Soundside

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 of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. GUEST: Sami West - education reporter for KUOW RELATED LINKS: Seattle School Board president faces recall over handling of school closures -KUOW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 DB Cooper Conference - Tukwila If you would like to suggest events for us to talk about in upcoming "Weekend Warmups," please send Jason an email at SOUNDSIDE@KUOW.ORG 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.

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.S.’s green card application process. Now, with more experience and savvy, the Trump administration is positioning itself to hit the ground running.   So are people on the other side of the immigration fight.  Here to discuss lessons from Trump’s first presidency and preparations for a second term are two Puget Sound-area immigrant advocates. Matt Adams is legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. And Vanessa Reyes is a policy manager for the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. American Immigration Council - Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy New York Times: Judge Tosses Out Biden Program for Undocumented Spouses 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.

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, because opponents of 2066 say they’re gearing up to take the issue of natural gas from the ballot to the courts. They plan to file a legal challenge over the constitutionality of the initiative.  Soundside was joined by guests from both the YES and NO on 2066 campaigns to hear their thoughts on the election results and where the initiative is headed next. Guests: Molly Gallagher, Statewide Poverty Action Network, and Leah Missik, the acting Washington Director of the nonprofit Climate Solutions (No 2066) Jan Himebaugh, director of external affairs at the Building Industry Association of Washington (Yes 2066) Related Links: KUOW - Will natural gas be turned off in Washington state? Voices for and against Initiative 2066 Misleading methane gas initiative barely passes after days of “too close to call” - NO on 2066 BIAW celebrates Initiative 2066 election results protecting natural gas choice - Building Industry Association of Washington  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 returnsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 the most cutting-edge AI is showing bias.  Soundside was joined by Kyra Wilson, doctoral student at the University of Washington Information School. Wilson co-authored the study with Aylin Caliskan, assistant professor in the iSchool.   Guests: Kyra Wilson, doctoral student at the University of Washington Information School.  Related Links:  AI tools show biases in ranking job applicants’ names according to perceived race and gender | UW News View of Gender, Race, and Intersectional Bias in Resume Screening via Language Model Retrieval See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 taxes on Washingtonians. And historically, Washington voters have been receptive to initiatives that cut their taxes. $30 car tabs? Bring it on said voters in 1999, 2002, and again in 2019.  Require a super majority to pass new taxes in the state legislature? We’ll have some of that, said voters in 2007 and 2012.  Limit property tax increases? Why not? Said voters in 2000 and 2001.  So what went wrong this time? That’s what we’re asking my next guest, a longtime anti-tax activist who has used the initiative process many times to successfully limit local government’s ability to collect money. Guest: Tim Eyman, anti-tax activist Relevant Links: KUOW: Most of his initiatives failed, but Washington Republicans still call him a winner KUOW: Washington’s natural gas initiative wins, but court challenges could be next   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.

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 victims were hospitalized with multiple stab wounds.  CID and Little Saigon community members and business leaders are speaking out after the attacks, saying the community needs more law enforcement and social services support to deal with problem areas like 12th and Jackson – where residents have long complained of safety problems due to crime and rampant drug use. Quynh Pham is the Executive Director of Friends of Little Saigon, a community development organization focused on the Vietnamese community in the Chinatown/International District, and spoke with Soundside's Libby Denkmann. 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: Quynh Pham - Executive Director of Friends of Little Saigon RELATED LINKS:  $2M bail set for ‘unprovoked’ mass stabbing suspect in Seattle - Seattle Times Seattle Chinatown International District mass stabbing: What we know - Seattle Times  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 suggest events for us to talk about in upcoming "Weekend Warmups," please send Jason an email at SOUNDSIDE@KUOW.ORG 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.

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 million dollars on candidates who took cryptocurrency-friendly stances, including here in Washington State. Guest: Brady Dale, crypto reporter for Axios  Related links: Bitcoin traders' next mark: bitcoin at $100,000 - Axios The big moments in Biden's crypto crackdown - Axios Crypto cash helps propel Trump, other allies to 2024 election victory - The Washington Post Wealthy industry donors fuel Trump's conversion on cryptocurrency - The Washington Post  Bitcoin Surges to Record as Crypto Investors Cheer Trump Win - The New York Times See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.