Police were gathering information and trying to determine whether charges would be brought against either of the two adults present when two small boys drowned in a backyard pool in south Bakersfield Wednesday.

The victims were identified as Marcus Nevaeh Tucker, 3, and his brother, Micah Emmanuel Tucker, 1, according to the coroner's office.

The Kern High School District Wednesday morning appointed four new principals and approved a plan to lay off 10 classified employees next year.

The layoffs, district officials said, were not state budget-cut related, but instead made because of school boundary changes and a decrease in federal money that funded some positions. The layoffs translated to seven full-time equivalent positions and included clerks, instructional assistants, library workers and others.

The official list of candidates in the 32nd Assembly District wasn't final until 5 p.m. Wednesday, but blows have already started in what political observers say will be a hotly fought contest between Republicans Ken Mettler and Shannon Grove.

Mettler filed elections fraud charges against Grove over her February move into the district just days before he was forced to answer questions about his leadership of the conservative Republican Assembly of Kern County after his friend Paul Stine was accused of misappropriating the group's funds.

Flying J Inc. confirmed Wednesday that only one bidder -- the Dallas-based subsidiary of Alon Israel Oil Co. Ltd. -- has made an eligible offer to buy Big West, the refinery it owns on Rosedale Highway.

The fact that no other investors turned in a qualified offer by Tuesday's bidding deadline appears to clear the way for Alon to pay $40 million to purchase the refinery in bankruptcy court next week.

Q: The intersection at Allen and Hageman roads has been a nightmare for more than two years. It has gotten to the point where people heading westbound on Hageman are giving up their right of way, with sometimes 30 or more cars behind them, so that one or two cars can turn right from southbound Allen, or a car can turn left from eastbound Hageman onto Allen. It's going to cause more wrecks if something isn't done about it.

What is the city planning on doing about this intersection, short of letting it sit for years until the overpasses are built?