San Jose CA Press
Thieves target beach enclave’s valuable flowers - The Mercury News
May 31, 2019Baldwin said: “They are cutting the part of the tree that can propagate new plants.”
Two years ago, similar thefts were reported in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood.
Commenting on the earlier case, Don Bergamini, president of the Northern California Camellia Society, said the flowers are expensive because the bushes grow slowly. A large plant in the ground could go for $200 to $400, he said.
A San Jose woman whose camellia bush was hacked speculated that the culprit might be an unscrupulous florist looking to make a quick buck or a desperate bride seeking free foliage for wedding arrangements.
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... https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/10/thieves-loot-valuable-camelia-clippings-in-la-selva/
Sunnyvale family of 4 gets up off the floor
Dec 30, 2018She came back to Herrerra with approval for a grant from The Chronicle’s Season of Sharing Fund and sent Herrera to Fine Furniture for Less, a San Jose home-furnishing store that offers discounts to social workers. The Season of Sharing money covered a new set of wooden bunk beds with mattresses for the kids, plus a queen-size mattress with frame, headboard and baseboard for the parents.
And there was enough money left over to afford a wooden dinette set.
The family of four each had a place to sleep, in one small bedroom, and a place to eat in the other room.
“I’m very appreciative of the agency for all the support it provided,” Herrera said, translated by Buenrostro.
Herrera is 40 and h... http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sunnyvale-family-of-4-gets-up-off-the-floor-6720467.php
Alternative gifts: Tips for meaningful holiday giving
Nov 27, 2018Support your local artist
The weekend after Thanksgiving last year, Cain Ramirez came across a pop-up store in downtown San Jose selling eye-catching fruit- and vegetable-shaped pillows and fabric sculptures. There he met fiber artist Amy Brown, who creates her plushy creations for her Jumbo Jibbles line in a studio at San Jose's Alameda Art Works. For a friend who loves succulents, Ramirez bought a "cactus" in a pot made of vintage fabric.
Aaron Nipper received her whimsical ski mask with unicorn horns for Christmas and loves the idea of supporting local artists: "When you buy local, you're supporting people who make these (works), and you make your city a place where people live and stay."
Practical romance
Gloria Gates, of Fremont's Niles district, lost the last of her three children two years ago, so she prefers to keep the holiday low-key.
Still, her husband, George, loves to treat her, so she lets him buy her something she regularly uses in the kitchen. He individually wraps up rolls of wax paper, often in different-sized boxes designed to "fool her," he jokes. He also buys her nonlatex gloves to wash dishes and stuffs a stocking with Hershey bars.
"I'm a big spender, as you can tell," he says. Gloria laughs, adding, "It's very romantic."
Workplace philanthropy
If well-paid Bay Area workers feel a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses pressure to dazzle colleagues with stylish iPhone docks or $260 Ecuadorean chocolate, Point Richmond executive coach Donna Stoneham sends her clients gifts that she hopes lets them feel like they are making a true difference in people's lives. Stoneham makes don... http://www.mercurynews.com/spotlight/ci_29160634/alternative-gifts-tips-meaningful-holiday-giving