Tag Archives: Bakersfield

A s residents call for cities to defund police departments, some parents and students want the same in their school districts. The Kern High School District board is voting on its annual budget Monday and ahead of that meeting, community organizers have been circulating a petition to defund the district’s …

It’s been one month since the death of George Floyd and communities across the country are debating the reallocation of funding from law enforcement agencies to social services. But in Bakersfield this week, the city council voted to increase its police budget and hire more officers. The funding came from …

In two separate incidents this weekend, cars intentionally drove into pedestrians at rallies protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man murdered by Minneapolis police. In Bakersfield Friday night, around 300 people gathered in front of the city’s police department, holding signs and rallying peacefully. Ana Cornejo, a grade …

As shelter-in-place continues, parks are one outlet for residents to stretch their legs and clear their heads. For the ninth year in a row, however, Fresno’s acreage and investment in parks ranks near the bottom compared to the largest 100 cities in the nation. Last year, Fresno’s ParkScore was 92 …

As state and local officials continue to stress the importance of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak, lawyers across California are joining forces to get their at-risk clients out of ICE detention centers, including the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield. Sofia Bahena Ortuno, 64 years old, is one …

Over one hundred people detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield are on an indefinite hunger strike, according to Susan Beaty, a fellow with Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. Those detained are demanding access to masks, soap and other protective items. The strike started at …

President Donald Trump was in Bakersfield for a short visit Wednesday to sign a Presidential Memorandum to commit more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers. He spoke to an invitation-only crowd of about 2,000 people. The event at Meadows Field Airport drew high schoolers wearing Future Farmers of America jackets, …

After taking the lead in the New Hampshire Primary, Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will make his second campaign trip to the Central Valley, this time in an effort to ensure eligible citizens cast their ballots in California’s March 3 primary. He will be making a stop at …

Mike Wallford has been living in East Bakersfield for 60 years. He said the city always tries to dump unwanted facilities in this part of town: a sewage treatment plant, a dog pound, he said, and now a homeless shelter. “They bring out all the trash out there; we’re tired …

Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer has appointed Lyle Martin to be her Chief Investigator. Martin has been the Chief of Bakersfield Police since 2016, and has worked for the department for more than 30 years. Martin announced his retirement as police chief on the department’s Facebook page in a …

While the impeachment inquiry carried on in Washington, pockets of people took to the streets across the country on Thursday to support President Trump. One anti-impeachment rally took place in Bakersfield. Dozens of people gathered along California Avenue to protest the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry in Congress and to show their …

Buck and Bonnie Owens, Merle Haggard, Bill Woods – their names are forever associated with the Bakersfield Sound. But what about the lesser known artists who also belted out their stories of hardship defying Nashville’s more polished grooves? Music historian and writer Scott B. Bomar has just released a 10-CD …

Bakersfield is well known in the arts for its contributions to country music, notably the Bakersfield Sound. But it’s not as well recognized for its architecture. A new exhibit at the Bakersfield Museum of Art may help change that. It’s called Bakersfield Built: Architecture of the 1960s . Several events …