Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · 5h

yes! I wish I would have taken a photo of the horse rings this trip. But my neighbor, who lives part time in Portland, says you can find them somewhere in every neighborhood, so I'll have another chance on a different visit.

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · 5h

That one's right by Portland State University - it looks like it's been upgraded by the school. There's a nice trolley line that runs right in front.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · 6h

Because it would take too much time to ask them all to move.

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · 9d

I spent a lovely, relaxing weekend in Portland, Oregon with my spouse. As always, I love looking at the wide variety of middle housing types, from small apartment buildings to duplexes to stacked flats.

Fun detail: many curbs still have iron rings for hitching horses.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Aug 7

The Nisqually quake happened almost 25 years ago (February 2001). It was deep underground, where the old seafloor deforms before breaking apart in the hot, sometime molten mantle. A modest quake on the shallow Seattle Fault would do far more damage locally - more than the "Big One" people fear.

The earthquake is coming. Is old Seattle worth saving?

Seattle’s unreinforced brick buildings are a disaster waiting to happen — and the cash to fix them isn’t there.

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jul 20

In an extraordinary show of support, this community of listeners and local businesses raised $1.4M to support KUOW Public Media in a single day. We’re so lucky to be have so many people committed balanced journalism in Seattle.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jul 18

+1. Public media plays a critical role in fostering an informed public and all these news orgs need our help to weather this unpredictable period.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jul 18

Congress voted to claw back money already awarded to public media. News orgs like KUOW must now immediately raise money to stabilize.

Supporting transparent/balanced journalism is a choice. We're asking KUOW listeners to consider the value it provides.

www.kuow.org/stories/cong...

KUOW statement: Congress votes to rescind public media funding

Today, Congress voted to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for public media that had been approved earlier this year. This funding was intended to support public broadcasters through fiscal year...

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jul 18

We went in with a question: Is the lumber industry one place where tariffs could work as intended?
The answer is more complicated.
It's all on the latest episode of our podcast, Booming.
Here's a version you can read: www.kuow.org/stories/will...

Will tariffs bring back the lumberjack?

Could President Donald Trump's strategies help revive Washington's diminished timber industry?

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 26

Federal money go down.
Tax on Amazon go up.

www.kuow.org/stories/how-...

How Seattle could raise more money by lowering most business taxes

Seattle leaders want to give the city’s business tax system a makeover. Wealthy companies like Amazon could end up paying more and small businesses, like restaurants, could end up paying nothing.

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 12

Love it.

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 12

Oh, wow. It's the graphic version of my headline.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 12

I wonder if banks begin to see a payoff from dense, walkable communities. Certainly Richard Florida has been saying for years that this is the lifestyle that attracts young workers. I wonder if the smaller neighborhood centers in Seattle's comprehensive plan would provide that evidence for them.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 12

Thank you, Scott

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Jun 11

KUOW actually ran two stories on trees and housing today. Here's mine: www.kuow.org/stories/seat...

Housing, trees, and parking: In Seattle, you can pick two

We can’t have all three. Not in equal measure. Right now, trees are slowly losing. But with sufficient incentives in place, that could change.

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · May 27

Who is going to be the first developer to submit a permit application under Seattle's new interim zoning rules, which allow more middle housing?

Assuming they pass today.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · May 9

I guess I didn’t get out of the way of your camera after all 😆

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · May 2

I'm grateful that we have such a strong network of listeners who provide financial support. They help protect the mission of public media. Still, the potential loss of this funding would be a big blow.

Derek Wang @derekjwang.bsky.social · May 2

Response from KUOW President Caryn Mathes about President Trump's executive order that seeks to slash funding for PBS and NPR.

www.kuow.org/stories/stat...

KUOW president makes statement on Executive Order attacking public media

Last night, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB ) to cease all direct and indirect funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Br...

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · May 1

New episode of KUOW’s economics podcast, Booming

www.kuow.org/stories/prog...

Black homeownership program offers hope, but can it help people afford Seattle houses?

Today in Seattle's Central District neighborhood, the number of Black homeowners has reached a historic low. And across Seattle, less than half as many Black households own homes as white families.

www.kuow.org

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 30

This was a key story for me to understand housing supply and demand: www.kuow.org/stories/does...

Do townhomes drive down housing costs? Science has an answer

Townhomes are cheaper to build than single-family homes. Homebuyers and renters may not see savings though, unless a lot more homes hit the market. In our continuing coverage of Washington State's lan...

www.kuow.org

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 30

I see it kind of like stories about technology and retraining. As a whole economy, new technologies generally create more jobs than they destroy. But some populations are less likely to get the retraining necessary to make that transition.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 30

Undoubtedly downzoning is a root cause, and upzoning is critical to reverse that. I've written that story many times, having heard it from academics consistently over years.
That's not the focus of this story though. Here I've been looking into unequal impacts.

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 29

Thank you. Working on a story about this topic.

Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 29

Hey Matt, where’s that stat from?
I’m looking for tree/development-related stats

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Joshua McNichols @joshuamcnichols.bsky.social · Apr 23

If you're interested in this topic, I'm working on a longer story about the program to air on KUOW's economics podcast, Booming, next week.

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