Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
Sorted by date Results 976 - 1000 of 1538
The City Council is looking to appoint three people to each serve a four-year term on the Shafter Planning Commission beginning in January. The commission is made up of five members appointed by the City Council. Current members of the commission are Bob Wiebe, Ron Nunlist, Kirk Mouser, Jon Johnston and Peter Frantz. Frantz, Johnston and Mouser have terms that expire in December, which makes it necessary to fill their seats. The Planning Commission reviews and acts on matters related to planning and development in Shafter....
With much of the nation attempting to reduce funding for police departments, a Police Reform Bill, AB1299, has passed the California Legislature with bipartisan support. The bill was authored by local Assemblyman Rudy Salas. It is designed to help prevent local departments from hiring officers who have a history of serious misconduct. Salas, who represents the 32nd District, which includes Shafter and Wasco, said his bill will help hold departments accountable when hiring new officers. “We need to ensure that our local p...
There will be six candidates on the ballot come November for the Shafter City Council. Three seats will be up for grabs, with Mayor Gilbert Alvarado, Chad Givens and Manuel Garcia having their terms expiring in December. All three Council members will be running to retain their seats. Three other candidates will be looking to fill them, with all three candidates running for the first time. Kris Lawrence, Rafael Zamudio and Pete Espinoza will join the three incumbents in the ra...
With the climate of the home, workplace, and cities changing because of the current pandemic, residents are rethinking their priorities. With schools incorporating distance learning into their plans and workers telecommuting, adapting homes to meet the new demands can be challenging. A local builder has taken the situation into consideration and is designing new homes with technology and floor plans that accommodate homeowners' changing needs. Lennar Homes at Gossamer Grove...
The City Council has approved a letter opposing widening the scope of what peace officer personnel records can be disclosed. The letter, which will be sent to the state Sen. Nancy Skinner, argues against Senate Bill 776. In it, the council states the measure is excessive in the types of personnel records it makes subject to disclosure and is overly punitive when it comes to the fines imposed for violations. Currently, records of incidents involving any use of force by a peace...
Lance Corporal Nathan Gonzalez graduated from the Marine Corps Military Police Academy at Marcordet Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on August 18, 2020. Gonzalez received the Distinguished Honor Graduate by finishing at the top of his class with an average of 97.86 throughout his training. He received letters of commendation and was meritoriously promoted to lance corporal. Gonzalez is a 2019 Shafter High School graduate and is the son of Mike Gonzalez of Shafter and Tiffany...
The Richland School District has named interim Superintendent Rosa Romero as the district's permanent superintendent, signing a three-year contract. Romero had been the interim superintendent since late 2019, after the resignation of Dago Garcia. She is facing a school year that has begun with distance learning, which has been a requirement for districts in counties on the state's watch list. Recently Governor Newsom announced that schools will be allowed to open the school...
For Shafter residents who want to give their vehicle a thorough cleaning, it usually means a trip into Bakersfield, or a long two hours in the sweltering heat to do it yourself, battling the weather and the bugs. Fortunately, there is a better alternative, with a full cleaning and detail just a phone call away. The Midas Touch Mobile Car Wash is open seven days a week, offering a variety of levels of service, depending on your needs. Victor Gonzales started his business about...
With many businesses closed or offering reduced services, the challenge of raising funds for local clubs and organizations has been daunting. There can be no events with large gatherings or events that do not follow the safety guidelines put forth by the governor and Kern County. But Shafter and its non-profit organizations are finding creative solutions to today's challenges. For example, the Shafter Kiwanis Club, continuing a tradition that has been going for decades, is...
Richland School District students are getting acclimated to their new reality, which includes raising their hand in class with the click of a button, and only being able to see their friends from a picture on their screen. With the governor's ruling making it necessary for all schools on the watch list to operate virtually, challenges abound but are being handled by a dedicated teaching staff and administration. Superintendent Rosa Romero, who was recently appointed...
With many businesses closed or offering reduced services, the challenge of raising funds for local clubs and organizations has been daunting. There can be no events with large gatherings or events that do not follow the safety guidelines put forth by the governor and Kern County. But Shafter and its non-profit organizations are finding creative solutions to today's challenges. For example, the Shafter Kiwanis Club, continuing a tradition that has been going for decades, is...
he city of Shafter has begun a campaign encouraging residents to wear a mask in public, aiming to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Digital signs have been placed at different points of Lerdo and Central Valley highways. Several residents are still concerned that not enough people are wearing a mask in the downtown and residential areas. Deanna Rodriguez-Root, a member of the Richland Board of Trustees, said more needs to be done to make sure residents are adhering to the...
The Community Emissions Reduction Plan, which was created by a committee made up of Shafter community members, city officials and business owners, has seen some implementation since it was approved late last year. In a move to lower emissions and reduce the community’s energy usage, the CERP includes a commitment from the San Joaquin Valley Air District of up to $1.5 million to incentivize the installation of residential solar and zero and near-zero emission appliances in Shafter, by committing a 10% match to state funding f...
Cris Starrh was recently recognized for the 25 years she has served the youth of Shafter by founding the Shafter Children's Summer Theater, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with its production of The Lion King. This was the first production that was done virtually, live streaming the play from Shafter's Ford Theater. After the production, the cast presented Starrh with a video featuring remarks from different cast members through the years. She was also given a...
The Richland School District had planned to begin in-person schooling on Aug. 6, but that was before Governor Newsom restricted school districts to distance learning in counties on the state's watch list. That made it necessary for Kern County schools to teach via the internet. While distance learning presents a series of challenges, the Richland School District has made the learning a positive experience by integrating lessons with sessions that allow the students to...
Shafter will host a group of representatives from nine cities to review a new reimbursement proposal that was put before the Kern County Board of Supervisors. The proposal would drastically increase the fire services costs for the nine cities. Those cities are: Shafter, Wasco, Taft, McFarland, Delano, California City, Tehachapi, Maricopa and Arvin. A study done by the Kern County Fire Department found that those cities had been substantially underpaying for services provided...
AN APPRECIATION Shafter has a rich history, with founding families putting down roots and creating a city that has flourished into one of the most financially sound cities in the state. Shafter lost one of the true pioneers in Shafter with the passing of Art Penner. Penner was a true gentleman who loved his family, his God and a large number of friends. A local farmer who was also a cultured man, who loved the joy of the first spring and freshly plowed earth, but also loved a...
Aliyah Ramos Esquivel, a dancer who lives in Shafter, was recognized recently with a prestigious Team Scholarship award from the Hollywood Vibe Company. Hollywood Vibe is a national dance convention/competition company that tours the United States with some of the top industry choreographers and dancers in the nation. Esquivel's scholarship enabled her to audition for the company nationals in July. She was chosen to be a part of the company's 23-member cast. She will now be ma...
The Shafter Children's Summer Theater celebrated its 25th anniversary with three performances of The Lion King over the weekend. The performances were put on at Shafter's Ford Theater and streamed for the audience to watch it virtually. The production was put on by Cris Starrh and her staff of volunteers. Starrh began the SCST when her children were small and needing something to do during the summer. In partnership with the Shafter Recreation Department and Shafter High...
The schools in the Richland School District opened their doors, at least figuratively, on Aug. 6, beginning a first semester that will have the students learning from a distance, as they did at the end of the last semester. The district had planned for students to attending in person on an alternating basis, with one group going to school on Mondays and Tuesdays and another group going on Thursdays and Fridays, with the students distance learning the rest of the week. But...
According to the Kern County Department of Public Health, Shafter showed a significant decrease in new coronavirus cases from last week, with a little over 40 new cases, compared to 200 the previous week. However, the decrease may be the result of a backlog of tests whose results have not been confirmed. There likely was a slight decrease, though, as a result of the closures of several buildings, including restaurants’ dine-in areas, city buildings, and other non-essential businesses. In a move to assist restaurants and retai...
Despite digital road signs that implore residents to “Wear a Mask” and “Stop the Spread,” the number of people testing positive continues to rise and some officials are concerned by the amount of people who are not wearing face coverings. The number of covid-19 cases grew by 200 in Shafter, with 803 confirmed cases compared to 602 last week. In Wasco, there are 847 reported cases, an increase of 219 from last week. The Kern County Health Department says those figures might n...
Shafter and Wasco are among nine communities facing a spike of up to 200% in the cost of services provided by the Kern County Fire Department. Ryan Alsop, the chief administrative officer for the KCFD, said the department has been undercharging the cities it serves for years. “This is about getting full cost recovery for the services we are providing,” he said. The department has been unable to buy new equipment, he said. “After conducting a study, it was apparent that we were not getting the full value of the services we we...
On July30, more than a dozen Shafter residents wearing blue and holding signs gathered outside the Tin Cup to recognize Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Back in 2011, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation dedicating a day to fight the issues of slavery and human trafficking. Richland Board of Trustees member Melissa Dewitt led a Shafter contingency that joined many other groups around the nation calling for the end of human trafficking. "This is an important issue that...
A group of Shafter residents has helped the campaign to reopen the Shafter branch of the Kern County Libraries, which received countywide attention recently as it attracted news cameras and a front page story in the Bakersfield Californian. With the recent budget cuts, it seemed unlikely that many of the branches of the countywide system would reopen. But with an adjustment to the budget, it appears they will open a couple more libraries in addition to the eight that are open...
