Washington Supreme Court to Fine Legislature $100,000 Per Day for Violating McCleary Decision

Puget Sound Business Journal | Emily Parkhurst | August 13
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2015/08/washington-supreme-court-to-fine-legislature-100.html

“The Washington State Supreme Court ruled Thursday it will fine the state Legislature $100,000 per day for violating the court’s McCleary decision on funding education. The fines will begin immediately and will be refunded when the Legislature passes a “complete plan” to fully fund K-12 education by the 2017-18 school year. All nine justices signed the judgment. The decision, which was handed down in January 2012, found that the state was not doing as was required by the state Constitution to ‘make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.’”

Google Creates Company Alphabet, Names New CEO

USA Today | Jessica Guynn | August 11
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/10/google-alphabet-sundar-pichai-larry-page-sergey-brin/31429423/

“In a sweeping overhaul of how one of the world’s most powerful technology companies operates, Google is creating a new publicly traded parent company called Alphabet Inc. to house all of its disparate businesses. Alphabet will be run by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Google will become a subsidiary of Alphabet with a new CEO: top Google executive Sundar Pichai. ‘Our company is operating well today, but we think we can make it cleaner and more accountable,’ Page wrote in a letter included in a regulatory filing on Monday afternoon. The news announced after the close of trading on Monday took Wall Street by surprise. Google GOOG shares rose 6% in after-hours trading.”

Adobe Joins Tech Industry Push in Increasing Maternity, Parental Leave

Reuters | Patricia Reaney | August 10
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/10/us-work-benefits-adobe-idUSKCN0QF1NI20150810

“Software company Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE.O) said on Monday it is doubling the maternity leave it grants, making it the third company in the U.S. technology industry in a week to give new parents more paid time off. New mothers at the California-based firm will receive 26 weeks of paid leave, up from 12 weeks, and primary caregivers and new parents will get 16 weeks of paid parental leave. ‘We join an industry movement to better support our employees while striving towards increased workforce diversity,’ said Donna Morris, Adobe senior vice president of People and Places. Adobe has 13,500 employees globally, including 6,500 in the United States. About 30 percent are women.”

Here’s Why Warren Buffett’s $37B Aerospace Investment Is a Big Win for Washington State

Puget Sound Business Journal | Steve Wilhelm | August 10
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/08/heres-why-warren-buffetts-37b-aerospace-investment.html

“Warren Buffett’s $37 billion purchase of a company that includes a group of Washington state’s largest aerospace companies, completed Monday, could attract even more investment into the rapidly consolidating aerospace industry here. Other investors often follow Buffett’s lead. ‘If Warren Buffett is going to drop anchor in the aerospace industry,” said Bob Uptagrafft, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance, “he picked the right place to do it, and others will follow.’ “