Bakersfield news

• Body found 20 years ago identified as missing teenager

  09-01-2015 23:53
  
  A body that washed up on a Northern California beach nearly two decades ago has finally been identified as that of a missing teenager.
  
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• Flight returns to Sacramento airport after hitting birds

  09-01-2015 23:51
  
  A flight from Sacramento to Denver with 135 people aboard made an emergency landing after hitting birds shortly after takeoff.
  
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• California condors secretly mate, make unexpected baby

  09-01-2015 23:49
  
  BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) — Two California condors have secretly mated in the woods of Northern California, thrilling wildlife biologists by producing unexpected offspring.
  
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• Ex-school accountant gets 5 years for embezzlement

  09-01-2015 23:42
  
  Prosecutors say a former Southern California school district accountant recorded on video stuffing lunch money into her bra has been sentenced to five years in county jail.
  
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• Cinnamon roll fundraiser next week

  09-01-2015 22:54
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - KGET is teaming up with Alzheimer's Disease Association of Kern County for its third annual Pennies for Your Thoughts Cinnamon Roll Drive.
  You can start your morning with a Hodel's sweet pastry, while raising money for the 10,000 Kern County residents who suffer from Alzheimer's and Dementia. 
  The fundraiser will be held outside our studios next Wednesday, Jan. 14, from 6 - 10 a.m.     You can get an 8-pack of Hodel's famous cinnamon rolls for a $10 don
  
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• Gov. Brown discusses 2015-16 budget plan

  09-01-2015 22:37
  
  SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Jerry Brown laid out his 2015-2016budget proposal for California for 2015-2016 today.
  According to the governor's office, the budget invests in water, flood protection and combating climate change.      It proposes $1 billion in cap-and-trade expenditures for investments in low-carbon transportation, urban forests and high-speed rail.      Under the budget, the state's rainy day fund will have a total balance of $2.8 billion by the
  
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• PETE TITTL: What I'd try if I were Guy

  09-01-2015 22:24
  
  I've been an off-the-hook fan of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" since it went on the air, going so far as to hit up the farflung places featured by host Guy Fieri, that dynamo of dining and guru of grub whose boisterous love of food has proved that he's far more than an interesting haircut. So I'm thrilled the cast and crew finally made it to Bakersfield last week to give our local res
  
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• Initiative announced to make community college education free

  09-01-2015 22:24
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - President Obama is in Knoxville today to further explain his plan to offer a community college education, for free, to anybody willing to work for it.
  Obama first announced the plan yesterday via social media.     The community college proposal will likely also be part of what the president lays out in the state of the union address later this month.     Administration officials provided no details about the program's costs or where the money to
  
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• HWY 178 accident leaves two injured

  09-01-2015 22:14
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Officials are on scene of an accident on Highway 178, just west of Mount Vernon, involving a white van that veered off the road.
  
  Two subjects were reportedly pinned in the vehicle. The subjects are conscious, with one possibly having a broken leg.
  
  Officials say the number three lane is closed until further notice.
  
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• Paris terrorist suspects killed

  09-01-2015 22:02
  
  (NBC News) Three suspected terrorists were killed following two hostage standoffs near Paris Friday.Security forces stormed a printing facility in the Paris suburb of Dammartin-en-Goele after two men holding hostages inside reportedly opened fire.Police sources say the hostage-takers were killed in the ensuing gun battle.They were believed to be gunmen Cherif and Said Kouachi, who opened fire on the Charlie Hedbo magazine office in Paris earlier in the week, killing 12 people.
  
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• 2 hurt, driver pinned in crash off Hwy 178

  09-01-2015 21:57
  
  A van crashed into a tree, off the highway just before the Mt. Vernon Avenue exit.
  
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• California health officials announce first influenza death

  09-01-2015 21:24
  
  SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Department of Public Health has announced  the first confirmed influenza death for the 2014-2015 season.
  
  The fatality is of an adult from southern California and marks the first death from influenza of a person under the age of 65.
  
  “Flu activity is beginning to increase statewide, including reports of hospitalizations and severe disease,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of CDPH. “We are early on in what could be a severe flu season
  
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• New cage law not having ill effects on farmers

  09-01-2015 21:17
  
  California voters passed a measure that requires all coops that hens are kept in to be big enough for the birds to stand up, lie down, and extend their wings.
  
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• 'First Look': Deaf puppy makes everyone say 'aww' on 'Pet of the Week'

  09-01-2015 21:09
  
  Hayes is not your average puppy, but he's nonetheless super sweet and loving. Besides his pearl white fur, the 2-month-old shepherd mix has one blue and one brown eye.
  
  And he's deaf.
  
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• Boron Bobcats on the Today Show

  09-01-2015 21:09
  
  Marcus Allen visits the Boron Bobcats to let them know they've won a trip to the Super Bowl.
  
  See the video HERE.
  
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• 'First Look': TERRIOFit challenge designed to help you stay on track with fitness goals

  09-01-2015 21:07
  
  It's among the most overpromised New Year's resolutions: lose weight.
  
  Year after year, gym membership after gym membership, people lose sight of their goals and end up either canceling their gym subscription or paying the monthly fee without ever stepping in the gym after two weeks.
  
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• Behind the scenes with Guy: 'He ate a lot of food'

  09-01-2015 21:00
  
  Does Guy Fieri really eat all that food? What's he like? Did he try the pickled tongue? Julie Crawford, owner of Pyrenees Cafe, offers a peek into the three-day "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" shoot at her Old Town Kern Basque restaurant.
  
  The first day was strictly the crew getting footage of the cooks doing their thing and shots of the food. "They wanted to get as much done as they coul
  
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• Tuition-free community college? Obama says he has a vision

  09-01-2015 20:31
  
  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will propose today making community college tuition-free for “responsible students,” launching what officials described as an ambitious plan for the federal and state governments to widen access to higher education.
  
  Under a program dubbed America’s College Promise, administration officials said, an estimated 9 million students a year nationwide
  
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• Boron football team heading to Super Bowl

  09-01-2015 20:09
  
  The Boron Junior Senior High School Bobcats football team is headed to Arizona for this year's Super Bowl, part of the "Together We Make Football" campaign.
  
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• 5 new measles cases reported with ties to Disneyland

  09-01-2015 20:00
  
  Five more people who visited Disney theme parks in California last month have fallen ill with measles, bringing the number of cases in the state to a dozen, local health officials said Friday.
  
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• Official: Jerry Brown plans record $113B budget

  09-01-2015 19:50
  
  California Gov. Jerry Brown plans to unveil a record $113 billion state spending plan on Friday that sets up a higher-education showdown by rejecting the University of California's demand for more money to avert tuition hikes, a government official said.
  
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• California governor plans big budget with downturn in mind

  09-01-2015 19:50
  
  Ever mindful that the next economic downturn could be right around the corner, Gov. Jerry Brown released a record $113 billion California spending plan on Friday that resists calls for expanding social services and instead dedicates billions for paying down debt and saving for a rainy day.
  
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• Man accused of setting wife on fire surrenders

  09-01-2015 19:42
  
  VENTURA COUNTY, CA - A man accused of setting his wife on fire at a Ventura County home has turned himself in to authorities, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.
  
  Juan Manuel Hernandez, 31, turned himself in to law enforcement agents Thursday night in Bakersfield, according to the sheriff's department. Details regarding his surrender were not immediately available.
  
  Hernandez was the subject of a search that began after the Ventura County Fire Department responded to a
  
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• Chevron gas station robbed at gunpoint

  09-01-2015 19:27
  
  The Chevron gas station off of Lerdo Highway and Santa Fe was taped off Friday morning around 10 a.m. after an armed robbery.
  
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• Healthy US hiring should make 2014 best since 1999

  09-01-2015 19:18
  
  The best year for U.S. hiring since 1999 likely ended with another solid gain in December, supporting expectations that the United States will strengthen further even as overseas economies stumble.
  
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• Documentary on Bakersfield human trafficking premiers

  09-01-2015 19:07
  
  "The Trafficked Life" is the story of women forced into prostitution against their will.
  
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• 2 Charlie Hebdo suspects killed, hostage freed

  09-01-2015 19:00
  
  PARIS -- Three terrorists who seized hostages at separate locations and ignited fear across Paris were killed Friday along with three of their hostages as the gunmen clashed with thousands of French security forces.
  
  City officials scrambled to protect residents and tourists from further attacks, shutting down a famed Jewish neighborhood, putting schools under lock down and urging residents to stay indoor
  
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• Raising awareness of human trafficking

  09-01-2015 18:10
  
  The continuing problem of human trafficking is the focus of a new documentary that is helping raise awareness on the issue.  Advocates say its become the second fastest growing crime in the world.
  
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• Shelter dogs flown to new home in Oregon

  09-01-2015 16:35
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA.-Nearly two dozen local shelter dogs boarded a plane, headed for a new life in Oregon. 
  
  City and county animal services teamed up with Wings of Rescue to fly 20 dogs to new homes in Oregon, where there's a demand for pets. The non-profit flies cats and dogs to their forever homes. 
  
  Animal control officials say this is a win-win for everyone. 
  
  Another flight takes off February 5, 2015. The "Flight of the Valentines" will bring 140 dogs to N
  
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• 'First Look': First News for Jan. 9

  09-01-2015 16:30
  Lead stories from "First Look with Scott Cox's" Top Stories:
  
  PARTICULATE POLLUTION SPIKES: Delightful winter weather in Bakersfield often equals horrible winter air. Weather and air quality experts say the high pressure ridge that settled over the southern San Joaquin Valley this week has pushed the inversion layer -- a weather ceiling that traps and concentrates wintertime particulate poll
  
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• French police kill gunmen in twin attacks, free 16 hostages

  09-01-2015 14:27
  
  With explosions and gunfire, security forces ended a three-day terror rampage around Paris, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage.
  
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• 6 dead in terror clashes in Paris; several hostages freed

  09-01-2015 14:27
  
  Two al-Qaida-linked brothers suspected in the Charlie Hebdo massacre came out of their hideaway with guns blazing Friday and were killed in a clash with security forces.
  
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• Lawsuit filed after East Bakersfield crash

  09-01-2015 08:55
  
  A lawsuit has been filed against the city of Bakersfield, Kern County, and the state of California after a car crash on Weedpatch Hwy near Foothill High.
  
  17-year-old Gina Fields, and her father Glen Fields say that the crosswalk she was crossing about two and a half months ago wasn't built or maintained properly, and that warning signs weren't visible enough.
  
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• Crash near school sparks lawsuit

  09-01-2015 08:55
  
  A lawsuit has been filed against the city of Bakersfield, Kern County and the state of California after a car crash on Weedpatch Highway near Foothill High School.
  
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• CITY BEAT: Validation suit not over yet

  09-01-2015 05:44
  
  VALIDATION SUIT NOT OVER YET: The many major road projects in Bakersfield’s Thomas Roads Improvement Program are moving along, but the city hasn’t entirely cleared one major speed bump yet: its validation lawsuit.
  
  • Back story: The city will need to borrow as much as $240 million to pay its share and match $630 million in federal earmarks for highway improvements brought home by former
  
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• Great weather but awful air

  09-01-2015 05:40
  
  Bakersfield can't seem to win for losing.
  
  Few cities in the nation this time of year can boast the sort of idyllic, spring-like daytime temperatures residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley have been enjoying over the past several days.
  
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• Oil company involved in Arvin gas leak investigated for oil tank emissions

  09-01-2015 05:26
  
  The Bakersfield oil company responsible for a March gas pipeline leak in Arvin forcing the nearly nine-month-long evacuation of three dozen residents, was issued a notice of violation Dec. 29 for emitting gas from nearby oil storage tanks without a permit.
  Three of Petro Capital Resources LLC's four 8,000-gallon light crude oil storage tanks west of Arvin High School at the intersection of Comanche Drive and Varsity Avenue were involved.
  
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• Transit board accepting applications for at-large member

  09-01-2015 05:21
  
  Golden Empire Transit District's Board of Directors is accepting applications for its at-large position through Jan. 19.
  The deadline for submission of applications is 5 p.m. Jan. 19. Interviews will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 27 in the GET board room at 1830 Golden State Ave.
  
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• Taste of Honey Flight

  09-01-2015 04:29
  
  A group of pets in Kern County are taking flight and traveling to the Pacific Northwest, on a journey to find forever homes.  The trip is part of a program giving animals a second chance.
  
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• Rosedale Highway widening project gets green light

  09-01-2015 04:01
  
  Your rush hour commute along Rosedale Highway could soon move a lot quicker.
  
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• Documentary on local human trafficking

  09-01-2015 03:27
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - It's an issue the Pope is urging people of all cultures and religions to take on -- human trafficking. Experts say Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco are three of the top ten U.S. cities for human trafficking and Bakersfield is a stop along the way.
  
  To raise awareness of the crime, a locally produced documentary is premiering Thursday night at Maya Cinemas. The Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking is hosting the premiere of The Trafficked Life, a film by Mi
  
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• Bakersfield students program robots to compete

  09-01-2015 03:20
  
  Centennial High students wired, tested and reconfigured robots Wednesday in a robotics room on their Hageman Road campus.
  While one group tried to get its robot to pick up cube- and pole-shaped objects, another student wired a bot shaped like a scissor lift.
  
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• Two plead not guilty to kidnapping girl

  09-01-2015 02:29
  The couple accused of abducting a 2 1/2-year-old girl from an Oildale home earlier this week pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of kidnapping, conspiracy and burglary.
  
  Both Monique Farias, 33, and her boyfriend, Ricardo Arredondo, 37, are being held on $135,000 bail. Their next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.
  
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• Shelter dogs get flight from Kern County to new homes

  09-01-2015 02:03
  
  Many homeless dogs in Kern County will now have a forever home thanks to Wings of Rescue.
  
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• Boston will be American bidder for 2024 Olympics

  09-01-2015 02:03
  DENVER -- U.S. Olympic leaders surprisingly cast their future with Boston, hoping a compact, college-centric bid will overshadow the city's organized protest group and convince international voters to bring the Summer Games to America after a 28-year gap.
  
  During a daylong meeting at the Denver airport Thursday, USOC board members chose Boston, with its promise of frugality and lots of temporary and r
  
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• Apple company issues voluntary recall after listeria outbreak

  09-01-2015 01:44
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - A Bakersfield apple company has issued a voluntary recall after a shipment was linked to an outbreak of listeria in caramel apples that may have caused up to five deaths.
  
  The Food and Drug Administration said that Bidart Brothers of Bakersfield is recalling all Galla and Granny Smith apples shipped from its Shafter packing facility last year.
  
  The company supplied the apples for two caramel apple brands--"Big B" and "Granny's Best."
  
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• Newspaper's immigrants headline criticized, building defaced

  09-01-2015 01:28
  
  The Santa Barbara News-Press building was defaced with paint and graffiti after the paper referred to immigrants as "illegals" in a front-page headline.
  
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• Funeral services for Jan. 9

  09-01-2015 01:21
  
  Services scheduled
  
  Felipe Diases Pulido, 68, Taft, Jan. 6 in Bakersfield. Visitation 5 to 9 p.m., rosary 7 p.m. Jan. 14, Basham Funeral Care Chapel; burial in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Basham Funeral Care, 3312 Niles St.
  
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• Cal Trans: Northbound 99 connector to eastbound 58 closing Saturday morning

  09-01-2015 01:19
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - If you're driving to east Bakersfield Saturday morning, you might want to plan an alternate route.  
  
  Officials at Cal Trans say the Northbound 99 connector to eastbound Highway 58 will be closed weather permitting Saturday morning for electrical work in the area.  The closure is expected between 9:00 a.m. and noon.  
  
  Cal Trans says closures may continue for longer periods of time if necessary, due to delays caused by weather or uncontrollable events th
  
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• California making sex offenders take lie-detector tests

  09-01-2015 01:18
  
  For the first time, California will make paroled sex offenders take periodic lie-detector tests as a way to gauge their behavior patterns and perhaps prevent new sex crimes.
  
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