TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. WILL ADAMS: For a correctional officer, the workday is just another day in the war zone

   I am a 25-year veteran of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at a maximum security prison. Since 2006, I have held a job in the administration building. Every afternoon, I take my stack of mail to the various...
2. 

   ROBERT PRICE: I've got some campaign advice for Vidak and Perez

   One of the benefits of participation in an off-year special election is that political candidates don't have to share the stage with a lot of other people. That also happens to be one of the chief drawbacks. Without all the background...

3. AUDREY CHAVEZ: Caring for Dad wasn't supposed to involve this much heartbreak

   After Dad had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery, he was discharged to a rehabilitation center. Bakersfield Family Medical Center offered three placement options. One I knew not to send him to. Another, considered "the Cadillac" of...

4. DANA MILBANK: The attorney general is stewing in his own juices

   Eric Holder is in a mess of his own making. Two weeks ago, the attorney general testified to the House Judiciary Committee in categorical terms: "With regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not...
5. 

   MARK SALVAGGIO: Winner in July's 16th District runoff has an advantage in 2014

   The Central Valley's 16th Senate District primary results are now in a week after the election. Republican Andy Vidak of Hanford ran hard and ended up with 49.82 percent of the vote in a field of five candidates. Democrat Leticia Perez of...
6. 

   LISA EDMONSTON: Dear Class of 2013: Give a lot, but don't always play it safe

   In the coming days, thousands of graduates will don caps and gowns, receive a hard-earned diploma and set sail on their idyllic journey to great places. They will no doubt thank all those who helped them in reaching this milestone: Google,...
7. 

   Asian citrus psyllid and HLB represent a death sentence for citrus crop

   Imagine Kern County's $500 million citrus industry, and the jobs it provides, disappearing within the next decade. That could be a grim reality if Huanglongbing, or HLB, a disease fatal to citrus trees, puts a vise grip on Kern County...
9. 

   DANA MILBANK: Michele Bachmann, for whom the bell tolls

   Bob Dole must be some kind of prophet. Not 72 hours after Fox News aired the former Republican leader's suggestion that the GOP put out a "closed for repairs" sign, Michele Bachmann announced that she's going out of business. Just like...
10. 

    'Senator Vidak' front page: It's almost deja vu

    Regarding the prospective runoff for the 16th District seat in the state Senate between Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez and cherry farmer Andy Vidak, is there a way to purchase a back issue of The Californian's May 22 edition? Even at...
11. 

    MICHAEL BENGE: Nine years later, we still miss the wife, mother we lost to DUI

    Three thousand two hundred and sixty-eight. That's how many nights I've spent without my wife, Jada. That's how many days my children have been without their mommy. Collectively, they've had 36 birthdays since she was killed. We've had...
12. 

    CONNECTING CALIFORNIA: How can we do better? Revitalize our inner flake

    As a rule, Californians shouldn't have too many East Coast friends, and we should never listen too closely to the ones we do have. East Coasters know little about California but fancy they know a lot. In their eyes, we are sun-bathing,...

13. ANOTHER VIEW: Rubio was an influential leader and great mentor to Democrats

    I have had the tremendous honor of meeting in Bakersfield some of the bravest American warriors who have placed their lives in harm's way to defend this country. Unique to them all is their willingness to risk the physical and...

14. PAUL SAILER: Memorial Day remembrance -- A life lost at Famosa's air strip

    On a cool, rainy day in the spring of 2012, I joined an elderly woman and her niece and nephew at a rural cemetery in north central Iowa, not far from the Minnesota state line. She was the surviving sibling of Aviation Cadet Glenn McKean,...