Bakersfield news

• Llamas on the lam

  26-02-2015 23:43
  
  (KPNX) Two llamas running through Sun City, Arizona drew a crowd of curious onlookers and several area residents who were trying to herd the animals Thursday afternoon.
  The pair, one black and one white, dodged cars as they moved from a field into a neighborhood.
  Maricopa County Sheriff's Office posse members, including two tried to corral the llamas with their SUVs, were assisting in the operation.
  Though posse members attempted to capture the twosome multiple times, the llamas bolted de
  
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• County may reverse new sludge rules

  26-02-2015 23:36
  
  Kern County supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to rescind a controversial sludge ordinance that slipped quietly into existence last month.
  The new law requires any new agricultural operation that applies biosolids to farm land to complete a full environmental review and get county approval before opening its doors.
  
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• BPD: Man stole from Albertson's twice

  26-02-2015 23:29
  
  The Bakersfield Police Department is asking the community for help in identifying and locating a man wanted for theft.
  
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• Concerns raised over Kern Regional Center's action's

  26-02-2015 23:25
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - For months now, developmentally disabled citizens and their advocates have expressed their concerns and frustrations with the services being provided by the Kern Regional Center.
  Now, a state audit  is raising new questions about the leadership and work environment at KRC.     A spokesman for the Department of Developmental Services said they have given KRC 45 days to correct some serious problems.
  California's DDS lodged a complaint with KRC on Dec. 11
  
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• Police look for grocery bandit

  26-02-2015 23:24
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Bakersfield police are looking for a man they say stole groceries twice from the same store. Detectives say the man when into the Albertson’s store on Mt Vernon Ave. and filled a shopping cart with food and other merchandise then walked out without paying. The suspect is described at a: white or Hispanic male, 25-28, 5’7”-9”, 165-175 lbs. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Alex Paiz at (661) 326-3846 or th
  
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• CITY BEAT: GET considers longer hours

  26-02-2015 23:18
  
  Officials at Golden Empire Transit, the city's bus agency, plan to hold a public hearing in April to get input on expanding service along six routes that serve Bakersfield's junior college and university, as well as the Rosedale area and Valley Plaza.
  
  While 85 percent of GET's buses are on time, the changes are aimed at further improving punctuality and meeting a perceived need for evening se
  
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• Purse snatcher thwarted at Valley Plaza Mall

  26-02-2015 23:07
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Bakersfield police are hoping someone recognizes a man who tried to steal a woman’s purse at the Valley Plaza Mall. Cops say the suspect entered the mall and approached a woman who was sitting in a message chair near the Red Robin. They say the man tried to snatch the woman’s purse but the victim fought back and was able to hang on to her purse. Police say after a short struggle the suspect gave up and ran out of the mall empty handed. The suspect is descri
  
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• BPD: Man tried to steal woman's purse at mall

  26-02-2015 23:04
  
  The Bakersfield Police Department is asking the community for help in identifying and locating a man they say attempted to steal a woman's purse at Valley Plaza Mall.
  
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• FCC approves 'net neutrality'

  26-02-2015 22:38
  
  (NBC News) The Federal Communications Commission has issued an important ruling on an issue we've all heard about, but few people seem to understand.
  It's called Net Neutrality, and the decision by the FCC will shape the Internet of the future.
  The result is your friend's cutest cat videos will now stream just as fast, or as slow, as any show everyone binge watches on Netflix.
  Internet service providers won't be allowed to give preferential treatment.
  The commission's three-to-two vote
  
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• 13-year-old 'had to do something' to help find missing girl

  26-02-2015 21:54
  
  A 7th grade student comes up with a way to help find a missing 13-year-old girl.
  
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• Major railroad announces $141 million in improvements

  26-02-2015 21:47
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- BNSF railway announced it will spend about $141 million in its 2015 budget to increase rail capacity and maintain current lines. The industry has come under recent criticism regarding the growing number of crude oil shipments by rail. Some of those shipments have ended with derailments and fiery explosions. The maintenance program in California will include 880 miles of track surfacing and replacement of nearly 54 miles of rail. BNSF will also pay to construct three mi
  
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• Appeals court finds prosecutor falsified evidence, throws out molestation case

  26-02-2015 21:45
  
  A state appeals court upholds the decision of a Kern County judge to dismiss charges of child molestation because a prosecutor deliberately tampered with evidence.
  
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• BMOA announces new director

  26-02-2015 21:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield Museum of Art has a new director.
  According to museum personnel, its board of trustees appointed Mark Engelien as director effective Monday, March 2.     Engelien has been serving as the interim director since May of last year.
  "I know I speak for the entire board when I say how thrilled we are to have a person of Mark's caliber at the helm of this esteemed organization. Mark and his wife have been longtime supporters of the mu
  
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• Three arrested in connection with various robberies

  26-02-2015 21:36
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Bakersfield police have arrested three people in connection with three armed robberies.
  The first robbery happened around 3 a.m on Feb. 25, at the El Fogon restaurant on East Brundage Lane.      According to police, about an hour later, there was another robbery at a home on Fiesta Drive, near Wible and Harris Roads.     The victims in both crimes gave similar descriptions of a suspect, acording to police.
  Detectives also identified anoth
  
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• One dead in SW Bakersfield crash

  26-02-2015 21:27
  
  One person was killed in a southwest Bakersfield crash early Thursday morning.
  
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• One dead in Southwest Bakersfield crash

  26-02-2015 21:27
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – One person was killed in a Southwest Bakersfield crash early Thursday morning.
  
  Bakersfield police say for some reason a car ran off the road in the 7500 block of Panama Lane and hit a power pole just before 2 a.m.
  
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• New emergency dispatch center opens

  26-02-2015 21:25
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Kern County has a new Emergency Communications Center. The county held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday for the facility. The ECC handles about 100,000 calls a year and the county said it was in need of an update. The county says thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of their staff they were able to remodel the existing ECC into a modern dispatch center with more than twice the space of the last one. The center got a big technological upgrade as well. The operators
  
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• DA's office taking steps to combat bullying

  26-02-2015 20:53
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - During a press conference following Bryan Oliver's sentencing, the District Attorney's office announced it will take new measures to combat bullying in local schools.
  District Attorney Lisa Green said though the trial chapter is closed, she and 12 members of her office will be teaming up with the Safe School Ambassadors Program to help put a stop to bullying.     The program involves school staff acting as advisors and mentoring students who then serve as amba
  
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• 'First Look': United Way seeks volunteers for Read Across America Day, celebrating Dr. Seuss

  26-02-2015 20:33
  
  The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -- Dr. Seuss
  
  Dr. Seuss has the power to take a reader into a different world. A world filled with whimsical characters, colorful horizons and life lessons in disguise.
  
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• 'First Look': Biggest, richest short track race kicks off season at Kern County Raceway Park this weekend

  26-02-2015 20:32
  
  The Kern County Raceway Park Winter Showdown is the biggest event to hit Bakersfield since the Kern River.
  
  That is what Steve Hughes from the raceway said Thursday on "First Look with Scott Cox."
  
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• Jobs available at job fair in Lamont

  26-02-2015 20:28
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- The first in a series of job fairs is happening Thursday.
  
  The Kern County Department of Human Services hosts the event.
  
  JobFest will run from 9 to noon at the David Head Center in Lamont.
  
  The unemployment rate in Lamont is 18%.
  
  More than 2 dozen employers with a total of 397 open positions will be represented at JobFest.
  
  Resume Assistance and job leads are available weekdays at all of our DHS locations in Kern County. Visit www.KCDHS.org for locati
  
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• Asthma education classes at school district campuses

  26-02-2015 19:52
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield City School District is now offering Asthma education classes on district campuses.     The moves comes thanks to a partnership with Kern Health Systems, courses inside community and family resource centers at district sites are now available to students and parents.
  Asthma is one of the most common reasons Kern County students are absent from school.     The Bakersfield City School District and Kern Health systems are going into
  
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• One car crash kills one on Panama Lane

  26-02-2015 19:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Police are investigating a deadly crash that happened early Thursday morning. Investigators said a single car was headed eastbound on Panama Lane near Ashe when for some reason it left the road and hit a power pole. There was one person in the car and police say they died at the scene. Panama Lane was closed for several hours as police investigated but is now reopened. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Bakersfield Police Department
  
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• Crash on Panama Lane leaves teen dead

  26-02-2015 19:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- A teenager that left the roadway and crashed in a fatal accident has been identified. Investigators said a single car was headed eastbound on Panama Lane near Ashe when for some reason it left the road and hit a power pole. The driver was identified by the coroner's office as 19-year-old Miguel Angel Vargas. There was one person in the car and police say they died at the scene. The crash happened just after 2 a.m. Vargas died at the scene. Panama Lane was closed for sev
  
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• Crash on Panama Lane leaves one dead

  26-02-2015 19:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Police are investigating a deadly crash that happened early Thursday morning. Investigators said a single car was headed eastbound on Panama Lane near Ashe when for some reason it left the road and hit a power pole. There was one person in the car and police say they died at the scene. Panama Lane was closed for several hours as police investigated but is now reopened. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Bakersfield Police Department
  
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• Change wanted in date rape drug part of prop 47

  26-02-2015 19:22
  
  Lawmakers debated this week the impact of a date rape drug in light of a new law that now makes it a misdemeanor for someone to possess it.
  
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• Stabbing at assisted living center injures one.

  26-02-2015 19:13
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- A 60-year-old man was arrested last night for allegedly stabbing another 60-year-old man in south Bakersfield. The Kern County Sheriff's Office says they found the stabbing victim at the Union Villa Assisted Living facility on Union Avenue at about 8:45 Wednesday night. The victim, whose name has not been released, was reportedly taken to a local hospital for multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. Deputies say they then located and arrested James Cobbs for assault with a
  
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• Fallen Veterans to be honored

  26-02-2015 18:56
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- The public is invited to attend a ceremony to honor deceased veterans with no families of their own. It's happening at 1:15 Thursday afternoon. The Friends of Fallen Heroes organization will be providing full military honors to vets interred at the Bakersfield National Cemetery. The organization says the public is encouraged to attend in order to pay respect and tribute to veterans who may be gone but are not forgotten.
  
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• Bryan Oliver sentenced to 27 years, 4 months

  26-02-2015 18:45
  
  Oliver sentenced to nearly three decades for Taft High School shooting; parole hearing guaranteed in 13 years.
  
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• New details in deadly Olive Drive crash

  26-02-2015 18:45
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- The coroner has released the names of a man and woman killed in a crash yesterday on Highway 99. The accident happened just before eleven in the morning. The Highway Patrol says 51-year-old Cynthia Jo Davis cut off a big rig and clipped its front end before she slammed into a guardrail at the Olive Drive off-ramp. Davis died at the scene.     Her passenger, 47-year-old Michael Lamarsna, also of Bakersfield, died about an hour later. The CHP is investiga
  
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• Local engineer says train derailment was preventable

  26-02-2015 18:26
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - As the investigation continues into Monday's commuter train crash in Oxnard, one local retired train engineer said the derailment could have been prevented.
  Three of the train cars went off track and flipped over their sides after slamming into a truck leaving 28 people injured.
  DA McCutcheon of Bakersfield, who has 55 years of experience, said the commuter train was traveling with the engine in the rear and a passenger car leading the way.     McCutcheon sa
  
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• Bryan Oliver sentenced today

  26-02-2015 17:40
  
  Bryan Oliver received his sentence today for shooting classmate Bowe Cleveland at Taft Union High School in January 2013. Oliver will serve 27 years and four months in prison, though he could get out on parole in 13 years.
  
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• Bryan Oliver receives sentencing today

  26-02-2015 17:33
  
  Bryan Oliver, the teenager who shot a classmate at Taft Union High School, was sentenced to 27 years four months in prison Thursday. But, he could get out on parole in 13 years.
  In January, Oliver accepted a plea deal for shooting Bowe Cleveland in January 2013. He pleaded no contest to two charges of attempted murder and admitted to an enhancement of using a firearm. Oliver received 25 years for count one and 2 years for count two.
  During the trial last year, Judge John Lua declared a mist
  
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• 'First Look': First News for Feb. 26

  26-02-2015 16:43
  
  Lead stories from "First Look with Scott Cox's" Top Stories:
  
  CHILLING 911 TAPE PLAYING DURING OPENING STATEMENTS IN TRIAL OF ACCUSED SERIAL RAPIST: The 9-year-old girl managed to remove the duct tape from her eyes and break the zip ties fastened around her wrists. The man who bound her and had raped and was now washing her mother had asked where they kept the phones in the apartment. She ga
  
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• Poll: Californians worried about drought

  26-02-2015 15:31
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California voters overwhelmingly see the state's ongoing water shortage as a serious problem.
  
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• Panama Lane reopened after deadly crash

  26-02-2015 15:24
  
  A driver has been killed in an early morning accident in Southwest Bakersfield.
  
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• Transportation workshop set for today

  26-02-2015 07:23
  
  The public is invited to a pair of transportation workshops Thursday in downtown Bakersfield.
  
  Prepared by the Kern Council of Governments, the Metropolitan Bakersfield Transit Center Study examines prospective locations where buses, bicycles and pedestrians would come together in an effort to improve the local transportation system.
  
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• Bakersfield Condors decide to keep name the same

  26-02-2015 05:00
  
  The Bakersfield Condors may be changing leagues, but they won't be changing names.
  
  Tonight the team announced it will still be the Condors when it moves from the ECHL to the American Hockey League next season.
  
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• Kern High School District defends lavish hotel choices

  26-02-2015 04:02
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – An Eyewitness News investigation into credit card spending by Kern High School District officials revealed this week that school employees paid as much as $309 a night for a taxpayer-funded hotel room in 2014.
  
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• California struggles with child poverty

  26-02-2015 03:42
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - A new KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows that California has the highest poverty rate in the nation at 27 percent.
  
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• What's next for laid off oil workers?

  26-02-2015 03:22
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - Multiple major oil companies laid off a large number of their employees recently due to dropping oil prices.
  
  Now those employees, like Brian Damon who is the sole financial provider for his family, are left looking for a backup plan.
  
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• Effort launched to legalize online poker in California

  26-02-2015 03:02
  
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - State legislators are working on a way to make online poker legal in California.
  
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• Police searching for suspects from overnight crime spree

  26-02-2015 01:33
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Bakersfield Police are looking for suspects they say went on an overnight crime spree.
  
  Cops say it started at the EL Fogon Restaurant on Brundage Lane at 3 am. Wednesday.
  
  They say two suspects robbed the restaurant with an assault rifle.
  
  About an hour later they say similar looking suspects robbed a home on Fiesta Ave.
  
  Then about 8 a.m. police say there was a shooting at the Hollywood Market on East Planz Road.
  
  The suspects again matched the descri
  
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• Limping bandit allegedly robs east Bakersfield restaurant

  26-02-2015 00:56
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA- Kern County deputies are looking for a man they say robbed an east Bakersfield restaurant.
  
  They think this may be the second time this same man has hit the business near Niles Street and Oswell Street.
  
  Deputies say the most recent incident happened ten days ago.
  
  They say the suspect entered the restaurant just as it was closing and held an employee at knife point.
  
  They say the suspect got away with an unknown amount of cash.
  
  The suspect then fled the r
  
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• Investigation preview: Spending on KHSD credit cards

  26-02-2015 00:31
  
  Reporter Kyle Harvey investigates questionable spending on Kern High School District credit cards. In this, Part II of his investigation, Harvey examines more itemized receipts.
  
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