Is it possible for road traffic to decline over a period of time and driver frustration to go up during that same period? As we used to say in Ballard before it went from quaint Scandinavian enclave to architecturally bankrupt sanctuary of the condo/apartment overlords, Ya sure, you betcha. The Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit…

Rising health care expenses are a heavy burden on companies and consumers alike. So when opportunities arise to reverse that trend potentially lowering the price of doing business in our state we should aggressively pursue them. In one landmark deal, weve done just that. But in another case, we have allowed one company, Premera Blue…

While our region has steadily recovered from the Great Recession to an unemployment rate now in the low 5 percent range, we suffer from a problem that is endemic across the country: We have a large population of long-term unemployed. In the Seattle metro area, there are an estimated 21,856 workers who have been unemployed…

I have always been surprised at how few articles are written about customers loving a business. Ever since I can remember, Ive known intuitively that customers will never love a company unless the employees love it. And over the years, I have seen this scenario played out again and again. This is not to say…

The steady drip, drip, drip of job cuts and moves continues apace at Boeings technical and engineering operations in this region. First, it was IT jobs to St. Louis and South Carolina. Then, it was a design engineering center serving airline customers, sent to Southern California. Tomorrow, itll be … well, what have we got…

When I moved here in 1985 to be managing director of Seattle Repertory Theatre, Charley Royer was mayor and I took note that the executive director of the Seattle Arts Commission served in the mayors cabinet. This unique position for arts and culture in city government may have resulted from a strong personal connection between…

A millennium ago, baghdad blossomed, thanks to its position on overland trading routes from Africa, Europe and Asia. In the 16th century, Genoa profited from its strategic location on the Spanish empires sea routes. In recent decades, Seattle has also prospered, in part because it has the closest major seaport to booming Asia-Pacific markets. But…

The stakes are high as brick-and-mortar retailers battle their online counterparts for shoppers dollars. As people get busier, they are looking for quick and simple transactions, and theyre favoring online retailers. Amazons new mobile app even allows shoppers to use their smartphone cameras to photograph items they see at brick-and-mortar stores and add them to…

We were a panel of experts and pundits assembled to provide some insights into, or at least plausible guesses at, economic trends of 2014. One of the questions on our agenda: What world economies are affecting the Northwest the most? China was the obvious choice for several panelists. One mentioned Mexico, noting that the stories…