Bakersfield news

• Man killed by train in Shafter

  09-02-2015 23:59
  
  A man was struck and killed Monday by a train.
  
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• Lifeguards search for man who was swept into surf

  09-02-2015 23:25
  
  Authorities are searching for an 18-year-old Nevada resident who was swept off rocks into the ocean at a Southern California beach.
  
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• Los Angeles officer hits, kills pedestrian on foggy night

  09-02-2015 22:57
  
  The bomb-squad officer behind the wheel, a 20-year department veteran, did not initially realize he struck a person very early Monday, Sgt. Barry Montgomery told reporters at the scene. The officer circled back twice to investigate before finding the victim and administering CPR, Montgomery said.
  
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• Ron Bryant arrested on suspicion of DUI

  09-02-2015 22:56
  
  Former Taft City School District Superintendent Ron Bryant was arrested on suspicion of his fourth DUI.
  
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• Water manager faces discipline for urinating in reservoir

  09-02-2015 22:51
  
  A water manager is facing discipline after he was caught urinating in an empty reservoir that supplies drinking water for the San Francisco Bay Area.
  
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• Port shutdown could have impact on Kern County crops

  09-02-2015 22:14
  
  "Today's announcement by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) further jeopardizes California citrus exports as the industry reaches what would normally be peak demand for California fruit," states California Citrus Mutual President Joel Nelsen.  
  
  "Last October we began warning those in government about impacts to our $2.4b industry that historically exports 25% of its fresh tonnage; that warning manifested into little action."  
  
  Traditionally Californi
  
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• STEVEN VAN METRE: Five-year plan needed to 'fine tune' retirement

  09-02-2015 22:00
  My boomer financial clients are used to me beating the drum to save money for retirement. They now are hearing me say they must develop a five-year plan.
  
  No, this does not replace the need to be lifelong savers and investors. Rather, it is a plan that focuses on the five years approaching a desired retirement date.
  
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• Kern County students fight bullying on Facebook

  09-02-2015 21:53
  
  A pair of Bakersfield high school students are heading to Facebook tomorrow to discuss with state leaders the importance of finding a solution to bullying.
  The Kern County students are the only pupils in the state who are testing a new phone app as a way to stop bullying and they will head to the social network's headquarters to relay their findings.
  Both students are safe school ambassadors who have been trained to intervene when they see bullying occur and to use a phone app to track the
  
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• PG&E wants to build 25,000 car charging stations

  09-02-2015 21:39
  
  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Monday asked state regulators for permission to build an estimated 25,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at sites across its service area in Northern and Central California. If approved, this program would be the largest deployment of EV charging stations in the country.
  The chargers would be located at commercial and public locations, including multi-family dwellings, retail centers, and workplaces. Approximately 10 percent of the chargers would be
  
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• Bakersfield man gets federal prison for pot grow in ecological reserve

  09-02-2015 21:32
  
  A Bakersfield man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for cultivating 454 marijuana plants in an ecological reserve.
  
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• Bakersfield SWAT headed to California City to assist to KCSO

  09-02-2015 21:26
  
  Bakersfield Police are sending their SWAT team to California City to assist the KCSO SWAT team.
  
  
  They have surrounded a home in in Cal City that may be connected to the manhunt that is underway in Tehachapi.
  
  
  Deputies continue to search for a man who lead them on a high speed chase earlier.
  
  
  Authorities are calling the man a homicide suspect.
  
  
  Deputies say the man bailed from his truck near Tehachapi Willow Springs road and Highline.
  
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• Defendant in mortgage scheme sentenced

  09-02-2015 21:26
  
  One of the final defendants in the mortgage scheme that played a role in Bakersfield's housing collapse learned his fate today.
  
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• Man gets 5 years for growing pot on eco. reserve

  09-02-2015 21:21
  
  Cruz Soria, 29, of Bakersfield, California was sentenced today to 5 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in the Fay Canyon area of the Canebrake Ecological Reserve, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.  Soria was also ordered to pay $2,568.85 in restitution to the High Sierra Trail Volunteer Crew for the cost of cleaning up the grow site.
  
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• Deputies hunting for murder suspect near Tehachapi

  09-02-2015 21:14
  
  A murder suspect is being hunted in the wild area around Tehachapi.
  
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• Deputies catch possible homicide suspect near Tehachapi

  09-02-2015 21:14
  
  A possible homicide suspect has been captured in the wild area around Tehachapi.
  
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• Bakersfield man to do 5 years in Federal Prison for pot bust

  09-02-2015 21:00
  
  FRESNO, Calif. — Cruz Soria, 29, of Bakersfield, California was sentenced today to 5 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in the Fay Canyon area of the Canebrake Ecological Reserve, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.  
  
  Soria was also ordered to pay $2,568.85 in restitution to the High Sierra Trail Volunteer Crew for the cost of cleaning up the grow site.
  
  The Canebrake Ecological Reserve is located
  
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• Calif. pledges to protect drinking water from oil, gas operations

  09-02-2015 20:59
  
  California is proposing sweeping changes in the way it protects underground drinking-water supplies from oil-and-gas operations.
  
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• Suspect elusive in Tehachapi manhunt

  09-02-2015 20:40
  
  A manhunt is underway in the mountains of Tehachapi.
  Sheriff's deputies say the suspect led officers on a high-speed chase this morning.
  Deputies say he is possibly involved in a homicide in the Rosamond/ Mojave area.
  
  Roads in the area closed as deputies search for a man they say is dangerous and possibly armed with a rifle. 
  Deputies say around 2:30 this morning, they received a report of a homicide in the Rosamond / Mojave area. 
  They soon received information that a ve
  
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• Evacuations remain after wildfire chars California towns

  09-02-2015 20:10
  
  As the fire headed into a fourth day Monday, more than 200 people were still under orders to stay away from their homes in Swall Meadows and nearby Paradise, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Liz Brown said.
  
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• Wanted: Image shows man suspected of annoying juvenile

  09-02-2015 20:02
  
  Police released a composite image over the weekend of a man suspected of annoying a juvenile.
  
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• World Ag Expo starts tomorrow in Tulare

  09-02-2015 19:58
  
  World Ag Expo will kick off its 48th annual show Tuesday, in Tulare, California.  The largest annual agricultural exposition of its kind, World Ag Expo touts more than 1,500 exhibitors who display cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment on 2.6 million square feet of show grounds. An estimated average of 100,000 individuals from 70 countries attend the show each year to learn about the latest advances in agriculture.                &nb
  
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• Child shot in central Bakersfield

  09-02-2015 19:56
  
  A child was shot Sunday on the 700 block of R Street.
  
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• Boy, 14, sought by police after another teen shot in face

  09-02-2015 19:56
  
  Police are looking for a 14-year-old boy who they say is a gang member after a shooting that left another boy wounded.
  
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• KSCO: 6 men involved in shooting

  09-02-2015 19:47
  
  Six men were involved in a shooting early Monday, according to witnesses.
  
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• Oildale neighbors worry about squatters

  09-02-2015 19:31
  
  A viewer contacted Eyewitness News, upset that a home on her street is filled with squatters, and nothing was being done about the situation.
  
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• Deputies investigate overnight shooting

  09-02-2015 19:29
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County deputies are investigating an overnight shooting in east Bakersfield.
  It happened at around 1:10 Monday morning in the 1100 block of Meadows Street near Niles Street and Fairfax Road.
  The sheriff's office says 27-year-old Natividad Torres, of Bakersfield, was taken by personal vehicle to Kern Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries as a result of a shooting.
  Suspects are six men who were last seen by witnesses running from the area.
  Deputies s
  
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• Family accuses Bakersfield police of wrongful death

  09-02-2015 19:19
  
  The family of a Bakersfield man shot and killed claim police wrongfully shot and killed James Ramiro Villegas.
  
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• Study says Bakersfield has most smokers in the state

  09-02-2015 19:15
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - A new study shows Bakersfield has more smokers than any other city in California.
  The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research conducted a study of smokers 18 and older in each Assembley, Senate, and Congressional  district in California.
  The study concludes the percentage of adult smokers in Bakersfield is about 19.5%.
  That's compared to the 12.5%t smoking rate for adults in California.
  
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• McFarland movie premieres tonight in Los Angeles

  09-02-2015 18:21
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The long awaited movie about the McFarland High School track team is Monday night.
  
  
  The premiere will be held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.
  
  
  !7News will be on the red carpet and will have live reports from the premiere at 5 & 6.
  
  
  The film is based on the true story of novice runners from McFarland, California, who despite tremendous odds, build a championship cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White, a newcomer to their predo
  
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• Sheriff's SWAT team searching for homicide suspect in Tehachapi

  09-02-2015 17:53
  
  The Sheriff's SWAT team and helicopter was searching for a homicide suspect Monday morning in Tehachapi.
  
  A command post had been setup at Tehachapi Willow Springs Road and Highline Road.
  
  No other details about the suspect were immediately available.
  
  But residents in the area reported on Facebook they were told by law enforcement to stay indoors.
  
  Earlier Monday, Sheriff's deputies and officers with the California City Police Department chased an armed suspect in a vehicle thr
  
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• Former Taft Superintendent arrested again for DUI

  09-02-2015 17:44
  
  Former Taft City Schools superintendent Ron Bryant hass been arrested again for drunk driving.
  
  It happened early Friday morning on Taft Highway just west of Tupman road.
  
  Witnesses reported a vehicle blocking the roadway. The CHP says the vehicle was still in gear and rolling and the driver appeared to be asleep at the wheel.
  
  He was arrested and booked on DUI but has already bailed out of jail.
  
  This is the fourth DUI In less than 18 months for Bryant.
  
  He resigned his pos
  
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• 'First Look': First News for Feb. 9

  09-02-2015 17:06
  
  Lead stories from "First Look with Scott Cox's" Top Stories:
  
  POLICE SEEK SUSPECT BELIEVED TO HAVE ANNOYED CHILD: The Bakersfield Police Department is seeking the community's assistance in identifying a suspect wanted for annoying a juvenile in the 5600 block of Wilson Road on Thursday afternoon and again Friday afternoon. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male adult between the age
  
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• Shooting on Meadows Street in East Bakersfield

  09-02-2015 16:36
  
  Kern County Sheriffs are investigating a shooting that happened in East Bakersfield in the early morning hours of Monday, February 9.
  
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• Merle Haggard rejects Dylan's dis

  09-02-2015 08:44
  
  Bob Dylan was honored by MusiCares, the charity organization that aids musicians in need, at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday night. After performances by artists including Tom Jones, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Beck, Jackson Browne and others, Dylan himself took a rare opportunity in the spotlight to deliver a 30-plus-minute acceptance speech.
  
  Expansive, funny and insightful, Dylan didn't pu
  
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• Rock Cobbler bike ride over 100 miles long

  09-02-2015 08:32
  
  Like Stephen Hicks on Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/StephenHicks23ABC
  
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• What winter? Bakersfield breaks another record, and by a lot

  09-02-2015 04:45
  
  Break out the tanning lotion. Kern County may be smack-dab in the middle of winter, but the atmosphere apparently thinks we're closing in on May.
  
  Sunday's high of 82 broke a 98-year record -- and broke it by a substantial margin. The old record for this day in recorded weather history, set in 1917, was 77 degrees.
  
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• McFarland gets spotlight, Juanes takes stage at Grammys

  09-02-2015 03:27
  
  Latin rock star Juanes performs his new song "Juntos" at the Grammys.
  
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• Juanes takes the stage at the 57th Grammy Awards

  09-02-2015 03:27
  
  Latin rock star Juanes performs his new song "Juntos" at the Grammys.
  
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• Seven arrested in Saturday's DUI checkpoint

  09-02-2015 03:21
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - During Saturday night's DUI and driver's license check, Bakersfield police arrested seven people for allegedly driving under the influence.
  The checkpoint took place in east Bakersfield on Union Avenue, between California and Truxtun.     The checkpoints are part of the Kern Avoid DUI Task Force effort to reduce the number of people injured or killed in DUI crashes.     According to police, more than 1200 vehicles were screened.
  Police arreste
  
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• schedule for Covered California sign-up events

  09-02-2015 03:11
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The deadline to sign up for health insurance through Covered California is next weekend.     If you don't have health insurance by Feb. 15, you could face a fine.      The Department of Human Services is also holding events offering information on health coverage options.   The next "Health Coverage Day" is scheduled Thursday, Feb. 12 at Valley Plaza Mall from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  
  And Clinica Sierra Vista is also ho
  
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• Community looking for missing at-risk woman

  09-02-2015 02:58
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for help locating an at-risk woman who was last seen Monday in Temecula.     According to BPD, 44-year-old Kim Erler was traveling through Kern County to Oregon from Temecula and has not reached her destination.     She is described as 5-feet, 4-inches tall, 180-pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.     She is at-risk due to a medical condition.     If you have any informat
  
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• Boy shot in the face while playing with a gun

  09-02-2015 02:52
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Police are investigating a shooting involving a young boy Sunday afternoon in central Bakersfield. It happened just after 4 p.m. on R street near Lowell Park.
  
  First responders say it appears kids were playing with a gun when it went off a shot one of them in the face.
  
  Police found the boy on the front lawn of a home on R street with a gunshot wound in his chin. A sergeant on scene says the boy is expected to survive.
  
  The investigation is on going. We'll upd
  
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• BPD looking for suspect wanted for annoying a juvenile

  09-02-2015 02:50
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield Police Department is seeking the community's assistance in identifying a suspect wanted for annoying a juvenile.
  According to BPD, the incidents happened on the afternoon of both Feb. 5 and 6 on the 5600 block of Wilson.     The man is described as being between 25 and 30 years old with a thin build and short black hair.     He also has a black mustache and small tattoo on his forearm, possibly with cursive writing.   
  
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• Firefighters save treed cat and boy who had climbed up to rescue it

  09-02-2015 01:55
  Sometimes the rescuer needs rescuers.
  
  That was the case Sunday when a Bakersfield teen who had climbed 40 feet into a tree to extract a stranded cat found himself stuck and unable to safely descend.
  
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• Firefighters save treed cat and boy who had climbed up after it

  09-02-2015 00:53
  
  Sometimes the rescuer needs rescuers.
  
  That was the case Sunday when a Bakersfield teen who had climbed 40 feet into a tree to extract a stranded cat found himself stuck and unable to safely descend.
  
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• BPD: Man suspected of annoying a child in the SW

  09-02-2015 00:45
  Police are looking for a man suspected of annoying a child in Southwest Bakersfield.
  
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• County may push bid for bullet train facility

  09-02-2015 00:24
  
  What's a little hostility among future business partners?
  
  On Tuesday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will consider promoting its candidacy for a high-speed rail maintenance facility that could come with up to 2,500 well-paying jobs.
  
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• Ask TBC: Does this baby boomer need a measles vaccination?

  09-02-2015 00:00
  
  Q: With measles cases popping up coast-to-coast, containment does not seem to be in the cards. I travel a lot, so I am concerned that my exposure to this disease is likely.
  
  I am a boomer whose birth predated routine measles vaccinations. If I received a vaccination later in life, I cannot remember doing so. I do recall that my parents claimed I had measles as a child, but I don't know if they were t
  
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