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1. And now for the downside of state budget

   By The Bakersfield Californian

   Monday, Jun 17 2013 11:06 PM

   There are several things to like about California's new, $96.4 billion state budget, which awaits only the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown sometime in the next two weeks to become official. We can like the fact that it's the earliest the Legislature has passed an on-time budget in a quarter-century; is somewhat gimmick-free (though not completely so); accepts a conservative revenue projection, anticipating $3.2 billion less than the Legislative Analyst's Office forecasts; and restores some funding for important social services, including education, that was held back when times were much tougher not so long ago.

   There are several things not to like about the new budget, too. Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, has pointed out some...

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2. Counterintuitive, but we need more people on food stamps

   Signing up for the federal food stamp program, known in this state as CalFresh, is good for the economy. Who knew? The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the national food stamp program, figures every CalFresh dollar spent creates...

3. HITS & MISSES: Mortarboards,Telecasters meet at CSUB

   HIT: "It's nice to be noticed," Dr. Merle Haggard told fellow CSU Bakersfield graduates Friday morning. Nice to be noticed? Since they were handing out degrees anyway, Haggard should have been awarded a Master of Understatement. The...

4. At least one valley congressman gets it

   Finally, Kern County is getting the kind of leadership in the immigration debate it has so patiently waited for. Finally, our congressman has loosed the shackles of political caution and voted on the side of economic reality. Although,...

5. Cell phones aren't the real issue; it's focus

   As it turns out, talking on a hand-held phone while driving isn't the problem we all assumed it was. It's the talking part, not the holding part that seems to create most of the risk. We now learn that hands-free phones are only marginally...

6. Planning to go Nut Festing? Say hello to a tourist today

   If you visit the Kern County Nut Festival today -- and why wouldn't you? -- keep in mind that the daylong event at the Kern County Museum isn't meant to be a private party for the sole enjoyment of Kern County residents. The event is, in...

7. Presenting Dr. Haggard

   Early this morning, two of the unlikeliest graduates ever to cross the stage, in either a literal or figurative sense, will accept academic accolades at CSU Bakersfield. Country music stars Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, neither of whom...

9. Celebrate our nutty economy this Saturday

   This must have been fun to organize, right? Putting together the Kern County Nut Festival sounds like one giant blast. In many ways, it most assuredly has been. But make no mistake: Saturday's inaugural Nut Festival, set for the Kern County...

10. Kern's poor health an ideal target for study

    Government economists and health care experts have been asking each other this question for decades: How does this country manage the health of its aging population and at the same time reduce the out-of-control costs of medical care? One...

11. Some cool satisfaction

    It was refreshing to hear, during this week of unhappy revelations about government spying and immigration stalemates, a story about sweetness and simplicity. Thanks to Valley Public Radio for bringing us a story from our own backyard about...

12. California ag needs reform bill most of all

    The U.S. needs immigration reform first and foremost because it's the right thing to do, both for the undocumented, working immigrants it would most affect and the nation's agriculture industry. By extension, that also means U.S. consumers...

13. State GOP couldn't have hoped for better budget

    State Republicans couldn't have expected to have much impact on Tuesday's budget deal, given the Democrats' supermajority, but the final product bears the stamps of caution and responsibility that they -- and all Californians -- ought to...

14. Time to take a macro view of intel oversight

    If a 29-year-old, low-level computer specialist can get his hands on classified information, copy it, walk it out of the building and pass it along to a newspaper without mussing his hair, what does that say about our national security?...