Soundside

Latest Episodes:

Breaking down the Seattle Public Schools closure options Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

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 the chopping block have been identified.

Wednesday, the district’s “Well Resourced Schools” website published two different proposals.

One would close 17 schools. The other recommends closing 21.

KUOW Education Reporter Sami West joins Soundside to break down the options at hand.

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.

The man behind three WA initiatives says the state legislature has gone too far, will voters agree? Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

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 your ballot about natural gas regulations.

Brian Heywood joins Soundside host Libby Denkmann to discuss his attempt to rollback these policies and why he's pursuing citizen's initiatives instead of running for office.

Guest:

Brian Heywood, hedge fund manager and funder behind I-2117, I-2109, and I-2124

Relevant Links:

Seattle Times: 6 initiatives head to WA ballot with $6M support of Brian Heywood

KUOW: WA initiative supporters turn in signatures to repeal capital gains tax, carbon auctions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boeing machinists face decision to ratify or strike after latest union contract Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

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 employees will decide to take or reject the offer. If they vote it down, machinists could walk off the job later this week.

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:

Lauren Rosenblatt - Seattle Times Innovation, Technology, and Workforce issues reporter

Related Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shopping for Nordstrom: Nordstrom family enters bid to buy back the company Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

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 Alex Halverson breaks it all down.

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:

Alex Halverson, Seattle Times business reporter

Relevant Links:

What’s behind Nordstrom family’s $3.8B play to take control of company - Seattle Times

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Proponents of I-2117 make the case for dismantling WA's cap and invest system Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

This November, Washington voters will be asked to weigh in on complicated policies like a capital gains tax and a long-term care fund. Maybe the most complex one is the future of the Climate Commitment Act, an initiative on the November ballot seeks to repeal the key part of this 2021 law: the “cap-and-invest” system.

It’s essentially an auction for major polluters where companies can purchase carbon allowances – kinda like permission slips for emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide.

Over the next two days, we’ll hear from both a supporter of the initiative to repeal the cap and trade system and a defender of the Climate Commitment Act.

Yesterday, we heard from a defender of the CCA: State House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon.

Today, we talk to a proponent of the initiative, who wants to dismantle the state's carbon auction: Washington Policy Center's Todd Myers.

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:

Todd Myers, Vice President of Research at the Washington Policy Center.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I-2117 puts WA's cap and invest system on the ballot, defenders of the system make their case Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

It’s essentially an auction for major polluters where companies can purchase carbon allowances – kinda like permission slips for emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide.

Over the next two days, we’ll hear from both a supporter of the initiative to repeal the cap and trade system and a defender of the Climate Commitment Act.

Today, we hear the defender of the CCA: State House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon.

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:

Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, State House Majority Leader, who helped create the Climate Commitment Act

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New study examines increasing suicide rates in Asian American youth Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

This week (September 8th to 14th) is National Suicide Prevention Week.

Deaths by suicide in young people have risen by more than 60% in recent decades. And in 2022, it was the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-14.

Behind that tragic statistic is a lot of nuance, though.

For example: Alaska Natives, American Indians, and White youth are more likely to take their own lives than their Asian American peers. But researchers say even that statistic masks the reality of suicide rates in Asian American young people, and that rates vary greatly by subgroup.

Soundside spoke with Dr. Anthony L. Bui, lead author of a study that looked at suicide rates in Asian American youth. Dr. Bui is also an acting assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a researcher at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

He believes that by better understanding the background of individuals at risk, we can develop culturally specific and more effective approaches to youth mental health care.

Dr. Bui's study was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

During our conversation Dr. Bui noted the importance of reaching out to professionals like school therapists when you are concerned about the youth in your life.

Soundside called up one of those school-based, child mental health specialists -- Ana Short -- to learn more about what culturally appropriate health care for young people may look like in practice.

Correction notice, 2:13p.m. on Thursday, 9/12/2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Ana Short worked for Internal Community Health Services. This story has been amended to the correct employer: International Community Health Services.

Guests:

Dr. Anthony L Bui, acting assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
Ana Short, child mental health specialist with International Community Health Services.

Related Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asahel Curtis' photography continues to surprise archivists nearly a century later Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

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:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The importance of giving folks their flowers" - Black & Loud Fest highlights Black performers across the PNW Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

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.

Burien faces new challange to homelessness policy, this time on religious grounds Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

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.