Soundside

We’re headed back to Washington’s 3rd Congressional District – which includes the southwest corner of the state, from Long Beach to Mount Adams, and from Yelm down to Vancouver. It’s expected once again to be the site of one of the closest House races in the country – the Cook political report rates it as one of only 22 “tossup” contests in 2024. Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez flipped the seat in 2022 by a slim margin: she defeated Republican Joe Kent by roughly 2600 votes. Kent is back vying for the seat, along with another Republican challenger: GUEST: Leslie Lewallen, a city councilmember in Camas, WA and a former King County Deputy Prosecutor. RELATED LINKS:  Leslie Lewallen sets sights on Washington’s 3rd Congressional District seat - The Columbian One of 2022's closest House races is primed for a rematch — with a fight over the GOP's future first - NBC YVYV: Republican Leslie Lewallen running in Washington's Third Congressional District  - KATU TV See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been an onslaught of news in Seattle’s theater community.  Earlier this year, Seattle Rep announced it was laying off the majority of its artistic staff. The non-profit theater’s subscription base is half of what it was before the pandemic. And that isn’t the only change in the theater world: The 5TH Avenue Theatre is shutting down its new works program. ACT Theatre is exploring a merger with Seattle Shakespeare. Now, to be clear, these aren’t the only theaters in town, there are many, many smaller theaters throughout King County, like Second Story Repertory in Redmond, and Green Lake’s Seattle Public Theater which has merged with Matcha Theatre Works. But for major players like the Rep, 5TH Ave, Village Theatre, and ACT, the climb out of the pandemic has been tough. Guests: John Langs, Artistic Director of ACT Theatre Sheila Daniels, Assistant Professor at Cornish College of the Arts Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Associate Director of Engagement at 5TH Avenue Theatre and founder and CEO of ARB Consulting Arts. Relevant Links: Seattle Times: Seattle Rep layoffs to include majority of its artistic staff Seattle Times: ACT Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare Company may merge soon Seattle Times: John Langs, artistic director of Seattle’s ACT Theatre, to step down CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Seattle Theater Group merged with Matcha Theater Works; the organization that merged with Matcha Theater Works is called Seattle Public Theater. An earlier version of this podcast also stated that Seattle Rep and Seattle Children's Theatre merged. This overstates the recently announced partnership between these two theaters. Seattle Children's and Seattle Rep have instead combined forces on a few functionalities like box office, IT, and database administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August is right around the corner and that means schools are getting ready for the academic year. While kids are hanging onto a few more weeks of summer, voters are getting ready to determine who will oversee Washington’s public schools.  The incumbent, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, is facing some challengers in the primary on August 6.   Guest: Washington State Standard reporter Grace Deng Relevant Links: Washington State Standard: Six quotes to sum up the second WA schools chief candidate debate Ballot drop box locationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The scene opens on a dusty street. Weathered wooden buildings with false fronts line either side of the street, as two gunslingers line up at high noon. A lone tumbleweed drifts across the street… which, actually, is the problem we’re here to discuss today.  Tumbleweeds, also known as Russian thistle, are an invasive plant here in the United States. And for people in Central and Eastern Washington, they’re a nuisance that can clog roads and pose a potential fire hazard.  So when reporter Anna King found that these invasive plants were being sold online as elegant decor – she was understandably curious about why. She joined Soundside to discuss her recent reporting on how tumbleweeds are managed, and how they spread so far. Guests: Anna King, reporter for the Northwest News Network covering Washington and Oregon mainly East of the Cascades. Related Links: Tumbleweeds sold for big bucks on popular home decor website causes chuckles in the Northwest - Northwest Public Broadcasting (nwpb.org) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For generations, native Chinook salmon have made their spring migration up the Columbia River… But over the past few decades, as their population has dwindled, salmon have been overtaken by a non-native species of fish hailing from the East Coast - THE SHAD. Shad runs now number in the millions, while just about 700 thousand native Chinook make the trip up the Columbia each year.  What’s behind the rise of this East Coast interloper? Humans, of course.  But the effects of Shad on the local ecosystem? Well, that’s a bit more complicated. Soundside host Libby Denkmann sat down with Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda Mapes to find out more about the "Chrome Tide." GUEST: Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda Mapes RELATED LINK: There’s a new top fish of the Columbia River — and it doesn’t mind the warm water | The Seattle Times See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. presidential race has undergone a big transformation.  But has anything changed for Democrats who voted "uncommitted" in Washington state's presidential primary? As the party prepares to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris in a virtual role call vote, an uncommitted delegate says Harris needs to show more separation from President Biden on the war in Gaza before she will earn his support. Guest: Yaz Kader, uncommitted delegate for Washington’s 7th congressional district, which encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, as well as Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Relevant links: Seattle Times: WA to send 2 ‘uncommitted’ delegates to Democratic National Convention Washington State Standard: Harris snags support of Washington Democratic delegates See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each year we can count on the reliable passing of the seasons: the leaves falling in Autumn, winter blooming into spring, and if you’re following tech, the reliable attempt – yet again – at a federal data privacy bill in the U.S. Congress.  Back in April, two Washington legislators – Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell and Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers – announced to much fanfare that they would be leading the charge this year with newly drafted legislation called the American Privacy Rights Act.  "Researchers project that if current trends continue, companies training large language models may run out of new publicly available high-quality data to train AI systems as early as 2026," said Senator Cantwell in a hearing on the issue earlier this month. "So without a strong privacy law, when the public data runs out, nothing stopping it from using our private data..." As AI systems and their developers are hungry for more data, companies are starting to ask consumers to provide it -- often without ethical guidelines in place.  In the hearing, Senator Cantwell called AI advancements “...fuel on a campfire in the middle of a windstorm," citing concerns with deepfakes, data security, price gauging, and data transparency. "Privacy is not a partisan issue," said Senator Cantwell. "According to Pew Research, the majority of Americans across the political spectrum want more support for regulation. I believe our most important private data should not be bought or sold without our approval..." Will concerns driven by AI be push tech regulation to the finish line? To hear more about this latest attempt and if this effort might make it through, Soundside’s Libby Denkmann caught up with AI researchers Jacob Metcalf and Jennifer King.  Guests: Dr. Jacob Metcalf is a researcher at the nonprofit Data & Society, where he studies and consults with companies on ethical AI practices.  Dr. Jennifer King is a privacy and Data Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human Centered Artificial Intelligence.  Related Links: Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse - The Verge White Paper Rethinking Privacy in the AI Era: Policy Provocations for a Data-Centric World | Stanford HAI The Ethical Dilemma at the Heart of Big Tech Companies (hbr.org) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a move aimed at curbing street racing, the Seattle City Council recently approved stricter penalties for people who participate in, or are spectators of, the activity.  A blog post by the city specifically noted a street racing event from July of last year as an influence on the legislation. Three people were wounded and one was killed during the race in Capitol Hill, after someone opened fire on a crowd of spectators. City Attorney Ann Davison, who worked in partnership on the bill, called street racing a growing problem in the area.  But some have argued that the legislation is overkill, when the state already instituted new laws around street racing earlier this year.   Guest: Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7)   Relevant links: Seattle City Council Blog: Seattle City Council adopts new tools to fight illegal street racing Statement from Councilmember Kettle: While Seattle Police don’t have specific on data on street racing, my constituents have increasingly raised concerns about these incidents. The feedback has been amplified by the media coverage of the late night disruption to neighborhoods, shootings and injuries during these dangerous gatherings.  On July 23, 2023, three people were wounded by gunfire and one person was fatally shot during an unlawful racing event in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. And during a weekend in June, a pair of illegal racing events resulted in the tragic shooting death of 22-year-old man, multiple shooting injuries, and a car striking a pedestrian. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are 28 candidates running for Governor in the August 6th Primary. So, if you’re a Washington voter and feeling a little overwhelmed, you’re not alone. On Soundside we’re keeping it simple. This week we’re interviewing the top 4 candidates in terms of polling and fundraising. So far, we’ve spoken with Dave Reichert, Bob Ferguson, and Mark Mullet.They all want to replace Democratic Governor Jay Inslee, who’s been in office for almost a dozen years.  All these candidates have very different ideas about where the state should be headed.  The final candidate is Semi Bird. Bird is a former Richland School Board member and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army, where he served as a Green Beret and earned a Bronze Star.  Guests: Semi Bird, former Richland School Board member Relevant Links: Tri City Herald: Controversial Richland School Board Member Announces Bid for Washington Governor in 2024 Seattle Times: WA GOP endorses Semi Bird for governor at Trump-dominated convention KUOW: Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird responds to accusations of "stolen valor" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All this week we're talking to the top polling candidates running for governor in Washington state.  Voters, when you finally crack that August 6th primary ballot envelope open, you will see there are 28 people vying for governor of the Evergreen State, that's a lot so we're talking to the four men who lead the pack in fundraising and polling, and next up is Washington State’s current Attorney General, Bob Ferguson. Ferguson is a Democrat. He was first elected Attorney General in 2012 and before that he was a King County Councilmember. Guests Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington Relevant Links: Washington State Standard: Man in the middle: Ferguson tries to strike a balance on policing Washington State Standard: Attorney General Bob Ferguson formally enters 2024 race for Washington governor Seattle Times: Ferguson laser-focused on Reichert at state Democratic convention  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.