Amazon’s bizarre bazaar: Strange final chapter for tech giant’s first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

Strange final chapter for Amazon Books: The store at Seattle’s University Village shopping mall ushered in Amazon's move into bricks-and-mortar retail more than six years ago. And while you can still find books at Amazon Books, the name is a bit of a misnomer as the tech giant gets set to close up shop. GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop found a cacophony of commerce, with a random array of products that made it feel like a bookstore subsumed by a variety store. Read the story.

Amazon acquires retail tech company: UK-based Veeqo offers inventory and fulfillment tools for e-commerce sellers on Amazon.com and other platforms. The acquisition continues a trend of Amazon building out its e-commerce infrastructure beyond its core platform. Read more.

'Silenced No More' Act passes: Landmark legislation that will drastically curtail tech companies’ ability to stop employees from talking about mistreatment is headed to the governor’s desk in Washington state. 

Tech Moves: Seattle's Burke Museum selects a new executive director; Boundless Immigration hires VP of product; and more changes across PNW tech.

Voice for football on Amazon Prime? ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is reportedly Amazon’s choice to work the booth for “Thursday Night Football.” 

In case you missed it: We spoke with cloud computing experts and analysts about how and if U.S. tech giants will cut off access to Russian companies using their cloud computing services. Read more. 

GeekWire Podcast: Our latest episode features former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who talks about the State of the Union in Numbers report published by USAFacts, the non-profit organization he founded in 2017. We also discuss trends he’s watching in tech, the future of the in-person sports experience, and his philanthropic initiatives with his wife Connie through their Ballmer Group in areas including homelessness and education. Listen and read highlights here.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week. — GeekWire Managing Editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.