Arlington Times, February 01, 2014

Page 1

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Olympic Theatre faces final curtain BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com

ARLINGTON — The Olympic Theatre has been a landmark in downtown Arlington since 1939, and Norma Pappas has been at its helm since 1977, when she bought it with her dad, but the Tuesday, Feb. 4, showing of The Hobbit could be its final screening. “It just didn’t work out,” Pappas said. “We were never able to secure the digital projector that everyone in town seems to think that we already have, and without that, I won’t be able to show any more films. This Norma Pappas, owner, building will be on the Olympic Theatre market very soon, and while I’d love to see it remain a movie theater, whoever buys it will also need to have a digital projector to show films here. Not only are digital projectors so size-specific that they almost have to be designed for their theaters, but the technology itself is changing so rapidly that any system we get now could be obsolete in a couple

“I’ve cut back on everything that I can, but without people supporting us by buying tickets to our shows, I just can’t do it.”

SPORTS: Lady Eagles eye league championship. Page 8

SEE OLYMPIC, PAGE 2

SPORTS: Eagles show toughness, depth. Page 8

Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo

Olympic Theatre owner Norma Pappas has to check the 2,000 feet of film on each reel, before it plays for audiences.

City Council discusses property tax adjustment BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com

INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 11-14 LEGAL NOTICES

7

OPINION

4

SPORTS

8

WORSHIP

6

Vol. 124, No. 28 Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo

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Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert explains the need for a property tax adjustment to maintain city services on Jan. 27.

ARLINGTON — The Arlington City Council discussed on Monday, Jan. 27, how they would make the case to the city’s citizens for a proposed adjustment to the property tax rate. Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert reiterated that the city has been made more dependent upon property taxes over the years, even as those revenues have been curtailed. In 2001, Initiative 747 limited the amount of property tax that could be collected without a vote of the people, and it was capped below the rate of inflation. In 2008, the state’s streamlining of

“We’ve cut 19 staff members and reduced our payroll by $2 million, but we have the lowest property tax rate of 20 cities in Snohomish County and we’re not getting ahead.” Barbara Tolbert, Arlington Mayor sales taxes shifted the collection of sales taxes to their points of product delivery. “We have an amazing amount of assets in Arlington, but it’s been a financial challenge to maintain them in this economy,” Tolbert said. “We’ve cut 19 staff members and reduced our payroll by $2

million, but we have the lowest property tax rate of 20 cities in Snohomish County and we’re not getting ahead. We’ve reduced the budgets for all our departments and eliminated all contributions to the equipment replacement fund, SEE TAX, PAGE 2


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