Will Leticia Perez run for the state Senate after serving just three months as a Kern County Supervisor? And a stink is brewing in the Southwest over a proposed apartment complex

 * ... REVOLVING DOOR: Is 5th District Supervisor Leticia Perez really considering a run for the State Senate after being in office only three months? That appears to be the case and it has many folks shaking their heads about the revolving door of local politics. First there was Rudy Salas, who served two years on the City Council only to jump to the state Assembly, and now comes (possibly) Leticia Perez. Perez said she would consult with her inner circle before deciding to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Michael Rubio, prompting one supporter to write a letter to the Californian. "She should think less of her political future and more of the needs of those who enthusiastically supported her," wrote Raymond Gonzales.

 * ... ABLIN HOME: If you ever wanted to tour the magnificent Ablin home, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed masterpiece in the Bakersfield Country Club area, here is your chance. Covenant Community Services, the group that supports current and former foster youth, is holding a breakfast fund raiser this Saturday that includes a tour of the property. The cost is just $45 and it goes to a good cause. Call Scott Gray at Covenant at (661) 302-3137 to reserve your seat. The breakfast and tour run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

* ... ZONING: There is a stink brewing over a proposed new apartment project in the Seven Oaks area. Residents of River Run and Grand Island are now meeting to actively oppose the construction of apartments on a 10-acre piece of property at the corner of River Run and Ming Avenue across from Grand Island. The land was previously owned by the Panama Buena Vista Unified School District, but was sold to a company that is now applying to change the zoning to allow for apartments. Stay tuned.

 * ... VALENTIEN: Hard to believe it has been 10 years since the fine dining restaurant Valentien opened at the corner of Oak Street and Truxtun.  Among the changes planned this year is a nightly prix fixe menu that will be offered for just $25. Lunch, Friday only, will also feature a prix fixe for $16.

* ... SPOTTED: Kudos to the small, fit woman on the Panorama Bluffs picking up trash that others so selfishly dumped along the walking trail. The curb along Panorama at the park seems to be a favorite spot to dump your fast food wrappers and soda cups.

* ... JACK SMITH: The movie rental company Redbox may think Bakersfield is not a romantic city, but former Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith sure did. His nephew, Mike O'Neill, remembers his uncle describing Bakersfield as "the most romantic city in America.  I am sure this was his feeling based on the fact he met and married my aunt in Bakersfield during the late 1930s. They had a long and wonderful marriage. His family even placed a large brick at the Centennial Gardens plaza commemorating his thoughts: 'Bakersfield, the Most Romantic City in America.'"

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Mark Smith wrote to pass along a note from his mother, Marian Harman Smith, a 1929 graduate of Kern County Union High School. In her words, here is the school cheer in its complete form:

 MaHee, MaHa, Maho

 Romminickel, Bomminickel

 Nip Cap, Nap Cap, Soap Fat, Rags

 Hobble Gobble Ricker Racker

 Hobble Gobble Fire Cracker

 Hobble Gobble Razoo

 Johnny Blow Your Bazoo

 Zis Boom Bah

 Kern County Union High School

 Rah! Rah! Rah!

Former San Joaquin Bank president Bart Hill returns to the banking industry with United Security Bank, and Bako makes a list of the "least romantic" cities

 * ... NEW JOB: Bart Hill, the last president and chief executive officer at the old San Joaquin Bank, has returned to banking with a new job. Hill is now vice president and regional manager for United Security Bank, a Fresno-based financial institution with two locations in Kern County. USB is

 a 25-year-old full service community bank with offices up and down the San Joaquin Valley that puts an emphasis on commercial lending. Previous to this, Hill worked in the development offices at Cal State Bakersfield. He said he is "excited to return to banking and will be helping USB perform the traditional role of a community bank, which is simply working to make Kern County a better place to live. I look forward to continuing my community involvement and encouraging the participation of USB employees."

 * ... LITTER: The problem with litter in our community seems almost intractable, but reader David Losa suggested something different from his experience living in Utah: a vacuum truck on the road to pick up trash. "It was no different from a trash and garbage collector truck. But instead of forks to empty dumpsters and big clamps to empty trash cans, the trucks had vacuum and suction hoses controlled by the operator to pick up litter. If our city could procure this equipment that would mitigate the safety issues related to directly exposing personnel to vehicular traffic, risk of contacting valley fever from working outdoors and speed up the operation."

* ... LEAST ROMANTIC: Bakersfield has made another list, this time ranking as one of the "least romantic" cities in the nation. That is according to the movie rental company Redbox, which compiled its list based on the total number of "romance related" movie rentals last year. The most romantic cities were Marquette, Mich., Greenville, N.C., La Crosse, Wis., Ames, Iowa and Greensboro, N.C.  The least romantic list included Laredo, and Midland, Texas, El Centro, Ca.,  the Texas cities of Victoria,  Odessa, McAllen and Houston, Bakersfield, Fresno, and finally Beaumont, Texas.

 * ... CRIME WATCH: This idea comes from a reader who asked to remain anonymous. Leaving your garbage bins on the street all day advertises to would be burglars that no one is at home. On garbage pickup day, designate someone on your block to make sure all the containers are removed quickly after the the trucks make their rounds.

* ... BANDUCCI'S: Inez Coronado was mentioned in this column as someone who worked at the old Banducci's Corner. She reached out to me to share her story: "I started to work there when I was 20 years old. My mother, Kathy Lewis, was working there at the time. I have some wonderful memories about customers and co-workers. Julie Banducci and Lee Stanley were some tough bosses, but were some of the best.  One of my most favorite memories is having my daughter tell me, as an adult, that she loved having me come through the door after getting off work at Bnaducci’s because I always smelled of spaghetti. Some co-workers from Banducci’s still get together at Christmas time. I met the most wonderful people I will always remember. Some of these folks now frequent Doubletree where I have worked since shortly after Banducci’s closed its doors  I could write two books, one for Banducci’s and one for Doubletree. What a wonderful way to spend your career, to meet wonderful caring people every day of your life."