Gas-fired plant in Fellows wins initial OK to boost power generation

A man who was severely injured in an oil well blowout had a hearing Tuesday to determine his status in a state prison program that allows felons to complete part of their sentence in the community rather than behind bars. Leonardo Andrade was hurled while performing work on an oil...

Caltrans is moving forward on a $165 million project that will remove four curves, replace disintegrating pavement and make other improvements on a 10- to 12-mile stretch of Highway 58 just west of Tehachapi. That section of the highway has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years, including...

Significant improvement has been made since the coronavirus pandemic devastated Kern County schools’ inventory of substitute teachers. Even so, subs remain in short supply at several local school districts. Overall, there are far more candidates in the countywide pool than there were at the height of the pandemic and...

The Bakersfield Fire Department said Monday arson investigators couldn’t determine a cause behind a downtown Bakersfield apartment explosion last year that killed a man and injured at least two people. Firefighters immediately at the scene said a preliminary investigation revealed a gas leak caused an explosion at the three-story...

As I watched the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting last week, I immediately knew the way they would eventually vote. I knew they would support the business that will upset the ways of life for the people who live nearby. If there is a chance for the county to make a dime in taxes or be sympathetic to the folks whose lives will change forever, they will always choose the dime.

A federal judge dismissed a $40 million lawsuit filed against the Kern County Department of Human Services and others by the California City brothers’ biological family because it lacks a factual basis to prove their allegations against defendants, according to an order filed Monday. Mother Ryan Dean and maternal...

A Kern County Superior Court judge said Monday the murder trial for the adoptive parents of the California City brothers could begin in March. Trezell and Jacqueline have pleaded not guilty to two second-degree murder charges, a single involuntary manslaughter charge, two felonies of willful cruelty to children, felony conspiracy and a misdemeanor of falsely reporting an emergency in the deaths of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3.

This is in response to Michael Hunt's letter in The Bakersfield Californian on Saturday, Jan. 28. I don't know how many shoes someone can steal but I personally have witnessed several thefts at stores over the years.

A middle school counselor in Wasco was arrested Monday on suspicion of molesting a 14-year-old girl. Kern County Sheriff’s deputies were called Sunday night to the city for a child molestation investigation. Their preliminary investigation showed Jose Solis, 37, of Shafter touched a girl inappropriately, the KCSO wrote in a news release.

A gruesome sight greeted a Kern County animal control worker as she seized 18 dogs and two cats from a house filled with feces and piles of trash, according to a search warrant filed in Kern County Superior Court. Three dead dogs were found in the Taft house when the...

A former Bakersfield Police Department assistant chief was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Monday. Evan Demestihas, 44, who was previously arrested on suspicion of domestic violence but never charged with that crime, faces two misdemeanors related to...

Theresa Price, founder of National College Resources Foundation, shouted into a microphone, announcing that five students from Bakersfield had been accepted into a Historically Black College or University with some scholarship money. It almost seemed similar to an Oprah Winfrey Show spoof: You get a scholarship! And you get a...

The 2023 Bakersfield Pageant winners were crowned at Stockdale Country Club on Saturday night. For the first time in the 29-year history of the event, a Ms. Bakersfield was crowned. The qualifications for Ms. Bakersfield include being age 24 and up, single or divorced, a mother or without children.

A 14-year-old girl who has never run away before has been missing since Monday, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. Aaliyah Zoey Beltran, who has long brown hair and brown eyes, was last seen in the 1100 block of Noble Avenue wearing a gray Champion sweater, blue jeans and black Nike Air Force tennis shoes. She is a Hispanic girl about 4 feet, 11 inches and weighs 90 pounds.

Daron Mackey, who helped lead West High to the 2005 Central Section Division II football championship, was hired as Stockdale's next coach, the school announced Monday afternoon. Mackey, who went on to play linebacker at Bakersfield College and Boise State, replaces Brett Shelton as the Mustangs' coach.