What’s wrong with Alexa? | Latest on capital gains tax | Seattle axes funding for gunshot detection tech

Charge up: EV charging infrastructure expands across Pacific Northwest ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: The GeekWire Gala is back: [The Seattle tech community's stylish holiday party returns Wednesday, Dec. 7th! Register now.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES What’s wrong with Alexa? - Amazon is making widespread layoffs on its Devices & Services team amid reports that the division is losing as much as $10 billion a year. We caught up with Tigger (Charlie) Kindel, a Seattle tech industry veteran who worked at Amazon from 2013 to 2018, to get his perspective as Amazon resets its strategy for Alexa and Echo. [Read more and listen to the conversation here](. (Above, Dave Limp, head of Amazon’s Devices & Services division, in 2019.) The controversial capital gains tax in Washington state will move forward with collection ahead of a legal ruling on the legislation set to be made next year. - The tax targeting large stock sales was approved by both the state legislature and the governor in 2021, but its opponents blocked it in a lower court. The state’s Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality of the tax next year. [Read more](. As the shift to electric vehicles picks up speed in Washington state, drivers are concerned about whether charging infrastructure will meet the demand. - Government funding at the state and local levels will address some of the network needs and Pacific Northwest startups are innovating to improve the technology. [Read more.]( The Seattle City Council axed funds for gunshot detection technology in the city’s 2023 budget, denying the mayor one of his public safety line items. - Mayor Bruce Harrell (above, at the GeekWire Summit in October) sought $1 million for the technology, which has been criticized in studies. [Read more.]( Prophia, a startup building a platform to extract key information from commercial real estate contracts, raised $10.2 million. - The Seattle company is looking to streamline the leasing process between landlords and tenants, using software to analyze documents. [Read more](. Need a fresh look for the [GeekWire Gala]( - Win a day of pampering and a stylish new wardrobe from Nordstrom, and then head to our annual holiday party in Seattle on Dec. 7. [Apply now](. Thanks for reading, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Learn more about cloud managed services]( Cloud managed services from Cascadeo help organizations leverage the potential of the public cloud by aligning engineering expertise with business outcomes. When you are ready for true cloud IT transformation, [let’s connect.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Prophia, which extracts info from commercial real estate contracts, raises $10.2M]( [Charge up: How the Pacific Northwest is boosting electric infrastructure as EV sales rise]( [Washington state capital gains tax can move forward with Supreme Court case pending]( [Seattle lawmakers axe funds for gunshot detection tech that was part of mayor’s public safety push]( [What’s wrong with Alexa: Former insider on the challenges facing Amazon’s AI voice assistant]( SPONSORED: GEEK REAL ESTATE [Spacious Bothell Estate Sited Near Mill Creek’s Town Center]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [San Jose State University: Systems Analyst]( - [MedBridge: Software Engineer III (Back end)]( - [Switchee: Fullstack Developer]( - [Remitly: Senior Software Development Engineer – North American Product (Seattle Or U.S. Remote)]( - [Remitly: Senior Mobile Software Development Engineer – B2B Platform (Seattle or U.S. Remote)]( - [Government of Canada Trade Commissioner Service: Senior Trade Officer (International Business Development)]( - [Plus: GTM Strategy and Ops Lead]( - [San Jose State University: Web Analyst]( - [Remitly: Principal Software Development Engineer- Passbook (Seattle or U.S. Remote)]( - [Periscopic: Full Stack Developer]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2022 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](