The injured American White Pelican is now in good hands.

Three staff members from California Living Museum captured her Friday and are busy nursing the beautiful, large, white bird back to health.

The Bakersfield man accused of initiating a March 14 gunfight and police standoff lasting several hours pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday in his first court appearance.

Bond was set at $5 million for Miguel Villanueva, 29, who is charged with attempted murder, assault with a firearm on a peace officer, assault with a firearm on a person and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, as well as several misdemeanors.

BAKERSFIELD, CA - We should all be looking for ways to conserve in our state as we face ongoing water woes. People can take shorter showers, not water lawns as often, and go to the bathroom outside. Yes, a Bakersfield man has invented a way guys can conserve at the can.

It's called "Sweet Pea." It's basically an outdoor urinal for men. Because we are in a drought, and everyone has to go at some point, inventor Mike Henson thought now was the time to throw Sweet Pea into the marketplace.

As a third generation farmer and professional landscaper at Maranatha, the custom clay can was his next pit stop.

"You know, I would be in the backyard taking care of the flower beds and I would hear, "You kids! Don't go in the house soaking wet. Go over there and pee in the flower bed." And, I'm thinking, I'm going to be digging in that in a little bit," said Henson.

Henson came up with the backyard Sweet Pea a year and a half ago. It’s a decorative clay sculpture with a drain fitted to a pipe.

"This fits down into the pipe and it's shaped so it won't splash and the urine runs out real quickly," said Henson describing how his invention works.

Its patent is still pending. But, as our state has seen so little rain this year, Henson couldn't hold it any longer.

"But as the drought got worse, I thought just throw the dice and let them go," said Henson.

And speaking of going, our state's 16 million men go, on average, six times a day. That's two gallons a flush. That's 192 million gallons of water a day.

"They're cool," said customer Erica Hurley. "I'm definitely going to look into more about it and see where we can put one and eventually have one one day."

Henson says Sweet Peas can drain deep into the ground. A three-foot pipe will bury the business. And, Henson says it won't harm plants. Or, Sweet Pea's pipes can be thread into the clean out line leading to the sewer.

"There's no air that brings the stench back up like a porta-potty or porta-bathroom. The air (from those) you can smell them a block away," said Henson.

Each is handmade and kiln-fired into a flower, acorn, beehive, or fish, sure to lure urine to the loo.

The Sweet Peas take three to four weeks to make and run $150 to $350. There is not one designed yet for women, but Henson says it's in the works.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Bakersfield's Derek Carr is headed to the silver and black.  The Oakland Raiders has selected Carr as the fourth pick in the second round of the NFL draft.

Carr is the younger brother of former number one overall pick and fellow Fresno State Bulldog David Carr.  Experts seemed to be split on if Carr was a late first round or second round pick, and Carr said Thursday night he knew he might not go until day 2.

Services pending

Josephina Romero De Gomez, 68, Bakersfield, May 9. Basham Funeral Care.

Services pending

Josephina Romero De Gomez, 68, Bakersfield, May 9. Basham Funeral Care.

Editor's note: Action Line is a weekly column from the Better Business Bureau answering consumers' questions and concerns about money and business issues.

Dear Action Line: My family and I plan to travel over the summer months. We are looking to book our hotel and flight. I'm concerned about making sure that we can travel safely and I also want to make sure I get quality at an affordable price. I heard of the travel websites but am unsure if they are credible and ethical.

I don't think it would be much of a stretch to say that I have a passion for dogs; this weekly love letter attests to that.

But training man's best friend requires training man himself, which often proves more difficult than training the dog.

Reader: In the May 5 Bakersfield Californian, buried at the bottom of page 18, in the Nation section, were two brief articles that, in my opinion, should have received a little more visible coverage. They certainly received more coverage when they were originally considered news.

Headline 1: "Gay bishop divorce." The first openly gay Episcopal bishop and his partner of 25 years are divorcing. This marriage was an event that ripped the Episcopal Church apart in 2003. Hundreds of parishes left the umbrella of the Episcopal Church and formed a more conservative branch. Some even left the church for good. People were hurt. Christianity was attacked by those who believe that God intended marriage to be for both male and female same-sex couples. The gay community was literally dancing in the street. Now the famous bishop is divorcing his "husband." Think of all the emotional damage this man and his "husband" did to his congregants across America, and to each other and their families. Divorce is sad business. If we have to face the fact that a husband can have a husband and a wife can have a wife, we have to face the fact that divorce can creep into these relationships, too. I doubt the bishop gave much thought to that when he married his husband.

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, said she's staying the course and using the election plan of two years ago while campaigning for re-election in the 34th Assembly District race. She's concentrating on putting up signs, doing interviews and being a part of debates.

"We continue to get our message to people," Grove said Friday on "First Look with Scott Cox." "I'm pro jobs, helping people in the community and fighting for veterans."

LOS ANGELES -- When Rep. Gary Miller announced in February he would retire from Congress, it was hardly a surprise. The surprise was that Miller was a member of Congress.

The wealthy Republican's unexpected 2012 victory in a Southern California district President Barack Obama carried by 17 points was largely attributed to the quirks of the state's primary election rules, which get their second test June 3.

Clark, a 7-month-old Vizsla dog, was very affectionate and playful Friday on "First Look with Scott Cox," and at one point, simply lounged across the studio table.

"He's so sweet and you can't get a better personality," said Julie Johnson, who runs the shelter on Mount Vernon Avenue and is also Bakersfield SPCA director.

ARVIN, CA -- A brand new environmental report on soil contamination in an Arvin neighborhood is now under review.
But seven weeks after being forced from their homes, evacuated residents have no idea when they'll return.

The lengthy report was prepared by Petro Capital Resources, the owner of the gas pipeline that burst, and contaminated those properties.  The study examines conditions at each of the eight evacuated homes.

Thursday night, fifth district Supervisor Leticia Perez told us, county experts will now study that report.  But there's still no timeline for when evacuees can go home. "We simply don't know how long it's going to take, until the levels are safe. As you can imagine, experts will disagree as to when that is. Ultimately the county is responsible to determine if and when that is safe. But the process from here to now, moving forward, is really on the company."

Perez says, PCR will continue soil clean-up efforts at those homes.  But until it's certain those displaced families won't be facing unsafe conditions, she says they'll remain evacuated.

Baseball

Stockdale 15, Bakersfield 5

Several of Kern County's top high school football programs look like they're moving in with tougher competition after the Central Section this week released tentative playoff division movements for fall sports.

Garces, which is already joining the rough-and-tumble Southwest Yosemite League, is slated for a move up to Division I. That would mean every team in the SWYL competes in Division I.

STOCKTON -- Upon further review of game video, there is little doubt that Stockton's first goal against the Condors on Wednesday night was directed in by a kicking motion and should not have counted.

That was the immediate ruling of referee Ryan Murphy, who, after conferring with his linesman, changed his mind and awarded the goal, which tied the game 1-1 midway through the second period.

Derek Carr's cell phone probably needed a few charges Thursday night as he waited out the first round of the NFL Draft at his brother David's house in southwest Bakersfield.

But the call, the one Derek has waited more than a decade for, never came.

BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Community Action Partnership of Kern honored its Humanitarian of the Year at a banquet Thursday night. The award went to CEO of the Bakersfield Homeless Center and Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault, Louis Gill.

He began working with the Bakersfield Homeless Center 14 years ago. Even before then, Gill had a strong work ethic -- growing up on his grandfather's ranch outside Porterville.

"I had a very rural upbringing, chores in the morning. We had cattle and pigs and going and getting the eggs and for a while milking the goats, the whole deal," said Gill.

A trip to Mexico as a foreign exchange student inspired gill to help others.

Gill said, "I learned to speak Spanish and realized how truly fortunate we are, by simply being born in this country."

Gill went to college in San Francisco.  He majored in Spanish and eventually earned a master's degree in non-profit administration.

"I started working in non-profits there and it's become my life," Gill said.

Gill, his wife and son moved to Bakersfield after finding out they were having twin girls.

"We wanted to move closer to family," he said.

When he started at the Bakersfield Homeless Center in 2000, Gill said family services were lacking.

Gill said, "It was focused on single men. There were ten beds for families. It was set up to deal with your stereo typical homeless individual."

Since Gill took the reins, the homeless center's mission has shifted.

"Our focus has gone from just thinking about beds and meals to how do we help people be successful in permanent housing. How do we help them finish their education? How do we make sure that they can get a job, get on that path to self sufficiency," said Gill.

As for his thoughts on being humanitarian of the year -- he's grateful.

Gill said, "I'm incredibly fortunate. I do a job that I love. It's not easy, but I love it. I have the best staff in town. I can promise you they're amazing people and it's easy to be proud of them.It feels great to be a part of that. It feels great to be in a community where you can say I need some help and folks show up. They want to help. It feels, all I can say is grateful."

Awards were given out in three categories: humanitarian, community partner and volunteers.

Honorees are selected based on support of CAPK programs and individual involvement of helping people and changing lives in our community.

Bill Kernen has been the face of Cal State Bakersfield baseball since the spring of 2007 — nearly two years before the Roadrunners played their first game.

Kernen, hired at that time to start the baseball program from scratch, announced his retirement Thursday morning, effective July 1.

Four home runs and a six-run sixth inning powered Liberty to a 9-8 victory against Southwest Yosemite League rival Centennial on Thursday.

"Our guys can swing it," Liberty coach Tony Mills said. "It's a small ballpark, we got pitches to hit and we took advantage of the elements with the wind blowing in the outfield. When you've got that, good things happen for you."