Time Features City of Bellevue's Smart Traffic Lights in Article

In an article at Time.com, Time Magazine has featured the City of Bellevue's Smart Traffic Lights as being a super successful investment in traffic infrastructure.  Please see How Smart Traffic Lights Could Transform Your Commute for the full article.

Maybe Seattle could use Bellevue as an example to follow to help alleviate some of their extremely horrible traffic?

Thank you to Social Media Marketing Coach Stacia Loo for spotting this news of importance to all who live, work and/or play in beautiful Bellevue.

AWB Statement on Benefits of Aerospace in Washington

The Association of Washington Business, Washington state’s largest business organization representing small, medium and large employers, issued the following statement from AWB President Kris Johnson regarding the Legislature’s attempt, through yesterday’s introduction of House Bill 2147, to erode the state’s competitiveness by reducing successful incentives for aerospace companies:

“Washington state is an aerospace hub for hundreds of employers who employ thousands people, who supply parts and innovate to make the sector successful and make Washington a great place to live.

“The fact is, aerospace incentives provide a significant return to Washington’s taxpayers. According to the state’s own estimate, the 2013 incentives will generate more than $21.3 billion in state and local tax revenue over 16 years —nearly three dollars in increased revenue for each dollar of incentives. This money will pay for vital public services including education, social services and infrastructure.

“Threatening to reduce the incentives is counterintuitive to the one sure-fire way to improve the state’s budget situation – get people back to work. These incentives not only encourage job growth in the aerospace industry, but they boost the whole economy.

“While it may be popular to focus on Boeing, hundreds of companies take advantage of the aerospace tax incentive, or other tax preferences, approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Reducing incentives sends the wrong message to current and potential employers about Washington’s business climate and severely harms the state’s competitiveness.

“AWB has a long history of advocating for job creation as a way to uplift communities and make the economy strong in every corner of the state. Unfortunately, this measure would do just the opposite. I urge the Legislature to put Washington’s competitive advantages above the fray. The many workers in all job sectors who depend on a strong aerospace industry need certainty that the jobs they have today will be heretomorrow.”

About the Association of Washington Business

Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 8,200 members representing 700,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

AWB: Time for Washington Law Makers to Act on Transportation

Kris Johnson, president of the Association of Washington Business, appealed to lawmakers in the state Senate to lend their support to a transportation funding proposal announced today in Olympia.

“It is past time to make critical investments in our state’s roads, bridges and highways. Transportation infrastructure is critical not only to our quality of life, but also to our state’s business climate and economic future. Employees need to get to work safely and in a reasonable amount of time, manufacturers need to get materials to and from ports, and farmers must be able to get their goods to market.

“Today, a bipartisan group of Senate transportation leaders took an important step by releasing a statewide revenue package proposal. We encourage the full Senate to support the proposal and pass a package — with needed reforms — over to the House soon. With tremendous infrastructure needs, we are optimistic the Legislature will find a compromise and approve a package this session. Postponing the investment will hurt Washington’s competitiveness and drive up project costs later. We need to invest in transportation now.”

About the Association of Washington Business

Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 8,300 members representing 700,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

Dates Are Set for National Drive Electric Week 2015

Dates have been set for the fifth annual National Drive Electric Week: Sat., Sept. 12 through Sun., Sept. 20, 2015. Events will encompass two weekends to give planners maximum flexibility and consumers plenty of opportunity to attend.

“Last year we saw U.S. plug-in vehicles sales grow 23 percent, lead by the Nissan Leaf growing at 34 percent, while the overall U.S. market grew at about 6 percent,” said Tom Saxton, Plug In America’s chief science officer. "This year, 2015, promises to be even more electrifying. The BMW i3 will be on the road for the first full year, we expect deliveries of the Tesla Model X, an updated Chevy Volt, and greater overall sales growth than we saw last year. We’ll have lots to celebrate and to share with new EV audiences.”

National Drive Electric Week is a grassroots observance designed to accelerate adoption of plug-in vehicles through hands-on experiences with electric cars and motorcycles. Plug In America, the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Association are national organizers teaming up with local groups across the country and abroad to organize events.

"Electric cars are a key part of our country's clean energy future, and they're a lot of fun to drive," said Gina Coplon-Newfield, Director of the Sierra Club's Electric Vehicles Initiative."We're revved up for National Drive Electric Week 2015, which will offer the public, the media, and policymakers a great opportunity to come check out many of the 20-plus plug-in vehicles on the market."

Drive Electric Week attendance in 2014 more than doubled that of the previous year’s celebration with over 90,000 people participating in 152 events across the country and abroad. The event was launched in 2011 in 29 cities.

About Plug In America: Plug In America, a San Francisco-based national nonprofit organization, works to accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation's dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. The organization conceived National Drive Electric Week (formerly National Plug In Day) and has advanced workplace charging by pioneering regular ride-and-drive events at such leading corporations as Google, Mattel and Paramount Pictures. It developed the world’s largest, most dedicated network of plug-in vehicle owners and drivers, many of whom have driven EVs for well over a decade. We drive electric. You can, too. www.pluginamerica.org.

About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with more than 2.4 million members and supporters and chapters in all 50 states. The Sierra Club’s national electric vehicles initiative advocates for a switch to EVs as one important way to reduce emissions and cut our addiction to oil. www.sierraclub.org/EVGuide.

About the Electric Auto Association: The Electric Auto Association, formed in 1967, is a nonprofit educational organization with 75 chapters worldwide that promotes the advancement and widespread adoption of electric vehicles. www.electricauto.org.