September 2005

If Seattle doesn't get the $2 billion approved by the Washington Legislature to help replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the city will tear down the deteriorating elevated highway anyway because it is unsafe, said Mayor Greg Nickels during an interview last week about his campaign for a second term in office.

Delivery of the promised $2 billion hinges on continuation of the state gas tax. The Legislature passed a 9.5-cent gas tax increase to be phased in over four years. It would raise about $5.5 billion for 274 road and bridge projects around Washington.

Dwight Pelz has spent the last eight years serving on the Metropolitan King County Council, but said he now wants to try his hand at the many "exciting decisions facing the Seattle City Council."

Besides the fact that Pelz' seat on the County Council is to be eliminated due to county downsizing, he said he is running for City Council because he says it is at the forefront of many of the important decisions being made that effect the direction of the city.

"I think you can sense from my energy that I like problems, I like discussing them and coming up with answers," he sai

Early morning Sept. 7, a Seattle Police Department SWAT team was sent to an apartment building near the southwest corner of Northwest 67th St. and 24th Avenue Northwest in search of a murder suspect. The police had received a tip from the Bremerton Police regarding a possible murder suspect in the building.

According to the Bremerton police, Raven Marlyne Hudson has a warrant for her arrest issued by Bremerton Police in connection to the killing of a woman in that city on Aug. 31.

Police officers arrived around 5:15 a.m. and cordoned off the Ballard street.

A financial adviser hired to recommend new ways to pay for the monorail presented a plan to cut costs from $11 billion paid over 50 years to $7 billion that could be paid off in 39 years.

Kevin Phelps predicts revenue from Seattle's motor vehicle excise tax - the monorail's financial fuel - will grow in the future, not shrink as forecasted in a previous economic study. Phelps is credited with straightening out the financial woes of Sound Transit's light rail project.

hurricane relief

By Rebekah Schilperoort

Many Ballard residents, business and organizations are rolling up their sleeves in an effort to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Category 5 hurricane pounded the Gulf Coast and led to the destruction and evacuation of New Orleans, LA and other cities almost two weeks ago.

Now hundreds of thousands of American people are left to wonder where their next meal will come from and where they and their families will sleep. How will they start over?

As part of Mayor Greg Nickels' citywide Restore Our Waters Strategy, a new $300,000 grant program was approved that is expected to benefit the quality of the city's aquatic habitat, plus create and finance partnerships between the city and communities.

"Seattle is a city that is defined by its beautiful waterways," Nickels said.

Ballard girls volleyball coach Tami Reese is looking for a bump in performance from her team this year. Hopefully some spikes and kills too.

Reese heads into her ninth year as the varsity coach at Ballard. The Beavers finished 8-7 and dropped their first two games in the playoffs in 2004, but Reese is looking for bigger things from her team this year.

"We lost some good players, but we've got some key players coming back," Reese said. "We've really been coming together as a team lately.

If Seattle doesn't get the $2 billion approved by the Washington Legislature to help replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the city will tear down the deteriorating elevated highway anyway because it is unsafe, said Mayor Greg Nickels.

Delivery of the promised $2 billion hinges on continuation of the state gas tax. The Legislature passed a 9.5-cent gas tax increase to be phased in over four years. It would raise about $5.5 billion for 274 road and bridge projects around Washington.