Beginning Monday, May 20, parking stalls at the north end of the Southwest Branch parking lot and the entrance from 35th Avenue Southwest will be fenced off and unavailable for several days while improvements are made to the parking lot.

Patrons can still enter the parking lot from Southwest Henderson Street during construction. Work is expected to be completed by Tuesday, May 28.

The Library is improving the parking lot to make it easier for patrons to use. Construction work will involve widening the parking lot and the 35th Avenue Southwest entrance, and moving the bike rack closer to the entrance.

These improvements are funded by the Library levy that voters approved in 2012. For more information, contact the Library at 206-386-4636 or capital.projects@spl.org.

At this time, I can’t offer too much information on the case around Zipper, as we are still conducting our investigation. I can tell you that we will continue to care for him at the Animal Shelter until the case is closed and we determine a course of action. As far as his condition, Zipper appears healthy, happy and energetic. While the police report indicated that the vehicle was parked in the lot for six days, one area of focus in our investigation, as you noted, is determining whether Zipper was actually in the vehicle during that time. We are still taking statements and would welcome any witnesses to contact us at 206-386-7387.

Police rescued Zipper on Sunday, April 21st, and reported the case via SPD Blotter three days later.

Though the official grand-opening celebration isn’t until this Saturday (newest details here), it’s “soft open” time for the community-built Roxhill Castle playground renovations! Val shares the photographic proof.

(First two photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
7:45 PM: House-fire call (35th and Cloverdale) drawing the big response right now. More to come.

8 PM: 35th is closed both ways at the fire scene in the 8600 block of 35th SW. Smoke is visible.

8:05 PM: Additional medics were dispatched to the scene; WSB’s Patrick Sand is there and tells us medics can be seen checking out one person so far.

8:10 PM: Medics now checking out two people and trying to determine how many people were in the house. Neighbors tell us it is occupied by “many.” Other neighbors say it was converted to a triplex a while back.

(This photo and next one are by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
8:21 PM: Our crew got an update at the scene. Six people in the house; two were checked out but are not expected to need to be taken to the hospital. The fire is believed to have originated in the basement, though the cause hasn’t been sorted out yet – that’s where the smoke was coming from. 35th SW remains closed from Thistle to Trenton but should be open within an hour or so, authorities believe.

9 PM: Adding photos (including one to replace our original cameraphone picture). Two bearded dragons were rescued from the house, according to this comment from Glenda, who says they and their person need a little help:

The house that burned on 35th & Cloverdale was the home of 2 Bearded Dragons (1 Male / 1 female). Their person got them out, but their set-up is inside & they aren’t allowed to go in for it. If anyone out there has a couple of old glass aquariums & a couple of heat lamps to get them through the night it would be very much appreciated. I’ll watch for responses and give directions.

The Red Cross also has been called in to help the fire victims, according to SFD.

9:12 PM: Southbound 35th SW is opening, per the scanner. Northbound will remain closed TFN.

11:16 PM: Drove by a short time ago to check – 35th is now fully open, and the fire scene is clear. SFD, meantime, has tweeted the fire’s cause: “West Seattle triplex basement fire caused by overheated electrical cord. Damage estimate is $125k to structure, $25k to contents.”

With the Roxhill Park skatespot set to open soon – it’s the perfect time for a new skate shop across the street in Westwood Village. SW Skate Shop is in its second week of business on the breezeway (east of Bed Bath Beyond). We stopped in today and met Ian Mandt, the manager, and Luke Constant:

They told us the shop’s focusing on local brands whenever possible, and it’s carrying boards, components, apparel, even local art – check out Jason Singler‘s work, displayed on the walls (and available for purchase, too):

Mandt says their hours are somewhat flexible for starters, noon-6 weekdays, 11-5 weekends.

FIRST REPORT, 6:27 PM: We’re on our way to check out a crash reported to involve a vehicle and a bus at 26th and Barton, which is the intersection with the main south entrance to Westwood Village. Police are reported to be looking for two males who fled from the vehicle – a Mitsubishi – and were last seen headed toward Roxhill Park.

6:33 PM UPDATE: Our crew is on the scene. Eastbound Barton is blocked by the crash; westbound is still moving. We can’t tell what route number the bus is from – but it’s not a RapidRide bus; it’s a blue/yellow articulated bus.

7:10 PM UPDATE: Photo added. No word of arrests yet; we’ll be going to check the scene shortly, to see if traffic is moving again.

‘Tis the season of the upside-down tree at Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village … which got a special visit Thursday night from Santa Claus, among others:

The occasion – the November edition of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce After-Hours get-together, which not only was a meet-up with Santa, but also a tour of Westwood Village businesses, including Giannoni’s Pizzeria:

At center is Giannoni’s proprietor Donna Burns, with daughter Georgia and friend Hanna. Back over at Santa’s Village (in the former Dress Barn space this year, as noted here), Rick Jump from the White Center Food Bank had a moment with Mr. Claus:

Next up for the Chamber: Mix, Mingle and Jingle, December 13th at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor). Adding that one now to our list of all things West Seattle Holiday-ish – see it here.

Another update tonight on the Roxhill Castle playground project, almost complete after five extensive days of volunteer work: Volunteer organizer Mat McBride says, “We are targeting the first day of Winter Break, 12/22/12, for the opening of the Castle Park.” (The adjacent skatespot, still under construction, will open separately, at another date.) The finishing touches include a new treatment for the “castle roof,” McBride explains: “Cool as the metal surface is, that’s only the superstructure for a mosaic sculpture. Originally, it was set to look like all of the other crenellations, but local amazing human Mike Henderson was assigned to work it. Mike had other ideas, which he shared with Barry [from Leathers and Associates], and we decided to go with it, on the spot. Because of the unique nature of this park build, we could do that.” He added that other “sculpture elements” are under consideration.

One more hour to join the revelry at Barton Street P-Patch in Westwood, finishing its first full spring/summer season and still growing strong:

The Harvest Festival/Potluck is on till 3:30 pm. If you haven’t seen the garden yet, go check it out … this time last year, they were still in the midst of construction, and now, it’s down to the finishing touches.

If you followed the garden-design saga last year, you’ll recall the successful campaign to save the big tree in the background of that view. The garden’s at 34th and Barton, east of the 7/11 and biodiesel station, south/southeast of Tony’s Produce.