A Hollister woman was arrested on Dec. 31 on charges of robbing a juvenile in Willow Glen.

According to San Jose police spokeswoman Gina Teeporten, Regina Partida, 23, was approached around 2:42 a.m. by a 15-year-old San Jose resident near Toon's nightclub in downtown San Jose seeking a ride to the children's shelter. The youth said he had run away from the Union Avenue facility.

According to police, Partida agreed to give the teen a ride. There were two other females and a male in the van.

Partida stopped the van at the Shell gas station on the corner of Lincoln and Curtner avenues in Willow Glen and started arguing with the teenager over directions to the shelter, police said.

Partida told the teenager to get out of the van, but before he did, she allegedly grabbed his arm and forcibly removed three yellow-gold bracelets, a yellow-gold ring with a rhinestone, and a silver pinky ring from him, according to the police. Partida then drove away, police said.

The boy called the police from a phone at the gas station and officers were advised to be on the lookout for the driver and the van.

When the van was located at Pearl Avenue and Branham Lane, the teenager positively identified the occupants, according to police. The officers found the jewelry in the vehicle. Partida was arrested and the other adults were released.

Free shredding to
reduce identity theft

Members of the Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers teamed with area shredding companies and office supply stores to host the first "shred-a-thon" from Jan. 26 through Jan. 28.

The event is aimed at helping local residents and small businesses avoid identity theft. Organizers will turn parking lots in Campbell and San Jose into high-volume shredding stations.

The public and small businesses are invited to bring boxes of old files and sensitive documents to destroy at no charge.

Outdated documents containing information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, signatures, and financial or legal data are among the items that organizers encourage people to shred.

The shred-a-thon was planned in conjunction with the national group's Get Organized Month in January.

Residents can bring their documents to the Staples parking lot, 500 E. Hamilton Ave., in Campbell at the intersection of Salmar and E. Hamilton avenues near Highway 17. Shredding will take place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Jan. 26. Up to three boxes can be shredded at no cost. For more information, call 408.806.5437.

Old electronics can
be recycled safely

With the beginning of the New Year, it's out with the old and in with the new. But an e-waste recycling company invites residents to dump their old electronics safely.

ASL, a state-funded recycling operation, has teamed up with a Campbell Girl Scout troop to hold a "Cash for Trash" recycling event in Campbell on Jan. 14 at the Village School, 825 W. Parr Ave., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Residents are invited to drop off televisions, computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, fax machines, telephones, stereos and microwaves.

The state reimburses ASL for properly recycling electronic waste and ASL passes on a portion of the money to local charities. This year the Campbell event will raise money for the Campbell-based EMQ children's shelter.

Turn a fruit tree into
a fruit salad bowl

The 2006 annual scion exchange sponsored by the California Rare Fruit Growers, Santa Clara Valley Chapter will have a free event on Jan 14 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Prusch Park Multicultural Center, 647 S. King Rd.

Residents will be able to purchase propagation material from fruiting plants to graft onto trees already growing in their yard. Growing information will also be available.

Residents can turn a plum into a fruit salad tree, grafting on apricots and peaches that ripen over an extended season, master gardner and Willow Glen resident Nancy Garrison said.

Hundreds of different varieties of apple and pear, apricot, peach, plum, nectarine, cherry and persimmon scions will be available for grafting to backyard fruit trees.

Those attending the event are asked to bring a plastic bag for the scions along with labeling material. Some grafting supplies will also be available for sale. Grafting demonstrations start at noon in the Prusch Park Multicultural Center meeting hall.

For more information, contact Garrison at nancyg2@aol.com.