Editorials
Who should pay for development?
Kern County builders may be unhappy about the prospect of paying an estimated $5,400-per-home increase in development fees. They correctly point out that those fees will, to a great extent, be passed on to homebuyers.
Get 17-year-olds involved
As any high school government teacher can tell you, civic education is sorely lacking in our schools. For every whiz kid who can recite the U.S. Constitution front to back, there are undoubtedly hundreds who, when asked to describe the 15th Amendment, would opt to take the Fifth instead (if only they knew what it said).
Embrace clean air
Valley ozone fighters have launched a new offensive against bad air, and the struggle could be coming to your doorstep.
Hold the fireworks
Fourth of July fireworks have long been associated with patriotism. Those "bombs" bursting in air represent our willingness to defend our freedoms.
Keep July 4th safe, legal, fun
It paid dividends two years ago when the City of Bakersfield declared it illegal to sell and use Piccolo Petes and ground bloom-type fireworks, and then stepped up fireworks enforcement. Let's hope it pays again this year.
Doctor's stroke, community's tragedy
The shocking report of a Kern Medical Center surgeon being detained after a traffic accident and his medical care withheld demands a review of the Bakersfield Police Department's training and procedures.
California is going up in flames
A shower of lightning strikes last weekend added to California firefighters' headaches. Already battling stubborn wildfires, California's stretched firefighting resources were further stretched to respond to hundreds of lightning-caused blazes.
Talk's cheap, but campaigns aren't
Barack Obama has tried to portray himself as the face of change, and Americans in growing numbers are paying attention.
Move on, Bruce Sons
OK, Bruce Sons, can we please move on? Now that the Second District Court of Appeal has refused to erase your 2006 conviction for voluntary manslaughter in the 1994 shooting death of a California Highway Patrol officer -- a conviction you ought to view as a godsend, in view of the first-degree murder verdict you might have gotten -- will you please focus your attention elsewhere?
Put leeches to work
At last, the perfect deterrent. The City of Bakersfield has struggled to find the best way to keep people from swimming in the ponds and creeks at its flagship park.
Time to weigh in on our future
It's not often that government asks the rest of us to weigh in on our own future. But that's precisely what the Kern Regional Blueprint Project is inviting people to do this week.
Turn down TV ads!
If you've ever lunged for the mute button because an ear-splitting commercial has suddenly interrupted the TV program you'd been watching, this bill's for you.
Find the will to 'fix' homelessness
To most of us, the spectre of homelessness only rears its head on occasion. We'll see ragged people digging through trash bins or pushing shopping carts piled high with odds and ends. We might notice people sleeping in parks or asking for spare change outside convenience stores.
Family, community demand justice
What are 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds? They should be innocent, happy children, who are nurtured by their families and communities. But Bakersfield police and prosecutors say they also can be brutal murderers.
Who's playing 'political games?'
Democrats and Republicans agree: Economic woes are increasing, tax revenues are declining and if legislators don't act quickly, California will slip deeper into debt.
No freebies for cheats
Buy a qualifying hybrid vehicle, drive in a car pool lane with impunity. That was the carrot that state legislators dangled in front of car buyers who had an eye on environmental responsibility and commute convenience.
Direct money to early grades
Graduation might be too lofty a goal for some high school students. That's the alarming conclusion of a new study that looks at funding for tutoring programs tied to the California High School Exit Examination. Those funds might be better spent elsewhere — like the primary grades, according to the report by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Bad idea quietly killed
A bad idea limped quietly off into the night. Only the guy who dreamt it up stubbornly supported it.
'Confidential' plate break stinks
One million California drivers can ignore red-light cameras, park illegally, drive for free on the state's growing number of toll roads and, in many cases, avoid tickets for speeding or other infractions.
Will we sacrifice for 'quality'?
We're still not getting it. Kern County residents cite air pollution, traffic congestion and the loss of open space among their biggest concerns, but the vast majority of us still want single-family homes on big lots.