San Luis Obispo is crowned the best college town in America, avocado prices spike because of a bad harvest and Steve Schilling prepares to retire from Clinic Sierra Vista

 * ... COLLEGE TOWNS: So where is the best college town in America? Would it surprise you if I told you it was just up the road in San Luis Obispo, home of Cal Poly? That's what the website

College Rank found in its research, crowning SLO as the "best college town" in the country. Rounding out the top ten were Cambridge, Mass. (Harvard); Gainesville, Fla. (University of Florida);  Amherst, Mass. (Amherst College); Boulder, Colo. (University of Colorado); Burlington, Vt. (University of Vermont); Charlottesville, Va. (University of Virginia); Ann Arbor, Mich.  (University of Michigan);  Santa Cruz, Calif. (UC Santa Cruz) and Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia).

 * ... AVOCADO: If you've noticed a sharp spike in the price of avocados, it should come as no surprise. The average retail price for avocados rose 35 percent in the first half of this year to $1.21 per avocado, according to the Hass Avocado Board. The reason: smaller than average harvests in California, which produces more avocados than any other U.S. state.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Just drove my mechanic's vehicle and his check engine light was on."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "You're never too old to be nice to people."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Hats off to new Californian columnist Justin Salters who broke ranks from the divisive and self pitying nature of other voices and called for more "Jefferson Dinners," venues for people of all backgrounds and political philosophies to come together for constructive conversations. It's an idea whose time has come, and I salute Salters for suggesting something that I for one plan to adopt.

 * ... SCHILLING: Steve Schilling, who built Clinica Sierra Vista into one of the largest and most important health organizations serving the needy in Central California, is looking to retire. That's the word from Jennifer Self, Clinica's communications and advocacy director, who said a search is under way to replace Schilling as the organization's chief executive officer. "He will stay until his successor is on board," Self said, adding that might be accomplished by the end of the year. Schilling almost single handedly built Clinica into a powerhouse in providing basic and preventative health care to thousands of Californians via a vast network of public and private partnerships.

 * ... SHOUT OUT: City Councilman Andrae Gonzales was making the rounds in Ward 2 the other day when he gave a shout-out to an important local organization that works quietly and doesn't get a lot of press: The Assistance League of Bakersfield. Said Gonzales: "The Assistance League is an all-volunteer non-profit organization, serving the community through ongoing philanthropic programs. One program, Operation School Bell, provides new school clothing to children in need. In 2017, the group helped over 3,600 children with back-to-school clothing! The organization's thrift store, the Bargain Box Thrift Store, is the group's biggest fund-raiser. The store is located at 1924 Q Street and is open Monday though Saturday, 11a.m. To 3 p.m. Stop by and visit!"

* ... MEMORIES: So who remembers Beryl's Cafe, a small country style cafe located at the corner of South Union and Bear Mountain Boulevard? According to Fatima Al-Bugharin, writing on the Kern County of Old Facebook page, it was originally a gas station owned by Vern Sweitzer (Sweitzer's Corner) from 1917 to 1961. "In 1961 Mrs. Beryl Mitchell purchased the property from Mr. Sweitzer and turned it into Beryl's Cafe. The cafe was successful and became a home away from home for many visitors, farmers, and truckers. Beryl's cafe closed in 2006 and in 2009 Mrs. Beryl Mitchell passed away. Unfortunately, the old place fell apart through the years and was demolished as a result."

Anti fossil fuel activists to descend on Bakersfield to "save" us from oil production, Conan O'Brien takes a swipe at Bako and celebrating bacon and popcorn pork

 * ... ENERGY: It was mildly amusing to read that busloads of anti-fossil fuel activists will be descending on Bakersfield soon in order to "save" us from oil production. And exactly who are these people who think we need to be "saved" anyway? And if they are using fossil fuels to get here via trains, planes and automobiles, what kind of mixed message does that send? As the Kern Citizens for Energy noted: "We strongly object to the organizations'

constant supposition that our strong community - including our Latino and other minority populations - is somehow a 'victim' of our century-old petroleum industry." And speaking of fossil fuels, I hope you didn't miss the special section in Sunday's Californian on the recent West Kern Petroleum Summit. The essay and speech by Alex Epstein in defense of fossil fuels is a must read for anyone who lives in the oil patch.

* ... BIKE PATH: John Strand of Lake Isabella wrote to comment on the idea of building a bike path up Round Mountain Road and naming it after the late ski shop owner Doug Bentz and Bakersfield College professor Norm Hoffman. "The bike path sparked my interest, not because I ride, but because Doug and I went through school together and were pretty good friends. I also knew his sister Mary Jo (now known as Marijo), his brother Tommy, and his parents Bill and Virginia. We all lived in Taft at the time. Here's my profound thought:  If this path comes to fruition, it will need a name, right? How about the" Bentz-Hoffman Parkway or the Bentz-Hoffman bike path? A fitting tribute to two stellar guys."

 * ... CONAN: Johnny Carson made a pretty good living making fun of Bakersfield, and now comes comedian Conan O'Brien following in his path. This weekend he tweeted this: "Massachusetts was named the most liberal state. Researchers almost picked California but they stopped for gas in Bakersfield."

 * ... PORK: Last week researchers told us that processed meats like bacon are bad for us. I chose to ignore that admonition and celebrated this weekend with an order of the tasty "popcorn pork" from Muertos downtown.

* ... BEST COLLEGE TOWN: No surprise here but San Luis Obispo made the Forbes list of the top ten college towns in America. The home of Cal Poly ranked seventh on the list. The top three: Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina), State College (Penn State) and Oxford (Miami University).

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I just don’t understand why Flo from Progressive needs to have an apron on to sell car insurance."

* ... FUND RAISER: Lynn Finch dropped me a note to remind us that the annual Light the Night Walk to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will be held at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This is a fun event that has been expanded to include a kid zone carnival area, information booths, refreshments, the walk with lighted lanterns, and a fireworks display following the walk. All proceeds go to help with research, patient services, help with medical co-pays and other expenses.

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!"