Post a Comment On: Bakersfield Observed

[Image] * ... HOUSING: Is Bakersfield's housing market headed for yet another bubble? That's the warning from Gary Crabtree, a respected appraiser and a thoughtful analyst of our local real estate market. Crabtree shared a story from HousingWire that noted in markets like Bakersfield that have never "fully unwound" from the last bubble, "rapidly increasing price levels are a potential cause forconcern." Added Fitch Ratings: "The supply is also artificially low, as recent regulations have limited the pace of foreclosure sales and the large percentage of underwater borrowers continues to hope for future price increases to be able to sell their homes at a profit?" Sounds like Bakersfield. Stay tuned.

[Image]  * ... JOBS: What are the best cities for jobs in this economy? According to Forbes, the business-friendly state of Texas placed four cities in the top ten: Fort Worth (4), Houston (5), Dallas (6), and Austin (10). Others making the list included San Francisco, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Charlotte and Denver.

 * ... RODEWALD: Our community lost one of its great characters with the passing of longtime TV personality Don Rodewald. One reader, Joe Stormont, shared a memory of Rodewald's afternoon show, also known as Matinee. One feature was called Dialing for Dollars. "Don had a rotating bin with the telephone white pages cut into little strips. Don would spin the bin, then open it up and draw out a piece of the phone book. Count up or down a pre selected number of names from the top or bottom, and call that phone number... If the person who answered knew the 'count and the amount,' they would win the money. The prize amount started at $23 and increased by a few dollars each time he didn't have a winner. Sometimes the jackpot reached over $100."

 * ... OVERHEARD: A prominent local educator, recently retired, is telling a friend about moving into The Greens, the popular 55-plus gated community at Seven Oaks. "We love it," he said. "But the first day we were there a new neighbor came up to me and said, 'Didn't you used to be somebody?' I guess that says it all!"

 * ... AIRPARK: Reader James Irwin dropped me a note to ask about the airport that once existed on the Panorama Bluffs. That landing strip, James, was called La Cresta airfield and was located between Bakersfield College and where Greenlawn Mortuary Cemetery now stands. It was built duringWorld War 11 and planes took off over the Panorama Bluffs. The place has quite a storied history, and it was there when a young Mary K. Shell (a former mayor and supervisor) met her future husband, Joe.

 * ... KCUHS: Bill Deaver of Mojave remembers the two-headed calf that resided in a science room at the old Kern County Union High School. "I remember that two-headed calf," he said. "My grandparents, Henry Mack Sr. and educator Addie Mack, lived on Chester Lane, and we frequently drove by 'KC,' as my mom, former Californian East Kern correspondent Marion Mack, an alumnus, called it! This was in the 1940s and later."