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
In tiny Coupeville, tourists have returned. Workers have not.
Now that so many people are vaccinated, tourists are flooding into the Pacific Northwest. That’s true in the tiny town of Coupeville Washington, on Whidbey Island. But there’s a problem. Coupeville can’t hire enough people to staff the restaurants and shops where tourists spend their money. And the tourists have picked up on it.
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After weekend shooting, grief and uncertainty at a Tacoma homeless camp
The Port of Tacoma – plans to clear a major homeless camp on Thursday, June 10. An outreach team gave residents there notice a couple weeks ago. It offered shelter, but as KUOW found word hasn’t reached all the residents there yet.
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Government
Plan for the worst, or hope for the best? Sound Transit board is torn
Things are heating up at Sound Transit. Board members face difficult decisions about which projects to delay, given rising construction and land costs during the pandemic. But with the direction politics and the economy are going, some say it may be time to slow down the disaster planning before creating panic.
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Government
Utility bills late? Seattle will give you until 2022 to start paying them back
People and small businesses in Seattle that couldn’t pay their utility bills during the pandemic got some good news today.
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Business
King County Council bans facial recognition software in government agencies
The King County Sheriff's Office cannot use facial recognition technology. Neither can any other county agency. That’s thanks to a new law approved unanimously by the King County Council Tuesday.
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Business
Bellevue grabs attention of international investors
Downtown Bellevue has attracted the attention of investors around the world. Amazon has promised to put 25,000 employees there by 2025. New light rail service there could carry 50,000 people a day by 2030. All that change has raised Bellevue’s visibility on the global stage. One Bellevue realtor has been fielding a lot of calls recently from China.
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Environment
How car-centric Bellevue is embracing a more pedestrian-friendly future
Bellevue is a city built around cars. But the next chapter in Bellevue’s growth could look very different. During the pandemic, plans have advanced to reorganize Bellevue’s downtown around a pedestrian and bike-friendly route from the shores of Lake Washington – to light rail stations and beyond. That plan is called “The Grand Connection.”
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Business
On Bellevue's Main Street, businesses look forward to office workers' return
Main Street in Bellevue runs through the heart of a popular commercial district, just south of Bellevue Square. It’s full of mom and pop shops. Business has been slow for many of them, these last few months. How quickly they recover depends partly on how quickly office workers return.
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Arts & Life
This quilt was left unfinished during the 1918 pandemic. Now, these women will finish it
Here’s a story about someone who discovered something unexpected in the pandemic. Betty Jones is 80 years old living in Edmonds. Recently, she was looking around at some old stuff she had, and she found a box. Inside, she found a stack of neatly sewn fabric squares, and a letter written to one of her distant relatives by her great, great aunt.
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Education
Mother of boy locked in 'cage' at Seattle school files lawsuit
Seattle Public Schools faces a new lawsuit for repeatedly locking an eight-year-old child in an outdoor enclosure that staff referred to as 'the cage.'