Why the Most Recent Techstars Seattle Class is Kicking Butt

GeekWire | Taylor Soper | August 11

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/recent-techstars-seattle-class-kicking-butt/

“They are doing something right over at Techstars Seattle. The 3-month accelerator, part of the Techstars network, graduated its most recent class in May. I came away from Demo Day impressed with the pitches, and thought it may have been the best group out of the program yet…Three startups from the class —Shyft, Reflect, and Kepler — have all raised funding from top firms like Madrona Venture Group, DFJ, IA Ventures, and others.”

 

$33M Deal: With Light Rail on the Horizon, Northgate is a Hot Apartment Market

Puget Sound Business Journal | Marc Stiles | August 11

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2016/08/11/33m-deal-with-light-rail-on-the-horizon-northgate.html

“A Bellevue company, Wallace Properties, already is invested as an apartment developer in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood…Spurred by the construction of a new light rail station in the neighborhood, Wallace and other developers already have built more than 1,000 new apartments. Sound Transit is spending $1.9 billion to extend light rail 4.3 miles from Husky Stadium to Northgate. When completed in 2021, the trip from Northgate to downtown Seattle will take 14 minutes, and apartment companies are banking that people will be more apt to rent in cheaper Northgate than pricey downtown.”

 

A Primer on Seattle’s New First-Come, First-Served Renters Law

Seattle Times | Daniel Beekman | August 10

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/a-primer-on-seattles-new-first-come-first-served-renters-law/

“Seattle is apparently breaking new ground by requiring landlords in the city to rent their housing units to qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Officials say they’re unaware of any other U.S. city with a policy like the one the Seattle City Council approved Monday, along with other rental-housing changes. The goal is to ensure prospective renters are treated equally, according to Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who championed the policy. When landlords pick one renter among multiple qualified applicants, their own biases — conscious or unconscious — may come into play, she says.”

 

It Takes a Community to Raise a City: A Proposal to Tackle Seattle’s Growth Challenges

GeekWire | Clare McGrane | August 8

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/takes-community-raise-city-proposal-tackle-seattles-growth-challenges/

“As Seattle’s tech industry continues to boom, the city’s growing pains are starting to become more apparent. Along with an influx of jobs and prosperity, rising housing prices, strained transportation systems, and increasing homelessness are changing the landscape of the city, and challenging Seattleites to find creative solutions. On this week’s GeekWire podcast, GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop discuss these challenges with Jeff Shulman, an associate professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and host/producer of the Seattle Growth Podcast. Bishop offered up an idea: Community leaders should leverage Seattle’s tradition of philanthropy by organizing a major fund that would back startups working on social innovations, treating the region as a “petri dish” for ideas that could ultimately spread to other parts of the country.”

 

With a Fast Ferry on the Ballot, Commuting from Kitsap County May Get Easier

Puget Sound Business Journal | Coral Garnick | August 5

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2016/08/05/with-a-fast-ferry-on-the-ballot-commuting-from.html

In November, Kitsap County residents will vote on a sales tax measure that could fund a passenger-only fast ferry that cuts the Seattle to Bremerton travel time in half. More than 14,000 Kitsap County residents are employed in Seattle. Overall, more than half the jobs held by Kitsap residents are actually outside the county, which has pushed leaders on the peninsula to find ways to offer their residents better access to those jobs and to increase the economic opportunity in the county. They see the new fast ferry as a first step.