Bako Bits: Chipman Jr. High heads to the national History Day finals, remembering Jim Ryun's run at Memorial Stadium and Andrae Gonzales lines up to possibly serve as a county supervisor

 * ... ANDRAE: If Leticia Perez wins the battle to succeed Michael Rubio in the 16th State Senate district, Gov. Jerry Brown will appoint someone to fill our her unexpired term on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. One name that comes up is Andrae Gonzales, a rising star in the Democratic

party and a member of the Bakersfield City School District board. Of course, Perez must first best the five-person field in the State Senate race, where her primary opponent is Republican Andy Vidak. Stay tuned.

 * ... CHIPMAN: Kudos to the kids over at Chipman Jr. High who just won the History Day competition in Sacramento and are heading to Maryland for the national finals next month. The group's performance will be on World War II and the atomic bomb. The team includes Sadie Armijo, Stevie McNabb, Dylan Pearson, Jake Beardsley and Miguel Vargas, all seventh graders at Chipman by way of Juliet Thorner Elementary where they all participated in History Day last year. If you'd like to help send these deserving kids to Maryland, contact history teacher Mike Hutson at (661) 631-5210. The team is also available for "pass the hat" presentations to help offset the expenses of the upcoming trip.

 * ... JIM RYUN: A story in The Californian about Jim Ryun's famous appearance at Memorial Stadium triggered this note from Coral Poole-Clark. "My late husband, Jim Poole, and I were at Memorial Stadium, when Jim Ryun made that momentous mile run... BC had one of the first tartan tracks installed, which drew nation-wide events. We also went to every West Coast Relays in Fresno, until they were no longer held...We attended our first Summer Olympics games in Mexico City in 1968, where we were practically in the pit for the famous Fosbury Flip (later Flop). Then we made all of the Summer Olympic Games through 1992, with the exception of Moscow, when the US boycotted...  Jim passed away in 1993, so I canceled our tickets to Atlanta in 1996.  But I still have the many great memories of those Olympic travels, the athletes and the friends we made on the tours."

 * ... OVERHEARD: A young woman is telling a friend about a flirtation in the middle of traffic. "So this guy is in a truck next to me with his hand out the window and I notice his wedding ring. He sees me, smiles, and the next time he put his hand out the window he has taken his wedding ring off. Really?"

 * ... EATS: I finally made it out to the Steak and Grape restaurant, Shai Gordon's relatively new place over on Coffee Road near Hageman. One thing is certain: this town is hungry for upscale new eateries and Steak and Grape does not disappoint. It is now a destination place for those who live in the Southwest and Northwest.

 * ... CATERING: And speaking a restaurants, a new restaurant and catering firm is opening up near the Moorea Banquet Centre in the Southwest. The ribbon cutting for Coseree's Restaurant and Catering will be held this Thursday at 8700 Swigert Court. 

* ... DMV: Another testimony of the wisdom of making an online appointment with the DMV when renewing a license. From a coworker: "Just went to the DMV to renew my license. The line was out the door (on F street) I had a 2:50 p.m. appointment, arrived at 2:47 p.m., was served at 3:02 p.m. and out the door at 3:25 p.m.  Much better than my doctor's office! The place was packed. I highly encourage people to make an appointment. Probably 90 percent of the folks there did not make an appointment."