Molbak’s Returns
Popular store launches community hub for gardening
Molbak’s has launched a new community initiative called Green Phoenix Collaborative at Molbak’s, which will transform the former retail site into a community hub for all things gardening. The collaborative will feature programs, classes, and events.
Hayden Homes: A Culture of Caring | Sponsored
Giving back, changing lives
Since 1989, Hayden Homes has worked hard to build a reputation for the quality of our homes and the passionate support we give to the communities in which we live and work. The balance of building and giving is essential to who we are. It’s what connects our people, passion, and purpose. We believe in…
Historic Cornish College Building For Sale
Kerry Hall was the original home of college founder Nellie Cornish
The historic Kerry Hall building, at 710 E. Roy St. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, was built in 1921 and was the home of Nellie Cornish, who founded the arts college in 1914 and ran it for 25 years. The college was formed in the building and has occupied it since then.
Shelter for the Storm
The Seattle Storm's new basketball facility represents so much more than just a gym
As a collegiate rower at Yale, Ginny Gilder and her teammates stripped naked, wrote “Title IX” on their chests, and marched into the director of physical education’s office. They demanded the university provide the women’s crew team with a locker room and showers at the boathouse, just as the men’s team already had. They were…
Seattle: Again The Place To Be
Seattle nears pre-pandemic visitor levels in impressive turnaround
Visit Seattle released preliminary figures for 2023 at its annual meeting Wednesday, and found that the region hosted 37.8 million visitors last year, an 8.9% increase from 2022. That’s just 10% less than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.
Foot Traffic Rises Again in Downtown Seattle
Downtown Seattle Association: Slow recovery continues
Nearly 1.9 million visitors came downtown last month. Downtown averaged 85,000 daily workers, a 16% increase from February 2023. That, however, is only 57% compared to the same period in 2020, right before the pandemic.
Jon Jones: The Mindful CEO
Jon Jones isn’t your ordinary boss, and Brighton Jones isn’t your ordinary company
Jon Jones is a business executive by trade and a guiding light by nature. The culture at the wealth management firm he co-founded with Charles Brighton 25 years ago, Brighton Jones, is a mix of spiritual, practical and, when appropriate, lighthearted. Acronyms such as “MESI” and “RLP” spill from his tongue like a free-flowing river….
Downtown’s ‘It’ Man
Jon Scholes is leading the effort to bring downtown Seattle back. It’s working
For Jon Scholes, the state of downtown Seattle is deeply personal. As a longtime resident, he’s keenly invested in downtown’s post-pandemic recovery. As president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, he’s inarguably the neighborhood’s most fervent advocate. He keeps close tabs on store openings, crime rates, transportation issues, and public policy decisions. And he’s…
‘It’s Not About the Visitors’
Visit Seattle CEO Tammy Blount-Canavan reveals some secrets about tourism
Tammy Blount-Canavan calls herself a “travel evangelist.” Visit Seattle calls her its CEO. Blount-Canavan had big shoes to fill when she took over the regional destination marketing organization last year from Tom Norwalk, who served as CEO for almost 14 years. Blount-Canavan, who lives in downtown Seattle just blocks from her office, has a long…
How Four Letters and AI Can Create a Cure
François Vigneault’s Shape Therapeutics seeks to find answers for incurable disease
The impetus for François Vigneault’s decades-long love affair with biology was actor Dustin Hoffman. Vigneault watched the movie Outbreak in 1995, in which Hoffman plays an Army epidemiologist searching for a cure for a quickly spreading and deadly virus. “That’s what I want to do,” he thought. The movie motivated Vigneault, who was serving in…
The Fixer: Alicia Crank
Seattle CityClub executive director Alicia Crank wants to inject respect into civic discourse, one conversation at a time
Alicia Crank wants you to know this: She’s on a mission to elevate civic discussion in Seattle and beyond. Crank, a long time fundraising executive who has worked at AtWork!, YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, and CityYear Seattle, took the executive director role at Seattle CityClub 18 months ago. The nonprofit seeks to improve…
Community, Coffee, Culture
Darnesha Weary has big plans for Black Coffee Northwest. Many don’t even involve caffeine
DarNesha Weary first bonded with her husband, Erwin, over coffee. Their first date was in a coffee shop. It makes sense, then, that the couple — married for 25 years — now own Black Coffee Northwest. Caffeine, though, isn’t the most important part of the growing company. The Wearys launched Black Coffee Northwest in June…
Building a Better Nugget
Rebellyous Foods founder Christie Lagally is bringing plant-based chicken to the masses
As the name of her company implies, Christie Lagally believes that rules are meant to be broken. Lagally in 2017 founded Seattle-based Rebellyous Foods, a company whose proprietary technology allows it to produce plant-based chicken nuggets, tenders, and patties at a fraction of the cost of competitors. Lagally, a former mechanical engineer at The Boeing…
A Passion for Many Missions
KD Hall has racked up a long list of accomplishments. She’s not done yet
KD Hall launched her own eponymous communications firm. Two years later, she founded the KD Hall Foundation, a nonprofit that offers educations and workforce preparation and workshops for women and girls. She is also a four-time Emmy nominee who has produced several short films and a 10-episode television talk show series. She was recently appointed…
Healthy Food Drives Deal
Entrepreneurs Norman Wu and Lisa Nordstrom join forces over a shared passion
It began with the creation of a healthy snack. It morphed into a café. Now, a major investment will transform the very nature of Sano Café. Conscious Hospitality Group co-founder Norman Wu is making a major investment in Sano Café, a small establishment on Mercer Island that offers espresso, juices, smoothies, breakfast, and lunch. Lisa…
Internal Focus, External Results
Vern Olson works to create trusting relationships at Bob’s Heating & Air Conditioning
If it matters to Vern Olson, it matters to everyone else. That’s a guiding mantra at Bob’s Heating & Air Conditioning, a third-generation, family-owned business based in Woodinville. Olson is president of the 364-employee company, which was founded in 1957. “It starts at the top. If it’s important to you as the owner, it will…
On Reflection: Don’t Write Off Seattle’s Commercial Core Just Yet
The city makes big gains in real estate trends report
Thanks to Seattle’s battered but still significant tech sector, the region ranked an impressive No. 10 among metros in all states in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2024 report. “Ratings have been volatile in recent years, mostly due to the changing fortunes of the tech sector,” the annual report from the Urban Land Institute…
Washington State Statshot: Economic Snapshot 2024
Aerospace jobs are on the rise, but building permits are declining
Nobody has a crystal ball. Economists with the state of Washington, however (and everywhere else), are analyzing what they think the economy will soon look like. Here are projections for the statewide economy in 2024 based on sophisticated analytical models. They do not necessarily reflect current market conditions. 5.3%: State unemployment rate. 5.4%: U.S. unemployment…
Empowering Black Seattleites in Pursuit of Homeownership
How Seattle’s lack of affordable housing is affecting its Black residents
As a Black woman and financial advisor deeply engrained in Seattle’s community, I’ve witnessed firsthand the struggles many Black individuals face in securing affordable housing…
The Battle Against Bias
How to create an inclusive, psychologically safe workplace
Creating inclusive spaces for folks with expanded gender identities can have a profound impact on both mental and physical health, and the workplace should be no exception. Employers have the unique opportunity to create a sense of belonging for individuals who might not feel inclusion in other areas of their lives. How do you create…
Second-Chance Hiring
Would your organization hire formerly incarcerated individuals?
Even though many studies show that formerly incarcerated talent has equal-to-better job performance stats when compared to peers, some organizations still have systemic bias against employees and applicants with a criminal history. If employers are truly committed to infusing DEIB into their practices, instituting intentional fair-chance hiring practices must be considered. Here are some frequently…
Respect, Not Agreement
We can agree to disagree. Let's just be civil about it
“Can we all get along?” While not an uncommon phrase, it became part of the American fabric on May 1, 1992, when Rodney King posed this question at a press conference after his beating from four police officers went viral. I was a senior in high school at the time, and it was both a…