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Valet Parking App, a Pot Convention Starts Today & More

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Lauren Mang February 19, 2015

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There are only a few hours left to donate to the Exploding Kittens card game Kickstarter created by Elan Lee, Shane Small and Seattle cartoonist and founder of The Oatmeal comics Matthew Inman. The 56-card game is dubbed as a “highly strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette,” in which players try to avoid drawing an exploding kitten card. Drawing an exploding kitten card means you explode and “if you explode, you die and you’re out of the game.” So far the Exploding Kittens Kickstarter has about 198,000 backers and is $2 million shy of its goal.

Do we have a war on cars in Seattle? Whatever side you’ve taken in this debate, I think we can all agree that finding parking is more challenging at times than the math portion on the SATs (at least for me). A possible solution to our parking woes is this on-demand valet parking app from San Francisco-based Zirx. King 5 reports the app works similar to Uber in that “the user pulls up the app on their smart phone and pinpoints a location where a Zirx employee will meet you in minutes. Drivers, or agents, park the car in one of multiple garages partnered with the company. They are designed to be within a few minutes of the pick-up location. Users also have the option to pay for agents fill up the gas tank or get a car wash.” Zirx is getting its feet wet in South Lake Union and has certain operation times that you can check here. Download Zirx here.

Facebook is more than doubling its Seattle presence with the announcement of its relocation to an office tower on Dexter Avenue N. The social network employees will get to work in an office building designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, The Puget Sound Business Journal reports. Gehry “will design the feel and flow of the conference rooms, the outdoor decks, the full kitchen and the work spaces.” Lucky ducks. Look for the big move to happen in early 2016.

A home-and-garden-style show for marijuana? Yes. We have that. CannaCon is an open-to-the-public pot convention that begins this morning and runs through Saturday at Pier 91’s Smith Cove Event Center. It’s $10 to get in and while there will be plenty of exhibits for retailers, pot growers and processors, it’s a smoke-free event.

Last night, a crowd of about 100 people gathered in Westlake Park to protest the police shooting death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, a homeless man from Pasco, Washington, who police said had been throwing rocks at cars and officers. (Reports had originally expected about 400 protestors to the area.) Three officers have been placed on leave since the shooting and a Latino organization has sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging an investigation. Kiro Radio’s Jason Rantz asks “Why exactly is a Latino group getting involved? Is it because the victim is Mexican-American?” Pasco is a city with a large Hispanic population; 56 percent according to NBC News, so it’s a likelihood you’ll encounter someone who is Hispanic. Is the Pasco shooting becoming a race issue? Read more of Rantz’s thoughts on the issue here.

 

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