KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Can you afford Seattle's price tag?: Today So Far
Whether it's housing, food, or gas, higher prices are straining the Seattle region, and beyond.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 8, 2022.
Things are getting pricey around here. Let's start with gas prices.
Despite our region's fervor for alternative fuels and public transportation, the old-fashioned car remains the go-to option for getting around. But gas prices have reached all-time highs. The national average for a gallon of gas is $4.95 right now, according to AAA. In Washington, it's $5.49 (a year ago, it was $3.60). The sudden added cost for families and commuters is becoming a significant political issue as the midterms approach later this year.
RELATED: Primaries are heating up in the NW
Democrat Kim Schrier represents Washington's 8th Congressional District, which covers much of King County where the average price of gas is $5.65 right now. She is sponsoring two gas-related bills. One will suspend the federal gas tax for the rest of 2022. That would cut prices by about 18 cents a gallon. The second bill would spur an investigation into gas companies for any price gouging. That second bill has prompted some criticism for being nothing more than political theatrics.
Before high gas prices became an issue, the 8th Congressional District was slated to go either way in the upcoming November midterms — Schrier could hold the district for Democrats, or a Republican could take over.
Reagan Dunn is one such Republican. KUOW Reporter David Hyde points out that Dunn is echoing GOP rhetoric from decades ago when high gas prices contributed to Ronald Reagan's win over President Jimmy Carter. It should be noted, however, that unlike years ago, the United States is currently the world's biggest producer of fossil fuels. That hasn't helped at the pump, however. And according to one expert KUOW spoke with, gas companies are wary of dropping prices too fast because of the risks to profits and shareholders.
RELATED: Should workers return to the office? Do they even want to?
Meanwhile, people in the 8th District, and everywhere else in Washington, have to get from point A to B. Read the full story here.
There's good news and bad news about the cost of housing in the Seattle area. The good news is that prices seem to be leveling off and more housing supply has opened up. The bad news is that this is still the Seattle area and those prices are leveling off higher than most home hunters can afford. The typical home value in Seattle is about $985,000, according to Zillow.
"The biggest negative impact comes to first-time buyers," Matthew Gardner, chief economist for Windermere, told Seattle Now. "We have, in our area, about 600,000 Millennials. They are getting older and they do want to buy homes. And all they've seen is mortgage rates skyrocket, which obviously impacts them significantly, and they've also seen rental rates jump, again by double digits. For many of them, they are thinking, 'Do I pay my rent, or do I save up for a down payment?' And if even I can do a down payment, the cost of financing is up..."
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Is Washington's housing market balancing out?
The latest housing report on the Northwest shows things looking slightly better for buyers. Inventory of houses for sale was nearly 10% higher in May than it was the same time last year — 8,700 listings available in May, up from 5,500 last May. It's the largest selection of for-sale homes since September 2020.
The report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Services states that prices are still rising. There remains less than one month supply of homes.
Mike Larsen is on the board of directors of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. He says that in Pierce County, the days of "multiple offers and waived inspections" are behind us.
“Home sellers really need to re-think their expectations,” Larson said in a statement.
Larson said the housing market is “more balanced and not so crazy, and that’s a good thing. Buyers are getting a little relief – not much, but a little as we’re slowly easing back into the kind of market we had pre-Covid.”
Snohomish and Douglas counties more than doubled their listings from a year ago.
“The significant increase in the number of homes for sale has some speculating that the market is about to implode, but that is very unlikely,” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate. “What’s more likely to occur is that the additional supply will lead us toward a more balanced market, which after years of such lopsided conditions, is much needed."
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Covid hospitalizations are still going up in Washington state
Washington State Hospital Association says 600 people were hospitalized with Covid symptoms at end of last week. That is more than double the number in April.
To complicate matters, people who delayed elective surgeries are now also being scheduled. And they’re staying longer than necessary.
Dr. Steven Mitchell is with the Washington Medical Coordination Center that oversees hospital capacity across the state. He says normally, these patients would transition to a nursing care facility after their procedure. But that’s been a challenge.
“In quite a few of them there is space, there are beds within their different facilities, but they haven’t had the ability to hire the staff to properly care for them," Dr. Mitchell said.
Still, health officials are asking people not to delay medical care. And they’re urging everyone to step up their Covid precautions. This includes wearing masks, especially at indoor gatherings.
About 10% of the state's overall supply of hospital beds are currently occupied by Covid patients, according to the state Department of Health. Washington state is currently averaging 263 cases per 100,000 people.
But there are signs that the spread of Covid is flattening out in King County. New case counts dropped 14% last week over the previous week, according to Public Health - Seattle & King County. Currently, King County is experiencing 1,092 new cases each day. And hospitalizations across King County slightly dropped by 5% (a total of 16 daily hospitalizations).
In Seattle alone, however, there is an average of six hospitalizations each day, a 34% increase.
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Should workers return to the office? Do they even want to?: Today So Far
- Washington state's tax system has a local twist for online shopping. Rural communities are liking it.
- A Seattle neighborhood is debating the pros and cons of a potential light rail station. Either way, Sound Transit will likely disappoint one group.
- Should workers return to the office? Do they even want to? That's what employees are discussing at a Bothell company.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 7, 2022.
I have this subtle joke I sometimes pull out in conversation. I say that I like to shop local (a good goal for conscious consumers). Ya know, Third Place Books, Mox Boarding House ... Amazon.
Clearly, one of those places is not like the others. And clearly, I am not making a living as a stand-up comedian. But the logic behind my little quip may be more true than I previously realized. KUOW's Joshua McNichols just reported an intriguing angle around online shopping. Washington's rural communities have a tougher time collecting taxes than more populated areas. Think about it — more people means more stores; more stores means more sales; more sales means more sales tax; more sales tax means more revenue for cities. But rural communities are, well, rural.
In 2008, Washington moved to a "destination-based sales tax." That means if a person buys something online and has it delivered to Wahkiakum County, the sales tax goes to where they live, the county. Not the city of the online store. That has been a game changer for a lot of rural areas around the state. The surge of pandemic deliveries has pushed things even further.
“We had communities like Concrete which suddenly had huge increases in sales tax collection, where before they didn’t have very much because they didn’t have a retail presence,” said James McCafferty, co-director of Western Washington University's Center for Economic and Business Research.
I was just camping outside of Concrete, and I can report that the Amazon trucks are making their rounds out there. So I guess I could still say my little joke. I'll just have to end with "Starbucks" now. Read Joshua's full story here.
The Seattle area loves light rail. Voters keep approving more of it, and locals celebrate when a new station opens. But one community is wary of Sound Transit's plans for a light rail station in its backyard — the Chinatown-International District. There are two options for the station: one on Fifth Avenue and one on Fourth Avenue. Both have problems that would disrupt the community and are receiving pushback. Whichever it chooses, Sound Transit is going run afoul of locals. Read the full story here.
Pandemic conditions are easing up more and more. Should workers return to the office? Do they want to?
Let's add a few things up. Some folks don't like virtual meetings. Others love them. Let's call that a wash. Returning to the office means commuting, during a time when gas prices are inching closer to $6 a gallon. And does losing a significant chunk of your day while sitting in traffic seem appealing? There could be a gain in morale from being out and about and seeing co-workers again. And there could be a loss of morale from having to wear pants again.
That's the sort of conversation happening around a Bothell company at the center of this NPR story. Jonathan Pruiett works at the company, which updates Google maps. He has only known the job from a distance, working from home. But now, the company wants to flip a switch and get workers back into the office, full time. This flip-a-switch approach has not gone over well. Employees have negotiated a stretched-out approach to the office return, but many still don't see the benefit as long as the job gets done.
At the same time, some companies have learned a lesson that the office doesn't necessarily equal quality work. But jobs vary and not all are apt for remote-work. Read the full story here.
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Seattle refunds $4.5M in parking ticket fees
Seattleites could get parking ticket refunds for any they received between September 2021 and April 2022, because of a mistake on the part of the city.
Last August, the Seattle City Council moved parking enforcement officers out of the Seattle Police Department, and into the Seattle Department of Transportation. The move was part of re-imagining policing in the city.
Now, the city says that officers didn't have the authority to issue tickets after the change.
The mistake will cost the city an estimated $4.5 million.
Mayor Bruce Harrell and City Council members are looking into why this problem occurred.
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Would you pay $56K to secure a parking spot in Seattle?
Parking in Seattle is a major headache for drivers. One driver was willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to secure a spot.
A parking spot in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood has sold for $56,000 ... and according to its Redfin ad, you get to park next to a Delorean!
RELATED: This West Seattle parking lot is chock-full of drama
The parking space is in a garage connected to condos. Though the pricey spot alone does not come with housing or other amenities, according to the Seattle Times.
This is the second spot that's sold for five-digits in Seattle over the past year, both by the sale real estate agent Jimmy Chuang. He also sold a space in Capitol Hill, notorious for difficult parking.
In a twist, the Belltown buyer has actually owned this spot before, and bought it again because its close to their home.
RELATED: Seattle's first robotic parking garage opens
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Study: Homes with higher wildfire risk are more expensive
Homes with high fire risk sell for more money than low-risk homes, according to a report by the real estate company Redfin. The average price difference is $120,000 between homes deemed high and low fire risk.
“Suburban homes tend to be more expensive because they’re large, and demand for large homes skyrocketed during the pandemic as Americans sought respite from crowded city life,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Pandemic buyers also hunted for deals due to surging home prices, and while fire-prone homes aren’t cheaper on average, buyers may feel they’re getting more bang for their buck because they’re getting more space. And for some pandemic buyers, the fire-prone home they bought in suburbia was actually cheaper than their last home because they were relocating from somewhere like San Francisco or Seattle.”
Americans continue to move further into "fire-prone suburbs" which offer larger homes, but are often adjacent to forestland. Redfin notes that there has also been a recent surge in homebuyers moving to the suburbs as remote work becomes more common.
RELATED: The idea of working in the office, all day, every day? No thanks, say workers
Also according to Redfin's data: "The median sale price of high-risk homes was up 51.7% in April from two years earlier, while the median sale price of low-risk homes was up 40.9%."
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Sound Transit's pick for its next CEO is ...
Sound Transit's board has announced Julie Timm as its nominee for the next CEO of the transportation agency.
Timm is being celebrated by transit advocacy group Transportation Choices Coalition as a people-first leader who has worked in the industry for 20 years.
“Julie Timm is a seasoned, people-first transit professional with experience leading values-oriented teams toward equitable outcomes,” said Alex Hudson, TCC's executive director. “Transportation Choices Coalition congratulates the Sound Transit CEO Committee for an excellent selection to lead our region. We look forward to working with her to navigate the tough challenges and bright opportunities ahead to build on the promises of regional mass transit and a rider-centric system.”
She currently leads the Greater Richmond Transit Company, in Virginia.
The Sound Transit board will take a final vote on whether to confirm her on June 23. Sound Transit's CEO job pays between $300,000 and $400,000.
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Oregon nonprofits ask for a $100M to address white supremacy
A group of Oregon nonprofits are asking the Biden administration to invest the funds in programs that address white supremacy in the state.
OPB’s April Ehrlich reports that seven Oregon-based nonprofits sent a letter to the Biden administration, asking the president to invest funds into two main areas — federal investigations and prosecutions, and social and health programs through community-based organizations.
Tony DeFalco, Executive Director of the Latino Network, said the letter was prompted by this year’s deadly mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
"These recent events have communities of color really feeling on edge," DeFalco said. "This level of volatility and vulnerability is urgent and demands action from our federal government."
Oregon ranks sixth in the nation for the number of violent extremist attacks over the last decade, according to a report by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.
Read the full story here.
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Space gets dirty, thanks to the Yakima Valley
If all goes according to plan, soil from Washington’s Yakima Valley could end up in space next week.
Scientists hope to use soil collected from a field in Prosser, Washington — and the bacteria growing inside the soil — to learn more about growing crops in space.
Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will send test tubes filled with soil and eight different types of bacteria to the International Space Station on June 10.
Janet Jansson, a scientist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, says microbes in the soil are key to supporting plant growth on Earth.
“Soil microbes are the hidden players of life support systems on Earth," Jansson said.
For the three months the soil stays in space, scientists back home will conduct the exact same experiment.
Jansson says that way, scientists will be able to compare the differences in how the bacteria grew. She says bacteria in space will experience microgravity, altered carbon dioxide levels, and radiation levels not found on Earth.
The soil will hitch a ride to the Space Station as part of a SpaceX resupply mission, scheduled to take off on June 10.
Read the full story on Northwest News Network.
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Covid vaccine effort emerges for incoming Ukrainian refugees
As Ukrainian refugees settle in the Seattle area, an effort is underway to get them vaccinated against Covid.
Tatiana Diachuk is a nurse and a volunteer with the Nashi Immigrants Health Board. She spent Saturday educating refugees and the Ukrainian community about vaccines at an event hosted by the group.
Diachuk says it's important to build trust with this community because they tend to prefer holistic medicine and are hesitant about vaccines. She says that hesitancy also is due to the fact that the vaccines offered in Ukraine were from China and cheaper than many other shots.
"There is definitely lower trust for vaccines that come in from other countries like China regarding, is it safe enough? Are the ingredients approved?" Diachuk said. "So when we say its an American vaccine, we say, 'Hey, its approved here by the standard exist in the United States. So its kind of a high bar.”
Diachuk says some got their first vaccine ever. And she says she was surprised by the high demand for children's vaccines.
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What is a mass shooting?: Today So Far
- Local demonstrations for gun violence awareness.
- Bellevue-based gun rights group files lawsuit over Washington's firearm regulations.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 6, 2022.
There's a very uncomfortable math that journalists sometimes calculate. It doesn't necessarily use numbers. And I don't think a lot of reporters like to talk about it. But I can guarantee you that after a shooting, there is a conversation in most newsrooms around the question: was this a mass shooting?
I think this particular newsroom discussion is happening a lot lately. NPR reports that there have been 246 mass shootings in the past 156 days. This includes the racist shooting in Buffalo, NY; the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas; and now a series of shootings that happened over the weekend across Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Arizona. It should be noted that these incidents are part of a rising trend in recent years. The Gun Violence Archive recorded 417 mass shootings, nationally, in 2019; 610 in 2020; and 692 in 2021.
Despite the discussions I've experienced, there is no firm answer on what defines a mass shooting. A newsroom I worked in settled on three victims. Groups like Everytown for Gun Safety or the Gun Violence Archive set it at four. The Archive clarifies that it does not count the shooter, and also doesn't differentiate between the circumstances around a shooting. But I've also heard discussions from college classes to professional offices around the intent of an incident. And do intentions even matter when the outcomes are the same?
Locally, Western Washington has had 10 mass shootings since 2009, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. And King County has experienced a significant rise in shootings, fatalities and injuries in recent years, while the Seattle area has amassed more guns.
This has not gone unnoticed. You may have seen people wearing orange over the weekend. This local showing was part of a national effort to raise awareness of gun violence. One event was in Skyway where demonstrators linked their arms while chanting, “I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper.”
“This is a proactive way to make the community aware, but also to get the community to buy in to what we’re doing because we need you, we’ve got to do it together,” said Marty Jackson, with the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County.
On the other side of this local action are groups like the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, which just filed a lawsuit against Washington's upcoming ban on large-capacity magazines.
Meanwhile, I don't think the newsroom conversations will stop any time soon. It's part of reporters' aim to be accurate and informative. Despite the sensitive topic, I'm grateful that they happen. Of course, it would be even better to have no reason for these discussions in the first place.
Here is what else KUOW has been reporting:
- 'Enough' — Biden appeals for new gun laws in the wake of mass shootings
- 'We've got to do it together' Skyway residents unite against gun violence
- 'I am terrified of going to school' - Seattle students rally against gun violence