Seattle Growth Podcast

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S2 Ep. 4: Supersonics and Seattle's Super Traffic Feb 28, 2017

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How would a return of the Sonics affect your evening commute? With two arena locations under city consideration, this episode gives you the scoop on how each of them would affect you. Given common perceptions about the Mercer corridor, what you hear will likely surprise you. In this episode: 3-time NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf discusses his time playing at Seattle’s Key Arena. Scott Kubly, Director of Seattle Department of Transportation, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the transportation network serving each location. Martin Duke, Editor-in-Chief of Seattle Transit Blog, describes the current and future state of transit serving the two locations.

S2 Ep. 3: The SoDo Arena and Port Jobs Feb 21, 2017

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The SoDo arena group was a street vacation away from being ready to invite the NBA to a modern Seattle arena, but the Port of Seattle has been an outspoken opponent. Find out exactly what the Port opposes and get a further understanding of why the Port is concerned about the SoDo arena. In this episode, you will hear from Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. You will also get historical context about the Port of Seattle from former Port CEO Mic Dinsmore, who served in that capacity for 15 years from 1992 to 2007. The episode concludes with the executive director of the Manufacturing Industrial Council Dave Gering who describes the local maritime industry and how he fears a SODO arena could impact not just the industry, but all residents of Seattle. The city is in the midst of its decision-making process, and now is the time to become informed about the benefits and challenges associated with potential locations.

S2 Ep 2: SoDo Arena Group: Purpose, Plan, Next Steps Feb 14, 2017

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A local investment group led by Chris Hansen has a proposal to build an NBA arena in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. Their proposal has the potential to impact you and life in this city. You will learn what the SoDo arena group needs from the city to proceed and what they hope a return of the Sonics will mean to Seattle. In this episode, you can hear: Pete Nordstrom, co-president of Nordstrom) describes what basketball has meant to him and how his experience as a team owner influences his efforts to bring the Sonics back to Seattle. Wally Walker, former Sonics player and team executive, shares details of the proposal and what it was like to be a player on the first professional sports team to bring a championship to Seattle.

Bonus: Tim Burgess talks Sonics Feb 09, 2017

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Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess talks about City Council's role in the process of bringing back the Sonics.

S2 Ep. 1 Learning from the Sonics Departure Feb 07, 2017

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Why should you care about a potential return of the Sonics? Because the story is more complex than you might imagine. Yes, there is considerable enthusiasm for bringing them back. But their return requires addressing some tough questions. Will your tax dollars go toward subsidizing an NBA-ready arena? Where would an arena go? How would an arena affect the surrounding real estate, jobs, traffic, and other aspects of life in the city? How can the positive effects of an NBA franchise be maximized? This season of Seattle Growth Podcast will explore these issues so you can be better informed about how a return of the Sonics would affect you and your neighbors. With this knowledge, you can have your voice be heard on the issue while there are decisions being made. To give context to the potential return, it is important to understand some of the history of the Sonics. In this episode, you can hear: 1) Hall of Fame Sonics player and coach Lenny Wilkens shares why he wants the NBA to return to Seattle and what it was like to deliver the city its first professional sports championship. 2) Craig Kinzer opens up about his experience as a member of the Sonics ownership group that sold the team to Clay Bennett’s Oklahoma City investment group. 3) Paul Lawrence explains what can be learned from his experience as the city’s lead attorney in its trial attempting to force Clay Bennett to fulfill the obligations of the Sonics’ lease in Key Arena. Also appearing in this episode are City Councilmember Tim Burgess, Pete Nordstrom, Wally Walker and Steve Hussey.

S2 Ep00 Return of the Sonics? Jan 11, 2017

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Seattle Growth Podcast returns for a second season to explore how a return of the NBA franchise Seattle Supersonics would impact you and life in this growing city. As Seattle has experienced rapid growth, efforts to return the Sonics to the Emerald City are picking up steam. Whether you are a basketball fan or not, you will gain perspective on how the Sonics would affect real estate, community, traffic, jobs, taxes, and more. Featuring interviews with: Lenny Wilkens Slick Watts Wally Walker Jeff Brown Colin Davenport

The Artist And The Developer Nov 14, 2016

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What happens to an artist and a locally owned coffee house in a rapidly growing city when they encounter a for-profit developer? The events of this podcast might surprise you. And this unexpected true story has implications not just for developers, artists, and small businesses, but for anyone concerned about the future of their community. Featuring Jane Richlovsky, Greg Smith, Ali Ghambari, and Karen True

Ep. 13: Visions for Seattle's Future Oct 24, 2016

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It is time for us to decide as a people : what do we want for this city as it undergoes a transformation? In today’s episode you are going to hear what the highest leadership at the city and state levels want. You will hear an in-depth interview with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. You will also hear an in-depth interview with a member of Governor Jay Inslee’s executive cabinet, Brian Bonlender. You will also hear appearances by Maggie Walker, Friends of Waterfront Seattle Greg Smith, CEO of Urban Visions; Jane Richlovsky, partner in Good Arts Building; Benjamin Zuercher, founder of StuffMapper; Ali Ghambari, owner of Cherry Street Coffee; Tasha Meyer, student; Bojie Mageo, cofounder of Swurveys; Mikaela Kiner, CEO of uniquely HR; Ty Sanders

Ep. 12: Seattle Growth Podcast Live from Impact Hub Seattle Oct 18, 2016

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Listen to the first ever taping of Seattle Growth Podcast before a live audience at the Impact Hub in Seattle. University of Washington's Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship organized the event on October 17th, 2016. Host Jeff Shulman moderated a panel of three individuals who have made immeasurable contributions to Seattle and will play a major role in its future: Maggie Walker, John Connors, and John Creighton. Maggie Walker is well known in Seattle as a philanthropist and civic leader. Walker was a founding member of Social Venture Partners and of the Washington Women's Foundation. She is Chair and Board President of Global Partnerships. She is Vice Chair of the National Audobon Society Board of Directors. She is a member of the UW Foundation Board of Directors and the Seattle Art Museum Board of Trustees where she previously served as President. She is a board member of Friends of Waterfront Seattle. She is an advisory board member for the University of Washington's College of the Environment, the Evans School of Public Policy, and the College of Arts & Sciences. Walker previously served as chair of The Bullitt Foundation's Board of Trustees, co-chair of the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) Board of Trustees, chair of the Washington Women's Foundation (founding member and first Chair) and was the first vice-chair of The Seattle Foundation Board of Trustees. John Connors is a managing partner at Ignition Partners, an early stage, business software venture capital firm. Connors was named to the 2013 Forbes Midas List, a ranking of the world's top venture capital investors, and to Business Insider's 2013 list of top enterprise technology VCs. Connors joined Ignition in 2005 after a distinguished career as a software-industry executive. Connors spent sixteen years at Microsoft in several high-level, strategic roles. From January 2000 to April 2005 he was senior vice president of finance and administration, as well as the company's chief financial officer. Connors is a member of the board of directors of Nike (NKE), Splunk (SPLK), FiREapps, DataSphere, Motif Investing, Chef, Azuqua, Tempered Networks, and Icertis. John Creighton has served on the Port of Seattle Commission since 2006. He came to the commission with broad experience as a lawyer specializing on complex international transactions in the port cities of Singapore, Helsinki and Istanbul prior to returning home to Seattle. Creighton currently has a solo practice focused on business law and public policy. As a commissioner, Creighton has focused on keeping the Port strong as a jobs creation engine while increasing the agency's commitment to the environment and making it a more accountable, socially responsible public agency. Creighton grew up on the Eastside and graduated from Interlake High School in Bellevue. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, a J.D. from Columbia University and a Certificate of Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Ep. 11: Seattle Public Utility Infrastructure Oct 11, 2016

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Are Seattle’s public utilities prepared for the influx of people? Hear from Ray Hoffman, former Director of Seattle Public Utilities, which oversees water, sewage, and solid waste management. In an in-depth interview, he shares which utilities are ready to expand with demand and which utilities concern him. Hear from Larry Weis, CEO of Seattle City Light, share the impact of new development on electricity usage. He also shares what changes have been made in reaction to the population growth and his vision for the future. Through this episode you will have a better understanding of how growth impacts the public utilities and the scalability of these services.

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