BEARS IN TOW: Those tow truck drivers...

BEARS IN TOW: Those tow truck drivers who haul your stalled or wrecked car off the freeway for free--under a Caltrans program--cannot accept tips. But some grateful motorists insist on tipping anyway, usually leaving the money on the driver’s seat. Now the drivers have turned those unsolicited tips into teddy bears. . . . They delivered 30 of the bears to youngsters at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange on Thursday. Says CHP Officer Rick Pena, who helped: “These kids can’t go home for Christmas, so we thought we’d bring the toys to them.”

GOOD GARBAGE: When the county decided to take in other people’s garbage to help in the bankruptcy recovery, some scoffed it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Wrong. . . . The county estimates now it will collect $15 million annually by importing garbage--and there’s a waiting list. The trash-for-cash plan, when all phased in, will add 5,000 tons of waste a day, filling local landfills to permitted annual levels. Two haulers are on hold if dumping levels drop below capacity.

ROAD FRIENDS: When Colleen Moro played volleyball at Fountain Valley High School, her coach was Misty Sano. She went to Utah State to play for Misty’s husband, Marlon Sano. Now she’s a junior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with Marlon following her this time and joining the coaching staff. . . . Things are going well: Moro was recently picked for the regional academic All-American team, with her 3.8 grade average. Says Marlon Sano: “Colleen has everything going for her. She’s the one you’d want your son to marry.”

FAT CELLS: Inmates at the Santa Ana City Jail had it better than ever in 1995. The nearby Boardwalk Cafe & Catering Co., which provides them three meals a day, increased the portions this year. . . . Items like more peanut butter on the celery sticks, added rolls, and more rice were added--for a contract price increase--to meet new state standards. The inmates, most of whom stay a day or two, must be content: The city just renewed the Boardwalk’s jail contract for 1996 at $163,000.