary from day to day.
Helicopters are always manned by two deputies, and they routinely patrol looking for suspicious activity in industrial and commercial areas as well as in neighborhoods. The helicopters also routinely assist patrol deputies with calls for service.
Editor's note: We also asked if people should be worried if the helicopters seem to be lingering over their neighborhood and how to find out whether they should take steps to protect themselves.
Pruitt said:
The helicopters do not generally hover in any one area unless they are investigating suspicious activity or are assigned to assist on a patrol call. If a citizen is concerned that a helicopter is patrolling in their area and wants further information as to the disposition of the call (such as if citizens should stay indoors, etc.), they can always call our non-emergency communications center number, 861-3110.
Q: I am from out of the area (Weldon) but travel on 7th Standard Road when going to the coast. The last two trips I have noticed a 65-mph sign just west of Calloway Drive for westbound traffic. There is not another speed limit sign going west to at least Corn Camp Road.
I'm sure that the limit reduces to 55 mph after the four-lane divided portion ends just west of Santa Fe Way but there is no signage to that effect. On my return trips, I do not see any indication that the four- lane portion is 65 mph eastbound.
What area is it legal to drive 65 mph assuming traffic and road conditions are normal?
-- Mike Higgins
A: Kern County Roads Department Director Craig Pope answered:
Your reader is right on all of his observations. Here, real simply, is the way the speed limits work:
If the road is not posted with a speed limit sign then in residential areas it's 25 mph, on conventional two-lane roadways it's 55 mph, and on four-lane divided roads it's 65 mph.
If a roadway is posted with a speed limit sign, then the speed limit is as posted. So 7th Standard Road from Calloway Drive to the west side of Santa Fe Way is a four-lane divided road and the speed limit is 65 mph. Continuing west it then changes to a two-lane conventional road and then we are at 55 mph.
Q: Why are CBS and the other networks showing reruns at this time of year? We get reruns in the summer but isn't this the time of year we should getting the new shows?
-- James Commisso
A: We asked this of Teresa Burgess, general manager of CBS affiliate KBAK and Fox affiliate KBFX in town:
Most series are ordered by the network for a season of between 22 and 24 episodes.
It used to be (in the OLD days) that the network would run the full slate, and then repeat all of the episodes, using holiday, sports or other programming to fill the remaining six weeks.
Then, when Fox launched, it started to shake things up with "mid-season" shows, starting in January or February, to counter-program against repeats.
Shortly after, the other networks starting launching reality and other shows mid-season, too. Now, Fox doesn't even launch its fall shows until the World Series is completed in mid-October.
So, the general rule now is that network shows launch in the fall, and then they generally "save" some new episodes for the February and May sweeps period.
So, it's still the same number of shows, just spread out differently over the year.
Ask The Californian appears on Mondays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.
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