Bakersfield news

• Amanda Knox murder conviction overturned by Italy high court

  27-03-2015 23:35
  
  Italy's highest court overturned the murder conviction against Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Friday over the 2007 slaying of Knox's roommate, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case that captivated trial-watchers on both sides of the Atlantic.
  
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• Gov. Brown signs $1B water plan for drought-stricken California

  27-03-2015 23:18
  
  Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Friday that speeds up $1 billion in water infrastructure spending amid the worst drought in a generation, although much of the plan was drawn with future dry years in mind.
  
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• Gov. Brown signs drought relief bill

  27-03-2015 23:16
  
  SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Brown signed emergency legislation on Friday that fast-tracks $1 billion of water spending into our state as it grapples with a historic drought.
  The legislation will offer aid to residents hurt by the drought and expedite spending on water infrastructure.      Most of the plan funds projects with future dry years in mind rather than the current drought.     Gov. Brown said the funding is just one part of a much larger effort to prepare f
  
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• Magnitude-4.1 quake shakes central California; no damage

  27-03-2015 23:13
  
  A series of small earthquakes jolted an area of central California, but there were no reports of damage.
  
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• Woman missing for weeks says she was emotionally overwhelmed

  27-03-2015 23:12
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A 22-year-old college student whose disappearance had police scouring Southern California for weeks said she was overwhelmed with personal problems when she decided to walk away.
  
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• 35 students safely evacuated after school bus catches fire

  27-03-2015 23:06
  
  Southern California fire officials say a school bus carrying 35 students was safely evacuated when a fire broke out in the engine compartment as it arrived at a middle school.
  
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• Public defender: San Francisco jail inmates forced to fight

  27-03-2015 23:05
  
  Sheriff's deputies arranged and gambled on fights between San Franciscojail inmates and told them to lie if they needed medical attention, anofficial said.
  
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• Man who killed officer dies in police shootout

  27-03-2015 23:04
  
  Authorities say the man who shot and killed a Northern California policeofficer checking on him after he threatened to commit suicide died whenanother lawman fired back.
  
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• Chances of being locked up vary widely across California

  27-03-2015 23:00
  
  The number of inmates in California's county jails has fallen significantly since peaking in 2007, but new statistics show a wide disparity still exists among locales, with liberal enclaves like Marin and San Francisco far less likely to lock up criminals than conservative places like Kings, Lassen and Tuolumne counties.
  
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• Italian court throws out Amanda Knox murder conviction

  27-03-2015 22:46
  
  (NBC NEWS) The highest court in Italy on Friday has overturned the murder convictions of Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the sensational 2007 stabbing death of her British roommate.The ruling was the latest turn in an odyssey of international justice for Knox, who spent four years in an Italian jail after the killing. She has returned to the United States and vowed not to return to Italy.She and the ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted in 2009, then acquitted and freed in 2011.
  
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• Two men indicted for pointing lasers at helicopters

  27-03-2015 22:36
  
  FRESNO, CA - Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday after both were charged with laser strikes on law enforcement helicopters.
  One of the men is from Bakersfield and identified as 51-year-old Barry Lee Bowser. 
  According to court documents, Bowser aimed a green laser light at a Kern County Sheriff's helicopter while it was providing support to ground units responding to a man armed with a gun.
  The incident happened on Sept. 12, 2014. 
  It is alleged the pilot ha
  
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• Hearing opens in Los Angeles green waste case

  27-03-2015 22:28
  
  The first installment in a two-day hearing into Kern's fight with the city of Los Angeles over green waste allegedly trucked here in violation of state quarantine regulations began Friday at county offices.
  At issue is whether, between June 3, 2013, and Jan. 9, 2014, trucks originating in Los Angeles County -- which was under quarantine against the asian citrus psyllid, the light brown apple moth, and the oriental fruit fly -- delivered green waste which could have contained the insects to Kern.
  
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• Woman accused in baby-snatching plot created business persona

  27-03-2015 22:02
  
  A woman police say concocted a plot to kill mothers and steal their babies to pass off as her own calls herself a mogul, a motivational speaker, a songwriter and one of the "kindest women you will ever meet" on her many websites.
  
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• Dancing at the Stars this weekend

  27-03-2015 21:38
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield Music Theater is bringing Dancing at the Stars to Bakersfield Friday and Saturday night.
  KGET's Ryann Blackshere Vargas will take a spin on the dance floor, competing against other local personalities like Father Craig Harrison, county supervisor Leticia Perez and local attorney David Torres.     It's all to raise money for the Bakersfield Music Theater.     Tickets to Saturday's show are sold out.     But you can ca
  
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• Residents voice concern for new downtown lofts

  27-03-2015 21:26
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - City planners are looking at new ways to combat urban sprawl in Bakersfield, but a proposed 28-unit apartment complex in downtown is receiving some mixed reviews.
  Veridian Corporation wants to build the complex on 18th Street between C and D Streets, on a lot that's been vacant since the 1960's.      It calls for a first-floor parking structure and three floors of loft-style apartments, similar to those above the Metro Galleries downtown. The unit also incl
  
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• Wind Wolves preserve looks to expand

  27-03-2015 21:17
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Two of the largest private landowners in California have launched discussions to connect Tejon Ranch and adjacent Wind Wolves preserve with wildlife corridors and public access.
  The proposals being considered would create freeway underpasses that would allow wildlife to migrate east and west of Interstate 5.     Until now, the 270,000 acre Tejon Ranch and 99,000 acre preserve kept a strict distance.     Other proposals call for development of camp
  
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• BPD asking community for help identifying suspect

  27-03-2015 21:12
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Bakersfield police are looking to the public for information on the death of 57-year-old Jimmie Lee Wallace, who was killed last February.     The incident happened on Feb. 27, 2014, when police were called out to the 700 block of Watts Drive, where they found Wallace suffering from a gunshot wound in the driveway.     He died at the scene.     According to police, there are no suspects and they do not know whether the incident is g
  
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• BPD looking for info on gang shooting suspect

  27-03-2015 21:08
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - The secret witness program is offering a reward of up to $5,000 leading to the arrest and charges in the case of an eighth grader who was found shot to death last April. 
  According to police, 13-year-old Cortez Batiste was found around 1 a.m. dead by the railroad tracks near the 1500 block of East Brundage Lane.     Police now say Batiste's death was gang related.     He was a student at Curran Middle School.
  Police are asking anyone with inf
  
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• Hospital donates breast surgery to patient

  27-03-2015 20:51
  
  Sarah Smith isn't a breast cancer survivor, but she feels a great deal of empathy for women disfigured by the disease. She knows what it feels like to live without a breast.
  
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• Reward offered for help in catching person who killed 57-year-old man

  27-03-2015 20:46
  
  Jimmie Lee Wallace, 57, was found shot in February 2014 in a house driveway off the 700 Block of Watts Drive.
  
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• Riverbed set on fire again

  27-03-2015 20:41
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - A large fire in the riverbed in Oildale has flared up again, after it took firefighters hours to put out a fire in the same location overnight.
  It's burning in the Kern riverbed just east of the North Chester Avenue bridge.
  On Thursday evening, fire crews were called out around 7 p.m. for the first fire.     That initial fire was just about two acres when they arrived, but it started spreading down the parched river bed.     The fire grew to six a
  
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• $5K reward offered to solve 13-year-old boy's murder

  27-03-2015 20:31
  
  The body of Cortez Batiste, an eighth-grade student at Curran Middle School, was found last April along the railroad tracks just south of the 1500 block of East Brundage Lane. He had been shot multiple times.
  
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• Huge fire in the Kern River bottom in Oildale

  27-03-2015 20:24
  
  A fire has been reported in the Kern River bottom near Oildale.
  
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• Armed suspect may be involved in southwest fire

  27-03-2015 20:10
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Bakersfield firefighters working to contain a fire in the 10,000 block of Tungsten Avenue. Bakersfield police are also on scene investigating a possible rape there as well.
  The fire started just before 11 a.m.
  Bakersfield fire is reporting its engine company firefighters were advised that a potentially armed suspect is inside this home and reported numerous explosions from inside the burning building.     Bakersfield police are securing the scene and say they're
  
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• Men indicted for laser strikes on helicopters

  27-03-2015 20:09
  
  A federal grand jury returned two separate indictments Thursday, charging one defendant with a laser strike of a police helicopter in Fresno, and one with a laser strike of a sheriff's helicopter in Bakersfield, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
  
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• 'First Look': Release everyday tension at Yoga Space

  27-03-2015 20:00
  
  Yoga is more than stretching your muscles. It's a physical, mental, and spiritual practice that requires discipline.
  
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• 'First Look': April issue of "Bakersfield Life" hits stands Saturday

  27-03-2015 19:59
  
  The April issue of "Bakersfield Life" is filled with breathtaking backyard photos that are sure to inspire you to do a little renovation of your own this summer. Friday on "First Look with Scott Cox," Olivia Garcia, editor of the magazine and Mark Nessia assistant managing editor, talked about the content of the magazine readers can expect inside their Saturday Californian subscription.
  
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• Police: Massive house fire set by possible rapist, gunfire heard

  27-03-2015 19:57
  
  Police Sgt. Joe Grubbs said a man allegedly set fire to the home after a woman claimed she was raped.
  
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• 2 ceremonies taking place for new citizens in Kern County

  27-03-2015 19:13
  
  A swearing-in ceremony was held Friday in Bakersfield for new citizens.
  
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• Smoke still possible from Kern River fire

  27-03-2015 18:47
  
  People might still see or smell smoke Friday in the Oildale area after a riverbed fire.
  
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• Drive-by-Donation event fights human trafficking

  27-03-2015 18:31
  
  Volunteers with the Canyon Hills Women's Ministry will hit the street to stop one of Kern County's most heinous crimes, Friday. 
  
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• $5k reward for arrest of murder suspects

  27-03-2015 18:05
  
  The Secret Witness Program is offering a reward of up to $5,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and filing of a complaint against the suspect(s) responsible for the death of Jimmie Lee Wallace, 57, that occurred in the 700 Block of Watts Drive. 
  
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• Church attendance is declining, report says

  27-03-2015 17:38
  
  Church attendance has been on the decline nationwide as people say they feel a lack of connection. A 2014 report says there is an ongoing silent migration away from the church of an estimated 3,500 individuals each and every day.
  
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• Students recognized for community outreach services

  27-03-2015 17:30
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Some civic-minded high school seniors were put in the spotlight for the annual Dream Builders' awards night on Thursday.
  Four teams comprised of 22 students from Dream Builders and 10 others from the Ford Dimensions Program showcased their community service projects at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.     They ranged from helping foster youth, the homeless, to creating a Valentine's social for elderly citizens in assisted care.     But the big prize
  
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• Changes coming to special education classes

  27-03-2015 17:19
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County schools are changing the way they teach special education, following a report released this month by the statewide special education task force.     The task force recommends a number of ways to reform the way children with disabilities are taught.
  The statewide task force was created in 2013 to "study the causes of the state's poor outcomes for students with disabilities."     Results of their study revealed one major recomm
  
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• Drought bill headed to governor

  27-03-2015 17:09
  
  SACRAMENTO, CA - A $1.1 billion emergency drought package is headed to the governor's desk, after passing the state assembly.       The bill passes as a new state water report shows our state's current drought may be the worst in history, or close to it.  
  The report was released on Thursday by the state department of water resources.       It compares severe droughts from our history and includes pictures of what state reservoirs looked like during
  
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• Big rig crash cleared on Hwy 58 at Chester

  27-03-2015 17:02
  
  The California Highway Patrol reports two big rigs crashed on eastbound Hwy 58 at Chester about 7:20 a.m. Friday.
  
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• U.S. Senate's Harry Reid announces he won't seek re-election

  27-03-2015 16:36
  
  Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, the wily Nevadan who dominated the Senate for a decade from the minority to the majority and back again, announced Friday he will retire from the institution where he's served for five terms.
  
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• 2 people missing after apparent NYC gas explosion

  27-03-2015 15:14
  
  Firefighters on Friday used high-powered water towers to extinguish pockets of fire at the site of an apparent gas explosion in Manhattan's trendy East Village as authorities reported that two people were still unaccounted for.
  
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• 'First Look': First News for March 27

  27-03-2015 15:05
  
  Lead stories from "First Look with Scott Cox's" Top Stories: TWO CLAIMS FILED AGAINST KERN COUNTY IN CONNECTION WITH ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT AT JUVENILE HALL:Attorneys at Chain | Cohn | Stiles have filed two claims against Kern County on behalf of girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted by correctional officers in separate incidents at Juvenile Hall. In the first incident, correctional officer Cesar Holguin Navejar is accused of sexually assaulting a girl at the facility through
  
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• Triplex catches fire in Oildale

  27-03-2015 14:28
  
  An Oildale triplex catches fire displacing several people.Firefighters say the blaze started early Friday morning around 3:20 am at a triplex on Woodrow Ave. near North Chester Ave.
  
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• Prosecutors: Evidence Germanwings co-pilot hid illness

  27-03-2015 13:46
  
  Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz appears to have hidden evidence ofan illness from his employers, including having been excused by a doctorfrom work the day he crashed a passenger plane into a mountain,prosecutors said Friday.
  
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• Residents unhappy with Lofts on 18th project

  27-03-2015 07:47
  
  Developers say a new luxury apartment complex will boost the economy and improve downtown Bakersfield.
  
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• Bilingual Supermarket tours for Latino community

  27-03-2015 03:33
  
  There's a tour for everything these days, including supermarket bilingual tours. 
  
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• Video: Confrontation between officer, woman raises questions

  27-03-2015 02:31
  
  A violent confrontation between a police officer and a woman was caught on cellphone video, and one bystander who saw the incident is questioning the use of force.
  
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• JobFest event in Shafter

  27-03-2015 02:15
  
  SHAFTER, CA - As Kern County's unemployment rate continues to be nearly twice the national average -- the Department of Human Services is offering employment assistance through a series of job fairs.
  More than 400 people showed up to JobFest in Shafter Thursday morning. They had the opportunity to meet with companies, give out their resumes and in some cases, walk away with a new job.
  Job seeker Melissa Phillips said, "I did the application and we had an interview right on the spot and she
  
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• More free parking coming to downtown Bakersfield

  27-03-2015 02:05
  
  More parking spots will soon be available downtown.
  
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• Bakersfield police seek burglary suspects

  27-03-2015 01:28
  
  A home was broken into Feb. 24 on the 5500 block of Ramona Court, and another was broken into March 9 on the 3600 block of Pinot Noir Way.
  
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• Attorney files claims against county, juvenile corrections officers

  27-03-2015 01:18
  
  BAKERSFIELD, CA - Two claims have been filed against the County of Kern on behalf of two girls authorities say were sexually assaulted in separate incidents by Kern County Juvenile Corrections officers while the girls were housed at James G. Bowels Juvenile Hall.The law firm of Chain, Cohn, Stiles says one of the girls was housed at Juvenile Hall from June 2014 through February 2015. While there, she enrolled in the Pathways Academy commitment program. Throughout September 2014, Kern County Cor
  
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• Legal claims filed for girls allegedly sexually assaulted in Kern juvenile hall

  27-03-2015 01:16
  
  A law firm has filed claims against Kern County on behalf of two girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted while housed in juvenile hall.
  
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