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inside
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12.2016
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managing Editor Jamie Solis
A Time for Change The Kern County Board of Supervisors made plans to craft an Environmental Impact Report to better understand how to potentially support a recreational cannabis future. Legal Cannabis Conundrums The type of job you have may determine if you will be tested for cannabis in the workplace.
Editorial Contributors Benjamin Adams, Sheryll Alexander, Marguerite Arnold, Jake Browne, Cole Garrison, Jasen T. Davis, Alex Distefano, David Downs, Natasha Guimond, Addison Herron-Wheeler, Anthony Herrold, Pamela Jayne, Heather Johnson, Joe Jatcko, David Jenison, Kevin Longrie, Emily Manke, Tyler Markwart, Meital Manzuri, Sandy Moriarty, Madison Ortiz, Denise Pollicella, R. Scott Rappold, Paul Rogers, Joy Shannon, Lanny Swerdlow, Simon Weedn, Zara Zhi Photographers Kristen Angelo, Steve Baker, Kristopher Christensen, John Gilhooley, Joel Meaders, Duncan Rolfson Art Director Steven Myrdahl production manager Tommy LaFleur Graphic Designer Tanya Delgadillo sales director Justin Olson bakersfield Jon Bookatz sales manager
departments 10 By the Numbers
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associate Editor Ashley Bennett
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8 News Nuggets
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Editor-In-Chief Evan Senn
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Publisher Jeremy Zachary
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CULTURE
20 News of the Weird
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Account Executives Kim Cook, Eric Bulls, Cole Garrison, Gene Gorelik, Teddy Helms, Beau Odom, Chris Thatcher, Vic Zaragoza general Manager Iris Norsworthy Office Assistant Angelina Thompson digital content manager David Edmundson digital marketing Alazzia Gaoay manager Ctv Contributors Quinn Marie Distribution Manager Cruz Bobadilla
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ON THE COVER: p h o t o b y J o h n G i l h o o le y
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NEWS
nuggets
Hanford Votes in Favor of Cannabis
Coalinga Residents Vote in Favor of Single Cannabis Collective The city of Coalinga in Fresno County voted on Measure G. With 51.4 percent of voters supporting Measure G, the city of Coalinga will authorize a single cannabis collective to operate. There will be a 10 percent tax imposed on the gross receipts of cannabis businesses and the measure’s text validated what the cannabis taxes would be allocated toward. “Revenues from the tax would be deposited in the city’s general fund, which is used to pay for police and fire protection, senior and youth programs, street repairs, code enforcement, employee salaries and benefits and other city services,” the measure states. The deficit for the city of Coalinga is more than $3 million, so it will be interesting to see how much tax a single cannabis collective will bring to Coalinga.
City officials in Hanford decided to move forward with allowing a cannabis cultivation facility in the city. Two officials from Hanford traveled to indoor cannabis growing facilities in San Jose and Canada before they decided to permit cannabis cultivation in Hanford. The Police Chief Parker Sever filed a report about his trip. He shared his insight into seeing a large indoor cannabis facility, “We found them to be very impressive facilities, not what we were expecting.” Sever also shared the experience with the city council. “Looking at the facilities we went to, even the district attorney was impressed,” Sever said. “Do I think if a facility like that was in Hanford I could regulate it? I do.” The city council came to this decision after Oakland-based Purple Heart Patient Center sent a letter to the city council in mid-September, inquiring about the possibility of operating within Hanford and promising to bring 1,115 full-time jobs and a tax revenue of $14 million each year. Now officials will involve Purple Heart representatives to propose their business plans to the council.
Pismo Beach City Council Temporarily Bans Cannabis Pismo Beach City Council passed a temporary cannabis ban on November 15. The ban prohibits everything cannabis-related aside from indoor cultivation and consumption for adults. Specifically, the ban disallows outdoor growing, manufacturing, labeling, storing, distribution and laboratory testing of cannabis. Pismo Beach City Attorney Dave Fleishman shared his support of the temporary ban, because he was concerned that the city needed time to bring the city’s code into compliance with the newly passed Proposition 64. Four councilmembers voted in favor of the ban with only Councilmember Erik Howell voting against the temporary ban. He didn’t think the issue regarding recreational cannabis was urgent, and therefore he did not see a reason to warrant the temporary ban. “I think this resolution reads as hysteria,” Howell said at the meeting. Although the ban is set to expire on December 30, the city council will have the option to extend the ban initially for another 10 months and 15 days.
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NEWS
The percentage of Kern County citizens who voted in favor of legalizing Proposition 64: (Source: New York Times)
45.9
The number of hours that a Florida physician must spend being trained to recommend medical cannabis to patients, according to the newly passed Amendment 2: (Source: NBC Miami)
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The number of Denmark patients who will be allowed to use medical cannabis to treat their chronic diseases in 2018: (Source: Business Insider)
1,500
The approximate number of patients that have been registered in Illinois after one year of legalizing medical cannabis:
12,000
The percentage of people living in Ireland who said they support legalizing medical cannabis: (Source: thejournal.ie)
77
(Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
New Year’s Eve Masquerade Party WHAT: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Party. WHEN/WHERE: Sat, Dec. 31. The Padre Hotel, 1702 18th St., Bakersfield. INFO: Visit www.thepadrehotel.com for more information. You can be whoever you want at this masquerade party! Put on your fanciest clothes, and be sure to wear a creative mask to ring in the New Year. Toast to 2017 with complimentary champagne—but if you go a little too hard on the champagne, there will be a midnight brunch to keep you rolling through the evening. The first 50 people who arrive at this swanky affair will receive a 10
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complimentary mask, so be sure to get there early! There will be two different dance floors. One stage will feature music by Soul People at Prairie Fire while the other will have DJ beats at the Prospect Lounge. There are special room packages, as well as packages that include a champagne brunch in the morning. Overall, this is going to be one of the most epic and classy ways to say “hello” to 2017!
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“While agriculture is regulated for things like pesticides, there is no other crop that requires a license before you plant it in California.� 14
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INVESTIGATING FURTHER Kern County will move forward with plans to consider recreational cannabis by Jamie Solis
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meeting on November 15 of the Kern County Board of Supervisors held a spark of hope that the county may permit recreational cannabis businesses in the future. On the meeting’s agenda, the council set out to discuss an Environmental Impact Report that could lead to a promising hope for the local cannabis industry. The topic was introduced as a “Proposed sole source consulting agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for preparation of an Environmental Impact Report and staffing assistance for options to amend the Kern County Zoning Ordinance Code to address land use regulations for medicinal and recreational cannabis.” The Kern County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt proceeded to discuss how California voters passed Proposition 64, which opens the doors for the county to regulate cannabis businesses by either allowing them or banning them. “I would like to note that this is the only agricultural crop in California that requires a specific state license. While agriculture is regulated for things like pesticides, there is no other crop that requires a license before you plant it in California,” Oviatt stated. “So this is a very unique type of agricultural operation, and we will be looking at it from that perspective.” She continued to explain that staff would conduct public discussions, stakeholder meetings and workshops in order to develop ordinance proposals. She further explained what considerations for the environment will be addressed by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. “And we will prepare an Environmental
Impact Report to look at the impacts,” Oviatt stated. “One of the most important impacts in regards to cultivation is the use of water. These crops use more water than other crops we are familiar with, and as you know, we have some really restricted basins.” Oviatt also explained how there are currently an estimated 27 collectives operating in the unincorporated parts of Kern County. She explained that staff will ask to extend the moratorium that currently blocks new collectives from opening up at the appropriate time. “We want to allow for this process to be completed without having to deal with new locations and new operations,” Oviatt said. One resident of Bakersfield native named David Abbasi shared his opinion on cannabis with the council. “I’m a student of law and a medical marijuana expert. I know about regulations, the industry, and work with various activist groups like Kern Citizens for Patients’ Rights. Former county council was misleading you on medical marijuana law, environmental law and election law,” Abbasi said. “Many states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, and it’s not going to stop . . . Consider the tax benefits, veterans with PTSD, public health and safety. There is a lot to be considered.” The proposals are expected to be submitted with the Environmental Impact Report by the end of 2017, which is right before recreational cannabis licenses will become available in California on January 1, 2018. c
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LEGAL CANNABIS CONUNDRUMS The type of job you have may determine if you will be drug tested by your employer by Jamie Solis
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lthough California finally voted to permit recreational cannabis use for adults, it doesn’t mean that you can consume cannabis at any time and still keep your job. California businesses may still test employees for drug use, but it appears that the decision to do so ultimately will come down to the type of work that is being done on the job. For example, if you’re a web designer for Google, you will not be forced to comply with a drug test. However if you operate heavy machinery for a construction company, chances are you will be drug tested. This divide can also been seen within certain California companies, where one profession within the organization is tested and another is not. According to The Mercury News, University of California, Berkeley doesn’t test its professors for drug use, but it does test campus police officers.
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The zero-tolerance approach for blue-collar workers versus the more relaxed approach by companies where people work primarily in cubicles is an interesting divide in our state. With the passage of Proposition 64, this divide between the two classes may stir up quite a bit of controversy. John Sullivan is the head of the Human Resources Management Program at San Francisco State. Sullivan told The Cannifornian one reason why white-collar professions like those in technology companies might choose to not test for drugs. “It affects recruitment and retention. In high tech, usage is so common that it is really hard to drug test, so most companies don’t,” Sullivan said. “The companies who used to do it don’t, because it drove so many people away and doesn’t predict anything.” On the other hand, many bluecollar professions are subjected to being tested for drugs, including cannabis, because they are operating
equipment that could potentially harm themselves or someone else. For instance, police officers have guns and tasers, which are notoriously known to be kept out of the hands of someone who is under the influence. Further, construction workers who wield powerful tools and people who drive buses are operating some of the most dangerous pieces of machinery that could cause harm to them or someone else if not utilized in a safe way. Although it is clear that testing positive for cannabis does not mean that someone is currently feeling the psychoactive effects of cannabis, there is still a strict zero tolerance policy in many companies. Now that California has successfully passed Proposition 64, it will be interesting to see if companies will move forward by developing and adopting an accurate way to test their employees for current impairment, thus allowing them to imbibe in adult-use of cannabis in their free time. c
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Chuck Shepherd's
News of the
Weird
RELIGION ADAPTS TO TECHNOLOGY u A network of freelance Buddhist priests in Japan last year began offering inhome, a la carte services (for those adherents who shun temples) through Amazon in Japan, quoting fixed fees and bypassing the usual awkward deliberation over “donations.” And in September, Pastor David Taylor of Joshua Media Ministries International (St. Louis, Missouri) announced, to great fanfare, that he had “resurrected” a diabetic woman, 40 minutes after her death, by sending the lady a text message—through Facebook (though, of course, neither she nor any family member was available for an interview). REDNECK CHRONICLES u (1) As a dispute escalated between two brothers at their recycling plant in Bow, New Hampshire, in October, Peter Emanuel used his front-end loader to tip over the crane being operated by Stanley Emanuel (who managed to jump out just in time). Peter was arrested. (2) Thousands flocked to the annual Roadkill Cooking Festival in Marlinton, West Virginia, in September, featuring an array of “tasting” dishes (e.g., black bear, possum, elk, snapping turtle) with a competition in which judges deducted points if the “chef” had not managed to remove all gravel or asphalt.
FINE POINTS OF CANADIAN LAW u Luckily, thought Jamie Richardson of Whitehorse, 20
Yukon, she had medical insurance for her 7-yearold Akita, who had torn a ligament in a hind leg, but it turned out that the policy, written by Canada’s largest pet insurer, Petsecure, did not cover dog injuries from “jumping, running, slipping, tripping or playing”—that is, Richardson concluded, injuries caused by “being a dog.” (After Richardson protested, Petsecure relented but, it said, only because Richardson had been a longtime customer.) u The Way the World Works: Who is the most at fault when (a) a mother provides beer to her underage son, (b) who then, with a pal, gulps down a bottle of vodka and steals a car from a dealer’s lot, and (c) drunkenly crashes, leaving the pal with a catastrophic brain injury? In October, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a jury verdict that parceled out “fault,” but assigned more to the victim of the 2006 car theft (Rankin’s Garage of Paisley, Ontario) than to the mother or the driver (because Rankin’s having left the key in the car overnight made it irresistible to “teenage car thieves”). THE JOB OF THE RESEARCHER u Charles Foster, recent recipient of the “Ig Nobel” prize in biology (and a fellow at Oxford University), has recently lived as a badger (inside a hole in Wales), an otter playing in rivers, and an “urban fox” rummaging through garbage bins in London, in addition to a red deer and (“ridiculously,” he admits) a migratory bird mapping treetop air currents—all in order to authentically experience those creatures’ lives apart from their physical appearance, which is generally all that humans know. “We have five glorious senses,” he told the
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Ig Nobel audience, and need to “escape the tyranny” of the visual. “Drop onto all fours,” he recommended. “Sniff the ground. Lick a leaf.” AWESOME NUMBERS IN THE NEWS u (1) Charles Diggs, facing child pornography charges, was found with supposedly a record haul for New Jersey—325,000 childporn images and files at his Roselle home in October. (2) The Justice Department revealed in an October court filing that former National Security Agency contractor Harold Martin III, 51, had stolen at least 500 million pages of “sensitive government files,” bit by bit over two decades. (Bonus questions: How does no one notice, for years, and anyway, how many total pages of “sensitive government files” are there?) LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS u In October (as in supposedly every previous October since the 13th century), some British official arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in London and paid rent to the queen for use of two properties—for the sum of “a knife, an axe, six oversized horseshoes and 61 nails,” according to reporting by Atlas Obscura. “No one knows exactly where these two pieces of land are,” the website reported, but one is in Shropshire County, and the other near the Royal Courts. GREAT ART! u New York City sculptor Bryan Zanisnik, operating on a grant from an emergingartist program of Socrates Sculpture Park in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, recently created a 10-piece “garden” of concrete Christopher Walken heads to honor the actor, who grew up in Astoria. Said Zanisnik, “Perhaps the project
suggests that Walken’s DNA was imbued into the soil of Astoria, and now Walken mushrooms are growing everywhere.” u “To be honest,” wrote New York Times art critic Holland Cotter in his lead sentence on Oct. 7, “I wonder what a lot of people see in abstract painting.” Then, nevertheless, Carter began praising the current Guggenheim Museum collection by abstract artist Agnes Martin, highlighted by her “Untitled No. 5,” which consists of a pinkish horizontal space, on top of a yellowish horizontal space, on top of a bluish horizontal space, exactly repeated underneath except the pinkish and bluish spaces are shortened near the edges of the canvas, but not the yellowish space. Asked Carter, “How do you approach an art empty of ... evident narratives” and “make it your own?” His unrestrained 1,600-word rave did not quite answer that, except to quote Martin’s suggestion that the visitor just “sit and look.” PERSPECTIVE u A recent Better Business Bureau study in Canada found that, contrary to popular belief, it is the “millennial” generation and those aged 25 to 55, rather than seniors, who are more likely now to fall victim to scammers, fueled by users’ lax skepticism about new technology. If accurate, the study would account for how a Virginia Tech student in September fell for a telephone call from “the IRS” threatening her over “back taxes.” She complied with instructions from the “agent” to send $1,762 in four iTunes gift cards. RECURRING THEMES u Most old-time liquor restrictions have fallen in America, but Utah continues to hold out. The new Eccles
Theater in downtown Salt Lake City, opened in October, has an elegant lobby with several floors of balconies overlooking it, but its liquor license was delayed briefly when it was realized that visitors on the upper floors could peer down at the lobby and witness beer and wine actually being poured from beer and wine bottles—a violation of state law, which allows serving only in ordinary glassware. (At lobby level, there was a “Zion Curtain” to shield drink preparation, but the theater realized it would also need a “Zion Ceiling.”) u True “Florida”: (1) In October, sheriff’s deputies in Pinellas County, detaining the 350-pound Columbus Henderson, 45, discovered (in one of Henderson’s “orifices”) a glass “crack pipe” stuffed with steel wool. (A week earlier, Henderson had shoplifted two 40-inch TV sets from a Wal-Mart in Fort Lauderdale, and fled, though he was identified when his loosely worn pants, containing his ID, fell completely off as he “dashed” through the parking lot.) (2) Police said Ms. Taccara Nauden, 28, had no contraband, but was using an “orifice” for her ID card, during a traffic stop in Hollywood in October. She did not want police to know that she was Taccara Nauden, since there was an arrest warrant on her. A NEWS OF THE WEIRD CLASSIC (JULY 2012) u Tennessee’s Super Breeders: Serial impregnator Desmond Hatchett, of Knoxville, has fathered (as of June 2012) at least 24 kids by at least 11 women, but he is hardly Tennessee’s most prolific. A June (2012) story (citing reporting by WMC-TV and WREG-TV in Memphis) revealed that Terry Turnage of Memphis has 23 children
by 17 women, and Richard Colbert (also from Memphis) has 25 with 18 women. Various child support court orders have been ignored, with one woman claiming the most she had ever seen from Turnage was $9. CULTURAL DIVERSITY u In September, a court in Paris upheld France’s government ban on people smiling for their passport and identity photos. One official had challenged the required straightforward pose (“neutral,” “mouth closed”), lamenting that the French should be encouraged to smile to overcome the perpetual “national depression” that supposedly permeates the country’s psyche. u The baseball-like “pesapallo” might be Finland’s national game, reported The New York Times in September, despite its differences from the American pastime. The ball is pitched to the batter— but vertically, by a pitcher standing next to the batter— and the batter runs the bases after hitting it, though not counterclockwise but zigzag style, to a base on the left, then one on the right, then back to the left. The game was invented in Finland in 1920 and has achieved minor notoriety, with teams from Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Australia vying for a “world cup” that so far none has been able to wrest from Finland. (Reassuringly, however, “three strikes” is an out in Finland, too.) NEW WORLD ORDER u Too Much Time on Their Hands: In an October profile of tech developer and startup savant Sam Altman, The New Yorker disclosed that “many people in Silicon Valley have become obsessed with the simulation
hypothesis”—that “what we experience as reality” is just some dark force’s computer simulation (as in the movie “The Matrix”). “Two tech billionaires,” the magazine reported, are “secretly engag(ing) scientists” to break us out of this alternative universe we might be trapped in. (One prominent member of the tech elite remarked at a Vox Media conference in June on how the “simulation hypothesis” seems to dominate all conversation whenever the elites gather.) u Scientists from England’s Bath University, publishing in a September issue of Nature Communications, report success in creating enduring live mice without use of a fertilized egg. The researchers showed it possible that a sperm cell can “trick” an egg into becoming a fullfeatured embryo without a “fertilization” process (in which distinct genomes from sperm and egg were thought to be required, at least in mammals). The scientists were thus able to “challenge nearly two centuries of conventional wisdom.” POLICE REPORT u Couldn’t Stop Myself: (1) Joshua Hunt, 31, was arrested in October inside St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he had gone to check on his 9-month-old son, who was being treated for an injury. Police said that while in the ward, he snatched another visitor’s purse and took a cellphone and credit cards. (2) Brittany Carulli, 25, was arrested in Harrison Township, New Jersey, in October, charged with stealing a medic’s wallet from inside an ambulance. The medic had allowed Carulli in the ambulance to grieve over her boyfriend’s body after he was struck and killed by a car.
The Winter Gala Let’s celebrate everything that 2016 brought to us at this end-of-the-year celebration. The Winter Gala is a themed event, so be sure to dress your part as someone from the roaring ’20s. While dressing the part is recommended and tons of fun, it is not a requirement. The whole night will have you feeling like you time traveled back to a “simpler” time, with jazz music, signature cocktails, dinner and dessert. Be sure to buy your tickets by December 9 to reserve your spot. There is even promise that there will be some exciting surprises that you will only find out about by attending. Some other highlights of the event will the Presidential Awards & Recognitions in addition to the Installation of the 2017 Board of Directors. WHAT: The Winter Gala. WHEN/WHERE: Fri, Dec. 16. Metro Galleries, 1604 19th St., Bakersfield. INFO: Visit www. facebook.com/ metrogalleries for more information.
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