Bakersfield news

• THE GRADE: Giving computers and mittens

  24-12-2014 23:30
  
  TECH THE HALLS
  Litzy Diaz, 9, drew four red circles enclosing a yellow one on a V7 personal computer Monday in east Bakersfield.
  
  Read more

• Where to track Santa Claus

  24-12-2014 22:53
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA -  'Twas the night before Christmas, and the NORAD Santa tracker is ready.
  
  The North American Aerospace Defense Command has eyes in the sky, ready to share every stop on his magical journey.
  "Norad Santa dot org" is up and running.
  
  Until Santa and his gang head for the skies, you can play games, watch videos, listen to some of St. Nick's favorite tunes, and and learn about his history.
  
  The site also has a mobile version.
  
  Read more

• Two appointed to judgeships

  24-12-2014 21:36
  
  A private attorney and a deputy district attorney were announced as Kern County's newest judges Tuesday.
  Marcos R. Camacho, 55, and David R. Zulfa, 46, have been appointed judges by Gov. Jerry Brown.
  
  Read more

• Locals volunteer to provide Christmas meals

  24-12-2014 21:20
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA. - Volunteers at the Mission at Kern County are opening up their hearts this Christmas Eve to those in need. Kitchen staff and volunteers arrived early to preapare not only their typical daily meals, but a special Christmas eve feast.     The feast with all the fixings is open to anyone in need of a hot meal.     The menu for the Christmas dinner includes ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, rolls and of course a slice of pie.   &nbs
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Governor appoints two new judges for Kern County

  24-12-2014 21:05
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the appointment of Marcos R. Camacho and David R. Zulfa to judgeships in the Kern County Superior Court.
  
  According to a news release, Camacho, 55, of Bakersfield, has been an attorney in private practice at the Law Office of Marcos Camacho since 1990. He was general counsel for the United Farm Workers of America from 1990 to 2009 and an attorney at Lyons, Macri-Ortiz, Schneider, Dunphy and Camacho from 1987
  
  Read more

• CHP out in force to prevent DUI incidents

  24-12-2014 21:00
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA. - The California Highway Patrol's maximum enforcement period against drunk drivers begins tonight.
  Starting at 6 p.m., the CHP reports all available officers will be out in force -- conducting enhanced enforcement efforts and assisting motorists wherever needed.     The CHP said after last year's maximum enforcement period, five people were killed in traffic collisions, two of whom were pedestrians.     During that same period, 221 DUI arrests we
  
  Read more

• DUI checkpoint this weekend in Bakersfield

  24-12-2014 20:26
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA. - In an effort to reduce the number of persons injured or killed as a result of a DUI-related collision, a driver's license checkpoint will be conducted in the Bakersfield area, starting Saturday, Dec. 27     
  The Bakersfield Police Department will be conducting the checkpoint in an undisclosed location.
  The BPD is reminding the community of the dangers of impaired driving, and urge awareness, as well as designating a sober driver.
  The checkpoint is a joint
  
  Read more

• 'Interview' playing at two Bakersfield theaters, streaming online

  24-12-2014 20:18
  
  Two theaters in Bakersfield will screen the movie that has prompted an international incident with North Korea and outrage over its canceled release. Regency Theatres East Hills Mall will offer one showing at 7 p.m. Christmas Eve and five showings Christmas Day, while Maya Cinemas will open with three showings on the holiday.
  
  In addition to showing at more than 300 independent cinemas across the country,
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• New CSUB dorms set to open next week

  24-12-2014 20:14
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA. - Cal State Bakersfield's new $41 million student housing facility opens next week.
  Students are expected to move in on Jan. 2.
  The three-building housing complex is nearly 151,000 square feet and has 113 suites with 500 beds.     It's located on the northeast side of campus, and was designed with many energy-saving features.
  
  Read more

• Pedestrian Killed on Highway 99

  24-12-2014 20:05
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA, -  A pedestrian, who was reportedly walking on the highway last night, was killed after being struck by a vehicle.
  According to the California Highway Patrol, the incident happened around 8 p.m. on Dec. 23, on southbound Highway 99, north of White Lane.    The CHP said the pedestrian was in the slow lane for unknown reasons when he was hit by a pickup truck whose driver was unable to stop in time.     Paramedics responded but the pedestrian
  
  Read more

• Mission preparing its Christmas Eve meal

  24-12-2014 20:02
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Mission at Kern County is opening its kitchen Wednesday and volunteers are opening up their hearts as they serve a hot Christmas Eve meal for those in need.
  
  Over 100 volunteers at the Mission prepared a delicious holiday meal Wednesday morning and will serve up to 600 people. On the menu is ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, rolls and of course a slice of pie, plus some hot cocoa to wash it all down as well.
  
  Each plate of food will go mostly to
  
  Read more

• Family who lost Christmas gifts to thief recieves surprise act of kindness

  24-12-2014 19:25
  
  There's a happy ending to a sad story we told you last week about a thief who stole Christmas presents from one Bakersfield family.
  
  Read more

• Family who lost Christmas gifts recieves surprise act of kindness

  24-12-2014 19:25
  
  Earlier this week, the Storer family had hundreds of dollars worth of gifts meant for their two young boys stolen from a storage unit.
  
  Read more

• 2014: The year in Bakersfield culture

  24-12-2014 19:06
  
  On the corner of 18th and Chester, behind a flimsy barrier of chain-link fencing, sits the most important architectural discovery in Bakersfield’s recent history, our own Colosseum, a ruin and reminder of a more elegant time. She's coaxed a lot of lifetimes out of her 104 years -- a bank, a drug store, a tapas restaurant -- but after having some work done, she hasn't looked this good in decad
  
  Read more

• New paper says more single moms than ever before

  24-12-2014 17:39
  
  Two professors from Harvard and Princeton wrote a paper that says the number of children living with unmarried mothers and total unmarried births has steadily grown since 1950.
  
  Read more

• 'The Interview' coming to Bakersfield theaters

  24-12-2014 03:39
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - A film made by Sony Pictures Entertainment that depicts the American assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is coming to Bakersfield Christmas Eve.
  
  Read more

• Local gay-rights advocates: More change needed in blood donation rules

  24-12-2014 03:18
  
  The Food and Drug Administration announced it is canceling a decades-old lifetime ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men.
  
  Read more

• Police conduct hot topic in Bakersfield

  24-12-2014 02:59
  
  Tuesday saw the second protest outside the mall in the last three days, this time in support of law enforcement. The first protest was against perceived police brutality.
  
  Read more

• Police looking for suspected shoplifter

  24-12-2014 02:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Police need help identifying a man wanted for shoplifting from TJ Maxx on Ming Avenue.  Police say on November 15, 2014, the suspect entered the store, removed two cologne gift sets and fled without paying for the merchandise.
  
  He is described as a: white man, 25-30, 5’10”, 170 lbs., slim build, short brown hair, wearing black Adidas hat, grey/white striped hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans and black running shoes.
  
  Anyone with in
  
  Read more

• Groceries, building materials boost city sales tax

  24-12-2014 02:37
  
  Backyard pool parties and housing starts may be paying off for Bakersfield, which saw its third quarter sales tax revenue rise by more than 6 percent compared to 2013.
  The past 12 months ending Sept. 30 were also kind. Bakersfield's annualized sales tax revenue -- tracking the past year to date -- rose more than 4 percent compared to the same period in 2012 and 2013.
  
  Read more

• OHV riders tearing up protected land

  24-12-2014 02:30
  
  Illegal off-highway vehicle use is returning to the Kern River Bluffs, with riders trespassing into a section of the Bakersfield Cactus Ecological Reserve and threatening the endangered succulent that thrive there.
  
  Preservationists, bicyclists and hikers have noted the damage done by quads and motorcycles. Photos show where motorcycles have raced by just inches from clumps of the cactus.
  
  Read more

• Judge limits medical marijuana delivery app

  24-12-2014 02:17
  
  A judge has ordered a smartphone application that facilitates the delivery of medical marijuana to stop its activities in Los Angeles and to remove all reference to marijuana delivery within city limits.
  
  Read more

• Bakersfield police seek domestic violence suspect

  24-12-2014 02:13
  
  Devinnici Pye, 42, is accused of beating his girlfriend to the extent that she needed hospitalization.
  
  Read more

• Bakersfield CHP officer charged with embezzlement

  24-12-2014 02:02
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Charges were filed Monday against a Bakersfield California Highway Patrol officer, accused of embezzling money from the Highway Patrolman's Club of Kern County.
  
  Board members told detectives earlier this year that Officer Michael Kochanski was treasurer of the Bakersfield 420 Club and made unauthorized purchases on the club's bank account between 2010 and 2013, according to court documents.
  
  Kochanski was charged Monday with one misdemeanor count of embezzling pr
  
  Read more

• Garces has new head football coach

  24-12-2014 01:35
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - There will be a new head football coach on the sidelines at Garces High School next season.  A.J. Gass has been appointed Head Varsity Football Coach for the Rams, beginning immediately.
  
  According to a news release, for the past two seasons, Gass has served as the Head Varsity Football Coach at Servite High School of Anaheim, a member of the highly regarded Trinity League of the PAC 5, where in 2013 he led them to a CIF Division 1 Quarterfinal play-off berth. He pr
  
  Read more

• Garces HS hires former CFL player and coach to lead football program

  24-12-2014 01:33
  
  Garces Memorial High School announced the hiring of a new varsity football coach.
  
  Read more

• Paramount Logistics Park brings more jobs

  24-12-2014 01:23
  
  The Paramount Logistics Park in Shafter continues to grow.
  
  Read more

• Police looking for man accused of domestic violence, kidnapping

  24-12-2014 01:13
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Police need your help finding a man accused of assaulting his girlfriend in east Bakersfield Saturday night.  Police say Devinnici Pye, 42, assaulted his girlfriend in the 800 block of Union Ave. causing injuries so severe that she required hospitalization.
  
  After the assault Pye forced the victim to accompany him to the East California Market at 801 E. California Ave. where the victim was able to call police.
  
  Pye has been arrested on several occasion
  
  Read more

• Juvenile arrested for Bear Valley Springs mail thefts

  24-12-2014 01:12
  
  Bear Valley police said Tuesday that a juvenile was arrested on suspicion of stealing mail from more than 40 people in their community.
  
  Read more

• Funeral services for Dec. 24, 2014

  24-12-2014 01:07
  
  Services scheduled
  
  Jessie Calvillo Barraza, 92, Bakersfield, Dec. 21. Visitation 5 to 7 p.m., rosary 6 p.m. Dec. 30, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church; Mass 9 a.m. Dec. 31, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church; interment at Greenlawn Cemetery. Basham Funeral Care, 3312 Niles St.
  
  Read more

• Police looking for suspected burglar

  24-12-2014 00:43
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Bakersfield police need your help finding a woman accused of stealing a flat-screen television and a bed sheet from a residence on E. Planz Road.  
  
  Police say between October 7, around 11:30 pm, and October 8, at 12:00 pm the woman identified as:
  Myra Garcia, hispanic female, 34, 4’11, 120 lbs., brown hair and brown eyes, forced entry into the victim's residence in the 1300 block of East Planz Rd. and removed a flat screen television and bed sheet.
  
  Read more

• Two Bakersfield theaters showing "The Interview" Christmas Day

  24-12-2014 00:18
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Two movie theaters in Bakersfield say they'll show the film "The Interview" starting Christmas Day.  
  
  The Maya Cinemas in Bakersfield will have two showings on Christmas Day at 6:45 p.m. and 10:35 p.m.  
  
  Regency Theaters in East Hills Mall says they'll have several showings of the film beginning at 11:40 a.m. Thursday.  
  
  The comedy, from Sony Pictures depicts a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
  
  Sony deci
  
  Read more

• Woman reunited with classic Ford Mustang stolen nearly 30 years ago

  24-12-2014 00:11
  
  A California woman was reunited with her classic Ford Mustang nearly 30 years after it was stolen, when a man tried to register the muscle car at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
  
  Read more

• Bakersfield theaters to show 'The Interview'

  24-12-2014 00:03
  
  23ABC has confirmed that the Regency theater at the East Hills mall will begin showing Sony's new movie "The Interview," which has sparked outrage from North Korea. The show times will start Christmas Day
  
  Read more

Follow @Bakersfield_Nws on Twitter!