Bakersfield news

• Rain trouble for California's water conservation?

  16-12-2014 23:32
  
  Recent storms eased the drought somewhat, but there's a long way to go. And state officials are worried that the rain will give people an excuse to abandon the already inconsistent conservation efforts adopted to deal with the dry spell.
  
  Read more

• Drought not over yet: Rain could spell trouble for California's water conservation

  16-12-2014 23:32
  
  Recent storms eased the drought somewhat, but there's a long way to go. And state officials are worried that the rain will give people an excuse to abandon the already inconsistent conservation efforts adopted to deal with the dry spell.
  
  Read more

• Sony hackers reference 9/11 in new threats against theaters

  16-12-2014 23:31
  
  Hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace made ominous threats Tuesday against movie theaters showing Sony Pictures' film "The Interview" that referred to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
  
  Read more

• Sony battles more leaks, threats against theaters, lawsuits

  16-12-2014 23:31
  
  Hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace made ominous threats Tuesday against movie theaters showing Sony Pictures' film "The Interview" that referred to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• PG&E email alleges offer by California regulator

  16-12-2014 23:09
  
  In a newly released email, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. executive says a state official offered to write the utility a favorable opinion for a proposed gas rate hike.
  
  Read more

• Motorist in fatal distracted driving crash released from jail

  16-12-2014 22:33
  
  Anna Marie Reynosa will have an opportunity to celebrate Christmas and open presents with her family.
  
  Charla Ann Wilkins also will get a gift from her family. They'll place it on her grave.
  
  Read more

• LA mayor to outline plan for police body cameras

  16-12-2014 22:16
  
  Mayor Eric Garcetti is preparing to unveil a plan to equip every officer on the Los Angeles police force with an on-body camera.
  
  Read more

• LA mayor plans 7,000 police body cameras in 2015

  16-12-2014 22:16
  
  Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Tuesday a plan to equip 7,000 officers on the Los Angeles police force with on-body cameras by next summer, making the law enforcement agency the nation's largest to make the move to date.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Arrests in San Bernardino County gang crackdown

  16-12-2014 22:10
  
  Authorities in San Bernardino County say 33 known gang members have been arrested in a crackdown this month.
  
  Read more

• Letterman pulls curtain on holiday tradition

  16-12-2014 22:09
  
  With the curtain soon to fall on David Letterman's late-night television career, the end comes Friday for an odd and emotional holiday tradition that involves comic Jay Thomas, the Lone Ranger, a giant meatball and, most indelibly, singer Darlene Love.
  
  Read more

• Lawyer: Free speech at stake in anti-Muslim film

  16-12-2014 21:28
  
  A lawyer for Google told a federal appeals court Monday that free speech is in jeopardy if a ruling stands forcing it to keep an anti-Muslim film off its YouTube service.
  
  Read more

• 'First Look': New bridal boutique caters to more than just the bride

  16-12-2014 21:05
  
  Sisters Angela Jourdan and Patricia Helcomb decided to put their passion for making brides' wedding dreams come true and as such, have opened Enchanted Bridal Boutique in southwest Bakersfield.
  
  Tuesday on "First Look with Scott Cox," the sisters talked about their boutique and the services they provide to their brides before their special day.
  
  Read more

• Tehachapi City Council bans aggressive panhandling

  16-12-2014 20:36
  
  The Tehachapi City Council unanimously approved a ban to aggressive panhandling during their meeting Monday night.
  
  Read more

• Attorneys in Oliver trial to address jury about charges

  16-12-2014 20:30
  
  Attorneys at the request of jurors Tuesday morning in the Bryan Oliver trial will argue the difference between attempted murder and attempted voluntary manslaughter
  
  The jury has been struggling to reach a verdict and wanted to know the difference between the two criminal charges.
  
  Read more

• Jeb Bush to 'actively explore' run for president

  16-12-2014 20:14
  
  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday took his most definitive step yet toward running for president, announcing plans to "actively explore" a campaign and form a new political operation allowing him to raise money for like-minded Republicans.
  
  Read more

• Judge orders new attorney arguments in Oliver Trial

  16-12-2014 19:59
  
  The Bryan Oliver school shooting trial took a twist Tuesday, as the judge ordered new arguments from each attorney.
  
  Read more

• Bryan Oliver school shooting trial ends with hung jury

  16-12-2014 19:59
  
  The jury members unanimously voted that nothing else would help them in further deliberations.
  
  Read more

• Sand, sandbags available for residents affected by flooding

  16-12-2014 19:56
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Residents who need sand and or sandbags for flooding can pick up supplies at several Kern County Fire stations.  
  
  County fire officials say sandbags are available at the following Kern County Fire Stations around Bakersfield:
  
  Station 42: 2011 Fairfax Rd. 93306
  
  Station 52: 312 Taft Hwy. 93307
  
  Station 61: 6400 Fruitvale Ave. 93308
  
  Station 67: 14341 Brimhall Rd. 93312
  
  Sand and sandbags are available at KCFD Headquarters: 5642 Victor
  
  Read more

• Lawyers struggle to avoid hung jury in Taft High shooting case

  16-12-2014 19:54
  
  Jurors in the Taft Union High School told the judge Tuesday morning they were unable to reach a unanimous decision in the case against Bryan Oliver, prompting the trial judge to attempt an unusual solution to the logjam.
  
  Jurors asked the judge if there were more exhibits they could see, if there were more instructions they could hear or if attorneys could offer more explanations.
  
  Judge John Lua chose the latter option.
  
  Beginning at 11 a.m., Prosecutor Mark Pafford and defense at
  
  Read more

• 10 train cars derail in Kern County

  16-12-2014 19:17
  
  Ten train cars derailed overnight near Caliente, about 20 miles east of Bakersfield.
  
  Read more

• National Weather Service says drought not over yet

  16-12-2014 18:47
  
  Christine Riley, lead forecaster of the National Weather Service, says we may be in our drought for a few more years.
  
  Read more

• Federal ruling a win for Calif.'s bullet train

  16-12-2014 18:10
  
  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal agency that has jurisdiction over California's bullet train has ruled that it has the authority to pre-empt state environmental law, creating uncertainty for numerous groups fighting the project in court.
  
  Read more

• Police and Deputies deliver holiday meals

  16-12-2014 18:03
  
  The Kern County Sheriff's Department is partnering with the Bakersfield Police Department, W.A. Thompson, and other organizations to feed 400 families in need this year. It's all part of the Family to Family Food Drive Program: police and deputies will travel door-to-door, delivering Christmas dinners.
  
  Read more

• 'First Look': First News for Dec. 16

  16-12-2014 16:58
  
  Lead stories from "First Look with Scott Cox's" Top Stories:
  
  SETTLEMENT NEAR IN 2012 POLICE DOG MAULING CASE: A proposed $500,000 settlement is in the works in the case of a woman whose right ear was nearly bitten off by a Bakersfield police dog. Sixty-three-year-old Victoria Youngblood, the estranged wife of Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, was mauled by a Bakersfield Police Departme
  
  Read more

• Wanted murder suspect arrested in Bakersfield

  16-12-2014 16:49
  
  A wanted murder suspect from Central California was arrested late Monday night in Southwest Bakersfield.
  
  Read more

• List of school delays for Tuesday, December 16th

  16-12-2014 16:28
  
  The following is a list of Kern County school delays for Tuesday, December 16th:
  
  Read more

• Christmas Tree Guide: Quick tips to stay safe

  16-12-2014 08:41
  
  'Tis the season to bring the outdoors in, but having that decorated Christmas tree can lead to a not so happy holiday.
  
  Read more

• Holiday food baskets from local law enforcement

  16-12-2014 08:34
  
  Hundreds of boxes are packed with food and ready for delivery. It's part of the Christmas food basket donation drive from the Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff's Office. Officers, deputies, and volunteers made up the food baskets Monday night. 400 food baskets are sealed up and ready to go for Tuesday morning The Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff's Office have teamed up with W. A. Thompson for the 30th year to put together holiday food baskets f
  
  Read more

• BPD: Armed man claiming to be Marshal surrenders

  16-12-2014 08:20
  
  A man armed with a rifle and claiming to be a Federal Marshal was arrested Sunday after attempting to ignite combustible materials, according to Sergeant Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department. 
  
  Read more

• U.S. board says federal law trumps state environmental lawsuits on high-speed rail

  16-12-2014 04:53
  
  A three-member panel of presidential appointees has potentially derailed seven lawsuits challenging the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s approval of its Fresno-Bakersfield bullet-train route and raised questions about how California environmental law will apply to other planned rail sections across the state.
  
  The U.S. Surface Transportation Board, in a ruling issued late Friday, declared on a
  
  Read more

• Moorhouse appoints daughter associate publisher of The Californian

  16-12-2014 04:03
  
  The Californian moved toward its fifth generation as a family-owned and run newspaper Monday as Publisher Virginia F. "Ginger" Moorhouse named her youngest daughter associate publisher.
  
  The announcement puts Virginia "Ginny" Cowenhoven, 39, a former advertising account executive now studying business leadership, next in line to become publisher of the newspaper her great-great grandfa
  
  Read more

• Settlement near in 2012 police dog mauling case

  16-12-2014 03:57
  
  A proposed $500,000 settlement is in the works in the case of a woman whose right ear was nearly bitten off by a Bakersfield police dog, her lawyer said Monday.
  
  Victoria Youngblood, 63, estranged wife of Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, was mauled by a Bakersfield Police Department K-9 on April 8, 2012.
  
  Read more

• Still no verdict in trial of school shooter Bryan Oliver

  16-12-2014 03:55
  
  Jurors in the trial of school shooter Bryan Oliver have deliberated about 16 hours over four days but have yet to return a verdict.
  
  Jurors twice passed notes to the bailiff Monday asking for more information. In the first note, they asked that the testimony of witness Jacob Nichols and the attorneys' closing arguments be read back to them.
  
  Read more

• Officials warn of Christmas fire dangers

  16-12-2014 03:53
  
  The holidays are meant to be a time of cheer. The Bakersfield Fire Department warns that as you keep things merry and bright, though, you do so safely.
  
  Read more

• Uprooted almond trees has growers worried

  16-12-2014 03:48
  
  First came the wind, then rain, and now the economical damage to Kern County almond growers.
  
  Read more

• A violent weekend in Kern County

  16-12-2014 03:43
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- It was a violent weekend across Kern County leaving two men dead and two men seriously injured. Kern County Sheriff's and Bakersfield Police were dispatched to three different shootings Saturday and Sunday. The first two happened Saturday night and the third Sunday afternoon.
  
  On Saturday around 6pm Sheriff's Deputies responded to a shooting in Derby Acres in west Kern County. Upon arrival Deputies found a 28-year-old unidentified man with gunshot wounds to his torso. H
  
  Read more

• Almond crops damaged in big storm

  16-12-2014 03:37
  
  In last week's big storm, thousands of almond trees were knocked down from the heavy winds.
  
  Read more

• Police: Man with rifle arrested in downtown Bakersfield

  16-12-2014 03:02
  
  Police said he apparently was trying to shoot and ignite combustible materials, which he had positioned around his vehicle in the 1300 block of 17th Street.
  
  Read more

• Day 3 of deliberations ends without verdict in Oliver trial

  16-12-2014 02:41
  
  The jury that will decide the fate of the accused gunman in the Taft Union High School shooting failed to reach a verdict on the third full day of deliberation.
  
  Read more

• KHSD gets record number of Paramount grants

  16-12-2014 02:41
  
  Classrooms in the Kern High School District won a record 36 grants from a Central Valley school grants program, Paramount Education Programs (PEP) announced Monday.
  The agriculture business and education collaborative will give KHSD more than $111,000 for projects in science and technology studies, college readiness programs, agricultural career preparation, creative arts programs, community engagement and other school initiatives.
  
  Read more

• Officer on leave after tweets threaten protesters

  16-12-2014 02:28
  
  A Northern California police department put one of its officers on leave Monday and is investigating threatening comments from his Twitter account about demonstrators who have participated in protests over the recent deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri and New York.
  
  Read more

• TUHS shooting trial: Jury deliberations continue

  16-12-2014 02:27
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - There is still no verdict in the trial of accused Taft Union High School shooter Bryan Oliver. Jurors began deliberations late last Wednesday afternoon -- after listening to testimony from more than two dozen witnesses.
  
  Family members of both Oliver and the student who was injured in the shooting, Bowe Cleveland have been waiting outside the courtroom.
  
  Jurors have deliberated for about 16 hours, so far.
  
  Jurors asked to hear the transcript Monday morning of the
  
  Read more

• High court settles dispute over California's undersea border

  16-12-2014 02:24
  
  The U.S. Supreme Court waded into the Pacific Ocean to settle a long-running dispute Monday over where California ends and federal offshore lands begin.
  
  Read more

• County: Storm damages no more than about 5 percent of local almond trees

  16-12-2014 02:21
  
  Preliminary reports indicate last week's storm destroyed between half a percent and 5 percent of Kern's almond trees, the county agricultural commissioner's office said Monday.
  
  That assessment, developed from conversations rather than any official count of uprooted trees, suggests the strong winds that hit Thursday, followed by heavier than normal rain Friday, wiped out as many as 7,350 almon
  
  Read more

• Federal ruling a win for California's bullet train

  16-12-2014 02:20
  
  A federal agency that has jurisdiction over California's bullet train has ruled that it has the authority to pre-empt state environmental law, creating uncertainty for numerous groups fighting the project in court.
  
  Read more

• Murder suspect surrenders, admits to involvement

  16-12-2014 02:16
  
  Bakersfield Police Department officials said that Errol Scorza is in custody and admitted to his involvement in the murder of 25-year-old Abel Ibarra Trujillo. 
  
  Read more

• Bakersfield shooting suspect arrested

  16-12-2014 02:07
  
  Errol Scorza is in custody and admitted to his involvement in a shooting earlier this month at 8th and L streets, police said Monday.
  
  Read more

• Jury recommends death for man convicted of murdering estranged wife, mother-in-law

  16-12-2014 01:59
  
  A jury recommended Monday that convicted murderer Robert Dale Fuller be sentenced to death for fatally shooting his estranged wife and mother-in-law in August 2009.
  
  Fuller, 61, was found guilty Dec. 2 of two counts of murder and six counts of violating a restraining order. Prosecutors have said Fuller repeatedly violated the restraining order as he stalked his wife in the weeks before the shooting.
  
  Read more

• D.A., public defender reach agreement on domestic violence program

  16-12-2014 01:56
  District Attorney Lisa Green's proposed domestic violence diversion program is expected to earn approval from the Kern County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
  
  Public Defender Konrad Moore, who questioned the program one week ago, said he and Green have worked out a compromise and he will support the concept before supervisors.
  
  Read more

• Small fire in south Bakersfield displaces 3 people

  16-12-2014 01:56
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Investigators say an electrical short is to blame for a fire that displaced three people including two children in south Bakersfield.  City Fire crews responded just before 10:30 Monday morning to a residence on William F. Halsey Avenue to find a fire that damaged a bedroom inside an apartment.  
  
  The fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage.  The Red Cross is providing shelter to the people who were displaced.  
  
  Read more

Follow @Bakersfield_Nws on Twitter!