Boomtown Seattle: Why We Move Here – and How We’re All in It Together

Seattle Times | Evan Bush | February 22
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/boomtown-seattle-why-we-move-here-and-how-were-all-in-it-together/

“The bastards are here — and they’re procreating, inviting their friends and settling in. For years, we have been defying the cries of late Seattle newspaper columnist Emmett Watson, whose decades of tongue-in-cheek plotting to prevent new arrivals to the city (readers were deputized as KBO agents to “Keep the Bastards Out”) became consistent newsprint fodder and a rallying cry for some. And now — amid the Amazon-fueled tech boom — we bastards are arriving in numbers rivaling the Gold Rush. Watson’s sentiments take a new form these days: Jokes on Facebook about hiding those gorgeous mountain photos or feigning that it rains every day.”

Seattle Plan for Free Transit for Students Among Most Generous in Nation, Mayor Says

Seattle Times | David Gutman | February 21
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-plan-for-free-transit-for-students-among-most-generous-in-nation-mayor-says/

“Mayor Jenny Durkan’s proposal to make buses and light rail free for public high-school students would make Seattle the largest city in the country to offer free transit service to students, the mayor’s office said. Fewer than half of bus agencies across the country even offer a discounted (half price or better) fare for high-school students, according to the American Public Transportation Association. In Seattle, most of the city’s roughly 14,000 high-school students already get free ORCA cards at least some of the time. About 7,000 of those students — those who live more than 2 miles from school — get a free pass from the school district, but only during the school year.”

Seattle Region Invites Mobility Companies to Pilot Shared Employers Shuttles for Commuters

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | February 21
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/seattle-invites-mobility-companies-pilot-shared-employer-shuttles-commuters/

“King County Metro — which covers Seattle, Bellevue, and surrounding communities — is launching a pilot program for commuter shuttles shared by employers. Mobility companies will be allowed to offer a micro-shuttle service for employees of two to five employers per route. Only employees of a designated consortium of employers will be allowed to use the shared shuttles. Each approved service will be permitted to operate for one year under the pilot.”

Mayor Jenny Durkan: Seattle is and Always Will Be The City That ‘Invents The Future’

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | February 20
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/mayor-jenny-durkan-seattle-always-will-city-invents-future/

“Despite the outsized impact it has on Seattle’s growth, the tech industry was largely absent from Mayor Jenny Durkan’s State of the City speech Tuesday. For most of the speech, Durkan talked around Seattle’s booming industry but she did take a moment to tout the city’s innovative history. “We pretty much invented and then reinvented air travel — first the airplane and then booking it online,” Durkan said, referencing Boeing and Expedia. “Coffee on every corner; the personal computer revolution; the cloud; bone marrow transplants; Seattle.””