The following items are culled from the Warren Beat, a weekly column of the interesting and informative things in Warren. Got an item for the Beat? Submit it to Warren Times-Gazette editor Ted Hayes at warren@eastbaynewspapers.com, or call him at 253-6000, ext. 113.

Help the kids

A group of 10th graders in Mrs. Leonard's U.S. History class at Mt. Hope High School need the community's help to cheer up chronically ill children. For a service learning project, they are creating "Surprise Spring Baskets" for 6 to 12-year-olds at Hasbro Children's Hospital. If you'd like to donate to the baskets, some of the requested items include plastic pails, shovels, crossword puzzle books, children's Band-Aids, small packages of tissues, note pads, gel pens, Crayola crayons, playing cards, pencils, markers, card games, stickers, bubbles, coloring books and children's DVDs. Donations can be made to the Mt. Hope main office and marked "Surprise Spring Baskets." If you have any questions, contact the high school at 254-5980.

Dubble B. rocks

It's a double win for Dubble B. The rap band, made up of Mt. Hope High School students, won the school's Battle of the Bands competition earlier this month and won again in the court of public opinion. Following the competition, the Warren Times-Gazette asked readers to vote online for their favorite group, and Dubble B. won convincingly, with 178 votes, about 37 percent of the total votes cast. Coming in second was Sabian the Cow, followed by All the King's Men, Yesterday's Bread, Matt Ricci and Johnny Clotheshanger. Songs, interviews and photos from the competition will run through the month at www.eastbayri.com.