Enthusiasts Want Pandas, Amazon to Offer One-Hour Holiday Shipping

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Do you still have some last minute shopping to do before the Holidays? According to KING 5, local online retail giant Amazon will offer one-hour shipping for Prime Now members in the Puget Sound region. Members will be able to order products until 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve to be delivered same day by 11:59 p.m.

Pandas: they’re cute, cuddly and according to The Seattle Times a group of enthusiasts want to bring them to Washington state. The group is encouraged by a “favorable response from Chinese President Xi Jinping” regarding a letter with which he was presented that requested “the People’s Republic of China honor the State of Washington by working in a positive effort to bring native pandas to our state.” Xi has directed his government to “engage in preliminary technical exchanges” of two giant pandas. Opposition for the panda exchange comes from both animal rights activists, who consider the plan as cruel and unnecessary, and local zoos, who may not be able to afford the pandas. The Times says zoos must rent each pair of pandas for 10 years at $1 million per year. Despite the opposition, Ron Chow, the Pierce County businessman who spearheaded the idea, maintains that “it would be a good thing for the community, but we have a long way to go.”

What better way to ring and in the New Year and kick-start 2016’s resolution than with a hike or bike ride? January 1 is a Free Day at more than two dozen Washington State Parks, which allows park goers to access the parks without a Discover Pass. “Washington was among the first states to participate when the event began, and we’re pleased this year to be offering more than 25 First Day Hikes in Washington state parks,” Washington State Parks director Don Hoch said in a press release. “We hope folks will get their families out to join us for some healthy outdoor activity in the parks on New Year’s Day.” Events offered include bike rides, snow-shoe treks and even a 5K run.

A new report by Apartment Insights, a real estate research and consulting firm, has found that Seattle’s apartment rental market has taken a dip. Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the vacancy rate in King and Snohomish counties is going up and rents, while still rising, are slowing. These changes are more notable in the most expensive submarkets such as downtown, Belltown and South Lake Union. The average rental rate dropped $59 per month and it was found that landlords are offering more incentives such as free rent. According to Apartment Insights, “This quarter’s alarming deterioration of the most expensive submarkets may be a prime indicator that the market is getting softer and will continue to do so.”