As a service to the Seattle business community, the Office of Economic Development curates a daily business news blast, Daily Digest. As a new trial feature on Bottom Line, we’ll be posting a handful of stories from the Daily Digest every day. This sampling is demonstrative of the incredible breadth of business activity going on every day in Seattle and in the region.

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Cantwell announces $11 million for smart grid workforce training
Office of Maria Cantwell
Sen. Maria Cantwell announced yesterday that $11 million in federal funds for workforce training will be heading to Washington. Centralia College will receive $5 million for a project that will deliver smart grid training for utility workers in the Pacific Northwest, including through an online portal. Seattle’s Office of Economic Development and Seattle City Light staffed this effort, with support from Seattle Jobs Initiative policy analysts.

Local independent record shops find ways to compete in digital age
Seattle Times
Experts say indie-music stores benefit from a resurgence in vinyl sales and an increased reliance on the more profitable used-records trade. Silver Platters, which sells music at two Seattle locations and another in Bellevue, now carries more used vinyl records, as well as CDs, owner Mike Batt said.

Seattle ranked second best big city for people with asthma
Health
In August 2008, after a 90-degree heat wave and light winds caused smog, ozone, and other pollutants to accumulate over the city, Seattle violated the Clean Air Act for the first time since the 1990s. As a result, state and local officials were required to prepare a plan to improve air quality.