Together with
Good Morning,
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh holds interest rates steady, SpaceX’s Grok ai model now available on Amazon Web Services, Mike Meyers says Austin Power’s 4 coming, Allbirds names former Amazon exec as new CEO, Oregon and Washington win suit to continue with wind energy permits, Microsoft sued by pension fund for misstating AI costs, Town Pump opens application for $750k in grant funding.
Let’s Rip
PNW Market Look
As of market close 6.17.26
Allbirds continues AI pivot with name change and CEO hire, sending stock soaring (CNBC)
Here are the five big takeaways from Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chairman (CNBC)
Headline Roundup
Seattle City Light proposes 9.5% rate hike to fund grid upgrades, clean energy expansion (KOMO)
Grok 4.3 from xAI now available in Amazon Bedrock (Amazon)
Oregon, Washington win suit against Trump memo pausing wind energy permits (KOIN)
Microsoft sued by shareholders over expenses, cloud business, AI (Reuters)
Alaska Airlines breaks ground on $150 million PDX maintenance hangar (ORL)
Port of Tacoma OKs ground lease for $250 million cold storage development (PBJ)
Under Armour is planning to close their corporate office in Portland and relocate ‘key functions’ to their Baltimore headquarters, a spokesperson said (KPTV)
In for $157M, out for $27M, as U District offices change hands (DJC)
I-84 upgrades: Meters, new lanes, aux lanes could be part of $300 million+ in construction (BD)
Caldwell accused of hiding, mischaracterizing investigation into police chief (IDS)
OHSU turns around financial picture with growth in complex care (PBJ)
Iran MOU was signed on Wednesday by Trump and Iran president, U.S. official says (Ground)
Town Pump announces $750K in grants for Montana volunteer fire departments, applications open (MTS)
Seattle metro sheds construction jobs as data center boom bypasses region (PBJ)
Hillsboro is getting a logistics hub so large it will cover 13 football fields (KGW)
A Message from G.A. Rogers
PNW Rip partners with G.A. Rogers for professional and executive hiring in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re in the area (or moving here), check them out here.
Need a side hustle? G.A. Rogers pays for successful referrals - reach out to learn more.
Community Highlight
Portland eyes shot at fixing Oregon’s most notorious railroad crossing (ORL)
“For years, freight trains operated by Union Pacific have routinely blocked crossings at Southeast 8th, 11th and 12th avenues in the Central Eastside, infuriating motorists and cyclists who are sometimes stopped dead in their tracks for more than an hour.
Yet the company might be required to alleviate the chronic congestion problem as it seeks federal approval for an $85 billion megamerger with Norfolk Southern, Portland Councilor Steve Novick told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
A final ruling on the deal is not expected until mid-2027 at the earliest, a Union Pacific spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal last month.”
Rip’s Spotlight
‘Seattle's lost its economic mojo.’ Downtown Seattle Association report claims taxes are driving out jobs (KUOW)
“ My top takeaway is Seattle's lost its economic mojo,” DSA President and CEO Jon Scholes said. “It's been five years since the city imposed a significant set of new business taxes, and in that time, we've lost about 30,000 jobs in downtown Seattle. Across the lake in Bellevue, a city dealing with similar issues coming out of the pandemic, whether it's hybrid work or shifts in the tech economy, well, they've grown jobs over that same period.”
“ Those are variables that Bellevue's dealing with as well, and they've attracted an incredible amount of job growth in the last five years from Amazon, from companies out of the Bay Area that have considered a second or a Pacific Northwest.” Scholes said. “And a majority of those companies, a vast majority, have chosen the east side of the lake, not the west side.”
On X…
Keep Rippin’