"Kern River Blues" was The Hag's last recorded song before he died. In it, Merle sang that he was "leaving town forever" and lamented that the Kern River was dry. It's been 45 years since the city of Bakersfield bought some of the rights to the Kern River, but the city continues to be thwarted in efforts to restore a flowing Kern River. Over the decades, a long string of disappointing setbacks for the river have piled up. With the State Water Board currently holding a hearing on the Kern River, it's finally time for the status quo to change and for the Kern to flow again - Merle would have wanted it that way. We can't lose another generation waiting for a flowing Kern River.