On this week’s episode of Seattle News Weekly, ‘s Bill Wixey and Matthew Smith talk about what’s brewing with a possible Starbucks exit from Seattle as the company expands to Nashville. A recent lime bike crash is raising concerns about the safety of the public transport option. Meanwhile, sea lions are being spotted in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. What does that mean for the future of the area’s underwater food chain?
SEATTLE – Potential changes in Seattle’s business landscape have been a big talker this week, on top of safety concerns in different facets of the community.
On this episode of the “Seattle News Weekly” podcast, Seattle Anchors Bill Wixey and Matthew Smith focus on major corporate shifts within Starbucks, the public safety concerns after a Lime bike crash on Aurora Avenue North and this week’s surge of sea lions in Ballard.
Keep reading to learn what else was discussed on this week’s podcast and how you can listen.
What they’re saying:
The hosts open the episode with the news of Starbucks’ $100 million investment in a new Nashville, deemed a “strategic presence.”
The hosts debate whether this is a simple expansion or the beginning of a slow exit from Seattle.
Tennessee offers a much lower tax burden, which would save the company roughly $12,000 per employee compared to Washington.
“I’m trying not to be the ‘panic sky is falling’ because if they’re not leaving our state, then this is much ado about nothing. But if we see that transition… it means a slowdown in growth in our area, which is, of course, what the entire economy is based on.”
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Washington could lose up to $750 million in tax revenue in the coming years with Starbucks expanding in Tennessee instead of Washington.
The podcast conversation shifts to a crash this week on Aurora Avenue North that involved two people sharing a Lime bike who were left in critical condition.
The hosts bring up the surge in e-bike and e-scooter injuries reported at UW Medicine. They also discuss the Seattle Department of Transportation’s plan to slow down bike speeds to 8 miles-per-hour during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“They put this these geofencing on [the lime bikes] at 15 miles an hour, and they’re going to lower that now to, eight miles an hour for the World Cup. And they’re going to have designated areas where you can park these line bikes, because we see them just scattered all over.”
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has a statement from Lime following the early morning Seattle crash involving two riders who are now hospitalized with injuries that may “irreversibly change” their lives.
The final segment of the podcast covers the return of sea lions to docks in Ballard, an issue that gained a lot of online attention this week.
Their presence has brought positives and negatives to the environmental conversation. While they provide food for transient Orca whales, there is growing legislative debate about thinning out the population, with the goal of protecting endangered salmon.
In a similar vein, the hosts bring up the alarming rate of gray whale deaths, which can be attributed to emaciation and starvation during their migration.
“What is the downside down the food chain with so many sea lions? I think the thing that you’ll hear the most is whether or not they’re preying on items that are in short supply. In other words, does this affect the salmon population?”
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They’re here, and they’re loud. Sea lions are flooding the docks of Ballard right now, a sign of a broader shift in the Puget Sound’s ecosystem.
Seattle News Weekly is a podcast that goes in depth and gives context to the stories that matter to the western Washington community. Check back every Thursday for a new episode on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Audible or YouTube.
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