As I write this letter, I must presume Gavin Newsom is an avid reader of The Signal. Why wouldn’t he be? Gavin, I am sorry for calling you Alfred E. Newsom. I was wrong. In reality, you can earn the moniker Gavin the Great by giving your nod to my two suggestions.
No. 1, set aside a paltry $7.5 million from California’s $321 billion budget to buy Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. It is a national treasure, on par with the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Over the past three decades, Buck Owens, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Brad Paisley, John Anderson and George Jones have performed there. For God’s sake, Garth Brooks proposed to Tricia Yearwood there.
Rescuing the Crystal Palace from closure would broaden your base to include roughnecks, red necks, line dancers and good ol’ boys from all over the country. The iconic Bakersfield sign is included in the $7.5 million purchase price — for you, just another night with your friends at the French Laundry.
My second suggestion involves the oft-maligned Bullet Train to Nowhere. The first completed section from Bakersfield to Modesto is to be operational in 2033. Who travels at 200 mph from Bakersfield to Modesto? What do you do when you get there? Let me replace that pipe dream with another. Focus your Bullet Train billions to run the tracks from Valencia, over the Grapevine, down Highway 99 to exit 26B, Buck Owens Boulevard. From just my friends alone, I can guarantee steady ridership for decades. We will even name the Valencia station after you. Gavin, this gesture could be your 2028 ticket to the White House on the Buck Owens Express.
Larry Moore
Valencia
