Google’s departure from key project in Seattle area highlights fleeting dynamic between tech companies and communities

Google established its original beachhead in the Seattle area more than 15 years ago, kickstarting a trend to tap into the region’s vast technical talent base. Up until a few weeks ago, it looked like the tech giant would expand even further in Kirkland, Wash.

• But suddenly and without warning, the plans evaporated. By backing out of a deal to buy 10 acres of land and serve as the centerpiece in a major redevelopment project, Google’s move ultimately highlights the fleeting dynamic between tech companies and the communities they’ve reshaped.

• "What you’re seeing is just another recalibration of the sorts that have been going on for time immemorial between employers and communities,” said Chuck Wolfe, a multinational urbanism consultant and affiliate professor at the University of Washington. Read the story.

Universal Hydrogen says its hydrogen-fueled test aircraft has won a key certification from regulators and has completed its first taxi tests at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Wash.

• Those two developments bring the California-based company closer to the first flight of its modified De Havilland Dash 8-300 aircraft, nicknamed “Lightning McClean.” The plane’s right engine has been replaced with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain, featuring an electric motor built by Everett, Wash.-based MagniX. Read more. 

Tech Moves:

• Amazon Web Services product head joins Faculty; Bezos Earth Fund hires BlackRock leader; and more personnel changes.

People born into low-income families in Washington state will get a financial boost at the outset of their lives with so-called “baby bonds” if lawmakers pass legislation to establish the Washington Future Fund.

• The fund is “an innovative strategy to seed wealth for future generations by reducing capital barriers for those in need,” Washington state Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti, who requested the legislation, told GeekWire. Read more. 

The latest film about the Titanic doesn’t show Leonardo DiCaprio standing up on the bow’s railings — instead, a single slim filament of coral takes his place as the king of the world.

• That’s just one of the scenes from “Titan — A Viewport to Titanic,” a newly released 20-minute video that recaps OceanGate Expeditions‘ dives to the world’s best-known shipwreck in 2021 and 2022. Read more. 

Picture this:

• LeBron James made NBA history Tuesday night when he became the league’s all-time leading scorer. Plenty of people recorded the moment on their phones. One Nike founder just soaked it in.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.