Washington Governor Signs Executive Order to Support Autonomous Vehicle Development

GeekWire | Clare McGrane | June 7

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/washington-governor-signs-executive-order-support-autonomous-vehicle-development/

“Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wants to ensure that his state is at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. The governor on Wednesday signed an executive order that encourages pilot tests of autonomous vehicles on Washington roads and establishes a working group to help ensure AV developers are supported by the state. Under the order, autonomous vehicle testing could start on Washington state roads withing 60 days. The order say the potential impact of autonomous vehicles was key in making this decision: “roughly 94 percent of automobile accidents are caused by human error, and autonomous vehicle technology may reduce injuries and save countless lives,” it says.”

Seattle Council Committee Moves Ahead with Upzone of International District Neighborhood

GeekWire | Nat Levy | June 6

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/seattle-council-committee-moves-ahead-upzone-international-district-neighborhood/

“Legislation to allow taller buildings in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District neighborhood — in exchange for money for affordable housing — is moving ahead. Seattle City Council’s Land Use and Transportation Committee OK’d the plan, which would see building heights increase throughout the neighborhood, and it will go in front of the full council next month. Height limits of 85 feet would be increased to 95 feet; 150-foot limits would move to 170; and 240-foot zones will go to 270 feet. In exchange, developers will have to set aside 7 percent of units for affordable housing or pay $20.75 per square foot of development, and that money would be co-mingled with other funding sources to finance affordable housing projects.”

LinkedIn Maps Which Cities Seattle Workers Come from and Where They Go When They Leave

Puget Sound Business Journal | Ashley Stewart | June 5

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/06/05/linkedin-maps-cities-where-new-seattle-workers.html

“Seattle gained the most workers in the past year from the San Francisco Bay Area and lost the most to Boise, Idaho, according to a new LinkedIn report. The Microsoft-owned employment networking and data company in a workforce report released Thursday analyzed profile information from people who moved to or from the greater Seattle area in the past 12 months. The Seattle area is gaining around 1,100 resident each week, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau estimate. The migration is largely driven by the region’s booming technology industry.”

How America and Seattle Took Different Paths in Getting Past the Great Recession

Seattle TImes | Jon Talton | June 3

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/seattle-us-paths-to-recovery-diverged/

“This month is the eighth anniversary of the end of the Great Recession. Considering this is one of the longest expansions on record and nobody has repealed the business cycle, it might be a good time to take stock.The 19-month downturn was, by many measures, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The recovery was remarkable, too.”

New Look for Paine Field Passenger Terminal as Construction Begins

Seattle Times | Dominic Gates | June 5

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/new-look-for-paine-field-passenger-terminal-as-construction-begins/

“Officials broke ground Monday morning to begin construction of the new commercial passenger terminal at Everett’s Paine Field. Propeller Airports, which is owned by New York-based private equity firm Propeller Investments and is developing and will operate the terminal, released new architectural renderings of the planned terminal that replace the former proposal of a lodge-like design, using lots of wood and stone, with a boxier shape more like a typical office building. Alaska Air Group last month was the first to announce that it will operate a commercial passenger service out of the airport, with flights beginning in fall 2018 and tickets going on sale early next year. Alaska Air Chief Executive Brad Tilden attended the groundbreaking, along with the airline’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Andrew Harrison.”