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Joshua McNichols

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

Podcasts

Stories

  • caption: Wes and Leann Wu

    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.

  • caption: The Graystone condominiums on First Hill

    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?

  • caption: Google's new campus in downtown Kirkland

    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.

  • caption: Amazon Spheres, downtown Seattle

    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.

  • caption: In this Dec. 5, 2019, file photo, AWS CEO Andy Jassy, discusses a new initiative with the NFL during AWS re:Invent 2019 in Las Vegas.

    '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."

  • caption: Saniah Simpson is a resident at the Karsti Apartments in Ballard.

    Ballard beehive apartments offer refuge for a diverse workforce

    Tear-down homes are selling for more than a million dollars in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. And most one-bedroom apartments cost well over $2,000 a month. That makes it really hard for people with lower-paying jobs to afford places to live in town. And that makes the neighborhood less diverse. How do locals make it work?

  • caption: Teamsters union members demonstrating outside the Ash Grove Cement plant and Stoneway Concrete yard on East Marginal Way South near the West Seattle Bridge entrance. They were tired -- been striking since November -- but committed to seeing it through and fully believe in their cause. Tim Davis is second from left, and Ron Hills is third from left.

    A new idea: King County Public Concrete

    A concrete strike has delayed many projects, from the West Seattle Bridge to light rail for months now. There are four big concrete companies that do most of the work in King County. Now, the county wants to look at creating a fifth company owned by the government.