💸 Will WA get a payroll tax?

Seattle Restaurant Closures and Resurrections

The Seattle Times has a roundup of which restaurants have closed and which have been saved in the last few months. [Seattle Times]

• Saved: College Inn Pub in the U-District has been resurrected under new ownership, and as we reported before, Virginia Inn is now under the ownership of four longtime employees. You love to see it.
• Closed: Pike Pub, JarrBar, Mbar, The Whale Wins, Kate’s Pub, Knee High Stocking Co., and a lot more. 🙁
• ‘Running A Restaurant Is Incredibly Difficult’: Owners cited significant drops in guests, difficulties in sustaining the business, increasing costs, debts from the pandemic, and more.
• More Food Takes! For more on the state of food in Seattle, tune in to today’s episode of the podcast with Bagel Guy Sean Keeley and food influencer (and schmear creator!) Zoe Kahn. [City Cast Seattle 🎧]

Rep. Shaun Scott Announces Bill to Create Statewide Payroll Tax 💰

This announcement comes as Gov. Ferguson warned Tuesday that his budget proposal (coming later this month) will rely solely on spending cuts and not higher taxes to overcome what he says is a multibillion-dollar shortfall. Rep. Scott’s bill would tax U.S.-based companies with more than 20 employees and $5 million in total income. Similar to Seattle’s Jumpstart tax on Seattle employees earning $150,000, the bill would put a tax on salaries above $125,000 a year. The bill would bring in up to $3 billion a year, but Ferguson has said he’d veto any sales or property tax bills that come across his desk. [The Stranger]

Torrent Win! 🏒

Our brand new PWHL team, The Torrent, won their first game last night, scoring two goals 22 seconds apart in the last two minutes of play last night! 🤯 [KOMO News]

Check Your Shredded Cheese and Pecorino Romano for Recall 🧀

The FDA has upgraded a recall to Class II on a half a dozen kinds of shredded cheese products — from mozzarella to pizza-style — from Great Lakes Cheese because they may contain fragments of metal. Several brands of Pecorino Romano have also been recalled for Listeria. If you bought these kinds of cheese from Target or Walmart, double-check that they’re safe. [KUOW]

City to Double Spend on Affordable Housing 🏠

Seattle will spend nearly $28 million to support struggling affordable housing providers, amid ongoing financial challenges within the sector. This compares to $14 million spent last year. The money will help “address deferred maintenance and repairs, and ensure the continued viability of City-financed affordable housing.” [Seattle Times]

Prepare To Get Drenched 🌧️

The weather is fickle and always changing, but right now it looks like we’ll be experiencing some very soggy conditions every day for the next week! Expect up to four inches of rain in the city and up to 10 inches in the mountains. Speaking of, the North Cascades Highway (SR 20) has officially closed for the season, as of last night. [Axios]

Want To Watch the FIFA World Cup Final Draw? ⚽

The draw determines where each qualifying team will play. It starts today at 9 am with coverage beginning at 8 am. Get on it, soccer fans! [Fox13]