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 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
Inside Believe 2026, the Bellevue Chamber's third annual showcase at the Botanical Garden spotlighting 14 smaller and newer Eastside nonprofits. Joe Fain on the need behind Bellevue's reputation, plus Councilmember Claire Sumadiwirya on why nonprofits are the community's soul. Continue Reading
Everything you need to know before the 2026 Bellevue Regional Awards Gala (BRAG) on June 5 at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue: schedule, live and silent auction, awards, raffle, dress code, and how to bid. Continue Reading
Federal and state tax experts unpacked the biggest changes in a generation at April's Chamber Lunch. Cindy Ranzow on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Scott Edwards on WA's largest tax increase in history, and Neil Strege on the spending trends driving it all. Continue Reading
The 2026 Eastside Real Estate Symposium opened with Amazon Public Policy Director Guy Palumbo and CBRE Senior Vice President Bryan Oliver on the forces reshaping the region's housing and office markets. Continue Reading
Washington needs 1.1 million homes over 20 years and currently falls short by tens of thousands annually. The ERES policy panel brought together Senator Jessica Bateman on systemic housing reform, Bellevue Director Nick Whipple on development services improvements and GovStream AI, and Saf Rabah Continue Reading
Since the Wilburton rezone passed in June 2025, developers have submitted applications for over 2,300 housing units in the 300-acre neighborhood. The ERES panel examined the code buildability strategies, MFTE Supercharger, and East Rail infrastructure that made Wilburton a model Continue Reading
Dartmouth economist Andrew Samwick closed ERES 2026 with a keynote on federal fiscal headwinds, AI's real employment impact, and the structural advantages positioning the Eastside for continued growth. Continue Reading
On Tuesday, the Bellevue Chamber’s 2026 Women’s Leadership Conference brought together a room full of ambitious, thoughtful, and candid leaders for a day built around one big idea: growth isn’t something we wait for, it’s something we practice. Continue Reading
2025 flew by — let’s run through each month and reflect on all the good stuff we did this past year! (Advocacy folks don’t fret: Your much-needed and very-detailed “Policy Wrapped” is coming soon. Let’s reflect on the fun stuff first, eh?) Click on each month... Continue Reading
This year’s 2026 Legislative Kick Off, hosted alongside the East King Chambers Coalition, reinforced something we know to be true across our region: when we show up with a unified voice, we can drive progress on the issues that matter most to employers, families, and communities. Continue Reading
