TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. Citizens' review board is monumental stupidity

   By The Bakersfield Californian

   Saturday, May 25 2013 10:00 PM

   Hearing that the first Kern County Sheriff's deputy on the scene fought with David Sal Silva for some seven minutes prior to the arrival of his cover units made me think of my friend and fellow deputy, Rick McHale. Rick died waiting for a cover unit that was in the next year's budget. What the public did not know then or care to know, let alone understand, is the level of violence in law enforcement. That condition has not changed, nor will it ever.

   Every fight a cop gets into is a fight to the death. Not the death of the suspect, but the death of the cop. The murder of a cop is just an acceptable level of loss to the community, regardless of the lip service they pay it. If you want to be loved, as the saying goes, be a fireman.

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2. In the usual Bakersfield fashion

   You just have to love Bakersfield's predictability. I prognosticated the outcome of the David Sal Silva case as soon as Superior Court Judge Charles Brehmer issued a search warrant for the witnesses' cellphones. Now it is a done deal. The...

3. Why we must ban lead ammo

   Bakersfield proudly boasts of having a professional ice hockey team named the Condors. Bakersfield Christian High School and Veterans Elementary School chose the Eagles as their mascot. These are iconic birds of our area, symbolic of...

4. Tooting the horn of a helpful local bugler

   I've lived in Bakersfield for more than 50 years and I've seen the city grow in population each year. I thought that the small-town, good-neighbor philosophy went down the drain when we started getting these big retail businesses...

5. This vet honored by performance

   On Friday morning, along with a couple of dozen other veterans, I was invited to attend a Memorial Day celebration at College Heights Elementary School. What an honor! What an outstanding performance! We were all surprised and thankful for...

6. 100 pats on the back

   I am a World War II veteran, 87 years old. Ever since I left the service in 1953, nothing special ever really happened to me regarding my service. I never really talked about it. In the last year to the present I have been thanked and...

7. Youngblood's eloquent defense simply sparkled

   I watched with pride Thursday afternoon as our sheriff, Donny Youngblood, gave his press conference about the latest information in the David Sal Silva case. He was eloquent, strong and gave information in a clear manner. It was also the...

9. Don't vilify the messenger

   I'd like to say how much I appreciate Lois Henry. I can only imagine the bull she must sift through when writing her columns. She's dead on so many times. I read H.A. Sala's May 22 op-ed, "Judge Brehmer didn't deserve tarring," which...

10. Cost of lawsuits to taxpayers

    I recently read a disturbing article in the Los Angeles Times on the uncaring attitude of Bakersfield's citizens ("Muted outcry over Kern County beating: 'We've gotten used to a lot here'," May 20). The beating death of an innocent, unarmed...

11. Benefits of backyard chickens

    I'd like to address concerns about allowing backyard chickens in residential zones. Many U.S. cities allow backyard poultry; some in California include San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Anaheim and San Jose. Backyard...

12. Perez ducked media? That's a pile of nonsense

    Columnist Lois Henry condemns Leticia Perez for excusing Scott Cox from an interview with Robert Price ("Vidak, Perez media behavior fails to impress," May 22). Candidates have a right to avoid hostile interviewers, a proposition quite...

13. Reinforcing image of brutality

    Regarding the May 19 news story "Kern's image may be taking a hit": A man is dead and four children are left without a father. Bakersfield leaders are worried about the city's image. Really? Really? It took numerous law enforcement...

14. Episcopal turmoil hurts parishioners

    Our diocese separated itself from the Episcopal Church several years ago, but today we are fighting a different battle. The Episcopal Church has sued many dioceses and individual churches saying that they own all the church facilities and...