Noel Gasca
General Assignment Reporter
About
Noel is a general assignment reporter for KUOW, covering everything from city hall to pickleball. Prior to joining the newsroom, Noel worked as a producer for KUOW’s midday show Soundside. Noel has also worked as an online editor and producer with KUOW’s web team, and she’s also a proud graduate of KUOW’s RadioActive program.
Noel is an alumna of Emerson College and has interned at NPR member stations WBUR in Boston and WAMU in Washington D.C. Originally from Lake Stevens, Washington, Noel is elated to be back in the Pacific Northwest and covering the people and places that make up the state she calls home.
When she’s not working, Noel enjoys perusing Seattle’s used bookstores, practicing her kata, and discussing the lasting legacy of Selena Quintanilla’s music with anyone who will listen.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: National Association of Hispanic Journalists, AIR
Stories
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Review: '11th and Pine' aims to capture the goings-on of CHOP. Does it succeed?
As journalists, we’re often expected to cover stories dispassionately — hiding our own thoughts and concerns out of fear of appearing biased. But we’re also humans, with life experiences, perspectives, emotions. And sometimes we can’t help but get affected by what we see. KUOW arts reporter Mike Davis recently reported on a piece that sent him on a bit of a journey.
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How King County invested in juvenile justice programs, and then checked out
King County launched its Restorative Community Pathways Program in 2021. Its goal is to reduce the number of young people sent into the court system. Instead, it connects youths accused of lower-level crimes with community groups for rehabilitation.
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This depressed voice actor turned to the sound of water for solace. It worked
It’s been nine years since Merk Nguyen shared her father’s journey with KUOW listeners. And since then, water has taken on a whole new meaning for Merk as she’s continued to grow as a daughter, friend, and creative.
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In 'The Niceties,' office hours take on the feel of a boxing match
Office hours for a college professor might not seem like the most fruitful source of inspiration, but “The Niceties,” currently on stage at the Intiman Theater in Seattle, delivers.
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Soundside goes to the movies: How do we get productions set in WA to actually film here?
There are lots of movies set in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest, like "Sleepless in Seattle," or "Twilight." But many aren't actually filmed here. Soundside spent a day at the movies talking local classics and how we can get more movies produced in the region.
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Searching beyond grunge to the rock 'n' roll heart of the 'Northwest sound'
But long before the region made its mark through indie rock and hip hop, there was another golden era of music here in the Pacific Northwest. From the 1940s to the 1960s, cities like Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma were developing a distinctly Pacific Northwest flavor of R&B and rock and roll.
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Celebrate Earth Day with these local environmental orgs
Earth day began in 1970 as part of a public pressure campaign to support policies that became the Clean Air Act, the establishment of the EPA, things like that. Today the environmental movement has come so far -- is Earth Day still necessary? These environmental stewards say yes.
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A curtain call for MoPop's Pearl Jam exhibit
Since 2018, Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture has given fans a first-hand look at the band’s journey through more than 1,000 artifacts directly from Pearl Jam’s members. But it’s the final curtain call for the exhibit. After five years, "Pearl Jam: Home and Away" will close on April 23.
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Where are all the monuments to women in Seattle?
If you were to take a tour of public monuments to women here in Seattle — it would be a short one.
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The grandeur and legacy of drag trailblazer Doris Fish
Drag superstars have become household names. RuPaul, Trixie Mattel, Bianca Del Rio, Ben DeLaCreme — chances are you’ve probably heard of at least one of them. But before Drag Race dominated the zeitgeist, there was Doris.