Civic – Page 22 of 59

Washington state offering $18M in grants and loans for internet infrastructure projects

Washington state is making $18 million available for broadband infrastructure projects at a time when workers and students are increasingly… Read More

Washington state sues Trump administration over student visa rules

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced plans to sue the federal government over new rules that would ban international students… Read More

Univ. of Washington will move 80% of classes online this fall amid looming threats from COVID and ICE

The University of Washington’s leaders — and their colleagues across the country — are walking a tightrope as they plan… Read More

How Seattle’s new payroll tax on Amazon and other big businesses will work

Seattle’s new plan to tax top salaries at the city’s highest-paying businesses is raising questions from the region’s tech community.… Read More

Seattle passes big business tax on salaries of top earners after years of false starts

Seattle’s years-long effort to tax the wealth generated by tech and other lucrative industries crossed a new milestone Monday. The… Read More

Washington governor orders businesses not to serve customers who don’t wear masks

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ordered businesses not to serve customers who don’t wear masks Thursday in response to rising coronavirus… Read More

Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s ‘first of its kind’ housing and homeless services facility opens in Seattle

During his lifetime, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s wide-ranging philanthropic initiatives included several programs to alleviate the homelessness crisis in his… Read More

Washington mandates masks in public statewide as COVID-19 cases rise

Washington state will require all residents to wear face coverings in public to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Jay… Read More

Tech leaders slam Trump’s temporary work visa ban

Leaders from across U.S. technology industry are condemning new restrictions on employment-based visas imposed by President Donald Trump this week.… Read More

Amazon slams Trump’s new visa ban as ‘short-sighted’ risk to American competitiveness

President Donald Trump’s signature on an executive order further restricting immigration to the U.S. hardly had time to dry before… Read More

JUMP bikes return to Seattle under Lime ownership

Seattle’s bike-share drought ends Monday as JUMP bikes return, one of the first rollouts since ownership of the service transferred… Read More

President Trump plans restrictions on skilled work visas used by tech and other industries

Update: President Donald Trump signed the temporary visa ban Monday afternoon and Amazon was quick to rebuke the policy. President Donald… Read More

Seattle tech and business leaders form racial justice coalition, demand police reforms

Hundreds of Seattle-area business and technology leaders formed a coalition this week to push for racial equity at their companies… Read More

Supreme Court’s denial of Trump’s attempt to rescind DACA is a win for Dreamers and Microsoft

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to dissolve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)… Read More

Documents reveal Microsoft pitched facial recognition tech to drug enforcement feds

Microsoft has long cast itself as a moral authority on facial recognition, calling for federal regulation of the technology and… Read More

Seattle City Council unveils new payroll tax targeting Amazon and other large companies

The Seattle City Council introduced a new proposal Tuesday to tax the largest companies in the city, the latest in… Read More

City of Seattle awards $320K to 15 non-profit organizations for digital equity projects

The City of Seattle announced recipients of its 2020 Technology Matching Fund, an annual grant program supporting non-profit organizations that… Read More

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly willing to testify before Congress in antitrust inquiry

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos could testify before Congress along with other Big Tech leaders this summer, according to a letter… Read More

Seattle police will use body cameras during protests under new policy

The Seattle Police Department said Wednesday that officers will be ordered to turn on their body-worn cameras during protests in… Read More

Amazon bans police use of its Rekognition facial recognition software for one year amid protests

Amazon will ban police use of its facial recognition software for one year, in an abrupt reversal that shows how… Read More

Instacart threatens to pull out of Seattle if new hazard pay law passes

Instacart said it may not be able to continue operating in Seattle if a law requiring hazard pay for delivery… Read More

Seattle will order police to turn on body cameras during protests despite privacy concerns

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan plans to issue an executive order Monday requiring police to turn on their body cameras during… Read More

Podcast

As protests spread across the country, mobile video creates mosaic of violence and tool for change

At Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park on Thursday afternoon, as the sixth day of protests against police violence stretched into the… Read More

Ventec and GM, 2 months later: How a startup took on the ventilator shortage, and where it stands now

Two months after President Donald Trump tapped a little-known Seattle-area medical device startup called Ventec Life Systems and automotive giant… Read More

Seattle City Council mandates paid sick time for gig workers during pandemic

Drivers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, and other delivery services will soon be eligible for paid sick time off in… Read More

Washington state loosens restrictions for phased opening as shutdown order approaches expiration

Counties across Washington state will enter a phased re-opening program Monday as Gov. Jay Inslee’s “stay-home” order expires. Inslee announced… Read More

Podcast

This governor alarmed professors 22 years ago with his vision for distance learning in 2020 — here’s what he says today

A longtime contact of mine recently emailed a New York Times article from June 18, 1998: “Virtual-Classes Trend Alarms Professors.”… Read More

Seattle considers mandating hazard pay for gig workers during the pandemic

The Seattle City Council is considering new emergency legislation that would require companies like Uber and Grubhub to pay drivers… Read More

Seattle launches marketplace to connect businesses with local face mask producers

The City of Seattle launched an online marketplace Tuesday to connect organizations that need face coverings with local producers manufacturing… Read More

Jousting with Congress over Bezos testimony, Amazon says it will send ‘the appropriate’ executive

Anyone eager for Jeff Bezos’ moment in the Congressional hot seat, previously occupied by the likes of Bill Gates and… Read More