Civic – Page 5 of 59

In fight against fentanyl and other drugs, police departments deploy handheld narcotics analyzer

The Redmond (Wash.) Police Department is deploying a new tool in its fight against illicit drugs. The agency announced Tuesday… Read More

Seattle council president on getting workers back to the office: ‘We have to build those numbers up’

When it comes to getting workers back in the office, Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson wants to lead by… Read More

Washington state lawmakers pass bill to create task force to guide policy on AI

The Washington State Legislature passed a bipartisan proposal from Attorney General Bob Ferguson to create an Artificial Intelligence Task Force… Read More

Steve Ballmer’s USAFacts offers insights on the State of the Union ahead of Biden’s address

In time for President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, USAFacts has released its annual “nonpartisan, data-driven snapshot”… Read More

Univ. of Washington launches research center to tackle computer science education challenges

Despite technology seeping into practically every corner of our lives, computer-related education in Washington is woefully limited. Last year, 8.4%… Read More

Data from Seattle food delivery drivers shows higher hourly earnings, but less customer demand

Seattle-area gig workers are making higher hourly wages while they’re delivering food for platforms such as Uber Eats and DoorDash… Read More

Uber and Lyft drivers will get expanded death benefits thanks to new Washington state law

The families of drivers in Washington state working for transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft will receive enhanced… Read More

Rivian, Lucid and other EVs stuck in park by failed effort to change car sales laws in Washington

If you own one of the 3,853 Rivians registered in Washington, odds are you didn’t test drive the electric vehicle… Read More

Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson ‘very worried’ about fallout from food delivery shake-up

A controversial new minimum wage law for gig workers in Seattle that is drawing ire from tech giants has become… Read More

Computer science education bill would add new graduation requirements in Washington state

Washington state is a leader in technology. Yet Washington is falling behind when it comes to educating young people about… Read More

Climate efforts and downtown revitalization highlight Seattle mayor’s ‘State of the City’ address

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell on Tuesday delivered his State of the City address, emphasizing the strides being made in public… Read More

Seattle mayor ‘stands strongly in support’ of new gig worker wage law as tech companies push back

Follow-up: Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson ‘very worried’ about fallout from food delivery shake-up DoorDash revealed Tuesday in a… Read More

Tech accelerator for Washington and Oregon startups encourages underserved applicants

RAIN Catalysts, a Pacific Northwest-based nonprofit promoting entrepreneurship for underrepresented groups, is accepting applications for its first tech accelerator. The… Read More

New report shows increased tech access in Seattle, but digital divide remains for some residents

A new City of Seattle study, based on input from residents, reveals that the percentage of homes with internet access… Read More

How this state senator uses AI to augment his staff, structure arguments, and ‘crush reports’

Working as one of the chief budget writers in the Washington State Senate for the first time, Sen. Joe Nguyen… Read More

‘Black Tech Night’ in Seattle stresses importance of strong community to help grow representation

A desire for more events, networking, collaboration, mentorship, education, funding, and sense of belonging runs through Seattle’s Black tech community.… Read More

Struggle over minimum wage law tests the economics of food delivery in Seattle

A new minimum wage law for gig workers in Seattle — and the subsequent response from tech companies — is changing the… Read More

Filing: Jeff Bezos adopted plan to sell up to 50M Amazon shares six days after announcing move

A new Amazon filing, detailing Jeff Bezos’ plan to sell a slice of his stake in the company, sheds fresh… Read More

Seattle jumps 10 spots in ‘Best Performing Cities’ economic report; Idaho dominates smaller field

The Seattle metro region jumped 10 spots to No. 24 in the latest “Best Performing Cities” report from the nonpartisan… Read More

As Bellevue’s tech boom cools, here’s why city leaders are welcoming the slowdown

In 2021, while much of the U.S. was recovering from the pandemic, Bellevue’s tech scene was flourishing as Amazon, Meta… Read More

Bellevue Police Dept. adding body cameras for first time, and upgrading Taser technology

The Bellevue (Wash.) Police Dept. is adding body-worn cameras on patrol officers for the first time in an effort to… Read More

New nonpartisan AI nonprofit TrueMedia, led by Oren Etzioni, is making a political deepfake detector

A new nonprofit, nonpartisan technology organization called TrueMedia is developing an AI-powered tool to detect deepfake videos, photos, and audio,… Read More

Washington governor signs executive order to develop guidelines for generative AI use

Washington became the latest state to issue an executive order related to generative AI as government agencies try to keep… Read More

The impact of AI and deepfakes on politics is worrying misinformation researchers

A robocall created with artificial intelligence that impersonated President Joe Biden and targeted voters in New Hampshire earlier this month… Read More

Citing fire dangers, Seattle bans batteries from the trash — here’s where they should go instead

Beginning this year, households in Seattle are banned from tossing old batteries in the trash — including everything from the… Read More

Why the Washington state blockchain working group never met — and lessons for future initiatives

Back in 2022, legislators in Olympia passed a bill creating a working group with a sole purpose to evaluate blockchain… Read More

FTC launches inquiry to scrutinize tech giant investments in OpenAI and Anthropic

The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday it is launching an inquiry that will “scrutinize” investments made by Seattle-area tech giants… Read More

Ring ends feature that let police ask users for videos via Neighbors app

Police and other public safety agencies will no longer be able to request and receive videos from users of Amazon’s… Read More

Initiative aiming to repeal Washington state capital gains tax passes key milestone

The controversial capital gains tax in Washington state may appear on the November ballot later this year. Initiative 2109, which… Read More

Amazon not planning to add delivery fees in Seattle as new minimum wage law impacts Flex drivers

Uber, Instacart, and DoorDash made it known last week that they were adding new delivery fees for Seattle customers as… Read More