At the turn of the 20th century, Asahel Curtis was a prolific photographer who traveled throughout Washington. His work captured the state as it underwent big changes, owing to rapid industrialization. For decades, a massive collection of Asahel’s glass plate negatives has been held at the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma.

The plates, however, are aging. In the 1980s, historians and staff were able to digitize around 3,000 of his most essential photographs. That left about 58,000 to go. Now, thanks to renewed interest and funding, historians are working on preserving the rest of the Curtis images.  

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guests:

• Margaret Wetherbee, Head of Collections at the Washington State Historical Society

Recommended Links:

• Asahel Curtis Collection - Washington State Historical Society (washingtonhistory.org)
• ASAHEL: The Curtis Collection | Cascade PBS

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If someone asked you to name three Rock musicians that are Black, could you?

Some people might be able to, but in general there aren’t a lot of them.

This is despite the fact that the genre traces its roots back to Black blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues artists in the United States. The rock music industry and academic scholarship of the genre instead tend to focus on white voices. That’s according to research from the University of Ottawa. 

Cameron Lavi-Jones says that’s part of what inspired him to create the band King Youngblood, which he fronts. It’s also why, along with co-founder Anthony Briscoe, Lavi-Jones created Black & Loud Fest.

The Fest celebrates Black-fronted bands - especially those in genres that don’t  typically feature many Black performers.

And it’s returning to Seattle for its third year: next Saturday, September 14th at the Crocodile.

Guests:

• Cameron Lavi-Jones, frontman of King Youngblood, and co-founder of Black & Loud Fest

Relevant Links:

• Black & Loud Fest Website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year, the Yakima City Council made a landmark decision by passing a proclamation to designate the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride month. 

Less than a year later, the council voted to reverse that decision. 

The move was celebrated by far right religious leaders like Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Sean Feucht, who took to X to applaud the decision. 

And while pride celebrations defiantly went on in the city, it’s raised a lot of concerns about the ties between public officials and prominent Christian Nationalist figures. 

GUESTS: 

• Mai Hoang - Central and Eastern Washington reporter for Cascade PBS.
• Dominick Bonny - investigative journalist based in Wenatchee.

RELATED LINK: “Under God: How Christianity Permeates Yakima City Politics.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many Washington students, and parents, the school year is just about to start - if it hasn’t already.

And they're not the only ones gearing up for the new year. Teachers and school staff are about to step into a new year with all sorts of new questions about how their respective school systems will be run.

So, we wanted to check in with a panel of education experts, to hear about how they’re preparing for both an incoming class  of students, and the realities of working in the Washington education system right now.

Guests:

• Ibijoke Idowu, a special education teacher with Seattle Public Schools

• Hilda Lail, Vancouver Public Schools Bilingual Family and Community Engagement Partnership Coordinator

• Julianna Dauble, president of the Renton Education Association

Relevant Links:

• Cell Phone and Smart Device Use in Schools - OSPI
• SPS, city of Seattle announce safety plan before new school year - Seattle Times
• Seattle school closures: Why almost every student would be affected - Seattle Times
• More school resource officers coming to Renton - Kent Reporter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this month, City of Seattle workers were told most of them will have to return to the office at least 3 days a week starting this fall. Meanwhile… a certain large tech and online retail company (named after a river in South America) has reportedly started a mulling the minimum number of hours employees must stay on site to count towards its three day in-office mandate.

These changes had us wondering – is remote work gradually eroding in the Puget Sound region?

One study looking at 2022 Census data found that a quarter of workers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area worked at least part of the week remotely, away from the office.

But the past year has brought a lot of changes to employer policies around where employees have to put in their hours – and for policymakers, that’s coinciding with concern about the lasting effects of remote work on Seattle’s struggling downtown core. 

For a vibe check on remote work and what the numbers tell us about its effects on Seattle, Soundside host Libby Denkmann caught up with Tracy Hadden Loh, fellow at the Brookings Institute, and Joshua McNichols, growth and development reporter for KUOW and co-host of the "Booming" podcast.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guests:

• Tracy Hadden Loh, fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
• Joshua McNichols, growth and development reporter for KUOW and co-host of the "Booming" podcast.

Related Links:

• How to break the doom loop: Actionable insights from the Brookings Future of Downtowns learning exchange
• Amazon cracks down on ‘coffee badging,’ amid return-to-office push | The Seattle Times
• KUOW - Seattle ticks through to-do list to revive downtown
• Seattle mayor mandates 3 days of in-office work for city employees (komonews.com)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 90s, Seattle was at the center of a sonic revolution. Grunge, a homegrown sludgy rock sound, became a global commodity. At the same time, another sound was making its mark on Seattle.

The Gits were a band on the precipice of national stardom, standing out with their punk sensibility and charismatic female vocalist, with music labels circling. But the promise of a big break came to a violent end. The band’s lead singer, Mia Zapata, was murdered in 1993. It happened in the early morning hours after a show at the Comet Tavern. 

For years, in media accounts, the band was defined by that tragic night. Today, the Gits’ drummer, Steve Moriarty, says he doesn’t want an act of violence to overshadow their full story. His book, Mia Zapata and the Gits: A True Story of Art, Rock, and Revolution, tells a fuller story of the band's existence.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guests:

Steve Moriarty, drummer and author of Mia Zapata and The Gits: A True Story of Art, Rock, and Revolution

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Addressing homelessness is looking a little different in Thurston County these days.

The county, which includes Olympia, just became the fifth community in the nation to collect data on every single adult experiencing homelessness.

The county’s partner organization says that data includes the names and circumstances of each person counted. And the county vows to update the information monthly.

It’s part of a model called “Built for Zero”. 

Guests:

• Keylee Marineau, homeless response program manager at Thurston County's Office of Housing & Homeless Prevention
• Garrett Grainger, Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University

Relevant Links:

• Olympia, Wash. Becomes Fifth U.S. City to Collect Data on All Single Adults Experiencing Homelessness - PR Newswire
• Blog: Five Questions Housing Analysts Should Ask About "By-Name Data" - HSA: The Forum for Housing-Related Research and Debate

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We know a few things about the woman known as Lou Graham, for sure: 

She was a brothel madam in Seattle at the turn of the century. And she’s immortalized in one of the city’s popular ghost tours. 

Maybe you’ve even felt her spiritual presence while passing through tunnels underneath Pioneer Square.

Beyond that, facts are sparse. But plenty of legends about Graham’s life and impact on Seattle are served up to tourists and YouTube viewers who care to search her name.  

From Geographics: “Technically sex work was illegal, so Graham made sure to have the ladies registered as “seamstresses” on the books.

From Women Being Podcast: “Graham was an advocate for women’s rights and social justice, and supported the women’s rights movement, including the Seattle chapter of the NAACP. She died in 1903 a feminist icon.”

It turns out, most of that is TOTAL BUNK.

But the truth behind those fables – and a journalist’s search to find it – may be even more illuminating.  

GUEST: Hanna Brooks Olson, author of “Notoriously Bad Character: The True Story of Lou Graham and the Immigrants and Sex Workers Who Built Seattle”

RELATED LINKS:

• https://hannabrooksolsen.com/ 
• The Many False Histories of Lou Graham | Medium

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Last winter, federal officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a program to save the perpetually threatened northern spotted owl.

The problem? Invasive barred owls are crowding out our local forest -- they're bigger, and more aggressive. The solution? Culling half a million of those owls over the next 30 years.

On its face, the issue seems pretty straightforward: barred owls are invasive, and because of them, Northern spotted owls are disappearing. 

But for Jay Odenbaugh, a philosopher and ethicist, the issue brings up a bigger question: how we as humans try to intervene in a problem we're also responsible for creating.

KUOW's Diana Opong spoke with Odenbaugh about a recent op-ed he co-authored for the New York Times about how we can think more ethically about conservation. 

Guests:

• Jay Odenbaugh, professor of humanities at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR.

Related Links:

• KUOW - Why the feds want to cull barred owls in the Pacific Northwest
• Opinion | To Save Some Endangered Owls, Would You Kill 500,000 Other Owls? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Feds propose shooting one owl to save another in Pacific Northwest | The Seattle Times

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At this point, most of Washington’s primary election results have been called.

Bob Ferguson will face Dave Reichert in the race for governor. Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck are vying for a spot on the Seattle City Council. Goodspaceguy once again failed to get onto the November ballot.

But – in one race, the drama has remained at a fever pitch as votes trickle in.
Nearly 2 million people cast ballots, but in the end, just 51 votes separated second and third place in the race to be Public Lands Commissioner.

And the fun’s not over yet.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guest:

• Northwest News Network state government reporter Jeanie Lindsay

Relevant Links:

• KUOW: A recount is coming in race for WA public lands commissioner

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When some people picture political conventions, they might imagine a grand stage lit up with dazzling lights, a seemingly never ending stream of speeches - and a sea of enthusiastic supporters cheering their hearts out, waving lots and lots of American flags.

Since Monday, the Democratic National Convention has been underway in Chicago. 

There have been speeches and high-profile moments. like a visit from Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama.

But there’s a whole other world at the DNC. Beyond the big speeches and VIP appearances, there’s a bustling undercurrent of activity.

From vibrant panel discussions and quirky merchandise stalls, to a crowd that’s anything but predictable—there’s a lot more happening than meets the eye.

Guests:

• Mike Davis, WBEZ Theater reporter

Relevant Links:

• WBEZ Chicago: At a DNC fair, Chicago's Black entrepreneurs get a moment in the spotlight

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chances are high that you’ve never been to McNeal Island before.

Few have - the island, located in the Puget Sound, southwest of Tacoma, isn’t accessible to the general public.

The only people that are allowed are staff and pre-screened visitors at the Washington State Special Commitment Center - the first post-prison institution for people designated as sexually violent predators.

Around 515 people have been detained in the Special Commitment Center program since 1990. 

But now, a new report from the Seattle Times shows that, for the first time in its history, the center is releasing more patients than it’s taking in. 

What that means for these patients, and the general public, depends on who you ask.

Here to shed some light and help make sense of things is Seattle Times investigative reporter Rebecca Moss.

GUEST: Rebecca Moss - Seattle Times Investigative Reporter

RELATED LINKS:

• WA confined hundreds for sexual violence. Then it quietly began releasing them. - Seattle Times
• The island where WA has confined hundreds for sexual violence: What to know - Seattle Times

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There’s a new wrinkle in the debate over homelessness policy in the city of Burien. 

Last September, Burien passed a controversial ordinance banning camping in much of the city, Meanwhile, a local church decided to step in and offer its property as a temporary encampment for the homeless. Burien requested that the church, the Oasis Home Church, get a “temporary use permit” for the encampment.  

They declined to do that and are now bringing another lawsuit against the city, arguing that Burien was infringing on their religious freedom to provide a place for homeless residents to stay. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guests:

Anna Patrick, reporter on the Seattle Times’ Project Homelessness team

Relevant Links:

Seattle Times: Burien faces another homelessness lawsuit, this one about religion

Seattle Times: SCOTUS homelessness decisions’ impacts in Washington could be unique

Seattle Times: Burien poised to kill King County-funded shelter project

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Picture a historic church in Tacoma’s Proctor neighborhood, bathed in afternoon sunlight, poised for a dramatic transformation.

Julie Cain, who purchased the church in 2021, envisions turning it into affordable housing for young adults. The project aims to address local housing needs and foster a supportive community, with plans for shared rooms and communal spaces.

However, the ambitious plan has sparked mixed reactions from neighbors concerned about traffic, parking, and neighborhood changes.
Back in June, the city issued a permit for converting the church – albeit with some limitations. Neither side liked that outcome, and both sides requested a reconsideration. Yesterday, the city denied both requests. Now, no one is happy.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guests:

• Becca Most, Pierce County reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune

Relevant Links:

• Tacoma News Tribune: Affordable young adult housing proposed for old Tacoma church
• Tacoma News Tribune: Proctor church conversion to shared youth housing hits snag
• Tacoma News Tribune: Amici House youth project in Tacoma hits development hurdle

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When Fitz Cahall started his “Dirtbag Diaries” podcast in 2007, he was an avid outdoorsman struggling to make ends meet as a travel writer. At the time, this whole ‘on demand audio storytelling’ thing was kind of new, and Fitz saw it as a way of bringing new life to his joy of the outdoors. 

Today, he’s replaced his wild life bouncing around in a van with the concrete landscape of Seattle, where he continues to host his podcast with his wife, Becca, and their team of producers. And 17 years after they first began, Fitz and crew have now adapted 30 of their favorite “Dirtbag Diaries” into a new book titled States of Adventure: Stories About Finding Yourself by Getting Lost.

Cahall recently joined Libby Denkmann to discuss the book, the last 17 years of podcasting, and how he continues to find inspiration in the great outdoors.

Guests:

• Fitz Cahall, author of States of Adventure.

Related Links:

• The Dirtbag Diaries - The original outdoor adventure podcast : The Dirtbag Diaries
• States Of Adventure - The Dirtbag Diaries : The Dirtbag Diaries

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Imagine you are renting a property and your grass dies and gets brown (this is the Pacific Northwest, where, aside from some unseasonable August rain, it’s pretty dry all summer).

Then you get a note from your management company that letting that grass die violates the property’s rules and fines you $125. Then, on top of that, the company charges you an additional $125 for the trouble it took to put that note on your door. 

These fines, so called “junk fees,” are allowed in Washington State. 

A few cities like Seattle and Olympia have banned them. But those living outside areas with regulations can be subjected to a myriad of fines. 

Renters claim it is a way to penalize them to the point of moving. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guests:

• Kelsey Turner, reporter at InvestigateWest

Relevant Links:

• InvestigateWest: WA renters say unregulated ‘junk fees’ are being used to retaliate, discriminate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Washington State Department of Corrections has pledged to stop the use of solitary confinement in state prisons, in most cases. And the agency says it has made progress on that goal.

But a recent report from the agency’s own independent watchdog, the Office of the Corrections Ombuds, says isolating inmates for extended periods of time is still a widespread practice.

The findings, published in June, showed more than 1 in 5 people incarcerated in state prison at the time of the report had served a significant amount of time in solitary. 

The Ombuds also highlighted 176 suicide attempts over the last decade by people in solitary. 14 of those were fatal.

The report was requested by WA State lawmakers who are working to END solitary confinement because of its effects on the mental health of inmates.

To find out more, Soundside talked to WA State Standard reporter Grace Deng.

GUEST: Grace Deng - WA State Standard

RELATED LINKS: 

• Prisoners still routinely isolated in WA, despite efforts to cut solitary confinement - WA State Standard
• https://oco.wa.gov/sites/default/files/OCO_SolitaryConfinementReport_Part1_June2024.pdf 

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The summertime is usually the peak season for tourists in Stehekin, Washington – a small community of around 100 people at the north end of Lake Chelan. It’s only accessible by boat or floatplane, making it an ideal place for a lakeside getaway or entry into the North Cascades wilderness. 

But the geography and topography that make Stehekin unique are now posing challenges as the Pioneer Wildfire continues to threaten the town. Since it started June, the fire has grown to tens of thousands of acres, and at one point spread to within 100 feet of buildings near Stehekin. Many of the areas residents have stayed, but no structures have burned.

Soundside caught up with Stan Hinatsu about the latest on the fire. Hinatsu is the public information officer on the latest incident management team -- one of six -- responding to the Pioneer and Easy Fires.

Guests:

• Stan Hinatsu, Public Information Officer with the Pioneer/Easy Fire incident response team

Related Links:

• Stehekin residents prepare to defend their town as Pioneer fire nears | The Seattle Times
• Pioneer fire moves into Stehekin, comes within 100 feet of buildings | The Seattle Times

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The Department of Children, Youth, and Families, which oversees the state’s foster care system, celebrated a milestone last week:

The number of children in foster care has dipped below 5,000. That’s down significantly from 9,171 kids in foster care in 2018 – a reduction of more than 50% in six years. 

This is seen as progress among experts who have pushed for states nationwide to keep children with their parents whenever possible. Splitting up families can do lasting harm to kids and disproportionately affects people of color. 

But critics of the approach say the policy shift has created a situation where the state may be leaving children in harmful situations too long, especially when parents struggle with addiction or mental health issues. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guests:

• Nina Shapiro, social issues reporter at the Seattle Times

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Times: Why WA’s foster care system is shrinking fast
• Seattle Times: Is Washington state taking too many children from their parents? Movement seeks to overhaul foster care

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, the road to recovery after a spinal cord injury has meant years of physical therapy. The goal is often small but meaningful improvements in body function. 

Being able to stretch your fingers that much farther, or grip just a bit harder. 

Jon Schleuter’s path began after he broke his neck diving into a pool 20 years ago. 

Soundside's Libby Denkmann and Alec Cowan spoke with Schleuter in May. 

You can check out the original story, complete with photos here: https://www.kuow.org/stories/things-are-happening-new-tech-offers-groundbreaking-recovery-in-spinal-injuries 

GUESTS: 

• Jon Schlueter
• Chet Moritz

RELATED LINKS:

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02940-9
• https://www.onwd.com/therapy/arc-ex/ 
• https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65689580https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65689580 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new study out of the University of Virginia combined data from all 50 states to see how COVID restrictions did or didn’t reduce pandemic deaths.

Despite criticism – even today – that COVID restrictions were tyrannical and unnecessary, the paper shows that states with more stringent mask and vaccine mandates did in fact save lives, and that states without those measures could have prevented excess deaths had they followed similar strictures.  

While hindsight is, in this case, literally 2020 – the study should inform our response to future pandemics.

Soundside spoke with the paper's author, Christopher Ruhm, about the findings. Ruhm is a professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public policy. 

Guests:

• Christopher Ruhm, professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public policy. 

Related Links:

• How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID | Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy | University of Virginia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many performers, a missed show can mean a huge pay cut. 

Drag queens, comedians, musicians, and other entertainers are mostly independent contractors, which means no employer provided health insurance or sick time. 

Now, local drag queen Betty Wetter, as well as the dance duo Drama Tops, and Velocity Dance Center, have come together to create the Queer Sick Pay Fund. 

The Fund is meant to provide queer nightlife performers in the Seattle area with sick pay and resources when they have to miss a gig. 

Guest:

• Seattle drag queen Betty Wetter

Relevant Links:

• Velocity Queer Sick Pay Fund page

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Columbia River is undoubtedly one of the most important rivers in the Northwest. Today, its irrigation provides water for the farms of Central Washington; it’s a vital waterway for salmon; and it provides a critical source of hydroelectric power. 

The river is split between the U.S. and Canada, and its headwaters begin in British Columbia. For the last 60 years, one treaty -- the Columbia River Treaty -- has dictated how the two nations manage the river and its dams. But that treaty is quickly approaching an important deadline this September, and if nothing changes, terms in the treaty become less favorable to the United States.

In the last month, stakeholders on both sides of the border have come to an "agreement in principle" on an update to the Columbia River Treaty. Negotiations over changes in the treaty have been in the works for the last 6 years.

It’s probably something you haven’t heard about before – but it’s a critical piece of the future of the Columbia River and everything that depends on it. This week Soundside’s Libby Denkmann caught up on the treaty’s latest with Nigel Bankes, professor emeritus of law at the University of Calgary.

Guests:

• Nigel Bankes, professor of law emeritus at the University of Calgary

Related Links:

• Agreement in Principle on a Revised Columbia River Treaty | ABlawg
• U.S. and Canada update 60-year-old Columbia River Treaty | Cascade PBS
• What’s at stake if the Columbia River Treaty were to end - OPB

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Spokane County Commissioner Al French is facing a recall effort over his handling of disclosures of contaminated groundwater in the West Plains. 
 
The “Clean Water Accountability Coalition” is sounding the alarm about PFAS—sometimes called 'forever chemicals’—in well water. 
 
And let's not forget to mention that French is also running for re-election this year, adding another layer to the already heated debate. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guest:

Nate Sanford, staff writer at Inlander

Relevant Links:

Inlander: Spokane County Commissioner Al French faces recall attempt over PFAS controversy 

Inlander: EPA, Ecology and Spokane officials urge West Plains residents to sign up for free PFAS testing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 150 years, the United States government operated boarding schools that separated Native American children from their families and communities. The government's goal was to eradicate native languages and culture. At least 17 US Indian boarding schools existed in Washington State.

A new report from the Department of Interior outlines the scale and impact of the government's effort. It identifies by name almost 19,000 native children who were sent to boarding schools across the US and roughly 1000 children who died in the boarding school system, including 60 in Washington State.

While the report is among the first of its kind, native leaders are saying it's just a start towards understanding the impact of these schools. Deborah Parker, a citizen of the Tulalip tribes and Chief Executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, talks about where things stand in light of the new report.

Guests: Deborah Parker, Chief Executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

Relevant links: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/60-native-children-from-northwest-died-in-u-s-boarding-schools-among-nearly-1000-deaths-nationwide/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/native-american-boarding-schools.html

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new show from Cascade PBS looks at the way artists in the Pacific Northwest incorporate their surroundings into drawings, tapestry, and pottery. 

‘Art by Northwest’ showcases local artists inspired by the landscapes and culture of their communities. Each episode explores the stories behind their work, reflecting the unique essence of the Pacific Northwest. 

"What I hope for the series is that people see how artists are translating their landscape into their work," says host Brangien Davis.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guest:

• Brangien Davis, host of Art by Northwest and Crosscut's arts and culture editor

Relevant Links:

• Art by Northwest Episode 1 - Leaving the Loom: Tininha Silva
• Art by Northwest Episode 2 - Collaborating With Trees: Todd Horton

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of stories about the financial challenges facing schools right now: Seattle School District has a $100 million budget gap they need to close and they’re going to be shuttering schools to make ends meet. 

Bellevue School District also closed schools to shore up its budget last year.

Other districts are looking at million dollar shortfalls and considering school closures or ending programs. 

But Marysville School District is facing a particularly challenging landscape.

"They have a critically declining financial condition," said Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy. Her office reviews the finances of all 295 school districts in the state.

Their report on Marysville’s finances made headlines when it was published last week. McCarthy compared Marysville's situation to Vader School District, which dissolved in 2007 because of severe financial problems.

So what is going on at Marysville and how does it fit into the larger landscape of budget challenges at districts statewide? 

Guest:

• Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab and a Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy

Relevant Links:

• Washington State Standard: Why WA school budgets are getting tighter, and what can be done about it
• KUOW: Could Marysville schools have to close amid 'uniquely perilous' financial troubles?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two NASA astronauts named Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are currently stuck in space.

The pair launched in the Boeing Starliner earlier this year. 

Malfunctions have delayed their return from what was originally meant to be an 8 day trip to the International Space Station. Now, they may not be back on Earth until February.

And – most galling for Boeing: They may have to hitch a ride with its competitor, SpaceX. So, what exactly happened with Boeing’s new spacecraft? And what will it take to get the Boeing Starliner back on Earth?

Guests:

• Jim Hermanson, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington

• Dr. Wendy N. Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies 

Relevant links:

• AP News: Could 2 NASA astronauts be stuck at the space station until next year? Here’s what to know
• The Conversation: Boeing’s Starliner launches toward the International Space Station − an important milestone for commercial spaceflight

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While ballots are still being counted, most of the races in last week’s primary election have been decided. But one contest in particular – the race to become the next Commissioner of Public Lands for Washington state – has become surprisingly close. 

The Commissioner of Public Lands runs the state Department of Natural Resources – think forest and wildfire policy, along with issues like fish hatcheries and salmon restoration.

As of last week, just a few thousand votes separated the two candidates fighting for the final spot in this November’s general election -- and even now, the race is a toss-up.

For the latest, Soundside was joined by Seattle Times' Amanda Zhou and Isabella Breda. Both Zhou and Breda are reporters for the Seattle Times Climate Lab.

Guests: 

• Amanda Zhou and Isabella Breda, Seattle Times staff reporters covering climate and the environment. 

Related Links: 

• Democrat Upthegrove moves into No. 2 spot in WA lands commissioner primary | The Seattle Times
• Here’s where candidates for WA lands commissioner stand on key issues | The Seattle Times

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We wanted to round out today’s show by remembering a man described as the greatest music journalist Seattle ever had - Charles R. Cross.

For over 40 years, Cross tracked the pulse of Seattle through its music. 
He was also known for his biographies of local rock legends: Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart.

Cross’ family confirmed in a statement that he died on Aug. 9 of natural causes at his home in Shoreline. He was 67. 

Charles was also a regular guest on KUOW. . 

Our last conversation was back in January. Charles invited me over to his house to pour over archives of The Rocket - the scrappy biweekly music magazine he owned and edited.

The paper published from 1979 to 2000, and its writers were tastemakers for the whole music industry  during grunge’s dizzying heights in the ‘90s. When we sat down to talk, Cross had just announced that all 336 issues of The Rocket were available online, a painstaking process that exemplified the deep love he had for the journalism and artists who helped build Seattle culture . 

Here’s that conversation.

Guest:

• Seattle-based music journalist Charles R. Cross

Relevant Links:

• Variety: Charles R. Cross, Music Journalist Who Wrote Heralded Kurt Cobain Biography and Edited Seattle’s Alt-Weekly the Rocket, Dies at 67
• The Seattle Times: Charles R. Cross, influential Seattle music journalist, dead at 67

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Primary election results continue to roll in. And sure, your head may have been turned by that flashy State Lands Commissioner race.

But if you’re a Seattle resident, a very consequential city council contest should also be on your radar.    

The at-large 8th district seat is up for grabs this November. The citywide position was formerly held by Teresa Mosqueda. Last year, she won a spot on the King County Council. 

Tanya Woo, a business owner and community organizer in the Chinatown International District, was appointed to the vacated city council seat earlier this year.  She is now running to win that seat outright.

But a progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes-Rinck had a dominant showing in last week’s primary. And she may be on track to make Woo’s stint on the council a short one.

Guests:

• David Kroman, Seattle Times staff reporter covering Seattle City Hall

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Times: Seattle incumbent’s lagging primary results signal warning for general
• Seattle Times: New Seattle City Council members sprint to catch up after slow start
• Seattle Times: Seattle council delays vote on social housing funding initiative

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Across vast stretches of rural Washington, large boxy warehouses have popped up between fields of potatoes. They contain the humming infrastructure that the tech industry and users rely on to store documents in the cloud, access streaming videos, or perform internet searches. 

It’s easy to see why companies put data centers in this part of the state: cheap hydro electricity, available land, and a friendly legislature in Olympia that provides tax breaks.

But now, all those data centers are gobbling up electricity, which will only intensify with the growth of AI technology. 

And the growing demand is stretching the grid in rural counties, moving them farther away from green energy mandates from the state. 

Lulu Ramadan and Sydney Brownstone are reporters at the Seattle Times who looked into the effects of data centers on the electrical grid and rural communities in a two part series.

Guests:

• Lulu Ramadan, investigative reporter at The Seattle Times and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica's Local Reporting Network
• Sydney Brownstone, investigative reporter at The Seattle Times

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Times: Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push
• Seattle Times: Data centers got a huge tax break to create WA jobs. Is it paying off?

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Summer is in full swing with clogged hiking trails, packed ferries, and the smells of backyard barbeques. 

But while many of you might be visiting tourist towns in the Cascades or near a Puget Sound Island, one Washington tourist town has been struggling: Point Roberts, our favorite local exclave.

It’s a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, and its fourth side borders Canada. Summers are usually the high points for Canadian tourists who flock to "The Point’s" beaches, or maybe they just want the cheaper gas. 

But since the pandemic closed down the border, traffic and tourism has struggled to rebound.

A lot’s been written about Point Roberts and its predicament. Soundside producer Alec Cowan wanted to know how locals see the situation. He took a trip across the border and back to see how this isolated town is dealing with the dip – and all the stories about its decline.

Guests: 

• Brian Calder, president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce
• Neil King, co-owner of Kora's Corner in Point Roberts
• Emma Jones, Point Roberts local
• Rick Hoole, Point Roberts local with the Bald Eagle Golf Club
• Tracy Evans, Point Roberts local with the Bald Eagle Golf Club
• Dave Duncan, manager at the International Market in Point Roberts

Related Links: 

• KUOW - After two years of isolation, Point Roberts is open for business — sort of
• KUOW - Ferry service boosted to U.S. exclave of Point Roberts, which is cut off by Canada

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Yesterday, thousands of Washingtonians dug through the pile of mail sitting on their hallway table. They found their primary ballot - maybe even their voter pamphlet - and took time to vote.

Congratulations to all who did. Wear that new “I voted” sticker with pride.

Because there were a lot of important things to consider in this year’s primary election: come January we’ll have a new Governor, a new Attorney General, and a new Commissioner of Public Lands, to name just a few of the big jobs up for grabs. 

Today, we’re going to figure out: what we know so far about how yesterday’s primary went, and what we're still waiting to learn.

Guests:

• Former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna
• Democratic political consultant Cathy Allen

Relevant Links:

• Washington Primary Election Results

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One of the best coffee spots in Bellingham isn’t a cafe, at least according to some of the folks in the city’s unhoused population. Instead, it’s a casual coffee cart that pops-up twice a week, at a free lunch program, known as the Maple Alley Inn.

While the coffee is decent, the main attraction is the person running the cart. 85 year-old Ursula DeWit is known for her easy smile and exceptional listening skills. Her kindness has made a significant impact in the lives of people she serves coffee to, including seniors, veterans and families.

We’ll also hear from April Ballard who is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at Georgia State University about the importance of treating vulnerable populations of people with dignity.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

GUESTS: 

• Dr. April Ballard, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at the Georgia State University School of Public Health
• Ursula DeWitt, volunteer at the Maple Alley Inn in Bellingham

RELATED LINKS: 

• Background info on Maple Alley Inn
• Free Lunch Program
• Striving for dignity in homelessness research and outreach
• Ballard Kindness Cafe

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Have your friends been canceling on you because they’re sick? Coworkers on prolonged absence because your entire team came down with a bug? Feeling a sniffle yourself lately? 

This summer, The CDC says more than a dozen states across the US are seeing “very high” spikes  in COVID cases. But now that we’re a few years past the pandemic, what’s the responsible amount of time to stay home from work, avoid the grocery store, or get the latest booster? 

To help answer those questions and get the latest in covid-ettiquette, Soundside reached out to an expert.

GUEST: Dr. Amanda Casto - Infectious Disease Specialist with the University of Washington School of Medicine

RELATED LINKS: 

• Most people don't care about COVID anymore. That's good — and bad. 
• The Science Behind Why COVID-19 Tends to Spike During Summer Months

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It’s track and field week at the Paris Olympics.

Yesterday, the women’s 800 wrapped up with Keeley Hodgkinson of Great Britain taking the top spot. 

As exciting as an Olympics track event always is, it didn’t compare with nearly 100 years ago, when women were first allowed to run this race. Then, it was a media frenzy. 

And not because of the pure awe at elite runner’s abilities. Instead, at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928, the media and many sports officials were concerned about women running competitively at all. The Boston Globe’s John Hallahan described “six competitors [who] were so exhausted that they were near collapse at the finish. All fell flat on the ground.”

But the truth of that race, and the history of women’s running, is far more complex than popular accounts would lead you to believe. 

It’s a story that author Maggie Mertens tells in her new book, Better, Faster, Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women. 

Guests:

• Maggie Mertens, journalist and author of Better, Faster, Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women

Relevant Links:

• WSJ: The Long Road to Olympic Equality for Women

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The Paris 2024 Olympics are in full swing. Tomorrow (Wednesday the 7th) is the final day of competition for the artistic swim teams - better known to many by the sport’s old name: synchronized swimming.

This is the first time in 16 years that the American team has qualified for the Olympics. And, two members of that team come from right here, in Seattle.

They both got their start at the same club - called Seattle Synchro.

Guest:

• Daniela Garmendia, Head Coach at Seattle Synchro

Relevant links:

• Seattle Synchro team website

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It’s primary election day.

Over a million Washingtonians have already turned in their ballots.  

If you’re not one of those early voters, you’re not alone. About 80% of registered voters have opted to wait until the last few hours, if they’re voting at all. 

Perhaps it’s procrastination; perhaps you plumb forgot. Maybe you just really prefer casting a ballot in-person on election day, you traditionalist, you.    

Or maybe you just don’t think primary elections are all that crucial, and you’re saving it up for November. 

Well, we wanted to get an update on voter participation so far for this primary…

So we’ve brought in some experts to help us go through the numbers. Their teams are busy RIGHT NOW with the huge logistical work of collecting, counting and securing ballots to provide accurate results later this week.

GUESTS: 

• Pierce County Elections Manager, Kyle Haugh
• Clark County Auditor, Greg Kimsey

RELATED LINKS:

• Current Ballot Return Statistics - WA Secretary of State
• A trickle of ballots so far for Washington’s primary - WA State Standard

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When I say the one percent, what do you think of?

Is it the ultrawealthy? A phrase coined during the Occupy Movement? Is it the second wateriest form of milk on the market?

This story is about a different group of one percenters, it’s primary election season, after all, and we’re talking about voters who have their ballots rejected in Washington.

Over the last decade, around 99 percent of cast ballots were accepted.

But of those one percent that were disqualified, the Secretary of State's office noticed a trend: certain demographic groups had higher rates of rejections than others. 

That’s something the office wanted to know more about, so they teamed up with University of Washington researchers to better understand whose ballots were rejected and why.

Guest:

• Scott W. Allard, Associate Dean for Research & Engagement at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington

Relevant Links:

• Washington State Ballots Project

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Fueled by dry weather and high temperatures, wildfires across the Northwest have now burned more than 1 million acres. On Friday, Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency to unlock more firefighting resources. 

As of now, those dozens of fires across Washington and Oregon have put thousands of people under evacuation notice. But for cattle ranchers across the plains of the Northwest interior, moving their families – and their herds – is getting more and more difficult. 

Soundside was joined by Anna King, who has been following a number of ranchers as they work to get their cattle away from fire. King is a Senior Correspondent with Northwest Public Broadcasting and has spent more than a decade covering ranching in the remote corners of the Northwest.

Guests: 

• Anna King, Senior Correspondent with Northwest Public Broadcasting 
• Kayce Faulkner, rancher in Burns, OR
• Matt McElligot, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
• Mitch Baker, rancher north of Burns, OR

Related Links:

• Burnt over cattle and lands: In southeast Oregon, grief-stricken ranchers are exhausted and frustrated by wildfires - Northwest Public Broadcasting (nwpb.org)
• Anna King's video on cattle fences: Good Fences (youtube.com)
• Map of current Northwest fires: Wildfires rage in Oregon, Washington: Map the Pacific Northwest wildfires, evacuations (msn.com)

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Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison and Councilmember Cathy Moore say they have a plan to give the city a new tool to help fight drug trafficking and prostitution. 

Last Thursday they introduced a pair of ordinances that would create a number of “safe zones” in the city -- typically called Stay out of Drug Areas (or SODA) and Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution (or SOAP) zones.

The legislation hearkens back to previous Seattle laws that were REPEALED by the Seattle City Council four years ago.

So, why bring them back now?

Soundside host Libby Denkmann sits down with KUOW reporter Amy Radil to get the latest. She covers politics, government, and law enforcement for the station.

GUEST: Amy Radil

RELATED LINKS: 

Seattle officials revisit ‘exclusion zones’ to disrupt drug activity, sex trafficking - KUOW

Council Proposes Creating Huge New Zone Where Sex Workers Aren't Allowed - Publicola

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We’re headed back to Washington’s 3rd Congressional District – which includes the southwest corner of the state, from Long Beach to Mount Adams, and from Yelm down to Vancouver.

It’s expected once again to be the site of one of the closest House races in the country – the Cook political report rates it as one of only 22 “tossup” contests in 2024.

Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez flipped the seat in 2022 by a slim margin: she defeated Republican Joe Kent by roughly 2600 votes.

Kent is back vying for the seat, along with another Republican challenger:

GUEST: Leslie Lewallen, a city councilmember in Camas, WA and a former King County Deputy Prosecutor.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Leslie Lewallen sets sights on Washington’s 3rd Congressional District seat - The Columbian
• One of 2022's closest House races is primed for a rematch — with a fight over the GOP's future first - NBC
• YVYV: Republican Leslie Lewallen running in Washington's Third Congressional District  - KATU TV

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There has been an onslaught of news in Seattle’s theater community. 

Earlier this year, Seattle Rep announced it was laying off the majority of its artistic staff. The non-profit theater’s subscription base is half of what it was before the pandemic.

And that isn’t the only change in the theater world: The 5TH Avenue Theatre is shutting down its new works program. ACT Theatre is exploring a merger with Seattle Shakespeare.

Now, to be clear, these aren’t the only theaters in town, there are many, many smaller theaters throughout King County, like Second Story Repertory in Redmond, and Green Lake’s Seattle Public Theater which has merged with Matcha Theatre Works.

But for major players like the Rep, 5TH Ave, Village Theatre, and ACT, the climb out of the pandemic has been tough.

Guests:

• John Langs, Artistic Director of ACT Theatre
• Sheila Daniels, Assistant Professor at Cornish College of the Arts
• Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Associate Director of Engagement at 5TH Avenue Theatre and founder and CEO of ARB Consulting Arts.

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Times: Seattle Rep layoffs to include majority of its artistic staff
• Seattle Times: ACT Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare Company may merge soon
• Seattle Times: John Langs, artistic director of Seattle’s ACT Theatre, to step down

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Seattle Theater Group merged with Matcha Theater Works; the organization that merged with Matcha Theater Works is called Seattle Public Theater.

An earlier version of this podcast also stated that Seattle Rep and Seattle Children's Theatre merged. This overstates the recently announced partnership between these two theaters. Seattle Children's and Seattle Rep have instead combined forces on a few functionalities like box office, IT, and database administration.

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August is right around the corner and that means schools are getting ready for the academic year.

While kids are hanging onto a few more weeks of summer, voters are getting ready to determine who will oversee Washington’s public schools. 

The incumbent, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, is facing some challengers in the primary on August 6.  

Guest:

• Washington State Standard reporter Grace Deng

Relevant Links:
Washington State Standard: Six quotes to sum up the second WA schools chief candidate debate

Ballot drop box locations

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Riders packed trains on Friday to see four new stations on the One Line, which now stops in Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood.

At the 148th Street Station, Shoreline celebrated the occasions with a marching band, speeches, and bubble machines. The suburb has been planning for this moment for years, that’s apparent when you step off the train. 

Across I-5 from the light rail station, new apartment buildings are going up. Townhomes line a couple blocks near Meridian Avenue. There’s also road work to add larger sidewalks and traffic-calming roundabouts. 

The city is encouraging density and building infrastructure to support more pedestrians, and this is an effort most every city in the state is struggling with.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Guest:

Mayor Chris Roberts, City of Shoreline

Relevant Links:

KUOW: Light rail is helping Mountlake Terrace find its heart

The Urbanist: South Shoreline Light Rail Brings Suburban Retrofit with Thousands of Homes

Seattle Times: Lynnwood light rail is opening. Here’s what you’ll find at 4 new stations

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The scene opens on a dusty street. Weathered wooden buildings with false fronts line either side of the street, as two gunslingers line up at high noon.

A lone tumbleweed drifts across the street… which, actually, is the problem we’re here to discuss today. 

Tumbleweeds, also known as Russian thistle, are an invasive plant here in the United States. And for people in Central and Eastern Washington, they’re a nuisance that can clog roads and pose a potential fire hazard. 

So when reporter Anna King found that these invasive plants were being sold online as elegant decor – she was understandably curious about why. She joined Soundside to discuss her recent reporting on how tumbleweeds are managed, and how they spread so far.

Guests:

• Anna King, reporter for the Northwest News Network covering Washington and Oregon mainly East of the Cascades.

Related Links:

• Tumbleweeds sold for big bucks on popular home decor website causes chuckles in the Northwest - Northwest Public Broadcasting (nwpb.org)

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For generations, native Chinook salmon have made their spring migration up the Columbia River…

But over the past few decades, as their population has dwindled, salmon have been overtaken by a non-native species of fish hailing from the East Coast - THE SHAD.

Shad runs now number in the millions, while just about 700 thousand native Chinook make the trip up the Columbia each year. 

What’s behind the rise of this East Coast interloper? Humans, of course. 

But the effects of Shad on the local ecosystem? Well, that’s a bit more complicated.

Soundside host Libby Denkmann sat down with Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda Mapes to find out more about the "Chrome Tide."

GUEST: Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda Mapes

RELATED LINK: There’s a new top fish of the Columbia River — and it doesn’t mind the warm water | The Seattle Times

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The U.S. presidential race has undergone a big transformation. 

But has anything changed for Democrats who voted "uncommitted" in Washington state's presidential primary?

As the party prepares to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris in a virtual role call vote, an uncommitted delegate says Harris needs to show more separation from President Biden on the war in Gaza before she will earn his support.

Guest:

• Yaz Kader, uncommitted delegate for Washington’s 7th congressional district, which encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, as well as Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Normandy Park.

Relevant links:

• Seattle Times: WA to send 2 ‘uncommitted’ delegates to Democratic National Convention
• Washington State Standard: Harris snags support of Washington Democratic delegates

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Each year we can count on the reliable passing of the seasons: the leaves falling in Autumn, winter blooming into spring, and if you’re following tech, the reliable attempt – yet again – at a federal data privacy bill in the U.S. Congress. 

Back in April, two Washington legislators – Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell and Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers – announced to much fanfare that they would be leading the charge this year with newly drafted legislation called the American Privacy Rights Act. 

"Researchers project that if current trends continue, companies training large language models may run out of new publicly available high-quality data to train AI systems as early as 2026," said Senator Cantwell in a hearing on the issue earlier this month. "So without a strong privacy law, when the public data runs out, nothing stopping it from using our private data..."

As AI systems and their developers are hungry for more data, companies are starting to ask consumers to provide it -- often without ethical guidelines in place. 

In the hearing, Senator Cantwell called AI advancements “...fuel on a campfire in the middle of a windstorm," citing concerns with deepfakes, data security, price gauging, and data transparency.

"Privacy is not a partisan issue," said Senator Cantwell. "According to Pew Research, the majority of Americans across the political spectrum want more support for regulation. I believe our most important private data should not be bought or sold without our approval..."

Will concerns driven by AI be push tech regulation to the finish line?

To hear more about this latest attempt and if this effort might make it through, Soundside’s Libby Denkmann caught up with AI researchers Jacob Metcalf and Jennifer King. 

Guests:

• Dr. Jacob Metcalf is a researcher at the nonprofit Data & Society, where he studies and consults with companies on ethical AI practices. 
• Dr. Jennifer King is a privacy and Data Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human Centered Artificial Intelligence. 

Related Links:

• Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse - The Verge
• White Paper Rethinking Privacy in the AI Era: Policy Provocations for a Data-Centric World | Stanford HAI
• The Ethical Dilemma at the Heart of Big Tech Companies (hbr.org)

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