emeraldcityexplorer

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Took LimeBike for a spin around Seward Park. Pretty good ride compared to Spin. Better gear options for tackling hills and the brand color pops! There also seems to be an overabundance of Lime bikes? I see them everywhere! Only downsides I noticed is it might not be friendly for people above average height. The bike also had some struggles taking on uneven streets.

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"Your Tax Dollars Subsidize Amazon. Are the Jobs Worth It?" by Bloomberg

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"A controversial ad divides the GeekWire team" by GeekWire

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"Ep 36: A suddenly wide-open race for mayor of Seattle after Ed Murray ends his re-election campaign" by The Overcast: Seattle Times politics and more

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"The Economist asks: Is this the end of Asia's rise?" by The Economist

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"Episode 1: David Takes on Goliath and Wins (Again)" by Digital Outliers

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Lively and fun discussion at #StartSomething. Few tidbits below from the discussion: • Business constrains make you more creative; don't be afraid to be scrappy • You can't please all of your customers. Service those who pay the bills and the ones you can do the most for • How to conquer #FOMO? Stop. Breath. Be aware. Focus on what's important to you • Conversations lead to more conversations which in turn can turn into leads • Always be learning. Take the job where you can learn the most • Understand and embrace your leadership style; don't try to be another CEO or boss • It's okay if you're not Sheryl Sandberg. Don't be afraid to set and play by your own standards, regardless of your gender, race, age, etc.

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Informative and fun #CMSeattle presentation by Shirley Hendrickson about communicating authentically and why women have no reason to be sorry when communicating in the work place. Applies to women and NW business culture in general. Few highlights:

• Being direct with communication ≠ bitchy

• All struggling with authentically communicating who we are. Not unique to women in business

• When you apologize for getting something that’s yours, you’re basically saying you don’t deserve it

• Remove unnecessary apologies, smiley faces, and too many exclamation points

• Quit suggesting doubt with communication: “Sorry,” “I think,” “It’ll only take a minute,” “Make sense?” “Thanks!!! ;)” “I’ll try to,” “No worries”

• If your workplace isn’t a safe place to ask for a meeting, it’s likely a #WorkCulture issue. Not you

• “I’m sorry you feel that way…” = not an apology or useful. 😅😂 Say something more meaningful. #BigTalk

• Ask yourself how you’re contributing to inequalities

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Vulcan's new development in Seattle's Central District (CD) is starting to take shape. The developer is opting to take advantage of the city's Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) program to create "affordable” housing and get its project approved before the Mayor's new requirement to include five to eight percent of units as affordable for residents earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for 50 years.

It's not perfect but Vulcan gets points for being pragmatic. Also, intriguing bit of information towards the end of the article about how Seattle's MFTE program has performed so far. In short, the program isn't perfect but since it launched in 1998, MFTE has produced over 4,000 affordable units.

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Cool places/desired communities to live in don't just appear out of thin air. They're created and molded by the people and cultures that call them home. Started visually collecting these neat sidewalk compasses created by SDOT. Great small exercise in place making and reinforcing neighborhood identity and history.

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The case is building. Puget Sound residents want Sound Transit (ST) to do more. Bigger question is how does the region fund more rail? ST is a bit restrained in its ability to collect revenue from property taxes and due to its regional design, completing the transit spine remains the agency's number one political priority. Tough choices lie ahead. Maybe Seattle can take a note from its suburban neighbors and get ST to commit to queue projects up with planning and have them shove ready (http://bit.ly/1SnSo2f). Or better yet, maybe the city goes it alone (again) and asks its residents to do more, ala Prop 1 (http://1.usa.gov/1SnSQh2). There is definitely still time to make Link more parts MTA or Metrorail than BART and ultimately more useful for the region's urban core. ST3 needs to pass but it has a lot of room for improvement and tweaks.

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Mike Lindblom from the Seattle Times nails it with his piece about #ULink2016. Measured optimism with heavy does of real stories and anecdotes from the region. Fully agree with Dow Constantine, the new stations are a “small revolution in how people will get around" the Seattle area. In depth stories like these make me appreciate the Times.

Highlights

New housing will evolve at Othello and Rainier Beach, but further out it's less likely for now

Sound Transit is invested in partnering with orgs to develop TOD at stations like Mercy Housing (http://bit.ly/1L64aRU)

3-mile tunnel to the University of Washington, took 20 years. The region messed up the initial planning. #LessonsLearned

Sound Transit is feeling confident in its ability to deliver projects and expected to be on the ballot this fall; $20 billion plan for lines to Everett, Redmond, Kirkland, Eastgate, Federal Way, Tacoma, Ballard and West Seattle

SeaTac/Airport Station ridership soaring beyond projections 

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SF continues to take note of Seattle's success in stabilizing rents and housing prices for many of its residents. Also interestingly enough, the Puget Sound region seems to be working more cooperatively than the Bay Area where some south bay cities have not shared the housing responsibility equally with larger cities in the region.

"For a population of 600,000 people, Seattle produced more than 35,600 units of housing from 2005 to 2013 while San Francisco, a city of 800,000, added 17,859 — half as many — during the same time period."

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Housing is a long term investment. Nice analysis from the Seattle Times about how new construction plays a role in Seattle’s affordability solution.  

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Progress on the Amazon biodomes. Its steel exoskeleton is starting to appear. I can’t wait to see what it looks like once it’s done! More details on GeekWire: http://bit.ly/1mvq7he

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"What's So Good About Development in L.A.?" by KCRW

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Wow, it's weird to see this building standing again. I thought for sure it was a casualty of SLU growth and the Mercer street widening. Amazing to learn about the painstaking process Vulcan undertook to preserve and restore it. The new Allen Institute​doesn’t look to shabby either.