Resolution Repercussions

A "resolution" is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as:

- A resolving to do something.

- A course of action determined or decided on.

- A formal statement of a decision or expression of opinion put before or adopted by an assembly such as the U.S. Congress.

I personally think it's a lot of ballyhoo. Political posturing. This is Bakersfield, not Washington, DC.

And it's not legislation or law.

Bakersfield City Council member David Couch wanted to send a message through two or three resolutions, that the city was taking a side.

Maybe not a popular one for many in opposition, but one that would declare English the official language and that the city would not become a sanctuary.

Both resolutions were defeated.

A series of resolutions from Council member Sue Benham all passed.

Those resolutions pitted the city of Bakersfield against the U.S. Government basically demanding Washington to enforce immigration laws, develop policies and order the BPD to continue cooperating with federal agencies on immigration matters.

Not the same as Couch's proposal, but one that he even agreed sent a message.

But not the same message.

It's almost as if the council made the safe play, passing the buck to the federal government, just as city's and county's have been doing for years in regards to immigration.

I think English should be declared the official language in Bakersfield, even though the California Constitution already takes care of that, and that there should be no sanctuary status for undocumented workers.

Some council members who voted down Couch's resolutions, later stated they would vote down the sanctuary idea if it ever came to a vote. It did, Wednesday night.

If you want to make a statement, look south to San Diego.

Supervisors wanted to know what kind of an impact illegal immigrants had on their area. A study found that 10% of the county's annual budget was spent on services for illegal immigrants. That amount topped $100 million last year alone.

They are now trying to enlist the help of a San Diego Congressman to enact legislation to seek reimbursement from the federal government, for failing to stop illegals from crossing the border and using services that taxpayers pay for.

Supervisor Bill Horn said Tuesday that he did not intend for the board's vote to be a symbolic gesture, even though previous "illegal immigration bills" sent by the county to the federal government in 1994 and 2001 have not been paid.

I know, that's an issue for Kern County to follow, not the City Council.

But the Council had their chance Wednesday night, to send a message to the residents of Bakersfield.

And decided to bend it like Benham, instead of sitting on the Couch.

San Diego information provided by the North County Times

The Other Half

I'm still adjusting from a whirlwind 4-day, 3-night trip to Cabo.

It was unlike any vacation I've ever taken, from the Gulfstream Jet, to the One & Only Palmilla resort and private yacht, this was one to remember.

And I've got the pictures and videotape to prove it.

This trip was courtesy of my wife. Actually, she and five other Outback partners were tops in California last year, earning the five star trip from the man behind all 63 restaurants in California.

They all got to bring their spouses. No rules, just right, baby.

I've had a lot of great vacations in my life, from my 1st trip to the Grand Canyon when I was 8 yrs old, to my family's annual pilgrimage to Disneyland during the Christmas holiday. (There's nothing like fake snow on Main Street)

I've never measured a vacation by the amount of money I spent, or this time, didn't spend, but instead by the memories and there were plenty.

For those of you who haven't been to Palmilla in Cabo de San Jose, let me set the stage for you.

You walk to the pool to find what appears to be a queen sized futon. An employee approaches and places his hand over his heart (a resort tradition that means "my pleasure) and asks if you'd like a bottle of water or anything else to drink. He brings a towel and fan to deal with the 95 degree heat and 100% humidity.

Later, he returns with ice goggles and suggests a massage.

In the room, our butler (complimentary) makes sure the bed is turned down, with flowers in the shape of the resort insignia at the foot of the comforter. Cocktail snacks arrive everyday at the same time, with a note asking if we needed him to refresh the fruit. Yes, refresh the fruit.

I didn't look at the bill, even though I wasn't paying, because I didn't want to know. This was a fantasy of sorts, one that I didn't want to spoil.

Our host treated us to a lavish dinner at three phenomenal restaurants every night during the trip. He popped for golf and drinks, refusing to let anyone else pickup the tab.

This was his way of thanking my wife and her business partners for their extremely hard work in 2006 and I was along for the ride.

I expressed my gratitude at every turn, to which he simply smiled and said, "No, thank you."

This might be how the other half lives, but he's in a class by himself.

Thanks Tom.

Blog 101: The Bubble Bursts

I'm new to the blog game.

It's a different beast, that relies on anonymity, trust and the willingness to take the heat in a spirited debate.

Point taken.

Our new website managing editor and seasoned blogger gave me some advice before we started this new venture.

Rule #1: When posting don't get into a back and forth banter with a blogger, because it takes away from the issue.

Yea, forgot that one.

I hopped over to a real estate blog site yesterday, Bakersfield Bubble, and happened into a discussion about the FBI Raid involving Crisp & Cole.

The blood was everywhere.

Amidst the conversation was the occasional media bashing for not being on top of this story sooner. Fair enough.

We've keeping an eye on the story for about a year, and did the occasional piece.

The latest juicy tid bit involves Crisp selling off gold faucets, handles and other fixtures in his home for cash. Still trying to track that one down or at least get a picture from inside the house.

But all the rumors and innuendo's don't mean anything without someone willing to stand up and talk about it on camera.

Perfect example: News Bulletin - Housing market on a downhill slide, sales decline, rates could rise. But that's not what people in the biz tell you here, where everything is fine and dandy.

Yes, we know that's not right, but again, no one willing to step forward and go against the tide.

Sometimes that unwillingness to help break a story you've been dogging for a while can get the best of you.

Especially when you read comments from people who insist your not doing your job.

This is not my story, but KERO takes a team approach to reporting, pitching in whenever something pops up.

I asked for help from an arena that clearly seemed to have their ear to the ground on this one and has so for some time.

That's what a reporter does. That's how you dig. You want documents, background, etc. You talk to people and dig.

Maybe I didn't ask in the right way, because I certainly didn't respond in kind and it got the best of me.

I've been in the news game a long time and work hard to make sure both sides of any story are heard.

But airing opinion and gossip with no one to attribute it to is not journalism.

Better for a blog than the news.

A big thanks to Bakersfield Bubble, or BB, for e-mailing me once the dust settled, along with a couple other people who will go unnamed.

Simply because I don't know their name, only their blog identity and e-mail address.

Crisp & Cole: The Beginning

It's amazing how many people knew this would happen.

How many people predicted this would happen.

But opinion is not fact.

I've been reading a lot of blogs on a variety of web sites in the past two days.

It's like the real estate world has been waiting for the other shoe to drop and are now using it to kick the once prominent pair in the backside for destroying the housing market.

There's joy in Bakerstown with the collapse of the high-profile duo.

But the accusations had a side effect; creating an atmosphere of mistrust for everyone else in the business.

One lender tells me that buyers are leary of everyone in real estate across the board.

But did they wreck the local market, or are they simply being set up as the scapegoats?

The foreclosures will definitely hurt the surrounding property values in the respective neighborhoods and banks will eat the loans.

I've read about the properties listed in the Dept. of Real Estate's accusations and a few other we managed to dig up. I've also scanned a few on various blogs.

But was it something bigger?

As the market soared, so did housing prices.

I had friends who say realtors were fighting over their property before it ever listed and got their client to pay $50,000 more than they were asking for it.

Who fueled this anxiety?

I know, the media. No, not really.

What about the fly-by-night realtors who jumped into the market to make a quick buck, and are now jumping right back out again.

The inflated appraisals, the easy to get loans and plenty of homes to buy.

Now, the investigation has begun with no real end in sight.

In the wake, the market is left to readjust.

I'm told it could take until 2009.

That should be just long enough to sell off three years worth of housing inventory that's sitting in the market's wake.

Down and Dirty

My mother-in-law said the microwave made a loud popping sound and then died.

No smoke, no more digital display and no more zapping food.

I got home from work and stared at it. What would I do? My 2-yr old wanted a hot dog. How would I satisfy him?

I was a pretty good cook in my bachelor days. Now, my mastery is reserved for the BBQ. But I can still boil water and drop in a couple Oscar Meyer's.

After several moments of indecision, I served up the steamin' weenies to my son and began to realize how often that we ate out. I'm not talking about a nice sit down, restaurant style meal, but just something on the fly to get us to the next meal.

Have we become so busy as a society, that home cooked meals are something I tell stories about like some bit of nostalgia.

It made me think of my days detailing cars at Earnhardt Ford in Tempe, Arizona. Cleaning out the inside of a trade-in that was sitting on an Arizona parking lot all day. Nothing like climbing inside an oven to scrape out the garbage left by someone trading up.
I use to run the wheel(buffing wax), paint engines and give some old jalopy new life. Or at least add another $2,500 dollars to the price.

From mowing lawns to washing dishes at a Senior Citizen's home, I was self-sufficient.

In this day and age, we eat out, cruise through the car wash and pay a landscaper to keep our lawns looking green.

Are these jobs I just don't want to do anymore?

True, I washed more cars, mowed more lawns and scraped more dried prunes out of a plastic cup than I ever care to remember, but I'm not physically unable to do it.

Not to mention, it would probably save a couple hundred bucks a month.

Maybe supporters of illegal immigration (undocumented worker) legislation are right. Maybe these are jobs Americans don't want to do.

But what if we suddenly decided to do these things for ourselves again.

Eat out a little less, find a bucket with soap in it and crank up the old mower.

I'm part of a two income family and free time can be hard to come by, but I won't be using that as an excuse anymore.

Maybe it's time to get down and dirty, and save a little money.

Then, I can afford to buy another microwave.