Seattle has a rich jazz history -- and you can’t talk about it without mentioning legends like Ray Charles and Quincy Jones. Both artists knew each other, as they grew their music chops right here in Seattle. Of course, we can’t forget to mention Kenny G. In the 1920s and 1930s jazz clubs were an escape during prohibition, and many of them lasted long after prohibition ended. For almost 45 years, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley has not only been one of the preeminent jazz clubs in Seattle, but also in th...
Nov 21, 2024•22 min
Bird flu has spread at astonishing speed and with little discretion for what it infects. Since first emerging, the strain of H5N1 has infected wild birds, commercially raised chickens, seals, dairy cows, and, yes, even humans. Late last week, Woodland Park Zoo announced that a red breasted goose died in a suspected case of bird flu. The zoo quickly isolated birds and restricted access to them. Meanwhile, just north of Washington in British Columbia, a teenager was hospitalized in critical condit...
Nov 21, 2024•12 min
Back in 2021, following calls for police reform after the murder of George Floyd, Washington state did something unique. Legislators created a state-funded agency to investigate instances of serious or fatal police use of force – even ones that had happened in the past. Many believe the Office of Independent Investigations has potential to improve trust between marginalized communities and law enforcement. But some say it’s taking the office too long to get going. So far, the OII hasn’t official...
Nov 20, 2024•17 min
In the aftermath of the 2024 election, Democrats are confronting a possible existential threat: The erosion of support among important demographic groups, particularly Latinos. An example close to home helps illustrate the shift: In the 14th Legislative District, in the Yakima Valley, a newly redrawn map was supposed to strengthen Latino representation in the state House and Senate. Republicans even challenged the map in court, alleging it was built to win seats for Democrats. But as the dust se...
Nov 20, 2024•24 min
One of the most closely watched congressional races of the 2024 election happened here in Washington State, with Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez facing off once again against Donald Trump-endorsed Republican Joe Kent. The district went for Trump in the presidential race, but held on to the Auto Shop owner-turned-Congresswoman for another term. And she’s here to talk about the win, what Democrats can learn from it, and her legislative priorities in office. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, yo...
Nov 19, 2024•21 min
Washington state is about to get a new top lawyer. Former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown defeated Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano earlier this month to become the state’s next Attorney General. Brown is an Army veteran who also served as general counsel to Governor Jay Inslee. When he’s sworn in in January, he’ll be stepping into the high-profile job just as the stakes get even higher: Washington state had a history of legal clashes with the last Trump Administration, over everything from the Muslim ban to e...
Nov 18, 2024•32 min
Washington voters just upheld the state’s new capital gains tax — which places a 7% tax on the sale of long-term assets like stocks and bonds. Now, the Seattle City Council is looking at a proposal to create its own capital gains tax for the city itself. Instead of benefitting schools, like the state tax, this revenue would fund things like rental assistance. But so far, the idea is not being universally embraced by city leadership. Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore sits down with Soundside...
Nov 18, 2024•16 min
Canoe journeys are rigorous, challenging trips that go for hundreds of miles. Each year, canoe “families” from different tribal nations paddle between villages on the Salish Sea, joining local celebrations and ceremonies along the way. They camp at each stop until reaching that year’s destination tribal site. For indigenous people who take part, it’s an important way to connect with their culture as well as other tribes. It’s also a chance to explore nature and their own inner strength. The Lumm...
Nov 14, 2024•17 min
Students, parents, and educators are still waiting to find out how the Seattle School Board will vote on a proposal to close four elementary schools in the district. But in the meantime - a group of SPS parents believe it's time to take matters into their own hands: they’ve launched an effort to recall school board president Liza Rankin. 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 o...
Nov 14, 2024•8 min
Soundside host Libby Denkmann is still on a high from her experience at the USHER show on Sunday, but we're looking forward to what’s happening THIS weekend... Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here to help you get a jump on making plans with “THE WEEKEND WARMUP!” LINKS: SIFF Presents SHREK WEEK !! Shrek the Musical - Spokane Shrek the Musical - Bellingham First Annual Veteran Art Show - Spokane Field Notes: Artists Observe Nature Opening Celebration - Tacoma Haunted Farmers Market - Tacoma The...
Nov 14, 2024•5 min
Back in 2017, President Donald Trump arrived in office touting big promises about immigration. Remember building a wall and making Mexico pay for it? Or defunding sanctuary cities? Trump had mixed success fulfilling those pledges, though not for lack of trying. Many of his policy goals couldn’t get past the courts, or Congress. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made even more immigration-related promises: mass deportations, ending birthright citizenship for some, and tightening the U....
Nov 14, 2024•21 min
Election results are still coming in for Washington’s tightest races. Most of the voter initiatives went down to defeat this year. But one -- Initiative 2066 -- is poised for success. It targets natural gas regulations by rolling back pieces of a big law forcing Puget Sound Energy to explore electrification and likely knocking down new building codes that makes installing natural gas in new construction harder. It’s passing by a slim margin: just over 3 percentage points . But not so fast, becau...
Nov 14, 2024•20 min
Donald Trump has vowed to take a number of actions on his first day in the oval office. He’s promised mass deportations, increased tariffs, and deregulation. While some home builders see a potential silver lining in deregulation, other policies could raise the cost of building and that might affect housing supply in an area with a housing shortage. Guest: Heidi Groover, real estate report at the Seattle Times Relevant Links: Seattle Times: What Seattle-area housing market should expect as Trump ...
Nov 14, 2024•11 min
Getting an interview for a new job has always been tough. For candidates, the challenge is crafting a cover letter and resume that make you stand out. For employers, the challenge is often volume. Finding the right candidate with the right qualifications – in a stack of applications. Now, inject AI into the mix. Large Language models (LLMs for short) are being used to help automate some of the tedium of sorting through candidate resumes. But in a new study from the University of Washington, even...
Nov 13, 2024•14 min
Washingtonians voted down three tax-related initiatives that would have repealed the state’s cap and trade program, made the state’s long term care program optional, and repealed the state’s new capital gains tax. Those lost by large margins. One initiative passed, it protects access to and use of natural gas. All four initiatives were backed by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, who put $6 million into signature gathering. Heywood claimed that the policies he was trying to repeal amounted to tax...
Nov 13, 2024•28 min
A 37-year old man remains in custody at King County Jail at this hour, held on $2 million dollars bail. He’s awaiting charges connected to the stabbing of up to 9 people in Seattle’s Chinatown International District and South Jackson street on Thursday and Friday. While setting bail, the judge noted the suspect had a warrant out for his arrest and a history of multiple felonies, including robbery, theft and attempted burglary. A police spokesman described the attacks as random assaults. Several ...
Nov 12, 2024•9 min
It’s been a big week. I know many of you listeners would like it to end. Or maybe you’re just always really excited for the weekend. Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here with the “Weekend Warmup” to help you get a jump on making plans. LINKS: SIFF!! The Art of Studio Ghibli Cinema Italian Style Seattle Polish Film Festival GeekGirlCon USHER - Saturday & Sunday BELLINGHAM - Bellwood Farms Cider Festival SPOKANE - Eddie Izzard - The REMIX Tour: The First 35 Years If you would like to sugges...
Nov 08, 2024•4 min
U.S. stocks soared after Donald Trump clinched the presidency early Wednesday morning. And another market jumped to a record-high as well: cryptocurrency. The price of Bitcoin has topped $76,000 as of Thursday morning, and behind this record breaking value is a belief from digital currency enthusiasts that the president-elect will roll back Biden-era regulations on cryptocurrency. And the crypto-industry was far from a passive observer in this year’s election. It spent more than a hundred millio...
Nov 08, 2024•13 min
As Donald Trump’s transition team gears up for his second administration, Democrats are spending the days after the election processing their major defeats – with a dash of second-guessing and finger-pointing about what went wrong for Kamala Harris. Here in Washington, Governor-elect Bob Ferguson held a press conference this morning laying out plans to battle Trump on a number of fronts, including immigration, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ protections. To talk about how those battles could pla...
Nov 08, 2024•24 min
“Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you”. In the weeks before the election, it was a line that echoed over and over in advertisements that ran during football games, the World Series, and prime time network television. It was paired with footage of border crossings, claims about trans girls participating in youth sports, and Vice President Harris talking about federal prisoners having access to gender-affirming medical care. And, according to reporting from the New York Times, these...
Nov 07, 2024•12 min
Democrats across the country today are waking up to a sea change in national politics and a realignment of political coalitions once considered solidly blue. But closer to home, Washington state is moving further to the left. Local Democrats appear headed for a sweep of statewide offices, and most of the conservative-backed initiatives on the ballot are losing. But, not everything is so clear cut. Questions remain, including: Will voters ditch new regulations on natural gas? Will an anti-Trump R...
Nov 06, 2024•30 min
We’re continuing to watch election results today, but many things are clear: Donald Trump will retake the presidency, and he’ll be backed by a Republican controlled Senate. Control of the House of Representatives remains up in the air. Dozens of races around the country are too close to call . We might not know the outcome of these battleground contests for several days or even weeks, but the potential for Democrats to flip the House is a rare glimmer of hope for a party that experienced crushin...
Nov 06, 2024•29 min
It’s election day … officially. But don’t hold your breath, everyone. We’re still possibly days away from knowing the results of many races, both local and national. Even so, we wanted to get a sense of how voters in Washington have been feeling and thinking about the choices on the ballot this season. KUOW has been speaking with people across the political spectrum, to get their takes on what’s driving their decisions. Guest: Alex Rochester, KUOW digital community outreach producer Related link...
Nov 05, 2024•14 min
Months and months of anticipation – or maybe dread? – have led to today. Election day. Over the coming days and weeks, there will continue to be a lot of talk about candidates, polls, the state of democracy. But we also want to recognize the emotional difficulty of election day... of election season . Politics can leave a lot of people bitter and divided. It’s cost treasured relationships and led to feelings of anger, contempt, and fear. Bridging divides and finding common ground aren’t simple o...
Nov 05, 2024•16 min
Americans are at the polls right now voting for the next president – among a lot of other important state and local races. And if you’re highly engaged in the outcome of Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris – you’re not just casting a ballot. You’re reading, watching and listening to tons of content about this presidential race, and in some cases agonizing over public polling in the weeks leading up to election day. This year, the polls are showing one thing: neither candidate holds a clear edge. S...
Nov 05, 2024•22 min
He was one of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century… and he hailed from Seattle. Songwriter, composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones, died yesterday at the age of 91. The 28-time Grammy winner moved to the Pacific Northwest at the age of 10 and eventually graduated from Garfield High School. Jones credited Seattle's musical openness with shaping his style. He met Ray Charles here. In a typical night, they would play across the city, from the tony Seattle Tennis Club to hangouts on ...
Nov 04, 2024•5 min
Boeing machinists are voting today on a new contract offer that could end their seven week-old strike. More than 33,000 workers walked off the job on September 13 – after they overwhelmingly voted to reject an offer from Boeing that included a 25 percent pay increase over 4 years. In late October, Machinists also voted down Boeing’s second offer – which would have raised wages 35 percent over four years. Boeing says this third deal is their best and final offer. It includes a pay bump of 38 perc...
Nov 04, 2024•9 min
Seattle’s Public School District is grappling with a nearly 100 million dollar budget shortfall, as student enrollment in the district has dropped in recent years. In a letter last month, Superintendent Brent Jones said that SPS was proposing the closure of North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo, and Stevens elementary schools next year , pending school board approval. The district says the latest plan will save around $5 million dollars - much less, notably, than the close to 30 million the broader cl...
Nov 04, 2024•33 min
Famous fiends like zombies, vampires, and werewolves are hallmarks of All Hallow's Eve. But how much do you know about why that is, and where those creatures come from? It’s an origin story that’s fascinated University of Washington professor Charity Urbanski. Charity teaches medieval history at the UW, and she wrote a new book based on her research and seminars on the origins and meaning behind some of Europe’s most famous monsters. It's titled "Medieval Monstrosity: Imagining the Monstrous in ...
Oct 31, 2024•20 min
Do you have weekend plans yet? On Soundside, we figure it’s never too early to make plans, plus, we’re not on the air Fridays... We’ve been looking at some of the exciting things happening around the region over the next few days. Producer Jason Megatron Burrows has this roundup for you, in a segment that, for now, we’re calling the “Early Weekend Guide.” 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...
Oct 31, 2024•7 min
