News

Washington voters are in the know – they know why the state is facing a budget deficit and they are aligned on the solution, saying it’s a bad idea to increase state spending. Fulcrum Strategic and EMC Research conducted a statewide poll of 600 registered voters in January that also... Continue Reading

Week three of session continued with a focus on policy committee activity that again included work sessions, hearings, and executive session. The first cutoff of session is quickly approaching. All bills must pass out of their policy committee in their house of origin (in other words the chamber... Continue Reading

Rent control and road-usage charges were at the top of folks’ minds at the Bellevue Chamber’s most recent Policy Council meeting, as the group welcomed some new members, and received their scheduled update from the Chamber’s Olympia lobbyist, Lyset Cadena. The New... Continue Reading

The second week of the legislative session began with Martin Luther Jr Day celebrations in the House and Senate. The Legislature honored the life and legacy of the civil rights leader during their Floor sessions with bipartisan remarks and the passage of HR 4602 in the House and SR 8605 in the... Continue Reading

The legislature convened for the 2025 legislative session on Monday, January 13th. This year’s session is considered a “long-session” when legislators convene for 105 days and do the hard work of writing the two-year (biennial) operating, capital, and transportation budgets. They... Continue Reading

Our President & CEO Joe Fain, as well as Patience Malaba with the Housing Development Consortium, recently submitted the following letter to the Bellevue Planning Commission on behalf of the Eastside Housing Roundtable. (That’s a mouthful.) Read the letter below: Continue Reading

The Chamber’s Transportation Committee started 2025 with a bang (or perhaps a honk?) at its January 9 meeting, continuing talks with City officials as they prepare to investigate new curb pricing policies, and identifying the key touchpoints for the Committee in the new year. While the City... Continue Reading

As our only off-the-record executive get-together, our Executive Business Roundtable attendees heard from local leaders in sustainability last week, including reps from the City of Bellevue, Alaska Airlines, and Earth Finance. Check out the pics & take a sneak peek at some of the questions... Continue Reading

The East King Chambers Coalition, a group of eleven Eastside chambers of commerce, recently released their policy positions for the 2025 state legislative session. Check them out below, or on the EKCC website here. Continue Reading

Our Eastside B2B Professional Alliance networking group recently kicked off the new year with another successful event at Reality Break Escapes’ Team Events location in Bellevue. With 35 professionals in attendance, the room was buzzing with energy as like-minded business leaders connected... Continue Reading

To ring in the New Year, we joined ten of our fellow Eastside chambers of commerce to host our annual EKCC Legislative Kick Off breakfast, ultimately platforming a handful of the electeds representing us in Olympia. There were three panels — which are hashed out a bit further below —... Continue Reading

Last week marked a big moment in the health and wellness scene of our city, with the ribbon cutting of Upgrade Labs Bellevue, bringing in the latest technology and fresh approaches to personal wellbeing. This location is locally owned by Deb and Kevin Arend, longtime professionals in the... Continue Reading