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RIP, Frank Ruano
I never heard of the guy, either, but a reader sent me the obit, and he sounds like my kind of baseball fan:
For more than 30 years, the outspoken Ruano and his cohorts led resistance to public financing of King County sports stadiums, including the now-demolished Kingdome and the Mariners' ballpark that replaced it.
Two of his lawsuits went before the state Supreme Court. And although Ruano never stopped any stadium projects, he is credited with forcing local governments to take timeouts and answer tough questions about them.
A small victory, sure, but a noble one. Though it did come at a price:
Ruano made enough of an impression to merit spying by Seattle's police intelligence unit, according to records exposed to public scrutiny in 1975.
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|4.27.05 @ 1:20PM|#
With new stadiums proposed in DC and Indianapolis we need more people like Frank Ruano.
Maybe we could outsource the stadium construction to a cheaper labor market, oh wait that won't put the jobs in the proper voting district.
|4.27.05 @ 1:36PM|#
Reminds me of the Onion story:
"Ten Years Of Life Dedicated To Getting Municipal Pool Not Built"
But sadly, the archives are no longer free.
|4.27.05 @ 10:39PM|#
It sounds like Frank Ruano was a dedicated friend of liberty on this issue.
With respect. Comfort to his family and friends.