Bakersfield among top five "risky cities" for foreclosures and more on those burglaries across town

 

* ... RISKY CITIES: Bakersfield made another list of dubious distinction this week by being included among the nation's  "riskiest cities for homeowners." This latest bit of bad news came via Forbes.com (read the entire piece here) which compiled a list of the top cities where homeowners are facing foreclosure. In those top ten cities, an average of 7 percent of all loans are at least 90 days delinquent, "considerably more than the 4.4 percent average delinquency rate across the county's 100 biggest metros." Bakersfield was the fifth riskiest city with 8.55 percent of all loans at least 90 days overdue. The top four were Las Vegas, Riverside, Stockton and Modesto. Meanwhile, this comes as we learn from RealtyTrac that the number of U.S. homes taken back by banks through foreclosure hit a record high in the second quarter, up 38 percent from the same period last year.


 * ... BURGLARIES: My post earlier this week about a rash of burglaries downtown triggered several responses via Facebook and private emails. One friend who was vacationing said her investment rental downtown was broken into this week, and another reader who lives off White Lane in the Southwest said there had been a number of burglaries and thefts in her neighborhood. These crimes are so numerous that it's unreasonable to expect the police to follow up and investigate each one, so it's up to us to protect ourselves-through neighborhood watch groups, alarms and keeping an eye out for each other.


 * ...  BAD FORM: Is it too much to expect folks clean up after themselves? A friend who participates in a morning workout "boot camp" at Yokuts Park says the place is a mess, particularly down by the river where it's littered with old soda cans and bottles, fast food wrappers and even used diapers. That's right, used diapers. And two days ago I'm driving behind a faded older van when a passenger casually tosses a soda cup out the window. Good grief.

* ... GOOD NEWS: Nice to know that not every business is suffering in this economy. Over at the relatively new Bakersfield Veterinary Hospital, owner Dr. Paul Ulrich said his business is up year over year and he is thinking about adding two new vets to his six-doctor staff. "We're doing terrific," he told me. "It's a different experience because we're a large practice but we're doing quite well." The clinic, located near the corner of Harris and Gosford roads, looks like a small hospital and is open 24 hours a day. It is equipped with kennels, services for small and large pets and even has a 'pet library.' Last year, it won a prestigious award for its design.

 * ... SKEET ACES: The shotgun sports like skeet, trap and sporting clays are clearly niche sports, but locally they have attracted an impressive group of shooters. The California State Teams were announced recently and the Kern County Gun Club was well represented. Brian Foley, a sophomore at Lindenwood University in Missouri, made the Open First Team and the Ladies First Team had three youngsters from Bakersfield: sisters Rachel and Emily Shuford and Elizabeth Key. A third Shuford sister, Brooke, made the Ladies Second Team. Other local kids making teams included siblings Jenna, Dominic, Darin and Josh Bouni. A slew of others from Bakersfield were honored, including Ben Wagoner, Cherie Miles, Wayne Cagle and Wes Reece. (Shown below are Emily Shuford, Brian Foley, Brooke Shuford and Rachel Shuford)

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Patsy Sadler: "You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if you remember when the Union Avenue Plunge bus would pick you up in your neighborhood and take you all day for 25 cents."