A Kern County man is facing charges after being accused of killing stray cats in his neighborhood and eating them. This week residents in Oildale (an area just outside Bakersfield) heard suspicious noises coming from the home of Jason Wilmert. more ›

Taco Bell is testing out a (relatively) fresher, healthier menu that it's dubbed "Cantina Bell." If you want to give the new menu a try, you're in luck because one of the two markets that are getting a test run is just 90 minutes to the North in Bakersfield (the other is in Kentucky). more ›

Gregory Powell, one of the two men responsible for the 1963 "Onion Field" kidnap and murder of Los Angeles Police Department Officer Ian Campbell has cancer, and is serving a life sentence. However, District Attorney Steve Cooley announced late today that the California Board of Parole Hearings has denied Powell a compassionate release from prison. more ›

A couple in Kern County filmed themselves having sex on a plane and mid-air and set it to the tune of Katy Perry's E.T. more ›

What would you do if you won $51 million? A truck driver from Bakersfield is about to find out. Ronnie Orender, who is near retirement, found out Tuesday that he won the $51 million Mega Million jackpot, reports the Daily news. The odds, they note, were 176 million to one. more ›

In a unanimously vote on Monday, officials decided to nearly double in length the first segment of California’s planned high-speed rail line to curb concern that the initial route would not reach major population centers in the Central Valley, reports The Signal. At an additional cost of $616 million in federal funding, the rail segment will now be extended to Bakersfield. more ›

Last week, census data revealed that 16.1% of L.A. County residents are living in poverty. Now data about the Inland Empire is surfacing and it's telling an even worse story: the region saw a 15.4% poverty rate in 2009. more ›

Last week Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield was arrested on suspicion of a DUI. He's been on leave since then and today made a big announcement in a radio interview. "I'm gay," he said. "Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long." He was leaving a gay club the night he was arrested. The Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert blog notes that Ashburn consistently has voted against gay-rights measures, but today explained that his votes were a reflection of his constituency's desire, not his own. more ›

Suffering from post-Olympic sports withdrawal? Head hurting from Manny Hangover? A dose of NASCAR might be just what the doctor ordered. more ›

You may remember a few years back when the workers of the South Central Farm, who maintained a grassy patch of garden just south of Downtown, were evicted from the land in a rather bitter eminent domain battle. Now, the collective has purchased land outside of Bakersfield, in a town named Buttonwillow (home to a speedway and not much else), in anticipation of rebuilding and replanting their farm. Thanks to a sizable donation from a non-profit group, the South Central farmers now have 85 acres upon which to begin reconstructing their organic farming dreams. more ›

A guest post from Stephen G. Ruiz, a freelance photographer. more ›

- Today is visiting day at the Twin Towers facility where America's most famous inmate resides - The Atwater Village Street Fest is still happening till 4pm - They've turned a roller rink into the sweetest named museum in all of Long Beach, The Molaa - The Sopranos finale comes on at 6pm if you're lucky enough to get the east coast feed of HBO - LCD Soundsystem is at the El Rey tonight... more ›

A carefree Springtime waterparty turned tragic in Bakersfield when two kids who didn't know they had the E.Coli virus bacterium infected three others and possibly seven more including one adult.

In a news conference on Monday, county health officials announced that two children were already sick when they attended the party and sickened other children, ABC23 reported. more ›

I don't know anything about NASCAR. I will not pretend to know anything about it. I do know that Kevin Harvick is from Bakersfield. more ›