The latest & greatest on all things Bellevue, Eastside, and Chamber-member-related.
Ascend Hospitality Group and Amazon hosted the sixth annual AHG Has Your Back on July 25, giving 700 students from five nonprofits premium backpacks, school supplies, and carnival fun at the Meadow in downtown Bellevue as part of the Dream Big back-to-school program. Continue Reading
The Bellevue Chamber Board of Directors gathered at the Brazen family home for our annual Summer Social. A thank you to the Brazens for hosting, and an invitation to meet the members who lead the Chamber. Continue Reading
Bellevue City Council sent the MFTE Catalyst housing ordinance to a future consent calendar and studied a Transportation Benefit District that could add about $250 million against a $1.5 billion, 20-year transportation need. Chamber-convened coalitions testified on both items. Continue Reading
Bellevue Chamber President & CEO Joe Fain joined a panel with Steve Mullin at AWB's Economic Future Solutions Summit, where speakers raised concerns about state budgeting, taxes, regulations, and cost pressures on small and midsize businesses. Continue Reading
Bellevue Chamber CEO Joe Fain on what Seattle's World Cup summer taught him about hope, pride, and joy, and why fighting cynicism, not just bad ideas, is the region's next great civic project. Continue Reading
Bellevue City Council adopted Ordinance 6929, renewing Old Bellevue's Main Street design controls with a reworked facade incentive, reviewed a draft business improvement area policy, and started the Bellevue College rezone. Continue Reading
The Bellevue Children's Business Fair returned to Downtown Park for 2026, with over 75 kid businesses and 120 young entrepreneurs selling their wares. New this year: a five-week workshop that helped participants sharpen their products and pitches. Continue Reading
Fifteen new businesses joined the Bellevue Chamber in June 2026, spanning real estate and development, technology, hospitality, professional services, and education. Meet them all. Continue Reading
Our June PLUSH Committee recap: Bellevue's Downtown Livability 2.0 code refresh (no height or FAR changes), the push to fix BelRed's rigid 300-foot street grid, parking reform, and a looming electricity-capacity crunch that could throttle Eastside growth. Continue Reading
The June East King Chambers Coalition meeting covered Washington Saves, the new state retirement program launching in 2027; Senator Marko Liias on rising transportation costs and SR 18 safety; and a new AECOM study warning of an electric grid shortfall across Bellevue and Redmond. Continue Reading
Every year, the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce asks a simple question: what are Bellevue voters actually thinking? Answering it well takes a rigorous instrument, a consistent method held steady over time, and the patience to listen even when the answers are complicated. Continue Reading
Every few weeks a new economic ranking shows Washington at the head of the pack, or scraping bottom. Here's the analysis and the tool to help explain the contradiction. Continue Reading
