Drive (or if you're like me, ride a bike) around northwest Bakersfield.  What do you see other than homes?  You guessed it, strip malls/plazas!!!  New ones are being built at seeming every intersection in the northwest.  There's a new one on Calloway Drive just north of Rosedale Hwy, a fairly new one at Hageman Road and Calloway, another 3? new ones at Calloway and Brimhall Road.  There will soon be one at Brimhall Road and Jewetta Ave across from Liberty High School, another at Hageman and Verdugo Lane, and another at Calloway Dr. and Noreiga Road.  And that is only a short list of all the new little plazas around northwest Bakersfield.  There may be 10 or 15 or more other ones I didn't even mention.  Although developers are coming up with nicer designs and architecture for newer ones now (I think city ordinance now requires them to) than before, I still think there are too many of them.

My question is, why can't the northwest get something for better entertainment like a regular mall, movie theater, or bowling alley?  I submitted a question to the Ask the Californian feature (found in The Bakersfield Californian on Mondays or on www.bakersfield.com) and in the answer it was stated by a local engineer that we can't support too many movie theaters.  Well, how can we support the gazillion deli/sandwich shops, dentists, etc. (no offense and I'd hate to see any of them not make it), but not a movie theater or some other place of entertainment?

What do you think of this issue?

Earlier today I participated in the annual Great Strides walk to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation held at the Park at Riverwalk.  It was a hot morning for this time of year and the heat did take it's toll on me.  I got fatigued fairly quickly, but was able to get through the walk with no problems.  After the walk, they had lunch.  Sandwiches were provided by The Garden Spot and pizza was provided by BJ's Restaurant & Brewery.  Great Harvest Bread Co. served up some of its goodies (breads, scones, coffee, etc).  There was also a private DJ there playing some good music and he also announced the winning raffle ticket numbers for each prize raffled off.  There was also free ice cream, water, and sodas.  There was a raffle and a silent auction, both of which had some nice prizes, like Bakersfield Blaze tickets, San Jose Sabercats (arena football) tickets, and gift cards to places like Dewar's, Uricchio's Trattoria, and Regal Entertainment Group (who owns Edwards Cinemas and United Artist movie theaters).  I won a little prize package from Dreyer's Ice Cream, which included a free case of ice cream (that I have to call and pick it up from the factory here in Bakersfield), a viser, and a little notepad in a nice bag.  They actually raffled off 8 of them-I won one.  I only participated in the raffle, not the auction.

It seemed like there was a bigger turnout this year than last year.  I met some of the other walkers and one girl who suffers from CF (the girl who posted her story in The Bakersfield Californian last week and The Northwest Voice) while at the walk.  Everyone I met were very nice.  I also saw some people that I already knew there.  I finished 2 laps (about 3 miles) in about 40 minutes.  All together, the walk raised somwhere around $38,000 (last year it raised $17,000).  I had a coin drive at my work that raised $207.49 for this year's walk.  Next year I look to put together a team of co-workers (I tried, but failed miserably, to do so this year) and hopefully raise even more money for the walk.  I enjoyed the walk and look forward to next year's walk already.

Well, that's about it.  I'll be sure to post some pictures from the walk sometime soon.

Well, tomorrow is the start of a big next 10 days or so for me.  First, I'll be walking in the Great Strides walk benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (I don't have CF, just walking for a cure) at 9:00 am at the Park at Riverwalk on Stockdale Hwy.  After that, I'll be going to Long Beach next Friday to watch the Grand Prix of Long Beach (an IndyCar series race-actually a former Champ Car World Series race-until the aforementioned serieses merged).  I can't wait to see the race since I've wanted to go to an open-wheel race since becoming a fan of the IndyCar and Champ Car series a couple of years ago.  Well that's about it for my first blog on northwestvoice.com.  I will blog about my experiences at both events.