Business

Washington state’s venture capital activity dropped a lot in the first quarter. But it may be too early to worry about the health of the startup community.

Washington usually ranks among the top five markets for venture capital funding – this time the state fell to number 10.

Boeing says it will invest more than $1 billion in South Carolina over the next eight years and create 2,000 new jobs there as part of an agreement to qualify for economic development incentives the state is offering.

South Carolina lawmakers are proposing $120 million in incentives to help fund Boeing's expansion.

The Seattle area has a dubious distinction – the biggest wage gap between men and women of any major metropolitan area in the country.

As the NBA weighs whether to allow the Kings basketball team to move to Seattle from Sacramento, the league has to consider the possibility of an antitrust lawsuit.

Why should the Sacramento Kings be worth more than $500 million when they’re nowhere near the top of the league? Sports economist Roger Noll of Stanford University says it’s simple: a scarce supply of teams. That's by design, he says, because NBA owners want to keep their franchises valuable. And that exposes the league to a possible lawsuit. 

Boeing says its latest 787 flight should wrap up testing for its fix of the battery problems that have kept the plane grounded.

Boeing will analyze the data from the test and submit materials to the Federal Aviation Administration, which will then decide whether Boeing's battery fix is good enough for airlines to safely fly it again.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman who says her decades-old drug convictions cost her a chance to rent an apartment—a violation of Washington state law. 

And hundreds others may have been illegally rejected for apartments in the state because of unfair background checks.