Many Kern County residents still remember when the business and shopping district along Baker Street in east Bakersfield was vibrant and beautiful in its own modest fashion.
Celebration has turned to frustration as the potential traffic consequences of upgrading Highway 58 between Bakersfield and Tehachapi become more clear to people who rely on the thoroughfare.
The sentencing for one of the teens who was convicted in the robbery and assault of an elderly man in Ridgecrest was pushed back to January of next year.
A business-improvement initiative months in the planning will debut Wednesday at Taft College as leaders from across the area gather for the inaugural meeting of the West Kern Economic Alliance.