P-A 1 CMYK •

P-A 1 • CMYK

A HEARST NEWSPAPER KING, PIERCE, SNOHOMISH, ISLAND,

SEATTLEPI.COM KITSAP & THURSTON COUNTIES | ELSEWHERE 75¢

NBA FINALS THE MONEY SQUEEZE OUTDOORS

13
Celtics freebies Getting
win 17th that help creative
title with you stretch with camp
131-92 rout your dollar cuisine
SPORTS E1 BUSINESS D1 LIFE AND ARTS C1

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 8 , 2 0 0 8

EDITH MACEFIELD: 1921-2008 BENNETT:

‘Possessed’ to find
Ballard woman held her ground a Seattle solution
CITY ATTORNEY:
as change closed in around her ‘The judge will
draw her own Sonics owner Clay Bennett
conclusion’ enters the courthouse Tuesday.
ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

BENNETT
INSISTS
HE TRIED
TO STAY
Yet 6 days after controversial
e-mail, Sonics owner asked
Edith Macefield’s old blue car still sits in front of the home she refused to sell to developers, even when they offered $1 million.
JOSHUA TRUJILLO / P-I
NBA exec about relocating
BY GREG JOHNS
ART THIEL: CLAY
BY KATHY MULADY
P-I reporter
“She got to do it SEATTLEPI.COM P-I reporter
NEVER CAUGHT ON
Read the P-I’s original story about Edith Macefield at
Edith Macefield died at home, just the way
the way she goto.seattlepi.com/333917.
Clay Bennett sat on the wit-
ness stand in Judge Marsha Pech-
Our way of doing business here left
Bennett frustrated, but really, whose
she wanted.
The Ballard woman who captured hearts
wanted to do it. man’s U.S. District courtroom
Tuesday and insisted under oath
fault is that? E1
and admirers around the world when she stub-
bornly turned down $1 million to sell her home
She had already “I went through World War II, the noise
doesn’t bother me,” she said in October.
that he really had been “a man
possessed” to find a Sonics arena LIVE UPDATES AT
to make way for a commercial development made up her “They’ll get it done someday.” solution in Seattle. SEATTLEPI.COM
died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. She was 86. Macefield’s stubbornness was cheered by The chairman of the Profes-
Sonics beat reporter Gary Washburn
“I don’t want to move. I don’t need the
money. Money doesn’t mean anything,” she
mind, and that’s Ballard residents tired of watching the blue-
collar neighborhood disappear under condo-
sional Basketball Club testified
for more than three hours on the will post gavel-to-gavel coverage at
blog.seattlepi.com/sonicstrial.
told the Seattle P-I in October.
She continued living in the little old house
the way it was miniums and trendy restaurants. Her story was
picked up by the national news and spread
second day of the city’s federal
lawsuit against Bennett’s owner-
in the 1400 block of Northwest 46th Street
even after concrete walls rose around her, com-
going to be.” around the world.
In the last year of her life, she forged an un-
ship group, which is attempting
to escape the final two years of its risks he was assuming.
ing within a few feet of her kitchen window. likely friendship with a kindred soul, Barry KeyArena lease in order to move But the ever-controlled Ben-
Cranes towered over her roof. Macefield – Barry Martin, Martin, the senior superintendent on the to Oklahoma City. nett held up well throughout
turned up the television or her favorite opera construction project While there were no new questioning, and then made a
music a little louder and stayed put. senior superintendent SEE MACEFIELD, A5 bombshells in Bennett’s testimo- solid case under cross-examina-
ny, given most of the material tion from PBC attorney Brad Kel-
had already been obtained by the ler regarding the efforts he made
media in pretrial depositions and to find an arena solution in the
e-mail evidence obtained Seattle area.

With house prices HIGHER ASSESSMENTS

Residential property assessment values for 2008 are based on three years
of sales through Jan. 1. Areas reviewed so far show substantial increases
through public-disclosure re-
quests, city attorney Paul Law-
rence hammered away at the
man who has become the public
After seemingly parrying to a
draw with Bennett, the city took
a huge hit on its initial “expert
witness” Tuesday when national-

down, why are tax from 2007. King County officials expect to finish reviewing all areas by
the end of September.
Seattle neighborhoods
2007
AVERAGE
2008
AVERAGE
CHANGE
FROM 2007
enemy of pro basketball fans in
Seattle.
Lawrence attempted to crack
ly regarded sports economist An-
drew Zimbalist was nearly un-
dressed on the stand under with-

assessments up? assessed As of Tuesday

Broadview/Blue Ridge/Shilshole
Queen Anne
HOME VALUE

$620,800
$674,700
HOME VALUE

$701,100
$761,900
TO 2008

12.9%
12.9%
Bennett’s credibility by question-
ing several of the well-publicized
e-mail chains under the watchful
eye of Pechman, who ultimately
ering cross-examination from
PBC lawyer Paul Taylor.
After Zimbalist testified that
the Sonics do indeed provide
North Central/West Seattle $408,000 $452,300 10.9% must rule on whether the city has some difficult-to-measure level
King County’s seemed to contradict the fact
that the median price of a house Green Lake $508,900 $561,900 10.4%
the right to bind the Sonics to
their lease or allow the PBC to
of economic value to the city
through “intangible benefits,”
answers don’t sold in May was down 2.7 per-
cent from a year earlier in Seat-
Wallingford $503,500
Haller and Bitter lakes/Licton Sprs. $340,700
$554,800
$374,500
10.2%
9.9%
pay its remaining two years of
rent and be free to flee immedi-
Taylor showed page after page of
a virtually identical report Zim-
satisfy all tle and 6.2 percent countywide,
according to the Northwest
North Greenwood/Bitter Lake $355,700 $389,400 9.5% ately.
The city’s lead attorney
balist had filed – with a different
conclusion – when testifying for
Multiple Listing Service. Leschi to Madison Park $1,199,900 $1,313,400 9.5%
stressed that Bennett is a sophis- the Anaheim Angels a few years
BY AUBREY COHEN “What are the odds the little Capitol Hill $815,800 $892,800 9.4% ticated businessman who under- earlier.
P-I reporter postcards with tax assessed val- Magnolia $655,100 $716,800 9.4% stands contracts and should be Zimbalist’s appearance inter-
ues will reflect declining market held to the terms of the agree- rupted Bennett’s time on the
The King County Depart- values?” White had asked on- Other King County areas assessed As of Tuesday
ment he signed, knowing full
ment of Assessments recently line, responding to a June 6 Se- Lake Hills/Robinswood $410,800 $471,900 14.9% well at the time exactly what SEE TRIAL, A6
sent Brian White a notice saying attle P-I story about May sales. Eastgate/Factoria $572,200 $642,200 12.2%
his Phinney Ridge house was “Will King County property
Maple Valley $312,300 $347,100 11.1%
worth 12.5 percent more this owners be looking forward to
year than in 2007. tax reductions? Somehow, I Burien $249,800 $275,500 10.3%
“We’re not thrilled, but it doubt it.” Federal Way $314,800 $339,500 7.8% NEW AT SEATTLEPI.COM
was not unexpected,” White Many other property own- Twin Lakes $256,600 $276,600 7.8%
said Monday, noting the increas- ers also have wondered if – and Did you hear about the man who jumped into the frigid Duwamish River to
East Auburn/Southeast Kent $390,500 $419,400 7.4% escape the cops, but ended up hypothermic and in the hospital? Or how about
ing popularity of his neighbor- when – falling prices would
hood. Enumclaw Plateau $431,200 $459,600 6.6% the coldest of cold cases: a Seattle police officer shot and killed while walking
But the jump in value SEE TAXES, A7 Source: King County Department of Assessments SEATTLE P-I
the beat in 1911? You can read those stories and more beginning today at
Seattle 911, the P-I’s new crime blog. Visit blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911 for
INSIDE: 5 tips on what to do – and not do – about your property assessment. A7 what’s up in courtrooms, patrol cars and firehouses.

★★★ INDEX TOP STORIES

(FJECD|13000Y
TODAY’S WEATHER
Sun is taking a half-day.
High 65. Low 48. B8
Patrol help in Doctors see More people
Comics C6,7
school zones torture signs seeking work
The P-I and seattlepi.com reach Crosswords C6,7 Police want to dispatch a Medical examinations of former In the past year, 56,000 people
1.3 million readers a week in Editorial B6,7 camera-equipped van to catch terrorism suspects held by the U.S. joined the work force in the state,
Western Washington, including school-zone speeders. If the City at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and but there were just 23,000 new
three-quarters of a million
Horoscope C2
Monday through Saturday. Lottery B2 Council approves, drivers nabbed Abu Ghraib in Iraq found evidence jobs. May’s unemployment rate –
To subscribe, call 206-464-2121. Obituaries B4,5 by the mobile speed trap would of torture and other abuse, a 5.3 percent – was the highest
© 2008 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER Television C5 face a $189 fine. B1 human rights group says. A5 since October 2005. D1

P-A 1 CMYK • •
P-A 1 CMYK
 P-A 7
• P-A 7 •

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER ❘ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008 ★★ A7

TAXES: Changes take time to catch up Hamas says it has

FROM A1
lighten their property-tax load.
The short answer is that this
year’s price declines will show in
next year’s assessments and
2010 tax bills, but they don’t
mean lower bills. Here are the
long answers:
Why are values up?
The King County Depart-
ment of Assessments bases an-
nual values on sales over the
three previous years. This means
changes from one year to the
next take longer to affect values,
positively or negatively. In this
case, values have risen substan-
tially over the past three years.
Also, the 2008 assessments
include no sales after Jan. 1.
House prices did not start post-
ing year-to-year decreases until
February for the county and until
March in Seattle. These de-
creases will start to show in next
year’s assessments and – since
each year’s assessments apply to
the following year’s taxes – will
affect 2010 bills.
“A lot of people think it
should affect the taxes they’re
paying now,” said Stan Roe, ex-
ecutive assistant to King County
Assessor Scott Noble, noting that
one taxpayer sent a letter with a
newspaper story about price de-
clines enclosed.
But calls have not picked up
since the county started mailing
assessments last month, he said.
PROPERTY TAX TIPS Tax bills still go up, but that’s
because of budget decisions
LOOK AT YOUR ASSESSMENT NOW
Property owners can appeal within 60 days from the date on their
made by each taxing district and
levies that voters approve.
In Snohomish County, for
assessment notices.
“I can’t tell you how many hundreds of people call in February, after instance, the typical levy rate
went from $12.50 per thousand
they get the bill,” said Barbara Alsheikh, supervisor of King County dollars of assessed value in
Property Tax Advisor Office. That’s too late. 2004 to $8.92 per thousand in
ASK QUESTIONS 2008. People aren’t paying less,
it’s just that their homes in gen-
The Department of Assessments can answer questions and fix eral are worth more than they
assessment mistakes. Other disputes go to the Board of were in 2004, so a lower rate
Appeals/Equalization. The Tax Advisor Office can answer questions and collects at least the same
help with appeals. amount of money.
Put another way, homeown-
DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL DETAILS ers may not get a break because
“Assessment’s considered kind of a big picture snapshot. It’s a broad their homes are worth less in
general, but they also didn’t get
stroke,” Alsheikh said. So telling the assessor your second bathroom is
soaked by the big increases of re-
just a three-quarter bath, for instance, won’t make a difference, she said. cent years. This isn’t how it
TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET works everywhere, but it’s Wash-
ington’s system.
Many senior citizens don’t know they are eligible for tax breaks and Value changes relative to ev-
deferrals, said Stan Roe, executive assistant to King County Assessor eryone else do make a differ-
Scott Noble. Other property owners also can defer some taxes until they ence.
sell. People who have missed out on breaks can get refunds for up to So, for instance, if urban
three years of taxes. areas such as Phinney Ridge
hold their value better than the
DON’T FEAR THE APPEAL county as a whole, their share of
Dave Goff, manager/clerk of the Board of Appeals/Equalization, said the county’s tax burden will in-
crease.
about 20 percent to 25 percent of appeals are worked out without a
Slumping suburbs, mean-
hearing, and hearings themselves are low key. “Historically . . . over 50 while, would see their share of
percent of people who file an appeal get some type of reduction.” the burden decrease.
CONTACT INFORMATION P-I reporter Aubrey Cohen
can be reached at 206-448-8362
Department of Assessments: 206-296-7300, metrokc.gov/Assessor/
or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.
Property Tax Advisor Office: 206-296-5202, metrokc.gov/taxadvisor/ Read his Real Estate News blog at
Board of Appeals/Equalization: 206-296-3496, metrokc.gov/appeals/ blog.seattlepi.com/realestatenews.
reached cease-fire
with Israel in Gaza
BY JOSEF FEDERMAN
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM – The Gaza
Strip’s ruling Hamas militant
group said Tuesday it has
reached a cease-fire with Israel
meant to halt a cycle of deadly
Palestinian rocket attacks that
rained hundreds of rockets on
Israel in the past year and Israeli
reprisals that have killed hun-
dreds of Palestinians.
The accord, set to go into ef-
fect at 2 a.m. Thursday PDT, has
the bigger aim of ending Israel’s
yearlong economic blockade of
Gaza and bringing home a cap-
tive Israeli soldier.
But the phased approach is
prone to pitfalls, and past truces
have quickly broken down. Isra-
el cautiously promised a “new
reality” if the rocket fire ends.
The announcement capped
months of Egyptian-brokered
negotiations that have been re-
peatedly marred by violence.
The deal was first announced in
Cairo by Egypt’s state-run news
agency and quickly confirmed
by Hamas. However, Hamas
said it would respond to any Is-
raeli attacks.
Underscoring the fragile sit-
uation, Israeli aircraft attacked
three targets in southern Gaza,
killing six Palestinian militants,
Gaza medical officials said. In
response, Palestinian militants
fired seven rockets into Israel,
the Israeli military said.
Still, after months of fight-
ing, both sides seemed interest-
ed in a period of calm.
Israel wants to halt the in-
cessant rocket and mortar at-
tacks on its southern communi-
ties that have killed seven Israe-
lis over the past year. Israeli re-
prisals have killed more than
400 Palestinians, many of them
civilians, according to an Asso-
ciated Press tally based on fig-
ures from hospital officials.
Israel also wants an end to
Hamas arms smuggling into
Gaza from Egypt, and the return
of Cpl. Gilad Schalit.
Hamas wants Israel to lift its
crippling blockade of Gaza,
which has led to shortages of
fuel, electricity and basic goods.
Gaza Hamas leader Mah-
moud Zahar said all the armed
factions in Gaza are on board
with the truce. Zahar said Ha-
mas will not put down its weap-
ons, because he did not believe
Israel would implement the
cease-fire. “We don’t trust them,
but let’s see,” he said.

IAWNAY
“It’s surprising.”

Michael Dawson, who owns
his home and two rental proper-
ties in King County, hasn’t gotten
his 2008 assessment notice yet
but wasn’t buying the explana-
tion posted by Noble on the De-
partment of Assessments’ Web
site.
“I don’t understand how the
assessor can say the values are
not going down,” he said, adding
that he knew of a street with four
houses in or headed for foreclo-
sure. People who buy those
houses won’t want to pay taxes
at the higher assessed values, he
said.
Dave Goff, manager/clerk of
the King County Board of Ap-
peals/Equalization, said the
number of assessment appeals
actually is behind last year’s
pace, probably because new as-
sessments are taking longer to
go out.
But calls to his office are up
and appeals should follow, he
said. “I’m expecting a big year.”
than we did last year,” she said.
“Certainly we are getting more
calls.”
In Snohomish County, mean-
while, overall house values are
down 1.9 percent from last year.
“Generally speaking, com-
mercially zoned property, apart-
ment buildings, condominiums,
waterfront and view properties
continued to see an increase in
value, while the majority of
property values decreased
slightly or did not change from
the previous year’s assessment,”
Assessor Cindy Portmann said of
the 2008 values.
Why won’t taxes go down?
Assessments ensure proper-
W
ty owners pay their fair share of a
total amount of money to be col-
lected.
Each year, individual taxing
districts – including counties, cit-
ies, and school, fire and library
districts – decide how much
money they need and then send
that total to the assessor, who
A GET
VI CTO RI A, BC
sets whatever rate is needed to TO BE AU TI FU L
RI A CL IP PE R!
collect that based on the total
valuation of the district.
VI A TH E VI CTO
So, if property values go up
by more than the increase in the
set total, tax rates decrease. This
has often been the case in recent
years, particularly because vot-
er-approved caps on tax in-
creases apply to the amount of
money collected, not the rate.
Join the celebration of British Columbia’s 150th
anniversary — look in Thursday’s newspaper for

06088332
Since last summer, callers
have been asking when assess-
your chance to WIN!
PRESENTED BY:
ments would decrease, said Bar-
bara Alsheikh, supervisor of the
county Property Tax Advisor Of-
fice.
“I do anticipate that we will
have quite a bit more business

powered by

Inside all children are the makings of something special. Given

the right start, all kids can stretch to their natural potential.
The Washington Virtual Academies (WAVA) and K12 ignite all kinds of minds to bring learning
and possibility alive. These programs of Steilacoom Historical School District No. 1 (grades K-8)
and Monroe Public Schools (grades 9-12) offer individualized learning opportunities to meet
the needs of diverse learners. And as an online public school serving Washington students in
grades K-12 with the K12 curriculum, WAVA is tuition free.

High School Their Way

The K12912 high school program used by WAVA includes more than 90
core, elective, and Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses to meet the needs
of diverse learners. With individualized learning plans and support from
professional teachers and counselors, K12912 allows students to follow
their own path to post-high school success—whether that's in college
or in the workforce.

Enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year is in full swing!

Join us at an upcoming education event to learn how WAVA is working for
thousands of parents across the state.

In-person Information Session Fast Track Enrollment Event

Woodinville Federal Way
Thursday, June 19 | 7 pm Monday, June 23 | 10:30 am
Woodinville King County Library Federal Way Regional Library
17105 Avondale Road N.E. 34200 1st Way S.
Woodinville 98072 Federal Way 98003
*Get a jump on '08-'09
enrollment with the WAVA
Enrollment Team.

Can't make it?

Visit www.K12.com/wa for a complete listing of WAVA events, including Online Information
Sessions that you can join from the comfort of your home.

www.K12.com/wa | 866.548.9448

• P-A 7 •
P-A 7