The Boston bombings bring out the conspiracy theorists on the web, and a little good - and bad - form around our community

 * ... BOSTON: The terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon are almost beyond belief, but equally disturbing are the troubled ramblings posted on social media websites like

Facebook, Twitter and other forums. Within an hour of the bombings some folks were speculating this was an "inside job" by our own government, or a scheme by President Obama to manipulate public opinion. The immediacy of social media allows us to talk before we think. It's disheartening that some among us simply cannot take a moment to grieve for the victims and their families as the investigations unfold. (photos courtesy of CNN and Mashable.com)

 * ... GOOD FORM: Stephen Montgomery passed along these comments about a thoughtful driver. "While riding my Harley northbound on Highway 99 following a silver midsize sedan I noted the driver signaled one flash of his right turn signal to alert me to a piece of truck tire scrap in the road. Those scraps from big rig tires that have been recapped are a genuine hazard to anyone who has the misfortune to run over them. For a motorcyclist it can be a fatal event and I sincerely appreciated this motorist's thoughtfulness."

 * ... BAD FORM: And then there is this, sent by a reader I will only identify as J.V. "I couldn't believe my eyes. As if her good looks weren't enough to attract attention, a lady in a black GMC Yukon Denali near Sports Chalet on California accidentally set off her car alarm and then still proceeded to empty trash from her car onto the ground. Given today's breeze, it was soon scattered all over the parking lot.  Some people."

 * ... STOLEN CAR: Hats off to Bakersfield Police detectives who recently followed up on a citizen's call of two suspicious men to return a stolen car to its owner. The lesson: never hesitate to call BPD to report suspicious activity in your neighborhood.

 * ... TOGNINI: I had a nice chat with Sandra Bays, whose parents were Arthur and Patricia Tognini, owners of the old Brundage Variety Store and active members of our community. She called to correct an earlier writer about a TV show that she hosted on channel 23. "I had a birth injury that was corrected and never had a (prosthetic) eye," she said. Between 1964 and 1971, she and her husband also hosted a TV program called the Sandra and Jimmy Bays show that featured prominent newsmakers and celebrities. The old Brundage Variety, she said, was located on Chester Avenue in the middle of the block between Brundage and 1st Street.

 * ... MEMORIES: And here's another memory of Bakersfield a few years back, this one from reader Becky Arguedas. "Yes, I remember a variety store on Brundage Lane but I believe it was called Southwest Variety. They had everything from sewing notions, toys and everything in between.  I got my first Barbie doll there in the late 1950s. I also remember a bar at the corner of Brundage and Hughes Lane. It was called Piggots. The neighborhood kids would gather on the cul-de-sac and play baseball where I grew up not far from there and when our neighbor would come home from work, we would scatter when we saw his car coming because he always stopped at Piggots before he came home."

Is Hollywood getting ready to make a movie about Fernando Jara, the husband of Supervisor Leticia Perez who claims to have worked for the CIA in Yemen?

 * ... SPOTTED: Los Angeles actor Michael Pena, who had parts in the movies Tower Heist, End of Watch as well as the cable hit Eastbound and Down, was seen in the bar at The Padre Hotel talking to 5th District Supervisor Leticia Perez and her husband Fernando Jara. Apparently Pena is (file photo of Michael Pena)
interested in the life story of Jara, who recently revealed he worked for the CIA in Yemen after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

 * ... CHLOE: Sad to hear that Chloe, the adorable yellow labrador retriever who appeared with owner Tracy Walker-Kiser on the front of this month's BakersfieldLife magazine, has been diagnosed with lupus. Chloe can not only go outside with sunscreen but there is little doubt that Tracy and husband Brian Kiser will make her comfortable.

* ... MARKET: Remember the old ADS Market on Baker Street? John Pryor does, and says it was owned by the Sprayberry family. "ADS was the owner’s initials. His name? There must be a story here: Admiral Dewey Sprayberry. I grew up in that neighborhood and, as a kid, bought lots of candy there!  Dewey – as he was called – was a great guy from a kid’s perspective."

 * ... MEMORIES: Becky Arguedas took a trip down memory lane, remembering a Bakersfield when it was a small, more intimate place. "Every time my sister visits from Texas, we reminisce about how it used to be when we were growing up. We talk about Don Rodewald, George Day, Zippy, Meet Mitchell and Unlock-a-lock (remember that one?) and one other we can't remember the name.  Who was the woman that advertised the face cream and always ate a little bit to show it was pure and wouldn't harm you?"

 * ... GRAPEVINE: And Joe Fontaine remembers when you could gaze at the cars lights inching up the Grapevine. "If you are truly a Bakersfield old timer you will remember that on Friday evenings the lights on the Grapevine were the white of car headlights because the refugees from Los Angeles were fleeing north toward Bakersfield. They were red taillights on Sunday evenings because they were headed south back to the drudgery of southern California. Unfortunately we can't see either one today because of poor visibility due to air pollution."

 * ... DMV: Retired Superior Court Judge Jim Stuart gave a shoutout to the DMV office in Shafter. Said Stuart: "About to turn 71 next month, got a notice in the mail that in order to renew my driver's license I would have to pass a vision and a written test. Mind you, the one and only time I took the written test was in 1958 and the only test I have taken since then that really mattered was the Bar Exam, and that was back in 1968. The thought of being without a driver's license was scary, the thought of taking the test was equally scary.  I went to pick up the driver's handbook in Bakersfield and was amazed at how crowded it was. On the advice of a neighbor, I went to the Shafter office of the DMV. Crowded, but not too bad. No appointment, got a number, sat and waited... and watched. Contrary to the common perception many of us have of DMV employees, those at the Shafter office without exception were smiling, patient and just down-right gracious in the way they handled the many people who were in line ahead of me, and the lady who was assigned to me seemed to sense my anxiety, make a quick comment that put me at ease, smiled as she told me I had passed the test and wished me well."