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By: Rosario Ortíz

Veteran’s Day schedule for California Living Museum
  The California Living Museum (CALM) will be on a special operating schedule for the Veteran’s Day holiday.

  CALM will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All veterans showing proof of prior service or military I.D. and children ages 3 to 17 will receive $1 off admission.

  CALM, at10500 Alfred Harrell Highway (between Lake Ming and Hart Park), features a zoo housing native animals that cannot be released into the wild because of injury or abandonment. CALM also features a natural history museum and botanical gardens landscaped with vegetation native to California.

  Call (661) 872-2256 or visit www.calmzoo.org for prices and other information.

Rubio wins European fellowship to study health care
Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio has been awarded the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship.

  The annual award is granted to about 50 leaders throughout the United States. Award recipients must excel in the government, journalism, business or nonprofit sectors.

  As part of the fellowship, Rubio will travel to five or six cities in Europe in 2006 to meet with local and national European leaders to discuss a broad range of policy areas.

  Rubio said in a written statement he’s looking forward to discussing the role of health care and other related issues and how they have been addressed in countries throughout Europe.

  One of Rubio’s goals is to help reduce the number of uninsured children in the Fifth District, which has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in Kern County.
  The fellowship was founded in 1972 in Washington, D.C. as a non-partisan public policy organization devoted to strengthening the transatlantic relationship between the United States and Europe.

  Fellowship winners must be nominated by a leader in the community (Rubio was nominated by retired state Sen. Art Torres) and must write several essays about how the applicant’s home community will benefit from his/her participation in the program. Candidates must also be interviewed in person.

  “I expect to learn more during this experience about how I may help better the lives of my constituents through positive work that may already be ongoing in cities in Europe,” Rubio said in a written statement.

Bakersfield’s graffiti hotline goes bilingual
  The city of Bakersfield has added a bilingual option to the Graffiti Abatement hotline that allows Spanish-speaking citizens to report graffiti.

  To report graffiti, English-speaking Bakersfield residents can dial 32-ERASE (323-7273).

  But now Spanish speakers can also dial this number and get connected to a Spanish message line. Also, there is a Spanish-speaking employee in the Graffiti Abatement office to assist in processing graffiti removal requests.

  In addition, complaints can be filed in Spanish through the city’s web site http://www.ci.bakersfield.c...

Museum event emphasizes energy conservation
  Bakersfield’s Kern County Museum, 3801 Chester Avenue, will hold “Black Gold/America Recycles Day” on Nov. 12.

  The event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. celebrates the exploration of oil in the county, but also includes tips for conserving energy.

  The event commemorates the third anniversary of “Black Gold: The Oil Experience,” an educational oil exhibit west of Texas. Attendees will have a chance to explore a circa 1910 wooden cable tool drilling rig, a 1914 Red Bank Jack Plant and the museum’s transportation exhibit featuring a collection of antique vehicles. Interactive demonstrations, games and machinery.

  Other highlights of the event include an exhibition of hybrid and zero emission at idle vehicles by Model A Club, Bill Wright Toyota and Barber Honda. Golden Empire Transportation (GET) will also exhibit a compressed natural gas bus.

  City of Bakersfield’s Solid Waste Division will share information about recycling in their booth, where visitors will be able to toss a recycled frisbee.

  Both San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and Keep Bakersfield Beautiful will also have information on improving air quality and the Mineral Mites Club will display minerals and offer facts about Kern County geology. Bakersfield Area Retarded Citizens will also be present at the event.

  Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (ages 60+) and students (ages 13-17), $6 for students (ages 6-12) and $5 children (ages 3-5). Children under the age of 3 enter at no cost. Parking is free. 

  For more information, contact the museum at (661) 852-5000 or visit www.kcmuseum.org. The museum will be closed Nov. 11 in observance of Veteran’s Day.