Washington marijuana companies report they are struggling to profit significantly due to a 25 percent excise tax the state collects on pot at each stage of processing: as it transfers from growers, to processors, to retailers. While Seattle’s Cannabis City has had over $2.5 million in sales in the past six months, owner James Lathrop told Crosscut, “We’re just struggling to stay alive.” 

For renters and buyers both, it is grudgingly known that Seattle is becoming increasingly expensive. For those dreaming of buying here, Curbed now reports that you probably need to be making at least $75,000 annually to afford a median-priced house of $359,900. Find full details here.

Seattle-based beer maker PicoBrew released what they believe is the world’s first automatic beer brewing appliance. The Zymatic machine, selling for $1,700, is a Keurig for ale: Brewers attach a 5-gallon keg of water to the Zymatic, add grain and hops in their various compartments and let the brewing begin. Home brewers aren’t the only ones interested; Fremont Brewing recently bought their own Zymatic.

Students at Marysville Pilchuk High have had a challenging month since the October 24 shooting, but the girls basketball team received a lift yesterday when the Seattle Storm and Olympic basketball star Sue Bird made a surprise visit at practice. Bird told King 5 news her goal was to help the girls smile and get their thoughts off of the shooting briefly. “All the stuff you’re dealing with off the court? Let it go, school, homework, whatever it may be,” Bird told the team.

Finding the prices too high on Amazon? Now, with select products, you can click on “Make an Offer” to negotiate with the seller. The new program started yesterday with 150,000 collectible goods available for haggling, including sports memorabilia, coins, fine art and more.

Though this season has been rockier for the Seahawks, the Seattle PI predicts that according to new odds, our team—back in Beast Mode of late—will most likely win the NFC West division crown again and make the playoffs this winter.