Soundside

When you go to vote this November, it won’t just be for President or Governor. You’ll also be voting on a group of initiatives - and these things are complicated. So we’re breaking all of them down here on Soundside this election season. And this week, we’re turning to I-2109: aka, the measure that seeks to Repeal the Capital Gains Tax. Passed by the legislature back in 2021, the tax took effect t...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month -- a chance to educate people about the disease and the importance of high-quality care. Public awareness of breast cancer has greatly improved over the past few decades. For a long time, people diagnosed with the disease tended to keep their experiences to themselves. That’s why it was groundbreaking, 30 years ago, when NPR health reporter Joanne Silberner...

When tech companies began announcing advanced artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, there was widespread enthusiasm. AI was going to make mundane jobs more efficient; it was going to reshape entire industries and creative processes; and it was going to free up time for humans to do things that were, well, more human – things like creating art.  But in the last few years, it’s been artists...

When you go to vote this November, it won’t just be for President or Governor. You’ll also be voting on a group of state initiatives - and they’re complicated.  We’re breaking all of them down here on Soundside this election season. And this week, we’re turning to I-2109: aka, the measure that seeks to Repeal the Capital Gains Tax. Passed by the legislature back in 2021, the tax took effect two ye...

The Yakama Nation has found it nearly impossible to access $32 million in a promised federal grant for an irrigation canal conversion project.  The initiative aims to transform old irrigation canals into a solar and small-scale hydropower system, which would lower electricity costs and conserve water in the Yakima Basin. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell celebrated the project earlier this year for its...

In October of 2019, an 18-year-old walked out of a Seattle police training building with an officer’s personal firearm. It was eventually recovered - but questions remained about how the teen was able to access the firearm in the first place, as well as the quality of security at the training facility. This isn’t the only time an SPD firearm has gone missing. In August, SPD reported 23 missing fir...

The 2024 Seattle Mariner's season wasn't just about disappointment, it was a story about fandom, money, masochism, and, sure, losing a 10 game lead in the AL West. We're breaking down the story lines and commiserating after a long season. Guests: Kate Preusser, managing editor of Lookout Landing and host of Meet at the Mitt podcast Danny O’Neil, author of The Dang Apostrophe , a newsletter on Seat...

This budget cycle, the city is bracing for what could be a contentious debate over how to fund essential services and set priorities for the coming year.  With an estimated $251 million dollar budget shortfall looming, how it will address that gap has become a pressing concern. Early last week, Mayor Bruce Harrell unveiled his office’s plan to tackle the large budget shortfall. Guests: Kevin Schof...

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...