BE A MASTER OF DISASTER! That’s Version 1.0 of a West Seattle map designed to make sure you “know where to go” in case of disaster: Neighborhood volunteers around WS are designating locations as community gathering sites if the unthinkable happens and a major disaster makes it impossible to get information and help the usual ways. These are sites where you will be able to go to find out what’s going on (click on the blue “pins” to find out more). As part of the month-plus campaign to help you become a “Master of Disaster” – knowing what it takes to keep your family safe – each of these locations, and others to be added as soon as we get confirmation from the other volunteers, will have a day set aside when you can drop by to get helpful info and say hi. The first dates are set: 11 am-4 pm April 20 for the Morgan Junction location (Thriftway), 7:30-11 am April 26 for the Delridge location (Delridge Community Center), 1-5 pm May 3 for the Olympic Heights location (Hughes Playground/School), 3-6 pm May 4 for the Admiral location (Hiawatha Park/Community Center). Help is still needed for some south/east West Seattle neighborhoods – e-mail Cindi Barker at cbarker (at) qwest.net.

WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY RECOGNITION AWARDS: Please join us at Capers in The Junction next Friday night (April 18), 7-8 pm, for the second quarterly informal gathering to announce the latest West Seattle Community Recognition Awards winners. This is no Oscars-style ceremony, just a get-together in the Capers cafe (tasty brownies last time!) to chat and spend a few minutes talking about our fabulous community and the people who make it great. (Here’s coverage of the first WSCRA event.) Hope you can come say hi; the WSB team will be there along with Julie Mireille Anderson of Divina, who hatched the awards idea, and friends old and new.

FUNDRAISER FOR LOCKSMITH SHUT DOWN BY ARSON: Three weeks have now passed since the arson attack on Puget Sound Key and Lock in Morgan Junction; we checked with police this week, no arrests yet. WSB Forum Community members have continued working hard on a fundraiser that is now one week away — next Saturday night, 6-9 pm, Admiral Pub, with a silent auction and raffle, all ages welcome.

4TH ANNUAL WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY, MAY 10! Two days into registration, 20+ sales are signed up for what promises to be a fun day around West Seattle. It isn’t one big sale – it’s sales in neighborhoods all over WS (more than 100 the past 2 years), with maps distributed ahead of time, and promotion/advertising citywide to invite people to come shop in our beautiful section of Seattle. WSB is presenting it this year after creator/sponsor Megawatt closed; we’ve added some features like the online-registration option and “best sign”/”most unusual item” contests. Full details at our official WSCGSD site, westseattlegaragesale.com, including the online registration link (and a downloadable form if you’d rather mail your signup sheet in, plus a list of sites where you can pick up a pre-printed form).