Seattle Now

The new year means Seattle minimum wage is up to $20.76 an hour. It also means the end of a $2.72 cent hour tip credit that small businesses and restaurants have been using to help balance the books. The choice to let that credit expire was built into the law. But it’s not that simple. We hear from Seattle Times reporter Jackie Varriano and bartender Chandler Sapp. Legislative Preview hosted...

Norovirus is spreading in King County, President Biden  expands oil drilling ban off WA coast, and former WA Congressman Jim McDermott remembers Jimmy Carter. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. The interview with Jim McDermott was produced by John O'Brien . We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here &nbs...

Washington lawmakers get back to work on Monday to kick off the 2025 legislative session . For 105 days, they’ll tackle issues like housing, education, and gun safety. But looming over it all is a projected budget deficit as big as $12 billion over the next several years. We talk with Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay about what to expect. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners su...

If you feel like you sat in more traffic in 2024, new data shows you may be right. A Seahawks coaching staff member was let go, and two notable Seattle entertainers received awards this weekend. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Patricia Murphy. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in you...

Seattle needs more housing, that’s a widely accepted reality. How and where we build that housing is a lot thornier. Enter: the One Seattle Plan, the city’s proposal to address our housing shortage.  The details are still getting worked out, and some people don’t want these changes in their neighborhood, while others argue it doesn’t go far enough. We hear from Ryan Pa...

Orca mom still carrying her dead calf around Puget Sound, 2024 broke records for evictions in WA, and Whitman College grapples with the legacy of its namesake. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions ab...

This week… Southern Resident killer whale J-35 is in mourning after losing a days-old calf. And Amazon’s Return To Office mandate began Thursday, and it’s going to change a whole lot in Seattle. Author and blogger Geraldine DeRuiter and Your Last Meal host Rachel Belle are here to ring in the new year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon workers return to the office, flu cases are spiking in WA, and parking tickets in Seattle just got more expensive. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share...

It's 2025...  And a new year means a new job for one of the longest-tenured members of the Seattle Mariners. Not on the field, but in the broadcast booth. After 18 years, Mariners TV broadcaster Dave Sims is heading home to call games in the Bronx, for the New York Yankees. He’s here today to reflect on his time in Seattle, and some of his most iconic moments behind the mic. See omnystu...

We have one more lookback on our 2024 reporting, as we transition into the new year. Severe mental illness is a very visible problem in Seattle. In 2023, police responded to almost 10 thousand scenes of people experiencing mental health crises. Investigative reporters spent the past year asking big questions on the show Lost Patients about why so many people with severe mental illness end up untre...

We’re nearing the finish line of 2024, and wow what a year.  Boeing’s year started with a bang, but not in a good way. In January, a door-sized panel blew off of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet mid-flight.  They also got a new CEO and endured a 53 day machinist strike.  The Seattle Public Library, SeaTac Airport, and the Highline school district all got cyber attacked. Seattle Pu...

We’re rounding out a week of re-airing our favorite episodes of the year, and somehow just couldn’t go without putting in some pickleball. Pickleball continues to be both popular and controversial in Seattle. This episode we're returning to the Green Lake pickleball courts which were officially declared a pickleball hub by Seattle in June. And the upwards of 100 diehard fans would agre...

In 2024, we’ve talked to and learned from some of the region’s boundary pushing authors. One of them is local automotive journalist Victoria Scott. Victoria loves cars – as models of freedom, style, and engineering. She also thinks car culture doesn’t have to be so male-dominated.  Those two things drove her to write about and photograph trans women, nonbinary people,...

This episode we're dreaming of a white Christmas, because White Christmas singer Bing Crosby was a local.  He's Tacoma born and Spokane-raised. Crosby’s PNW connection is one of the many dazzling details in the book  The Sound of Seattle: 101 Songs that Shaped a City . Eva Walker and Jacob Uitti talk to Patricia Murphy about musical influences that came out of our region – es...

It’s the final full week of the year. As we take a little holiday break to recharge this week, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes of 2024, starting with a trip back to Shoreline. There, volunteers are reclaiming a derelict property to turn into the Ching Community Garden. Back when Patricia Murphy first visited in April, volunteers were out on weekends restoring the ri...

Mayor Harrell announces new Seattle Police Chief, Starbucks workers go on strike , and how to make air travel less harmful to the environment. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or...

This week… King County Metro announced it will temporarily close four bus stops in the Chinatown International District, and the agency is also reeling from a fatal attack on a bus driver. Washington is saying farewell to… The Northern Giant Hornet, now that the “murder hornet” has officially been eradiated from the state. And we’re getting closer to the holidays ev...

Suspect identified in Metro bus driver killing, health inspection signs are coming to food trucks, and health advocates worry about Trump's pick of RFK Jr. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about...

A U.S. Senate Committee led by Bernie Sanders says Amazon ignored its own recommendations about how to reduce injuries among warehouse workers, and put profits ahead of health and safety. We talk with  Seattle Times reporter Lauren Rosenblatt about the new report, and why Amazon disputes the report's findings. The company says its injury rates have declined .  Share your thoughts on prop...

Metro bus driver fatally stabbed by passenger, WA declares victory against the northern giant hornet, and Kaiser Permanente is sued over hearing aid coverage. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions abo...

When it gets this dark outside, our region knows how to keep it light. ‘Tis the season for festive lights and light shows. Today we’ll walk through some of the season’s sparkling traditions, and stroll through one of the biggest: the Woodland Park Zoo’s Wild Lanterns installation. Read the list of the Seattle Public Library’s most popular books here Read more on the B...

SPD's former chief Adrian Diaz is fired, lawmakers want to ban flavored vape and tobacco products, and bus stops close in Seattle's CID due to safety concerns. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions ab...

Washington’s carbon market has raised more than $2.6 billion over the last few years to fight climate change, and recently survived a voter initiative . But one company hasn't paid up . Seattle Times climate change reporter Conrad Swanson tells us about Washington's lone scofflaw, and what it says about how the carbon market is working. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support...

Advocacy groups prep for immigration raids, Starbucks improves parental leave benefits, and is the Seattle City Council toxic for progressives? It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.  Tap here  to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news o...

Driving in Seattle is not easy during the best of times. Add some dark, fog and rain to the mix… it’s a lot. We’ll talk with UW ophthalmologist Dr. Jen Yu about why it’s so much harder to see this time of year, and what we can do about it. You can watch Tuesday’s Washington state electoral college proceedings  live on TVW at noon . Seattle Film Critics Society N...