1. It turns out Seattle's booming downtown real estate market isn't just about symphonies and fancy restaurants. The people in this story enjoy the change from their previous single-family homes but note that downtown needs more variety of restaurants, shops and people to be a real community. The way to get there, of course, is with even more units -- which will eventually help lower prices -- and attracting a broader range of residents with infrastructure such as parks and schools.
2. Victoria is considering options to redevelop much of its waterfront, which was transferred from national to local control a few years ago. Details of one of the first projects are due next month.
3. A veteran Portland city commissioner has to choose, the Oregonian says, "between being the heir to Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield or being there for his toddler son."
4. The growth in container traffic is slowing at the Port of Tacoma as shipping lines shift to Southern California. The hiccup shows that Puget Sound ports need to become more efficient in order to compete with ports that have larger local markets.