Today’s Forecast

🛰️ Give us some space

Redmond Space District becomes Eastside city’s official nickname

The team at Triumph, an aerospace manufacturer and systems developer in Redmond, WA, posing near a banner that says "Dream."

Triumph specializes in aerospace systems and structures. | Photo via Triumph

New neighborhood name just dropped — and it’s out of this world. Redmond is now known as the Redmond Space District after the Eastside city’s mayor Angela Birney issued an official proclamation. So if aliens ever make contact, they know where to go first.

The moniker refers to the area’s large aerospace industry, which has been growing steadily for more than five decades. Redmond claims to build more satellites than anywhere else in the world thanks to companies like Starlink, the network from SpaceX that produces four out of every 10 satellites in operation. Wowza.

The final frontier

The Space District started with humble beginnings. Redmond was mostly farmland back in the 1960s, but several engineers from Boeing who were involved in space-bound projects planted the seeds of something big. They founded the Rocket Research company that became Aerojet Rocketdyne.

You might recognize that name — the company has produced rockets and thrusters for every space mission over the past 50+ years, including Apollo 11. Though Aerojet Rocketdyne has headquarters and manufacturing facilities in California, its Redmond-built rockets also helped propel the Curiosity rover to Mars. Show offs.

A poster that says Redmond Space District next to boxes full of cupcakes — Redmond Space District was part of the mayor’s 2023 State of the City address.
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Photo via One Redmond

Giant leaps

Redmond took off from there and became the home planet for other stargazing companies like:

Project Kuiper | Amazon’s low Earth orbiting satellite network focusing on widespread broadband
Triumph | Specializes in aerospace products and systems
Xplore | A local startup with ambitions to produce satellites for commercial, deep-space missions

Many of these companies are currently hiring, and Redmond has created a job board where you can find all the area’s aerospace industry openings in one place.

Name dropping

Time to celebrate? Xplore has suggested creating a Redmond Space District Day, which would involve collaborative events among companies like lectures and workforce development (co-founder Lisa Rich coined the Space District term in 2021).

Learn more about how other spots in Washington earned their names at the Redmond Historical Society’s Speaker series on Saturday, April 8.

Poll

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Events

Monday, April 3

Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Angels | Monday, Apr. 3 | 6:40 p.m. | T-Mobile Park, 1250 First Ave. S., Seattle | $10-$600 | The Mariners’ first home games of the year continue against an AL West rival and their megastar Shohei Ohtani.

Tuesday, April 4

PacSci Ignite Luncheon | Tuesday, Apr. 4 | 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. | Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave. N., Seattle | Donations encouraged | Help raise funds for the museum while checking out a live combustion demo and other exhibits.
Where Do the Birds Go? | Tuesday, Apr. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle | $5-$20 | Learn the mysteries behind migration patterns with avian experts Rebecca Heisman and Sally James.

Wednesday, April 5

Guest Chef Night with Melissa Miranda | Wednesday, Apr. 5 | 4:30 p.m. | Ba Sa, 101 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island | $150 | Musang’s acclaimed chef-owner takes a ferry over to Bainbridge to serve a multi-course meal with items like kombu-cured steelhead.
Seattle Moisture Festival | Wednesday, April 5-Sunday, April 16 | Various times | Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, Seattle | $15-$46 | The longtime vaudevillian extravaganza highlighting puppets, contortionists, and other quirky performers is back in a new venue.

Thursday, April 6

Engineering Lab | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | North End Makerspace, 12317 15th Ave. NE #108, Seattle | Free | Work on your robot or computer-assisted design project and meet other tech savvy folks.
Lindy West: Every Castle, Ranked | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Neptune Theatre, 1303 NE 45th St., Seattle | $25 | The bestselling author of “Shrill” gives us her take on ancient fortresses, fantasies — and the history of toilets.

Friday, April 7

“You Are Not Alone” | Friday, Apr. 7 | 5 p.m. | Slip Gallery, 2301 First Ave., Seattle | $15-$50 | Living Artists Collective’s month-long series about the importance of shared experiences starts with a networking night for creatives.

Plan ahead with our community events calendar below.

Wonderful week ahead

Click here to have your event featured.

Finance

This billion-dollar startup wants to help you retire

Portrait of businesswoman standing against a wooden wall in office.

SmartAsset’s no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors who serve your area. | Photo by Dean Mitchell

This Princeton grad’s startup raised $161 million to help people plan for retirement. 👀

If you’re one of the whopping 110 million Americans over age 50 — or a wise Millennial looking to get ahead — SmartAsset’s no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors serving our local area.

In just a few minutes, you can get matched with up to three financial advisors, each legally bound to work in your best interest. Now that’s service.*

Take the free quiz

News Notes

Weather

49º | Cloudy with occasional showers | 36% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 6:44 a.m.
Set: 7:41 p.m.

Civic

Mayor Bruce Harrell recently announced his proposal for a $970 million housing levy. The seven-year plan is intended to create 3,000+ new affordable homes for renting and buying and fund wage stabilization for low-income housing residents. The levy now goes to the city council for consideration.
Punctuation controversy settled — period. The King County Council voted to make using the Oxford comma standard practice when writing legislation, ordinances, and other official county rules. Proponents said the change will help improve clarity within government documents. (Seattle Times)

Open

Bellevue City Hall Plaza reopened to the public this weekend after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The revamped plaza next to the future East Link light rail station has several new art pieces on display, including a bronze casting of red cedar roots by PNW artist Dan Corson.
Looking to chip in? Coping Cookies, a bakery that donates proceeds to local nonprofits, has a new Capitol Hill shop at 1828 12th Ave. The business serves flavors like Sundae Fundae (banana hot fudge) and Snickerdoodle, with an online store coming soon (Capitol Hill Blog)

Environment

Seattle City Light has started to install curbside electric vehicle charging stations through a new pilot program. The first station is now operational in Portage Bay, and 30 more around town should be finished over the summer. You can track them as they go up via an interactive map. (KING 5)

Drink

New West Seattle speakeasy Revelry Room is now open in the alley behind Jet City Labs at 4547 California Ave. The spot from local entrepreneurs Derek Moon and Tony Larson has a retro theme and emphasizes Black-owned beer, wine, and spirits on the menu. (West Seattle Blog)

Closing

After 14 years of acrobatics, Emerald City Trapeze has closed down its SODO-based classes and performances due to financial challenges. The high-flying troupe is currently hoping to find another venue to get back in the swing of things, despite the setback. (The Stranger)

Stat

13,751. That’s how many new residents King County gained from July 2021 to July 2022, according to data recently released by the US Census Bureau. The uptick reverses a population dip that occurred in the Seattle area during the pandemic as people started leaving urban centers. (GeekWire)

Real Estate

A San Juan Island compound with local sports mogul roots is on the market for a whopping $75 million. The 90-acre property with three houses, two pools, and its own set of pickleball courts was once occupied by late Seattle Storm-founder Ginger Ackerley and her husband Barry, co-owner of the Sonics. (Seattle Times)

Health

Seattle/King County Clinic, happening April 27-30 at Seattle Center, is looking for dental, medical, and eyecare professionals to volunteer, along with social workers, health insurance navigators, interpreters, and other general volunteers to help bring free vision, dental and medical care to people struggling to access and/or afford healthcare. Sign up here.*

Wellness

Our tip for a gentle, gradual wake-up: Amazon’s Halo Rise, which uses smart alarm clock technology to simulate a sunrise. Bonus: Turn on the sleep tracking feature to help improve your sleep — no wearable device required.

Community

How to navigate our events page

How to navigate our community events page

Our events page makes it easy to find happenings on the go. | Photo by Ketut Subiyanto via Pexels

You may be familiar with the events section of our newsletter — but what about our website?

Make the most of our comprehensive events calendar with these pro tips for navigating our site like a true local.

Event search tools

First, head to our Events page.

Then, start scrolling to see what events are coming up, or use these key features to filter events more specifically:

Magnifying glass icon: Search keywords to find event categories or search events by name.
“All Events” drop-down (desktop): Search for virtual events or “Editor’s Picks.”

What’s an Editor’s Pick, you ask? Those are events that our team has personally curated for our audience. Aka: fun, noteworthy, or important going-ons in the community.

Descending list icon (desktop): Choose how you want events for each day to be ordered — by time, popularity, or alphabetically.
Bullet list icon: Change the format from lists to thumbnails.
Additional tools: Select date, location, and/or radius.

Add your own event

You can add your own events to our community calendar. Here’s how:

“Add Event” calendar button: Click or tap this button, create a login, and input your event information. We need the name, date(s), time(s), location, price, and a brief description.

Bonus: You can always upload events for free, or choose a paid option to guarantee that it’s listed in our newsletter. Review our promotional offerings before clicking “submit.”

Happy event hunting!

The Wrap

Today’s Edition By:
Gabe

From the Editor

I’m really happy that spring and baseball season is here, but let’s not forget the icy accomplishments of the Kraken. Our boys are right in the thick of an NHL playoff race.

Missed Friday’s newsletter? Read all the cool reader-submitted ideas for the Lusty Lady.

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