Red hot topic of widening 24th Street will be the topic of Californian Radio KERN 1180 on Monday at 9 a.m.

* ... 24TH STREET: A group of downtown residents is determined to stop the 24th Street widening project, which has long been planned and is now funded thanks to the Thomas Road Improvement Program. The residents don't like either option - either widening to the north or to the south to accommodate two more lanes - and instead want to stop it in its tracks. Join me Monday on Californian Radio KERN 1180 when we will talk to opponents as well as Raul Rojas, the city Public Works Director ,who will be on hand to provide background. The show starts at 9 a.m. (photo courtesy of BakersfieldNow.com KERO TV)

* ... DOWN UNDER: Hats off to two North High graduates who will be traveling to Australia with Down Under Sports to play basketball this summer. MacKenzie Odle and Brodie Smih will be making the trip and are now raising money to pay for it. Karen Odle, MacKenzie's proud mom, said her daughter has been successful in raising money by "flocking" people's yards with pink flamingos. The problem: some of the flamingos are stolen out of the yards and MacKenzie has had to replace them. "It is hard to raise money when people steal your flocks and you have to replace them.  She has lost three flocks of 12 birds since starting this fund raiser .... If you could help get the word about about not stealing the flocks that would be great." Good luck to both these North High Stars.

 * ... SPOTTED: A woman emerges from an Albertson's with a deli sandwich and a small bag of dog food for a homeless man and his mutt.


 * ... POKER: For the past eight years a group of local guys have gotten together for a little friendly poker, and now comes word that two of them are heading off to play in the World Series of Poker July 3-4 in Las Vegas. According to Jeff Adams, Tyler Palmer and Johnny Iturriria will be playing for a World Series of Poker bracelet and possibly $600,000 in cash. "The strange this about this is that Tyler and Johnny are probably the worst players in our group, but let's wish them lucky anyway," said Adams, perhaps not too seriously. The members of the Thursday night poker group include Steve Donovan (DONO), Steve Adams (ROCKET), Ken Chapman (CHAPPY), Tyler Palmer  (TAMY), Jeff Adams  (JA), Johnny Iturriria (JI), John Kadel (KADELIAN), Brian Foster (BETOFOSTER), Dave Berkshire (DAVEY B) Andy Sweeney (STICK) and Chris Bellue (DANGERBOY).


 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that Flickinger's Farm and Garden store once stood where the Bank of America building now stands at the corner of 17th and Chester? That's according to Wil and Joan Flickinger, who told me his grandfather, M.P. Flickinger, arrived here around 1900 and brought a long numerous relatives. "The property was actually owned by the Kern County Land Company, once the largest land company in the world. They begged my grandfather to buy it on his own terms, but he felt downtown was getting too congested. By 1922, he opted to build his own building out on 18th and O Street. My grandmother cried because she felt people 'would never find him way out in the country there.'  He had one of the first telephones in Bakersfield with the number of Phone 100. The Chester Avenue building eventually was replaced by a Standard Service Station that my wife's father, Lloyd Potter,  ran at one time, and part of the wood yard was replaced by the El Tejon Hotel."