Serving Queen Anne & Magnolia Since 1919 www.QueenAnneNews.com
JULY 22, 2026
VOL. 107, NO. 30
As Temperatures Climb, Queen Anne Feels the Loss of Its Pool
In This Issue:
With Queen Anne Pool closed until fall 2027, Seattle Parks has expanded swimming opportunities at Magnolia’s Mounger Pool Utility Discounts Page 5
TIA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
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s temperatures climb toward the 90s this week, Queen Anne residents are entering the hottest stretch of the summer without a familiar neighborhood destination. Queen Anne Pool remains closed because of a significant underground leak and is not expected to reopen until fall 2027. To help absorb the loss, Seattle Parks and Recreation has expanded summer programming at Mounger Pool in Magnolia, adding 1,200 swim lesson spaces and more public swimming. The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for Seattle from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 11 p.m. Wednesday. Temperatures could reach 88 to 95 degrees, with overnight lows between 60 and 65.
The heat poses a moderate to major risk of heat-related illness, particularly for people without effective cooling or adequate hydration. Although pools are not substitutes for designated cooling centers, they offer recreation when high temperatures make many other outdoor activities uncomfortable. For Queen Anne residents seeking a full-size swimming pool, however, that now requires a trip to another neighborhood. Seattle Parks closed Queen Anne Pool in November 2025 after it began losing approximately 400,000 gallons of water each month. Testing traced the leaks to underground inflow pipes beneath the pool, where they are difficult to reach and repair.
Crews repaired accessible portions of the system, but testing in March showed no reduction in water loss. Seattle Parks determined that continued operation was not practical because of the water loss, environmental concerns and high costs. A permanent repair will be completed as part of the Citywide Pool Renovation Project. Seattle Parks has not released a detailed construction schedule but expects Queen Anne Pool to remain closed until fall 2027. The shutdown takes a year-round, sixlane indoor pool out of service. The facility offered lessons, lap and recreational swimming, aquatic exercise, diving
HEAT WAVE, 3
Earth, Wind & Fire Page 6
Sell Now or Wait? Page 7
Events Page 12
Kraken CEO Warns that Washington State Business Leaders are Eyeing Exits By Bill Lucia
Washington State Standard
Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Kraken NHL team and one of the key figures pushing to return the SuperSonics NBA franchise to Seattle, dished some economic words of warning for state lawmakers on Thursday. Leiweke’s beef isn’t with the new income tax on millionaire earners that’s been in the spotlight. He said he’s on track to pay the tax and isn’t necessarily bothered by that. Troubling him is how majority Democrats in Olympia are managing the state’s finances and what he described as a souring mood among business leaders, who are questioning
if Washington is where they want to be. “In my time, I have not felt as much fear in the business community as I feel today,” Leiweke said. “This isn’t about the millionaire tax. This is about an insatiable appetite of spending beyond your means,” Leiweke added. “I’ve been a lifelong Democrat. I’m telling the Democratic Party: ‘It is time to wake up.’ We can be a blue state that has a fiscal plan. Today, we’re a blue state without a fiscal plan.” The remarks came during a panel discussion at the daylong Economic Future Solutions Summit, hosted by the Association of Washington Business Institute and the Washington
Roundtable in Seattle. Joining Leiweke on the panel were Denise Moriguchi, president and CEO of Uwajimaya, and Kerri Schroeder, a managing director with JPMorgan Chase. Leiweke flagged recent credit rating agency reports that said Washington’s financial outlook is trending negative, and he voiced concerns about Democrats’ decision this year to tap an overfunded pension plan to help shore up other parts of the state budget. “The average taxpayer is not getting their money’s worth,” Leiweke said.
He also said he’s “shocked” by how many businesspeople he knows who are looking to exit the state and pointed to Starbucks’ recent decision to expand in Nashville. “That was a company born here,” he
said. “There’s other companies, right now as we speak, talking about it and probably meeting about relocating out of the state. We’ve got to reverse this trend.”