Earthquake Relief

Over 50 Seattle restaurants, including almost every Italian joint in town, will donate a substantial portion of their proceeds Wednesday ("Big Night for Abruzzo") to a rebuilding effort in the region of central Italy devastated by a major earthquake in April. Some 300 people died, over 60,000 were left homeless; countless medieval buildings were destroyed or severely damaged.

Mike McConnell of Caffè Vita and Via Tribunali led a Seattle group to the scene a couple of weeks ago and returned to organize the fund-raising effort. Michael Hebb produced this video to illustrate what the money's going for: a children's playground. Because kids everywhere deserve a place to practice soccer, no?