Before you lock up for the night, a reminder in this report from Kris:
Hi there, I wanted to report that my parents’ car on 47th Street SW (by Sunset) [map] was broken into last night and it looks like others might have been hit overnight. They left other vehicle information outside the car. Fortunately not much of value was in the car but others should be on notice to ensure they keep their cars locked on the streets. It’s unfortunate as we had assumed we lived in a pretty safe neighborhood.
We checked the available-so-far online police reports and aren’t seeing other reports in that area so far – but the “other vehicle info” could have come from elsewhere (there’s a 5100 block of SW Hudson car prowl listed for early this morning), or might be from incident/s not reported to police (who stress that it’s important to report, even if nothing was taken).
(Earlier WSB as-it-happened coverage of today’s WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” in West Seattle can be seen here)
About half an hour after the last diaper donations arrived at the WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” donation-drive site at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, the diaper-filled bus pulled up in White Center – where WS Baby is headquartered – to unload, and the volunteers you see in our video got to work. Before the bus left West Seattle, WestSide Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland had given us the quick tally on what they’d counted up, as of just after 2:
That followed a sudden down-to-the-wire flurry of donations – including these three deliveries just minutes after 2:
We didn’t get everyone’s names but we know the last three – local architects Brandon Nicholson and Shanna Kovalchick (whose business is headquartered in The Junction, steps away from the Stuff the Bus site) and toddler son Benjamin. And even though the donating finally stopped there around 10 past 2, it moved on down the street, where we caught up with Full Tilt Ice Cream‘s Justin Cline for the second time today (without even going to his White Center HQ):
His famous ice cream was served at the West Seattle Nursery Ice Cream Fest till 4, to raise money and collect diapers (note the boxes that had already arrived). Add to that volunteers at three local Safeways – we’ll check with WestSide Baby tomorrow to see if there’s a final total yet. But the bus-stuffing isn’t done – while last year they collected at locations in West Seattle and Burien on the same day, this year they’ve broken Stuff the Bus (co-sponsored by WSB) into two events, and they’ll have the bus at Burien Town Square during “Hot August Nights” on August 7th – spread the word! (You can also donate to WestSide Baby online anytime – go here.)
ORIGINAL 3:02 PM REPORT: We’ve gotten a few notes about a big smoke plume to the east. It’s a house fire in South Park. We’re here – it’s right by the ex-bridge. The house appears to have been boarded up. Debris burning nearby produced much of the smoke. 3:42 PM UPDATE: Adding a photo. Firefighters confirm the building was vacant, though they’re not sure now whether it was a garage or storage building. Investigators were en route when we left South Park a short time ago; they’ll figure out how the fire started. No injuries. 4:59 PM UPDATE: Adding video from as close as photographers were allowed:
We also noted the presence of Engine 11 from Highland Park:
During many of the meetings we covered before the South Park Bridge’s shutdown a month ago, the issue of police and fire response came up – backup units can’t come from the east side of the river any more, and there was discussion that they’d be more reliant on units from West Seattle, like E-11. Meantime, no word yet on this fire’s cause. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Dana Vander Houwen with Seattle Fire Department says damage is estimated at $2,000, but the fire’s cause is “undetermined.”
Beautiful day at the beach, and you have till 6 pm to enjoy the final hours of the 2010 Alki Art Fair. If you took a close look at each and every booth, you’d find numerous items to catch your eye, and perhaps send you reaching into your wallet. Strange Child Ink‘s T-shirts caught ours:
(If you don’t see this till it’s too late to go to the beach to find him – artist Brendan Wenberg says he’s a regular at the Fremont market.) Also eye-catching – this Frank Zappa portrait in the Heartmarksbooth:
As previewed here before the fair, this year’s Alki event entertained visitors with a long list of live-music acts, too – all free – with donations collected (and T-shirts sold) to benefit the scholarship fund for art programs at the Alki Bathhouse and nearby Community Center.
Need your car washed? Head to the West Seattle Eagles‘ south side parking lot before 3 pm – Pencil Me In For Kids will benefit, raising money for school supplies for kids in need (September gets ever closer) … look for the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) VW Bug on California outside the entrance, balloons and all.
Also up and running till 3 pm – the Highland Park Sunday Market‘s third edition at 12th/Holden. More edibles this week, including the Full Tilt Ice Cream bike – we even spotted Full Tilt proprietor Justin Cline chatting with the Street Treats truck crew:
Among the other offerings – gorgeous cedar planters made by a Highland Park resident:
(He’s also stocking up the West Seattle Nursery Ice Cream Fest under way now till 4 pm, raising money for WestSide Baby and collecting diapers on Stuff the Bus day.) And Alki Cab Company‘s Kelly Merten is selling her jewelry as well as her books about raw food and raising vegetarian/vegan kids:
You can get raw food at a couple booths with fresh produce, by the way! The market’s in the Highland Park Improvement Club lot.
(Adding in-progress reports till the 2 pm final tally)
9:08 AM ORIGINAL REPORT: That’s the sizable WestSide Baby contingent in Saturday’s American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade – promoting today’s big event, the annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive (co-sponsored by WSB), 10 am-2 pm at West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Go buy some diapers and drop them off at the school bus you’ll see parked on 44th SW by the market. If you can’t make it there, you’ve got options – during the same hours, 10 am-2 pm, volunteers are collecting diapers at all three local Safeways (Roxbury, Jefferson Square, Admiral). And at West Seattle Nursery from 1-4 pm, you can drop off diapers during the Ice Cream Fest (featuring Full Tilt Ice Cream, with proceeds also benefiting WestSide Baby). They help thousands of local families every year – here’s a simple chance to be part of helping them keep the littlest members of those families healthy and happy. We’ll see you there.
10:08 AM UPDATE: We got to the bus just in time to photograph the first donors – Ava and Helen, who brought more than 50 diapers! Note that WestSide Baby also is having a bake sale – with cupcakes, cookies and more. It’s under a tent immediately north of the bus. Check out the cute fish cookies:
We’ll be checking back!
12:11 PM UPDATE: As of noon, the bus hit 10,000 diapers. The photo above shows volunteers Yvonne and Jordan at Admiral Safeway – one of the three local Safeways where diapers also are being collected till 2 pm, just like the bus at the Farmers’ Market; when we stopped there around 12:30 pm, they’d already rounded up 800 diapers at Admiral Safeway (where you can say hi to Anne from Ventana Construction [WSB sponsor and “Stuff the Bus” co-sponsor] between now and 2). If you’ve got kids, bring ’em along to donate at the bus – they get to beep the horn!
2:18 PM UPDATE: 27,000 diapers’ worth of donations at the bus (and totals to come from satellite dropoffs)! You can bring diapers to West Seattle Nursery till 4 pm (and buy Full Tilt Ice Cream to raise $ for WS Baby). Separate update in the works for later. Nancy Woodland of WS Baby says this may be the best year yet!
(West Seattle Grand Parade 2010 photo by Creighton Yost) ORIGINAL 6:59 AM PREVIEW: At the height of Hi-Yu, the day after the West Seattle festival’s float, royalty and volunteers got to show their stuff for the hometown crowd, they’re inviting you to come have brunch with them today. The annual West Seattle Hi-Yu Community Brunch is 9 am-noon this morning, at a different location this year – Alki UCC Church (6112 SW Hinds; here’s a map) – particularly convenient if you’re going to Day 2 of the Alki Art Fair (10 am-6 pm; live-music schedule here). Brunch is $6 adults/$3 kids. Among other things, the community brunch is your last chance to wish the candidates luck before tomorrow night’s coronation (you’re invited to that too – 7 pm Monday, West Seattle High School Theater – and advance tickets should be on sale at today’s brunch).
10:30 PM UPDATE: We just dropped in to check on how the brunch is going. Hi-Yu’s Carol Winston told us that as of just after 10 am, they’d already served about 50 people!
(All photos by Christopher Boffoli unless otherwise credited)
There were actually two parades in West Seattle on Saturday – with the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddie Parade charming the crowd in The Junction ahead of the American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade. This participant had not just a tiger in the tank, but also on the head:
Other creative costuming was sighted, too:
And just like in the Grand Parade, some cool cars made their way down the route:
Yes, the proper parade rider must have sun protection:
(Photo by Creighton Yost)
But it’s not a parade without a banner – here’s the banner that always leads this parade off:
(This photo and the subsequent three, by Mindon Win)
Also carrying a banner – the newly crowned 2010-2011 West Seattle Hi-Yu Junior Royalty:
Music provided by the Junior All-City Marching Band!
If you missed it this time around, remember the Kiddie Parade is right before the Grand Parade every year, and all kids are welcome to join in.
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