Articles about Civic Innovation

Washington regulators want to turn around state’s bad rep on blockchain and cryptocurrency

Earlier this year, a blockchain company called Mobius undertook an initial coin offering, an increasingly popular method of tech fundraising,… Read More

Seattle mayor’s compromise voted down as original ‘Amazon tax’ on big business moves forward

The Seattle City Council rejected a compromise version of the so-called “head tax” proposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan late Thursday… Read More

Former Seattle transportation chief Scott Kubly joins LimeBike to run government operations

LimeBike has a new executive: Scott Kubly, the former Seattle official who oversaw the biggest transportation levy in city history,… Read More

Q&A: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee talks net neutrality, states’ rights and taking on Trump

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is making a habit of taking on the Trump administration. In the past week, he did… Read More

It’s official: Washington governor signs landmark net neutrality bill into law

Internet providers will be required to treat all lawful content the same in Washington state under a landmark net neutrality… Read More

Can a city facing a tech boom keep its soul? What Pittsburgh’s mayor learned from GeekWire HQ2

Cities with booming tech economies around the country face an existential crisis. How can they maintain their cultural identity and… Read More

Seattle region invites mobility companies to pilot shared employer shuttles for commuters

King County Metro — which covers Seattle, Bellevue, and surrounding communities — is launching a pilot program for commuter shuttles… Read More

Mayor Jenny Durkan: Seattle is and always will be the city that ‘invents the future’

Despite the outsized impact it has on Seattle’s growth, the tech industry was largely absent from Mayor Jenny Durkan’s State… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Katrina Flora is a boomeranger, UW grad, and urban planner for Hazelwood Green

A year and a half ago, Katrina Flora returned to Pittsburgh after a decade away from her hometown. She first… Read More

Slice of Pittsburgh life: Pizza, politics, and renewal on the menu with activist chef Sonja Finn

PITTSBURGH — Sonja Finn doesn’t think we should be fighting over one slice of the pie. That maxim dictates just… Read More

Bill Gates warns tech giants that a government crackdown may be in their future

Bill Gates believes the world’s biggest tech companies are “absolutely” behaving in a manner that risks major government intervention. The… Read More

‘InnovatePGH’ initiative launches in effort to make Pittsburgh a world-class tech hub, with a new innovation district

PITTSBURGH — This city punches above its weight in the innovation economy, but Pittsburgh is still working to compete on… Read More

When Big Tech comes to town: Pittsburgh tries to repair Uber deal and apply lessons to Amazon bid

PITTSBURGH — When Uber started eyeing this city as a testing ground for self-driving cars back in 2016, Mayor Bill… Read More

Sidewalk Labs spinoff Coord aims to connect navigation apps, public transit and ride-sharing services

Over the past year, analysts from a Sidewalk Labs spinout called Coord have been playing a game of “would you rather?”… Read More

Zipcar, Uber and 13 other transportation tech companies establish vision for future cities with Pittsburgh and Paris

Back in June, Pittsburgh and Paris were unwittingly connected by a comment from President Donald Trump defending his decision to… Read More

Uber partners with JUMP on electric bike share pilot in San Francisco

Uber is getting into the bike-sharing game. The transportation network is partnering with electric bike-share company JUMP on a limited… Read More

Meet Kate Garman, Seattle’s smart cities coordinator, tasked with making the city more efficient

Kate Garman doesn’t believe all data is created equal. For example, an air quality sensor on a bus stop isn’t… Read More

Uber CEO, Seattle investor and labor leader call for portable benefits in Washington state

Uber has long maintained that its drivers are independent contractors, not employees, and therefore not eligible for the benefits employees… Read More

Uber CEO expects self-driving cars to start picking up passengers in 18 months. Flying cars? 5-7 years

The last generation of kids who will need to learn to drive has already been born, as far as Uber… Read More

In new book, Microsoft cautions humanity to develop AI ethics guidelines now

It’s 2038 and — like most businesses these days — a tech company is using artificial intelligence to scan job… Read More

LimeBike rolling out electric bicycles in Seattle, San Francisco and several other cities

The hilly streets of Seattle and San Francisco are often intimidating to would-be cyclists. LimeBike hopes to help them get… Read More

Employers in Washington state could get up to $20K in tax credits for employees who telecommute

Washington state businesses will be eligible for new tax credits when they let employees work remotely if the legislature passes a new bill filed… Read More

Trump and tech: Collisions, cooperation, and consequences in the first full year of his presidency

As Donald Trump’s first full year as president comes into focus, one recurring theme of 2017 is Big Tech’s new… Read More

Washington state leads the nation in personal income growth

Personal income increased by 1 percent in Washington state between the second and third quarters of 2017, faster than any… Read More

Tech industry cheers GOP tax overhaul

Are Republicans delivering a big Christmas present to the tech community in the form of a sweeping tax overhaul? You… Read More

Tech helped Cyrus Habib get to Washington’s second-highest office — and new innovations hold even more promise for the blind

Cyrus Habib presides over Washington state’s Senate in his capacity as lieutenant governor — a task that would have been… Read More

Civic Innovation