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What ’ s Ahead
Time for a New Classic
Jason Hagey , Executive Editor
The last time the Seattle Mariner played host to the MLB All-Star Game was the summer of 2001 . Eight Mariners were All-Stars during that magical season , including Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez . Freddy Garcia threw seven pitches in the third inning and earned the win for the victorious American League . Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki got the save with a 1-2-3 9th inning . Cal Ripken Jr ., who was in the middle of his farewell season with the Orioles , hit a home run and was named MVP .
It was the stuff of legend . And this summer is shaping up to be just as much , if not more , fun .
For one thing , as contributing writer Debbie Ritenour notes in this issue ’ s cover story , the All-Star festivities have grown from three days to five days . Visit Seattle is estimating the economic impact at north of $ 50 million , more than double the 2001 game .
It ’ s also coming at a time when excitement is building around the team in a way we haven ’ t seen since 2001 and 1995 . There ’ s something special happening in Seattle and the whole world will get it to see it in July .
Elsewhere in this issue , we have a pair of articles highlighting promising fuels of the future . Staff writer Jacqueline Allison explains why Washington is poised to become a producer of sustainable aviation fuel following passage of a bill this year in the Legislature ( page 22 ). And staff writer and photo editor Brian Mittge paid a visit to Seattle-based First Mode , which is working on building hydrogen-powered trucks used in mining ( page 26 ). The company is planning to build a testing facility near Centralia , which sounds like huge fun .
Staying on the theme of trucks , contributing writer Carrina Stanton visited Grays Harbor College ’ s recently revived CDL program , which is helping to address the truck driver shortage ( page 37 ). Funding approved by the Legislature last year is helping spur driver training at eight community and technical colleges and four private / career colleges .
And speaking of community and technical colleges , we got a chance to visit with Paul Francis , the new executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges . Check out the interview beginning on page 18 .
Finally , if there ’ s anything more American than baseball and trucks , it might just be dogs . Americans love their pets of all kinds , but the good girls and good boys seem to be enjoying a moment right now . Check out the article on page 42 about how to protect them with the new pet insurance offering from MetLife and ProPoint .
Thanks for reading . washingtonbusinessmag . com spring 2023 5