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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Searching for his father and finding his family - a conversation with Nabil Ayers
What's the meaning of the word "family?" For musician, record label President, and Sonic Boom Records co-founder Nabil Ayers, this question has followed him throughout his life.
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Internal SPD memo raises questions about public safety priorities
An internal memo sent to the Seattle Police Department's interim police Chief Adrian Diaz is raising new questions about the agency's priorities.
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'This doesn't feel like love': SPU students sit-in for LGBTQ equality on campus
The end of the quarter crunch is looking a little different for some students at Seattle Pacific University.
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When Washington schools can't help youth in crisis, they're sent out of state
Pandemic disruptions have brought the gaps in Washington's special education services into sharp focus. Some families are having to make a tough decision: sending their children far across the country to specialized boarding schools with services that meet their needs.
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Monkeypox confirmed in King County, but this isn't like Covid-19
For the last couple of years, Covid-19 had reigned as the dominant virus on everyone's minds. But if you've been on social media, or followed the news lately, you've probably heard about monkeypox, a rare viral disease that's related to smallpox.
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For 50 years, Jean Walkinshaw documented the 'Northwest mystique' through everyday people
In 2013, an employee at KCTS — Seattle's PBS station — stumbled upon a box stacked in a hallway. Afraid that the rare tapes and reels would be thrown away, the employee tucked the box away. The decision saved an archive of Seattle's history considered so precious, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting added it to its collection, which also includes the Watergate hearings and interviews from the Stonewall uprising.
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'I really appreciate you being there for me': The importance of LGBTQ role models
It's become a lot more common for young LGBTQ people to see themselves represented in media. Just look at the variety of streaming shows right now with "Gentleman Jack," "Heartstopper," and "RuPaul's Drag Race." These are programs where people can see themselves, and their potential future, represented and celebrated. But just because you see a part of yourself represented on the big screen, doesn't mean you feel welcome within your own community.
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The latest culture-war clash could shape after-school activities for LGBTQ students in Marysville
Earlier this week, school board members in Marysville listened to parents, teachers, and students sound off on a proposed district policy that would require students to get their guardian's permission to join clubs.
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This black hole has been a 'monster lurking' for decades. New photos expose it
While we were all going about our puny mortal existences on this tiny rock, an array of telescopes stretching from Hawaii to Western Europe to the South Pole captured the first-ever image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It’s called “Sagittarius A Star” – and it was first discovered back in February 1974.
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‘I was blindfolded. No one spoke a word.’ Seattle-area women talk about abortion before Roe
Did you have an illegal abortion before 1973, when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade? Soundside, KUOW’s noon show, asked for your stories, and a dozen of you left voicemails, sharing first-hand experiences. Transcriptions of those voicemails are below, and have been edited for clarity.
