Rob Smith

It Costs What? High-End Seattle-Area Homes Skyrocket in Price
The rise in pricey homes throughout Seattle is nothing short of astonishing
It’s no secret that housing prices are skyrocketing. Some new numbers, however, may send you into a fit of apoplexy. A study by home buying and selling service Orchard finds that the Seattle region has experienced a whopping 180% increase in the sale of million-dollar homes in just three years. So far in 2022, almost…

Back Page: Seattle’s Turbulent Times in 1966
1966 school boycott called attention to segregation, inequality
As President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty raged across the country in 1966, Seattle was fighting its own battles. In 1966, civil rights groups organized a two-day boycott of Seattle Public Schools to protest racial segregation, according to The Seattle Civil Rights Labor History Project at the University of Washington. Students instead attended one of…

Best Companies To Work For: Large
The top company prioritizes community service. And movies.
This is a list of large companies. For midsize companies, click here. For small companies, click here. LARGE COMPANIES: 150-plus full-time Washington employees 1.Icertis Technology, Bellevue CEO: Samir Bodas The company, which refers to its workers as “Icertians,” prioritizes community service. Icertis employees last year volunteered to clean up a local park for Earth Day, and…

Best Companies To Work For: Medium
Snacks, swag and a focus on employee engagement
This is a list of midsize companies. For large companies, click here. For small companies, click here. MIDSIZE COMPANIES: 50-149 full-time Washington employees 1.Omnidian Solar energy, Seattle CEO: Mark Liffmann Monthlong wellness initiatives and online hosted games and activities keep the team humming at Omnidian. The company says 40% of its employees received promotions last…

Best Companies To Work For: Small
Surprise days off. No overtime. These companies focus on employee engagement.
This is a list of small companies. For large companies, click here. For midsize companies, click here. SMALL COMPANIES: 15-49 full-time Washington employees 1. CloudMoyo, Inc. Technology, Bellevue CEO: Manish Kedia Themed social lunches and monthly events provide “brain breaks” and help build positive relationships among workers. For example, during “Pride Month,” employees learned how…

Best Companies To Work For
These high-performing companies practice the culture that they preach
The Great Resignation. Quiet quitting. Loud quitting. The labor market is in the midst of a massive transformation. Workplace culture has rarely, if ever, been more volatile or uncertain. A study by HR technology provider Quantum Workplace reveals that two-thirds of executives believe culture is more important than business strategy. At the same time, 65%…

Mix It Up. Try old-school cocktails this holiday season
These 10 drinks may not be on the menu at your local bar, but all pack a punch as well as some colorful history
Editor’s note: A version of this story previously appeared in “Seattle” magazine. Impress your guests this holiday season with these 10 concoctions from a vintage bar guide from Glenn Shaw Creations – supposedly from the 1950s – found in an antique shop in Olympia a few years back. Keep in mind that these drinks may…

Sip, Slurp, Celebrate at Frank’s Oyster House
Let’s be Frank about Champagne
The best bubbles in Washington state may very well be found at an East Coast-style restaurant in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. That, at least, is the opinion of The Champagne Bureau, USA, which has named Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor as one of the top 10 bars and restaurants in the nation for the quality…

Seattle Buildings Just Let It Bee
There’s a buzz happening throughout the region
You know the Smith Tower as Seattle’s original skyscraper. You know that the 108-year-old, 38-floor tower was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi. You may not be aware that the 22nd floor is now home to an apiary containing a thriving colony of thousands of honeybees. It is one of several apiaries located…

Washington’s Craft Breweries: Our Pint Runneth Over
Craft brewers keep the kettles cooking
Those who want to enjoy a cold craft beer in Washington state have no shortage of options. The state has 437 craft breweries, according to the 2021 report from the Brewers Association. This trade group based in Boulder, Colorado, represents small and independent craft brewers across the United States. That’s up significantly from 2011, when…

University of Washington alumni create Seattle and PNW-themed games
Time to test your knowledge of local trivia
Tacoma aroma. Team Edward. Aggressive vegan sidewalk chalk. Know what those are? Even if you don’t, two enterprising recent University of Washington Foster Business School grads are betting you’ll have a lot of fun playing “Down The Ave” and “Keep It PNW,” card games that highlight Seattle and Northwest themes, respectively, in a playful manner. …

First Paris Baguette in Washington set to open in 2023
The quick-service restaurant is coming the the Pacific Northwest
Washington state’s first Paris Baguette quick-service restaurant is set to open in early 2023, courtesy of a local businessman and restaurateur hoping to recapture some of his past. Paul Liu, who immigrated to the Seattle area with his family from South Korea when he was 10, developed a fondness for the internationally recognized neighborhood bakery-café…
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