Our Two Cents Podcast

Nathan Bender grew up in Columbus, NE and attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln, graduating with an Ag Business Degree. After graduating, he moved to Bakersfield, CA where he and his father started growing baby potatoes in 2007. Tasteful Selections has grown from 250 to over 20,000 acres. Nathan started in the farming operation, then managed the packing plant, and is currently the Chief Exec...

Karen King started her career as a bus driver and grew that into a long career in public transit, most recently serving for the past fourteen years as the CEO of the Golden Empire Transit District in Bakersfield, California. She started her career at Utah Transit Authority before moving to California. She worked at Long Beach Transit and then expanded her career to include rail service development...

Richard Beene was raised in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern University. He worked at The Los Angeles Times for seven years and was part of the Pulitzer Prize winning team of reporters and editors who covered the Rodney King riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He also spent seven years overseas working as a foreign correspondent, living and working in Egypt, Spain, and Mexico. Ric...

Chris Shipp was born and raised in Bakersfield and is proud to call it home as he raises his two beautiful daughters alongside his wife. He started a moving company named " Smooth Move" but the name was unfortunately already trademarked, which is how Mentors Moving came to be! In addition to Mentors Moving, Chris has coached at Garces Highschool for 9   years. He has a hunger for knowledge and all...

Tune in to our very first Host Round Table Discussion! All 6 hosts sit down to discuss changes, deadlines, and their predictions in their respective fields. Kyle Jones tells us about a new law that will be going into effect for medical malpractice. Scott Hanson discusses the rise in local residential real estate listing inventory and gives his real estate predictions through the end of the year. T...

Key Budge coordinates all communication efforts for the City of Tehachapi and has more than 30 years of experience working in government, (25 years as a Deputy Sheriff in LA, 6 years with the City of Tehachapi and 2 years at the City of Palmdale). He also has more than 12 years in media related fields including on air at KUZZ in Bakersfield as a news anchor and DJ. Key has called Tehachapi home fo...

Norma Dunn is the Director at Mission Community Services Corporation's Kern Women's Business Center in Bakersfield California. Norma was born and raised in Kern County, and is committed to making a positive difference in her community. She is also a business and community leader whose passion for education and business, combined with her engaging personality, has earned her a reputation as a high-...

Morgan Houchin is an Accredited land consultant specializing in the acquisition and sale of agricultural use properties. He has sold over  60,000 +/- acres of ranch properties throughout California totaling over $900,000,000 in transactional value over the past ten years. Morgan is the 3rd generation of farmers who specialize in almonds, pistachios, cotton, onions, and tomatoes. He is also a partn...

Kelly Carden is a lifelong 3rd generation Kern County resident. He is a family man with 4 children, ages 10,8,6 and 5. He has had a successful career in Hotel and Restaurant Management culminating as an Operation Supervisor at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. His career has led him to serving some of America's biggest stars. His family has owned a small business since he was 7 years old and...

John Sabovich founded The Epiphany Foundation in 2017 after his daughter found herself battling drug addiction. He knew it was only a matter of time before he received the dreaded call from the coroner and decided to take matters into his own hands. On her appointed hearing date, he pleaded that she be placed into a mandatory in-custody interventional program. The judge agreed and from that point...

Jonathan Thomas attended the University of Maine, where he graduated with a degree in Accounting and Finance. He began working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Portland, Maine, a Big 4 accounting firm doing audits of public and private. After 5 years PwC pulled out of the market and Jon relocated to New York City where he continued to work with PwC for 3 more years and met his beautiful wife. Jon the...

Robert Petersen was born in Bakersfield but raised all over the world. He lived in Tripoli, Libya, Dubai, UAE, and Jakarta, Indonesia. He's worked in retail and sales in the past. In the early COVID lockdown days, he passed his time by reading archived newspapers from The Bakersfield Californian. Which led to the creation of The Notorious Bakersfield Podcast which takes a step back in time and loo...

Paula received her Bachelor's Degree in Family and Human Development at Arizona State University and then went on to receive her Master's Degree in Family Therapy at the University of Massachusetts, at Boston. Post family therapy licensure, she became AASECT (American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) certified as a Sex Therapist and worked with individuals, relation...

Kyle was born in Bakersfield, California. Kyle obtained undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara and then his Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law. Kyle has 18 years of experience as a Personal Injury and Estate Planning Attorney here in Bakersfield. Kyle's office handles personal injury cases, including but n...

Beth Cornell has been working in Human Resources for over 10 years. Her Bachelor's degree is in Cross-Cultural Studies and she maintains a PHR-CA certification. She has worked at Hall Ambulance for the past 2.5 years and previously worked in HR at manufacturing and industrial companies. Beth started in HR by chance and fell in love with it. Her current focus is on recruiting for emergency medical...

Scott welcomes new OTC host Dave Plivelich! Dave founded The Marcom Group in 1998 building the company into one of the most well-respected branding and website development agencies in California's Central Valley. Over his career, he has worked with many established businesses, including Rain For Rent, John Soules Foods, Aera Energy, Castle & Cooke, Golden Empire Transit, Bakersfield Chamber of Com...

Nicole Giumarra is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a MS in Nutrition Sciences, specializing in Sports Nutrition, Eating Disorders, Pre-Diabetes/Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. Nicole has worked in a variety of settings including acute and long-term care and currently sees clients for nutrition counseling and education in her private practice in Bakersfield.  Kyle sits down with Nicol...

Caleb Bolton was born into a life of painting, and it was only a matter of time before it would become a business. However, Caleb never wanted to do it full time and it all changed after his first garage floor. Epoxy coatings became the route Caleb took in the painting world due to the love of the process, the product, and the results! Chad Horton was born and raised in Bakersfield California, att...

OTC welcomes back the founder of Marley's Mutts, Zach Skow. Zach founded his nonprofit organization back in 2009 with the purpose of providing second chances. He has since implemented the Pawsitive Change® Prison Program and Miracle Mutts® Therapy Dog Program. Kyle and surprise guest host Dave Plivelich (previous guest and Owner of The Marcom Group) welcome back Zach Skow! In case you missed the f...

OTC welcomes back Josh King, a local 3rd Grade Teacher in his 11th year Teaching. Throughout his teaching career he has taught both 5th and 6th grade. He has his masters in Educational Technology and an Administrators Credential. Josh went viral back in 2019 for his version of "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo that he sang to his students when they returned from summer vacation. He has since sung his renditi...

Michael E. Platt is a specialist in natural hormone replacement. He has also given numerous seminars on hormones worldwide and been a speaker on hormones in Europe and Asia. He's the author of the popular Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones and his latest book, Adrenaline Dominance: A Revolutionary Approach to Wellness. In this special episode Kyle and John welcome Dr. Beatty and Michel Platt to hav...

Lauren Skidmore was named the new CEO of Bethany Services, Inc., the nonprofit that operates the Bakersfield Homeless Center and the Alliance Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault. Lauren replaced Louis Gill, who resigned after 21 years. She has spent five years working as district director for Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Kern County) and was also appointed to the Kern County Planning Commission...

Chris Wilson founded the Tigerfight Foundation in 2015 after he saw a need in the community for families that needed additional financial support when undergoing pediatric blood cancer treatment. Since April of 2015 Tigerfight has provided $135K in financial assistance to 160 Kern County Families, as well as supported other local non-profits including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. John sits d...

John was born and raised in the communities of Bakersfield and Arvin, California. After graduating from Arvin High School he went to Bakersfield College and then CSUB to obtain his accounting degree. Upon obtaining his degree, he later went on to obtain his certified public accounting license and then later a master's degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. He continues to obtain education...

Local music sensation Jim ranger has been involved in music since he was 20 years old. He was on American Idol when he was 28 and the Voice when he was 38. He has also had the privilege of singing the national anthem for the Lakers over 20 times! He has recorded 3 solo albums and 2 eps and produced music for others. In addition to being involved in the music business, Jim has been a Pastor since h...