Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 323
Learned at the recent Ag (Agriculture) Expo at Tulare: The Animal Legal Defense Fund is a national nonprofit organization of legal professionals and law students who work to protect animals through the legal system. It provides pro bono services in cases involving animal hoarding and puppy mills and organized animal fighting, maintains an animal cruelty data base, does legal research for attorneys and provides abuse/neglect/hoarding training programs. www.aldf.org Ninety percent of endangered...
"Put. The candle. Back." During one performance of Tehachapi Community Theatre's (TCT) musical "Young Frankenstein," a member of the audience was heard to say, "It feels good to laugh." The spontaneous remark likely was the sentiment of every patron of the sell-out houses that have filled the BeeKay's seats during the production's four-week run. The musical, written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, based on the Brooks' classic 1974 movie of the same name, recreates the most memorable dialog and...
The proposed NASA 2020 budget of $21 billion is a ticket to the future. "We are thrilled with the budget," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, a 43-year-old former Navy pilot, said at a televised press briefing Mar. 11 from the Kennedy Space Center. "It will help us build a sustainable return to the moon." The budget also paves the way for human ventures to Mars. The NASA timeline aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2028 and on Mars by the 2030s. He said the budget has bipartisan support from...
A “Meet Our Local Authors” forum, organized to help novice authors navigate the tough process of writing and publishing, filled the community room at Oak Tree Country Club on Feb. 24. Sponsored by the Bear Valley Springs Cultural Arts Association and organized by writer/producer Andi Hicks, authors on display with their books represented – as Hicks wrote in the biography handout – “a tantalizing (but incomplete) sampling of our local, published authors.” The works of the 20 authors ranged from...
A "Meet Our Local Authors" forum, organized to help novice authors navigate the tough process of writing and publishing, filled the community room at Oak Tree Country Club on Feb. 24. Sponsored by the Bear Valley Springs Cultural Arts Association and organized by writer/producer Andi Hicks, authors on display with their books represented – as Hicks wrote in the biography handout – "a tantalizing (but incomplete) sampling of our local, published authors." The works of the 20 authors ranged fro...
The Special District Committee of the 2018-19 Kern County Grand Jury has given the Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District (TCCWD) accolades, calling the district "state of the art" in its report title. District Manager Tom Neisler said the Grand Jury committee included some technologically savvy members. "We spent 30 hours with these people, and they asked a lot of informed and detailed questions," he said. "They are astute observers. I was really happy with the result. We need to have good pe...
Keeps getting better – The city of Tehachapi will be debt-free in two years, Tehachapi City Manager Greg Garrett told the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council on Feb. 6. "The budget is solid as a rock," he said. The city is financing the new Police Department parking lot in-house. He said the city has partnered with Waste Management and churches in a community engagement program to help people clean up their yards. Some people are older and can't manage the task on their own, and o...
The volunteer organization that helped sustain the old Tehachapi Hospital by purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical equipment since 1975 is redefining its relationship to the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District (TVHD). The Guild of Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, also known as the Hospital Guild, historically has provided funds for hospital equipment by making donations to the healthcare district (the hospital owner), which in turn purchased the equipment. In a recent gift...
The Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board of directors is asking the public to offer ideas regarding future use of the old hospital on West E St. The 64-year-old structure needs significant refurbishing to meet building codes, and the district board of directors is looking at estimates for remodeling. At the Dec. 18, 2018 board of directors meeting, President Mike Nixon said that the cost of remodeling would be high and that the real value is in the land. Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley,...
The Tehachapi STEAM Center is a 21st Century resource that is ready to open a world of technology and art to local students, but for one little detail. There's not enough electricity going into the building to power the 12 high-capacity computers, the Space Shuttle simulator, the virtual reality arena, the 3-D printer, the augmented reality sandbox and lights. The number of computers will soon double. There are four electric outlets inside the facility. "The building has 100 amps going in," STEA...
The 412 Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base donated 370 books from the base library to the Tehachapi Unified School District on Dec. 17. The donation is the second delivery of surplus material to the district under an Educational Partnership Agreement between the Air Force and the schools that supports educational institutions. Past and future donations consist of hundreds of computers. Program originator Douglas Hoffelt, technical transfer and research manager for four AF test sites, turned...
The Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District is finalizing a strategic plan that will be a blueprint for successive generations of administrators of the public wholesale water agency. "When the board hired me, one of our goals was to establish a guide for budgeting and operations," District Manager Tom Neisler said. "We wanted to prepare a plan for our successors. We want people who follow to know what we were thinking." Neisler presented the document – the result of four public workshops w...
Ybarra installed the Tehachapi board on Oct.13. Kiwanis rocked Centennial Plaza at Main Street Tehachapi’s Halloween Trunk or Treat event as the music of president-elect Bill Bettis of MusicMX and Eric Leishman Karaoke inspired costumed little goblins to dance and dance with uninhibited glee. The club sponsored a popular photo booth at the Main Street Tehachapi event, which drew 1,200 children who collected 27,000 pieces of candy....
Ouch – half a percent – The Wasco Union High School District needed 55 percent approval in the Nov. 6 election to pass a $40.5 million bond measure that would have built a new gymnasium and aquatic complex and modernized existing buildings at Wasco High School. The "yes" vote was 54.48 percent, which is .52 percent shy of the required 55 percent. The "no" vote was 45.52 percent. The vote count was 1,765 to 1,475. Two other school districts in Kern County passed school bond measures, both by soli...
The opening of the new hospital in Tehachapi on Nov. 7, 2018 marked the culmination of a long, bruising battle to see the project to completion. "I had many sleepless nights," said Dr. Sam Conklin, 82, board member of the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, which built and owns the new hospital, now operated by Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley. The old hospital on West E Street, completed in 1957, was outdated 50 years ago, Conklin said, when he arrived in Tehachapi to open his family practic...
November 7, 2018 The day the old Tehachapi Hospital closed and the new one opened in a carefully timed sequence, Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley President Jeff Lingerfelt spoke to staff at both locations and prayed with them that the patients, the staff and the new building be blessed. For Seventh-day Adventists, good health is a spiritual mission. The Adventist Loma Linda University teaching hospital is recognized as one of the finest medical facilities in the world. "[W]e believe God calls...
Two of the seats in the seven-member Tehachapi Unified School District Board of Governors, or Trustees, are being contested Nov. 6. The board members must live in the areas they represent but voters in the entire district can vote for all. There are two board members in each of the three areas and one at-large member. The current at-large member (designated as Area 4) is former Tehachapi Police Chief Jeff Kermode, who is running unopposed. Joe Wallek, also an incumbent, is running unopposed in...
Extensive information on the Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Park District Measure R $43 million revitalization bond proposal is available on the www.tvrpd.org website. Arguments for and against the measure as well as the full text are in the Kern County sample ballot. The proposed revitalization would bring $1.3 million in improvements to Brite Lake (the district's biggest revenue producer), $1.3 million to Meadowbrook Park, $500,000 to Central Park, $4 million to West Park, $8 million to...
Healthcare District candidates weigh in The opening of the new Tehachapi acute care hospital is the culmination of a 40-year bumpy, turbulent ride that has been marked with drama, disappointment, contention, tears and, above all, the unshakable tenacity of the residents of the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District. While Adventist Health, a private entity, will operate and manage the new hospital for 30 years, the healthcare district will expand its mandate as a conduit for community healthcare...
Two candidates vieThe City Treasurer is a civilian watchdog who reviews all city financial statements, revenue and disbursements. Two candidates are running for the position. Incumbent City Treasurer Susan Showler, who was appointed in 2018, is a marketing analyst for World Wind and Solar. A native of upstate New York, she left snowy Minnesota for California and was drawn to Tehachapi. "I could have lived anywhere," she said. "I like to tell people why we are this little gem." Showler regularly...
Michael Biglay ~ In canvassing the District, Michael Biglay said he found that the number one issue that people are concerned about is crime. "Everybody wants more deputies," he said. He wants to see more growth, more jobs and an emphasis on public safety. Different communities have different concerns, he said -- in Boron, it's theft and trash dumping; in Taft, the issue is roads. Biglay would begin Town Hall meetings and workshops to identify what is needed most. "I don't feel we get...
Who will sit on the City Council after Nov. 6? Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman accomplished what he set out to do when he sent a letter to the Tehachapi City Council demanding that it slice up the city into electoral districts to balance a supposed racial and ethnic inequality in voting. The City Council, fearing a multi-million-dollar lawsuit if they refused, said OK, we'll do it. They decided to jettison the at-large election system and hired a consultant to divide the city into voting blocs. T...
Public hearings for draft environmental report due summer 2019 Piece by piece, elements of the massive California High-Speed Rail (HSR) project are falling into place as planners move ahead like the tenacious tortoise who prevailed over the overconfident and dismissive hare. In this case, the hare is the portion of the population of California whose favorite word for the project is "boondoggle." The tortoise keeps moving steadily ahead. "There are 120 miles [of track] under construction and 21...
As of Aug. 2, a total of 11 Tehachapi residents had requested nomination packets that must be submitted to qualify to run for the Tehachapi City Council on the Nov. 6 ballot. By the closing of City Hall on Aug. 2 (The Loop publication deadline), at-large candidate Michael R. Davies had turned in his completed packet to become the first official candidate in the City Council race. The deadline to turn in the forms, which require 20 valid voter signatures and a sit-down review, is Thurs., Aug. 9 a...
As Tehachapi youngsters are enjoying the remaining days of summer, the Tehachapi Unified School District is preparing for the first day of school on Aug. 15. "There are 10 new teachers but there will be more," Interim Superintendent Paul Kaminski said on July 31. "New teacher orientation is Aug. 10." Kaminiski said the district will welcome back classified and certificated employees in a ceremony at the Tehachapi High School gym on August 13. Long-term employees will be honored for their...
