CSUB president Horace Mitchell appointed to NCAA Division 1 executive committee and the late Spartacus Miller finally finds his place at The Padre Hotel

 * … MITCHELL:  CSUB President Horace Mitchell has been appointed to the executive committee of the NCAA Division 1 board of directors. This is an important appointment and puts Mitchell on the committee that will deal with issues such as the effort to unionize and pay college

football players. Mitchell told me during a wide-ranging discussion on First Look with Scott Cox that he opposes any form of payment for college students. In an opinion piece for the online U.S. News and World Report he said this: "Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and board, and other allowable expenses.
Collegiate sports is not a career or profession. It is the students’ vehicle to a higher education degree."

* … OLYMPICS: There is another Bakersfield connection to the Winter Olympics: Travis Ganong, a U.S. skier in the downhill competition. His father, Rick, was raised here and attended Bakersfield High School before heading off to college and eventually medical school. Ganong's grandmother and uncle are still living in Bakersfield.

 * … GOOD FORM: Lois Sabaloni took her husband, Joe, to the Elephant Bar the other day to celebrate his 93rd birthday. What happened next was an unexpected, delightful surprise. It turned out a man at the counter overheard the couple talking to their waitress and he paid for their entire bill, "writing a note of thanks and inspiration to us at the bottom, not knowing that Joe had served three years in the Navy during World War II." The waitress also refused to take a tip from Lois and Joe. "We'd like them to know how much their kindness touched our hearts," Lois said.

 * … MILLER: It took a couple of years but The Padre Hotel has finally installed a painting in honor the the hotel's former owner, the colorful Spartacus Miller. The image of Miller is installed in a light fixture above the pool table in the ground floor bar area with the words "gladiator against all forces of oppression." (photo by Don Martin)

 * … TRASH: From reader Ginny Espinoza: "I want to cry every time I see the commercial about covering up the green waste in your truck bed…. ending with: 'It’s the right thing to do - and – it’s the law!' Really? Shouldn’t it be: 'It’s the law – and – that makes it the right thing to do?'"

 * … TWITTER: My favorite Twitter feed of the day: "In about 20 years, the hardest thing our kids will have to do is find a username that isn’t taken."

 * … RAFFLE: The Our Lady of Guadalupe School will celebrate its 28th Annual Reverse Raffle and Dinner this Saturday. The event will be held on the new church grounds at 4600 E. Brundage Lane. Cocktails will begin at 5 p.m, followed  by dinner and a raffle. The grand prize is $8,000. Also this year, the school will present the Monsignor Craig Harrison Award to the Berchtold and Puente families. For event and ticket information, call the school office at (661) 323-6059.