Every neighborhood needs a dog rescuer, Father Craig Harrison holds mass at his downtown home and Firestone Grill serves up some good eats

 * ... DOG RESCUE: Every neighborhood has one, and in the downtown area it is Kristen Belue, the friend of every stray animal she comes across. I ran into Kristen on a rainy Sunday as she was

cruising the downtown alleys looking for a skittish, stray mutt she hoped to rescue. She had food and water and hoped to lure the stray into her car. And this came just a few weeks after Kristen took in a very pregnant pit bull who quickly gave birth to a litter of adorable pups. "I can't help myself," she told me. "My husband is thinking, 'Who did I marry?'" The world needs more people like Kristen, and I am lucky she is in mine.

 * ... CRAIG HARRISON: Who else but Monsignor Craig Harrison could attract more than 100 people to his personal residence to hold Sunday mass? Harrison, who lives downtown, has been holding Sunday mass in his yard every few months. Neighbors bring lounge chairs (and occasionally a sip of wine), and line up in front of the porch of his 20th Street home in what has become something of a ritual. This weekend with the hint of rain, Harrison squeezed the crowd inside his house to hold mass.

* ... CRIME: I spotted this note on a friend's Facebook page: 'To my fellow Bridge (church) friends with Tahoes. My car was broken into while we were in church this morning and they took our third row of seats from our Tahoe. It was locked - they popped the back window. Spend the money and get the lock for them, wish I had."

• ... CORD CUTTING: Yet more evidence that the millennials ae cutting the cord and finding ways to live without traditional cable TV. As reported in Tech Shift: "Research by Piper Jaffray finds the most popular social platforms for teens (percentage who said they used it at least one time per month) are: Snapchat (80 percent), Instagram (74 percent) and Facebook (60 percent). Meanwhile, the survey also found the most popular daily video services used are Netflix (37 percent), YouTube (26 percent) and cable TV (25 percent).

 * ... FOODIE: I rarely go to the Firestone Grill on California because I make a rule of steering away from the Highway 99 gridlock, but I may have to rethink that after dropping in the other day. Fast, attentive service, an array of big screen TVs suitable for college football and an outstanding Southwestern chicken salad that deserves your attention.

A veterinarian gives props to a local animal rescue group and remembering Tooey's Steak House in lower La Cresta in the Northeast

 * … PETS: The way some people treat their pets, like disposable diapers, is beyond disheartening, but every once in a while we hear something that gives us hope. Over at the City of Bakersfield Animal Care Center, veterinarian Robert Duquette sent me this note: "We are always appreciative of the many rescues that help us rehome our furry friends but The Kern Project recently adopted 37 animals in one day. These pets were then transferred to shelters in Marin County that have a shortage of adoptable shelter animals (obviously our long term goal!).  This was organized locally by Tammy Folino who works with Grace Stauffer from Novato. We are also very extremely grateful to Cori Mincher, Jeff Cross and Bill Murray from the Double Tree Hotel for making a substantial donation of towels and linens that can be used for bedding. Our shelter is always in need of any bedding donation and their single contribution almost doubled our stock!"

 * … DINING: Last week I mentioned some of the new restaurants that have sprung up downtown over the last few years. A reader chastised me for not mentioning The Mark, a stunning eatery on 19th Street. Said the writer: "They have a great atmosphere food and a full bar music on weekends. The food is fresh and great quality." I could not agree more.

 * … BURGER: And on the subject of food, I am shameless in my devotion to the Hudson burger at Muertos downtown (who doesn't like a fresh burger with egg and bacon on top?) A friend told me that Bill Lee's and Mexicali downtown also make a good burger. What is your favorite burger in town?

 * … HONOR FLIGHT: Hats off to KERN radio host Ralph Bailey, who raised more than $10,000 on his Monday show to help fund the Honor Flight program. Bailey accompanied some of the veterans back to Washington, D.C., and promptly returned the favor by asking his listeners to support the program. Among those who chipped in were Rep. Kevin McCarthy, state Sen. Jean Fuller and state Rep. Shannon Grove.

 * … TOOEY'S: Margaret Lemucchi solved the puzzle about a long-gone restaurant in La Cresta: "Tooey's steak house was the restaurant where the Tam O'Shanter restaurant sits now. It had a stainless steel half-circle counter where the broiler is now located plus several tables. Jack and Hazel Ewing operated a Scottish/golf-themed bar next door called The Shillelagh. The Ewings acquired Tooey's and then operated the bar and restaurant for many years as Ewing's Tam O'Shanter. Timothy and I bought the business from the Ewings in 1971, called it Lemucchi's Tam O'Shanter, then bought the building, and then expanded the bar to the south where the second bar, stage, and dance floor are now.  Manny Mendez became the proprietor in 1988 and calls the establishment Manny's Tam O'Shanter. "

 * … MEMORIES: Added reader Connie Allen Frasch: "You brought back memories for me. I  grew up in La Cresta just blocks from Tooey's steak house in the 1940s, a small cafe with a counter and stools. I always wanted to go there and have one of Mr. Tooey's famous hamburgers but my dad said it was too expensive!"