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Benefit for shooting victim’s family: “We’re overwhelmed”
February 8, 2009 4:57 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

That’s what Stacey Bushaw told us about an hour ago, looking around at what she called “the second wave” of people filling Talarico’s for this afternoon’s benefit, raising money for the family of her cousin Steve Bushaw, shot outside the Junction restaurant one week ago tonight. “Half the people here, I don’t even know!” Stacey marveled. In addition to the capacity crowd inside, some gathered outside — among them, two police officers, a reminder that Steve’s killers have not yet been caught. Near the back of the restaurants, photos and tributes – some originally created for the streetside memorial last Monday – were set up steps away from the stage:

Under that table, people had placed bouquets of flowers – and a soccer ball, in tribute to the sport in which Steve excelled:

Stacey told us that Talarico’s covered the cost of both the pizza and the music, so all proceeds for the afternoon – and what she described as many generous extra donations – would go toward the benefit. All in all, she said, it’s been a weekend full of people showing support and love – she said the private funeral at Forest Lawn yesterday also drew an overflow crowd, more than 400 people. A video tribute to her cousin was shown twice during this afternoon’s benefit, and a printed copy of the eulogy was posted in the memorial area by the stage:

Stacey explained that the video closed with a line also seen on the poster for the benefit – “Our circle of love will never be broken” – because of family significance: It was a line of solace on the printed memorial program when the cousins lost their grandmother several years back, and Stacey says Steve had it tattooed across his chest, with his surname on one arm, his mother’s maiden surname on the other. She remarked again about how grateful their large extended family was for this weekend’s outpouring from friends, relatives, and other community members: “All this, for my little cousin.” Meantime, we are checking daily with police for any word of a break in the case.

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Cancer takes Salty’s spokesperson Eileen Mintz
February 8, 2009 1:49 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle people | West Seattle restaurants

Didn’t know this till we read the Times obituary: Salty’s spokesperson Eileen Mintz died a week ago. We never got to meet her in person, but appreciated her swift responses to our Salty’s-related queries, including the one that resulted in this 1/08 update on a potential Salty’s hotel. In our correspondence at the time, she mentioned her fight against cancer, while cheerily declaring herself “too busy to die.” Ms. Mintz was 66; the eulogy given for her by TV reporter Herb Weisbaum can be read on the Salty’s site, where she had written monthly “Mintz Her Words” updates; a memorial website is set up here (screen grab at left).

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Seattle Lutheran seniors’ project: Everything old is new again!
February 7, 2009 8:01 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Those are the two local students who recently posted a note in the WSB Forums that caught our eye. It read, in part:

Our names are Grace Puffert and Mary Griffin and we’re seniors at Seattle Lutheran High School. Every year, each senior is required to create and execute a senior project that should in some way give back and benefit the community. We decided to have a community Fashion Show in order to raise money for Providence Mount Saint Vincent Nursing Home (where we both are volunteers) here in West Seattle.

The theme of our fashion show is “Fashion through the Ages” (WORKING ON A BETTER TITLE!). Our hope is to exhibit clothing from each era beginning with 1900. So this is where you come in, if anyone would like to donate or lend clothing (era-oriented) or their services to helping us put this show on, it would be GREATLY appreciated. We really would like to bring together the entire West Seattle community on this project

Grace and Mary (left/right in the photo above) got some quick e-mail replies, and one was from us – to arrange a chat with them to find out more about what they’re doing and how you can help. So we sat down at a local coffeehouse one recent night to chat …Read More

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Junction shooting update: Benefit posters up; killers still at large
February 6, 2009 2:45 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

That’s the poster that Stacey Bushaw tells WSB has been distributed throughout West Seattle to invite everyone to this Sunday afternoon’s event benefiting the family of her cousin, Steve Bushaw, the 26-year-old man shot and killed in The Junction last Sunday night. The two men who shot him are still on the loose; police have not provided any new information, so all we know is what we originally reported (here’s our coverage from the night it happened, plus followups the next morning and afternoon).

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West Seattle student’s invitation to you: Remember This Benefit
February 5, 2009 9:19 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle student’s invitation to you: Remember This Benefit
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

High-school students have a lot more responsibilities these days than we recall from way back when. Community-service requirements, and senior projects, among them. We’ve heard lately from a couple students with amazing-sounding projects – including this: The photo above shows Emily Meyer with her mom Betsy Meyer, who died last fall after years of battling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, chronicled in a remarkable Seattle Times series (linked from this story about her death). Emily, a senior at Seattle Lutheran High School, e-mailed us this week to say that she’s planning a benefit to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association in her mom’s memory, and even though the event isn’t happening in West Seattle, she wondered if we could announce it here:

Remember This Benefit
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Doors open at 7:30pm; Show starts at 8:00pm
At The Vera Project
Located on the corner of Warren & Republican Ave N, next to the Key Arena in Seattle Center
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 day of show
All ages are invited
www.myspace.com/rememberthisbenefit
Join us for a benefit concert with incredible musical performances by Kids and Animals, On the Last Day and more! Proceeds go to the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of the late Betsy Meyer, Seattle Times memorable person of the year. For more information contact the benefit coordinator, Emily Meyer, Betsy’s 18-year-old daughter, at 206.719.7188.

It’s in the WSB Events calendar, too. Meantime, we’re working on a story about two of Emily’s classmates, who announced their senior project recently in the WSB Forums, and are looking for help – look for that story tomorrow.

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Update: West Seattle Lotto winners’ rep picks up check
February 5, 2009 4:28 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

As mentioned in our previous post, the representative for the group with the $6.8 million winning Lotto ticket sold at Admiral 7-11 (original WSB report here) has claimed the check. He declined an interview but the Washington State Lottery sent the photo above and this news release with info:

This past Monday was not just another typical Monday for the members of Josal Partners. While reading the morning paper over a cup of tea, they realized they had won the $6.8 million Lotto jackpot.

“Incredulity would sum up the reaction,” joked John Gose, the group’s managing partner. Gose, who spoke on behalf of Josal Partners, is an attorney and an ex-marine. The partners’ reactions were clearly incredulous.

“Lottery is a daydreaming game and daydreams change from day to day,” said Gose about why the group plays. Whatever their daydreams were that day, they are a reality now.

The winners, who were skeptical about their “incredulous” situation, were sure to check additional sources to confirm the win after initially seeing their numbers in the Seattle Times. “I’m not good with numbers!” joked Gose. So one of the partners took the ticket to a “very accurate” accountant, who instantly proclaimed, “No #@%$, you won!,” after giving the ticket a good look.

“The win has provided funds that would not have otherwise been available,” explained Gose. “The money will be going toward paying off debts and providing education for children and grandchildren.” Another member of the partners added there has also been some talk of shopping for a new truck.

The winners said that this was their first time experiencing a big Lottery win. The same can’t be said of the store that sold the ticket. The West Seattle 7-Eleven where the winning ticket was purchased has sold a big Lotto jackpot before. A Federal Way man won $11 million in 1994. As part of the Lottery’s retail program, this 7-11 will be receiving a retail bonus of $68,000.

Gose had some interesting logic to share for all potential Lottery winners out there about picking numbers, “A five is cuter than a three, and fours are different.” Keep that in mind next time you play.

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Update: Memorial at scene of Junction shooting; victim ID’d
February 2, 2009 3:15 pm
|      77 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Flowers and other tributes have been placed at the scene of last night’s deadly shooting in The Junction (original report here, morning update here). No word of arrests yet, nor formal ID from the Medical Examiner’s office (the 26-year-old victim’s sister sent WSB e-mail early this morning but we have withheld his name pending official confirmation of the ID), but we are about to make another round of calls to check. We will have photos of the tributes shortly. Many people who knew the victim have already written tributes in the comments on our morning update, starting here. 3:37 PM UPDATE: Adding photos. The memorial was set up by three childhood friends of Steve; the table was provided by Talarico’s. To quote one of them, honest and raw: “This is so f—d up.” They are working on memorial plans, and they invite anyone who knew Steve to come down and write, or leave, a tribute. 3:49 PM UPDATE: The victim’s full name is now public: Steven Ray Bushaw, per the King County Medical Examiner’s office, cause of death reiterated as “multiple gunshot wounds.”

4:28 PM UPDATE: Just called police to ask if there’s ANYTHING new we can report. Officer Mark Jamieson in the media unit says, in a word, no. The last, and only, official description of the suspects is, “two black males in a white sedan” – they can’t even confirm the potential dreadlock-hairstyle detail that we picked up off the scanner last night (and of course, what’s heard on the scanner often changes in cases big and small as police receive conflicting information and have to sort through it). If you have ANY information that might help the investigation, call 911.

ADDED 4:42 PM: In comments, there’s a tribute mentioning that Steve Bushaw was a talented soccer player. While looking for online info, we found this link to a Times story from 11 years ago, about his role in a huge upset win for the West Seattle High School soccer team.

ADDED EARLY TUESDAY: We have e-mailed the family a request for a photo of Steve. Meantime, WSB’er Alice discovered he’s in her 1999 WSHS yearbook, and sent us the photo you see at left.

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West Seattle winning: Admiral 7-11 sells $6.8 million Lotto ticket
February 1, 2009 12:32 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Thanks to three tipsters who heard this mentioned on TV last night and this morning – there was nothing online about it so we couldn’t mention it till we got it confirmed, but now we have. Washington State Lottery communications director Jacque Coe confirms that the one $6.8 million winning ticket from last night’s Lotto game was sold at the Admiral 7-11. She says the store was notified last night (and was checked with again this morning), and folks there are “very excited,” but the winner hasn’t officially come forward yet. If you happen to be the winner – or if you know the winner – here’s advice from Coe: SIGN THE TICKET. KEEP IT AWAY FROM HEAT SOURCES. AND — Call the nearest Lottery office tomorrow to make an appointment to claim your prize; she says you can’t just show up unannounced – they need to give you some information first to make sure everything will go smoothly when you get there. The office nearest West Seattle is in Federal Way; the number to Olympia headquarters is here. (Of course, we’d love to hear from The Big Winner too, although you’d have to show us the ticket – a former employer got hoaxed big-time by someone telling a [believable but not verified] tall tale.) Winning numbers, by the way: 5, 15, 24, 25, 35, 46.

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West Seattle weekend scenes: Admiral cleanup success
January 31, 2009 10:52 pm
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 |   Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

For the second consecutive weekend, West Seattle teens helped clean up their community’s streets – last weekend, during the North Delridge Adopt-A-Street (WSB photo included here), and today, during the Admiral Neighborhood Association Adopt-A-Street. ANA president Mark Wainwright shared the above photo of Madison Middle School students who joined the operation (shown clowning around afterward with some of the big yellow bags of trash collected in the cleanup), and this update:

The kids are Dallas Baker, Lindsay Vanderpool, Sita Ross, Anton Summers, Megan Antalan, and Alexa Antalan (not in that order in the photo). It was awesome to have them there – they were all satisfying part of their volunteer hours for school. The bags of trash are behind them in the photo – of note were a set of tire chains and “millions” of the lane marker/bumps (what are these things called?).

A very successful day all in all. A big thanks should go out to Metropolitan Market and Dave Weitzel of Admiral-based Weitzel Construction, our two wonderful Admiral Adopt-a-Street sponsors. Met Market provides the meeting point, tables, chairs and great food and coffee, and Dave coordinates the event for our group (he’s a long-time member) and takes care of moving the trash to Hiawatha CC afterwards in his truck!

A quick shout out to two FANNA founders, Matthew Slye and Ann Limbaugh, who helped out today and want everyone to remember to attend their first design meeting for California Place Park coming up soon [Tuesday at 7 pm].

Great stuff… and no rain! We’ll be doing it again in approx. three months.

Matthew and Ann are in this photo we took at California/Lander (map) during the cleanup, along with Catherine Barker:

Other local organizations do cleanups too, including the Junction Neighborhood Organization; if you have one coming up and you’ve got room for more help, be sure we know about it so we can include it on the calendar (editor@westseattleblog.com)!

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Weekend Lineup reminder: Help clean up Admiral this morning
January 31, 2009 6:03 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle people

You too can enjoy temporary use of spiffy orange vests, yellow bags, handy picker-upper gizmos, and more if you spend a few hours today doing what the folks in that clip did on the day we video’d them one year ago – join in the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s quarterly Adopt-a-Street cleanup. Meeting place is the same, Metropolitan Market, 9 am, free coffee and “light breakfast” treats. That’s just one of a TON of West Seattle happenings today and tonight – here’s the direct link to the Saturday section of our latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup. 10:06 AM UPDATE: Admiral Neighborhood Association president Mark Wainwright sent a note that 14 volunteers have turned out so far and “tasty lunch bags” remain up for the taking along with more supplies – so there’s still time to get over to Met Market and fan out to help with the rest of the cleanup (till about noon).

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From the WSB Blogs page: This might make you laugh too
January 30, 2009 2:04 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle online | West Seattle people

As you probably know, for more than two years WSB has had a page (see it here) which points you to the latest updates from nearly 100 blogs by West Seattle-based writers. Among the latest links: This post by Ian Lurie, from his always-snappy site Conversation Marketing — geared toward marketing writers, but it made us laugh; maybe just because we get so much spam, it hit home.

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Help Waunda get healthy: Friends seek auction donations
January 30, 2009 9:04 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle people

Friends and family are working to help raise money for a woman known to many who shop and do business in The Junction — Waunda from the Sports Junction (in the breezeway on the west side of California, south of Oregon). Lee Blanchette explains:

Waunda has been at the Sports Junction since the 80’s and is the epitome of West Seattle. She has done more things for more people than anyone you will ever know. On October 31st Waunda was diagnosed with TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura): A rare life-threatening disease involving embolism and thrombosis (plugging) of the small blood vessels in the brain and has spent the last 2 ½ months at Swedish Hospital. She is finally home but has many months of rehabilitation ahead of her. We will be having a silent auction February 7th at the Rocksport from 7 to 9 pm, followed by live music throughout the evening. We are asking local businesses to donate to the auction to help with Waunda’s recovery. Please call the following numbers or contact her daughter Deanise at the Rocksport.

Tara 253 353-6622
Lee 206 898-6986

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100 West Seattle kids on Big Brothers Big Sisters waiting list
January 28, 2009 7:24 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle people

We’re at the Morgan Community Association quarterly meeting, and it kicked off with a short presentation by a rep from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound — Bottom line: 100 kids, 7 to 17, are on a waiting list in the West Seattle area, awaiting more potential mentors to join BBBSPS. Commitment can be as little as an hour a week. More info: www.bbbsps.org or 877-700-BIGS. (More from MoCA later.)

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West Seattle High’s Aaron Grymes changes his mind
January 27, 2009 8:29 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

According to the Seattle Times, West Seattle High School cornerback Aaron Grymes has decided to sign with Idaho instead of UW, saying the Huskies had asked him to “grayshirt” instead of starting next season. (Realdawg.com reported the news earlier today; its story requires membership to read.)

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West Seattle yoga teacher in no position to work, but you can help!
January 27, 2009 2:12 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The folks at 8 Limbs Yoga (WSB sponsor) are banding together to help popular teacher Denise Carrico (photo at left), who can’t teach – and therefore, can’t work – for a month because she “fell while hiking and broke both her leg and her arm,” says 8 Limbs’ Anne Phyfe Palmer. To help get Denise through this time of crisis, 8 Limbs is offering two benefit classes this Saturday – here are the details:

Please join yoga teacher Greg Owen on Saturday, January 31st for either of his morning classes:
9:00 am LEVEL II FLOW
10:30 am LEVEL I

Here’s how Denise will benefit:

Drop-ins ($16) will go directly to Denise.

If you are an 8 Limbs class card holder, consider paying drop-in for this class, otherwise $5 will be donated by 8 Limbs for each class card holder. 8 Limbs will donate $5 for each member who attends.

Additional donations are encouraged. Please pay cash or write checks directly to Denise Carrico.

Donations of any amount can be made by check at any time at the 8 Limbs front desk.

Thank you!

8 Limbs is in The Junction, right over JaK’s Grill (map), enter from the alley behind the building; find lots more information online at 8limbsyoga.com.

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West Seattle inventor hopes to blow away Google contest field
January 26, 2009 6:03 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle people | West Seattle video

The Times writes this morning about that wind-power invention by West Seattleite Chad Maglaque; he entered it in Google’s Project 10 to the 100th, which will publish word tomorrow of the 100 finalists (from among 100,000+ entries) who made it to a public vote. 1:55 PM UPDATE: Thanks for the tip from Todd – Google has just announced it’s delaying the announcement of the 100 finalists till March; read the announcement here.

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West Seattle weekend scene: Happy birthday, Twilight!
January 25, 2009 3:29 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle weekend scene: Happy birthday, Twilight!
 |   West Seattle people | West Seattle video | WS culture/arts

A little past midway through Saturday night’s 4th birthday bash for Twilight Artist Collective – held in the West Seattle Junction spot (west of Easy Street) that they took over in late ’07 – they were serenaded with the traditional birthday tune, in a not-so-traditional way. Haven’t met Erin, Mary, and Cheryl yet? Info’s here, for their original Pike Place Market location as well as their Junction space. (They have a separate blog-format website, too.)

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West Seattle Hi-Yu update: Scholarship Program application time
January 24, 2009 5:11 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Hi-Yu update: Scholarship Program application time
 |   West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

We took you to Grace Church last July for the coronation of West Seattle Hi-Yu Senior Court Queen Margo Femiano (center) and Princesses Alicia Watanabe and Katie Tarabochia (left, right); now, at the midpoint between summers, the 2009 Scholarship Program is welcoming applications. This year’s program coordinator is Shirley Enebrad, who renews the basics of the announcement we made one year ago today:

Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Scholarship Competition: Applications due
3/30/09

Young women who live, work or attend school in West Seattle are invited to apply for the Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu scholarship competition. There are several scholarship awards given out at the pageant, including, but again, not limited to: Athletic, Media Career, Community Service, Academic, Miss Congeniality, Creative Expression, and Hi-Yu Involvement. There are three titles awarded: Queen and two Princesses.

Each title winner receives a scholarship (Princesses- $1,000 each, Queen- $2,000), crown, and sash. The Queen will receive $1,250 at the end of her reign and $750 after completing the Miss Seafair competition. She will represent the community during the 2009-2010 festival year and travel to several Northwest parades with the Hi-Yu float. The Senior Court members must be available to participate in the Hi-Yu Summer Festival activities.

While there is some work involved, West Seattle royalty will have a lot of fun serving your community, making new friends, increasing confidence, and developing leadership. New this year, all candidates will have the opportunity to work with a local businesswoman as a professional mentor and spend a day with professional health & beauty professionals receiving advice on hair, make-up, and dress. Hi-Yu serves the West Seattle Community by providing fun and affordable entertainment for adults and children alike.

The application, found at www.hiyu.com, must be postmarked by March 30, 2009. Mail your completed application to Candidate Coordinator, West Seattle Hi-Yu, PO Box 16130, Seattle, WA 98116. If you have questions, call Shirley at 206-935-5224.

Again, here’s the direct link to the application. Another Hi-Yu note, from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Hi-Yu’s Spring Tea and Silent Auction is set for March 22 at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 2-4:30 pm, $25/person, and they’re taking reservations now – 206-935-6517 or info@hiyu.com.

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What’s new – and old – at West Seattle’s one-of-a-kind Kenyon Hall
January 24, 2009 12:47 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS culture/arts

Among your many entertainment options on tonight’s West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Two “classic silent comedies” accompanied (with ragtime!) by Donald Sosin at Kenyon Hall (interior photo above). If you aren’t well-acquainted with that venue, time to fix that. We revisited the historic building (on 35th just south of Kenyon – here’s a map) recently to talk with manager Lou Magor and find what’s new – read on!Read More

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Sheer poetry: Center School students; Poet Populist celebration
January 24, 2009 2:26 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle people | West Seattle video | WS culture/arts

Thanks to Paul Dieter for sharing that video of The Center School‘s Poetry Slam performance/competition on Thursday night. We learned more about TCS during the Seattle Public Schools closure process that’s heading for a vote next Thursday; TCS changes are NOT part of the plan any more but when they were, we learned that the unique Seattle Center-based school has more than a few West Seattle teens in attendance, including one who performed in the Thursday night event, as Paul explains:

The Center School presented A Night Of Poetry and Theater For Social Change at the Seattle Repertory Theater. The standing-room-only audience was treated to these talented high-school students exercising the power they are finding in words, performance and personal poise confidence. The evening began with 18 students reading their own poems and finished with a competitive poetry slam that included West Seattle’s own Daniel Willoughby. There was also a brief performance by the school’s Theater For Social Change class that gave us a view on some of the issues facing these young adults.

Another poetry note with a West Seattle hook: South Seattle Community College writing instructor Mike Hickey (photo left), elected last November as the city’s newest Poet Populist, will be officially “installed” as the PP Sunday afternoon. He’ll read, of course, at the 2 pm event at the city’s central library branch downtown (map), which features other special guests. Read more about the (free!) event here; hear Mike read in this WSB report on a pre-election event last October at Youngstown Arts Center.

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Inauguration night: Where West Seattle’s most famous rocker was
January 22, 2009 3:37 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   2009 Inauguration | West Seattle people | WS culture/arts

No, it wasn’t here in West Seattle. Just happened onto this mention of Eddie Vedder making a cameo at the Tractor Tavern (in Ballard) on Tuesday night on the Mayor’s Office of Film and Music‘s new blog-format website. (Full story seems to be at RollingStone.com.)

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Shoe drive report: West Seattleites step up to give big
January 22, 2009 10:09 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

This morning, we have another report on the results of West Seattleites stepping up to help others – the inauguration-commemoration shoe drive kicked off by “Bob Loblaw” in the WSB Forums. The photo shows a member of the Loblaw clan — seventh-grade student at Madison Middle School shown helping sort the shoes (with community-service credit as a bonus!). Bob writes:

West Seattle’s generous souls donated a total of exactly 100 pairs of shoes, boots, sandals and other footwear during the week-long drive. All will make their way shortly to those who truly need them. Big kudos go to those who stepped up, especially the participating businesses, Hotwire and Full Tilt. It goes without saying once again that West Seattle rocks!

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Another Day of Service report: Blanket-making success!
January 21, 2009 3:18 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Earlier today, we shared the final report on the diaper drive Katy Lloyd organized; now, we have a report on the blanket-making event Linda Tepe and Nancy Ross spearheaded on Monday at Fauntleroy Church, which also benefited the local families helped through WestSide Baby:

Our event was a huge success!

Through the USAService.org website I had allowed as many as 50 people to sign up. The event was filled by last Friday. Additionally, 8 friends told me they would attend. Instructions from USAService.org told me to expect no more than 60% of those to turn out, but incredibly 57 signed in.

People brought their friends, co-workers and children. There were people of all ages from babies on up to some in their 80’s: there were high school and college students; a group of 10 from Starbucks corporate; 3 woman brought their young daughters to help; a man and woman brought their daughters; and some young women brought their boyfriends. And 2 babies did quality control, making sure the blankets were soft enough and modeling some of the creations.

We made 130 baby blankets, 107 buntings and an unknown number of adorable hats that one of the volunteers created with the leftover remnants.

Our event was very “green”: not even the smallest scraps of that fleece were thrown away because one the volunteers, who also volunteers for the Humane Society, took those little scraps to make cat toys for her feline friends.

The 40 odd bolts of fleece fabric that we used had been donated to WestSide Baby by BlueStar. BlueStar had purchased the leftover inventory from Hancock Fabrics before the groundbreaking for the Whole Foods project and then turned around and donated the goods to a number of charities, including WestSide Baby.

Thanks again to everyone who shared their stories from Day of Service (and also, yesterday, from Inauguration Day/Night). Share your stories and/or photos with your West Seattle neighbors, whether it’s breaking news or happy news, by sending whatever you have to editor@westseattleblog.com … thanks!

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