The Big Squeeze

I use to think the gas stations at Stockdale Highway and Interstate Five were pretty bad when it came to jacking drivers at the gas pump.

I wasn't even close.

I'm driving my Expedition back to Bakersfield from Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday, pulling a trailer loaded down with 2 horses and all of our gear.

The 5.4 liter engine was hauling the 6-to-7,000 pound load easily but I was only getting about 9-10 miles per gallon.

I hit Needles, CA on I-40 about 9 hours into the trip and had just over a 1/4 tank left, when a sign told me next services 35 miles.

My 2-yr old son Cody was asleep in the car seat, my wife Lori was reading and I felt like we could go another 35 miles before stopping for gas.

Barstow was still another 105 miles and I would stop there for some food.

I got to the gas station oasis on Interstate 40 at the Goffs Road Exit.

Remember, the GOFFS ROAD EXIT, this is important later.

We drove around to the station which resembled something out of a 2nd rate horror movie.

It was 7pm, the full moon was out and there were about a dozen people milling about.

It wasn't until I pulled up to the pump that I saw the price.

$4.39 a gallon. Yes, $4.39!!!! An early halloween scare.

Stunned I sat and stared at it, thinking fatigue had blurred my vision.

The pumps were old, no credit card slot to speak of, so I ventured inside.

I walked past a 15-yr old teenager doing his best Eminem impersonation sitting on a chair outside the station smoking a cigarette.

Upon entering, I came face to face with Lurch. Not the Adams Family character, but the real life equivalent.

I asked for 20 bucks worth, 4 1/2 gallons to get me to Ludlow, CA about 30 miles up the road.

He stared at me, and activated the pump.

When I blurted out, "$4.39, are you kidding?', he just stared at me and said, "Nope!"

I felt like any further communication would result in a machete coming out from behind the counter so I left, repeating the phrase to "Snykers" (pronounced Snickers), the kid I nicknamed while I was inside, and he also stared back without a word.

I filled up and left for Ludlow.

Just 40 minutes up the road, I pulled off in Ludlow, encountering a similar group of people, but a better price.

The $3.49 a gallon made me feel much better, having been soaked for a handful of gas at the last station.

For those of you experienced travelers on I-40 between Barstow and Needles, you already know this, but for the occasional motorist, a couple words of warning.

Stop in Arizona just before the CA border if you're headed westbound.

An Arco AMPM was advertising $2.87 a gallon and I blew by it thinking I'd find a better deal.

It goes without saying Barstow should be a topping off destination as well.

Think of it like Nascar, when they time out pitstops to maximize fuel consumption to the end of the race.

The last thing you want is your finish line to be Goffs Road.

If you're as unfortunate as I was, say hi to Lurch for me.

Please share any other nightmare pitstops, so others won't encounter a similar fate.

Drunken Explanation

To let a DUI suspect speak, or not to speak.

That is obviously the question on this Friday as we head into the weekend.

Jose Hernandez hopped into his SUV last Sunday and headed home with his 2-year old daughter in tow after a couple beers.

He got into an acceleration contest with a 22-yr old in a little sports car.

You've seen it a million times at almost every stop light.

It's not a planned street race.

One car pulls away quickly, the other catches up and nudges ahead, the first car then speeds up a little more and before you know it, you've got two guys racing down the street.

Only last weekend, an innocent couple were caught in the middle.

A woman is killed and her husband remains in critical condition.

We asked for a jailhouse interview with Jose Hernandez this week and he agreed.

That decision has riled a few feathers on local airwaves and blogs.

It seems not many people wanted to hear an apology, or in this instance, an outright admission of guilt.

Well, 99% of the time the people in our community who end up in prison decline the media's request for an interview.

But we got the interview and reported what he said, for better or worse.

Hopefully, for the better.

I guess I could stand here and "What if" this thing to no end like many people have been doing, but it's done.

Where was this, why was that, he should have known, and so on.

I'm hoping his face and his confession will burn a lasting memory in your brain.

Think of that this weekend, when many of you will have one or two beers and get behind the wheel of their car for a quick drive home.

The BPD will tell you that about 90% of the time that someone is pulled over for weaving or some other telltale DUI sign, that the driver tells them they only had one or two beverages.

Many DUI's involve people who are at, or barely above, the state mandated .08 limit.

Does that stop people from doing it?

The newest DUI law in California involves a signature, acknowledging the fact that if you drink and drive and kill someone, you could be charged with murder.

Stack that on top of the thousands in fines, jail time, license suspension, counseling sessions, ignition locking devices, and so on and so forth.

Is drinking and driving still a problem?

Will drinking and driving every really end?

Not even if you brought prohibition back, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop trying.

I've interviewed numerous families who've been victimized by drunk drivers and become friends with many mom's and dad's whose sons and daughters were killed by someone who "made a bad decision."

We've broadcast their pain and anguish on our news dozens and dozens of times.

And we will keep showing the devastation this type of behavior causes until it finally sinks in.

As for Jose Hernandez, he faces 2nd degree murder charges in a DUI crash.

No amount of apologies in the world will keep him from a lengthy prison sentence.

But maybe his face and words will keep someone from joining him.

Military Courtesy

I just got back from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I worked a 10-hour day shift on Monday, got off around 6:30, came home and fell asleep for about 2 hours.

I woke up and packed my Expedition and horse trailer, then drove my wife Lori, our 2-yr old son Cody and her father to Albuquerque for the U.S. Arabian and Half-Arabian Horse Show Championships.

We left at midnight and got into New Mexico at 3:30pm Tuesday afternoon.

I then unloaded everything, got them set up, and raced to the airport to hop a flight back to Bakersfield at 6:10pm. After all, I had to work Wednesday.

I made the connection through Phoenix on U.S. Airways only to be informed my connection home was delayed. Typical.

As I'm sitting by my gate, I see a young man, dressed in his Marine Corp uniform, running through the airport. He's looking for his gate. Mine was switched, so I felt for him.

What I didn't know was he was looking for the gate right across from mine, to catch a flight to Monterrey. I'm guessing he was going home.

The lighted sign said "Doors close at 7pm" and a quick glance at my watch showed it was 7 or 7:01pm.

He realized where he was and bolted for the door that had JUST closed.

He knocked, no answer.

He knocked again, nothing.

He started to walk away, when the door opened, and I'm guessing the woman that emerged informed him that he was too late.

I started looking around in our waiting area, and about a dozen people were all watching this show, mouths open and heads shaking.

I was ready to give up my seat home to help this grunt get a little closer to his home, when he suddenly disappeared as fast as he arrived.

Not many other flights leaving Phoenix at that hour on a Tuesday night.

A moment later, a man walked over from that gate to ours and we asked him about the Marine. He shook his head and confirmed the non-verbal exchange we all witnessed.

Would anyone on the plane complain if they pushed back up to the gate to let this man in uniform get on?

How many times have you missed a connection because your original flight was late? How many lousy hotels have you stayed in, courtesy of the airline, because your flight was delayed again and again until they had to shuttle you off to a hotel and try again the next morning?

I can hear it now, security issues, schedules, etc...

My flight left about 90 minutes late. Our captain boasted about how he was going to make-up for the lost time in getting us back to Bakersfield.

Guess he wasn't worried about the extra fuel cost.

Small price to pay for someones service to our country.

Buyer Beware

Get use to hearing that a lot in the next year.

The variable rates are beginning to reset which I'm told will result in a massive flood of foreclosures.

People are scrambling to get out of loans that many will probably tell you they never should have been in, in the first place.

And the real estate machine will blame the buyer.

Should have known better, shouldn't have committed to a loan that burned up more than 30% of your monthly nut, etc, etc, etc...

But shouldn't the real estate community have stopped these people at some point in the process to point that out.

I mean, someone must have crunched some numbers and figured out the disaster that awaited a family just a few years down the road.

And this isn't just about loans, no, no, no.

What about all the things that go into buying a home.

We just had a family on ABC23 that got into a home that had an addition, and was reportedly told by the seller, that all they needed was a permit and some minor modifications.

Once the ink was dry on the contract, the buyer found out the addition was really a subtraction.

City code had cited 12 violations that had to be corrected in 30 days or bye, bye baby.

I can hear the cry now, "Buyer Beware".

C'mon, be serious.

When I bought the property that my wife and I live in now back in 2001, I had at least a handful of people from different organizations walking us through the entire process.

Was the surge in real estate prices just too much to resist for some?

No, not everyone took advantage of it, but if more than 1 or 2 of your clients are going to lose their home in the next year, then yes, that's a problem.

BUYER BEWARE??

What am I paying the 6%, or 6 points for??

The closing costs, etc, etc, etc...

A friend told me that a colleague in the real estate community wanted to know when all these stories about fraud and foreclosure were going to end.

She said it was hurting business.

I'm sure it was, like this the last time the bubble burst and the time before that.

The long time realtors will survive, the people in it for the quick buck will go back to what they were doing before the boom, and the people who got in to deep will drown.

Yup, Buyer Beware.

Let's hope next time, someone is listening.

Rest In Peace

I didn't know Gary Foster of Bakersfield, but I'm getting to know the families he left behind.

And it's not pretty.

In case you don't know, Foster is the local man killed in a Colorado pipeline fire at a hydroelectric plant. He was coating the pipe with epoxy when it caught fire.

Foster was one of five people killed in the fire.

In the days following his death, we talked to both sides of Gary's family. His immediate family and his extended family that includes step-relatives.

I'm not privy to the intimate dealings of this family, especially during such a difficult time, but it made my job a lot more difficult.

One side would tell us something about Gary or the investigation, only to have it rebutted by the other side.

I'm not going to go any deeper into the details out of respect for the families, but it suffices to say, that this game of political ping pong is uncomfortable, especially when you're trying to write a story that tells viewers about the person who died.

I won't begin to pretend to understand what Gary's wife, mother, father or anyone else is going through right now, but I'm pretty sure Gary wouldn't be happy about it.

Growing up, the Hart family spent most weekends and holidays with my dad's brothers family.

We had six in our family at the time and they had seven.

Our time together saved for prosperity on 8mm film.

But one day, I'm not even sure when or how, we drifted apart.

I saw them twice over the last 22 years when my father's parents died.

Then, this summer, my cousin Teresa died. Not much older than me. There were all my cousins, my aunt and uncle, all of whom looked and sounded like strangers.

We spent the funeral and part of the gathering afterwards getting caught up.

It was awkward and depressing.

How did I let this relationship become so strained that I couldn't keep in touch with family more frequently over the past two decades?

The fact we live in an age of texting, e-mails and cell phones made this all even more pathetic.

I hope the Foster family will find strength and support in numbers, and dispatch any individual grievances.

There's nothing worse than regret, when there's no way to correct it.

Crabtree Investigations

I want to be the first person to nominate local appraiser Gary Crabtree as the lead investigator for the future Real Estate Fraud Unit.

Let me first state that Gary probably doesn't want this job. Not because he can't do it.

Crabtree has been looking into potential cases of mortgage fraud for nearly two years and told a forum this week that he uncovered 202 possible cases to the tune of 114 million dollars.

Most of those are under review by state and federal authorities, but Crabtree approached the DA's office with a handful of cases on the advice of legal counsel for the Bakersfield Assoc. of Realtors Executive Committee.

Ed Jagels told Crabtree that he would forward these cases to his "White Collar Crime" unit.

That's where it ended, for now.

Crabtree told me during a conversation with someone in the unit, he laid out his findings to the investigator who looked back at him and said he wouldn't know where to begin.

Yea, but Gary does.

Gary stated that for the recent mortgage fraud bonanza to take place, you need an appraiser.

Someone to certify the marked up prices.

Who better to stop a thief?!!

I don't think he wants the job, but at the very least, maybe the BPD could get him to do a little freelance with the department.

Since as Gary says, "these "fraudsters" have stolen more money with a pen and paper, than could ever be robbed from a bank with a gun. Let's not let Bakersfield become a sanctuary city for mortgage fraud."

Maybe ease up on the sanctuary talk, that's still a sore spot.

Name Calling Non-Sense

I was neutral on the "In God We Trust issue, not wanting to voice my support and push my religious views onto other people's children in the Kern High School District.

But after several days of badgering on the radio and in the newspaper, I raise the white flag.

After listening and reading all the self-righteous, condescending, ultra left and right leaning, finger pointing and bible thumping, I give in.

Commies, atheists and pagans, oh my!!!

Ken Mettler jumped into the mix on Friday, tossing his support firmly behind Chad Vegas, by downplaying the small (20 or so fanatics he said) group that opposes the idea of hanging "In God We Trust" from the walls of classrooms all over Kern County.

He stated that Jacquie Sullivan's action group brought the idea to the school board and any one of the members could have brought it to the meeting for action.

So why didn't someone else? Why didn't you Ken?

I'm guessing that the hysteria being generated would have been less if one of the other trustees introduced the idea than the Pastor of a local congregation.

Or, if Chad just admitted, yea, I like the idea of "God" in whatever form, being part of young people's lives, just as he is in the foundation of this country, then maybe people will let it go.

Not completely of course.

Will the posters end up in the classroom, most certainly.

Do I mind, not really.

But can we get this over with quickly, the kids in the back of the class are falling asleep.

"In God We Trust"

Chad Vegas in the ABC23 Studios, 5pm news...
Photo by N.L. Belardes

First, it was changing winter and spring breaks, back to Christmas and Easter.

Now, Kern High School Trustee Chad Vegas wants to redecorate every classroom in the district with the phrase, "In God We Trust".

In a press release from Vegas, he stated that it was the "logical first step in making sure our students are informed and grounded in these basic tenets."

Which ones?

I don't have a problem with the phrase in the Bakersfield City Council chambers, in fact, I silently supported the idea from Jacquie Sullivan.

Take another step back.

I openly complained about the lawsuit brought by an atheist in San Francisco wanting to erase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

But "In God We Trust" in the classroom?

Why not the Bill of Rights or maybe the U.S. Constitution?

Even if some people believe the phrase might inspire some kids, I think that needs to start at home. My two sons are 10 and 2, and will learn about God and religion at home or in church.

I learned Monday morning while stumbling past a local radio talk show, that part of the confusion and/or resistance is being supplied by the LIBERAL media.

As Chad and the host berated, what I believe they meant to be the local media, I started to laugh.

The conservatives call the media liberal and vise versa. That's the stuff bumper stickers are made of.

It's our job to question everything, especially from our elected leaders. If ONE person has a problem with what you're doing and we report it, suddenly we're the enemy.

But despite our personal feelings, the media is beholden to present BOTH sides of an issue on a daily basis. That job can difficult at times, but not on the topic of religion, where everyone has an opinion and are not afraid to express it.

Good thing this isn't real estate.

I looked back at the story we did in 2004 shortly after Chad Vegas was elected to the board.

Some people were worried about a possible religious agenda, to which Chad replied he was elected to represent the people of the district.

We in the media understand that you can't please everyone and the trustees will have the final say on Chad's plan for new wallpaper.

So perhaps for now, the rest of us will trust in them.

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