12:00 am
June 1, 2015
- The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Gardner Economics of Seattle was asked by the Coalition for Housing Solutions to study Seattle’s proposed linkage fee (a tax on new development to fund affordable housing). Matthew Gardner said, “I believe as do many (others) that the biggest consequence is going to be that people are going to stop building because that tax – as it’s structured right now – is so expensive that projects will not make financial sense.”
- On the erstwhile partnership between Alaska Airlines and Delta, the PSBJ quotes Alaska CEO Brad Tilden:
“Competition is part of life in America,” Tilden said. “You can sort of begrudge it if you want to, but our viewpoint is that this has made this the greatest economy in the world and we’re going to use this competition to make Alaska the greatest airline in the world.”
The competition with Delta, and other airlines, will result in a stronger Alaska, Tilden said.
- The Economist writes about the Washington Post under the ownership of Jeff Bezos.
- An article at the Washington Restaurant Association website notes a robot kitchen that was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show Asia: “The kitchen includes two large robotic arms that can create dishes based on a digital library of recipes.” Further,
Although still a prototype, the product is, however, on track to reach the public, in 2017, in a version with 2,000 recipes. . . .Once this product is released, it will likely find an eager market in restaurants that are looking for ways to cut costs and become more efficient in the face of challenges like the $15 minimum wage enacted in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles.