Long term exposure to smoke proves harmful to your skin, Samuel Van Kopp addresses the chaos of Afghanistan and celebrating the Midway Palm

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. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... SMOKE DANGER: Have you ever thought about how your skin might react to all the smoke in the air from the California fires? Well one researcher at The University of California San Francisco did, and what Dr. Maria Wei and her team learned is not good news for anyone who lives and breathes wildfire

smoke. The New York Times said the "eczema and wildfire study focused on that disease because afflicted people have an impaired skin barrier, meaning they would be more likely to have a reaction to smoke." The study noted that those living in smoky areas went to see dermatologists more often and about half those surveyed suffered from eczema. Retailers have discovered the problem, but the researchers warned people to be wary of topical marketed as providing "pollution protection."

 * ... AFGHAN PULLOUT: Few people can appreciate the chaotic scene at the Kabal airport more than the members of the U.S. military who served there, along with Afghan allies. And few things put the danger of the operation in perspective than the suicide bombs that took the lives of 12 Marines on Thursday. For a fuller perspective of how some of our servicemen and women view the situation on the ground, go to Spotify to listen to my interview with former 1st Lt. Samuel Van Kopp, a Bakersfield native who suffered traumatic brain injury during a 2012 suicide bombing. Von Kopp argued we have a moral obligator to airlift to safety all the Afghan people who aided the United States, whether they were interpreters, cooks, drivers or clerks at U.S. installations. To do anything less, Van Kopp said, would be to invite other allies - in Taiwan, Japan and across the world - to doubt U.S. promises of mutual aid. Listen to the Bakersfield Observed podcast with Van Kopp on Spotify or pick it up on Kern Radio.

Bakersfield's Samuel Van Kopp, a veteran of the Afghan war, talks about the chaos of the withdrawal and our responsibility to those who helped ... https://tinyurl.com/pt9fu9se

* ... CHICK-FIL-A: The lone Chick-fil-A in Bakersfield, located at the corner of California and Stockdale, is closing for two months for a major kitchen remodel. A second Chick-fil-A is planned for Rosedale Highway, in the old Pier 1 building, but there is not exact date on when that will open.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I hate when your kid needs help with their homework and you have to try and learn math in 10 minutes." 

 * ... MIDWAY PALM: If you have ever driven on Highway 99 you may have missed the significance of a lone palm tree standing in the median near Madera. Located just south of Avenue 11 just outside the city limits of Madera, the Midway Palm denotes the halfway point between the border with Mexico and Oregon. The Midway Palm represenst Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.

* ... MEMORIES: I spotted this old picture on the Kern County History Fans Facebook page. Enjoy.