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. * ... KEVIN MCCARTHY: Donald Trump may have lost the election but Congressman Kevin McCarthy is earning applause after the Republicans picked up eight to 10 seats in the House of [Image] Representatives, almost all of them women, minorities or veterans. In an interview with The New York Times, McCarthy said he was most proud of "the growth of the party... that is going to be more diverse than it ever was." He also said he expected Trump to remain active in the Republican Party. "If at the end of the day he does not win the presidency, he will still be a player and he'll still have a base. And if you sit back, if Trump was not on the ticket, would we have won seats this year? He brought turnout." [Image] * ... TOILET PAPER: Don't say I never warned you. A week ago I reported here there would be a run on toilet paper and paper towels, and sure enough it has happened. Store shelves across Bakersfield are empty as folks stock up on paper good anticipating more time at home and possibly a state ordered lock down. [Image]
* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Someone toilet papered my house last night and it is now worth $875,000." * ... BOY SCOUTS: Did you hear that more than 92,000 men have come forward to file sexual abuse clads against the Boy Scouts, a staggering number of claims that attorneys say is reflective of decades of assaults by scout leaders across the nation? To give you an idea of the scale of this scandal, lawyers say the number of abuse claims top the number of cases in the Catholic Church, which itself has been dealing with a long sordid history of wayward priests preying on young men and women. Attorneys say there have been abuse cases involving scouts in all 50 states as well as at military bases in Japan and Germany. Let that sink in for a minute. [Image] * ... WOMEN: I ran across this old picture posted by David Dyas with this caption: "Left to right, Ortencia Miranda and Francisca Ruiz Garcia, of Bakersfield. Francisca married Benigno Garcia at the San Diego Mission in 1873. She married Manuel Martinez in 1888 at St Francis Church. Ortencia married Joe Garcia, Francisca's son. From the Rachel Arias Collection Kern County California Mexican Family Photos. [Image] * ... BAD FORM: So how did it leave you feeling when you learned Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife flaunted his own rules by dining at the uber upscale French Laundry restaurant when he is telling the rest of us to stay home and away from crowds. That's right, Newsom was accompanied by his wife Jennifer Seibel Newsom and about 12 other people when they dined at the upscale eatery to celebrate the birthday of his longtime friend, lobbyist Jason Kinney. They were inside and dining without masks, the two things our governor is advising all of us to avoid. After the dinner was made public, Newsom apologized and said he could have exhibited better judgment. Ya think? (file photos of the Newsoms and The French Laundry) [Image] [Image] * ... MEMORIES: How many of you bought bicycles here as a child at Vincent's Cyclery on 18th Street across from the Padre Hotel? Check out this photo of the old Vincents. Thanks to the Facebook page Kern County History Fans for this nugget. [Image] * ... MEMORIES: Here are a couple of interesting shots of Lebec back in the day. [Image] [Image]
posted by Richard Beene at 9:32 AM on Nov 19, 2020
"Rep. Kevin McCarthy says Trump will remain a player in GOP politics, we have another run on toilet paper at local stores and abuse cases at the Boy Scouts near 100,000"
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