Women and Girls Fund addresses violence against women and a reader rants

 * ... GIRLS FUND: Violence against women has long been one of our community's greatest problems, so it was nice to see the Women and Girls Fund handing out some grants to combat it. The Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault and the Kern County Network for Children were each awarded $10,000 during a luncheon at Seven Oaks County Club last week. The Alliance will use the money for education programs for 600 young women in rural Kern County, and the Network's funds will go for circumstances where children witness domestic violence or suicide of a parent or caregiver. The girls fund has an endowment of some $460,000 within the Kern Community Foundation.
 
* ... PORTUGAL BOUND: Joe and Judy Mullins are two Bakersfield natives who now live in Loveland, Colorado, and wrote to share a story about their son Kevin and his wife Angelina. They both attended high school in Bakersfield and Kevin later graduated from CSUB with a BS in religious studies. After moving to Lubbock, Texas, to attend the Sunset Bible School, they moved  to Dublin, Ireland. They returned to Bakersfield so Angelina could finish her degree at CSUB. They are now planning on moving to Portugal to work with a church planting organization called Kontact Mission. Why Portugal? Turns out Angelina's mother was originally from the Azores Islands, immigrated to the United States as a teenager and became a teacher at Shafter High School. Her name is Maria Sanchez. "Our kids have sold everything except their basic essentials, and those are being freighted to Lisbon as I write this. Kevin will be working as a contractor for his current employer there in Bakersfield, Lightspeed internet, and Angelina will be giving birth to their first child in September. I just wanted you to know of two more Bakersfield natives who grew up there and gone on to truly make a difference in this world."

 * ... READER SOUND OFF: This from reader Barbara Meuleman: "Why do you continue to write notes about the higher-income people who send their children off to schools and then return to Bakersfield, blah, blah, blah, which apparently makes you and them so proud of our town.....but then you follow up with an ending not  about what people call Bakersfield. A touch of Johnny Carson and not needed. Bakersfield is Bakersfield, not Bako, or anything else somebody thinks is cute. I'd hate to see what nickname they give their children, by the way.  I love Bakersfield and am disappointed when it is not built up, but instead given names that reflect we are either stupid, just in off of the farm, or whatever. Who started this, and why is is so important to label a wonderful, compassionate town when there are other ways to use the space?  Let's let the name Bakersfield be important, well thought of and if with a nickname, a great one, not one that pulls it down to the level of "dumb blonde" jokes.  Thanks, beano...whoops Mr. Beene."

 * ...SAN JOSE STATE: Got an interesting email from insurance risk consultant John Pryor, who was remembering some special local folks who graduated from San Jose State. In his words. "In 1954, four Bakersfield residents graduated from San Jose State wearing traditional caps and gowns for the ceremony in Spartan Stadium.  However, underneath this traditional garb, they each wore US Navy officers' uniforms.  Dick Giles, Bob Gorman, John Pryor, and Terry Whitney 'went forward' to receive their degrees.  Then they each removed their cap and gown and - now in their naval officers' uniform - went forward a second time to receive their commission from a senior US Navy officer.  Each immediately reported for active duty with orders to ships or duty stations ranging from Japan to France -- and points in between."  

  For background, John said Dick Giles' career was in sales management for Hopper, Inc. and McCarthy Tank and  Steel, Bob Gorman, who passed away last year, was a local workers' compensation consultant, Whitney was CEO of Welch Grape Company in Buffalo NY (now living in San Francisco), and John was a local insurance broker.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM : You know you're  from Bakersfield when you know that ordering a "half and half" at Luigi's means half pasta and half beans.