City Repeals Head Tax 7-2 in Dramatic Reversal
Like a death-defying Seahawks comeback play in the fourth quarter of an NFL showdown, the Seattle City Council called a stunning reversal on the “head tax” it had voted to impose on local companies who generated over $20 million in annual revenue. Seattle’s homeless population was left standing on the […]
Seattle’s emergence as a nerve center for A.I. technologies, and a remote engineering outpost for companies like Facebook and Google, have created a kind of “cerebral cortex vortex” that is vacuuming talented gray matter and a distinguished brain trust of professors, researchers and other personnel from academia.
The latest gravity well is inside Facebook and […]
In a series of moves reminiscent of the Nixon administration’s “Enemies List,” president Donald Trump has held a number of meetings with Postmaster General Megan Brennan personally pushing Brennan to double the rates the Postal Service charges Amazon.com
According to multiple sources, Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demands. In multiple conversations occurring this year and last, the PG has tried […]
Amazon and Zillow Push Back on Head Tax — HQ2 Cities Take Note
What should the civic role of Seattle’s most successful corporations be when they generate more than $20 million in revenue and make their employment hub our fair city? Does it begin and end with jobs? Payroll taxes? Van pools? Other investments? Is […]
While four NBA teams did battle this Sunday to advance in decisive playoff games, and a climactic episode of Homeland marked the series’ season finale on cable TV, two other high-flying performers on the global stage, T-Mobile and Sprint, decided to join forces, shaking hands on a $26.5 billion […]
Starbucks Coffee Company today announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for […]
Veterans of the Internet Standards Wars, circa 1996, may remember when the first ratification conference for XML 1.0 was gaveled in at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.
The event inaugurated the Internet of Things, almost two decades before the letters IoT became buzzworthy.
The representatives from IBM, Oracle, Sun and Netscape, among others, were like linguists from different […]
Facebook Silence Does Not Sit Well with Cantwell
Washington’s U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has publicly criticized Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his silence during Facebook’s user data scandal.
“There’s a lot of people I’d like to hear from on this thing, writ large,” Cantwell said, in response to a question about Cambridge Analytica. […]
Adam Brotman, former Starbucks CDO, Leaves Coffee Giant to Lead J. Crew
The former chief digital officer for Starbucks who subsequently became the executive vice president for global retail operations and partner digital engagement and is credited as steering the team behind the coffee titan’s mobile-order-and-pay offerings, has accepted a top spot at apparel […]
The Intra-spective World of Amazon Health Care
Three of the biggest names in business — Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan — set the health care world tilting on its axis when the trio announced a co-venture with the noble endeavor of providing better, cheaper health care for their employees.
The intra-spective […]
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Jun 13 2018
Tech-spresso Shots from Around the Sound
City Repeals Head Tax 7-2 in Dramatic ReversalLike a death-defying Seahawks comeback play in the fourth quarter of an NFL showdown, the Seattle City Council called a stunning reversal on the “head tax” it had voted to impose on local companies who generated over $20 million in annual revenue. Seattle’s homeless population was left standing on the one-yard-line, a yard short of the plan to use the tax to fund new housing.
In what amounted to a populist goal-line stand, polling data revealed insurmountable opposition to the tax including a “No Tax on Jobs” campaign vying for a place on the November election ballot that would let voters decide.
In a statement, Amazon applauded the vote and indicated a willingness to move forward with its hometown initiatives.
“Today’s vote by the Seattle City Council to repeal the tax on job creation is the right decision for the region’s economic prosperity,” Amazon VP Drew Herdener said in the statement. “We are deeply committed to being part of the solution to end homelessness in Seattle and will continue to invest in local nonprofits like Mary’s Place and FareStart that are making a difference on this important issue.”
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan will sign the repeal into law.
“Everyone in this city shares similar goals – we need to build more affordable housing, provide mental health and behavioral health services, and bring people off the streets and into safer spaces while continuing to support our small businesses, jobs, and economy,” the mayor said in a statement. “We have been hard at work on these challenges and will continue our efforts. To be successful, everyone needs to be part of the solution. Instead of engaging in a prolonged, expensive political fight, the City and I will continue to move forward on building real partnerships that align our strategies from businesses, advocates, philanthropy.” [24×7]
Seattle’s Experimental Theater Beams Audiences Where No Man Has Gone Before
Where No Man Has Gone Before, Seattle Experimental Theater’s hit improvised parody of the original Star Trek TV series, is returning to Theatre Off Jackson this August for a two-week run. Join the crew of the Enterprise as they encounter a Starfleet Admiral who has strayed from the Prime Directive. Will they be able to undo the tangled web he has created?
At every performance, the cast will use suggestions from the audience to create a brand new episode. Each performance is a completely original adventure
Performances are August 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 & 25 at 8pm. For more information about the show or Seattle Experimental Theater, visit www.seattleexperimentaltheater.com. [24×7]
Webby’s Five Word Acceptance Speeches
Hat’s off to the 22nd annual Webby Awards who make brevity not only the “soul of wit” but a strict requirement for the length of acceptance speeches at the show. The 5-Word acceptance speech policy has kept the award show on pace but ought to be waived for winners like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kourtney Kardashian, and Amazon Music and Special Achievement honorees like #MeToo trailblazer Susan Fowler, actor Jesse Williams, artist FKA twigs, Mozilla founder Mitchell Baker, actress Laura Linney, director Steven Soderbergh, Ugly Delicious creator David Chang, and NFL player Chris Long.
Webby Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences; members include Lyft CEO Logan Green, Girls Who Code Founder Reshma Saujani, Gimlet Media CEO Alex Blumberg, Instagram’s Eva Chen, CNN host Van Jones, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, and Playmatics CEO Margaret Wallace. This year, three million votes were cast from Internet fans in more than 240 countries and territories around the world to choose the Winners of the Webby People’s Voice Awards.
Hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, this year’s star-studded ceremony had many such five-word acceptance haikus. We especially liked Laura Linney’s quintet upon accepting the award from Liam Neeson, “Kindness is not a weakness!” Or David Letterman’s tearful “Thank you…(wiping his eyes)…Tears of Joy!” [24×7]
