House Speaker John Boehner spends some time in Bakersfield at The Padre Hotel, local musicians passing through town will play for cancer patients and the lack of landscaping along the Westside Parkway

 * … KINDNESS: Two talented musicians will make an appearance in town this week, but it is what they will do before their concert that should be noted. Tom Scott and wife Hannah Alkire will be playing as part of Rick Kreiser's "Guitar Masters" series (Thursday evening at the American Sound Recording Studios) but at the request of Kreiser, agreed to play for cancer patients over at Mercy Hospital.

Hannah, herself a cancer survivor, told Kreiser she would be honored to play: "One of my personal goals 'if I got picked to survive' the cancer journey was to bring our music back into those oncology rooms and try to help others with their journey. Over the years we have played in numerous oncology centers, and even did a series of benefits to help one of our local oncology units be built. So, it's huge to me and to us."As Kreiser said: "These are the kinds of things that make all the work involved in doing these shows with such high-quality folks so worthwhile."

 * … BOEHNER: It looks like House Speaker John Boehner slipped in and out of Bakersfield this weekend, apparently here to support Valley Republicans. Nobody has confirmed it, but Padre guests say the House Speaker was spotted in the lobby. It's hard to go unnoticed when you are accompanied by a squad of Secret Service agents who surrounded The Padre Hotel at midday Saturday along with five Bakersfield police cruisers and a California Highway Patrol vehicle.

* … WESTSIDE: Have you driven on the Westside Parkway recently? You won't find a bigger fan of the freeway than me, but the lack of landscaping has given it all the allure of Highway 58. If we are going to allow it go to weeds, can't we at least mow the weeds now and then?

* … SPOTTED: Painted on a car on Olive Drive was this message: "Just divorced … end of an error."

* … GOOD FORM: Jenny Waguespack wrote to extend contratulations to Jose Santos, a social studies teacher at St. Francis School for his work and dedication for the 2015 National History Day. "It  really paid off with multiple 'outstanding performanc'" awards for the junior high students. While many schools have long participated, this was only the second year for St. Francis, and Mr. Santos serves as mentor and coach for all of the participants from our school."

 * … CLEANUP: This anonymous note appeared in my in-box: "A super BIG THANK YOU to all those involved in improving the Mt. Vernon median between Columbus and University Avenue.  New cement, trees and bushes were added to make the drive to Bakersfield College more appealing."

 * … ACHIEVER: Peter and Karren Bloom wrote to rightfully brag a bit about their daughter, Emily Bloom, who will graduate from Bakersfield High School in May. "She has had to endure enormous tragedy these past few years," they wrote. "This has never deterred her from putting her best foot forward academically and socially. She has been accepted to Texas AM University (she was also accepted into Colorado School of Mines which offered her a Merit Scholarship), which is her No. 1 choice for college. She will be studying petroleum engineering. She has been a role model for all those around her - young and old!   I would also like to give a 'shout out' to the incredible staff at Bakersfield High School. They are dedicated to turning out intelligent and productive kids every year. Sometimes, I feel, BHS gets no respect. But, you should know this: my daughter has received the best public school education Kern County has to offer. GO AGGIES!"

District Attorney Lisa Green and Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood warn of a crime wave as thousands of felons are released on the streets

 * ... CRIME: If you think the state prison realignment that has dumped hundreds of parolees on our streets is not affecting crime, think again. I spoke recently with District Attorney Lisa Green and Sheriff Donny Youngblood (Green was my guest on Californian Radio KERN 1180 and the sheriff called in) and both agreed that property crime has spiked since Gov. Jerry Brown implemented his plan to relieve crowding by releasing thousands of felons. In fact, Green told me of a case where a suspect told his arresting deputy that "now is the time for crime" because he would likely serve only a fraction of any sentence he received. Green said the number of crimes reported in Bakersfield has jumped 38 percent in the last few months.

 * ... VALADAO: A big Republican crowd showed up for lunch at the Petroleum Club Tuesday to raise money for David Valadao in his bid for a congressional seat. On hand were House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker John Boehner. Valadao, a Hanford farmer, currently serves in the state Assembly and is running for the newly created 21st Congressional District. (file photo of David Valadao)

 * ... CSUB: I had the chance the other day to meet David Melendez, the new vice president for university advancement over at Cal State Bakersfield. Melendez will be in charge of fund raising for the university, one of the most critical tasks in this period of budget cutting and economic uncertainty. He replaces Beverly Byl, who left CSUB a few months ago amid a rocky relationship with key alumni. Melendez is sharp and articulate and will work directly with CSUB President Horace Mitchell to enhance alumni relations, work on governmental relations and raise money. Melendez was most recently at Chapman University where he served as assistant vice president for advancement. His wife is a sculptor and will move to Bakersfield as soon as the couple finds a suitable home.

* ... OVERHEARD: A prominent local architect is telling a friend that his business has started to pick up dramatically. "I went for two years without work and now I have enough for the next two years," he said. "Something good is happening with this economy."

* ... SPOTTED: Clayton Koerner was taking a left on Mohawk from California Avenue when a young woman driving a new Ford Focus tossed a banana peel onto the street. "I thought this little girl has no class," he said. "Hopefully, either she or her family read this and realize people are watching and she needs to get respect for her community."

 * ... PARTY SCHOOLS: If you are sending a child off to college this year you might want to pay attention to the Princeton Review's annual list of the hardest partying schools in the country. The top ten: West Virginia University, the University of Iowa, Ohio University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, UC Santa Barbara, Florida State, Miami University and Syracuse. The most sober school: Brigham Young University. The University of Colorado-Boulder was cited for its "Reefer madness" and Providence College for having "Lots of Hard Liquor."