A Time Capsule, Long Forgotten at the Space Needle, Is Found

New York Times | Jacey Fortin | November 18

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/us/time-capsule-space-needle.html

“Construction workers in Seattle unearthed a long-forgotten time capsule at the Space Needle this week. Millions of people who visited the 605-foot tower in the past 35 years likely walked right by it…The heavy metal box was on the observation deck level, attached to a steel support bar and hidden behind plaster encasement…There were letters, photographs and postcards from 1982. Some mementos dated all the way to 1962, the year the Space Needle opened and Seattle hosted the World’s Fair.”

Washington Governor is ‘Bullish’ on Seattle-Vancouver High-Speed Rail Thanks to a Microsoft-Backed Study

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | November 22

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/washington-governor-bullish-seattle-vancouver-high-speed-rail-thanks-microsoft-backed-study/

“Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is optimistic about creating a high-speed train to connect Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, based on early indicators from a report commissioned by the state and backed by Microsoft. “I think what this study is going to show is, very much, that there is a great demand for it which frankly is not too surprising when you look, around the world, at the success of these high-speed rails corridors,” Inslee told the B.C. legislature in a speech Tuesday, as reported by the Vancouver Sun. The study is a cost-benefit analysis to determine the feasibility of building a high-speed rail line that could transport passengers between the two metros in less than an hour…The project is estimated to cost somewhere between $24-$42 billion, according to notes from a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) meeting on the feasibility study last month.”

Researchers Find Early Signs that Seattle’s $58 Million Preschool Program May Be Paying Off

Seattle Times | Neal Morton | November 20

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/researchers-find-early-signs-that-seattles-58-million-preschool-program-may-be-paying-off/

“When voters in 2014 approved a $58 million property-tax levy to pay for city-subsidized preschool, elected officials largely sold the idea as a way to help erase the gaps in achievement among ethnic groups that show up even before children enter school. And now, more than halfway through the program’s four-year trial period, a new study of its results to date suggests it is preparing more children for kindergarten, with the greatest gains among students of color and those from low-income households or families that don’t speak English. “The results are very encouraging,” said Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess, who as a city council member campaigned heavily for the 2014 measure. In particular, Burgess highlighted the study’s comparison of the quality of Seattle’s preschool pilot to similar programs in Boston, New Jersey and San Antonio, all of which have been around longer.”

Pacific Hyperloop Keeps Chugging Along Amid Interest in Ultra-High-Speed Transit

GeekWire | Alan Boyle | November 19

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/pacific-hyperloop-keeps-chugging-along-amid-ultra-high-speed-transit-discussions/

“Pacific Hyperloop is moving ahead with its concept for tube travel between Seattle and Portland, in hopes of riding in the slipstream of the Pacific Northwest’s growing interest in ultra-high-speed transit. “If Seattle and Portland were just 20 minutes apart, what could we accomplish together?” Charlie Swan, a University of Washington senior who’s Pacific Hyperloop’s co-founder and regional engagement manager, said on Saturday during the TEDxSeattle 2017 conference. Swan said sending magnetically levitating pods between the two cities would help knit together the region, resulting in a “type of human interaction like the world has never seen before.” But turning that vision into reality isn’t totally up to Pacific Hyperloop, which Swan says currently consists of a five-person team.”