San Luis Obispo picked as one of the top five college towns in America (no surprise there) and who knew the Border Collie was the smartest of all the breeds?

* … COLLEGE TOWNS: This is one list that won't come as a surprise to all you Cal Poly graduates, but San Luis Obispo has been recognized as one of the best college towns in America. That's according to a new survey by Travel and Leisure, which ranked San Luis Obispo as the third best college town in America. Running ahead of Cal Poly were Burlington, Vermont, and Charlottesville, Va. Rounding out the top five were Williamsburg, Va. and Harrisonburg, Va.

 * … SMART DOGS: So you think your dog is Smart? Check to see if it makes this list of the smartest breeds. According to a survey of more than 100 veterinarians, the smartest breed is the Border Collie, followed by the German Shepherd, Poodle, Australian Shepherd and Golden Retriever.

* … CHRISTMAS MIRACLE? Here's a local version of a near Christmas miracle, compliments of reader Gina Hayden. "Last Saturday morning Sue Anthony from Youth for Christ and volunteer Lewis Lowe were driving up to Camp Owens bringing Christmas dinner to the boys there. The truck Sue was driving blew a tire, shot up an embankment, flipped and rolled back down. Sue and Lewis were banged up but unhurt, but the turkeys, potatoes and pumpkin pies… scattered across the road. They called for help and rescuers came. While Sue and Lewis were taken to the hospital to be checked out, the food was gathered to see how much could be salvaged. As it turned out, all the turkeys and potatoes were fine and the 20 pumpkin pies… ot even the crusts were cracked! Dinner was a little late but it was all there."

* … GOODWILL: Mark Wyatt is the principal of the Bakersfield Adult School who was recently singled out for his generosity to a student there. He wrote me with this thoughtful message: "Student success stories are the fuel that drive great teachers to do what they do. There is a symbiotic relationship between student and staff and nowhere is it more evident to me than at Bakersfield Adult School.  Difficult for me is to receive or accept any credit for playing such a small part in someone else’s accomplishments.  Please give credit where the credit is due, a tenacious student, dedicated teachers, a hard working staff, and a community who supports adult education."

 * … TOYS: Local Democratic activist Linda Fiddler dropped me a note to tell me about what the local Young Democrats have been up to this holiday season. "They are an energetic group of '20 somethings' that collected over a hundred coats and sweatshirts this fall and donated them to McKinley School for students who needed them. This December they asked people to bring unwrapped toys to all of their events. They have a SUV full of donated toys they are dropping off at the Homeless Center this week. I love these kids!"

Bako Bits: Holiday crime takes a spike, a homeowner gives chase and running into former Assemblyman Trice Harvey at Luigi's Delicatessen

 * … PURSUIT: Curt Kunzman runs a high end custom cabinet business called Best Cabinets and lives a quiet life downtown. His home was burglarized last week, and while I wouldn't recommend reacting as he did, you have to admire his chutzpah. It was around midnight when his wife was

awakened by noises outside, and when Kunzman investigated, he found a hooded intruder in his back yard going through his tool shed, carefully piling up items to steal. Kunzman pursued the man, grabbing on his legs as the intruder hopped over a concrete wall separating the Kunzman property from the home next door. In hot pursuit, Kunzman hopped in his white Ford pickup and drove the alleys downtown looking for the suspect, eventually finding him on a bicycle riding down 21st Street with two cardboard boxes on his handlebars. "I drove up next to him, going slowly, rolled down my window and grabbed his jacket," Curt told me. "He told me the boxes contained bottles and cans so I told him to pull over and let me see what was inside." The suspect agreed, slowed down and then sped off. The chase continued and later the suspect crashed the bike and fled on foot. Kunzman stopped, threw the bike and the boxes in his truck and called police, who were there in minutes. Inside the boxes? Jewelry stolen from another house just a few blocks away. A suspect was later arrested and charged.

* … TRICE: I ran into former Assemblyman Trice Harvey at Luigi's last Saturday. Harvey was wearing a Fresno State letterman's jacket and quipped that normally, he roots for USC football but not when the Trojans face the Bulldogs in the Last Vegas Bowl game. "That's the only time I root against USC," he said. (Trice Harvey with a friend in a file photo)

* … THEFT: My post about two purse snatchings at local Starbucks drew this response from reader Janice Witcher: "I was at the Starbucks by Target on Rosedale Highway, sitting outside reading a book with my phone on the table. All of a sudden a man grabbed my phone and ran off to a car parked in front of Rubios (conveniently parked backwards and jumped in the car and sped off). I ran after him but the El Camino he was in had no rear license plate. I was stunned to say the least. Just a word of advice from someone who learned the hard way, never put your phone or purse on the tables. It is sad to see how desperate people have gotten."

 * … GOOD FORM: The author of this note wishes to remain anonymous, but it speaks for itself. "I work at the Bakersfield Adult School and wanted to share something about an extraordinary individual that I work with. A student came up to me the other morning and mentioned that he had overheard another student talking about how overjoyed he was that he was indeed going to be able to participate in our December 20 Commencement Ceremony. =Apparently he was not going to be able to accept his diploma due to not having the money to purchase his cap and gown. It is heartbreaking to see such strive and perseverance not be acknowledged because of a minimal monetary expense that for most of our students can be a huge dent in their pocket book, something that some of us may take for granted.   Well it turns out that our wonderful Principal Mr. Mark Wyatt heard of this and he himself took the student to purchase the cap and gown needed to walk and received that hard earned diploma. This is what the true meaning of Christmas is to me and how this school is filled with truly self-less staff members who care about our students."

 * … MEMORIES: Erica Langstron wrote to remind me that the "little green store" near the airport is still operating and serving the community. "It is owned now by a wonderful family that has been a great boost to our Oildale community," she said. "We have known them since they were first here. We have watched our children grow up together, shared joys and sorrows. No, you no longer can see the terminal, but we all look up and see the beautiful cloud formations, sunsets and gifts all around us. The memories abide."