TM
EDITOR’S NOTE
Bakersfield’s Premier City Magazine Bakersfield Life™ magazine is published by The Bakersfield Californian. The magazine is inserted into The Bakersfield Californian on the last Saturday of every month. To subscribe, please call 392-5777. Publisher Ginger Moorhouse President/CEO Richard Beene Senior Vice President Revenue and Marketing John Wells Advertising Director Bryan Fahsbender Editor Olivia Garcia Assistant Editor Stefani Dias Features Associate Hillary Haenes Editorial Assistant Marisol Sorto Art Director Glenn Hammett Photography Felix Adamo Maria Ahumada-Garaygordobil Henry A. Barrios Casey Christie Jessica Frey Lois Henry Ed Homich Alex Horvath Kirby Lee Dana Martin Greg Nichols Tanya X. Leonzo Dan Ocampo Ashley Reyes Carla Rivas Aaron Ruth Contributing writers Vicki Adame Jennifer Bachman Allie Castro Kelly Damian Gene Garaygordobil Lois Henry Lisa Kimble Stephen Lynch Dana Martin Alyssa Morones Jeff Nickell John Pitre Gabriel Ramirez Paul Ulrich Interns Laura Sverchek Danae Jarrett Advertising Lupe Carabajal lcarabajal@bakersfield.com, 395-7563 Reader inquiries Bakersfield Life Magazine P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302-0440 BakersfieldLife@bakersfield.com, 395-7492 On the cover Local athletes shine under the college spotlight. Cover illustration by Glenn Hammett and Greg Nichols. Model: John Reyes.
10
Bakersfield Life
October 2011
Fall brings athletic achievements, hot cars and zombie fun!
F
Fall is an exciting time of the year for many college students training for their sports. It’s nice to see so many of our local athletes making their mark at colleges as close as Bakersfield to as far away as the East Coast. In this issue, we introduce you to our local college athletes who are making a name for themselves at schools across the country. Writer Stephen Lynch interviewed a few of those star athletes, including Fresno State’s Derek Carr, who is revving up the Bulldogs football team for a great season. He also includes a long list of student athletes at other colleges. Followers of local high school sports will likely recognize many of the names on our list. We included many students in our roundup, and it’s nice to see our local kids going after bigger achievements in college. If you are a parent of an athlete whom we missed, please let us know by emailing bakersfieldlife@bakersfield.com. Provide the name of your son or daughter, year in college, major, particular sport, position and a high-resolution photograph. Also, be sure to include your name and contact information so we can follow up, just in case we have any questions. Along with top athletes, we focused on some top vehicles this issue with our 2012 Car Guide. This section is even bigger than last year’s in that it features a number of cars, trucks and motorcycles from different categories, including green, luxury, family, sporty and commercial. There are plenty of choices here for the smart car shopper. Take a look, and let us know what you think. Also get to know John Pitre, general manager of Motor City Auto Center, who sat down with writer Gene Garaygordobil to discuss the state of the local car industry. He even shares some predictions for 2012. Now if you aren't ready to shop for a
Photo by Tanya X. Leonzo
October 2011 / Vol. 6 / Issue 1
car, but are more concerned with fixing up your current car, then you have to meet Sam Neira of Neira’s Collision Centers in Bakersfield. Writer Allie Castro spent some time with the East High grad, who shared the interesting story of how he fell into his profession. Not only that, Neira shares a few tips from the garage and his favorite car. October marks not only a time for fall fun, but it brings one of the coolest holidays of the year, Halloween. If you ready for a scare, then check out Talladega Frights and its latest attraction, Zombie X, California’s only zombie paintball experience. Writer Dana Martin has the story on the local scream park's new interactive adventure. I am a big zombie fan (anxiously awaiting the return of “The Walking Dead”) as are my boys, so I am definitely putting this event on my to-do list. Happy Halloween!
Olivia Garcia Editor 395-7487 ogarcia@bakersfield.com