Seattle in the Spotlight is here for this week! Check back every week for the latest headlines surrounding the Seattle tech community, including: Three Washington Girls Among 100 Winners of First ‘Amazon Future Engineer’ $40,000 Scholarships, Why Seattle is the Country’s Top Emerging Life Sciences Market, How the Bay Area Tech IPO Boom Could Create a ‘Ripple Effect’ in Seattle’s Housing Market, and more.

Here’s Why Seattle is the Country’s Top Emerging Life Sciences Market

GeekWire | James Thorne | April 4
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/heres-seattle-countrys-top-emerging-life-sciences-market/

“Seattle is the top emerging life sciences hub in the U.S., according to a recent report from commercial real estate firm CBRE. That’s welcome news for an industry that has faced its share of ups and downs in the past decade. “This is a cluster that is over 20 years old and it’s really maturing in a tremendous way,” said Leslie Alexandre, president and CEO of Life Science Washington, a trade group. “We have lots more companies than we did previously.””

Three Washington Girls Among 100 Winners of First ‘Amazon Future Engineer’ $40,000 Scholarships

GeekWire | Kurt Schlosser | April 2
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/three-washington-girls-among-100-winners-first-amazon-future-engineer-40000-scholarships/

“Amazon revealed 100 lucky winners who will receive the first “Amazon Future Engineer” scholarships as part of the tech giant’s push to promote education and careers in computer science. High school seniors from 32 states across the country — including three girls from Washington state — will receive scholarships of $10,000 per year over four years to study computer science at the college of their choice. The winners will also receive a guaranteed paid internship offer at Amazon after their freshmen year of college to gain work experience, the company said in a news release. The three winners from Washington are Annie Vo of Seattle’s Franklin High School; Parker Landsman of Orcas Island High School in Eastsound, Wash.; and Hyeon Jeong Choi of Olympia High School in Lacey, Wash.”

New Passenger-Only Ferry Dock Won’t Hold Any More Boats than the Old One

KIRO 7 | Graham Johnson | April 2
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/more-changes-coming-to-colman-dock-as-new-ferry-terminal-nears-completion/936062758

“The appeal of Kitsap Transit’s Fast Ferry between Bremerton and Seattle is evident in its name. The passenger-only Rich Passage One makes the trip in 35 minutes, compared to an hour on the car ferry. “Saves me time,” said passenger Vivian Lucena. When they reach the Seattle waterfront, Kitsap Transit’s ferries from Bremerton and Kingston jostle for space at the dock owned by King County, which runs water taxis to West Seattle and Vashon Island.”

How the Bay Area Tech IPO Boom Could Create a ‘Ripple Effect’ in Seattle’s Housing Market

GeekWire | Nat Levy | March 30
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/bay-area-tech-ipo-boom-create-ripple-effect-seattles-housing-market/

Ride-hailing company Lyft’s debut as a $24 billion public company on Friday kicked off an IPO frenzy that could echo across the technology landscape and alter housing markets well beyond the San Francisco Bay Area — and Seattle is at the top of the list of areas that could feel the impact. Looking ahead to what could be the biggest IPO bonanza since the dot-com era, experts expect a wealth shock that could jolt the San Francisco Bay Area’s already high-priced housing market. With little available housing supply in the Bay Area, some of that new wealth is expected to trickle out to other parts of the country, as freshly minted millionaires look for greener, and possibly cheaper, pastures, while others are displaced due to the rising cost of living. As the other major West Coast tech hub, Seattle could be in a unique position to feel any ripple effects, for better or worse.”