The battle between the city of Burien and King County reflects a struggle places up and down the West Coast are experiencing: trying to understand how to regulate the rising number of visibly homeless people on their streets, and what can be done to support those people.By Libby Denkmann

Seattle Public Schools is phasing out its highly capable cohort (HCC) model – where advanced learners go to a handful of elementary, middle and high schools in the district with curriculum that is one or two years ahead of their grade depending on the subject. Instead, starting next school year (2024-25), the district’s replacement, called the “hig…

Soundside host Libby Denkmann speaks with NW Insurance Council president Kenton Brice about the rising cost of auto insurance in WA State.By Libby Denkmann

Monday, the 22nd, marks the start of Passover. It’s one of the biggest holidays in the Jewish calendar.It's also the first Passover since October 7th, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing over 1000 people, and Israel began a deadly response that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.For many in the Jewish community, the weight of that day, an…

Dip into your average grocery or convenience store, and you’ll have your pick of at least a dozen different brands of bottled water.But despite being so ubiquitous in American culture today, the meteoric rise of bottled water isn't by coincidence -- and your average bottle and average tap have more in common than you might think.…

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the historically-early budget process beginning for the Seattle City Council, a new piece of equitable development legislation, a squabble over police hiring (and testing), a r…

Like sour cream dolloped lovingly on a baked potato, journalist and food writer Rachel Belle finds the delicious nooks and unexpected crannies of the Pacific Northwest culinary scene.By Libby Denkmann

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with freelance journalist Andrew Engelson about his reporting in Publicola on SPD Officer Kevin Dave's employment record at the Tucson Police Department in Arizona.By Libby Denkmann

As of last week, a long-running avian influenzas outbreak has affected more than 85 million poultry birds -- making it the deadliest avian flu in U.S. history. If that wasn’t enough cause for concern, cases of avian flu are now showing up in dairy cows and in Texas, at least one case was confirmed to have jumped from a dairy cow to a person.…

By Libby Denkmann

If you headed to a public library in Seattle over the weekend, you may have found your local branch was closed.By Libby Denkmann

Guest host Mike Lewis discusses the week’s news with Washington Policy Center’s Paul Guppy, Commute Seattle’s Alex Hudson, and Seattle Times reporter David Kroman.By Kevin Kniestedt

A ruling by a King County judge over the sale of timber in Eastern King County points to the increased scrutiny the DNR faces over how it manages public lands. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundside…

Former Congressman and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert has raised a substantial amount of cash and shows well in polling against Democratic frontrunner and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in Washington's race for governor. But as Seattle Times’ Jim Brunner reports, Reichert may be lacking sizzle with the base heading into the state Republican…

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with Bill Porter aka "Red Pine" and filmmaker Ward Serril about the new film "Dancing with the Dead."By Libby Denkmann

If the Tolt River Dam failed, it would be catastrophic for the roughly 2000 people that live in Carnation. Fortunately, the city has an alarm system that would alert residents of a dam failure so they could evacuate. Unfortunately, residents have unexpectedly and pointlessly heard that sound eight times in the last four years.…

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks election security with Jerry Cornfield of the WA State Standard and TrueMedia.org's Dr. Oren Etzioni.By Libby Denkmann

The world’s first Amazon Go store in Seattle opened on Jan. 22, 2018. The New York Times called it “A Store of the Future,” where all customers had to do was pop an item in their cart and walk out. A little over six years in the future, developers for Amazon's “Just Walk Out” technology are facing layoffs, and the technology itself is being fazed o…

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman, city hall reporter for the Seattle Times, discuss a new budget forecast for the City of Seattle, a new twist in negotiating a contract for the Seattle Police Officer's Guild, a report on how SPD officers …

Chili crunch is known for its punch, and now, a legal battle over the name has one local foodie fighting back against a culinary giant.By Libby Denkmann

What could bring Republicans and Democrats together? An unlikely political duo from Washington state has teamed up in the name of data privacy.By Libby Denkmann

Across the city of Seattle this month, poems from local writers are on display at storefronts, libraries, and in office buildings. They're part of "Poetry in Place," a project from Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, which runs throughout April. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: htt…

The separation of Japanese American families during WWII is the focus of "Currents," a new operetta by local librettist AC Petersen and composer Jeremy Berdin.By Libby Denkmann

About 100 people were selected for a 10-month “Guaranteed Basic Income” pilot in King County that launched in the fall of 2022.By Monica Nickelsburg

Soundside Editor Jed Kim headed up to upstate New York to be in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse.By Libby Denkmann

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with South Seattle Emerald’s Lauryn Bray, founder and president of Gamoran Legal Consulting, Saul Gamoran, and founder of Earth Finance, and former member of the Washington state House and Senate, Reuven Carlyle.By Bill Radke

For a lot of people, our life-long significant other is a friend. And in a society that obsessed with finding a romantic soul mate, these platonic relationships are left in a gray area. It was after forging a strong platonic friendship that author Rhaina Cohen realized we often lack the words to talk about the variety of life-long best-friendships …

A person is guaranteed certain rights when they come to the United States for work. They have a right to fair pay, to humane working conditions.But for fishermen, whose feet never touch solid ground, those rights don’t apply.By Libby Denkmann

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with Seattle Times Project Homeless reporter Anna Patrick about the asylum seekers forced to camp at the Garfield HS tennis courts this week.By Libby Denkmann

Amy Smith, Acting Chief of Seattle's CARE Department (Community Assisted Response and Engagement, home to the city's 911 Center and its 911 alternative response teams) joins the podcast to discuss Seattle's changing approach to public safety. Host Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel discusses the work of the CARE teams, the challenges facing 911 call…

Three years after Oregon residents voted to decriminalize drugs, the state is walking back that policy. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundsideBy Diana Opong

Speaking with Soundside host Libby Denkmann, Gov. Jay Inslee said a GOP-backed initiative to overturn the Climate Commitment Act is an attempt by Republicans to allow unlimited pollution in Washington state.By Libby Denkmann

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with Seattle Times reporter Sydney Brownstone about "Deinstitutionalization," and how that effort in the 60's and 70's attempted to refocus mental health support with community care.By Libby Denkmann

Today, for many people of child-bearing age, the question of whether to have a kid comes down to the simple calculus: will having kids make you happy? Does reproducing add to your overall well-being? We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundside…

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with Live Wire’s Luke Burbank, The Needling’s Lex Vaughn, and Washington Policy Center’s David Boze.By Bill Radke

Last month, joblessness our state reached its highest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic – higher than the national average. And the first thing many do when they’ve lost a job is file for unemployment benefits. But Washington’s unemployment system itself is still reeling from the one-two punch of Covid.…

Delivery App companies like UberEats, DoorDash, Instacart and Grubhub are waging a battle over a new Seattle gig worker minimum wage law that took effect in January.By Libby Denkmann

Six years ago, the state set out to create a building code to protect homes in high fire risk areas. That goal has remained elusive. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundsideBy Libby Denkmann

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the Seattle City Council's interaction with the King County Homelessness Authority, proposed changes for thousands of app-based workers in Seattle, the charges brought against …

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with Northern State Hospital historian John Horne about some of the history surrounding the location & the gravestones he's found.By Libby Denkmann

Five new members of Seattle’s City Council said during their campaigns that they would like to audit the city budget for waste and redundancies --before raising or adding new taxes.But now, as a $230 million city budget deficit looms, the realities of a time-consuming and expensive audit process are leading those new councilmembers to back off the …