Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
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By now, I’m certain that all of us have been impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and I’m also certain that you are keeping informed so I will not use our weekly Couch’s Corner to provide you any “breaking news,” as it changes so fast. But I would like to keep you informed on what’s going on at the county, how to find out what services are still available, and how your District 4 office can help you with matters concerning the county. In compliance with the state emergency shelter-in-place guidelines...
On Wednesday, Feb. 26, I joined work crews from the Bakersfield Homeless Center and Caltrans as we kicked off a program that was initiated in the District 4 office and will serve the entire county well, especially all the communities of the district. This program is the litter abatement program on state highways in the county, utilizing the homeless and homeless-vulnerable workers employed through the county’s contract we just signed this week with the Bakersfield Homeless Center. When we try t...
As I met with my staff to discuss this week’s Couch’s Corner, we found it hard to pick a subject to write about, not because so little had happened, but because so much was happening. So we decided to quickly touch on some of the things that happened this week. You may get dizzy because we’ve been to a lot of places. For instance, Friday night you may have seen me at the Delano Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. Art Armendariz of my staff joined me for this Christmas celebration. I love these...
On Nov. 15, a group of us traveled to Fresno to testify at a hearing of the California Transportation Commission. I was in attendance with Councilmember Cathy Prout of Shafter and Councilmember Olivia Trujilo of Arvin. Also, in attendance was Ahron Hakami, who is the executive director of the Kern Council of Governments. We were there to testify about the importance of funding Highway 46 that Caltrans staff recommended be cancelled along with 2 other widening projects on Highway 99. The commissi...
I recently learned of the Housing Authority of Kern’s concept of using farm labor camps they own in Shafter and Lamont to house about 50 homeless women from Kern County temporarily this winter. [Editor’s note: The county has since eliminated the Shafter camp from the plan for this year.] Having no more details than that, I let a member of the Shafter community know. Within days, our District 4 office phones were lighting up. Many people were upset and opposed to “the plan.” Not knowing any det...
This week I would like to remind the community about different steps being taken to prepare for the 2019 wildfire season, especially power outages. Even though you may not be near a fire, the possibility exists that power could be shut off where you live due to the interconnectivity of the power grid. Being prepared for power outages is always your best defense. The California Public Utilities Commission ensures consumers have safe and reliable utility services at reasonable rates. By...
Couch's Corner has been my attempt to keep the community updated and to explain how County government works and how it affects you. It is my hope that through these articles and the various other forums for which we send the community info and updates, you will be more informed about the issues and decisions we make. This week, I wanted to introduce our new fire chief, David Witt, and explain how important it is for the Board of Supervisors to make good choices regarding your department heads....
This week I wanted to discuss what seems to be the most controversial issue in our nation at this moment: immigration. It's important for all of us to understand the roles of all the different jurisdictions of government so that we can better know where one goes to get the results we want. As part of that, I have made it a goal of our office to better understand immigration law and policy and to understand where the county fits in this equation. As part of that education process, District 4...
