There will be blood ‘Game of Thrones’ returns in all its gory glory D1
SUNDAY, 04.12.2015
Xfinity turning toward profit
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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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$1.50 (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)
MARKED BY VIOLENCE
But taxpayers are likely to spend an additional $700,000 this year to pay for a new scoreboard for the arena. By Chris Winters Herald Writer
EVERETT — Revenues for Xfinity Arena are projected to start surpassing the arena’s operating costs over the next five years. That projection, a turnaround from the arena’s money-losing past, comes with an asterisk. The arena is owned by the Everett Public Facilities District, a taxing entity that issued $71.5 million in bonds to build the facility in 2003. Those bonds were refinanced in 2007 and as a result, the city pays the district $600,000 a year to help cover its debts. The city’s stake in the arena is also why taxpayers are likely to spend an additional $700,000 this year to pay for a new scoreboard. That news, coming just months after taxes and fees were raised to cover a projected budget shortfall, surprised City Council members Wednesday as they were briefed on the arena’s financial health. “We’ve always known about the debt service,” Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher said. “The scoreboard, that’s a surprise. I feel very strongly that should be a line item in our budget.” See ARENA, Page A8
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IAN TERRY / THE HERALD
Officer Aaron Snell of the Everett Police Department drives past a fence lined with graffiti behind a Fred Meyer store off E Casino Road in Everett on Thursday. While not conclusive evidence, graffiti is often monitored by law enforcement to gain insight into local gang activity.
Everett gangs appear to be claiming younger kids and causing more mayhem By Eric Stevick Herald Writer
EVERETT — The defendants were brought in one at a time to face the judge. Their skin was smooth. Their faces, boyish. A mother cried when her son’s name was called from the Snohomish County Juvenile Court arraignment calendar. He’s 16 and had never been in trouble before. He’d left their south Everett apartment the night before. She thought he’d stepped out for just a few minutes. Instead, he and a friend were arrested. The high school students were accused of spray-painting gang scrawls
on businesses along Evergreen Way in Everett, causing an estimated $12,000 in damage. A few minutes later, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis called another name. The Snohomish boy, 15, was believed to be a get-away driver in a March 16 shooting along W Casino Road. A month before, the same boy had been shot outside a Seattle nightclub. On April 2, his alleged accomplice was arrested after fleeing to Portland, Oregon. The Everett boy, who turned 16 three days before, is accused of shooting an Everett man, 22, in both legs. The suspect stands 5 feet tall and weighs 105 pounds, according to court records. Authorities believe all four
teens could have gang ties. The judge released the two boys in the graffiti case pending trial. She warned them that tagging in their south Everett neighborhood could incite trouble. They also were ordered to stay away from gangs. “There is a lot of gang tension, a lot of gang violence,” Ellis told one of the boys. Recent police reports support the judge’s observation. It has been a violent three months among local gangs. Gang activity has occurred inside and outside of Everett city limits for years. There is an ebb and flow, just as there is with grant money to combat it. “It’s not a brand-new problem, but there is just an uptick
in the violent crimes and we are addressing those,” Everett police officer Aaron Snell said. Everett police have investigated five shootings since January that appear to be related to gangs, often with teens involved: ■ On Jan. 6, a 17-year-old Lynnwood boy was shot in the leg at Lombard Avenue and Everett Avenue. He told police he tried to run away during a robbery. Detectives believe he was shot after a marijuana deal went bad. ■ On Jan. 17, an Everett man, 20, was shot in the stomach while walking in the 7800 block of Beverly Boulevard. He told See GANGS, Page A8
SAVING THE SALISH
BUDGET RETIREMENT
4-3 IN SECOND OVERTIME
Seeing our special sea in a whole new way. Outdoors, E1
Where – and how – you can afford to take it down a notch. Success, A9
The Portland Winterhawks take down the Silvertips. Sports, C1
Jumbled 55/40, C10
SUNDAY
VOL. 115, NO. 60 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
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