A petition demanding an independent investigation into Kern County Child Protective Services has collected 1,055 signatures. It comes in response to the death of Genesis Mata, 8, whose body was found August 2 in a bathtub inside a central Bakersfield motel. The petition was launched by Josephina Villareal whose nephew died from abuse. She says…… Read More
A man has been charged with attempted murder after three pedestrians were struck by a vehicle in south Taft. Kern County Sheriff’s Deputies were sent to the 300 block of Naylor Avenue just before midnight Saturday night where a car struck a pedestrian who was taken to the hospital with major injuries. Deputies located two…… Read More
Outrage continues over plans to open the state’s largest detention center in California City. Community members, immigrant rights advocates, and local leaders gathered in protest outside City Hall Tuesday ahead of a scheduled city council meeting. Protesters’ demands include increased transparency, compliance with California’s public health, zoning, and environmental laws, and an immediate halt to…… Read More
Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, which has played host to nearly every country star and acts as the de facto headquarters of the Bakersfield sound., has closed its doors for good. The 28-year-old restaurant, bar and club in Bakersfield, which occupied more than 21,000 square feet in a two-story Western Revival-style house at 2800 Buck Owens…… Read More
Police say speed and drugs may have led to a fatal accident in northeast Bakersfield. Officers went to the 4400 block of Union Avenue Sunday evening to find a crash between a Hyundai and a Jeep. A 16-year-old passenger in the Hyunadai was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hyundai driver and two other passengers…… Read More
Police say speed and drugs may have led to a fatal accident in northeast Bakersfield. Officers went to the 4400 block of Union Avenue Sunday evening to find a crash between a Hyundai and a Jeep. A 16-year-old passenger in the Hyunadai was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hyundai driver and two other passengers…… Read More
Authorities are investigating a fire at a mobile home park in Oildale. The blaze is the third fire at the location in four months. The body of a woman identified as Linda Kelly was found around 2:00 a.m. Friday at a burned-out trailer at Superior Mobile Home Park in the 6000 block of State Road.…… Read More
A Kern County Fire battalion chief suffered serious injuries when the vehicle he was driving crashed in the Romero Canyon area. James Agee received medical aid at the scene before being flown by helicopter to Henry Mayo Hospital in Newhall after his pickup rolled over during operations on the Canyon Fire in Ventura and Los…… Read More
A recent grand jury report is putting Kern County Child Protective Services under the microscope. The information released in April comes on the heels of the death of Genesis Mata, 8, whose tortured body was found August 2, 2025, inside a bathtub at a central Bakersfield motel. Authorities say the girl’s father, Ray Mata, Jr.,…… Read More
A downtown Bakersfield tattoo shop was hit by vandals after claims that one of its artists has a tattoo of a swastika on his body. The front window at Electric Wizard Tattoo Castle on 19th Street was broken out Wednesday night and the words Nazis F*** Off were spray-painted above the entrance. The owner of…… Read More
