KNKX Public Radio

06/15/2022

Rents across U.S. rise above $2,000 a month for the first time ever

Rents are up more than 30% in Austin, Seattle, and Cincinnati.

A new report shows the cost of renting a home or apartment is up 15% nationally to a new record high.

06/14/2022

Q&A with filmmakers of IN A SILENT WAY and KNKX | Nov 9 | #2020TFF

Had a wonderful time talking with the gang behind the strange, funny, twisted jazz comedy In a Silent Way about a year and a half ago. This Friday the film will be available to stream everywhere!!

06/14/2022

Saxophonist Tia Fuller performs with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra this weekend

Tia Fuller, who will be performing with Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra this weekend, provided the saxophone music for the character Dorthea Williams, the jazz bandleader in the Disney-Pixar film "Soul."

The Grammy-nominated saxophonist appears with SRJO on Saturday night at the Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya and on Sunday afternoon at the Kirkland Performance Center to play music from her album "Diamond Cut" and more.

06/14/2022

Seattle Space Needle sues coffee chain over use of logo

Privately owned and operated since its opening, the Space Needle holds numerous trademarks including the name, depictions and associated logos.

The Seattle Space Needle has sued a local coffee chain for using its trademarked logo in coffee shop branding and merchandise. The logo for Local Coffee Spot features a mug of hot coffee with rising steam bearing a resemblance to the iconic tower’s own logo. The Space Needle’s owner says the cof...

06/14/2022

Police in Idaho are getting death threats after arresting Patriot Front members

Coeur d'Alene police chief Lee White said members of his department are receiving death threats after this weekend's arrests.

Police in Idaho arrested 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front this weekend.

06/14/2022

King County, Seattle to give child care worker payments

The jointly funded one-time payments for child care workers will use a $5M allocation from King County’s Best Start for Kids levy and $2.4 million from Seattle's JumpStart tax.

Citing low wages and COVID risk, King County and the City of Seattle will grant $7 million in one-time payments to child care workers. The money comes from a $5 million allocation from the county’s Best Start for Kids levy and $2.4 million from the city’s JumpStart tax to aid child care workers....

06/14/2022

Texas massacre spurs Oregon gun-safety ballot initiative

Since the massacre in Uvalde, organizers of a gun-safety initiative in Oregon say the number of volunteers doubled and signatures have increasing exponentially.

A massacre at a school in Texas has spurred a ballot initiative in Oregon that would require permits to purchase fi****ms and ban large-capacity magazines. Oregon is the only state in America with a gun safety initiative under way for the November ballot, but one of its sponsors says it “can start...

06/14/2022

The Yup'ik people of St. Mary's, Alaska, are working to save their village from fire

The East Fork Fire is one of 85 active wildfires in Alaska, according to The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.

Residents of St. Mary's in southwestern Alaska are donating food to firefighters and helping clear brush as the region's largest wildfire looms just a few miles from town.

06/13/2022

The 'best worst idea.' Race to Alaska for engineless boats returns after pandemic hiatus

Engineless boats cast off at the first light of dawn Monday amid high winds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that the organizers characterized as “between seasick and dangerous.”

A Northwest adventure race that some call "the best worst idea" has returned after a long, pandemic hiatus. The 2022 running of the Race to Alaska for engineless boats cast off at the first light of dawn Monday amid high winds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that the organizers characterized as "betwe...

06/13/2022

Rural singer-songwriter Margo Cilker's pandemic hustle is paying off

Based in the rural Northwest, Margo Cilker tries to bridge the country's increasing rural-urban divide through song.

The pandemic was especially tough for up-and-coming musicians from smaller cities and towns. But for at least one country rocker from the rural Northwest, it may have leveled the playing field.

06/13/2022

A bipartisan group of senators announces a deal for school safety and gun measures

A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators say they have reached a deal on a package of safety and gun-related measures narrowly focused on preventing future shootings similar to the one in Uvalde, Texas.

The agreement, which has the support of at least 10 Republican senators, is narrowly focused at preventing future shootings similar to the one in Uvalde, Texas.

06/12/2022

Drop that fork! Why eating at your desk is banned in France

The French labor code prohibits workers from eating lunch in the workplace. But this tradition almost didn't survive the pandemic.

What the French history of the leisurely lunch break can teach us about separating work from rest.

06/12/2022

Gordon Parks' photography masterfully captured the range of Black life in America

Howard University has acquired an extensive collection of Gordon Parks' photographs. Here are a few of his trailblazing images.

One of the country's most celebrated photographers, Gordon Parks used his camera as a weapon against racial injustice. Howard University has recently acquired more than 250 of Parks' images.

06/11/2022

More states are allowing students to take mental health days off

Many parts of the country are woefully short of therapists who can work with students to address mental health problems.

While a growing number of states are trying to address the increasing mental health crisis among youths, many schools are woefully short of therapists and the budget to hire them.

06/11/2022

Date to reopen West Seattle Bridge set for mid-September

In a few months, will it be "West Seattle Island" no more?

The West Seattle Bridge could finally reopen this fall after it was abruptly closed in 2020, bringing relief to the residents of Seattle’s southwest peninsula. The city's Department of Transportation said Thursday it’s planning for the week of Sept. 12 when general traffic will be allowed to flo...

06/10/2022

Washington justices: Race a factor in analyzing police stops

Its latest decision by Washington's highest court seeking to counteract bias in the justice system.

The Washington Supreme Court says a person's race and ethnicity must be taken into account when deciding whether they were free to leave an encounter with police. The unanimous ruling Thursday was in the case of a man identified in court records as Asian Pacific Islander.

06/10/2022

The Westerlies return to Seattle with their student-focused festival

The Westerlies return to Seattle next week for their education-focused Westerlies Fest and 10th anniversary celebration.

The two-trumpet, two-trombone quartet The Westerlies are throwing their first Westerlies Fest in two years next week in Seattle.

06/10/2022

Replacing benefits of Snake River dams would cost billions

The new report says finding other ways to provide electricity, irrigation and enabling commerce would cost between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion.

A new report says the benefits provided by four giant hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River can be replaced if the dams are breached to save endangered salmon runs. But the report says finding other ways to provide electricity, irrigation and barge service would cost between $10.3 billion and....

06/10/2022

Civilian pilots and cyclists rehearse delivering earthquake relief supplies after 'The Big One'

Private pilots and cyclists will separately take to the air and the streets this month to practice delivering relief supplies after a catastrophic earthquake.

A huge dress rehearsal for regional earthquake disaster relief, the Cascadia Rising exercise, was scrubbed due to the ongoing pandemic. It would have involved more than 22,000 participants – chiefly U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as state, local and tribal emergency planners. Some small...

06/09/2022

The Jan. 6 committee is holding hearings on its investigation of the Capitol riot

Tonight's public hearing begins at 5 p.m. PST. Follow live coverage on our site.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is holding about a half a dozen public hearings this month on what it has learned so far. The first is on June 9 at 8 p.m.

06/09/2022

5 key questions the Jan. 6 committee will tackle in its hearings

Here are key areas the Jan. 6 committee will discuss during the hearings, the first of which begins at 5 p.m. PST today.

It's been nearly a year of gathering information — via depositions, subpoenas, hearings, document dumps and court challenges — for the House select committee investigating the siege of the Capitol.

06/09/2022

The federal government is planning to phase out single-use plastics at national parks

In the next decade, the U.S. Department of the Interior targets no more single-use plastics in national parks.

More than 300 million tons of plastic are produced in the U.S. each year, with 14 million of them ending up in the ocean, according to the Department of Interior.

06/09/2022

Judge: Release photos of tattoos on cop charged with murder

The judge allowed King County prosecutors to photograph Auburn Police Department Officer Jeff Nelson’s tattoos after they argued that the body art was relevant and potentially key evidence in his upcoming murder trial.

A judge has ordered the release of 78 photographs of tattoos that cover the body of an Auburn police officer charged with murder, but said prosecutors must redact about half after finding them “inflammatory” and saying their release could jeopardize the officer’s right to a fair trial.

06/09/2022

Even with school out for summer, Seattle is a hub for jazz education

Even with school out for summer, Seattle is a hub for jazz education.

Summer instruction at nonprofits Seattle JazzED and Jazz Night School starts soon for students of all ages.

06/09/2022

Vancouver bans ‘targeted picketing’ outside homes of city employees, elected officials

The move comes after multiple protests outside the homes of public officials and schools.

The decision follows several recent protests – mainly against measures to quell COVID-19 – outside homes and schools in Clark County.

06/09/2022

High court limits suing officials over rights violations

The ruling is the latest in a line of cases narrowing the public's ability to sue federal officials for rights violations.

The Supreme Court is limiting when someone can sue for a violation of their rights by a federal official. The justices sided with the government in a case involving the owner of a notorious inn in Blaine, Washington on the U.S.-Canada border. It’s the latest in a line of cases narrowing the public...

06/09/2022

After the leak, the Supreme Court seethes with resentment and fear behind the scenes

At the Supreme Court, nothing is as usual this term after the leak of Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion in the biggest abortion case in nearly a half-century.

The court is riven with distrust among the law clerks, staff and, most of all, the justices themselves.

06/08/2022

Seattle police expand body-worn camera use

“When you’re not providing information about an incident or you don’t see a video, it leaves a lot of questions for the community," said interim police Chief Adrian Diaz.

Seattle police officers assigned to federal law enforcement task forces will now be required to wear and activate body-worn cameras during arrests. Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz said the updated policy will ensure encounters with suspects are captured on video — and provide consistency for Seat...

06/08/2022

Jan. 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson says the U.S. came close to losing democracy

As chair of the Jan. 6 committee, Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson is facing one of the most high-profile moments in a political career spanning more than 50 years.

Fighting for civil rights and three decades in the House have primed Mississippi's Bennie Thompson for the most high-profile moment of his career — leading this month's hearings on Jan. 6.

06/08/2022

A big 32-hour workweek test is underway. Supporters think it could help productivity

Calls for a 32-hour workweek have increased, especially as many people around the world are facing burnout from the pandemic.

A pilot of more than 3,300 workers in the U.K. is testing a theory about work. Can people in various industries remain as productive if they just work 32 hours a week with the same pay as 40 hours?

06/08/2022

Drummer Alvin Queen pays tribute to his former boss with album "Night Train to Copenhagen"

Alvin Queen went from shining shoes to working with jazz, blues and gospel greats before joining Oscar Peterson's last trio.

Mentored by modern jazz icon and drummer Elvin Jones, Alvin Queen went from shining shoes to working with jazz, blues and gospel greats before joining Oscar Peterson's last trio.

06/08/2022

Legislature moves to expand nursing education in Washington

More than $38 million has been allocated to expand nursing programs statewide.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a health care staffing shortage in Washington, so the state Legislature this year provided more than $38 million to expand nursing programs statewide.

06/08/2022

Listen: An overview of gun laws in Washington state

In Washington state, there are already several gun safety laws in effect. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins joined KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick to explain what they are.

As mass shootings continue to occur around the country, many people are watching to see if Congress passes any new gun safety laws. Here in Washington state, there are already several gun safety laws in effect. Some came from the legislature and others came from citizens. Olympia correspondent Austi...

06/08/2022

A decadelong battle over Nooksack tribal housing reaches Washington state Supreme Court

Nooksack eviction battle reaches WA Supreme Court, raising questions of tribal sovereignty and identity.

A battle over tribal housing has reached the Washington state Supreme Court. The Nooksack Tribe says more than 60 residents aren’t members of the tribe and aren’t entitled to the housing. Cat Barril and Michelle Roberts, who have fought against being evicted for a decade, say they've been denied...

06/07/2022

The idea of working in the office, all day, every day? No thanks, say workers

More than two years into a pandemic that has no clear end, the debate over remote work has only intensified.

Working from home isn't possible in many jobs, but in companies where it is, the return to office has become a point of tension between workers and their bosses.