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COMMUNITY | Daughter’s cancer prompts mom to take on fundraising walk to battle the disease [2]
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Levin pushing toward Bellevue arena plan BY NAT LEVY Bellevue Reporter
Bellevue has become the center of the latest edition of arena intrigue, even as Seattle and King County officials work on a deal to put a building in SoDo. After more than two years of back and forth discussions with Bellevue officials, Don Levin, the owner of a minor-league hockey franchise in Chicago, is preparing to release a plan to bring a professional hockey team to the Eastside.
The exact details of the plan, including where the building would go, and the complete financing package remain unknown. Levin hopes to release details within the next month. Levin said he wants to pay for a portion of the building through public bonds - which have a better interest rate than he could get on his own - that would be fully guaranteed by a financial institution. “If there wasn’t sufficient funds to pay what needs to be repaid, there would be a
source where they wouldn’t have to chase to get their money back.” Bellevue officials have shown favor toward an arena, if it did not require any public funds. City Manager Steve Sarkozy was not able to be reached for comment. Levin said he chose to create his own proposal for the NHL in Bellevue because he didn’t want to wait around for Chris Hansen, the hedge fund manager behind the Seattle arena, to secure an NBA team first. Franchises rarely go up for sale, and
even then they are tough to obtain, so Levin wants to be able to act quickly should such an opportunity arise. Levin said he has interest from a number of local investors, but none of have signed on yet. His current coalition contains investors from Canada, he said. Levin declined to name a site for the proposed arena, but he has discussed areas around auto row on 116th Avenue Northeast and the Safeway distribution site in SEE ARENA, 6
First budget look shows programs OK
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No new taxes seen to complete big road building projects BY NAT LEVY Bellevue Reporter
Kids bounced and bounced – and then bounced some more – Aug. 1 as Crossroads Community Park played host to four inflatable devices. The event, Incredible Inflatables, was hosted by Bellevue Parks and Community Services. The inflatable devices will be back at the park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 8 and 15. Fees are $1 to $2 per activity and a multi-use wristband can be purchased for $15. Children must be accompanied by an adult. MARY JEAN SPADAFORA, Bellevue Reporter
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Bellevue reached a new level of the budget process, as the City Council got its first look at program and project proposals July 30. Councilmembers found that the city can maintain nearly all of its services and complete most of its projects, but the economic situation isn’t conducive to the city taking on many new plans. As part of its Budget One process in 2010, the city restructured its budget into “outcomes” rather than departments. Among those outcomes - responsive government, safe community, improved mobility, healthy and sustainable environment, quality neighborhoods, vibrant caring communities and economic development - city officials presented a total of 200 proposals that could be funded, only two of which were not in the last budget. City budget projections led to the possibility that 12 proposals would not be funded, nine of which were new. “I’m not seeing a very rosy picture long-term, but I would say our effort to recalibrate the budget last year was the right thing to do. It was timely and it has been effective,” said City Manager Steve Sarkozy. Sarkozy will release his budget in October. At that point,
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