News

There’s suddenly a flurry of talk in Olympia about a quick resolution to the weeks-long budget stalemate. The change in rhetoric follows Tuesday’s positive revenue and caseload forecasts.

Budget writers will now have more than $300 million in additional funds to help bridge their differences, thanks to a recovering housing market and improved consumer confidence.

State voters will decide on the fate of an initiative that would require labeling of genetically-modified food products. 

Initiative 522 would require food products to bear a label informing the consumer if they contain any genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs.

The public signature-gathering campaign for the bill was successful, and while it allowed the Washington state Legislature an opportunity to decide its fate, its language mandated that if lawmakers took no action, the initiative would automatically to a public vote in November.

The financial markets have been roiling lately, a sign that a change of direction might be about to occur, or already is underway. However, crystal balls tend to be more cloudy than clear. No one consistently appraises the markets accurately. 

No matter the market direction, financial advisers are not timid about telling you to rebalance your portfolio. But KPLU financial commentator Greg Heberlein says it's OK to ignore that advice.

Robots are everywhere these days. They’re working in factories, and are the focus of student competitions. They are also teaching us about nature, especially in the case of robotic fish.

It might seem a little Hollywood to talk about "robo-fish." And as an engineering professor, Kristi Morgansen is a little shy about that.

“We usually call them fish robots, or robotic fish,” she said.

  People who are anxious about the possibility of their property taxes going up have a new resource to turn to. King County just launched a web site to allow homeowners to appeal their property valuations electronically. They can use the site to look up comparable sales and submit that information along with the appeal.

The Washington Transportation Department says a temporary span on the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge should open this week, less than a month since a section of the bridge collapsed.

Spokesman Travis Phelps says the framework is in place and workers are tightening bolts and welding sections on the temporary structure that's 24 feet wide and 160 feet long.

He says they'll be installing panels Monday that will be paved with asphalt to form the new bridge deck.

KPLU's Summer Jazz Brunch Cruise is Sunday, August 25.   Join us for a relaxing, two-and-a-half hour cruise on Elliott Bay aboard the Royal Argosy. 

Enjoy a scrumptious all-you-can-eat brunch, spectacular views, and great music from this year's special guest artist--one of the finest up-and-coming international jazz talents and freshest voices to come along in years--Halie Loren--performing with her quartet.

KPLU's Jazz Brunch Cruises are a summertime favorite for Northwest residents and out-of-town guests. 

This year's cruise will be emceed by KPLU jazz host Kevin Kniestedt.  The boat leaves Seattle's Pier 56 at 10:30 a.m. and returns at 1 p.m.  Tickets are $65.

Get detailed information and purchase your tickets HERE.

Thanks to the LaConner Chamber of Commerce for their support.

One way young kids learn to organize the world is by dividing it into living and non-living things. But now that robots vacuum our floors and smart phones talk back to us, do children think of technology as alive? A team of Washington researchers is exploring how kids interact with robots, and what that might reveal about both their brains and ours.

Hanging drywall is a dirty, hard job. And 250 workers at Summit Drywall, Inc., based in Issaquah, say it was even worse for them because they didn’t get paid the wages they were due.

The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Summit Drywall on behalf of the workers, claiming the company failed to pay minimum wage and time and a half for overtime.

This week is the start of summer vacation for a lot of students in the Puget Sound area. It's a time to relax, go to camps and have fun. 

But for children who come from families that don't have a lot of money these next few months are when they often fall behind in their reading skills.

Bert Wilson was an inspiration, mentor, and brilliant saxophonist who passed on June 6 in Olympia at age 73.  Some of his large output of music was featured on Jazz Northwest on Sunday June 16 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KPLU and kplu.org. Although not widely known to the jazz public, he was sought out by saxophonists who regarded him as a guru of improvisation, extended techniques and the history of the instrument.

Expect the clouds to burn off later today, but you'll have to wait until Saturday for the really nice weather, says Cliff Mass, professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington and KPLU's weekly weather expert.

Each maiden voyage of a Boeing airplane has been cause for much celebration in Washington state. But now there’s a big chunk of the local aerospace industry that also supplies Boeing’s main rival, Airbus. So when a new Airbus plane takes to the skies – like the A350 earlier today – a large contingent of workers here in Boeing’s backyard watches with pride.

The Mariners are on the road for the next seven games. They're playing the A's in Oakland this weekend.

The team keeps finding more painful ways to lose. And KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel says the fans end up hurt the most.

Scientists with the city of Seattle are narrowing in on the source of polluted water that flows through the city’s largest watershed. With a new study, they’ve confirmed human fecal bacteria are likely entering Thornton Creek at multiple locations near Northgate and Lake City Way.