The Airport Communities Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep #42 Data, Data Centers and You (Raw!) Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Part two of a 'raw' episode mangled during production.

We open with news of a campaign from our partners Stay-Grounded, to ban flights between 10pm and 7am.

In other news, we remind readers of just how valuable your airline customer data is--even when the airline is dead! Why it is on our Legislative Agenda for 2027.

And though many people seem sure that AI is 'the future', at the same time there is an increasing movement to ban Data Centers across America.

This reminds us of the backlash against airport expansion after the Second Runway here at Sea-Tac. The outcry led to the Sea-Tac Communities Plan of 1976 (STCP)--the subject of our next set of episodes.

Despite some very significant concessions from the airport and the FAA, people don't remember the STCP now because there was no follow-through.

The cautionary tale for airport communities across America? Never forget.

Next up? A series of stories on the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, and our 2027 Legislative Agenda.

Ep #41 Port Package Updates... update? Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Another 'raw' episode to give people with sound insulation issues an update. We've spent so much time this year working on the SAMP you may think you're forgotten. Never.

Sound insulation should be a basic right, not an after-thought.

The Port of Seattle conducted a new Part 150 Study as part of the SAMP. They use that noise study to further its expansion plans. A large portion of our advocacy on the SAMP has been towards get you the relief you deserve.

The Port proposed a Port Package update program in 2024 but has slow-walked the process since then. There is ongoing window-dressing and even opposition from some of the affected city councils which is beyond shameful. State Senator Tina Orwall will be putting forward new State legislation in January to help break the log jam. That is where you come in.

Last year's attempt was (sorry) not great. People threw their support behind bills that had no chance of passing.

In the meantime, we hear more and more from you orphans--people who bought a house that was eligible for sound insulation--before you bought it, but now is not. Many of you are in a dead zone--closer to Boeing Field, but part of the Port of Seattle's jurisdiction.

This will take money from the Port, from the State, from the FAA. It can't be one or the other. Everyone must stop finger-pointing and contribute. Now.

To get that done, we will need everyone's help--including you orphans--to make sure that we get right legislation proposed and then get it passed.

Next up? A series of stories on the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, and our 2027 Legislative Agenda.

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Ep #40 Thank You, Explorer! Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

The SAMP NTP DEIS Comment Period is closed. A quick Thank You note. And a quick comment on something we noticed in all your comments.

The only ongoing failure in airport activism is not learning from others' mistakes. Every frustration people feel today is a challenge and an opportunity. Don't give up. Learn what did not work, appreciate all the courageous people who did not know what they did not know at the time--and adjust course. They helped map the territory. That is how we find the path that gets us all where we want to go.

Next up? A series of stories on the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, and our 2027 Legislative Agenda.

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Ep #39 Post Listening Session 2 Postgame (Raw!) Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

We're in the midst of producing episodes on the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, and our comments on the SAMP and updates on the totally confusing state of Port Package updates and... But the Port Commission held a bonus 'listening session' at Pier 69. We cover all meetings, of course. But since JC was already there, he decided to step to the mic and mention the two things that have been absent from the discussion for too long: measurables--now.

JC Harris, for STNI. My first comment: it would be lovely if I could get parking validation.

My second comment. I heard the morning presentation, and of course you're going to hear about the 17,000 jobs — the socioeconomic impacts thing is total rubbish. People will want to conflate King County's benefits with those of the fence-line communities. There are needs everywhere, of course. But you will want to conflate the economic benefits of the walled garden of the Port — where you do provide a best-in-class land stewardship plan, a child care center, all of it — with what actually reaches the fence-line communities. And that's creating this Elysium effect, this polarization. The delta between the services and the ethics you apply internally and what radiates out to the fence-line communities is widening not closing.

I don't care how many temp jobs you provide for the Concourse and everything else — none of it moves the needle in the fence-line communities. I know that because you've been doing billions of dollars of construction over the last decade, and it's a very easy thing to measure. Look at the budget books over the last ten or fifteen years and you'll see conditions have not gotten better, despite the stratospheric growth of the airport.

Would you not think that if the airport's revenues increased — even from one-time construction spending — some of that would emanate out to our communities? That is not the case. Conditions have actually continued to decline. It's measurable and it's something I hope you'll give some consideration to.

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Ep #38 Aviation Forum Postgame (Raw!) Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

Ep #38 Aviation Forum Postgame (Raw!) - Sea-Tac Noise.Info

We’re in the midst of producing episodes on the Sea-Tac Communities Plan, and our comments on the SAMP and updates on the totally confusing state of Port Package updates and…

But whenever you have a public Q&A with Congressman Adam Smith, State Senator Tina Orwall, and Port of Seattle Commission President Ryan Calkins, it’s worth talking about. So we turned JC loose to fact check!

The wrong pollutants! The question of leaded fuel was raised–which always (understandably) scares people. There has been no leaded fuel in use at Sea-Tac Airport for decades because over 97% of traffic at Sea-Tac is commercial and commercial jets do not use leaded fuel. It is, has been, and will be a non-issue in the SAMP. What is a huge issue? Ultrafine Particulates–the main and unregulated and under-researched component of Jet-A exhaust–thousands of times more significant for us. The urgent need for immediate research and regulation got almost no attention!

Port Package misstatements. Several federal initiatives were discussed to help fund Port Package Updates. They are much appreciated, but we’re still at least two years from relief. What was not discussed? That the Port of Seattle could always fund its own sound insulation program outside of FAA. And yet, unfortunately, the Port Commission (again) said exactly the opposite.

Ongoing problems with landings? Residents will always have reasons to be upset about over-flights–especially arrivals. Apart from the frequency, almos none are problematic. What is problematic? Despite having a Community Ombudsman located in Des Moines, the public has not heard from the FAA in years.

These kinds of Q&A sessions highlight what is broken in our relationship with the airport. Everyone in the room is well-meaning. But everyone is, to one degree or another, talking past one another because the overall information level has sunk so low. It is important to get leaders talking. But apart from having clear goals, without a venue where everyone walks into the room, armed with the same set of facts, real progress is impossible.

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Ep. 37 Dear City Managers Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

The Airport Communities Podcast

This letter is to you and not to the politicians you report to. If there is a long-term solution to life under the flight path, it may be approved by electeds, but it will be developed and managed by you.

Unfortunately, solutions to seemingly intractable problems like airport impacts aren't usually easy to find. Except when they are already there, hiding in plain sight.

People who visit our website are often confused by our main image, which is not typical. Where are the unhappy people complaining about aircraft noise?

The image looks like a comp plan because that is what it is: the Sea-Tac Communities Plan of 1976, co-signed by the Port of Seattle and King County.

The STCP was supposed to be that long-term solution. The bargain, in fact the Port of Seattle's slogan, was simple, "As we do better, you'll do better."

Why is it now almost completely forgotten, except perhaps as a very expensive set of 'property buyouts'?

Over and over, it has turned out to be the case that while community members can play a crucial role in creating a plan as important as the STCP. Electeds are essential in funding it. But neither are the ones who can keep it from becoming a very expensive 'one and done'.

To fulfill that promise, we need today what should have gotten 50 years ago: a long-term commitment to airport community planning--something only you, the professionals, can provide.

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