David Brewster, a founding member of Post Alley, has a long career in publishing, having founded Seattle Weekly, Sasquatch Books, and Crosscut.com. His civic ventures have been Town Hall Seattle and FolioSeattle.
Seattle has a knack for growing families of enormous wealth. Now's a good time to get some of these internationally-focused foundations a bit more intentional about the locals.
The problem, says publisher Tim Keck, is that "all the diversification was in one area, events and entertainment." What was smart diversification turned out to be a perfect storm of revenue-peril. So it's white-knuckle time.
Books are a big draw, but the Gronigen Forum also has lots more: movie theaters, exhibition halls, an auditorium, a comics museum, a hip restaurant and bar, and a rooftop "market square" with great views. (And shops.)
Instead of concentrating tech companies and venture capital in a few American cities (Seattle, Bay Area, Boston), we should spread the wealth and invest in once-grand legacy cities such as St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland.
Take away the candidates who captivate the college-educated whites, and suddenly the "wine-track" voters hold the balance of power between Bernie and Joe.
He has wise advice on dealing with the immediate threat as well as the long-term problems. Among the proposals: more investment in health clinics in poor countries; extensive public funding to speed up development of vaccines, so pharmaceutical companies can risk a deep investment; international collaboration and data-sharing.
It's interesting to note that Seattle, not particularly known for its architecture, showcases four famous and influential architects. The Dutchman Koolhaas, a former journalist and compelling writer, has forged a new kind of boldly engineered third-wave, ironic modernism.