4:42 PM: Just got a call from someone asking about the smoke visible from Harbor Avenue, looking across the bay. There’s a big fire in the International District; the address on the SFD 911 log is 669 S. King Street. Here’s one of the photos SFD has tweeted:

Firefighters are fighting this as a defensive fire due to it being an abandoned building pic.twitter.com/WJWCT5KRev

— Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) December 25, 2013

Here’s what our friends at KING 5 are reporting.

6:29 PM UPDATE: Our partners at The Seattle Times quote SFD as pointing out that this building has a notorious past – as the site of the Wah Mee massacre 30 years ago.

8:39 PM UPDATE: Updated the Times link in the preceding paragraph – they now have a longer story elsewhere on their site. Also of note, West Seattle fire crews are assisting, per radio communication and the online 911 log, including Ladder 11, whose crew we had photographed earlier today assisting police on Genesee Hill, as well as Engine 11 from Highland Park and Engine 32 from The Junction.

WEDNESDAY MORNING NOTE: SFD published an update overnight; the fire wasn’t under control until almost 10:30 pm.

ORIGINAL FRIDAY REPORT: In case you hadn’t heard yet – President Obama is coming to Seattle on Sunday for political fundraisers, report citywide outlets including The Seattle Times (WSB partner), and that generally means two things for our area: Possible Air Force One sightings, and potential traffic effects when I-5 is closed for the motorcade. We don’t have specific times so far, but his first event will be in North Seattle, second one in Medina, and there’s at least one indication he’s staying downtown until Monday morning. Whatever we know by Sunday morning, we’ll include in our daily preview.

ADDED SATURDAY AFTERNOON: We now know that the President is due to arrive after 4 pm, and is indeed staying overnight, leaving Monday morning for San Francisco. Interestingly, Air Force One will not be at Boeing Field as usual – the official Presidential schedule says he is flying into and out of Sea-Tac.

ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: SPD has published details of closures/detours downtown while the President is staying overnight.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: The President arrived on schedule and as of this update – 4:30 pm – is or will shortly be in transit to North Seattle for the first of the two private Democratic Party fundraisers he’s headlining (the second one is in Medina).

(Photos by Christina Chacharon)
In case you haven’t seen it for yourself yet, shining alongside the West Seattle Bridge ramps to/from I-5, there it is – the brand-new “R” atop the old Rainier Brewery. West Seattle photographer Christina Chacharon was among those at last night’s gala unveiling, which even included a “Batman”-style call into the clouds … er, fog:

After almost half a century, the old “R” (now on display at the Museum of History and Industry) came down 13 years ago, succeeded by a big green “T” for Tully’s Coffee. The newly installed replica, funded via a partnership between Rainier Beer’s owner Pabst and Columbia Distributing, weighs more than half a ton, has 235 light bulbs on each side, and is being permanently welded into place today.

Thanks to Joan for the reminder that the state is midway through a public-comment period on whether to charge tolls on the I-90 bridge, so if you have an opinion, now’s the time to share it. This week, there are two public meetings – 4:30-7:30 pm tomorrow at Mercer Island High School, 4-7 pm Wednesday at the Northwest African American School in Seattle. Full details on both are on this page, along with links where you can sign up NOW to speak at either meeting. You can also comment by e-mail: i90eiscomments@wsdot.wa.gov.

Tolling has been proposed on I-90 to, in part, raise money for the new 520 bridge; this PDF includes more on this round of the comment process as well as the options that are under consideration – not with price tags, but with configurations, such as “just toll from Seattle to Mercer Island” or “just toll the HOV lanes.” This round of commenting runs through November 6th; a final decision is expected in 2015.

A situation on south Vashon Island shut down state-ferry traffic on that end of the island for hours, leading to heavier traffic on the north end, which handles ferries from Fauntleroy and Southworth. The King County Sheriff’s Office says this is what happened:

At about 11:15 A.M. today, the words of a suspected mentally ill man halted ferry traffic between Point Defiance and the Tahlequah ferry terminal on Vashon Island. A witness overheard a 48 year old Vashon Island man rambling about having explosives and wanting to detonate the explosive after a particular car disembarked the boat.

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Bright sunshine and a bright smile from West Seattleite Angela Mascio when we stopped by for a few photos at Seattle’s first-ever San Gennaro Festival, which she and her family are presenting through 10 pm tonight and again 6 am-6 pm tomorrow in Georgetown. Yes, there’s food:

… and music!

… and as you can tell from the photos, all with an Italian theme. See our original story for more background; here’s the entertainment schedule; here’s the map to South Angelo Street, the little Georgetown street that’s closed to traffic for the festival.

One of this weekend’s biggest events in Seattle is a new event – the San Gennaro Festival. It’s happening in Georgetown – but the family behind it is from West Seattle, and wants to make sure you know you’re welcome! Angela Mascio contacted WSB to share that news, explaining:

We started a non-profit foundation called the San Gennaro Foundation of Seattle, which is planning the first annual San Gennaro Festival of Seattle to be held in Georgetown Sept 7th and 8th. It’s going to be a great festival with authentic Italian food, music, and wine :) There will be a kids’ area with different activities throughout the day. We chose the Puget Sound Blood Center to receive any proceeds from this first festival, and we’re also having a blood drive to celebrate the blood miracle of Saint Gennaro.

This festival began in New York as a way for immigrants to celebrate their culture. Today, that festival is about two weeks long and they close down all of Little Italy in New York. Many other major US cities have followed suite and have San Gennaro festivals, so we decided it was about time for one in Seattle.

10 am-10 pm Saturday and 10 am-6 pm Sunday, South Angelo Street in Georgetown will be closed for the festival. It’s where her family first started their businesses, and they still own a building there, Angela explained:

About 50ish years ago, my grandparents and my father and two of his sisters came over from Italy. My grandmother missed the fresh pasta from her father’s pasta company back in Italy, so she started making it in her basement. It grew into a business and their first location was on South Angelo Street in Georgetown. Mascio’s Pasta grew and my dad took it over eventually. It grew more, he sold his shares, and started his own company, again in Georgetown first (San Gennaro Foods, we manufacture Polenta). We’re currently in Kent.

Angela shared this link to her grandfather’s obituary from 1990. She also says her aunt has a business in Georgetown and revived the “Mascio’s Italian Specialty Foods” name. But enough about history – back to the festival. Here’s the entertainment schedule; here’s a map to the location.

With Boeing Field in clear view of parts of eastern West Seattle, we wanted to share this alert just in from King County about a drill tomorrow:

When catastrophic disasters strike, the number of people in need of medical care can quickly overwhelm hospitals. On Tuesday, April 30, King County hospitals and first responders will practice providing critical medical support in the event of a disaster in a neighboring state.

An emergency exercise held at King County International Airport/Boeing Field will test the region’s ability to receive patients evacuated by air from other states, transport them to local hospitals and triage them for medical care.

On the day of the exercise, 42 mock patients will arrive at King County International Airport/Boeing Field, simulating a flight arrival from another state. First responders will practice disaster triage protocols for the incoming patients, transferring them to ambulances and transporting them to local hospitals. Businesses and residences near King County International Airport/Boeing Field can expect to see a large number of participating ambulances and emergency vehicles at the airport. Emergency vehicles will not use sirens or emergency lights during this exercise. The drill will last from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

2:17 AM: Almost a year and a half after former West Seattleite Amanda Knox‘s return home – an Italian court has just revived the case, by throwing out the verdict. Here’s the latest from the AP via our partners at The Seattle Times. This all comes a month before her book “Waiting to be Heard” is due out, and with it at least one network TV interview.

3:08 AM: Knox has issued a statement, the AP reports (added to the same link as above), in which she declares this development “painful.” (added) ITV has published her statement in full.

Nine turbulent months after leaving Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards, the Shell drilling rigs Kulluk and Noble Discoverer have both been loaded onto giant Chinese ships to be taken to Asian shipyards. They both were set to head back here late last year when trouble struck in a variety of ways, including the Kulluk running aground on an Alaskan island. The video above, from Earthjustice, shows Kulluk being loaded onto the Xiang Rui Kou at Dutch Harbor, Alaska (still there as of this writing, per MarineTraffic.com). Shell is quoted as saying it’ll be heading to Singapore. Kulluk was here more than a year before departing last June; the Noble Discoverer, which spent less time here (though they left the same day), was loaded aboard an identical Chinese “dry tow” ship, the Xiang Yun Kou, earlier this month, headed for Korea (here are photos and backstory on its previous trouble). Alaskan news organizations quote Shell as saying it won’t try again to drill in the Arctic before next year.

5:06 PM: Seattle Fire units are helping North Highline with a big apartment fire in the 12300 block of Ambaum, not far south of White Center. More to come.

5:24 PM: We are in the area. TV choppers overhead. Traffic is now getting through both ways on Ambaum but slowly so avoid if you are headed this way.

6:03 PM: No injuries reported, according to our friends at KING 5. We’ve left the area after the situation seemed to ease – we saw three Seattle fire vehicles leaving, and several from other departments, including Renton and Tukwila, were waiting two blocks south just in case they were needed.

6:21 PM: While the assisting firefighters were summoned to the 12300 block of Ambaum, regional-media reports note that the building’s actual address is 1224 124th, just west of Ambaum, a 24-unit four-story building that’s 47 years old.

11:02 PM: KIRO TV reports that a baseboard-heater problem is blamed for the fire.

In case you haven’t heard – the state is thinking about charging tolls on the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington, to help pay for the new 520 bridge; the old one on 520 is already charging tolls. WSDOT is trying to get the word out about three open houses this week as part of the “environmental assessment” of the plan, and a way to have a say online, to. The meetings are tomorrow on Mercer Island, Wednesday in Bellevue, and – the closest one – Thursday at Yesler Community Center – all from 4-7 pm. They’re drop-in format; if you want to read up on the proposal, various documents and presentations are here.

If you can’t make it to a meeting, there’s an online form through which you can comment through February 22nd – find it here. (Note; WSDOT is advertising on WSB and other news publications to get the word out about this comment period.)

P.S. Opponents of I-90 tolls have set up a website – see their side of the story here.

8:59 AM: Today’s the day for the city’s first gun “buyback” – an invitation to citizens to turn over unwanted/unneeded firearms in exchange for compensation – in 20-plus years. It’s happening 9 am to 3 pm in a parking lot at 600 7th Avenue downtown [map], but could end earlier if they run out of the gift cards that are being offered. They’re also offering gift cards for “high-capacity magazines,” but only if turned in along with the weapon for which they were procured. The full FAQ about today’s event is here on the website of the Seattle Police Foundation. Among the sponsors/donors enabling today’s event is West Seattle’s Nucor, where the city says the guns will be melted down, to be turned into rebar.

3:27 PM: Big turnout, says SPD, though no total will be made public till a mayoral news briefing Monday.

Photojournalist Erika Schultz of The Seattle Times (WSB partner) has published a gallery of Friday night images from the final hours of Easy Street Records‘ Queen Anne store – see them here. The West Seattle store remains OPEN, but Queen Anne is now shut down, as announced by proprietor Matt Vaughan earlier this month. Its final hurrah will be an auction on Sunday; if you’re interested in some of the fixtures/memorabilia – even a banner signed by West Seattleite/rock icon Eddie Vedder – there’s an auction preview at the site 4-7 pm today (Saturday), and again 9 am Sunday until the live auction’s start at 11 am. (See lots of auction-item previews on the Easy Street website.)

(Bret Wiggins at Feedback Lounge El-Fest last August; photo by Nick Adams for WSB),
Love Elvis? Maybe so much that you are an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist)? Or enough to offer your services as an ETA judge? In any or all of those categories, here’s your invitation to next Saturday’s 16th annual Seattle Invitationals, from Marlow Harris, who says West Seattleite’s Bret Wiggins (above) is expected back to defend his title. The event’s not here – it’s at the Experience Music Project‘s Sky Church, 8 pm next Saturday (January 12th) – but the invite’s gone out regionwide (and $15 advance tickets are on sale). The punk-rock Elvis band Graceland Five will start the night; El Vez “The Mexican Elvis” will MC. Here’s the call for help:

1. We are still looking for Elvi! Calling all Seattle-area Elvis Impersonators? Can you swivel and sway and belt out a song? Then contact us at marlowharris@msn.com and we’ll send you all the details.

2. We are still looking for judges! Contact us if interested.

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch!

(From Thursday: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
Before it’s decided if Shell’s grounded drilling rig Kulluk can and will resume its tow back here for offseason maintenance, an effort is afoot not just to tow it off the Alaskan island where it’s stuck, but to move it 30 miles to a “safe harbor” for inspection. The Kulluk, which spent almost a year at Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards, got into trouble in bad weather more than a week ago, while being towed back here. Finally, after problems with tow lines and its tow vessel Aiviq – which spent time here last year too – the Kulluk went adrift and grounded New Year’s Eve on Kodiak Island (map), carrying more than 100,000 gallons of fuel, none of which is believed to have spilled. A “unified command” has since been set up to manage the salvage operation, and the Anchorage Daily News has a report on its Saturday briefing, saying that if the attempt to move the Kulluk is successful, then they’ll decide whether to resume towing it here.

SIDE NOTES: Seattle weather analyst Cliff Mass says the decision to tow it through stormy weather and seas was “misguided” and explains why; the Dutch Harbor Fisherman, meantime, has reported that the motivation for trying to move the rig out of Alaska involved taxes. One other link: The “unified command” organized for the salvage operation has its own website at kullukresponse.com, with a variety of materials and documents, including a partial transcript of the Saturday briefing.

1:55 AM: The marker on the map is for Craig in southeastern Alaska, the reference point that authorities are using for a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit about an hour ago, around 60 miles west-southwest of Craig. Nearby areas of Alaska and B.C. had tsunami warnings; there was a tsunami advisory stretching as far south as the British Columbia-Washington border. See the warnings/advisories here. No word of any trouble so far. P.S. If you’re wondering how our area’s been doing with quake activity – we found this Pacific Northwest 2012 wrapup online.

2:02 AM: The USGS is now calling the quake 7.5.

2:37 AM: The tsunami advisory that had run south to the BC-Washington border is now canceled. Two months ago, there was a 7.7-magnitude quake in the Haidi Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlottes) region to the south of this quake’s location – we wrote about it here.

3:10 AM: If you needed a jolt to work on preparedness – here is a link we haven’t mentioned since that last regional quake: West Seattle Be Prepared, laden with information including your nearest “emergency-communication hub.” Know it, just in case.

3:23 PM: The last warnings up in Alaska/BC are no longer in effect.

While announcing today that his Lower Queen Anne location is closing after 12 years, Easy Street Records owner Matt Vaughan reiterated that West Seattle is NOT going anywhere. The announcement about Queen Anne is on the Easy Street website, where Vaughan explained that the Queen Anne landlord wanted a longer-term lease than he was ready to commit to. However, as reported here in February of last year, Vaughan also noted in today’s announcement about Queen Anne that, here in West Seattle, he DID recently renew long-term:

We recently signed a new 15-year lease at our original store in West Seattle, where we will carry on the Easy Street tradition of great in-stores, yummy breakfasts, tasty vinyl, and overall, an excellent selection of music.

The Easy Street Queen Anne location’s last day of operation is January 18; Vaughan writes that a Chase Bank branch is moving in. (Before Easy Street, you might remember the Queen Anne storefront as having been home to Tower once upon a time – we do.)

The King County Sheriff’s Office is hoping someone can help solve a $2 million heist. From KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West:

More than 7,000 Wii game consoles were stolen from a distributing warehouse in SeaTac in the last 24 hours and detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating the van and trailers they were stolen in.

Employees at Seattle Air Cargo in the 19100 blk of Des Moines Memorial Dr said the theft occurred sometime between 9pm Saturday night and noon on Sunday. The suspects used forklifts on the premises to load up two 53’ trailers and a box van with at least 64 pallets of Wii game consoles.

Both Trailers are 53’ in length, white in color and have the name “McKinney” on the side:

The box van is a large International van with “Seattle Air Cargo” written on the doors. (Note: Seattle Air Cargo is NOT written on the side of the box, only the doors):

Trailer #1- California license plate 4HB3365 with a trailer number 533457

Trailer #2- California license plate 4EA5521 with trailer number 531841

Box Van- make “International” Washington license plate B40622K

Detectives believe the suspects drove two tractor trucks to the warehouse and used forklifts inside to load up the trailers and box van with the pallets of Wii games. Detectives estimate the value of property stolen including the vehicles is over $2 million.

If you have information about this crime please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 or 911 if you see any of the vehicles.