Downtown dreams: 10 ideas to make Seattle’s core more vibrant | Amazon closes $3.9B One Medical acquisition

We asked leaders across various industries and interests to share ideas for how to make Seattle’s urban core more vibrant.

• Seattle and other U.S. cities are struggling with the fallout from the rise of pandemic-driven hybrid work. What will it take to get people back and “write a new playbook?” Read the story.

• Downtown was a major focus of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s “State of the City” address on Tuesday, in which he applauded Amazon’s recent call to bring workers back to the office at least three days a week. Read more.

Amazon closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care company One Medical in a deal aimed at boosting the tech giant's healthcare footprint.

• The acquisition — Amazon’s third largest ever — had been under scrutiny from antitrust regulators concerned about how Amazon might use client data. Read more.

Microsoft is expanding the preview of its AI-powered chatbot to its Bing and Edge mobile apps two weeks after introducing the technology for desktop.

• The expansion follows a series of adjustments Microsoft has made to the chatbot to address unusual behavior such as incorrect answers and off-the-wall responses. Read more.

The Seattle City Council passed a first-in-the-nation law to ban caste discrimination in a move that could impact tech workers and companies.

• Caste is a social practice rooted in thousands of years of history in India and other countries. Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who sponsored the bill, called the new law “profound and historic.” Read more. 

Tech Moves:

• Picnic CEO steps down; Expedia adds a new board member; Accolade’s chief product and innovation officer departs; and more personnel moves in PNW tech.