1 big thing: Seahawks face long odds this year

2. Seattle's a top spot for "live-work-play" apartments

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3. Our blue Legislature bucks GOP trend

4. Morning Buzz: A bridge too closed

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Check out our Job Board

5. Go now: Maíz does breakfast

A carton of chilaquiles next to a fruit cup filled with spears of fruit on a wooden counter.

Hello, Friday! We've been waiting for you.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high near 78.

🚨 Situational awareness: The closure of four swimming beaches on Lake Washington remains ongoing due to high bacteria levels, per King County.

Today's newsletter is 729 words — a 3-minute read.

🎂Lewis' son, Finn, is celebrating his 14th(!) birthday tomorrow and already asking his dad for a car (that he's not going to get).

🏊‍♀️ Melissa is taking her 2-year-old to his first swim lesson tomorrow. I guess he'll be asking for a car before I know it!

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Seattle

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Seattle.

Axios Seattle

1 big thing: Goodbye to most COVID emergency orders

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2. Herrera Beutler loses lead in latest vote count

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3. Charted: People who changed jobs got raises

4. Morning Buzz: Coug-ing it to court

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Take your career to the next level

5. The Last King of Perfecto

Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez celebrates after throwing a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field on August 15, 2012.

Hello, Tuesday! We're here and ready to roll.

☔️→☀️ Today's weather: A slight chance of rain this morning, then sunny, with a high near 81.

❤️ Thanks to our 41 Axios Seattle members for supporting local journalism. Join them by becoming a member.

Today's newsletter is 935 words — a 3.5-minute read.

⚾️ Lewis finds it hard to believe — and a little frightening — that a decade has passed since Felix's perfect game. (Not hard to believe? That the M's still haven't made the playoffs.)

👞 Melissa is still trying to fit her swollen foot into a shoe — any shoe — after her weekend toe-breaking mishap.

1 big thing: Flipping burgers? There's a high school credit for that

Illustration of a handwriting alphabet above the chalkboard spells out "Hiring."

2. Why the baby formula shortage is here to stay 

A canister of infant formula on a shelf that is otherwise empty. 

3. Taste and smell problems linger post-COVID

A man in a knit cap leans forward to smell a patch held out by a person in protective gear.

4. Morning Buzz: When a Bird is the GOAT 🐐

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New jobs to check out

Standard Brewing: Tacos and beer, plus a cozy neighborhood feel

5. Brew stop: Standard Brewing

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high near 87.

Today's newsletter is 870 words — a 3-minute read. 

📄 Lewis wonders why the Seattle Police Department still has not provided him with a 2-page email he requested in May. Two. Pages.

🦶Melissa is nursing what appears to be a broken toe, and doesn't even have a cool story about how it happened.

1 big thing: Local Jan. 6 offender linked to new "civil war" post

Photo of man wearing a face mask inside the U.S. Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Below old Seattle Macy's, Amazon plans to test robots

2. Below old Macy's, Amazon plans to test robots

A grey building with letters spelling "Macy's" displayed vertically on the building corner.

3. Your questions for secretary of state candidates

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4. Morning Buzz: High tide flooding, low 911 staffing

A new career is waiting for you

5. 1 quote (and pic) to go 

It's Thursday! Cruisin' toward the weekend.

Today's newsletter is 968 words — a 3.5-minute read.

 ⛴ Lewis is heading to San Juan Island this weekend.

😮 Melissa is horrified to realize how much wet dog hair has been collecting inside her washing machine.

1 big scoop: Amazon sues over fake reviews

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2. Where young Seattleites go when they leave

3. Herrera Beutler concedes, in victory for Trump

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4. Morning Buzz: A financial boost for ferries

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Your future begins here

Seattle's Westland Distillery serves whiskey with Northwest flair

5. Whiskey tasting: Westland Distillery

Barrels stacked along the walls in a room with polished concrete floors and skylight windows.

🌦 Today's weather: Partly sunny, with a high near 74 and a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

🗳 Situational awareness: Republicans have been shut out of the race for Washington's secretary of state, an office that they previously held for 56 years straight, the AP reports.

Democrat Steve Hobbs, who was appointed to fill the position when it became vacant last year, will instead compete against nonpartisan candidate Julie Anderson in November.

Today's newsletter is 982 words — a 4-minute read.

🐇 Lewis is contemplating whether to forcefully evict the rabbit that has taken up residence under his deck or just let it become his backyard mascot.

🕸 Melissa is sick of running into fresh spiderwebs draped between the bushes in front of her house each day. But at the same time: Impressive work, arachnids.

Seattle's Westland Distillery has long produced some of the region's best whiskey.

Given how long their spirits have been on my short list of go-to orders, I figured I was overdue for an in-person visit.

The setting: Westland's tasting room in SODO has plenty of space to spread out. But it's just as easy to plop down on one of the center couches and make some new friends as you sip.

Background: Although Rémy Cointreau bought Westland about five years ago, the distillery continues to use Pacific Northwest ingredients in its distilling process, giving Westland's whiskey a distinctly local flair. 

The whiskey: I love Westland's classic single malts, especially the ones aged in American oak and sherry wood casks. You can't go wrong with their flagship, either.

They also have more creative, limited-edition varieties, like the Garryana Edition 6, which has a spiciness that made it my husband's favorite.

A $12 flight gets you a pour of four whiskeys.

Four bell-shaped glasses of whiskey in a wooden holder on a wooden table. 

A $12 whiskey flight gets you four pours. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

The food: You can buy salami, Beecher's cheese, fruit preserves and other ingredients to build your own charcuterie tray (which I absolutely did).

Bonus: They have cocktail flights, too — but the whiskey is so complex, yet smooth, you may find (like me) that you prefer sipping it by itself.

Of note: Closed Monday and Tuesday; no groups larger than six allowed.

A group of people sitting at a counter height table in an open room with wooden beams and a couch in the middle, with a bar in the background. 

The tasting room at Westland Distillery. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

The spirits are so smooth and complex, you won't want to hide them in a cocktail.

Barrels and barrels of whiskey! Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

Alcohol

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Seattle&#x27;s Westland Distillery" data-vars-click-url="https://www.westlanddistillery.com/" data-vars-content-id="62457d58-3885-43ad-9caf-4e3ca9d42631" data-vars-headline="Seattle&#x27;s Westland Distillery serves whiskey with Northwest flair" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.westlanddistillery.com/" target="_blank">Seattle&#x27;s Westland Distillery</a> has long produced some of the region&#x27;s best whiskey.<ul><li>Given how long their spirits have been on my short list of go-to orders, I figured I was overdue for an in-person visit.</li></ul>

Business

Things to Do

Food and Drink

Amazon wants to turn the basement of the former downtown Seattle Macy's building into a testing site for retail robots, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports in a fascinating scoop.

Why it matters: The plan would bring more changes to a building that was once the centerpiece of Seattle's retail core — and hints at Amazon's plans to expand further into brick-and-mortar retail.

What's happening: Filings with the city indicate that Amazon plans to launch a pilot called "Project Lucy" below the former Macy's building at 3rd Avenue and Pine Street, per the Business Journal.

Amazon already moved into the building's upper floors in 2017; the Macy's closed in 2020.

Details: As part of the planned test project, autonomous robots would grab storage pods containing shoes and clothing and bring them to in-person employees, who would select the specific items they need, the Business Journal explains. 

Then the robots would take the pods back to storage.

What's next: It's unclear where, exactly, Amazon would deploy the robots, but they could play a role in the e-commerce giant's expansion of physical clothing stores.

The company recently opened its first Amazon Style storefront in Glendale, California, and has been hiring for other roles connected to its brick-and-mortar clothing operation, the Business Journal writes.

Flashback: The future Amazon robot headquarters will forever be the Bon Marché to me, even though it hasn't been called that for nearly two decades.

I can't walk by the building without the Bon's jingle version of Day-O running through my head. (Remember? Instead of, "Daylight come and we we want to to go home," it sang variations of, "One day only at the Bon Marché," to promote one-day sales.)

The robot testing would be the latest change to the building, after Macy's closed in 2020.

The Macy's (or Bon Marché) building, as seen on 3rd and Pine. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

Amazon

Amazon wants to turn the basement of the former downtown Seattle Macy&#x27;s building into a testing site for retail robots, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Puget Sound Business Journal reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/08/08/amazon-project-lucy-macys-building-robotics.html" data-vars-content-id="887fb873-4b2f-41b2-b672-3a304dc01ef4" data-vars-headline="Below old Seattle Macy&#x27;s, Amazon plans to test robots" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/08/08/amazon-project-lucy-macys-building-robotics.html" target="_blank">the Puget Sound Business Journal reports</a> in a fascinating scoop.Why it matters: The plan would bring more changes to a building that was once the centerpiece of Seattle&#x27;s retail core — and hints at Amazon&#x27;s plans to expand further into brick-and-mortar retail.

It doesn't look like this will be the Seahawks' year.

At least, that's what the fantasy sports gods are saying as the first week of preseason play gets underway.

Driving the news: Among all 32 NFL teams, the Seattle Seahawks have the third-lowest odds of winning Super Bowl LVII, according to data from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos — with their new addition of He-Who-Must Not-Be-Named — are deemed the ninth-most likely team to snag the title.

What's more: Earlier this month, FanDuel ranked the Seahawks dead last among the league's 32 teams in its preseason NFL Power Rankings.

What's next: The Seahawks will play their first preseason game in Pittsburgh against the Steelers this Saturday at 4pm PST. 

In the coming weeks, they'll face the Bears and the Cowboys in preseason matchups.

Then, they'll host the Broncos — and Denver's corny new quarterback — at Lumen Field for the first game of the regular season Sept. 12.

💬 Lewis' thought bubble: Aside from all the dire forecasts, the Hawks' second-rate QB options should make for a long season. But give me a win over Russ in Week 1 and I'll call it a success.

Seahawks' predicted slump

Among all 32 NFL teams, the Seattle Seahawks have the third-lowest odds of winning Super Bowl LVII.

National Football League (NFL)

It doesn&#x27;t look like this will be the Seahawks&#x27; year.<ul><li>At least, that&#x27;s what the fantasy sports gods are saying as the first week of preseason play gets underway.</li></ul>

Sports

News

You don't have to wait until lunchtime to bite into the swoon-worthy fresh corn tortillas from Maíz.

The small tortilleria at Pike Place Market now serves breakfast from 8-11am.

Details: The breakfast menu revolves largely around chilaquiles and egg tacos, but you can also order a beautiful cup of fruit spiced with Tajín and chamoy. 

Bonus: You then can happily dig into your chilaquiles at the counter by the window, while you watch tourists wait in the never-ending line for the "original" Starbucks next door. 

Trust me, this breakfast spot is far superior. 

Details: 1914 Pike Place. Open Tuesday through Sunday.

A storefront that says "Maiz" on the window, with someone walking by along the sidewalk.

Maiz' storefront in Pike Place Market. Photo: Melissa Santos

A counter with messy napkins, a to-go container of chilaquiles and a fruit cup, with a window showing a view of people waiting outside.

Everyone in this line for the "original" Starbucks watched me shove my face with chilaquiles. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

Maíz tortilleria in Pike Place Market now serves breakfast

Dig into chilaquiles while you watch tourists wait in line forever for the Starbucks next door.

Two two go containers, one with tacos and the other with chilaquiles, next to a cup filled with spears of cut fruit.

Egg tacos with chicken, chilaquiles and a cup of fruit. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

You don&#x27;t have to wait until lunchtime to bite into the swoon-worthy fresh corn tortillas from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Maíz" data-vars-click-url="https://www.maizseattle.com/" data-vars-content-id="9f09009e-a851-4ee2-a614-272cf3abbf4e" data-vars-headline="Maíz tortilleria in Pike Place Market now serves breakfast" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.maizseattle.com/" target="_blank">Maíz</a>.<ul><li>The small tortilleria at Pike Place Market now serves breakfast from 8-11am.</li></ul>

Data: NCSL; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Washington's Legislature — with its strong Democratic majorities in both chambers — is bucking a years-long trend of statehouses leaning Republican.

The big picture: Between 2012 and 2022, Republicans consistently held more seats in state legislatures than Democrats, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

During that time, the GOP held between 52% and 57% of state legislative seats nationwide.

Meanwhile, in Washington state, Democrats have controlled both chambers since late 2017.

Democrats now hold 58% of state House seats and 57% of state Senate seats in Washington.

State of play: Those majorities don't appear to be in jeopardy this year.

In several races considered potential pickups for the GOP, Democrats captured more than 50% of the vote in the Aug. 2 primary.

Our blue Legislature bucks GOP trend

Washington's Legislature has strong Democratic majorities in both chambers.

State government

Washington&#x27;s Legislature — with its strong Democratic majorities in both chambers — is bucking a years-long trend of statehouses leaning Republican.The big picture: Between 2012 and 2022, Republicans consistently held more seats in state legislatures than Democrats, according to data from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the National Conference of State Legislatures" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/partisan-composition.aspx" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/partisan-composition.aspx" target="_blank">the National Conference of State Legislatures</a>.

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Melissa Santos

Stories

Maíz tortilleria in Pike Place Market now serves breakfast

Our blue Legislature bucks GOP trend

Seahawks' predicted slump

Below old Seattle Macy's, Amazon plans to test robots

Seattle's Westland Distillery serves whiskey with Northwest flair

Newsletter editions

🏈 Seahawks sadness

❗️Extremism hits home

⭐️ Scoop: 5-star fakes

👋 Peace out, COVID orders

🎓 Credit for working students