Written by tgrJams on 06 December 2011
C.A.S.A. Is Here for the Children
Please be there for C.A.S.A.
Russo’s Books 3rd Annual Christmas Book Drive for C.A.S.A.
Needs Your Help to Succeed!
By Thomas G. Robinson, Fake Reporter
Mi casa es tú casa. Probably one of the easiest translations of a Spanish saying to English. You see this saying all over, but usually at the entrance to someone’s home, or out on the patio by the bar-b-que pit, near the table. We know what it means, ‘my house is your house’, but we never really look at the words, or genuinely mean them right? I mean, I prefer the other well known quote, “Friends and fish both smell after three days!” Right?
But take a little closer look at the true meaning of that phrase and you’ll end up in some kind of setting like the CASA headquarters over on 24th Street. The office is always busy and they are constantly trying to get these children the help they need while they are dealing with the most “unchildish” of situations. In this case, it truly is the about “mi casa”.
You see, when kids are in an unfortunate situation where they have been listed by the courts as abused, neglected or abandoned, they become separated from their families and begin their journey through the juvenile court system. The Juvenile Court then notifies CASA , and an Advocate is assigned to their case. The Advocate evaluates the child and discusses with the judge his or her report prior to the judge making a decision. This is a great help for the judge who will now use this very important insight to decide the course of action the courts will take for the betterment of the child.
Now, going through this horrible mess at any given time of the year is not a good thing for a child. But add to that, that it’s Christmas Season, and there’s a whole new set of loneliness and a stronger sense of abandonment that they feel now, that they don’t at other times of the year.
Russo’s Books wants to help take some of the grief out of these children’s lives, if not but for a minute or two, or ten, or a couple of hours! And you can help too! How? By buying a brand new book and giving it to us to give to CASA, you will ensure that these children will not feel like they’ve been forgotten this holiday season! For some of these kids, it may even be the very first book that they can truly call their own! Something happens when you own a book. You get a sense of self worth and self esteem. You cherish it more. You may even want to read it over and over again.
We think that when children own their very own brand new book, it will not only take their minds off of the very big and awful situation they are going through, but it just may increase their wanting to embrace reading just a little more!
Our goal this year is to raise 400 books for CASA. Each child will receive one, maybe even two books from this effort. Won’t you help us?
So help CASA help these kids! Stop by Russo’s Books at The Marketplace and donate a book to a CASA Kid. Give the gift of literacy! Porque, mi casa es en realidad su casa, y me allegro de que lo es!
Tags: abuse, advocates, casa, children, christmas, donate, family, giving, help, russo's books
Posted in Activities For Kids, Arts & Entertainment, Book Reviews, Business News, Community Submitted News, Local News, Out and About | Comments Off
Written by Laura on 19 October 2011
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Region IX
_________________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period begins Saturday, Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, 2011. This is the time of year when people with Medicare are urged to check their Medicare health and prescription drug plans to make sure their plan still meet their needs.
Two things are new this year: the open enrollment time frame has been moved up and lengthened (to seven weeks from six) and Medicare will begin using its Five-Star Rating System to rate Medicare health plans based on quality and service.
David Sayen, Medicare’s regional administrator for California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii will hold a press call at 12 p.m. noon on Friday, Oct. 14 to explain these changes and to answer questions from reporters.
The toll-free call-in number is: 877-267-1577.
The meeting ID number is: 9496.
(If you have trouble getting on the call, please redial the call-in number and the meeting ID number.)
I hope you can join this call.
Cheers,
Jack
Jack Cheevers
Public Information Officer, Region IX
U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
90 Seventh St., Suite 5-300 (5W)
San Francisco, CA 94602
415-744-3723
Posted in Community Submitted News, Health and Nutrition, State Government | Comments Off
Written by Laura on 19 October 2011
For Immediate Release Contact: Natalya Pyatkovska
661-615-6550
Jam to Pick # 6, 8 and 13 in First Round of 2011 NBA D-League Draft
BAKERSFIELD, October 11, 2011 – The Bakersfield Jam will have three first round draft picks, # 6,
8, and 13, in the 2011 NBA D-League Draft. The lottery took place in Denver, CO today at the League’s
annual coaches meetings. The NBA D-League Draft will be held Thursday, November 3.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted, but we look forward to using these picks to help us build on last year’s
successful season,” said Head Coach Will Voigt.
In addition to the sixth, eighth and 13th overall picks, Bakersfield will also select 40th, 57th, 72nd, 89th,
104th, 121st and 123rd overall in the 128-player draft. The Jam acquired two additional first round picks
in two separate trades with the Reno Bighorns and the Iowa Energy during the 2010-11 season.
Bakersfield also made several other trades throughout the year, gaining an additional eighth round
selection while sending away a second round pick. The team has one pick in each of the remaining
rounds. Bakersfield will have 10 total selections in this draft.
The NBA D-League Draft utilizes a “serpentine” format, meaning the order will alternate in each of the
eight rounds. For example, the team picking last in the first round will select first in the second round,
giving them the 16th and 17th overall choices.
The order of the first round will be:
1. Los Angeles D-Fenders
2. Austin Toros
3. Maine Red Claws
4. Sioux Falls Skyforce
5. Texas Legends
6. Iowa Energy (to Bakersfield)
7. Erie BayHawks
8. Bakersfield Jam
9. Idaho Stampede (to Erie)
10. Fort Wayne Mad Ants
11. Tulsa 66ers
12. Dakota Wizards
13. Reno Bighorns (to Bakersfield)
14. Rio Grande Valley Vipers
15. Canton
16. Springfield Armor (to Tulsa)
1400 Norris Road– Bakersfield, CA 93308
Office: 661.615.6550 – Fax: 661.615.6555 – www.bakersfieldjam.com
Posted in Community Submitted News, Local Sports | Comments Off
Written by Laura on 19 October 2011
Men’s Basketball Returns to KERN 1180
Station to Carr y All 31 Games Live Under New Partnership
Bakersfield, Calif- CSU Bakersfield Athletics, Nelligan Sports Marketing and American General Media have reached a new multi-year radio
agreement to carry all 31 CSUB men’s basketball games on KERN Radio Newstalk 1180 beginning with the rapidly-approaching 2011-12 season.
“We’re very happy to have been able to work out a partnership with American General Media to carry Roadrunner basketball,” said Athletic
Director Jeff Konya. “AGM is a wonderful local radio company that is dedicated to giving back to the community, we share several of the same
values and passions and are really looking forward to working with them again this season and in the future.”
The new deal moves Roadrunner basketball back to its longtime home of KERN Radio Newstalk 1180 after a single-season run on KGEO
1230, another AGM sister-station. The addition of Nelligan Sports Marketing means new features for fans including a 30-minute pregame
show prior to all games and a ‘University Minute’ which will air throughout the season at various times on the station.
“KERN Radio Newstalk 1180 looks forward to partnering with CSUB Athletics,” said Toni Snyder, General Manager at American General
Media. “The ‘Runners are going to have a great year and we look forward to every game. We hope Bakersfield will go to the games and listen
to KERN Radio as they enjoy the season and support the players.”
Corey Costelloe will once again serve as the play-by-play voice for the Roadrunners. This will be Costelloe’s ninth season behind the microphone
for CSUB where he also works as the Director of New Media and Broadcasting.
“It’s a privilege to be able to work a ninth season with Roadrunner basketball as these are exciting times for the program,” Costelloe said.
“This is an outstanding group of young men compiled by head coach Rod Barnes, the best I’ve seen in my time here and I am looking forward
to sharing that excitement on air with Roadrunner fans.”
KERN will begin the broadcast schedule with CSUB’s exhibition contest against Whittier College at the Icardo Center on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.
Fans will then be able to listen to the regular season opener on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. as the Roadrunners travel to PAC-12 member
Oregon State. The ‘Runners will also play on the road the following Wednesday, Nov. 16 at Cal Poly at 7 p.m. before returning for their home
opener on Saturday, Nov. 19 against Pepperdine at 7 p.m. in the Icardo Center.
“CSUB Athletics has been a staple on American General Media radio stations for years and we are thrilled to have maintained the rights to
one of the premiere sports properties in the South Valley for our heritage 50,000-watt station KERN,” said Brett Reckamp, KERN’s Program
Director. “With live CSUB men’s basketball play-by-play, the weekly ‘Roadrunner Rundown’ radio show, plus interviews, reports, features and
other original content, Kern Radio Newstalk 1180 is indeed Bakersfield’s exclusive radio home of the ‘Runners.”
The games will also be available online via the station’s audio stream at www.KernRadio.com and for smartphone users via the Tune In Radio
App.
Season tickets are available by calling 654-BLUE. Single game tickets will also be available this season online at www.GoRunners.com.
~www.GoRunners.com~
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 11, 2011 • CSUB ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Posted in Community Submitted News, Local Sports | Comments Off
Written by tgrJams on 14 October 2011
-
-
-
-
-
Doubt: A Parable, Poster designed by Mathey, McClure and Rodan
MATHEY DIRECTS DOUBT – ‘A MUST SEE!’ At BCT!
By Thomas G. Robinson, randomly writing
Bakersfield Community Theatre’s first main stage production for their 85th Season began last weekend with the play Doubt: A Parable, directed by Roger Mathey. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 2005. Writer John Patrick Shanley originally called the play Doubt, and it originally opened off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in November of 2004. It was a one-act play that ran about 90 minutes. When audiences left the theatre with differing opinions of the events Shanley added a second act. When the play was published in 2004, the title was changed to Doubt: A Parable.*
I found the English North American Dictionary’s definitions of the main words used in the title rather interesting in describing the kind of play you’re in for, read on:
Doubt – (transitive verb) [dowt] to think something unlikely, to feel unconvinced or uncertain about something, or think that something is unlikely. To not trust somebody or something. To suspect that somebody is not sincere or trustworthy, or that something is not true, likely, or genuine.
Parable – (noun) [párrəb’l] Moral or religious story. A short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. Story ascribed to Jesus Christ. A parable that appears in the Bible, as told by Jesus Christ.
With definitions so succinct, so definitive of the characters in the play, it’s only right that you feel like you’re in for something much more than your regular drama. This play holds your attention, keeps you wondering who is right, who’s at fault and what if… just what if the accusations are wrong… What if there is doubt?
I was taken aback when I learned that Mathey had agreed to direct this play. Not that he’s not a great director (which he clearly is), it was just strange to me since I know he just finished wrapping up a huge production in Los Angeles. Roger spent a good portion of the year writing, planning, successfully fundraising and networking for a show called You Make Me Physically Ill (a well received production that was given rave reviews by several Los Angeles theatre magazines).
When I asked him why he was so interested in directing this play, having just come off of a long production in Los Angeles, he responded, “Directing Doubt came up way before You Make Me Physically Ill”, adding, “Sheila (McClure, Director of Shows at BCT) asked me awhile ago and I committed. She showed me a list of the shows that were planned for the next season and out of all of them I wanted Doubt. I wanted to keep it simple in scope.”
And so he did. The set is black box, but on a much larger scale. It is dark and demure. With it you get a little hint of Catholicism with the stained glass and pulpit, and Sister Aloysius’ office is exactly how you would imagine it to be. Cold. Uninviting. Unmerciful. Or is it?
Mathey has directed many plays in his vast career under his production company (Seat of Your Pants Productions), and has won some prestigious awards in Los Angeles, so it is no mistake that he knows how to put a cast together. He has managed to round up some of Bakersfield’s biggest talents for this production – Brian Sivesind, Barbara Gagnon, Ellie Sivesind and Althea Williams; all cast to perfection.
The two most notable are veterans of the local theatrical scene. Brian is the Executive Director at The Empty Space Theatre (a venue he founded in 2003 and just recently returned to the helm), and Barbara has been seen in various productions around town entertaining us for several years, never failing to shine. For this show, Barbara was able to win the role over many talented actresses who auditioned. When watching her in this production, it’s easy to see why.
Sivesind was pre-cast for this show by Mathey months before he set up auditions. This practice is usually frowned upon by actors who feel that it’s not a fair shake, to be left out of the opportunity to be a part of an intensely popular production. It’s an option that, if taken, had better be a call that is a connection from actor to character that an audience will consider a sure thing! It’s a risk not too many directors will take. However, when you watch Doubt, you can see that Sivesind’s portrayal of Father Flynn as a shaken, frustrated and overwhelmed priest on the wrong end of the constant accusations beset upon him by Sister Aloysius, why Mathey wanted him in this role.
“I precast Brian for multiple reasons”, Roger explained, “First, he is a tremendous actor, and as the Executive Director for The Empty Space Theatre, it’s good for BCT in relations. As for the women, there was real talent that read for the role of Sister Aloysius”
Brian has had some great roles over the years in Bakersfield, but who can forget his stirring performance in I Am My Own Wife, a one-man show that he did a few years ago at the Spotlight Theatre that simply blew me, and everyone around me, away. I can remember watching him become this person who, if you know Brian, is completely outside of him; he was engulfed in the character.
The night I saw the play, at the end, the standing ovation and thunderous applause he received was overwhelmingly delivered from a very enthusiastic and appreciative audience, and was so richly deserved. Where does one go from a performance like that?
I asked him why Father Flynn… Why now? “This role means a lot to me. It’s about people’s conclusions to situations when they don’t even have all the information”, Brian continues, “It’s a never-ending cycle, even if it’s not true”.
I noticed that he really looked good on stage, comfortable. He says, “It’s been over a year since I’ve been on stage, it’s time. The last time I performed at BCT was in 2003 in The Grapes of Wrath”.
Roger has no regrets on his casting choices, “I cast Barbara and Ellie because I’ve never worked with them before. I’ve been very lucky! All four actors are very talented. There is no weak link.”
One would doubt that Mathey will attempt to mirror anything done in the film version either. “I never saw it”, he says, “I refused to watch it. I wanted to wait until this play was done with before I see it.
It is my opinion, given the choices of theatrical productions in town, if you decide you want to view a show where it seems like all the planets have lined up to create the ‘just right’ mix of actors in a ‘just right’ script from a ‘just right’ director, there clearly is no doubt that this play would be the ‘just right’ thing to do.
Doubt runs at the Bakersfield Community Theatre for two more weeks. Tonight and Saturday at 8:00 PM (doors open at 7:30 PM) and Sunday at 2:00 PM, (doors open at 1:30 PM). Tickets are $15 for Adults and $12.00 for Senior Citizens, Students (with valid school ID) and Military (with an Armed Forces ID). Call 831.8114 for more information or to make reservations.
*** If you’ve read this far, you’re in luck! This weekend only, BCT is presenting BLACK FRIDAY, BLACK SATURDAY AND BLACK SUNDAY! Mention that you heard about their Black (fill in the day) Deal, and you’ll get a Buy One, Get One FREE deal for Adult tickets! That’s two tickets (a $30 value) for $15.00! Students, don’t feel left out. The same mention gets you in for HALF PRICE! That’s right. Mention the Black (Day) at the box-office and your $12.00 ticket becomes $6.00!
Go see Doubt: A Parable – This year’s MUST SEE production!
*Information provided by Wikipedia – Doubt: A Parable
Doubt: A Parable, Poster designed by Mathey, McClure and Rodan
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community Submitted News, Local News, Out and About, Play Reviews | Comments Off
Written by Laura on 18 September 2011
MEDIA ALERT:
CSUB ATHLETICS WILL HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH,11AM AT HARDT FIELD TO ANNOUNCE AFFILIATE CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIPS FOR A FEW OF OUR SPRING SPORTS.
Guests Include: Dr. Horace Mitchell, University President
Jeff Konya, Athletic Director
Bill Kernen, Head Baseball Coach
Parking is available in the lot on the third base side of Hardt Field. Please let me know if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you on Monday.
Corey Costelloe
Director of New Media/Broadcasting
CSU Bakersfield Athletics
Posted in Community Submitted News, Local News, Local Sports | Comments Off
