We will explore the homeless crisis all week on The Richard Beene Show, Kern County leads the state in hemp production, it was move-in day for CSUB students and remembering the night that Jimi Hendrix came to the Civic Auditorium

Monday August 26, 2019

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. Send news items to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... HOMELESS: I am turning over the airwaves this week to local business owners who have suffered at the hands of our homeless crisis, and there are a lot of them. All week on The Richard

Beene Show (KERN NewsTalk 96.1 FM/1180 AM from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) I will be chatting with people whose businesses have suffered at the hands of the free-range homeless and vagrants who now move about our streets with virtual impunity. We will hear from Diana Klawitter and her daughter Amanda, who run House of Flowers on 19th Street. We will chat with Dixie Brewer Haley from the In Your Wildest Dreams consignment shop, which has been broken into and vandalized numerous times. We will hear from Shawna Haddad of Muertos and Crash Lounge, who will give us the perspective of someone who has been in business downtown for decades. And yes we will talk solutions, but not before we understand what individual business owners are contending with on a daily basis. Tune in and join the discussion.

 * ... VISUAL POLLUTION: And here is something you don't want to witness.

* ... HEMP: Here is some rich irony: despite the fact that the city and county have banned the retail sales of marijuana, Kern County has emerged as the top hemp producing county in California. That's right, John Cox of The Californian reported that we have 33 different groups planning to grow hemp on 76 different sites in Kern, covering an astonishing almost 7,000 acres. So how do we justify this while banning retail sales? The county has an open arms policy toward growing commercial hemp, leveraging our deep knowledge of agriculture, water and distribution to make Kern County an ideal place to grow hemp for multiple purposes, including the manufacturing of CBD oil.

 * ... CSUB: It was "move in" day at CSUB over the weekend as hundreds of students settled into their dorms for the start of the semester on Monday. CSUB president Lynette Zelezny and men's basketball coach Rod Barnes were there to lend a helping hand, as well as dozens of upper classmen ambassadors who welcoming the incoming freshmen and returning students. CSUB expects a record enrollment this year topping 12,000 students.

 * ... WHEN JIMI CAME TO TOWN: Here are some pictures to feast your eyes on. Jimi Hendrix appearing at the Civic Auditorium on Oct. 26, 1968. Photos by Ron Raffaelli.

 * ... MEMORIES: Some more pictures from our past thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page. Do you recognize the Garces Circle?