What were the biggest stories of 2017 in Seattle and Washington politics? What will emerge as the biggest stories in 2018? Make a list and then see whether you agree with The Overcast, as reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman remember the year that was and look ahead at the year to come.
Only 0.7 percent of Seattle’s African-American students are enrolled in the district’s most exclusive gifted classes. The rate for whites is nearly 18 times higher. That outrageous disparity is tied to how the district goes about identifying highly-capable kids. Seattle Times education reporter Claudia Rowe explains the issue and a different approach in Miami that's yielding results.
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole will step down at the end of the year, Mayor Jenny Durkan has announced. Seattle Times reporter Steve Miletich tells The Overcast where O'Toole came from, what she did, why she's leaving and what comes next.
Temporary appointee Kirsten Harris-Talley served only 51 days as a Seattle City Council member this fall. But she had plenty to do, diving into contentious negotiations over the city's next budget and a proposed tax on big businesses. In Episode 60, Harris-Talley tells The Overcast what it was like for an activist to take part in Seattle politics on the inside.
What's working and what's not as the Seattle region grapples with homelessness? Seattle Times reporter Vernal Coleman joins politics reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman to discuss Project Homeless, a new Seattle Times initiative that explores and explains a complex and troubling set of problems.
With the City Council working on Seattle's 2018 budget, Councilmember Mike O'Brien sits down with The Overcast to discuss two proposals. One would tax large businesses to help fight homelessness. The other would pay a consultant to study the possibility of tolling motorists who drive into downtown.
KNKX's Simone Alicea, usually behind the scenes on The Overcast, jumps in front of the microphone to talk mayoral politics with Seattle Times political reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman.
Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda Mapes explains why martens may be missing in the Olympic Mountains, what scientists are worried about after a survey of waters off Washington and how 105,000 Atlantic Ocean salmon wound up in the Salish Sea.
Former Washington state GOP chairman Chris Vance and Nick Troiano, executive director of the Centrist Project argue a new centrist political movement can attract voters fed up with Democrats and Republicans. Hosting this week, political reporter Jim Brunner presses them on whether a centrist movement can really take hold in Washington state or nationally.
Seattle Times reporter Nina Shaprio discusses her recent story about five-year-old Gary Blanton, who died in the care of an aunt struggling with six kids in a “chaotic” home. Why did the state keep him there? And what are officials doing to longstanding problems in Washington's welfare system?
Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman interview Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell about a very unusual time in local politics. Harrell became mayor after Ed Murray resigned amid allegations of sexual abuse but only stayed in the role for a few days.
Seattle Times business reporter Matt Day discusses Amazon's decision to seek a second headquarters somewhere other than Seattle. Then politics reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman break down Mayor Ed Murray's stunning resignation amid allegations of child sexual abuse.
Seattle and King County officials plan to open safe-injection sites to help keep drug users alive. But Initiative 27 would block that from happening. Now public-health experts and proponents of the sites are suing to keep I-27 off the ballot. Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman hear from their lawyer, Knoll Lowney, and then talk to an I-27 booster, Joshua Freed.
How did Washington state's congressional delegation react to white supremacists rallying in Virginia and to President Donald Trump withholding judgment? What do the results of Seattle's mayoral primary mean for November's general election? Monisha Harrell, political consultant and board chair of Equal Rights Washington, joins Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman.
Seattle Times homelessness reporter Vernal Coleman explains how City Councilmember Mike O'Brien has reignited a debate about how Seattle should deal with homeless people living in vehicles on the streets.
Who's got the edge after Seattle's historic mayoral primary? This week, The Overcast brings a snap analysis of front-runner Jenny Durkan, and her probable November rivals, Cary Moon or Nikkita Oliver. Also, why did former Mayor Mike McGinn flop so hard? Support independent journalism: www.seattletimes.com/subscribe
The Overcast hits the streets for Episode 47 as Seattle Times politics reporters Daniel Beekman and Jim Brunner chat with voters in Columbia City, Beacon Hill, downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill and Lake City about who they're supporting for mayor. Support independent journalism: www.seattletimes.com/subscribe
Seattle Times watchdog reporter Lewis Kamb and political reporter Jim Brunner discuss their recent story on a 1984 Child Protective Services investigation of sexual-abuse allegations against Ed Murray. Then they talk with City Hall reporter Daniel Beekman about reaction from mayoral candidates and City Council members.
How has President Donald Trump's election changed life for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Washington state? How has it changed trade between the Puget Sound region and Mexico? Roberto Dodisch discusses. Mexico's consul in Seattle, who served as his country's negotiator for the Paris climate agreement, also talks climate change.
Seattle Times Olympia reporter Joe O'Sullivan describes how the state Legislature narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a $43.7 billion budget negotiated behind closed doors. Lawmakers were so pressed for time that many voted for the deal without having read through the entire budget.
With Seattle city leaders determined to vote soon on an income tax for the wealthy, The Overcast looks at whether a city-only tax makes sense, and whether it's even legal. Guests: income-tax proponent John Burbank with the Economic Policy Institute, and tax critic Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center.
Two local politics experts, Monisha Harrell and Marco Lowe, map out the contours of Seattle's scorching-hot race for mayor. Will Bob Hasegawa's public-bank concept catch fire? Will young voters turn out for Nikkita Oliver? Will Ed Murray re-enter the race? This week's episode was recorded in KNKX 88.5's Seattle studio.
Seattle is considering restrictions on what landlords can ask prospective tenants about their criminal histories. We hear from advocates who argue the importance of a clean slate, and from a landlord rep, who fears the rules put landowners and other tenants at risk.
Investigative reporter Mike Baker takes us inside Quantity of Care, an ongoing Seattle Times series delving into business practices in the health-care industry. The latest story in the series is about doctors carrying out more than one surgery at a time.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington's 7th Congressional District talks about her first five months in Congress, what it's like to be in the Democratic minority, her bills targeting President Donald Trump and why she's already mentioning impeachment.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has proposed a 1.75 cent per ounce tax on the distribution of sweetened beverages, and the City Council is considering it. Lindsay Hovind of the American Heart Association and Ryan Hopkins of West Seattle's Boss Drive-In debate the proposal.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson's successful effort to block President Donald Trump's travel-ban executive order has catapulted the Democrat into the national spotlight. But he tells political reporters Jim Brunner and Dan Beekman he's also grappling with the federal government over coal and national monuments. Plus, Ferguson uses chess to explain Trump's governing approach.
Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman discuss a race for Seattle mayor that was turned upside down this week when Ed Murray announced he was ending his campaign for a second term.
Pacific Northwest Magazine staff reporter Tyrone Beason discusses Portraits of Homelessness. He and Times photographer Erika Schultz visited homeless encampments in Seattle and asked people there to share their thoughts, hopes and dreams with the rest of the city by writing in a scrapbook.
Charges of "ghost money" and political stunts are flying in the state Capitol. Must be budget season! With state lawmakers at an impasse over taxes and a McCleary solution, political reporter Jim Brunner talks with two key players about prospects for an agreement before summer. Guests: State Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Sammamish, and House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington.
