Will the elephant rides return? Still no answer from fair board

With the issue of animal welfare at the heart of a contentious meeting of the Kern County Fair board of directors Tuesday, there was a figurative elephant in the room -- and a real one just outside it.
Have Trunk Will Travel, a Perris, Calif., company that has contracted with the fair for years to provide elephant rides, brought along Rosie, a 30-year-old pachyderm, as Exhibit A in its argument that the animals are treated humanely.