A whirlwind tour of Seattle's most efficient house. Ever.

GET YOUR EDUCATION ON THE AVE (OF NW 61ST STREET IN BALLARD)

Everything's looking Emerald at the moment. Sun is shining, address wasn't hard to find, and I now get semi-private access to Seattle's very first Emerald Star-rated home—which, in a city fueled by organic coffee and clean living, is a big deal.

Happily residing in this city of sustainability—Ballard, specifically—this new home fits right in in terms of the green mindset that permeates throughout the neighborhood. When you picture it in your head, you're probably conjuring up thought bubbles containing just the right amount of eccentricity and eco-friendliness all the way. And you'd be correct. This home is basically the housing version of a vegan organic kale smoothie, except it goes down a lot better.

I've heard nothing but great things about this place; the guts of it all and how clean and efficient everything is—2,218 square feet of industrial-strength efficiency, both inside and out. For a luxury-esque home containing four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, that's a feat that shouldn't go unnoticed. And it doesn't. Funnily enough, there's another number that Dwell likes to flaunt alongside the bedroom and bathroom digits, and that's the 8.0kW of solar panels up on the roof. I've been told that number is quite impressive.

HERE

Nestled snugly in between the seemingly endless rows of unique sweet shops, colloquial little bars, and nuevo waffle shacks, I find it. Of course it's in Ballard. It just makes too much sense.

For the moment, I'm looking forward to a nice side chat with the builder, Anthony, and a bit of quiet time. Approaching the property, one notices, whether they want to or not, that the exterior looks a bit rustic. It actually looks pretty cool and fits the landscape well. Turns out that this rustic appeal is a big part of the story; every aspect of the home is made from reclaimed materials.

There are balloons outside the house and various people I don't know shuffling in and out. Apparently I'd missed the open house sign sitting near the sidewalk. There goes my quiet time.

Shoes off and inside, it's a celebratory atmosphere complete with a photo posing backdrop in the open, expansive living area. I stand near this part very awkwardly, desperately searching for a familiar face to engage with so I can stamp my acceptance as one of the in-crowd. Oh, hey, there's the Built Green crew. I know them. Thank goodness. Turns out they're a big part of the celebration.

OK, you ask, what exactly are we celebrating? Milestones. First, this is Dwell's 100th completed home, which is impressive when you think about it. Even more so, and possibly more important, at least to the housing industry and public at large, is that this home is the city of Seattle's first spec home to receive a Built Green Emerald Star certification—which sounds impressive, because it is. Sorry, formalities; a spec home, short for speculative home, is a home which is built with features that the builder thinks will provide maximum appeal for potential buyers. This is opposed to a custom home, where a buyer purchases early and oversees construction, what goes in, out, and around the home—and what doesn't. This one's aim was true, because it was quickly snatched up for $850,000.

THERE

I know what you've been thinking this whole time: What's so cool about this Emerald Star rating? Taking cues from Built Green's stringent checklist, filled with ceiling-level standards on everything from stormwater runoff to material requirements, this house bursts through the roof by being 100 percent electric, boasting net zero energy use via over-our-head features like triple-glazed wood windows, radiant-heated floors, and a heat pump water heater that defies time and space by somehow providing 450 percent efficiency.

Want to know what's more impressive? This home actually provides energy back to the grid. Think about that for a moment. Not only does it use zero energy over a year, it uses its awesomeness to create energy.

Yep. That's why this house is so cool.

Basically, it's a beast in the best sense of the word. Ivan Drago's scientifically modified body and Rocky's nature-produced strength have merged on a quiet street in Ballard. Remember Rocky's final speech from that movie? We can all change. When it comes to sustainable housing, we all will change, eventually. Someday we won't have a choice. It's not today, but experiencing this house makes one want to expedite the consensus to the rest of the industry.

Oh, and you know what may be the most impressive part of this place is? It's really comfortable. I want to hang out in every crevice of every room for a few minutes before moving to the next comfy crevice, which may just be a huge open space, but still feels like home. This place is a show house, you know, like the ones that you see in the backgrounds of ads; the type of place that you just know nobody actually lives there. Except people actually live here.

I finally get to meet the mind behind Dwell for a brief few minutes, who happens to be very upfront and personable. Anthony Maschmedt, cool and charismatic, bounces from one conversation to the next, giddily showing off the tech components built into the reclaimed wood and open floor layout. It is an interesting blend of vibrancy and stark minimalism. The wood stairs come from an old barn somewhere in Oregon. They've been refinished, of course, and placed to be noticed. These aren't simply a means of getting to and from the second and third floors; they're a usable art installation. The tech, by the way, is on par with something you'd expect from a house of this caliber. Lights, sounds, and who knows what else all are controlled via electronic device or smartphone.

Anthony is the type of person you want to sit and converse with, and he's very visibly happy about both the state of his most recent home and reactionary treatment it's getting from the crowd. I want to talk to him some more, but he's a wanted man right now and he's got his hands full of compliments and delicious vegan cookies. The open house was also catered—with a chef demonstrating cooking on the induction stovetop.

It's time for me to say my silent goodbye and get going back to my ordinary life in an ordinary part of town to relax in an ordinary home.

EVERYWHERE

An unassuming side street in Ballard is where blisteringly hot technology, nature, and new age aesthetics come together to play nicely—no supervision needed. I'm walking back to my car and I can feel its late evening heat on my back as I reflect on exactly what just happened. It all seemed so fast. The tour, the conversations, and now the reflections. I'm taking in the neighborhood. What do people do for fun around here? You could spend a day on the side of the Dwell house watching the energy meter run backwards, but you'd be better off in either the open-floor kitchen/living area, back deck, second floor free space overlooking the kitchen/living area, or any one of the comfortable, quiet bedrooms just living the languid life while your home does all the heavy lifting—softly, no grunts or strains to be heard.

The Dwell Emerald Star home on 61st Street isn't just another house. It's the start of something big. You'll see.

Five Key Things to Know About Washington’s New Sick Leave Law

By Larry Dickinson, PrimePay

In 2006, the City of San Francisco passed the first mandatory sick leave law in the country. Since then, many other states and municipalities have adopted similar statutes. In fact, 47 states and the District of Columbia have considered establishing such ordinances to help protect the wages of employees affected by illness, injury, or domestic violence.

1. Washington law—the basics

   In November 2016, voters in Washington state voted to establish a mandatory sick leave law for workers in their state. Starting in January of 2018, all employees covered under the Washington State Minimum Wage law must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.

   This law applies to all employers, even if they only have one employee. The problem is that many large cities in Washington such as Seattle and Tacoma have also adopted their own sick leave measures, and these measures are not always in sync with the state law.

   What is the employer to do? We will attempt to highlight some of the differences between state law and those of the municipalities. Note that we are using Washington state as the example here; the same scenarios are playing out in other states around the nation.

2. Allowable uses of sick leave

   According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, employees will be allowed to use sick leave for themselves or a family member for these reasons:

• To care for themselves or family members.
• When the employees’ workplace or their child’s school (or place of care) has been closed by a public official for health-related reasons.
• Absences that qualify under the Domestic Violence Leave Act.

Note that employers may allow employees to use paid sick leave for additional purposes.

Unlike the laws adopted in Tacoma and Spokane, the Washington state regulation does not cover bereavement due to the death of family members.

3. Family member definition

Washington allows the usage of paid sick leave for personal illness or injury as well as for family members defined below:

• Child
• Parent
• Spouse
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Sibling
• Registered domestic partner

The big difference here is that Washington state allows that the child relationship is enforced regardless of the age of the child, while the city regulations only cover children up to the age of 18.

4. Accrual of sick time

   In general, employees must earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. This covers all non-exempt employees covered by the Washington State Minimum Wage Law. There is currently no coverage for exempt workers, including white collar workers, outside salespeople or other professionals.

   In many of the local regulations, white collar workers are covered with the assumption of a flat 40-hour work week. Seattle law, as an example, covers all workers who work in the City of Seattle. While the new state law applies to all employers with even one employee, local laws can be applied differently depending on the size of the company. There is currently no cap on the number of hours earned each year by an employee. There is a cap on the number of hours that can carry over into the next year.

   Read a full list of FAQs.

5. What should your business do?

   In today’s business climate, employers are often confronted with conflicting city and state ordinances regarding sick leave accrual and usage. These laws and their differences can provide today’s small business owner with a nightmare.

   How do you apply different laws to different groups of employees with different job descriptions, working in different jurisdictions? An automated time and attendance system is a great option.

   PrimePay offers a variety of systems to meet any employer’s needs. These programs can define almost any type of accrual policy imaginable and apply those policies to different groups of employees based on geography, employee type, or job description. Let the professionals at PrimePay build a system that will keep you in compliance for years to come.

Learn more at primepay.com.

This article originally appeared on primepay.com.

By Noah Haglund, The Everett Herald

Olympia, Wash.—A state Supreme Court decision issued Thursday upheld stricter stormwater rules for building projects, handing a victory to clean-water advocates looking to protect Puget Sound from toxic runoff.

On the losing side were government officials in Snohomish County and King County and a homebuilders group.

Read article