Executive, Mayor and Chris Hansen reach agreements that govern financing for proposed arena

amrook — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:34:37 +0000

King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn were joined today by private investor Chris Hansen as they announced agreements between the City, County and ArenaCo to govern the financing of a proposed new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena in the Stadium District of Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.

Executive Constantine and Mayor McGinn detailed important taxpayer protections within the agreements in a joint letter to their respective Councils:

- No new taxes are being sought for construction or operations;
- The project will be self-financed by using revenue that would not otherwise exist but for the operations of the arena;
- Binding non-relocation agreements for the NBA and NHL teams will be in place covering the full term of any public financing;
- A security reserve fund will be established to provide an additional layer of taxpayer protection for the duration of the public debt;
-Revenue sufficient to support annual debt service is guaranteed by the investors;

Beavers Post Season Roundup: softball gets one more chance, baseball is out, tennis and track stars move on

amrook — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:54:51 +0000

Softball:

The Ballard softball team lost their first playoff game to Issaquah 2 to 1 last night. The playoffs are a double elimination tournament, and the Lady Beavers will play again tonight at 7 p.m. against Skyline at Hartman Park.

Baseball:

As reported on Tuesday, the Ballard baseball lost to Jackson High in a playoff loser-out game on Monday night, bringing an end to their season.

Tennis:

The Ballard #1 doubles team advanced to the second round of the playoff tournament on Monday after beating Roosevelt (4-6,7-6, 7-6) before losing out to Eastlake.

Track and Field:

After a successful KingCo championship meet, 16 student-athletes competing in the Track and Field District Tournament starting today.

At Large in Ballard: Passing the baton

amrook — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:01:14 +0000

Marilyn Klepper’s teenage daughter Jeanne-Marie died on Mother’s Day in 2001. The 11th anniversary of her death once again fell on Mother’s Day this year. Jeanne-Marie Klepper was a student in the Biotech Academy at Ballard High School when she was diagnosed with a rare “young person’s” cancer – osteosarcoma. A bone cancer that usually manifests in the limbs, her cancer was in her shoulder. A rare disease in a rare spot -- by diagnosis it had greatly metastasized.

The American Cancer Society’s NW Relay for Life in 2001 was scheduled at the Ballard High School track. Jeanne-Marie’s fellow Biotech students had their own team. The event always includes a survivor’s lap. Jeanne-Marie was determined to participate although she asked her mother if she qualified given that she was very ill. “Am I a cancer survivor?”

Her mother told her absolutely yes. “You have survived a lot.”

Bikes and KEXP take over Ballard this Friday

amrook — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:35:44 +0000

This Friday, is Bike to Work day. Thousands of people will be biking to work all over the city and there will be commuter stations along major bike rides to hand out free food and drink, answer questions, offer bike maintenance, and more.

In Ballard the commuter station will be located along the Burke Gilman trail where it intersects with 8th Avenue NW.

Click here to find the stations along your route.

The stations run from 6 a.m. till 9 a.m.

Later on Friday, the annual Ballard Street Party carries the momentum of Bike to Work Day into the evening. The city is partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club to transform the heart of Ballard into a bike block party.

From 4 p.m. till 7 p.m., there will be live music, bike art, conference bikes, free samples, a free drawing to win some great prizes, free bike assistance from Bike Sport and Second Ascent. bike vendors., and New Belgium beer specials at the Balmar from 5 - 8 p.m.

Ballard baseball outmuscled by Jackson High

amrook — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:05:48 +0000

After winning three playoff games in a row, Ballard baseball's winning streak came to a screeching halt last night. The Beavers fell 10-3 to Jackson High School in a loser-out game at Everett Memorial Stadium on Monday evening.

Jackson High, last year's state runner-up, got off on a strong start with an RBI triple, and a two-run homerun that put Ballard behind 3-0.

The Beavers answered by getting a run of their own in the top of the second, decreasing the gap 3 to 2, but the Timberwolves' powerful offense added another 7 runs in the second and third inning.

Ballard put Caleb Jaeger on the mount to stop the damage and he successfully put an end to Jackson High's scoring. After the third inning, Jackson did not score again for the remainder of the game as Jaeger struck out eight batters, allowed one earned run on six hits, and gave up two walks over four innings.

The Beavers collected two more runs over the last few innings but the damage was done. Ballard lost 10 to 3.

With their win, Jackson earned a return trip at the 4A baseball state championships and they will face Beamer at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tacoma's Heidelberg Park.

Syttende Mai is tomorrow!

amrook — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:15:08 +0000

With only one day until Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), organizers are ready to entertain people all day long.

Ballard's Syttende Mai activities are the largest outside of Norway and last year, thousands of people converged on downtown Ballard to observe the annual Syttende Mai parade, making it the biggest one yet.
This year, organizers are hoping to repeat the success with 119 parade units to provide on-watchers with a full two-hour long steam of variety and entertainment.

Syttende Mai has been celebrated in the Greater Seattle Area since 1889 and the parade is one of the largest ethnic parades in the United States.

“Syttende Mai a great, full-day of events with lots to eat, see and do,” said Kae Ellingsen, parade chair of the 17th of May committee.

Ellinsgen is in her second year as parade chair and she had a lot to learn after Jim Vatn's passing.

“Jim Vatn did the parade for over 30 years so we’re still learning the ropes,” Ellingsen said, pointing out that the parade took a wrong turn last year though few on-watchers seem to have noticed the mishap.

Last week to view and/or buy student art at the Ballard Library

amrook — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:31:39 +0000

This is the last week people can view and/or buy the approximately hundred pieces of art that are on display in the Ballard location of the Seattle Public Library.

Each one of these items was made by students at Ballard High School, and range from ceramic to paintings to photography.

The art will be taken down on Saturday, May 19.

Students and customers should pick up their art at the library between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon.

For information, please visit http://www.bhsstudentartshow.blogspot.com