It’s in their nature — and yours
Every week in our West Seattle weekend lineup, we include the “work parties” that are set up each month at sites that are among our area’s most precious natural treasures. For example, the Brandon Street Natural Area, which is a section of the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail, where Jay Mirro leads the monthly events and is hoping to see a few more folks turn out today. He writes:
Brandon Street Natural Area is just west of the corner of 26th and Brandon Street (2 blocks west of Delridge). We work from 10-2. Volunteers can expect to pull weeds and wheelbarrow mulch. It is a family friendly day of work along a beautiful day section of the trail by Longfellow Creek. Folks should bring water and a lunch.
Nice day to work outdoors, too, with the cloud cover. Drop by & be a hero. If you’re wondering first, what’s a work party really like – Lina Rose from EarthCorps wrote us with a recap and some pix from the West Duwamish Greenbelt event last weekend; like the one today at Brandon Street, it involved a lot of mulch:
Click ahead to read Lina’s recap (including what this work will enable volunteers to do next time), see more pix (including one that might answer questions such as “gosh, would I really fit in at one of those work parties?”), and find out about an event next weekend:Read More
Tonight’s the night….for Night Out
All over West Seattle — and much of the rest of the country — you’ll see something you don’t usually see in most neighborhoods: Neighbors out in the street, sharing good times, good food, good ideas. It’s Night Out, the sleek new-ish name for what once upon a time was known as National Night Out Against Crime. Neighborhoods that met the deadline for registering their events with the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct here in WS will get to close off (non-arterial) streets for their block parties. SPD said they were unable to provide us with a list, but some neighborhoods told us about their locations; others were posted online. Click ahead for the latest list (updated as people send us more locations); if you’re involved in any Night Out event tonight, we invite you to send us a photo afterward for posting here at WSB (represent!).Read More
Ercolini Park: A sign & a party
It’s on the same type of frame as a “for sale” sign, but this sign (right) at the Ercolini Park site on Alaska west of The Junction can be best described as “for info.” Right now, it’s stocked with flyers for a block party alongside the park site during Night Out tomorrow (6-9 pm, along 48th SW between Alaska and Oregon); park organizer Bill Barna says they’ll be accepting donations during the party as they finish up their last round of fundraising following a city matching-funds grant. (Speaking of Night Out, if your neighborhood is having a party and you don’t mind telling us about it in case any neighbors haven’t heard, leave a comment here or e-mail us; city organizers say they can’t give us an area-wide list. Also we’re hoping to post Night Out pix afterward, so even if you don’t tell us about your party in advance, take a pic and send it to us!)
Just hours remain to get in on Night Out
Tomorrow’s the deadline to sign up your block for a night of crime-fighting, community-building, street-closing fun: 
Night Out 2007 is Tuesday, August 7, 6-10 pm. Find out how to sign up for it here. If you’re in the “Weed & Seed” grant area of South Delridge/downtown White Center, you might be able to get a small grant for supplies (not food); click here to e-mail the folks responsible for that. If you’re in the Beach Drive area, BDB has been working to organize a get-together there. If you’re in Fairmount Springs (northeast of Morgan Junction), their invite is online. Pigeon Point has a location posted too. Wherever you are in WS, if you have a Night Out get-together, take a pic that night, send it to us, we would love to post it in our follow-ups.
Calling all mechanics: Can you help Hi-Yu?
The West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival float has been making the rounds — including this past Saturday’s WS parade — and now its appearance in The Biggest Parade Of All is just days away. But as Hi-Yu President Tim Winston puts it:
“The 40 year-old Oldsmobile V-8 under that beautiful wrapping is overheating & our usual mechanical help is unavailable. Torchlight is a long parade and the street surface air temp is often close to 100 at the end of a hot day.”
Hi-Yu is a volunteer, nonprofit effort on a tight budget and they’re hoping someone out there can point them to “flexible and free” mechanical help for the float, ASAP. If you can come to the rescue, please e-mail Tim at info@hiyu.com — TIA from parade fans everywhere (who would hate to see West Seattle’s pride ‘n’ joy depart 4th Avenue on a tow truck!).
City cash for two WS projects
The folks working on Ercolini Park on SW Alaska just west of The Junction are in line for a $90,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund Award from the city — this isn’t a giveaway, but a hard-fought win that’s only possible when community members commit time and money to projects, enough to impress city leaders to chip in. Ercolini Park organizer Bill Barna says they have a little more fundraising to do — $6K worth — you can go to the Ercolini Park website to find out how to contact them to chip in $ (or anything else the project needs). Congratulations also are in order to Gatewood Elementary School; the next phase of its playground project also is in line for a $90K matching-fund grant. (Full list of matching-fund projects citywide, including a South Park skatepark, is readable here.)
2 simple ways to help WS families
#1 — Buy a backpack (or more than one) and donate it to the West Seattle Helpline back-to-school backpack drive, under way right this very moment. They hope to hand out hundreds next month. Drop off the backpack(s) at Capers in The Junction, or at Helpline’s new HQ in the WS Community Resource Center, 35th & Morgan (Tues-Thurs, 10 am-2 pm).
#2 — Pre-order your copy of the new “Harry Potter” book from Square 1 Books in Jefferson Square before Friday, and $5 will go to WestSide Baby — plus you’ll get two tickets to a special “Harry Potter” event at the Admiral Theater on Friday. (It’s also not too soon to start gearing up for WestSide Baby’s “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive on 7/29!)
Mark your calendar for next Sunday
The following arrived in the WSB inbox. I didn’t recognize the name, but I know I’ve seen some of her work. (Organizers are also looking for auction donations; if you want to contact them, e-mail me from the WSB “About” page and I will forward you the entire original e-mail.)
You may be fortunate enough to know Kelly McLain as a
longtime West Seattle resident.
You may have taken a class from her at Pilchuck Glass School.
You may have sampled her culinary creations at Coffee to a Tea,
West 5, or Capers.
You may have seen her artwork exhibited at Seattle's
William Traver Gallery, Seattle Children's Museum, Issaquah
Public Library, SeaTac International Airport, Boise Airport,
Scottsdale, Arizona's Victoria Boyce Gallery, or pictured
in Metropolitan Home.
Kelly McLain has suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and has
been in Harborview Hospital's ICU since early May.
Starting at 5:00 pm, Sunday, June 4, 2006, Coffee to a Tea
and West 5 will be hosting a special evening
to raise funds to support our dear
friend and colleague.
Join us for music, food & drink, and an auction to help the
McLain Family during this time of need.
If you would like to contribute but cannot attend
the fundraiser, the Kelly McLain fund has been established
at Wells Fargo Bank's West Seattle (Alaska Junction) Branch.
Ten days till 
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