Soundside

Have your friends been canceling on you because they’re sick? Coworkers on prolonged absence because your entire team came down with a bug? Feeling a sniffle yourself lately?  This summer, The CDC says more than a dozen states across the US are seeing “very high” spikes  in COVID cases. But now that we’re a few years past the pandemic, what’s the responsible amount of time to stay home from work, avoid the grocery store, or get the latest booster?  To help answer those questions and get the latest in covid-ettiquette, Soundside reached out to an expert. GUEST: Dr. Amanda Casto - Infectious Disease Specialist with the University of Washington School of Medicine RELATED LINKS:  Most people don't care about COVID anymore. That's good — and bad.  The Science Behind Why COVID-19 Tends to Spike During Summer Months See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s track and field week at the Paris Olympics. Yesterday, the women’s 800 wrapped up with Keeley Hodgkinson of Great Britain taking the top spot.  As exciting as an Olympics track event always is, it didn’t compare with nearly 100 years ago, when women were first allowed to run this race. Then, it was a media frenzy.  And not because of the pure awe at elite runner’s abilities. Instead, at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928, the media and many sports officials were concerned about women running competitively at all. The Boston Globe’s John Hallahan described “six competitors [who] were so exhausted that they were near collapse at the finish. All fell flat on the ground.” But the truth of that race, and the history of women’s running, is far more complex than popular accounts would lead you to believe.  It’s a story that author Maggie Mertens tells in her new book, Better, Faster, Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women.  Guests: Maggie Mertens, journalist and author of Better, Faster, Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women Relevant Links: WSJ: The Long Road to Olympic Equality for Women See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Paris 2024 Olympics are in full swing. Tomorrow (Wednesday the 7th) is the final day of competition for the artistic swim teams - better known to many by the sport’s old name: synchronized swimming. This is the first time in 16 years that the American team has qualified for the Olympics. And, two members of that team come from right here, in Seattle. They both got their start at the same club - called Seattle Synchro.   Guest: Daniela Garmendia, Head Coach at Seattle Synchro   Relevant links: Seattle Synchro team website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s primary election day. Over a million Washingtonians have already turned in their ballots.   If you’re not one of those early voters, you’re not alone. About 80% of registered voters have opted to wait until the last few hours, if they’re voting at all.  Perhaps it’s procrastination; perhaps you plumb forgot. Maybe you just really prefer casting a ballot in-person on election day, you traditionalist, you.     Or maybe you just don’t think primary elections are all that crucial, and you’re saving it up for November.  Well, we wanted to get an update on voter participation so far for this primary… So we’ve brought in some experts to help us go through the numbers. Their teams are busy RIGHT NOW with the huge logistical work of collecting, counting and securing ballots to provide accurate results later this week. GUESTS:  Pierce County Elections Manager, Kyle Haugh Clark County Auditor, Greg Kimsey RELATED LINKS: Current Ballot Return Statistics - WA Secretary of State A trickle of ballots so far for Washington’s primary - WA State Standard See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I say the one percent, what do you think of? Is it the ultrawealthy? A phrase coined during the Occupy Movement? Is it the second wateriest form of milk on the market? This story is about a different group of one percenters, it’s primary election season, after all, and we’re talking about voters who have their ballots rejected in Washington. Over the last decade, around 99 percent of cast ballots were accepted.But of those one percent that were disqualified, the Secretary of State's office noticed a trend: certain demographic groups had higher rates of rejections than others.  That’s something the office wanted to know more about, so they teamed up with University of Washington researchers to better understand whose ballots were rejected and why. Guest: Scott W. Allard, Associate Dean for Research & Engagement at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington Relevant Links: Washington State Ballots Project See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fueled by dry weather and high temperatures, wildfires across the Northwest have now burned more than 1 million acres. On Friday, Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency to unlock more firefighting resources.  As of now, those dozens of fires across Washington and Oregon have put thousands of people under evacuation notice. But for cattle ranchers across the plains of the Northwest interior, moving their families – and their herds – is getting more and more difficult.  Soundside was joined by Anna King, who has been following a number of ranchers as they work to get their cattle away from fire. King is a Senior Correspondent with Northwest Public Broadcasting and has spent more than a decade covering ranching in the remote corners of the Northwest. Guests:  Anna King, Senior Correspondent with Northwest Public Broadcasting  Kayce Faulkner, rancher in Burns, OR Matt McElligot, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Mitch Baker, rancher north of Burns, OR Related Links: Burnt over cattle and lands: In southeast Oregon, grief-stricken ranchers are exhausted and frustrated by wildfires - Northwest Public Broadcasting (nwpb.org) Anna King's video on cattle fences: Good Fences (youtube.com) Map of current Northwest fires: Wildfires rage in Oregon, Washington: Map the Pacific Northwest wildfires, evacuations (msn.com) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison and Councilmember Cathy Moore say they have a plan to give the city a new tool to help fight drug trafficking and prostitution.  Last Thursday they introduced a pair of ordinances that would create a number of “safe zones” in the city -- typically called Stay out of Drug Areas (or SODA) and Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution (or SOAP) zones. The legislation hearkens back to previous Seattle laws that were REPEALED by the Seattle City Council four years ago. So, why bring them back now? Soundside host Libby Denkmann sits down with KUOW reporter Amy Radil to get the latest. She covers politics, government, and law enforcement for the station. GUEST: Amy Radil RELATED LINKS:  Seattle officials revisit ‘exclusion zones’ to disrupt drug activity, sex trafficking - KUOW Council Proposes Creating Huge New Zone Where Sex Workers Aren't Allowed - Publicola See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.