New bill aims to allow digital driver’s licenses in Washington state

• A new bill in this year’s legislative session aims to establish groundwork to allow digital driver’s licenses in the state of Washington. Much like how a smartphone can act as a digital credit card or a digital boarding pass, digital driver’s licenses are an electronic version of state-issued identification. Read more. 

A second school district in Washington state has joined Seattle Public Schools in suing leading social media companies for their effect on the youth mental health crisis.

• The Kent School District joins SPS in alleging that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat algorithms prey on young minds by creating addiction. Read more.

Michael Butler is a Seattle guy. But after spending the past three months in Austin to open a new office for Cascadia Capital, he’s never coming back.

• Writing about the differences between the two cities in a LinkedIn post, the longtime Seattle business leader said, “Austin feels a lot like Seattle in 2013 or 2014 and the complete opposite of Seattle in 2021 and 2022.” Read more. 

NASA is funding some far-out space proposals, including a former Boeing mechanic’s idea for a flying boat to study one of Saturn’s moons.

• The agency will distribute up to $2.45 million to 14 teams in support of experimental projects that seem like they’d be right out of a sci-fi novel. Read more. 

Tech Moves

• Microsoft Teams leader joins UiPath; Sage Bionetworks names a president; and more key personnel changes. 

• Paul Misener, Amazon’s VP of global innovation policy and communications, is stepping down after nearly 23 years.