Outlook 2023: What's pending locally in the year ahead

Dec. 31—There's so much to watch out for locally in the year ahead that, if you're trying to keep track of what's pending, look no further than this guide to the biggest developing stories of 2023.

The battle between Kern County's oil industry and Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, nabbed major headlines in 2022 — and there's no reason to think it won't continue to generate big news.

Meanwhile, the local sports scene holds plenty of interest: How will the debut of a new high school shake up current match-ups? Will Bakersfield College's baseball program improve under new leadership?

Don't forget, either, that local food festivals have returned to full swing, with more on the way. There's question, too, about how unique restaurants will play into local development and help the urban core transform into around-the-clock cultural activity.

Here's a look at what may lie ahead:

Law enforcement

Vandalism, catalytic converters, petty theft

Residents' calls for help about vandalism and petty theft have grown deafening.

The City Council attempted to address catalytic converter thefts wreaking havoc across the city by creating an ordinance, but the measure failed to pass. Council members shelved the municipal code at an August meeting so that staff could rework its language.

Council members Eric Arias and Chris Parlier directed city staff to craft a municipal law based on one created in the city of Artesia.

A proposed ordinance from the city attorney's office designated possessing catalytic converters without a proper proof of ownership a "wobbler." That status allows a person to be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony.

It was a controversial ordinance and divided city council members. Many elected officials argued against the municipal code because they said it didn't change the law. Attorneys warned the language could violate people's constitutional rights.

The ordinance ultimately died after Arias pulled it from consideration. Since then, little discussion has arisen above reviving the law to ease residents' concerns.

Park rangers

The city of Bakersfield created a new division in 2022 to oversee park safety. Funded by Measure N, it led to the hiring of park rangers.

The move is expected to cost the city $2.4 million, according to previous reporting. Public parks will be surveilled by rangers who will try to get homeless people into shelter and issue infractions as needed.

Already the program has evolved since its approval: City staff have discussed arming rangers with tasers and Narcan, a substance that reduces Fentanyl overdoses.

It remains to be seen whether park rangers make a sizable dent in people's interactions and feelings about their public spaces.

Tastries takes the cake — again

Tastries bakery owner Cathy Miller can continue to deny same-sex couples a wedding cake after winning a second legal victory this year.

Lesbian couple Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del walked into the northwest Bakersfield bakery to buy a wedding cake in 2017, but were ultimately denied service. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Miller on behalf of the couple, alleging Miller violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination by businesses.

Two Kern County judges ruled in favor of Miller — one in 2018 and another this year.

But whispers are growing about Rodriguez-Del Rios filing an appeal. That may launch this legal battle again.

McFarland: Police station or library?

The story didn't quite make sense to some, but it sounded like pure logic to others when first reported by The Californian.

The McFarland Police Department sought to obtain the city's public library to expand its station because the agency was running out of space. Police Chief and City Manager Kenny Williams requested the move, but he didn't want to close the library.

In response, the county expanded hours for the library. There hasn't been word yet about the status of Williams' proposal, and next year might show how the county tackles this request.

Government

Kern Elections will review contract with voting systems

Kern's Board of Supervisors, along with the county's elections office, will review their previously proposed contract extension with Dominion Voting Systems.

At their Dec. 13 meeting, supervisors voted to postpone any further decisions on elections, including whether to fund Dominion voting machines, until late January, when incoming Kern County Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Aimee Espinoza will be settled in her position and able to review further measures.

Espinoza, who was sworn into office last week, officially assumes the role in early January.

Since 2020, Dominion has been the subject of fierce criticism. Opponents of the company's systems have proposed the county return to handwritten ballots, among other recommendations.

The proposed amendment would have continued the county's use of the polling machines through Dec. 31, 2023 at a total cost of $224,316.

Measure K's new oversight committee

With the passage in November of Measure K, which establishes a penny tax in unincorporated parts of Kern County, county supervisors and now tasked with selecting qualified residents to oversee its use.

Five residents of unincorporated Kern County will make up the new Citizens Oversight Committee, which will oversee and advise the county's use of an estimated $54 million in new revenue to fund various public safety departments. Each member will represent one of five respective districts. Candidates will be selected by their corresponding county supervisor. Committee members will serve two years, and may serve again when their term ends, as there are no term limits.

The committee is a key feature of the county's intention to demonstrate to the public that it will spend the money appropriately.

Unincorporated zones relying on county services include swaths of northwest and east Bakersfield, the Kern River Valley, Lamont, Mojave and Oildale, among many others. The tax is levied in these unincorporated areas, just as Bakersfield's 1-cent sales tax is paid only within city limits.

The committee will review all budgets, revenues, expenditures, audits and other financial reports regarding the Measure K tax. That said, they lack power to make or enforce decisions.

A date has not yet been set for when the board will begin accepting applications, but the measure does stipulate that the county must select candidates before they can spend the tax revenue, which takes effect April 1.

Recount for State Senate District 16 likely to be decided in January

The recount for state Senate District 16 between Sen Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, and David Shepard, R-Porterville, remains unfinished going into the new year.

Currently, two of the four counties included in the district — Fresno and Kern — have finished tabulating the votes. Shepard gained three votes in Fresno while in Kern there were no reported changes.

As it stands, Hurtado remains the declared winner in Kern County with 35,995 votes, or 58 percent, compared with Shepard, who received 26,026 votes.

Shepard, who faced a deficit of 22 votes out of nearly 137,000 cast, has so far gained six votes in three of the four counties. His campaign now awaits the results of remaining Tulare and Kings Counties, which together gave him 38,974 votes to Hurtado's 31,107 — a difference of 7,867 votes — in the November election.

Tulare and Kings Counties are continuing with their recounts, and will likely work into the first week of January. Their results will decide the victor of the recount and, in the event a new winner is declared, the counties will need to recertify their results with the California Secretary of State.

New state minimum wage takes effect

The state of California will increase its minimum wage to $15.50, effective Jan. 1.

This is the seventh wage increase since 2016, when state lawmakers passed a law phasing in a $15-an-hour wage by 2022 or 2023, depending on the size of the business. It is also the smallest increase — 3.33 percent— since 2018.

This latest increase marks the state's minimum wage as being more than double the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, and one of the highest in the country.

While larger businesses — those with 26 employees or more — will see a 50-cent increase, smaller businesses will now have to cover a $1.50-per-hour pay jump from the previous $14 minimum.

This new wage increase includes tip-based positions like baristas and servers. That said, most cities and counties in the state have local minimum wages at or above $15.50.

Business

Downtown redevelopment

Hoped-for changes are already taking place around downtown Bakersfield, with construction on high-end apartments, unique new businesses and improvements to existing buildings. But that's just the start.

Working together with individual property owners and developers, City Hall has set its sights — and dedicated hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money — on a much bigger prize: a cosmopolitan hub that hums 24 hours a day, every day.

Look for further progress in the year ahead as investors move forward on new projects, not just rental housing by Bakersfield's Sage Equities but also overhauls like the one afoot at the former Woolworth's building — as well as word on how the city's economic development department will spend tax increment money set aside for targeted revitalization work.

A decision is also expected soon on what will become of the former Greyhound bus station property.

Oil regulation

Major decisions finally arrived in 2022 that will guide Kern County oil and gas production, but exactly how they will play out remains to be seen in 2023.

The county's efforts to set up and keep up a streamlined permitting system came to a head with a court ruling that Kern has finally addressed alleged shortcomings in the underlying environmental review. But it will surprise no one if environmental and ag groups opposed to the effort file an appeal with the potential to set the process back again.

Meanwhile, the industry continues to do battle with environmental justice groups over their success in prodding the Newsom administration and state lawmakers to set up a 3,200-foot buffer zone between oilfield operations and sensitive sites like homes and schools.

Questions have been raised about the legitimacy of a referendum that appeared to garner enough signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot, forestalling implementation of the buffer zones in the process. Also, amid state efforts to move forward with the so-called oil setbacks, it's likely the topic will remain a focus in 2023.

Economic development

The year 2022 set the stage for major investment in Kern's economic future. It may be up to 2023 to put things in action.

Two groups finally came together in 2022 to guide the work: the Kern Community College District and the B3K Prosperity economic collaboration. If the state approves, they will attract tens of millions of dollars to help the county confront the prospect of shutting down the local economic pillar that is oil production.

It's not just oil, though: B3K, at least, is working with industries as diverse as aerospace and back-office business processing companies to foster new cooperation that could lead to shared success. If all goes well, the year ahead could see major breakthroughs.

Entertainment

Local arts scene expands

There will be more to support in the arts community in 2023. The ARTWalk, organized by the Arts Council of Kern, has returned to downtown Bakersfield. Held monthly for First Friday, the gathering brings local artists and vendors to the streets for an open-air creative market.

Even as the Bakersfield Museum of Art continues as a champion of visual arts, one of its success stories moves on to a new project. Rachel McCullah Wainwright, former BMoA curator, will be opening her own gallery and project space with her husband, Henry, in Old Town Kern.

The Empty Space is also on the move. "Setting theater free" since 2003, the community theater is ready for Act II with a move from Oak Street location to its new, larger home in southwest Bakersfield.

Also a shout-out to Bird Dog Arts at the Outlets at Tejon. Curated by managing partner David Gordon, the gallery and retail space continues to highlight great work from Kern County artists as well as those from throughout the state.

Festivals on tap

Over the last year, event organizers continued to expand offerings with a return to larger events that had been on hold. Village Fest and the Latino Food Festival Menudo and Pozole Cook-off returned to town as did the Lightning in a Bottle music festival at Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area.

It was recently announced that the Rivernook Beer and Music Festival would return to Kernville in October. The event, convened at Rivernook Campgrounds, will be a brewers invitational featuring Kern River Brewing and "friends," aka brewers curated to offer an optimal festival experience.

Also coming in 2023 is the brand-new Fiesta Fest in March. From the organizers of Mac and Cheese Fest and Brunch Fest comes an event highlighting local Latino/Hispanic restaurants with tastings of the best dishes as well as margaritas, micheladas and more.

Here's hoping that the County and Craft Beer Festival will also return in the future.

More room at the table

Bakersfield's restaurant scene continues to thrive despite the struggles of the past few years. And it seems 2023 will continue that upward trend.

One of the most exciting additions will be the new Frugatti's, which is moving south along Coffee Road from its current spot at the junction of Coffee and Truxtun Avenue. The spacious new building, under construction now, will increase capacity in the dining room and outdoor patio as well as a private wine cave.

Also on tap for 2023 is a third location of the popular El Puesto chain; Toastique, a boutique gourmet toast and juice bar in the Seven Oaks area; and La Siesta Española, a tapas bar headed downtown to G Street.

Sports

Big West tournaments

The path to the postseason for Cal State Bakersfield sports teams got substantially easier on Dec. 9 when the Big West Conference announced the upcoming addition of conference tournaments for volleyball, baseball and softball.

While baseball and softball will have to wait until at least 2025 for the expanded postseason, the volleyball tournament is set to make its debut in 2023, hosted by Long Beach State. The top six teams from the conference, which comprises 11, will face off. CSUB would have made the cut in its first Big West season in 2021, in which the Roadrunners went 11-9 in conference (18-11 overall) and finished fourth, ultimately accepting a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship and losing in the first round.

Under the new format, that No. 4 seed would put them just a few wins away from the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners did substantially worse in 2022 (7-25, 4-16 Big West) and the new postseason opportunity will provide an even greater incentive to turn things around in 2023.

BC baseball's new era

One of Kern County's most iconic coaches, Bakersfield College baseball coach Tim Painton officially retired in April after 27 seasons at the helm.

The BC athletic department aimed to retain continuity by promoting longtime assistant Kurt Townson to the top job. He takes over at a somewhat challenging time for the program after one of its worst seasons in recent memory, a 12-28 campaign that featured a stretch of one win in 15 games between February and March — even though it ended up sending players like Jose Ruiz, Brock Barron and David Villegas to Division I schools.

Townson, who will be charged with leveraging this sort of local talent, is thoroughly integrated with the Bakersfield baseball community, as a former BC baseball player himself and a onetime assistant at North High. He will start to build his own legacy when the Renegades open their season against Moorpark on Jan. 27.

Del Oro's time to shine

Even just a few months into its existence, Del Oro High School is already beginning to feel like a fixture of the Kern High School District. But because the school opened with exclusively freshmen and sophomores, most of its athletic teams — known as the Suns — have yet to compete at the varsity level.

They are expected to begin playing there during the 2023-24 school year, when they have juniors for the first time. That includes a football team, headed by a veteran title-winning coach in Rich Cornford, that will enter an up-for-grabs Horizon League with Arvin, Foothill, Golden Valley and Mira Monte. Should Del Oro stick to its initial timeline, the Suns could start to make some noise at the varsity level as early as August.

Civic life

New versus old

First came the earthquakes of 1952. Then the "modernization" of Bakersfield's downtown until the cityscape became dominated by box-like buildings with limited historical, architectural or esthetic value.

One by one, local preservationists say, buildings with unique character or historical significance have been bulldozed or relocated to make room for more Bako boxes.

For decades, preservationists have lamented that Kern seems more interested in building new buildings than preserving older ones. But there are a growing number of success stories.

Take, for example, the former park ranger residence building near the eastern edge of Hart Park. It once faced the prospect of demolition as an unreinforced masonry structure made from adobe.

Now, thanks to both local preservationists and Kern County supervisors and staff, the building has been transformed into the Kern River Parkway Nature Center in Hart Park.

Are 'the holidays' really harder?

Patterns of increased rates of depression during the holidays have been documented by doctors and mental health professionals for years. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has found that 64 percent of people living with a mental illness reported that their conditions worsened around the holidays.

But are these popular perceptions and statistics reflected in a real need during the holidays for increases in mental health services in Kern County?

Not according to operators of Kern's mental health hotline system, who say calls actually go down during the holidays.

What's really happening here? Stay tuned.