Hi, I'm Monica Nicholsberg, co-host of KUOW's economy podcast, Booming.

Microsoft President Brad Smith's favorite catchphrase of the moment is,

AI is the electricity of our age.

The next great general purpose technology.

So what does that mean for all of us?

On the latest episode, I spoke with a tech historian to find out what lessons we can learn from the last time a truly revolutionary technology took over the world.

Listen to booming on the KUOW app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, good morning. I'm Patricia Murphy. It's Tuesday. This is Seattle now.

Summer is here, and for local bookworms, that means time for beach reads. We'll take a trip to Elliott Bay Books on Capitol Hill to check out what local readers are digging into this summer in a minute. But first, let's get you caught up.

Drivers take note.

Washington's gas tax will increase by 6% today, bringing it up to 55 cents a gallon.

If you think that's pricey, you'd be right.

AAA says Washington gas prices are the third most expensive in the nation.

Drivers are paying an average of $4.43 a gallon.

And if you use the Highway 99 tunnel in Seattle, toll rates are going up by 3%. That amounts to an extra 5 to 10 cents depending on what time of day you use it.

Interim Seattle Police Chief Sean Barnes is expected to be officially appointed today by the Seattle City Council. The Public Safety Committee

has recommended his appointment and the full council will make their decision at 2 o'clock. Barnes

has served as interim Seattle Police Chief since January. Previously, he was police chief

in Madison, Wisconsin. Seattle's former police chief, Adrian Diaz, was demoted from the job last

May and then fired in December. And Seattle Storm Legend Sue Bird will be immortalized in bronze.

A statue of the five-time Olympic gold medalist will be unveiled outside

of Climate Pledge Arena, August 17th. Bird retired in 2022 after spending her entire 21-year

...