The biggest story in the pages of the Ballard News-Tribune in 2005, measured in pages, was the life and death of the monorail. 30 monorail stories graced the pages of this newspaper, edging out news about schools and education (26 stories) and parks and playfields (21 stories). But none of these stories may have the same short term impact as the Ballard building boom. By 2010, there will be a few thousand more faces in the downtown Ballard area, bringing a few thousand more parking spaces with them. The influx of people has already sparked a merchant boom. Much of the Ballard's development will occur with the conversion of single-family homes into multiple-tenant units. That trend is occurring north of Market Street and across greater Ballard from Shilshole Bay to Phinney Ridge.

The demographic churn has already transformed Ballard and will continue to for years. The neighborhood has become a fusion, and occasionally a collision of cultures.

One of the requirements of the population surge is transportation options into and out of Ballard. In 2005, there was no bigger option on the table for Ballard than the Seattle Monorail Project.

. The Ballard News-Tribune's first monorail story was in the January 12 issue, covering a dispute over how much land the Seattle Monorail Project needed at the site of Denny's Restaurant on 15th Avenue Northwest. The owners of the restaurant thought the agency was trying to acquire too much land.

In the spring, a number of stories recounted similar conflicts over the monorail's eminent domain land acquisition in Ballard, and the resulting loss of established or historic businesses where future monorail stations and guide-ways would be.

In June, the news was optimistic at first; the newspaper recounted a jovial atmosphere at monorail headquarters after a tentative agreement was reached with a consortium of contractors to build the line itself. In passing, the story mentioned criticism of the monorail's financial plan. By the last week of June, the lead story in the paper was about fierce opposition to this plan, partly backed by high risk bonds, with a 50 year back period.

On July 4, Monorail Executive Director Joel Horn and Board Chairman Tom Weeks abruptly resigned from the project, leaving the agency in disarray, and perhaps terminally damaging its credibility.

In August, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels sent a letter to the agency saying voters could decide on a higher tax or smaller project, or the city would have to decide itself, via the transit way agreements the agency would need in order to build the project. The agency played tough, saying voters, and the Seattle City Council, would have more faith in the project than the mayor. Instead, the city council unanimously backed the mayor in withholding the transit way agreements. The agency was forced to come up with a new plan - that cut Ballard out of the project - and rushed a measure onto the November ballot in the hope that voters would give a green light to the Green Line, for the fifth time.

Instead, voters rejected the plan by a large margin, forcing the agency to disband and putting an end to what many saw as required infrastructure if Seattle hopes to become a major metropolitan center, on par with San Francisco and Boston.

There were other stories in 2005, several hundred, in fact, that the Ballard News-Tribune covered. Following is a monthly account of some of the big news items from last year:

February: After a twelve year old boy was struck by a car and injured crossing the street, the Seattle Department of Transportation announced it would install a traffic light at 15th Avenue Northwest and Holman Road. Some residents criticized the city for not heeding calls for a traffic light until an injury occurred.

March 16: Police officer Jackson Lone died at the Lake Washington Ship Canal in a drowning accident. Lone was an 18 year veteran of the Seattle Police Department and a member of its Harbor Patrol Unit.

April: the Port of Seattle sponsored an open house for the $80 million renovation at Shilshole Bay Marina. The project is slated for completion in 2008 and includes replacing docks and rebuilding a new mix of piers, as well as a new marina headquarters and restaurant.

April: North Beach Elementary was slated for closure by the Seattle School District, because of a $20 million budget shortfall but in May, the district changed its mind, saying it would not close North Beach, or any of the other nine schools slated for mothballing.

May: the Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District announced the possibility of changing operating hours at the Ballard Locks because of a budget shortfall. The funds were ultimately restored for the 2006 budget, thanks in large part to Senator Patty Murray.

May: the new Ballard Library opened at 5614 22nd Ave. NW. The library is twice the size of the old branch, has an environmentally friendly roof and several public meeting rooms, one with seating for 120.

June: Marine Corps Lance Corporal Daniel Chavez was killed in battle in Iraq. Chavez was a 2003 graduate of Ballard High School.

July: There was a flare up over fake turf the Seattle Parks Department planned to install at a playfield next to Loyal Heights Community Center. Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds decided to use the synthetic turf in a decision in August.

August: hospital workers protested a proposed contract from Swedish Medical Center that would change retirement and health care benefits for employees of Service Employees International Union local 1199. The contract would change new employees' retirement savings plans from a company-managed pension to a self-managed 401(k) plan. The contract would also do away with free health care benefits. Swedish maintained that the changes were needed to stay competitive with other medical centers using similar plans. Union members ultimately rejected the new contract in November.

September: businesses, organizations and residents around Ballard joined the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, raising cash and collecting food for victims of one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, which took the lives of more than 1200 people and could cost an estimated $50 billion.

October: Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) held their first community forum in a packed house at Greenwood Elementary School. Several Seattle City Council Members and police officers from Seattle's North Precinct listened to testimony about crime in the area.

November: Washington voters decided, by a wide margin, to make smoking at indoor public venues illegal.

November: five granite slabs reflecting Scandinavian heritage were installed at Bergen Place. Friends of Bergen Place raised $12,000 for the project.

December, the East Ballard Community Association received a $15,000 grant to study improving 14th Avenue Northwest in terms of safety, aesthetics and environmental issues.