As you can probably tell, we’re big fans of this city — and of everyone who makes it awesome. You know what else we’re big fans of? Every time you share out The Evergrey and help us grow into a smarter, stronger community of Seattleites who live like we live here.

So this week, we’re going to try something a little crazy. We’re going to give away free ad spots in the newsletter to shout out your favorite local or local org. And all you need to do for a chance to win is get at least one person to sign up for The Evergrey using your unique link to our signup form: https://theevergrey.com/invitation/*|UNIQID|*

Whoa, OK. So how many ad spots are you giving away?

We’ll give away a total of eight ad spots to eight winners.

Is sharing The Evergrey easy? Can I do it in less than 2 minutes?

Yep! All you have to do is send this link to our signup form to someone you think should try us out: https://theevergrey.com/invitation/*|UNIQID|*

👆 This link is unique because it keeps track of how many folks sign up through you. That lets us give you prizes. 

Let’s say I win one of these free ad spots. Can I shout out, like, my dad?

Sure! You can shout out any person or organization you want for any reason you want, as long as they’re local, they’re not jerks, you shout them out from a place of support and admiration, and your language isn’t, you know, hateful or divisive toward anyone. We’re not fans of that. 🙂

I’m competitive. How do I up my odds here?

• Text, email, or message your unique link right now to someone who wants to lean in to their Seattle life. Because momentum.
• Sidle up next to someone cool and see if they could use a cheat sheet to Seattle.
• Drop your unique link into a Facebook group, email list, or company message board where people would dig hearing about it. Pro tip: One of our readers who works for one of those big Seattle companies got 80+ signups this way. 😯

When will you draw the winners?

We’ll draw two new winners every day this week at 2:30 p.m. and announce them in the next day’s newsletter. The winners will be drawn at random from the pool of folks who’ve gotten at least one new person to subscribe to The Evergrey since THIS newsletter hit your inbox. Soooo if you get at least one person to sign up for the newsletter today, your name will be in each daily drawing through Friday. 😉

What if I bring in way more than 1 new subscriber? Can I get more than a free ad?

Always. Every new subscriber you bring in with your unique link (track ‘em here!) earns you prizes as part of our ongoing ambassador program. Speaking of which, Warren Etheredge and Kara Mattaini — you are just two subscribers away from getting that sweet Evergrey keychain. And Andrea James, dcarnegie, Rhonda Curry, and Molly Firth — you’ve just got a couple referrals left before we send you those ambassador stickers. 🙌

We’ll announce the first winners in tomorrow’s edition. Thank you for all you do to support the newsletter, and good luck!

Crowded. Seattle is the fastest growing major U.S. of the whole decade, but the growth has been pretty darn uneven. According to FYI Guy Gene Balk, just 13 percent of Seattle’s land area has taken in more than half of our city’s newcomers this decade, while a bunch of our neighborhoods look pretty much the same as ever. One reason: Zoning. “When you can’t build anything but single-family homes,” Gene writes, “population can only grow so much.” (The Seattle Times)

King Felix! Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez had a hell of a game Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays and now our boys are first place in the American League West. 🎉 “Fandom is greedy; it takes callously, reminding you constantly, cruelly, that in this sphere you are entitled to nothing,” writes Mariners fan Isabelle Minasian. “But the moments of joy, the peaks of triumph, the giddy communion with your compatriots – those are when fandom gives back.” (MLB, Lookout Landing)

End of an era. Howard Schultz is stepping down from Starbucks, y’all. Our home-brewed coffee giant had around 17 stores when he took over as CEO in 1986 and made it a global phenomenon. He headed up the company ‘til 2000, then again from 2008 to 2017 — when he shifted away from that gig to be Starbucks’ executive chairman. What’s Howard going to do next? “Figure out if there is a role I can play in giving back.” One possibility? President. (The Seattle Times)

Guess what state will pay you to move there? Vermont. We thought this was a joke, but nope: Vermont is actually setting aside enough money to pay over 100 people $10,000 each to move to the Green Mountain State and work remotely for an out-of-state employer. P.S. — please don’t leave! 😘 Thanks for the tip, Sara Kiesler. (Yahoo Finance)

REMEMBER HARVEY DANGER’S ‘FLAGPOLE SITTA’? 🎤

Rolling Stone just called it the best pop song of 1998. And here’s a fun fact: The arts editor at The Stranger is none other than Harvey Danger lead singer Sean Nelson.

The Stranger had some fun talking with Sean about the song’s supreme awesomeness yesterday. Gotta give it a listen? We thought so. Here you go.

Go rock it today, all. — The Evergrey