Soundside

Most of us are familiar with how our food grows. Fruit trees, crop plants -- they all put out blossoms. From there, honeybees spread pollen and collect nectar to grow their local hives. That buzzy work is a critical piece of agriculture, because without bees, the food we'd like to grow... won't grow. But a recent glut of almonds in California is disrupting a bee renting ecosystem -- a "bee-cosystem," if you will -- that Northwest farmers depend on.  Soundside caught up with Anna King about her recent story on local beekeeping and its relationship with California almonds. King covers Washington and Oregon mainly east of the Cascades for the Northwest News Network.  Read Anna King's full reporting on the Washington beekeeping industry here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr has a big mandate: Hire more officers, and clean up a department culture that has led to half a dozen lawsuits from high ranking SPD officers who say they were the victims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation.  Many parents and city leaders are also asking what more can be done to protect kids in Seattle schools, following a shooting at Garfield High School on June 6 that left one 17-year-old student dead. One idea that’s gained some attention – and pushback – is to bring Seattle Police Department community resource officers back to Seattle Public Schools campuses. Soundside host Libby Denkmann sat down with Chief Rahr to discuss her vision for the Seattle Police Department, and the crisis of school safety. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) has a new leader: the agency’s board announced this week that starting Aug. 1, Kelly Kinnison will head the agency. Kinnison is a policy director at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. and takes over at an uncertain time for KCRHA. The agency has been without permanent leadership for more than a year after the agency’s founding CEO, Marc Dones, left in May of 2023. Additionally, the city of Seattle -- one of the KCRHA’s largest funders -- announced in February that it was pulling back financial support from the agency, and there have been calls from local officials to restructure the organization.  So what kind of agency will Kinnison be taking the helm of? Soundside is joined by Erica Barnett, co-founder and publisher at PubliCola. Read Erica Barnett's latest reporting on the KCRHA's vote for a new permanent CEO here. Read PubliCola's broader reporting on the KCRHA here.  Read the latest reporting from the Seattle Times' Greg Kim on the departure of the agency's interim CEO, Darrell Powell, here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2013, Amazon founder and then CEO Jeff Bezos told 60 Minutes that his company would be delivering packages via DRONE within 5 years. It took a little bit longer… but not much. Since December 2022, customers in College Station, Texas have been able to get small packages delivered by unmanned Amazon aircrafts. And last week, Amazon announced that the FAA has authorized its drone program, called Prime Air, to fly even farther, beyond the view of human operators.  Amazon joins Google’s subsidiary Wing, and companies like UPS and Zipline, which have already received similar approval from the FAA.   Guests: Matt McCardle, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs and Strategy for Amazon Prime Air Paresh Dave, Senior Writer for Wired Related Links: Amazon Drone Delivery Plans Move a Small Step Forward Amazon’s Delivery Drones Won’t Fly in Arizona’s Summer Heat Amazon’s Drone Delivery Dream Is Crashing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft hit a milestone when it docked at the International Space Station on Thursday morning.  The journey to get this spacecraft off the ground in the first place was bumpy, and expensive. It ended up running seven years behind schedule, and went more than $1 billion dollars over budget. But for many, this mission signifies a turning point for the relationship between NASA and commercial spaceflight. And, it may give Boeing the boost it needs to repair the company's public perception.  Soundside host Libby Denkmann talked to Greg Autry, the director of the Thunderbird Initiative for Space Leadership, Policy and Business at Arizona State University. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown International District is working to reopen after roughly two dozen staff walked out in protest. At issue: a new exhibit called “Confronting Hate Together,” which looks at how Seattle’s Black, Asian-American, and Jewish communities have faced prejudice both historically and in the present.  On the day it was set to debut, about half of the Wing Luke’s staff walked off the job. Those workers said in a statement that parts of “Confronting Hate Together,” which the museum had been working on since before October 7th, conflated Anti-Zionism with anti-semitism. They also criticized the absence of Palestinian, Muslim and Arab voices.  Soundside host Libby Denkmann spoke with Wing Luke's executive director, Joël Barraquiel Tan, about how the museum is responding to staff’s demands while also balancing the autonomy of its partners in this project. Guest(s): Joël Barraquiel Tan, executive director of the Wing Luke Museum  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Horse Heaven Wind Farm Project near the Tri-Cities could become the largest of its kind in the state.  The project, as originally planned, would span over 24 miles, and include wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage. But there are concerns: the land has previously been home to the endangered ferruginous hawk. It's also culturally important land to the Yakama Nation.Those kinds of issues led a state energy council to approve the project – but scaled back, to about half the original scale. But last month, Governor Inslee essentially rejected the council’s recommendation for a smaller project.  In a letter to the Energy Facility Siting and Evaluation Council, Inslee directed the council to reconsider its recommendation – and pushed for the maximum allowable energy generation. He says that would provide about 5% of the new electricity the state will need over the next decade. Now, the state energy council has less than 90 days to respond to the Governor’s rejection. Inslee will decide whether or not to approve what they send him. Washington’s energy needs could grow by 20 percent by 2030… and could double by 2050. What does an ideal energy plan look like for Washington, and what would it take to get there? Guests: Courtney Flatt, correspondent for NWPB and the Northwest News Network focusing on environmental, natural resources and energy issues in the Northwest Darrin Magee, Director of the Institute for Energy Studies at Western Washington University See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a gift for us in Washington to be surrounded by wildlife. You can catch sight of whales on a ferry commute, coyotes from the back deck, or ospreys diving for fish at the local park. But not all human-animal interactions are without a bit of risk. If you happen to run into a backwoods bear or a concealed cougar, someone like Kevin O’Connor may be sent in for help. O’Connor is a wildlife conflict specialist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and he joined Soundside to break down what you should know when it comes to our common wildlife encounters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major change to U.S. immigration policy just dropped:  President Biden this morning signed an Executive Order limiting asylum claims from people who cross the border between ports of entry. This is an evolving story today as we get details of the order: but reporters who have been briefed by the Biden team say the new policy would effectively close the southern border after unauthorized crossings exceeded 2,500 in a day – so it would take effect almost immediately. Under the order, people who cross would instead be returned to their home country or Mexico. They would still be allowed to request an appointment to seek asylum at a legal port of entry. There are exceptions for unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking. This comes after months of negotiations on a bipartisan border bill in congress – a compromise deal that was ultimately rejected by Republican members. Soundside host Libby Denkmann spoke with both Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Executive Director Malou Chávez about today’s order, and what it will mean for the immigrants here in Western Washington who are seeking asylum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 42 years - journalist and newspaper publisher Assunta Ng has been a pillar of Seattle’s Chinatown International District.  After emigrating to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of Washington - Assunta, together with her husband George, started two newspapers devoted to serving the local Asian American and immigrant communities: The Seattle Chinese Post, and Northwest Asian Weekly.  Assunta reported for the papers, and served as publisher - until last Friday. Soundside producer Noel Gasca went to Ng's farewell party to understand the work and legacy of a woman often called "the unofficial mayor of Chinatown."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.