Author:mondragonarely

The Fate of the Furious Movie Review

By Arely Mondragon

“Fate of the Furious” is the eighth movie in the popular Fast & Furious franchise, and just came out to theaters on April 13.

As expected, this film has over-the-top action series of events , extravagant cars, massive explosions, and of course street racing. This film began in a street race in Havana, Cuba, and is one of the first films to shoot in Cuba.

“Fate of the Furious” had a major plot twist, following a betrayal from none other than Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Dom was threatened by a mysterious women to do a series of crimes to scheme for world domination and betray his family.

The rest of the crew’s mission was to save him from the dark side and get back their Dom who has always united his family. This leads to car chases and gun explosions in New York City.

This movie concludes with a surprising ending.

This film is funny, thrilling, and exciting to watch, I personally enjoyed watching it and recommend it if you are a fan of the franchise.

New Café In Town

By Arely Mondragon

Bakersfield has a new downtown cafe.

Café Smitten  is located at 909 18th St., between O and Q streets. The bright blue, reinforced-brick building is on the corner, and you cannot miss it.

The interior and exterior is amazing, reminding me of a hipster Los Angeles coffee shop. The café setting is very relaxing with a big outside patio with a fire pit and beautiful flowers surrounding each table.  Café Smitten serves coffee, house made food, and desserts.

I had heard about many of my friends going to the café, and I heard nothing but great things about it, so I decided to go see for myself. I went on a Saturday around noon, and the line was all the way out the door. The wait was about 10 minutes long. The service was great even though it was busy. The employees were very energetic and welcoming. I ordered a chai latte and a bowl of oatmeal, and they were both very good. Overall , my experience was great, and I will definitely be going back again; it is a place Bakersfield needed.

” The concept of Smitten was inspired by the coffee shops we love, from San Francisco to New York,” café owners Stasie and Shai Btten mentioned on their website. “We are passionate about coffee and great food, and we are so excited to share Cafe Smitten with Bakersfield.”

Café Smitten is opened Monday-Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m.  to 9 p.m. and is closed on Sunday.

Financial Aid Application Workshop

By Arely Mondragon

Clueless on filling out your financial aid application?

Taft College is offering financial aid workshops to help students fill out the application correctly.

A financial aid specialist will be available with guidance and assistance to help with any questions.

For independent students, you will need your social security number and  2015 federal tax returns including W-2 or records of untaxed income for yourself or for your spouse (if married).

For dependent students, you will need your parents’ 2015 federal tax returns including W-2 or records of untaxed income, parents’ social security numbers, dates of births, and date of marriage or divorce.

Other materials to bring would be FSA ID Username & Password (https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm) for student & if applicable for parents and Alien Registration Number (if applicable).

The upcoming workshops dates are March 29 from 1-2 p.m. classroom T-15 and on April 26 from 12-1 p.m. in classroom T-15.

Financial Aid Specialist Joanne Dumbrigue assists student Enrriqueta Parra with her FAFSA application.