Thursday, October 18th, 2018
There are three marijuana-related initiatives in Kern County on the Nov. 6 election ballot. Learn more about pot in Bakersfield and the county at an event this week. The Kegley Institute of Ethics and California State University, Bakersfield are hosting “Marijuana Policy and Kern County: A Community Conversation” at 6 p.m. this evening. The conversation takes place in the Dezember Reading Room in the Walter W. Stiern Library on the CSUB campus.
It's a tough season Raider Nation. Back-to-back lopsided losses have given Oakland five losses in six games. The Raiders have already traded away their best player and there are reports that other key pieces could be dealt soon. The are on a bye week so it might be just what the Raiders need to change the course of a difficult season that has left the team battered physically and frustrated by the mounting losses.
A former Tehachapi Prison guard has been sentenced to 80 years and 4 months in prison after being found guilty of five felony counts in the death of Edwin Lima, who was also a Tehachapi Prison employee. Sanchez was found guilty of first degree murder of Edwin Lima, felony attempted murder of Sanchez' estranged wife, shooting in an inhabited dwelling, assault with a firearm, and first degree burglary.
There was no winner in Tuesday's Mega Millions lottery drawing. That means the jackpot for Friday's drawing is now at least $900 million or a cash lump sum of $513 million, as of Wednesday afternoon. It will be the largest jackpot in the game's history and the second largest in the US lottery jackpot history.
It's nice to be first at something and Ian Power was among the first to buy legal recreational marijuana in Canada but he has no plans to smoke it. He plans to frame it. Canada became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace as sales began early Wednesday in Newfoundland. Power was first in line at a store in St. John's, Newfoundland. "I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. I'm not even going to smoke it. I'm just going to save it forever," Power said.
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Cody Bellinger singled home the winning run with two outs in the 13th inning Tuesday night to give Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that tied the NL Championship Series at two games apiece. After a quick turnaround, Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday afternoon, with Wade Miley pitching for the Brewers on three days' rest against fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw. The teams return to Milwaukee for Game 6 on Friday.
In the ALCS series, the Boston Red Sox lead the series 2 to 1 with game 4 today and game 5 tomorrow.
There was no winner in Tuesday's Mega Millions lottery drawing. That means the jackpot for Friday's drawing is now at least $868 million or a cash lump sum of $494.5 million. It will be the largest jackpot in the game's history and the second largest in the US lottery jackpot history.
A Kern County Superior Court judge issued a temporary injunction against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, siding with a correctional officer who claims CDCR policies led to the loss of her unborn child. Sarah Coogle, a correctional officer working at a prison in Tehachapi, sued the CDCR earlier this year. She alleges that she was denied the opportunity to take a less strenuous position while pregnant, and in her final trimester she fell while responding to a fight between two inmates.
Facing the prospect of bruising electoral defeat in congressional elections, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he won't accept the blame if his party loses control of the House in November, arguing his campaigning and endorsements have helped Republican candidates.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Sacramento is preparing to blast off on the Lake Isabella Dam Safety Project. The water in Lake Isabella is currently held back by a main dam and an auxiliary dam, which together keep the cities of Lake Isabella and Bakersfield from flooding. Now the state is planning to add a third dam, at 28 feet tall and 13-hundred feet long. They will also raise the existing dam 16 feet.
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is turning to the public to hear input on what the agency says is its final supplemental environmental impact report. In a recent press release, the authority announced the release of the EIR and says their board of directors will consider certifying the EIR and and approving a route. In the past, tension has run high over concerns about the the train’s placement and mounting costs. That public meeting was at 10 this morning. We'll let you know if anything significant came of it.
A veteran starter, an intimidating bullpen and a twice-demoted shortstop who is suddenly flashing power helped the Milwaukee Brewers take a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series against the LA Dodgers yesterday. Game 4 is today. Game 5 is tomorrow in the best of seven series. In the ALCS, the Red Sox and the Astros play game 3 today with game 4 tomorrow.
You've probably driven past it several times, but now it's official. The Kern County Fire Department has unveiled the future site of its new helibase at the Kern Valley Airport. Fire officials say the location will be developed in future years to include a helicopter hangar and facilities to support wildland fire operations in the Kern River Valley.
More than a dozen years have passed since the U.S Army Corps of Engineers became concerned about water seeping through our dam — not to mention the possibility of a massive earthquake leveling the earthen structure. The Corps of Engineers and Flatiron will host public meetings Tuesday evening in Lake Isabella and Wednesday evening in Kernville to outline the schedule and intent of the blasting operations and to discuss the overall status of the Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project. Both meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., with this evenings at the Kern River Valley Senior Center Veterans Hall in Lake Isabella, and tomorrow's meeting at the Kernville Community Hall at the Chamber of Commerce.
The Bakersfield construction company owned by the brother of Congressman Kevin McCarthy's wife is the center of national headlines after the Los Angeles Times investigated the business. McCarthy's brother-in-law, identified as a member of the Cherokee tribe on a government document, allowing him to receive $7.6 million from the Small Business Administration between 2000 and 2008 meant to support small businesses facing economic hardship from racial prejudice. In an affidavit of certification submitted to the SBA, Wages claimed to be Native American and certified that he was "socially disadvantaged" because he had been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice. He was approved for funding from a program by SBA intended to support minority owned businesses facing discrimination.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died, his investment firm Vulcan said Monday. He was 65. Allen died in Seattle from complications related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He had just announced two weeks ago that he was being treated for the disease. Allen also owned two professional sports teams, NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.
Honor Flight Kern County welcomed home 22 veterans Sunday night after they spent the weekend in Washington DC touring monuments dedicated in their honor. The directors of Honor Flight say that they are looking for more World War II veterans who would like to take part in the once in a lifetime trip. For additional information, please call 661-527-3VET (3838) or visit the Honor Flight website.
Organizers have released the full schedule for the third annual Bakersfield Marathon. The marathon is set for Nov. 18 and is set to begin and end at Cal State Bakersfield. The marathon, half marathon and half relay is scheduled for 7 a.m. Runners will make their way through historic neighborhoods including Oleander, Downtown Bakersfield, the Panorama bluffs and the Stockdale Financial District. If you would like to register, google Bakersfield Marathon.
Monday, October 15th, 2018
Sears, the once-dominant retail chain that changed how Americans shopped and lived, has filed for bankruptcy. The 132-year-old company has been struggling for several years and is drowning in debt. The final straw was a $134 million debt payment due Monday that it could not afford. Sears Holdings, the parent company, which owns Sears and Kmart, is among dozens of prominent retailers to declare bankruptcy in the era of Amazon.
If you got a tax extension back in April, it’s time to put your tax return at the top of your to-do list again — those extensions expire today, Oct. 15, 2018. Here’s how it works. If you filed IRS Form 4868 on or before the April 2018 filing deadline, you had until today, Oct. 15 — an extra six months — to file your tax return.
The Kern County Sheriff's Office discovered human remains in south Bakersfield Friday night. The body was first discovered by teenagers Friday in a drainage sump. This discovery comes two months after human remains were discovered in the Kern River. And two and a half months after a leg was pulled from Buena Vista Lake.
A Tehachapi corrections officer who says she lost her child in part due to a policy prohibiting pregnant officers from getting paid leave or light duty hopes she can help create a better future for her fellow female officers. Sarah Coogle filed a discrimination lawsuit in Kern County Superior Court against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in April seeking unspecified damages as well as an injunction prohibiting the CDCR from denying light-duty positions to pregnant officers. Judge Thomas Clark is set to consider the injunction during a hearing on Tuesday. The CDCR said it could not comment on pending litigation.
In major league playoffs, the Dodgers lost to Milwaukee in game one of the NLCS but won game two Saturday. Game three is today. In the ALCS, game one had the Astros over the Red Sox, and the Sox over the Astros in game two. Game three is tomorrow. Both series are tied at one and one.
Twenty-five people were taken to hospitals with mostly minor injuries following a series of crashes involving at least two cars and a bus that crashed through a concrete divider on a Los Angeles highway, authorities said. Five patients were in serious condition following the collisions shortly after 1 p.m. that shut down all lanes on Interstate 405 in the city's San Fernando Valley area. The 20 others were in fair condition with minor injuries. A total of 40 people were evaluated at the scene, she said.
If you saw a lot of classic cars running around the valley this past weekend, there was a car show. They're gone now. It's just me and my pickup.
There is a Wind Advisory for the mountains starting overnight at 2 this morning until 2 p.m. this afternoon. Wind gusts could reach 50 miles per hour in some areas. This can cause blowing dust and debris.
28 to 21 was the final score Friday as the Kern Valley Broncs lost to the Boron Bobcats on Friday. It looks like a week off and the Broncs and they will travel to take on the Rosamond Roadrunners on Friday the 26th at 7pm.
After nobody won the most recent Mega Millions drawing, the jackpot prize for tomorrow is expected to approach record territory. No ticket sold for Friday’s drawing matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball, so the jackpot will reach an estimated $654 million ($372.6 million cash) on tomorrow. Remember not to spend any more money than you are willing to light on fire.
The murder of 23-year-old Cheyenne Watkins happened more than four months ago in Tehachapi. Her death, ruled a homicide. Friday, KCSO detectives arrested 35-year-old Alejandro Andres Sanchez for the murder. Sanchez was known to Cheyenne's family as "Alex." Cheyenne's on-again-off again boyfriend of roughly four years.
Programming note. There will be no TRADIO program today. We are in the process of moving the studios to a different location and we apologize for the interuption. We are doing our best to make the move as smooth as possible but there will be some down time over the next week or so. The good news is, we will soon be back up to full power to better cover the Valley. We have been on temporary low power since the Erskine Fire.
Friday, October 12th, 2018
Do all the propositions on the Nov. 6 ballot have you scratching your head? CalMatters is a “nonpartisan journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters,” according to its website. The end product is two online resources to help voters make up their minds. One is GIMME PROPS 2018 that asks you questions that will help you find how you really should vote. The other is PROPS IN A MINUTE with quick explanations on each proposition. Links to both sites are on the front page of our webstie at Kern River Radio dot com.
A Southern California man has been arrested after authorities say he sent an email threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.Authorities say Craig Shaver of Lancaster sent a Sept. 30 email to the senator. Other details weren't disclosed.
This evening you may want to make a road trip to Boron to root on the Kern Valley High School Broncs as they take on the Bobcats of Boron. Game time is 7pm.
A local kayaker is making a name for himself on the professional stage of white water kayaking. 23-year-old Evan Moore, a native of Kernville who grew up on the Kern River, now spends his time traveling the world as one of the best in the sport. He spent the summer white water kayaking in Iceland, Norway and Canada, and competed in the North Fork Championship in Idaho where he took second place last year. Evan said he's been all over the world now and the Kern River is as good of white water as you can find anywhere on the planet. Moore will now head to Chile. If you want to track him on his journey, you can follow him on Instagram: @evannmoore
A new ballot measure is looking to reform how EMT's treat their time off the clock. Proposition 11 requires private sector Emergency Ambulance Employees to remain on-call during work breaks. A 'Yes' vote on this measure means that companies would continue the procedure that's been in place for decades which requires paramedics and EMT's to remain on call even when on breaks. A 'No' vote would mean that private ambulance companies would be subject to labor laws for the industry. If the proposition doesn't pass, first responders would have to turn off communication to dispatchers completely when on break.
Tastries Bakery owner Cathy Miller may be heading back to court after the Department of Fair Employment and Housing announced their intent to file a civil lawsuit, according to the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund. The FCDF, who have represented Miller through a lengthy court process centered around her refusal to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex wedding celebration in 2017, said the announcement was made after the DFEH "purportedly found more 'evidence'."
Thursday, October 11th, 2018
A new app called "RoboKiller" is turning the table on robocallers. The app intercepts robocalls and leaves them on the phone. "When it blocks those calls, it actually intercepts it with answer bots, which are bots of our own that talk back to the scammers and waste their time, so you get a little revenge on them." The app can be purchased at the Google Play store or the Apple app store. It costs $2.99 a month or $29.95 a year.
First lady Melania Trump says she could be "the most bullied person" in the world. She made the remark during a television interview in which she promoted her Be Best initiatives, which take on online bullying. Critics have pointed out that her husband, President Donald Trump, routinely mocks people for their looks and for what he says is a lack of talent or intelligence. The first lady also said there are people in the White House whom she and the president can't trust. She didn't name names but said she let her husband know about them.
If you were up very early this morning, around 1:30 a.m., this is what you saw over Kern County. According to NASA, it all began as a rocket launch from Kazakhstan. After engine failure, the rocket was forced into an emergency landing.
Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy says he's introducing a bill to dedicate billions of dollars to President Trump's border wall. The house majority leader plans to introduce legislation this week that will fully fund President Donald Trump's proposed wall along the US-Mexico border with a whopping $23.4 billion price tag.
The Bakersfield Condors picked up a 3-2 shootout win on the road against the San Jose Barracuda. Trailing 2-1, forward Joe Gambardella scored the tying goal on a breakway at the 7:28 minute mark of the third period. Forwards Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson each scored for the Condors in the shootout and goaltender Al Montoya stopped two of three attempts to earn the win for Bakersfield. The Condors next play the Tucson Roadrunners at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rabobank Arena.
Wednesday, October 10th, 2018
In the wake of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation and ahead of a contentious midterm election, Hillary Clinton is telling Democrats to take a harder stance with Republicans. "You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," she said in an interview with CNN. "That's why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when civility can start again."
Justin Fleeman – a chief deputy at the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and a man who ran for sheriff against Donny Youngblood in June – has been put on paid administrative leave. Multiple KCSO employees filed complaints against Fleeman, according to Kern County Counsel Mark Nations. Those complaints are now under investigation by at least one independent law firm. The nature of the complaints has not been disclosed.
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is looking for a man they say stole a cash register from a taco shop in South Bakersfield on Tuesday morning. According to KCSO, deputies were dispatched to the Tacos La Villa on South Union just down from Ming Avenue at about 4:15 a.m. Deputies say a masked man entered Tacos La Villa and stole the cash register before driving off. However, the cash register was empty.
The Boston Red Sox made sure to savor their Game 4 win over the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series on Tuesday. The Red Sox are headed to the ALCS for the first time since their World Series victory in 2013. The Red Sox played Frank Sinatra's edition of "New York, New York," a staple at Yankee Stadium, as they celebrated advancing to the American League Championship Series. That is cold. Funny, but cold.
The Valley Plaza is hosting a job fair Thursday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in partnership with Kern County Job Fest. According to Job Fest's Facebook page, they are hoping to make this the biggest year for seasonal hiring. There will be 30 participating employers so organizers encourage you to print your resumes or apply online before the event.
The Trump administration is moving to allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, a boon for Iowa and other farm states that have pushed for greater sales of the corn-based fuel.
The Kern County Veterans Stand Down is this week. The annual event focuses on helping veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. However, all veterans are invited. The Stand Down is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Stramler Park in the 3800 block of Chester Avenue.
The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series for the third year in a row, eliminating the Atlanta Braves with a 6-2 victory on Monday. The Dodgers won the best-of-five Division Series 3-1 and will face the Milwaukee Brewers.
When six World War II veterans land this