Predictions for 2019

Canada will win the Women’s World Cup in France this summer.
Despite predictions of tailored suiting taking the ready to wear world by storm, Seattleites won’t buy it, opting instead for hippy modernism.
National politics will remain unpredictable, outrageous, and confounding. Here’s hoping this will encourage a return to good governance and addressing the fifth risk in 2020.

Space tourism will become a big thing in 2019, with several companies competing over who can send the most famous person above the Karman line.
Kayaking will become very popular during the Seattle Squeeze, and planners will start to consider permanent infrastructure for kayak commuting.
We will get so tired of informal videos from politicians’ kitchens during the election season after Bernie Sanders peels potatoes online for hours.

We will make significant progress on addressing one historically underfunded public good – perhaps city streets.
Wealthy Puget Sound residents will begin to commute by helicopter to escape the traffic.
The world will not end in 2019, but we’ll continue to wonder when it will.

Childish Gambino and Chance the Rapper will drop a surprise collab album.
Seahawks Bobby Wagner will adopt a puppy, and his pup will be selected for the Puppy Bowl.

Taylor Swift will release her first album under the Republic Record imprint; it will be a low-production album to establish a clean break from the pop- and country-oriented personas that marked her years at Big Machine.
Seattle will experience a winter storm event in December that prohibits leaving your residence.
Apple stock will drop to a low of $123 per share as everyone wakes up to the fabric of lies that is the iPhone.

A new reality show will take America by storm: The Real Dogs of Amazon.
Mass hysteria caused by the closure of the viaduct will cause West Seattle to secede from Seattle.
Metro will offer free wi-fi on all buses.

At least one major political scandal will come and go with no serious public reaction because it will occurs at the same time as a Kardashian breakup.
Run the Jewels will release RTJ4 mid-2019 and announce their Run the Universe tour.
Augmented Reality will go mainstream.

I will (finally) finish my Master of Information and Data Science program and be able to read a book that isn’t about statistics, data structures, or machine learning.
Texas A&M will (finally) finish a college football season with a Top 10 ranking and play in a New Year’s Day bowl game.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement will (finally) be completed, and the new tunnel will be named the Bertha Expressway in honor of the valiant boring machine that nearly gave its life for Seattle’s transportation future.

The Viaduct closure and Seattle Squeeze will spur a dramatic increase in bike commuters, despite few improvements to the city’s bike network.
Prioritizing investments in bike lanes will become a hotly contested issue in the City Council election.

Not to be held back by their 2018 Headquarters announcement, Amazon will announce two new headquarters in 2019.
Our pup, Penny, will outgrow puppyhood this year and not destroy any permanent house fixtures (e.g. stairs, drywall, etc.).
Following the success of Portland’s Salt and Straw opening on Capitol Hill in 2018, Ohio’s Jeni’s Splendid Ice cream will open shop in Seattle in 2019.

The PNW will get record snowfall this year - but only in the mountain passes, where it belongs!
Cities and counties across Washington will make great progress creating mixed use places and adding recreation facilities with public/private partnerships, grants, and impact fees.

I’m calling it now - fanny packs will be THE fashion accessory of 2019!
Huskies will – once again – win the Pac-12 title.
Thanks to global warming, summer will officially kick off in Seattle BEFORE July 5, for the first time ever.

Edgar will finally be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Seattleites will quickly bring an end to the proposed Pepto Bismol pink stadium lighting following T-Mobile’s takeover of Safeco Field.
One of the Amazon HQ2 cities (or rather, the current residents of one of the cities) will rebel.

Now that the Mediterranean Diet is the recommended fad, siestas will also become a cultural norm for Americans.

The Seahawks will win the divisionals in the 2019/2020 season.
Another popular restaurant chain will open its first location in Seattle, following Shake Shack and Salt & Straw.
A Washington grower will grow the largest pumpkin in the US.

Glass will be the only decent film M. Night Shyamalan has made since The Sixth Sense.
Star Wars Land will open in Disneyland California.
The new superfood trend will be sauerkraut.

The new NHL extension team name will be announced as the Seattle Freeze.
The word “merroir” will be added to the dictionary. Merroir is used by bougie (added in 2018) foodies (first known use: 1980) to describe the effect of marine environmental factors on the flavors present in oysters in the way terroir affects wine.
We will mark the end of the #SeattleSqueeze with Elon Musk putting Bertha into space, which conveniently for him, doubles as a mash-up PR stunt for the Boring Company and SpaceX.