Seattle News and Events for Nov. 12-22, 2015

Washington State Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Month

Washington’s entrepreneurial spirit will be showcased during the month of November in cities and counties throughout the state. Held in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, an international celebration of entrepreneurship, more than 100 activities are planned statewide to inspire, encourage and support new business startups.

Last year, entrepreneurship events took place in every county, making Washington #1 in participation and number of events among all states. Organized by local educators, economic development organizations and companies, Global Entrepreneur Week events include business plan competitions, seminars, workshops, speaker series, webinars and startup weekends, all designed to help people explore their entrepreneurial side and perhaps even become inspired to start a business.

Global Entrepreneur Week is just one of a number of programs associated with Commerce’s Startup 365 Washington, which is a clearinghouse for all the information and resources entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses need to achieve success.

A complete list of events by county and by date can be found at Startup 365 Washington http://startup.choosewashingtonstate.com/global-entrepreneurship-week

Murray Calls for Continued Support to Protect Washington State Families From E. Coli

This week, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee wrote a letter to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) expressing her concern over an outbreak of E.coli in Washington state associated with Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. In the letter, Murray expressed appreciation for the CDC’s efforts to date to support state and local health officials’ response to the outbreak, and called for continued support to help ensure Washington state families are safe as officials continue to combat the outbreak.

“I write to express concern about the current outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in Washington state associated with Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, and to express appreciation for the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) efforts to date in support of state and local health officials’ response. A swift and decisive local response is key to containing foodborne illness outbreaks, and the effectiveness of these actions is amplified when local and state officials can benefit from federal expertise at the CDC,” said Senator Murray. “It is essential that we work together to identify the root cause of this outbreak and do everything we can to prevent them in the future. Until we have the answers we need to ensure that Washington state families are safe from this threat, I urge you to maintain your essential support for our state and local health officials in combating this outbreak.”

Hub Bellevue to host launch party for new working space

BELLEVUE, Wash. – In partnership with the City of Bellevue, Hub Bellevue is scheduled to officially debut its new co-working space, private offices, conference rooms, innovation lab and event venue at a launch celebration Nov. 10 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event marks the culmination of a joint effort to renovate the city-owned Lincoln Center, a process that took more than nine months to complete.

“Working with Impact Hub is part of Bellevue’s goal to provide more opportunities for aspiring business owners to engage in innovative projects,” said Bellevue Councilmember Lynne Robinson. “By fostering an environment for companies to incubate, we hope more businesses will continue to call the Eastside ‘home’ as they grow.”

Hub Bellevue currently houses more than 100 inspiring Eastside entrepreneurs and startups. The community ranges from Saar Safra and Ken Egozi of ActiveGiver, a service that allows people to donate to politicians based on support for a specific cause, to Katherine Sears and Ken Shear from Booktrope, a collaborative website aimed at reinventing book publishing. Demand for co-working space on the Eastside is strong and is expected to continue to grow as the region’s technology, bioscience and aerospace sectors expand.

"We are very happy with the response we've seen from the community so far," said Brian Howe, CEO of Impact Hub Seattle. "There was a large unmet demand for this type of space when we arrived. We still have some work to do, but we’re looking forward to being a part of Bellevue for the long haul."

The launch party offers interested residents an opportunity to mingle with community leaders, meet the entrepreneurs, and enjoy appetizers and drinks provided by BizX, a prime example of one of the Eastside’s many innovative companies.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., with short remarks from city leaders beginning at 6:30 p.m. A $5 donation to the event and Hub Bellevue is suggested. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP online.

View more Seattle and Portland area events on the Community Calendar.