Bakersfield is traditionally acknowledged as the frontier delineating Sureño and Norteño gang territories. Citrus Valley 42, Redlands 7. Due to years of prolonged drought and rapid development of many new neighborhoods around Bakersfield, the density of the fog and amount of "fog days" has been steadily decreasing, while areas outside the city still experience thick fog. Bakersfield is also the home of fellow metal groups Cradle of Thorns and Adema. [112], The City Manager of Bakersfield is the appointed head of the executive branch. The census reported 344,088 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 2,094 (0.6%) lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 1,301 (0.4%) were institutionalized. The department pistol range is located on Truxtun Avenue, with the K-9 training grounds next door to the range. The city covers about 151 sq mi (390 km 2) near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Under the council-manager form of government, the City Manager is responsible for executing ordinances passed by the city council and running the departments that make up the city. [58], In 2019, Bakersfield had only 6 days with "Unhealthy" air quality and 2 days with "Very Unhealthy" according to the EPA. This ranked 9th in the United States. The city gained fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Bakersfield Sound, an electric guitar-driven subgenre of country music that commercially dominated the industry for more than a decade. [103] On May 26, 2005, the City of Bakersfield and the State of California Parks department obtained an assignable option, using a grant from the OHV Trust funds, to purchase a prospective 11,000 acres (45 km2) site for an OHV park. High school football scores for March 25-27. [87] At 16, Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951 where he and other musicians began to create what is now known as the Bakersfield sound. [135] If it were ever constructed, it would have two interchanges (at Morning Drive and Lake Ming Road) and would terminate at the SR 178 adopted alignment (not constructed). The median age was 30.0 years. The primary facility for receiving inmates arrested in the Bakersfield area is the Central Receiving Facility. The Yokuts of the region lived in lodges[22] along the branches of the Kern River delta and hunted antelope, tule elk, deer, bear, fish, and game birds. Bakersfield is home to Colby Lewis from the MLB team, the Texas Rangers, Stephen Neal from the Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots. The national jet boat association holds drag boat races at Lake Ming. For the next 22 years, a citizen's council managed the community. One of the most notable and versatile is the Mechanics Bank Arena (formerly the Centennial Garden) which hosts concerts, shows, and sporting events. San Joaquin Valley College and Santa Barbara Business College also have campuses in Bakersfield. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 143.6 sq mi (372 km2), of which 142.2 sq mi (368 km2) are land (98.99%) and 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2) are covered by water (1.01%). MBU Faith and Learning Symposium set for April 9, Professor of History Dr. Keith Beutler to deliver keynote presentation. [33][34], By 1890, it had a population of 2,626. The western extension of SR 58 is known as the Centennial Corridor, which will extend the freeway west to I-5. In 1972, Bob Weir released the song "Mexicali Blues" on his first solo album, Ace. Bakersfield uses the Council-Manager form of government, in which the City Council is the primary governing authority. [116] The same year, Bakersfield cast 75.2% of its votes in favor of Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. a music hall, nightclub, bar, restaurant, and museum, in Bakersfield. About 206,492 people (59.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 137,596 people (39.6%) lived in rental housing units. [53] The wettest “rain year” has been from July 1997 to June 1998 with 14.73 inches (374.1 mm) and the driest from July 1933 to June 1934 with 2.26 inches (57.4 mm). Over 546 uniformed firefighters are stationed in 46 fire stations throughout the county. For a list of past and present mayors, see List of mayors of Bakersfield. Recording his May 1 arrival to a Yokuts village along the Kern River, immediately northeast of present-Bakersfield, Garcés wrote,[21]. The people of the rancheria had a great feast over my arrival, and having regaled me well I reciprocated to them all with tobacco and glass beads, congratulating myself on seeing the people so affable and affectionate. [117] In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump received 50.4% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton's 44.0%. The first high school in Bakersfield, Kern County Union High School, opened in 1893. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. The city is home to two minor league professional sports teams: the Bakersfield Condors (American Hockey League) and the Bakersfield Train Robbers baseball club (Pecos League). Winters will usually produce a very dense layer of fog from time to time. The West Substation is located at 1301 Buena Vista Road. Current racing sports include: drag strip (at Famoso Raceway), dirt (at Bakersfield Speedway), road course (at Buttonwillow Raceway), and a paved 1/2 mile oval (at Kern County Raceway Park), which replaced Mesa Marin Raceway, a NASCAR associated oval track, that was demolished in 2004. As of 2011, it contained 11 articles and 4 addendums. Bakersfield is also located near a variety of motor racing venues. It was an NCAA Division II sports powerhouse in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with some sports, including wrestling (Pac-10), competing in Division I. CSUB has become a Division I athletic school and will join the Big West Conference in 2020. In addition, Bakersfield has two colleges with strong athletics programs. Built in 1988, ECC is responsible for dispatching resources over an area of approximately 8,100 square miles (21,000 km2) that includes 65 fire stations. [59], The 2010 United States Census[64] reported that Bakersfield had a population of 347,483. The Angels waited out a rain delay that pushed back the first pitch by more than 2½ hours and then were crushed 15-1 by the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Bakersfield is mentioned in the song. Bakersfield is not represented in any of the five major sports leagues: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, or MLS. [36] The earthquake, which measured 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and was felt from San Francisco to the Mexican border, destroyed the nearby communities of Tehachapi and Arvin. [84], Writers of Kern hosts their Spring Writers Conference[85] in March or April each year. This often results in city resources being dispatched to county locations, and vice versa. Intercity bus providers in Bakersfield include Greyhound, Flixbus, Orange Belt Stages, Intercalifornias, TUFESA, and Fronteras del Norte. The Lerdo Minimum Security Facility holds inmates of lower security levels. [101] Also, currently under construction is the Bakersfield Sports Village. Given the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, the Yokuts remained largely isolated from further contact until after the Mexican War of Independence, when Mexican settlers began to migrate to the area. Watch FFX for highlights from tonight’s games on KGET at 11:11 p.m. Thursday, March 25, 2021 Wasco 7, Tulare Union 53, Final […] [141][142], Garces Memorial Traffic Circle, informally known as Garces Circle or just “the Circle”, is a traffic circle in Bakersfield. [143], Bakersfield is served by Golden Empire Transit. Bakersfield hosts horse shows all year round, including local, 4-H and breed shows. The population was distributed as 109,479 people (31.5%) under the age of 18, 37,368 (10.8%) aged 18 to 24, 97,024 (27.9%) aged 25 to 44, 74,276 (21.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 29,336 (8.4%) who were 65 years of age or older.