Soundside

Haven’t heard about Seattle’s comprehensive plan recently?  Well, the city council is supposed to be working on it, but the process is on hold because of appeals.    Just to catch you up: The comprehensive plan is a set of zoning changes that are supposed to be a blueprint for future growth. It’s required by state law. It usually means allowing more housing density...

Here on Soundside, we're covering Washington’s most competitive races ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election.  Historically, one of the tightest in the state is the 3rd Congressional District in Southwest Washington. This area includes Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum and Skamania Counties. It also covers a small part of Thurston County. It’s one of the few swing districts...

State regulators are still investigating the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant to see what went wrong and whether the catastrophe that killed 11 workers in Longview could have been prevented.  The investigation is expected to be concluded by the end of the year ans it’ll determine whether the facility could face penalties or even criminal charges. It will also likely face civil lawsuits o...

After a lull earlier this year, we’re seeing a surge of immigration arrests in recent weeks across the U.S.  In the wake of two fatal shootings by ICE agents this month, the Trump administration has issued conflicting policies about how officers will conduct arrests. Fears of detainment and deportation remain high among immigrants – especially in Washington’s agricultural co...

Every week we talk about the most fascinating stories in the news and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. Guest: KUOW state government reporter, Sara...

Washington’s Aug. 4 primary election is coming up. Here on Soundside, we’re diving into this year’s most competitive races, like the 3rd Congressional District in Southwest Washington. This area includes Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum and Skamania Counties. It also covers a small part of Thurston County.  It’s a purple district where voters have backed Donal...

If you've listened to KUOW at noon for long, you know the show's open: "You’re listening to Soundside – I’m Libby Denkmann…" Pretty soon, Libby's voice won’t be the only one you hear doing interviews and talking about the news at noon. KUOW is very excited to announce a new co-host for Soundside.  He’s a voice you may be familiar with if you’re a reg...

Washington's 4th Congressional District will soon send a new face to D.C. for the first time in over a decade. Representative Dan Newhouse is retiring and there are a slew of challengers who want to take that seat, which covers central Washington, including Yakima, the Tri-Cities and Moses Lake.  For this round of interviews before the primary,  Soundside  is focusing on candidates...

It all comes down to this: The World Cup ENDS this weekend as France faces off against England for 3rd place on Saturday, while Spain takes on FIFA favorite Lionel Messi & Argentina on Sunday afternoon.  But, that’s not ALL that’s happening this weekend. There’s LOTS more to do! HOST: Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  FINALS - Salmon Bay FC vs Vermont Green FC USL W Pl...

In 1929, there were twenty-two thousand movie theaters across the United States. Now… we’re down to fewer than three thousand.  In his new documentary “The Last Picture Shows,” local filmmaker Rustin Thompson chronicles the life, death, and resilience of many of these small town theaters across the American West.  Thompson drove through ten states and visited sco...

Roger Rogoff is the new U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington.  Or he was. He started this morning, but was fired by President Trump less than an hour after being sworn in. Rogoff is a former King County Superior Court judge and a former federal prosecutor. He was appointed to be the U.S. Attorney by the Western District’s federal judges.  His firing has set off an ex...

Washington's 4th Congressional District will soon send a new face to D.C. for the first time in over a decade. Representative Dan Newhouse is retiring and there are a slew of challengers who want to take that seat, which covers central Washington, including Yakima, the Tri-Cities and Moses Lake.  For this round of interviews before the primary,  Soundside  is focusing on candidates...

In 2023, Seattle voters were presented with a new approach to housing: Mixed income public housing where rent from higher earning tenants would offset the rent of people making below the area median income. It was dubbed social housing by its supporters.  Seattle voters approved the idea and then, a couple years later, chose to give it a lot of money through a new tax on employers who pay ind...

Washington's 4th Congressional District will soon send a new face to D.C. for the first time in over a decade. Representative Dan Newhouse is retiring and there are a slew of challengers who want to take that seat, which covers central Washington, including Yakima, the Tri-Cities and Moses Lake.  For this round of interviews before the primary,  Soundside  is focusing on candidates...

By pure chance, University of Washington architecture professor Vikram Prakash was in his home city of Chandigarh, when his father passed away. His father was the architect Aditya Prakash , one of India’s most notable modern architects. He worked on Chandigarh's futuristic design with architect Le Corbusier. The city is now considered a living laboratory for modernism, climate responsiv...

Every week we talk about the most fascinating stories in the news and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. Guest: KUOW host Kim Malcolm Related Links:...

One of Washington’s hottest statehouse races is for a district representing northwest Seattle, Shoreline, parts of Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Legislative District 32 has an open seat, because longtime representative Cindy Ryu is challenging for a state senate seat. For Position 1, the candidate field in this solidly-blue district is crowded with Democrats.  For this r...

We’ve reached the end of another lovely week here in the Pacific Northwest, and while the barge has officially sailed away since we don’t have any more World Cup games HOSTED here in Seattle, there IS still a ton to do! Here with SO MUCH weekend excitement is Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows! LINKS: Walla Walla Movie Crush SIFF - In Theaters road to everywhere - Screenings The...

This week at Seattle’s federal building downtown, hundreds of kids are showing up to court. They’ve been summoned to appear for immigration hearings. On Tuesday, more than a hundred juveniles appeared before a single judge. By the end of the proceeding, many received removal orders – a big step on the path to deportation.  Since late June, adults and families have also been...

One of Washington’s hottest statehouse races is for a district representing northwest Seattle, Shoreline, parts of Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Legislative District 32 has an open seat, because longtime representative Cindy Ryu is challenging for a state senate seat. For Position 1, the candidate field in this solidly-blue district is crowded with Democrats.  For this r...

How do you store a TON of data in a very small package for 250 years? Do you copy it onto a flash drive? Record it onto a voice message? Or, heaven forbid, write it down on a piece of paper? That’s a question that the Library of Congress considered when it put together a time capsule meant to be opened in the year 2251. We don’t know what the world will look like in that year and techn...

In 2024, Washington state took a novel approach to undoing some of the historical damage caused by racist housing policy. That’s the year the state launched the Covenant Homeownership Program . It provides no-interest loans to descendents of people impacted by redlining or racially restrictive covenants. Those loans can be used for down payments and closing costs.  So far, more than 1,5...

One of Washington’s hottest statehouse races is for a district representing northwest Seattle, Shoreline, parts of Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Legislative District 32 has an open seat, because longtime representative Cindy Ryu is challenging for a state senate seat. For Position 1, the candidate field in this solidly-blue district is crowded with Democrats.  For this r...

The gaming industry in the Pacific Northwest has been dealt some major blows in the past few weeks. Monday, Microsoft announced it would be cutting thousands of full time employees and “restructuring” their XBox division, where 1,600 jobs were cut. It’s not immediately clear how many of those are Washington-based. Last month, Bellevue based game studio Bungie announced it would b...

One of Washington’s hottest statehouse races is for a district representing northwest Seattle, Shoreline, parts of Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Legislative District 32 has an open seat, because longtime representative Cindy Ryu is challenging for a state senate seat. For Position 1, the candidate field in this solidly-blue district is crowded with Democrats.  For this r...