Joshua McNichols
Growth and Development Reporter
About
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
Joshua holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington. Public Radio is his second career; architecture was his first. He is proud of the many odd jobs he's held in his life, such as salmon fisher, author, bike courier, and bed-and-breakfast cook.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him
Professional Affiliations: The Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Chapter
Stories
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Business
Unrest in the (Card) Kingdom: Employees at Seattle online Magic peddler push to unionize
In warehouses and offices in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, 180 employees grade and box up orders of Magic the Gathering cards. They work in three shifts, including overnight, sending out 2,500 packages a day — enough to fill several UPS trucks. And like workers in other industries, they're calling for change.
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Business
Why Amazon Go hasn't transformed retail...yet
When Amazon Go opened its first stores, there was all kinds of hype and excitement. A few headlines used the phrase "the future of retail." The idea that you could just walk out of a store without stopping by a cashier to pay seemed like a game changer. But it hasn’t changed the world in the way some people expected, at least not yet. We went to find out why.
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Business
Amazon defeats shareholder proposals. Advocates claim victory anyway
Amazon held its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. This year’s meeting was unusual bbecause a record number of shareholder groups – 15 of them – forced votes on proposals that would change the way Amazon does business.
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Technology
Amazon knows your face and your voice. New lawsuit says it's going too far
Customers are mostly okay with letting Amazon track them. It's the way of the world, they say. State governments aren't so lenient. Texas, Illinois and Washington have passed laws regulating how companies use customers' biometric data. A shareholder's lawsuit says Amazon must pay closer attention to these new state laws.
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Why are condos in Seattle so rare and expensive?
The average home in Seattle costs over a million dollars. And now, rising interest rates have made mortgages more expensive. Home buyers just can’t seem to get a break. Condominiums used to be a gateway to homeownership. Even if you didn’t have a big nest egg, you could get your foot in the door and own a tiny slice of the “American Dream” while saving up for something bigger. What happened?
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Business
Amazon stock drops 14% after disappointing quarterly report
Amazon stock suffered its worst day in 16 years Friday in the wake of a quarterly report, in which the company reported a net loss of almost $4 billion.
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Business
Google will build more offices in Washington, despite hybrid trend
Earlier this month, Google employees began returning to the office in person, at least 2-3 days a week. While they were gone, Google's been building a lot of new offices in Seattle and Kirkland. And it's promised to spend another $100M in the state to build more.
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Business
Seattle's payroll tax may survive legal threat
Seattle’s new payroll tax earned the city of Seattle $231,000,000 in 2021. It’s taken city leaders three tries to come up with a tax that survives legal scrutiny. Friday was the Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s final chance to stop this one.
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Technology
'Astounding' revenue, 'misunderstood' injury rates: Jassy's first year running Amazon
Every year since 1997, Jeff Bezos has written Amazon’s annual letter for shareholders. This year, it was written for the first time by Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy. In his letter, he describes the company’s revenue last year as “astounding.” He also addressed complaints that Amazon’s warehouses are unsafe, calling the company's injury rates "misunderstood."
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Business
Seattle reacts to Amazon union election at New York warehouse
Local labor organizers are reacting to the news of Amazon’s first union in the U.S. This follows the successful election of a union at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse.