Post a Comment On: Bakersfield Observed

 * ... EXPLOSION: The planned implosion of an old power plant in Bakersfield that went awry is tragic beyond words. One man lost a leg when shrapnel flew hundreds of feet into the parking lot at a nearby Lowe's, and at least four others were injured. Given the dozens of videos posted on YouTube, it is surprising that even more people were not injured. It likely will be some time before we learn what went wrong, but by the time the lawyers are done with this, PG and E and the demotion experts will likely pay a high price for the mistake.

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 * ... PARKWAY: Social media was abuzz with positive reviews of the new Westside Parkway, which opened Friday. It will be a particular boon to folks who live in the extreme Southwest and Northwest, allowing commuters to avoid the dreaded Rosedale Highway and the always clogged Truxtun Extension. I do worry about what will become of the minimalist bark landscaping after the first big rain or windstorm. Only time will tell.

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 * ... VIDAK: A relaxed Andy Vidak made an appearance at Bear Mountain Sports this weekend to thank Kern County voters for helping him win the 16th state Senate runoff against Leticia Perez. Bear Mountain Sports owner Gene Thome always puts on a good show for his annual dove season sale, and Vidak was at center stage along with music by the Bakersfield Rhythm Boys and the raffle of a rifle. Vidak, a Hanford cherry farmer, takes office later this month. (photo courtesy of Gene Thome)

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 * ... JINGLE: Here's a question that Stephen A. Montgomery has been wrestling with. Let me know if you can help. "Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s on KAFY, then the radio station of choice for young people, there was an ad with the voice of a speaker using a mock cartoonish hillbilly accent advertising some business on Wible Road; '...Waa-aable Road!' as he said it. Friends and family remember the ad but none of us can remember what it was promoting. Since then there have been a couple of changes on Wible Road, such as SR 99 on one or the other side of it and a lot of construction post dating that time, but we are trying to remember what long ago business sponsored that ad."

 * .... MEMORIES: Another memory from long time ago compliments of reader Elinor Grant. "Does anyone remember the oriental auction house? It was on Eye Street across the alley from the old Newberry store in the 1930s. I purchased a small coin purse made in China. Just recently I passed it on to a friend who intends to pass it on to his daughter. Still in mint condition! (the coin purse that is)."