James Burger

James Burger is a reporter for The Bakersfield Californian. He provided extensive coverage of the court battle over Kern County, CA's ban on land application of sewage sludge, which passed overwhelmingly in a 2006 ballot measure (Measure E).


 * "James Burger covers politics and governance at the County of Kern.


 * "Burger joined The Californian in 1998 and covered real estate, banking, and transportation before taking over the city government beat in November 1999.


 * "He got his feet wet with the controversial City Center project and proposed Downtown baseball stadium. Since then he’s covered everything from Wal-Mart Supercenters and collapsing canal crossings to explosive fireworks rules and the plight of abandoned animals in Kern County.


 * "He got some awards for the animal stories.


 * "Since moving over to cover the county of Kern he has followed the legal challenges to Kern County's sludge ban, chronicled the deaths of abused children, and followed the troubled development of Kern County's most recent budgets.


 * "In 2010 he spent a lot of time writing about local politicians who were suspected of, arrested for or admitted to some sort of wrongdoing.


 * "No one has been convicted yet.


 * "Burger graduated from U.C. Santa Cruz with a degree in literature and history and started his journalism career at his hometown newspaper, The Porterville Recorder.


 * "He likes coffee - especially before he settles in for a nine hour public meeting."

Contact Information

 * James Burger
 * Ph: 661-395-7415
 * Email: jburger at bakersfield.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biosolids
 * Sewage sludge
 * Food Rights Network
 * Kern County, CA

External articles

 * James Burger, "Measure E sludge ban on hold again; battle to continue," The Bakersfield Californian, June 9, 2011.
 * James Burger, "Judge likely to freeze Kern's sludge law," The Bakersfield Californian, June 8, 2011.
 * James Burger, "Kern, Southern Cal both win points in sludge case," The Bakersfield Californian, January 18, 2011.
 * James Burger, "County to enforce sludge ban," The Bakersfield Californian, January 18, 2011.