The plaque to the right is found in an elevator at Starbucks HQ. A Seattlest tipster snapped a photo and sent it along, wondering if maybe this indicates an unusual "reverse psychology" approach to motivational phrases. more ›

Just last week we mentioned a memo that Starbucks layoffs were in the wind, but with the caveat that the cuts were supposed to hit management hardest. Half right. The Wall Street Journal says the carnage is in response to Starbucks earning only $64 million in the first quarter. Apparently the $64 million answer is to close 200 U.S. stores, with another 100 international locations on the chopping block, and to lay off 6,000 store employees, with another 700 culled from Seattle HQ and other field offices. For reaction, we turn to a commenter at Starbucks Gossip: "Holy s**t! It's the damn Titanic!!" CEO Howard Schultz has cut his salary to $10,000 from $1.2 million--the WSJ says, "Once his health-care coverage costs are deducted from his salary, Mr. Schultz will earn less than $4 a month." more ›

The new $500 million headquarters for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation broke ground today on lower Queen Anne. The foundation headquarters take up an entire city block, across the street from the Seattle Center and his Microsoft buddy Paul Allen's pet project, the EMP. The planned campus will be 90,000 square feet and include offices for 1,200 employees as well as an interactive museum. Sadly there is no word if there will be a Batman-style signal for Bill Gates and the foundation. (A new economy is struggling? A library needs new computers? You want to talk about health care in Africa? Just flash the Gates Foundation signal!) The Gates foundation hopes to move into their new headquarters, with or without our super hero signal idea, in 2010. more ›