Challenges for the City of Bakersfield

By Anselmo Moreno

         Our city councilman and fellow Rotarian Russell Johnson gave us a firsthand account of the challenges that our city faces on November 2. It was an incredible program, unfiltered and straightforward!

         According to Russell, Sacramento lawmakers in Sacramento can’t seem to get their act together. We got a crash course in the current status of the High Speed Rail Project. Russell reported that the estimated costs to build this transportation system recently doubled. He asked, “Do they not understand what the term “economic recession” means?” Rhetorical question?

In much more positive news, the Hosking Road interchange is on the city’s priority list! In case you are not familiar with that particular side of town, Hosking Road currently goes over Highway 99, and is located south of Panama Lane and north of Taft Hwy. Adding this interchange will ease up on the traffic congestions problems that currently plague the Panama interchange, and making all that empty land located in that area much more attractive to big retailers and manufacturers. One small infrastructure addition can result in a huge economic benefit for our city.

Our thanks to Councilman Johnson for keeping public safety and responsible use of taxpayer funds a top priority in his vision to improve Bakersfield.