Want to Know Where to Live? These Cities Are Best for Quality of Life

Forbes | Laura Shin | February 25

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/02/25/want-to-know-where-to-live-these-cities-are-best-for-quality-of-life/ – 76c279633dca

“Choosing where to live is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. Your location will greatly influence on your cost of living, the economic opportunities available to you and the quality of life you will get for the money you have. Mercer, the global human resources consulting firm, has released its 18th annual Quality of Living Survey, meant to help multinational companies and other employers fairly compensate employees on international assignments… (Seattle ranked at #46).”

 

High-Skilled Foreigners Key to Innovation in U.S., Seattle

Puget Sound Business Journal | Kent Hoover (Washington Bureau Chief) | February 25

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2016/02/high-skilled-foreigners-key-to-innovation-in-u-s.html

“If you want to make America great again when it comes to innovation, encourage more high-skilled foreigners to work or start businesses here. That’s the takeaway from two new studies, one on the demographics of U.S. innovators conducted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and the other on entrepreneurship in STEM fields(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) conducted by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Both studies are directly relevant to the Puget Sound region. Several groups are working diligently to both increase the number of STEM graduates in the region and to recruit more women and minorities to technology companies.”

 

Seattle Represents on Fortune’s Most Admired Companies List

Seattle PI | Daniel Demay | February 24

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Seattle-represents-on-Fortune-s-most-admired-6851769.php

“It shouldn’t be a surprise, but Seattle companies seem to be admired. That’s at least according to Fortune’s latest list of the 50 most admired companies in the world. Several local shops ranked high on the list of 50 companies, with tech firms taking most of the top spots. Fortune partnered with Korn Ferry Hay Group to compile the list from 1,500 companies pulled from the Fortune 1,000 list and non-U.S. companies in the Fortune Global 500 list.”

See Fortune’s Most Admired Companies list here.

 

Bachelor’s Degree in 3 Years? Bill Seeks to Make College More Affordable

Seattle Times | Katherine Long | February 22

http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/bill-would-explore-ways-to-shorten-college-from-four-years-to-three/

“Imagine how much money a student could save if a four-year bachelor’s degree could be earned in three years. State Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, is sponsoring a bill that would encourage some of the state’s schools to find ways to do just that. Bailey, who chairs the Senate’s higher education committee, is sponsoring Degree in Three – a bill that would encourage creative thinking about how to accelerate the process…Under Bailey’s bill – which has bipartisan support – the state’s regional universities (CWU (Central Washington University), Western Washington University and Eastern Washington University) and The Evergreen State College would come together to form a work group to develop best practices aimed at helping students get a bachelor’s degree in three years.“

 

Not Easy for Cities to Copy Seattle’s Tech Success

Seattle Times | Jon Talton | February 20

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/not-easy-for-cities-to-copy-seattles-tech-success/

“The report reads, “Seattle is in the midst of a new Gold Rush that has resulted in the creation of thousands of new companies in rapidly growing software, biotech and electronic commerce industries…”It is not an assessment of today’s Seattle but from December 2000: “10 steps to a high-tech future,” a paper prepared by the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington for the Brookings Institution and CEOs for Cities. The goal was to use Seattle as an ideal example of the best practices other metropolitan areas might adopt to thrive in the – forgive the quaint term – New Economy.”