Bakersfield

Ferlin Husky, a pioneering country music entertainer in the 1950s and early 1960s who helped open the door for performers specializing in a distinctively twangy California strain of country, died Thursday. He was 85. Husky, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year, died at a Nashville-area hospital, according to a statement on his website . He had a history of heart trouble. "In the mid-'50s, Ferlin would create the template for the famed Nashville Sound, a sound that gave rock 'n' roll a run for its money and forever put Music City on the map," Kyle Young, director of the Hall of Fame, said upon Husky's induction.

The federal commission that investigated the financial crisis descended into partisanship, with its Democratic majority pushing to find "villains and victims" rather than the true causes, according to the panel's top Republican. "It was clear from the beginning it was a partisan environment," former Bakersfield Rep. Bill Thomas told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, noting that with six Democrats and four Republicans on the panel, "the math is simple. " But the chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Democrat Phil Angelides, also of California, defended the 525-page report released last month.

  Dear SOS: We recently had the most delicious Mac and Cheese at the Bistro in the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Bakersfield . Can you get this recipe for me? Suzanne Wolfe San Luis Obispo Dear Suzanne: The Bistro was happy to share its recipe for this very rich take on the classic comfort food. The Bistro's mac 'n' cheese with grilled chicken Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try any of the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipes from this week's Food section, please share it with us: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish.

??????Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Super Bowl cyber attacks For many people, Super Bowl Sunday was an opportunity to get together with friends, eat some good food and knock back a few cold ones. Computer security experts say it was also a big day for cyber criminals, who were targeting the millions of people using their home computers to keep up with the game, visit gambling websites and chat about the commercials. Internet security company PC Tools suggested in a news release that computer users be careful when visiting file-sharing websites that offer links to game or advertisement videos because these links can contain harmful malware.

Officials for both the Ducks and the team's former affiliate in the minor league ECHL declined to comment Wednesday on a lawsuit filed by a former player who said he was forced to "endure a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" during his time with the organization. Jason Bailey, a 23-year-old forward now playing for the Ottawa Senators' farm team in the American Hockey League, is seeking unspecified damages from the Ducks and the Bakersfield Condors, for whom Bailey played during the 2008-09 season when the verbal abuse allegedly occurred.

For the crew from a small Bakersfield museum, the trip home from an auction house in Los Angeles was bittersweet. They had managed to retrieve some of the fossils that had been on display at the museum for years, but many others were left behind, out of reach forever. Their two SUVs were packed with what museum supporters could acquire for the $24,000 they'd raised: ancient whale vertebrae, a dolphin skull, teeth from an array of sharks and the four-tusked hippopotamus-like desmostylus ?

It was to be the perfect end to a perfect day. Hillary and Jason Martin had just gotten married. They arrived at Bakersfield's swank Padre Hotel ? the bride in her wedding dress, the groom in Marine Corps dress blues. They were 18 and in love. They were 18 and out of luck. The two were old enough to marry. Jason Martin, on leave after completing boot camp, was old enough to join the Marines. The Padre Hotel's age policy, however, required them to be at least 21 to get a room.

The first segment of California's proposed $43-billion high-speed rail system may not be built in the highly populated coastal areas of the state, but in the Central Valley, officials said Thursday. The federal government indicated Wednesday that it wants all of its initial funding of the project ? nearly $2.5 billion ?directed to a single segment either between Fresno and Merced or Fresno and Bakersfield. The Central Valley portion of the route would form the backbone of a system linking San Francisco and Anaheim, and passing through Los Angeles' Union Station.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield launched a bid Wednesday for majority whip, the third-ranking job in the new Republican-controlled House, as Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton kicked off a campaign for the chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee. If successful, the moves could further strengthen Democratic-leaning California's clout among the new GOP majority. McCarthy is considered a strong contender for the leadership post because of his political skills. He served as the chief recruiter of House Republican candidates in Tuesday's GOP victory.

Two California hospitals where patients were exposed to excessive levels of radiation during CT scans had programmed their scanners according to the manufacturer's specifications, officials at both hospitals said. Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and Bakersfield Memorial Hospital are the latest additions to a list of California hospitals where overdoses occurred during CT brain perfusion scans. In both cases, the scanner in question was made by Toshiba. "We called Toshiba to give us the protocol," said Dr. Stephanie Hall, the chief medical officer at County-USC, where two patients received overdoses shortly after the hospital began doing the scans last fall.