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Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.
 * ... TWINDEMIC: Talk to any medical professional and he or she will tell you the experts are dreading this winter. The possibility of a "twindemic" (an explosion of both Covid-19 and the common flu) is a [Image]
distinct possibility, particularly considering the number of Americans at risk. For example, only 45 percent of American adults opt to get a flu shot every year (that rises to 62 percent among school age children) and fully half of American adults say they are wary of taking an Covid vaccine once it becomes available. Dr. Brij Bhambi of Bakersfield Heart Hospital says its all rather simple: wear a mask, practice social distancing and despite "pandemic fatigue," stay out of crowded spaces and away from strangers.
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 * ... ART SHERWYN: It was nice to see the profile of Art Sherwyn in Sunday's Bakersfield Californian in a piece written by KGET's Robert Price. It was a lovely valentine to a man who has touched so many both in the classroom as a career teacher, on the tennis court as a successful coach at Stockdale High School and most of all as a mentor to young artists. Sherwyn is all of that: accomplished artist, legendary teacher and coach and most of all, a kind and sentient being who has the golden touch of a leader, mentor and teacher. I met Sherwyn when one of my own daughters played for Sherwyn at Stockdale where his tennis team won three consecutive Valley championships. I loved this quote from Sherwyn that Bob Price included in his piece:  "“The greatest leaders take no victims and the greatest victories have no losers,” he said he would tell his players. “We sat down and we discussed it: ‘You're going to send 32 teams home this year as losers. How do you make them feel like winners?’ And so we created ways to make sure that our opponents always left feeling good. When we won those valley championships, all three years, I refused to let them celebrate in front of our opponents. We went straight over, we shook their hands. We showed compassion. We'll celebrate later." (California photo by Alex Horvath)
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 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Heard a rival dad is planning to hand out king size candy bars for Halloween so now every trick or treater that comes to my house is getting a full rack of ribs."
 * ... DANIEL RODRIGUEZ: It takes a lot to sideline noted plaintiff's attorney Daniel Rodriguez, but this was one opponent even his legendary tenacity could not defeat. Rodriguez recently underwent a hip replacement, compliments of Dr. Fadi Saied of Southern California Orthopedic Institute (SCOI). The verdict: Rodriguez was told his running days were over, but that simply was not going to happen."Why?" he said. "Because I have only one more continent to tun in order to have completed a marathon on each of the second continents: Antartica. I just received my confirmation that I'm enrolled in the running of the Antarctic Ice Marathon in December of 2121!"  Well done, counselor.
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 * ... THIS WEEK: It will be a busy week in news. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings on the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a spectacle that will last all week. Also this week, Kern County should learn if it will advance to the "red tier" to allow limited restaurant dining and as a openings for churches, gyms and zoos. Finally, President Trump has been cleared to resume campaigning as we head into the final stretch of the campaign.
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 * ... MIGRANT CAMP: Check out these classic old photos, taken by Dorothea Lange, of the Shafter Migrant Camp in 1938.
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