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  • Closure

    CLOSURE CHANGE: Low bridge, starting Saturday

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    MOVING MODE: Another music biz’s big gift

  • Sale day

    WS GARAGE SALE DAY 5/11: Register by April 25!

West Seattle Crime Watch: The box-of-beans candy caper
October 29, 2009 11:30 am
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Belvidere resident Jocie P says a package was stolen from her front door, and the thief won’t need to go trick-or-treating:

FedEx delivered a large box to my home last week when I was away. If you noticed anybody with a large, white box with red Jelly Belly lettering on or near 35th Avenue SW sometime last week, please let me know. The thief would have a huge stash of free candy – more than one thief can eat. Hey candy thief – thanks for ruining Halloween, now I have to hand out substandard candy.

There will be a reward if the candy thief is caught. Yes, you guessed it – CANDY! Lots and lots of candy.

Hey, WSBers brought home a stolen bike – so maybe someone’s seen the beans.

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Also tonight: County budget hearing; WSHS play’s opening night
October 29, 2009 11:06 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | West Seattle schools

Two more events of note tonight: We’ve talked more about the city budget here than the county budget, but the latter is in the works too and tonight there’s one last public hearing before the King County Council Budget Committee– 7 pm in their chambers on the 10th floor of the King County Courthouse downtown – more here. (If you can’t be there, you’ll be able to watch live video on cable channel 22 or online here.) And tonight here in West Seattle, it’s the first performance for West Seattle High School‘s fall play “Invasion from Mars,” a recreation of the radio play that seemed too real to be a play when broadcast decades ago: 7:30 pm, WSHS Theater. Yet more of today/tonight’s events are on the WSB Events calendar.

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West Seattle Halloween: Help Helpline tonight; movie tomorrow
October 29, 2009 7:06 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Halloween: Help Helpline tonight; movie tomorrow
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies

Tonight, things start getting so wildly Halloweenish, it’s scary. In a good way. From the WSB Halloween page (laden with pre-Halloween events too), the highlight of the night, Nightmare on Morgan Street, benefiting West Seattle Helpline, at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor). Costume contest – and more. Then Friday night, a different “Nightmare”:

“Nightmare Before Christmas” is the special Indoor Movies on the Wall, Halloween edition, presentation – 7 pm tomorrow at West Seattle Christian Church Activity Center (42nd south of Genesee), bring a food donation to get in on the raffle, bring your own chair/blanket, FREE! (Lots of room, so if you’re checking out other Friday afternoon/evening activities first – like Admiral Treats ‘n’ Treasures [map here!] – you should still be able to get a spot even if you show up at the last minute.)

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West Seattle sea scene: Fishing with an audience
October 29, 2009 6:07 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

More photos from Alki’s Guy Smith, watching the purse seiner Quandary fishing off Alki Point Wednesday morning: First, the seal nicknamed “Squint” keeps an eye out from atop the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft – Guy says, “A fair amount of chum were caught as a sea lion patrolled just outside the net.” Next, you have to look really closely, but two Western grebes had a close call with the Quandary’s net when it came up apparently empty:

But Guy reports they managed to make a getaway, “awkwardly clambering over the floats at the last second”:

He adds, “A short while later the Quandary was seen miles north, looking for better fishing. In the afternoon, it returned to Alki Point. The Renaissance made a pass by, but didn’t stay.The seiners seldom stay more than 3 days at Alki Point, so the chum run might be about to end for this year.”

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Reservoir park project: Highland Park Action Committee briefing
October 29, 2009 1:28 am
|    Comments Off on Reservoir park project: Highland Park Action Committee briefing
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(Photo from reservoir-covering project site tour last week – looking from the site toward existing park)
The first of four planned public meetings on designing the new park land atop and around West Seattle Reservoir, adjacent to the existing Westcrest Park, is set for December 3rd at High Point Community Center. That’s the biggest news Parks Department manager Susanne Friedman brought to the Highland Park Action Committee on Wednesday night. She answered questions about the status of and timeline for the $3 million (from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy) project to create 20 new acres of parkland once the reservoir-covering work is done. She fielded repeated questions about the extent of the fencing that will remain once the site is done – only around a couple Seattle Public Utilities “outbuildings,” she promised. What will be on the lid itself? She noted some “limitations,” like a load limit, no tree roots that might break through the “lid,” no plants that would require herbicide or pesticide. But the rest of the 20 acres, she said, should have a “fabulous design” that will integrate well with the existing park and off-leash area. And she promised that the many comments already received from Highland Park – particularly during HPAC’s June “mini-summit” on the park – will be considered. What’s next? Read on:Read More

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West Seattle Helicopter Watch: What the chopper’s doing now
October 29, 2009 12:38 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Helicopter Watch: What the chopper’s doing now
 |   Helicopter | West Seattle news

helicopterwatch.pngMentioned it on Twitter but just got a phone call so better put a line here too: Guardian One – the King County helicopter that assists Seattle Police and other agencies when needed – is over Harbor Ave checking out a report of possible suspicious activity at a “boat yard,” per the original dispatch we heard on the scanner a little while ago.

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Election 2009: One more Mike McGinn “town hall” in West Seattle
October 28, 2009 11:21 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn has already had two “town hall” meetings in West Seattle – the photo above is from October 4th at Hiawatha; here’s our story about his first one at High Point Library in September. Today he announced a final round of meetings, including one in West Seattle – 10:15 Saturday morning at the West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library, 2306 42nd SW. Opponent Joe Mallahan has not had a comparable series of public chats; his last West Seattle public appearance that we know of was the October 8th housing-issues forum at Youngstown Arts Center.

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Division championship for West Seattle HS girls’ varsity soccer
October 28, 2009 11:01 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

That’s our video of the postgame celebration at Southwest Athletic Complex tonight after the West Seattle High School girls’ varsity soccer team won the division title by beating Nathan Hale, 2-1. As Sandy noted in comments on our preview story, they’ll play again Tuesday at Memorial Stadium.

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Ready to think New Year’s Eve? Highland Park plans a parade
October 28, 2009 9:51 pm
|    Comments Off on Ready to think New Year’s Eve? Highland Park plans a parade
 |   Highland Park | Holidays | West Seattle news

1st short update from tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting: Never too soon to think New Year’s Eve, even with Halloween yet to come. This year, there’s talk of a parade to precede the annual New Year’s Eve party at the Highland Park Improvement Club building (site of tonight’s HPAC meeting) – walking through area neighborhoods (on the sidewalks), with drums and noisemakers, along a pre-mapped route, inviting neighbors to join in along the way, then returning to HPIC for the party, potentially with Cirque de Flambe‘ performing in the HPIC parking lot. HPAC chair Dan Mullins says the idea came from ex-HPAC officer Rory Denovan, inspired by New Year’s Eve revelry seen in Spain. The plan’s still taking shape but sounds like HP might be the fun place to be December 31st. Also discussed at tonight’s meeting, the impending start of design work for the West Seattle (Westcrest) Reservoir park project, with design consultants to be chosen soon (now that the application window is closed; first public meeting is set for Dec. 3), area crime trends and a semi-surprise appearance by one of the crews from Fire Station 11 – more later.

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West Seattle scenes: Kenney centennial; P-Patch kid gardeners
October 28, 2009 8:18 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Gardening | The Kenney | West Seattle news

At The Kenney‘s celebration this afternoon of the 100th anniversary of its grand opening, Kaia Hlavacek portrayed the senior-living center’s co-founder Jessie Kenney, in turn-of-the-20th-century garb. Meantime, just blocks away, the Solstice Park P-Patch hosted young gardeners and their adult assistants:

A group of students from the Fauntleroy Children’s Center before-and-after-school-care program – headquartered at the old schoolhouse – have a plot at the P-Patch where they are growing produce to donate to food-bank clients. Today, they were “winterizing” the plot, as FCC’s Kim Sheridan put it – with the help of a generous donation of soil-amending material from Burien Bark.

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Charges filed against one suspect in carjacking/robbery attempt
October 28, 2009 5:10 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news

Charges are now filed against one of two men arrested after the carjacking/knife attack on a family in South Delridge last Friday night. 21-year-old Jose Antonio Castro, Jr., is charged with attempted first-degree robbery and second-degree robbery. The other man who was arrested is not being charged “due to insufficient evidence,” King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe tells WSB. The court documents include details on how the incident unfolded, including how the victims fought back/resisted – read on:Read More

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Booted from Lincoln Park, bicycle race moves to White Center
October 28, 2009 4:28 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | White Center

Just announced on Twitter by MFG Cyclocross, promoters of the bicycle race that was expected to bring 1,000 racers and spectators to West Seattle’s Lincoln Park till the Parks Department revoked permission (as first reported here yesterday): MFG says the race is now rescheduled for Lakewood Park in White Center, still happening Saturday. (It’s not on the MFG website yet but it IS reported on the King County Parks news site.)

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Park/community center gun ban: City response to lawsuit
October 28, 2009 3:46 pm
|      48 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

As many expected would happen, the city says it’s being sued over the park/community center gun ban that just took effect (with signs like the one above, photographed by Hillary at Lincoln Park and discussed extensively here a week ago). Here’s its statement:

The City of Seattle issued the following statement on today’s lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association and others challenging the City’s recently adopted policy prohibiting the carrying or display of guns in designated areas of parks where children are likely to be present.

The City’s policy was put in place to protect our most vulnerable and defenseless citizens, our children. The City’s most important public duty is to protect its citizens from harm, especially when they are visiting City facilities. The City Attorney has secured the services of the Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. In order to avoid expense to the City, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has agreed to defend the policy on a pro bono basis.

Seattle Times (WSB partner) has more on the lawsuit itself, including a link to the court documents. ADDED 9:30 PM: The news release about the suit itself says that two of the plaintiffs are West Seattle residents, Winnie Chan and Ray Carter.

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West Seattle Design Build: Welcoming a new WSB sponsor
October 28, 2009 2:56 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Today we welcome West Seattle Design Build as a new WSB sponsor – here’s what they’d like you to know about their business: West Seattle Design Build has the experience and attention to detail that we believe sets us apart from the rest. We have worked hard at developing a reputation for exceptional customer service and customer satisfaction. West Seattle Design Build‘s personnel offer more than 25 years of experience in both residential and commercial construction; it is a BBB-accredited company. We manage a wide range of home remodeling and new construction projects, from bathroom additions and remodels to an entire home renovation and new construction. West Seattle Design Build also specializes in tenant improvements, including restaurant, office and specialty store buildouts. West Seattle Design Build believes in partnering with our clients to create special spaces that will accommodate individual needs. West Seattle Design Build understands the construction process can be disruptive to everyday living, and we work with our customers to minimize impact. The majority of our clients are either repeat customers or come from referrals of satisfied clients. We feel that our quality of work, cleanliness and attention to detail is the primary reason we have such a large repeat customer base. West Seattle Design Build and its owners have a strong commitment to the community. The owners of the company were born and raised in West Seattle and have long standing connections to the local community. The company and its owners believe in active involvement in the community to create a healthier, cohesive and more viable community. West Seattle Design Build and its owners actively volunteer time as coaches in the local West Seattle baseball and soccer leagues, as well as volunteering time and services at a local elementary school. West Seattle Design Build is proud of its work and you will be too! West Seattle Design Build is online at wsdesignbuild.com; call (206) 938-0174, or e-mail jon@wsdesignbuild.com. We thank West Seattle Design Build for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; the sponsor team, with info on joining, is all here.

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Extra Water Taxi service (and traffic alert) for Sounders tomorrow
October 28, 2009 1:50 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   King County Water Taxi | Transportation | West Seattle news

From Linda Thielke at King County Department of Transportation:

The Seattle Sounders soccer team will open up the post season with a playoff game against the Houston Dynamo on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Qwest Field.

The game could disrupt traffic as thousands of fans in green-and-blue scarves are expected to descend on Pioneer Square and the Sodo area. Expect traffic congestion during the afternoon and evening commute. Also, bus passengers who are traveling through the downtown area Thursday afternoon may experience some delays in transit service.

For fans wanting to beat the traffic and travel to the game by bus, use Metro Transit’s Trip Planner to plan a route most convenient for you. And, West Seattle Water Taxi passengers should be aware the Water Taxi will operate a Friday night schedule on game night, with the last sailing from Seattle to West Seattle at 10:30 p.m.

And a reminder, Saturday is the last day of the season for the Water Taxi – which is scheduled (pending election and budget variables) to go into year-round operation after Seacrest dock improvements are done early next year.

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High school sports: Big game tonight for WSHS girls’ soccer
October 28, 2009 1:01 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Thanks to Sandy for sending word via Facebook – West Seattle High School‘s girls varsity soccer team is playing Nathan Hale tonight “to see who will be the Metro Sound Division champ.” You can cheer them on at 7 pm at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle).

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Dia de los Muertos in West Seattle: Community tribute at Red Cup
October 28, 2009 11:26 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

That display atop the fireplace inside Red Cup Espresso in The Junction (4451 California SW) is in honor of Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – which is coming up this weekend, and anyone who wants to pay tribute to someone they’ve lost is welcome to add to it. We heard about it from Evonne, whose daughter is on the Red Cup staff; she says it started with a tribute to Angelia Paulsen, the Red Cup founder killed in a car crash in early 2008, and grew from there: “It is set up so that anyone can put up a picture or memento of a loved one who has died. Articles will be returned to their owners – might be a good idea to put their names on the back so they can be returned. The exhibit will, hopefully, become a community art project celebrating the lives of those that have touched others in many ways.” If you are not familiar with the Dia de los Muertos tradition, here’s a primer. ADDED 11:55 AM: Thanks to “k” for noting in comments that a Day of the Dead commemoration is also coming up at Seattle Yarn (5633 California SW); it’s happening Saturday and here are details.

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Warning: Seattle City Light says phone scammers are at it again
October 28, 2009 10:18 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Utilities

Seattle City Light has had to warn about this kind of scam before, and now they’re issuing a new alert: Telephone scammers “appear to be targeting customers with Asian surnames,” claiming to be utility-bill collectors and demanding credit-card numbers. Read on for the full warning:Read More

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Hiawatha Playfield update: Getting back on track
October 28, 2009 8:01 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

2 weeks ago, the Parks Department disclosed the turf put down during the renovations at Hiawatha Playfield had to be replaced because it was found to be defective. The replacement is now well under way; Tim McMonigle from the West Seattle Soccer Club got the above photo on Tuesday and reports:

After getting replacement turf for the defective product, they have the majority of the turf down. They are still rolling it out, and then need to spread the rubber pellets.

As you can see in the foreground of the first picture, they are moving bundles of sod and putting it in various areas outside the field. It’s looking good, and hopefully will be done for our league games in December.

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Today/tonight: Short school; Kenney 100th; HPAC; “Dow Chow”
October 28, 2009 6:03 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: Short school; Kenney 100th; HPAC; “Dow Chow”
 |   Highland Park | The Kenney | West Seattle history | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants | West Seattle schools

EARLY DISMISSAL DAY FOR MANY SCHOOLS: It’s officially an “early dismissal day” for Seattle Public Schools, with many independent schools following suit, while some tweak the schedule to suit what needs to be done (at Chief Sealth High School, for example, no classes – it’s parent/teacher conference time).

(August 2009 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
THE KENNEY’S 100TH: Big celebration today at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way) – marking the 100th anniversary of its grand opening. Here’s the invite:

In honor of Samuel and Jessie Kenney, please join us as we celebrate 100 years of The Kenney’s Grand Opening!

4:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m., Community Rooms at The Kenney

It will be an open house with a short program at 4:15 p.m. in the Community Rooms. If you are unable to make it for the program, please stop by later for a glass of wine and some food.

The Calvary Lutheran Choir will also be performing songs from the early 1900s and will be dressed in clothing from that time period.

A chocolate fountain and champagne bar in the Historic Seaview Building, along with a historical timeline and Samuel and Jessie Kenney (volunteers dressed up), will also be in attendance.

HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: 7 pm tonight, Highland Park Improvement Club building – the agenda note from HPAC chair Dan Mullins:

This month we will have 2 speakers and a twist on Nicole’s Local Business Spotlight that will surprise you.

Our first Speaker will be Susanne Friedman from Seattle Parks Dept. to give us an update on the progress and future plans for Westcrest Park. Our second speaker will be Amy Shaflik from Treehouse to let us know about the great work they are doing for foster children in our community. And Nicole’s Spotlight will be very different and fun and I predict that you will want to get involved.

Please come and meet your neighbors, enjoy a little potluck dinner and help make our neighborhood a great place to live!

“DOW CHOW”: No, this has nothing to do with a certain candidate. In this case, “Dow” stands for “Dow Jones Industrial Average.” 5-11 pm tonight, Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) is raising money for Arts Corps with a fun contest that’s paired with special discounts. First – the discounts: Whatever the Dow closes at today, no menu price will be higher – for example, yesterday it closed at 9882, so the most expensive menu item would have been $9.88. Now, the guessing: Guess tonight what the Dow will close at TOMORROW – $1 per guess – and the person who comes closest will win the closing number worth of meals at Chow Foods (parent company of Endolyne Joe’s) restaurants – if it closes at 9900, you get $9,900 worth. Read more about the contest, promotion and fundraiser here – then go to Endolyne Joe’s between 5 and 11 tonight (maybe right after visiting the not-far-away Kenney!).

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Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: Sally Bagshaw
October 28, 2009 3:19 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

checkbox.jpgThis morning we conclude our city-candidate closeups; we took a look at them all before the primary election, and with voting under way now for next Tuesday’s general election, we’re checking back in with the finalists in five city races – mayor and council. We’ve already looked at mayor (Mike McGinn here, Joe Mallahan here), City Council Position 6 (Nick Licata here, Jessie Israel here) and City Council Position 8 (Mike O’Brien here and Robert Rosencrantz here); then it was Council Position 2 (Richard Conlin here and David Ginsberg here), and we’re concluding now with Position 4.

By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Sally Bagshaw has a long experience working in the public sector, including time as head of the civil division of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, but this is her first run for Seattle elected office.

“The very first thing I am going to do (if elected) is to keep my mouth shut and my ears open so that I know what is going on and I learn what is happening, that I know how the Council operates.”

She, like most candidates, feels the area’s transportation problems are legion.

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Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: David Bloom
October 28, 2009 3:04 am
|    Comments Off on Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: David Bloom
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

checkbox.jpgThis morning we conclude our city-candidate closeups; we took a look at them all before the primary election, and with voting under way now for next Tuesday’s general election, we’re checking back in with the finalists in five city races – mayor and council. We’ve already looked at mayor (Mike McGinn here, Joe Mallahan here), City Council Position 6 (Nick Licata here, Jessie Israel here) and City Council Position 8 (Mike O’Brien here and Robert Rosencrantz here); then it was Council Position 2 (Richard Conlin here and David Ginsberg here), and we’re concluding now with Position 4.

By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

City Council Position 4 candidate David Bloom thinks the transit system serving Seattle is in pretty rough shape and would like to see the council pressure the county-run agency to stop being downtown centric and adopt more cross-town service.

“(The City Council) does not run Metro, but we certainly can have strong influence over decisions that are made,” says Bloom, a minister and longtime social-justice activist. “We have bus lines in the city that are running at capacity all the time.”

Bloom sees a problem in Metro’s current method of allocating new bus routes under a 40, 40, 20 system, or 40 percent of buses for east King County, 40 percent for south King County and 20 percent for Seattle. That formula was put in place in the 1990s when the eastern and southern suburbs were growing rapidly and Seattle was not. Now, of course, Seattle is growing at a rate some would say outstrips the Eastside and southern suburbs.

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Countdown to West Seattle Halloween 2009
October 28, 2009 1:43 am
|    Comments Off on Countdown to West Seattle Halloween 2009
 |   Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

Just a few nights till Halloween – and the fun really gets into gear tonight at 6 pm, with pumpkin-carving and a monster-movie double feature at Freshy’s Coffee. That’s one of many events on the WSB Halloween page. There are of course the events ON Halloween – such as the one where you might find characters such as those at left; the guy in the horns, second from right, is one of our fellow Seattle neighborhood newsies, Jordan from Wallingford’s own Wallyhood, who will be over here on the peninsula Saturday night as mastermind of “Hive Mind Halloween XV: Things That Go Bump in the Night” (that’s his wife in the pic sporting the then-bump who has since debuted as Baby Z). HMH starts at 9 pm Saturday at Youngstown Arts Center, costumes REQUIRED, 21+, $20 at the door, all proceeds benefit Youngstown and Room to Read, which builds schools and libraries in countries including Nepal and Cambodia, providing scholarships for girls there too. The Halloween page also includes the trick-or-treating lowdown – Admiral on Friday (check the map with the list of participants), The Junction and Westwood on Saturday, with lots of other players too. (And remember you get an extra hour for revelry Saturday night, since Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 am Sunday, when we’ll “fall back” an hour.)

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