TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. 

   DAISY PENALOZA: Cuba, once a friend of American independence, is nearing its own

   Thursday, May 23 2013 11:00 PM

   My paternal great-grandfather, Antonio Luaces Molina, lived to be almost 100 years old. At present, his exact date of birth eludes me. By the time I had become conscious of his presence, he was confined to a wheelchair delightfully watching his great-grandchildren blissfully at play. The sage gentleman had fought in the 1895 Cuban War for Independence under the command of the legendary Maximo Gomez and governed as Camaguey's mayor when Cuba was still a republic. The sad turn of events in Cuba, like a Greek tragedy, must have weighed heavily on Great-Grandfather's thoughts. Multitudes had shed precious blood to secure liberty from one oppressor, only to relinquish it completely in a surreptitious communist coup to another.

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2. 

   MARK MARTINEZ: Kern's 'Manchurian Candidate' cost Democrats 3 seats

   In Richard Condon's book "The Manchurian Candidate," the son of a prominent family ends up working for the communists during the Cold War. Since the book came out in 1959, several movies have been made. They've helped the story line evolve...
3. 

   ANOTHER VIEW: Judge Brehmer didn't deserve tarring over signing of search warrant

   Although Lois Henry has penned remarkably insightful columns in the past, she missed the mark regarding her comments about Judge Charles Brehmer in her recent analysis of the David Sal Silva incident ("Impartial reviews should be standard...
4. 

   DAVID VALADAO: Let the valley flourish -- BLM decision hurts region's jobs

   The Central Valley has been home to agriculture and energy development for generations. This way of life is less about what we do, and more about who we are. Over time, the state and federal governments have imposed policies and...
5. 

   LOGAN CARTER: Why internal investigations don't just wrap up overnight

   Law enforcement actions involving violence seem to have gripped this community. Some folks always dislike the police but most citizens want to understand why such matters take so long to investigate. I served for 35 years on one of the...
6. 

   SONYA CHRISTIAN: Sanctions against BC's football team are inappropriately harsh

   On Dec. 8, 2012, Memorial Stadium had a magical moment. With 16,000 exuberant fans supporting them, the Renegades played brilliantly and won the California community college football championship. The Bakersfield College program has been...
7. 

   HARRY LOVE: Our surveillance state mustn't evolve into authoritarian state

   During the last part of the 20th century, the United States began developing a new form of governance that features the collection, collation and analysis of information about populations both here and around the world. The government uses...
9. 

   NOEL PINEO: Something to offend everyone in race for 16th Senate District

   On rare occasions, the stars and planets align themselves just so, and a perfect example of what is wrong with our national politics emerges onto the local political scene. The race for the 16th District seat in the state Senate, vacated...
10. 

    DAVID COLLINS: Neighborhood cleanup drive is slowly making a real difference

    During the dark end of 2009 when the Great Recession was slashing fresh cuts on my community, I launched the South Oswell Neighborhood Watch as a chance to ignite some hope. Since that time our members have wedged themselves against the...
11. 

    DANNY MORRISON: Why don't we support troops AFTER they come home?

    I see you, blasting that Lee Greenwood song, "God Bless the USA," at your family barbecue in honor of Veterans Day. You are a hypocrite. And so am I. And we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Why? I was up late watching TV recently and...
12. 

    CRAIG GARRETT: Through Amritsar's eyes, our city is indeed oasis of sublime

    The mayor of Amritsar, Bakersfield's sister city in India, recently told a newspaper in his country he was impressed that Bakersfield was squeaky clean and full of law-abiding, honest citizens. Many in Bakersfield must have scratched their...
13. 

    CHIP HOLLOWAY: This national tax plan is more equitable and much simpler

    I wrote an op-ed proposing tax reform back in 2010, but here we are in 2013 and our tax code is up to 70,000 pages with no end in sight. If you're like me and wrote a check to the IRS last month, how would you feel if you knew there was a...

14. Call to action: Moving forward in fight against valley fever

    Back in the 1950s, after serving our nation as a medical officer against the country he fled as a child, a young German immigrant named Hans drove across the country to complete his residency at Kern General Hospital. After finishing his...