Latest News

Spectator 2026-05-28

Spectator 2026-06-04

Ballard FC, Salmon Bay FC host Portland in Music Night doubleheader

Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC will host a Seattle-versus-Portland doubleheader at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave W) on Saturday, June 6, with both clubs facing new and returning rivals ... Read more

Mike’s Chili Parlor Music Festival returns for its second year

Mike’s Chili Parlor (1447 NW Ballard Way) will host its second annual Mike’s Chili Parlor Music Festival this summer, bringing together local musicians and bands with ties to Ballard. The ... Read more

Northbound I-5 closure this weekend expected to affect travel through Seattle

Ballard-area residents traveling through Seattle this weekend should plan for significant traffic impacts as northbound Interstate 5 will fully close between Interstate 90 and Northeast 45th Street from late Friday, ... Read more

test

Developer announces plans for Terminal One Motor and Yacht Club near Ballard Locks

A developer has announced plans for a waterfront collector garage and marina project near the Ballard Locks. Terminal One Motor + Yacht Club is proposed for an 8.9-acre site at ... Read more

Interbay pallet shelter community to open 75 units next week

A new pallet shelter community is opening next week in Interbay, providing 75 units of transitional housing for adults experiencing chronic homelessness. The site, called Bayside Enhanced Shelter, is located ... Read more

Seattle Torrent Protect Wilgren, Murphy, Carpenter in Expansion Draft

The Torrent have made some interesting choices in the upcoming expansion process by choosing to protect Anna Wilgren, Hannah Murphy, and Alex Carpenter. Not exactly an expansion draft, the PWHL’s Expansion Roster Distribution Process is a six-phase series of very complicated (I would argue unnecessarily complicated) rules to add four new teams to the previously eight-team league, increasing the size by 50%. Because so many of the players are free agents, they couldn’t do a traditional expansion draft process, so we ended up with this. The Torrent signed Alex Carpenter and protected her, which was one of the three protection slots. The players on the roster eligible for protection are Fowards: Jenna Buglioni, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter, Lexia Adzija, Danielle Sardachny Defenders: Cayla Barnes, Anna Wilgren Goalies: Corinne Schroeder, Hannah Murphy Everyone else is a free agent, including Hilary Knight. It’s all turmoil these days with expansion. With two more slots to go, the Torrent chose to protect defender Anna Wilgren and goalie Hannah Murphy. “Ha ha, Zaiem,” I can hear you saying now with a tinge of contempt, “you’ve made a mistake. You accidentally typed some other name instead of Hannah Bilka’s! Nice journalism and attention to detail.” If only. Yes that’s right, forward Hannah Bilka was not protected. Now, I don’t know what GM Meghan Turner is thinking here, but one thing that is of concern is that Bilka did not return to the Torrent after sustaining an undisclosed injury en route to winning gold in the Olympics in Milan. Since hockey injuries aren’t required to be disclosed and therefore never ever are, we don’t know what it was (is?). Maybe it’s serious? Maybe they are betting that she won’t get taken by an expansion team because of the injury? Or maybe it’s just an interesting decision. Hannah Murphy is not a surprising pick. She’s 22 years old and she has a lot of upside as a goalie, a position that tends to peak later in age. I also find her impossibly charming, but that was probably not a factor in the decision to keep her (probably). Defender Anna Wilgren was the third protection slot, which was the real surprise. Bilka or Barnes were the ones I was expecting, but Wilgren was a surprise. I have, however, since talked myself into it. Steve O’Rourke, the recently fired Torrent coach, spoke highly of her and I do like her 200 foot game. He talked about how she altered her game to try to make the Olympic team and it messed with her a bit, but as the season went on, she got better and better. Anna Wilgren being protected by the Seattle Torrent is probably the one decision that stands out as a surprise to most.My mind immediately went back to the postgame after her 3-point game vs. Minnesota. O'Rourke is obviously gone, but it shows how the org feels about her. pic.twitter.com/EMlQuiKX2B— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) June 3, 2026 And so we march on with this overwrought expansion process. Where were you when we moved from Phase 1 to Phase 2?

Annual great blue heron chick birthday party returns June 14

The annual Great Blue Heron Chick Birthday Party will return to Commodore Park on Sunday, June 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hosted by Heron Habitat Helpers, the free ... Read more

Strauss says Ballard light rail fight isn’t over after Sound Transit vote

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss is outlining what comes next after the Sound Transit Board approved a revised financial plan that leaves construction funding for the Ballard light rail extension ... Read more

Cascade PBS Ideas Festival coming to Fremont on June 6

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival is set to take place in Fremont on Saturday, June 6, bringing together journalists, lawmakers, authors, and cultural figures for a day of discussions on ... Read more