Jury Acquits Man of Gun Threat Charges
A Kern County jury found Charles Edward Vanworth not guilty of felony criminal threats tied to a dispute over a used Dodge Journey.
Bakersfield News
Bakersfield news covers city government, Kern County, schools, agriculture, energy and public safety in the birthplace of the Bakersfield sound. Reporting reaches neighborhoods and surrounding counties.
Politics
Live Poll
Should Bakersfield fill the Ward 2 vacancy by special election rather than appointment?
Bakersfield Council Faces Ward 2 Vacancy
Councilman Andrae Gonzales's move to the state Assembly leaves a Ward 2 seat open with options for filling it.
Automotive
Pickup Driver Dies in Crash Near Bakersfield School
The fatal collision occurred at a school zone intersection while a vehicle was slowing for children.
Weather and Disaster
MiG-29 Lands Safely at Meadows Field Airport
Emergency responders inspected the military aircraft after reports of hot brakes emerged during arrival.
Travel
Live Poll
In your community, are volunteer-led veteran service programs effectively meeting the needs of local veterans?
Honor Flight Kern County Returns With Veterans
Twenty veterans traveled to Washington, D.C. as part of an effort to honor their service.
Economics
Live Poll
Should the federal government suspend fuel taxes to lower gas and diesel prices?
Randy Villegas Proposes Suspending Federal Fuel Taxes
The congressional candidate aims to lower costs for drivers amid high diesel prices in the Central Valley.
Statewide and local reporting here runs across Bakersfield city hall and the Kern County board of supervisors, the Bakersfield City School District and Kern High School District, and the agriculture and oil production employers that define the regional economy. From Downtown and East Bakersfield to Southeast, South and Southwest Bakersfield, neighborhood coverage extends through the city and into Tulare County, Kings County, Los Angeles County and San Luis Obispo County where a story crosses the line. Kern County is among California's leading oil-producing counties, and energy policy decisions at the state and federal level translate quickly into local employment and revenue consequences that make extraction regulation a recurring front-page subject. Water allocation from the San Joaquin Valley's complex system of canals and reservoirs sits beneath most of the region's agricultural and land-use disputes.
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