The federal government shutdown has forced the closure of IRS and USDA offices in Bakersfield. The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center on Coffee Road is closed, and you’ll hear a message which says “Due to a lapse in appropriations, this office is closed.” The USDA Service Center on California Avenue is also closed, however the Social…… Read More
Houchin Community Blood Bank is asking you to donate blood. HCBB is running two promotions from October 13 through the 18 at all donation centers and mobile drives. Successful donors will receive two tickets to any Bakersfield College Renegades home football game during the 2025–2026 season while supplies last. And you can enter a raffle…… Read More
A Bakersfield man with a prior conviction for child molestation will spend six years behind bars. Skip Houghton, 51, was sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to sexually abusing a minor. In August 2021, Kern County Sheriff’s deputies interviewed the then-13-year-old girl who claimed Houghton had been abusing her for years. Houghton was arrested by…… Read More
A 52-year-old man has been charged with murder following a shooting near the Kern County Fairgrounds. Prosecutors say Gregory Andino III is accused of killing a man on Vine Drive the night of September 17, 2025. Kern County Sheriffs deputies arrested Andino Tuesday after a standoff on Rodney Street. He pleaded not guilty and is…… Read More
Two former softball players from Cal State Bakersfield have filed a lawsuit against the university. The suit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County alleges Head Softball Coach Letty Olivarez and Assistant Coach James Davenport created a sexually-charged environment because they openly discussed their sex lives with the team between 2022 and 2025. It also claims…… Read More
The value of Kern County crops fell by 8% in 2024. A new report shows Kern County is trailing Tulare County when it comes to crop values. Kern’s 2024 estimate puts our crop numbers at $7.96 billion dollars, lagging behind Tulare’s numbers at $8.3 billion. Tulare County was behind Kern by $760 million in 2023.…… Read More
A 32-year-old man faces numerous charges after an alleged SWAT standoff in northeast Bakersfield. Police say Ronnie Wiley, Jr. fought officers as they tried to arrest him following the standoff at an apartment in the 2700 block of Eissler Street Sunday night. Two juveniles were safely removed from the apartment. Wiley is also accused in…… Read More
The Kern County Board of Supervisors has approved a new food service contract for county jails. The deal with Trinity Services Group is worth up to $19 million over three years with an option to extend through 2030 for a total of about $33 million. Trinity will provide meals for inmates at Lerdo’s detention facilities,…… Read More
Two men accused in a deadly northeast Bakersfield shooting have been arraigned on murder charges. Prosecutors say Jaden Ambriz, 20, and Justin Hernandez, 24, are in custody after an 18-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday on Meadows Vista Court near Panorama Drive and Fairfax Road. Both men have pleaded not guilty and are…… Read More
New details have emerged in a suspected DUI crash that killed a young girl in southeast Bakersfield. Court documents say the SUV carrying a family rolled and slid more than 300 feet after being hit by a speeding car on East Panama Lane near Cottonwood Road on September 28. Azmeret Mayall, 6, died the following…… Read More
