Watsonville—All the barrels have been picked up and weighed and the cash donations tabulated: the truly astounding grand total for the 2011 Second Harvest Food Bank Holiday Food Drive is just over 2.7 million pounds of food and cash equivalent! That’s well over our goal of 2.5M and a wonderful example of just how dedicated our community is to providing healthy food to hungry people. There was no end to the amount of activity and creativity used to raise food and funds this year—from holiday parties and in-store events, to kids selling homemade crafts—the compassion of our community came through loud and clear on every level.

Willy Elliott-McCrea, Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest announced the total on January 26th during a special event at Michael’s on Main in Soquel, hosted by Second Harvest board members, Phil Dundas and Jeremy Lezin.

Maksym Arestov is wanted for receiving stolen property and possession of narcotics.

Anyone having information regarding Arestov is asked to call WPD Investigations at 768-3350 or the Crime Tip Line at 768-3544.

Free Tax Prep Means a Full Refund, Quickly

Monterey - United Way Monterey County kicks off its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at 11:00 am Friday, Jan. 27 at the Salvation Army Salinas Corps Community Center at 2460 North Main Street, Salinas. Media will see the program in action and be able to interview participants.

Part of United Way’s EarnIt!KeepIt!$aveIt! Program, VITA offers free tax prep to families and individuals who earned less than $50,000 in 2011.  In addition to helping people avoid hidden fees and get their refunds promptly, VITA also helps workers identify any additional credits for which they may qualify, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

On Friday, volunteers will be preparing taxes from 9:00am to Noon.  Representatives from United Way, Salvation Army and local businesses will also be on hand to answer questions.