Two 16-year-olds were arrested after threatening a Lincoln High School student with a handgun on campus.

According to San Jose Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon, the female suspect, also a student at the school, was angered that the victim, who had once dated her sister, was now dating another girl, and had threatened him once before.

On the afternoon of Oct. 9, the female suspect allegedly brought a male friend with a handgun on campus and located the victim. According to Dixon, the three exchanged words and the male suspect pulled out the handgun and indicated that he could kill the victim if he wanted to. No shots were fired.

After a follow-up investigation, the two suspects were arrested. Because they are minors, their names are being withheld.

Bus stop robbery behind Valley Fair

On Oct. 12 about 10 p.m., a man was robbed at gunpoint as he waited for the bus on Forest Avenue behind Valley Fair mall.

According to San Jose Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon, the suspect approached the victim and made small talk before asking for a dollar for bus fare. When the victim took out his wallet, the suspect showed a handgun in his waistband and demanded that the victim hand over all of his cash. The suspect ran off to the south with the man's money.

The suspect is described as a white male, 18 to 22 years old, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall, 160 to 190 pounds, wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Police believe the suspect is one of two men who had committed a robbery the day before at the Bank of America on Stevens Creek Boulevard in front of Valley Fair. In that case, a woman was making a deposit at the bank when two men pushed her and took the cash.

The suspects in that case are described as white males, 18 to 20 years old, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall. One was wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt and one was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt at the time of the robbery.

Anyone with information about either case is encouraged to call the San Jose Police Department's robbery unit at 408.277.4166.

Billy DeFrank Center renovation proceeds

Renovation of the Billy DeFrank Gay & Lesbian Community Center, on hold since February due to a spending freeze at the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, is now set to move forward with the city council's recent approval of a revised agency budget.

The center, which had received a little more than $3 million from the redevelopment agency to acquire and renovate its current site, was among about 20 projects that were shelved when the redevelopment agency froze expenditures due to uncertainties about the state budget situation. Plummeting property values later in the year cast further doubt on the future of agency projects.

The agency has had to slash its five-year capital improvement program budget nearly in half as a result of the shrinking tax base, and the drastically reduced state budget passed in August. Several projects are getting the go-ahead for completion now that the city has also approved $60 million worth of bond sales for the agency.

The center, currently located at 938 The Alameda, has served as a gathering spot and resource center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community since 1981.

Support our troops rally set for Saturday

The San Jose-based group Pro-America Spirit will be holding a "Support our troops" rally at the intersection of Stevens Creek and Winchester boulevards on Saturday, Oct. 25. at noon.

That intersection often features anti-war and U.S.-out-of-Iraq protesters on one corner and pro-U.S. supporters on the other, with battling signs and flags. This Pro-America Spirit rally will include a care-package drive, organized by the American Red Cross, in which people are asked to donate items of use for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

Items such as books, lip balm, canned food, candy, playing cards, underwear,
T-shirts and general hygiene products are requested.

For more information, go to www.proamericaspirit.com or call 408.892.1992 or Cookie Krissman at the American Red Cross at 408.249.6031.

Pick the 2004 Silicon Valley Reads

Public voting is now open on the book to be selected for the 2004 Silicon Valley Reads program, designed to encourage everyone in the community to read and discuss the same book during the month of February.

Three well-known novels are on the ballot: Daughters of Fortune, by Isabel Allende; Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury; and Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.

The public may cast ballots in public libraries and local bookstores and online at www.siliconvalleyreads.org. Voting is open through Oct. 31 and the winning book will be announced in November. For more information, call 408.354-1242.