News

“It’s 25 stories tall and looks like a giant, floating golf trophy.”

The Herald of Everett takes first prize for describing a massive vessel the federal government plans to bring to the region this spring.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar vessel (SBX for short) is, according to a release by the Missle Defense Agency, “an integral part of the nation’s Ballistic Missle Defense System” (BMDS for short; the military does love its acronyms).

Sad to report the passing of British jazz pianist George Shearing, who died Monday from congestive heart failure in New York. He was 91. 

He came to the U.S. in 1947 and quickly established himself as a popular instrumentalist and composer. His recording of "September In The Rain" sold nearly a million copies, and his tune "Lullaby of Birdland" became a popular jazz favorite.

Listen to the Q&A here:

What is the greatest jazz recording ever? That's the questions we asked listeners of KPLU and our jazz stream Jazz 24. From that, we came up with our list of the Top 100 Quintessential Jazz Songs of All Time.

KPLU music and news host Kevin Kniestedt tabulated the nearly 3,000 votes.  One thousand five hundred songs were nominated over a period of several weeks.

The revolution in Egypt serves as a reminder of the risk of investing in foreign stocks. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tell's KPLU's Dave Meyer that events in Egypt don't just make him wary of investing in foreign stocks, he's "horribly fearful"!

How risky are Egyptian investments?

Lawmakers in Olympia are proposing to slash or even eliminate dozens of important programs and services, as they struggle to eliminate a nearly $5 billion budget gap.

Environmental groups are hoping to stave off what they say would be crippling budget cuts to natural resource agencies in charge of protecting water, air and forests. But with education and health care for the poor on the chopping block, they face a tough battle.

Esperanza Spalding walked into the KPLU Seattle studios like some teenaged gunslinger. However, she’d been working full time in music for most of her 25 years, and her chosen weapon was a double-bass that reached just above her impressive afro.

Now a Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist (take that, Justin Bieber!), I’ve recently enjoyed listening back to our meeting a year ago, and specifically our interview.

Dr. Tachi Yamada is leaving his position in June as head of the Gates Foundation’s global health program.

That’s big news primarily because the Gates’ global health program is so big, the largest program at the world’s largest philanthropy, accounting for more than half of the $3 billion the Gates Foundation spends every year trying to make the world a better, healthier and more equitable place.

A magnitude 4.3 quake at 10:35 a.m. Monday at Mount St. Helens was felt in southwest Washington and the Portland area.

A set of new spots and striping has appeared at Woodland Park Zoo with the birth of an ocelot. The single kitten was born on January 15 at the zoo, marking the second litter between mother Bella, and father Brazil. The mother and kitten are off public view in a birthing den where they are being monitored via a web cam:

People with a direct stake in the Hanford Nuclear Reservation will be closely following President Obama's budget roll out. Money for cleaning up hazardous waste there is expected to be down.

Know someone who did something heroic over the last few years? If so, you may want to consider nominating that person for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors Award.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Wind, rain, snow hitting Western Washington
• Search continues for missing Lake Washington kayaker
• Nokia Getting Microsoft Billions to Ditch Smartphone
• Ferguson Jumping Into Attorney General Race

High Winds and Rain Expected for Western Washington

The National Weather Service has issued a wind warning for the Washington coast and northwest interior through Monday evening.

Forecasters say the frontal system also is bringing heavy rain to parts of Western Washington and snow to the Olympics and Cascades. A winter weather advisory is in effect for the mountains where 10-to-18 inches of new snow are expected by Tuesday.

Bid on 100 great culinary experiences across the region during the Western States Public Radio Online Auction.

These certificates make a great gift, experience for a birthday, graduation, or anniversary!

The auction ends February 19th, so register now and start you bidding!

We’ve known for a long time that killer whales eat salmon. But new findings suggest that local orcas rely on salmon – specifically, adult Chinook salmon – more than previously thought. So now fisheries managers are having to ask themselves: What happens when endangered whales depend on endangered fish?

New emergency rooms keep opening around western Washington. It's part of a trend.

On Thursday (Feb. 17th), Swedish Medical Centers will open a free-standing Emergency Department in Mill Creek, between Seattle and Everett. And, on the same day, MultiCare opens a new medical tower at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup -- which has the busiest ER in Pierce County. 

It turns out, the busiest ER’s in Washington are mostly outside the biggest cities.