Soundside

It's time to set aside that uninspired sandwich, or soggy work-from-home salad. You’ll probably also want to cancel any lunch plans you have you have this week, because a new podcast from KUOW and The Seattle Times may convince you to try something new.  Seattle Eats with Tan Vinh is helping listeners find the best bites in Seattle — and beyond.  Soundside caught up with Vinh to find out what insp...

The Boeing machinists’ strike is in its third week. On Friday, the company and the union were back at the negotiating table.  This came after Boeing made another offer earlier in the week, its “Improved Best and Final” one. It was quickly rejected. There were criticisms that it didn’t go far enough. Also, that the company had disrespected the negotiating process by releasing the offer’s details to...

It’s been a tough few months for many local IT departments. Last week, hackers posted a handful of files stolen from SeaTac airport on the dark web. A ransomware gang is attempting to sell a trove of stolen Port of Seattle data for 6 million dollars in Bitcoin – after the Port refused to pay up. The cyber-attack a little over a month ago snarled travel when it took down ticketing, baggage, and oth...

Washington state has officially closed the chamber where executions took place, marking the end of capital punishment here in the state. The journey to decommission this chamber involved a lot of moving parts across all branches of government. First, Governor Jay Inslee put a moratorium on executions in 2014, then the state Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional four years later, and...

Classes at the University of Washington are back in full-swing. And as students try to find their classes, and figure out what to avoid at the dining hall – the university’s administration and faculty are trying to figure out their own conundrum: How to address artificial intelligence– chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. For some students and teachers, AI programs can be a useful tool. While for oth...

As we step into fall, and back into the rain... we thought we'd revisit a segment from last year about MUSHROOMS...  Mushroom foraging is a very popular pastime here in the Pacific Northwest.  Our rainy climate helps a wide variety of the fungi thrive, as well as the community that collects them.  After all, who doesn’t love a good mushroom? Producer Alec Cowan, that’s who.  Last fall, Alec took a...

Everyone is a current, former, or future teenager. You probably know this period of life is an especially difficult time for kids. Throw in a deadly pandemic and the subsequent disruption of school and social life? It got a lot more complicated. And new research suggests COVID-19 lockdowns may have had lasting consequences for adolescent minds. In a new study from the University of Washington Inst...

They’re repeated over and over in debates, speeches and media appearances during this presidential campaign: harmful lies about Haitian immigrants. Springfield, Ohio has been at the center of the fabrications. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have falsely asserted that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets.  Despite thorough debunking by local officials, including...

Seattle Public Schools leadership is taking a minute to think. Earlier this month, the district released plans to potentially close almost two dozen elementary schools to shore up a budget gap. Unsurprisingly: many parents were not thrilled with the idea. Hundreds packed a school board meeting demanding the district reconsider.  Now, Superintendent Brent Jones says he is pausing further meetings a...

There are just a handful of weeks until the election, reports about outside interference from countries like Iran, China, and Russia are still popping up.  Recently, Microsoft shared new findings about Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election, with a focus on the Harris-Walz campaign.  This follows the tech giant’s announcement in August about  Iranian -backed efforts aimed a...

As candidates prepare to make their final pitch to voters ahead of the 2024 election, former president Donald Trump is once again using lies and hateful rhetoric about immigrants to fuel his pitch to voters. Trump has doubled down on falsehoods about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and claimed at a rally on Saturday that migrants are “attacking villages and cities all throughout the Midwe...

This election season we’re taking a dive into the big races and big initiatives on your ballot this November. This week we’re taking a look at Initiative 2066 – the "Natural Gas Policies Measure."  For a quick refresher, this initiative aims to keep natural gas as a consumer option as building codes, state policies, and utility companies begin a pivot to green and clean energy.  Yesterday, Soundsi...

New criminal penalties for drug and prostitution-related crimes within some of Seattle's busiest areas are on the way. In an 8 to 1 decision, the Seattle City Council voted in favor of two ordinances on Tuesday, one creates “Stay Out Of Drug Area” zones – or “SODA” zones – in six areas of the city.  A Seattle municipal court judge can now order people who get arrested for drug-related crimes to st...

This election season we’re bringing you conversations on all of the statewide initiatives on this November’s ballot -- and this year, many of those initiatives have something to do with Washington’s ambitious goals to completely transition off of fossil fuels.  Last week we heard about Initiative 2117, which would repeal a key part of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. Today, we’re talking about...

The Seattle City Council is preparing to take a final vote today on a pair of new laws that city attorney Ann Davison and some city council members say could help the city fight drug trafficking and prostitution. The SODA ordinance –  stands for “Stay Out of Drug Areas.” It would create a new gross misdemeanor, punishable up to 364 days in jail, and a $5,000 fine, for being caught inside a designa...

As humans have built skyscrapers, factories and highways around the Puget Sound, our environment has become much noisier, and not just terrestrially. Underwater, humans (and our large cargo ships) have a large sonic impact, too. New research suggests that cacophony is hurting the survival of some of the original inhabitants of the Salish Sea: Southern Resident orca whales. Orcas use a series of cl...

Washington state parks need to be more accessible to people with disabilities. That’s the conclusion from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation – which prompted a deal announced earlier this month to bring state parks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Guests: Laurel Demkovich, Washington State Standard reporter Syren Nagakyrie, Founder and Director of Disabled Hikers R...

33,000 Boeing factory workers walked off the job Friday, demanding higher wages and for the company to restore pensions. Most are based here in the Pacific Northwest.  The overall labor landscape in the U.S. has changed significantly since the last machinists strike 2008 – nationally, union membership remains at historically low levels, but work stoppages have increased in recent years and the num...

K-beauty is not a niche market. Built around dewy skin with no visible pores, big eyes, a thin body, it’s the “ideal” for pop stars, celebrities, and regular people across the world. The industry, built on Korean skincare and makeup products, is the result of “hallyu” — exporting of South Korean pop culture that the government has helped sponsor since the 1990s. In her new book, “Flawless: Lessons...

Today is Mexican Independence Day, and we’ve got a bit of a musical treat to take us out.   Yesterday, Orquesta Northwest put on a concert at Town Hall Seattle, celebrating “El Grito” -- the day that father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for Mexicans to rise and fight for freedom.  The concert was part of the Mexam NW Festival, which features dozens of Mexican cultural events around the Seattle...

If you’ve ever tried to find a therapist who takes your insurance and failed -- you're not alone. Many in-network providers are bailing on insurance companies, and it’s affecting access to care. A new investigation from ProPublica surveyed over 500 therapists nationwide – compiling their answers in a new investigation called “Why I left the network”.  Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help...

For months, parents, students, and faculty at Seattle schools have been nervously awaiting news about potential elementary closures throughout the district.  Back in May, Seattle Public Schools announced it would need to close roughly 20 schools , citing a $105 million budget shortfall…  Now, the wait to know FOR SURE about the fate of Seattle schools isn’t over YET, but the elementary schools on...

You won’t see Brian Heywood’s name on your ballot this November but you will see his impact. Heywood is a Redmond based hedge fund manager who spent millions of dollars of his own money to fund citizen’s initiatives against the state’s cap and invest system, capital gains tax, and long term care insurance program. His PAC, Let’s Go Washington, also gathered signatures for another initiative on you...

To ratify, or to strike: those are the options in front of 33,000 Boeing workers this week. On Monday, machinists at Boeing sites across the West Coast woke up to news that union leadership had reached a tentative contract agreement with the company.  The last contract was ratified 16 years ago -- in 2008. However, not everyone is excited about the terms of the agreement. On Thursday, those union...

Last March, it was reported that the Nordstrom family was interested in once again taking their storied retail company private.  There hadn’t been much word until last week, when we finally heard a price proposal – $23 a share. Another bid by the Nordstrom family was rejected six years ago. So - why try again now? And what is the future of this iconic Seattle brand? Seattle Times business reporter...