Podcasts about spokane

Host: Kevin Smith Dives into the weekly news most impactful to the HeartlandHEADLINE 1: Idaho hospital to stop labor and delivery services citing "political climate" and doctor shortages HEADLINESIdaho hospital to stop labor and delivery services citing "political climate" and doctor shortagesCBS https://www.cbsnews.com/news/idaho-hospital-bonner-general-stops-labor-delivery-services-citing-political-climate-doctor-shortages/Advisory Board- https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2023/03/22/rural-hospitalsTexas Mass Shootings Up 62.5 Percent Since Permit-less Carry Bill Reform Austin - https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/texas-mass-shootings-up-62-5-percent-since-permitless-carry-bill/LIGHTNING ROUNDMissouri,Republicans looking out for number 1...percentersMissouri House Democrats https://www.mohousedemcaucus.com/post/dems-respond-as-house-gop-votes-for-more-irresponsible-kansas-style-tax-cutsAmeren Missouri wants Right of First RefusalMissouri Independent  - https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/Wyoming,Wyoming has become the first US state to outlaw the use or prescription of medication abortion pills.The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/18/wyoming-becomes-first-us-state-to-outlaw-use-of-abortion-pills?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherTexas,Texas Electric gouge? Texas Tribune - https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/17/puc-appeals-court-uri-prices/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2LBp_QWfCYZUkaapnJ2zK7KbbYD70TaV2Df5WPxejrlGPGwofijQ57sTY&mibextid=Zxz2cZWisconsin,Judge Candidates DebateAP - https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-abortion-trump-81e311c9d0416d4a04489ad7a38c134dTennessee,Country Star Maren Morris tells TN to arrest herUSA Today - https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/03/22/maren-morris-takes-stand-against-tennessee-drag-show-bill-nashville/11524014002/Oklahoma,OK's Don't Say Gay BillKFOR Oklahoma https://kfor.com/news/oklahoma-legislature/oklahoma-dont-say-gay-bill-passes-house/Narrow win for Abortion carePolitico - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/oklahoma-abortion-mothers-life-00088189Kansas,Kansas Republican fearmonger with what scraps they have left regarding AbortionAP - https://apnews.com/article/born-alive-abortion-bill-kansas-legislature-89b7276e071fda4808c96d9d3e8cce4eLastly, in the Ozarks of Missouri, Show me the toes!Springfield News Leader - https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2023/03/22/james-river-church-leader-says-woman-regrew-toes-during-a-service/70028744007/?fbclid=IwAR246xmpVxo0jzwvE6ZcWSselFy8tuz90oqYmmXT3quK46StyGtifbPMk9Y&mibextid=Zxz2cZ#lfjwjwcqjrzzgwbltrg

My sons have been Jiu-Jitsu devotees since the age of eight. I initially joined then but, regrettably, didn't keep up the practice, though they've continued to flourish under the tutelage of today's podcast guest coach Adam Smith. But Coach Adam is much more than a youth and adult Jiu-Jitsu coach. A lifelong Martial Arts competitor and teacher, Adam has won many traditional Martial Arts tournaments. After moving on to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts, Adam “Smash” Smith has earned a strong reputation as a high-level competitor and an expert-level teacher. Adam holds a Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate (Ed Parkers system), and a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (under Jiu-Jitsu Master Marcelo Allonso Novais). Now, Adam has three of his own Martial Arts Academies (SMASH Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and plans to continue to build a strong team dedicated to changing lives. With more than 250 current students and thousands of former students, “Smash” is known for his ability to teach anyone, starting as young as three years old. Adam has taught special needs students for over 15 years and has well-known expertise in working with a variety of people with different disabilities. At 18 years old, Adam moved into a fire station where he became a certified firefighter and emergency medical technician (a certification he has held for 12+ years) while gaining firsthand experience saving lives and property in the Spokane area. After growing up as a poor and underprivileged athlete himself, Adam started a non-profit (Give Back Tournaments) and hosts Jiu-Jitsu tournaments to raise funds that pay for athletic endeavors for underprivileged student-athletes. This past year, Adam had double hip replacements three months apart but is back training and working to win world titles. Full Show Notes: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/coachadam   Episode Sponsors: Bubs Naturals. Use code BENG for 20% off at bubsnaturals.com LMNT: Everyone needs electrolytes, especially those on low-carb diets, who practice intermittent or extended fasting, are physically active, or sweat a lot. Go to DrinkLMNT.com/BenGreenfield to get a free gift with your purchase! Essentia: Essentia organic mattresses are the only mattress to score best on eliminating all sleep-interrupting stimulants. Experience Essentia for yourself and save an additional $100 on your mattress purchase using code BENVIP at myessentia.com/bengreenfield. Neurohacker Qualia Mind: Start experiencing what the best brain fuel on earth can do for YOUR mindset with Qualia Mind from Neurohacker. Visit neurohacker.com/ben for up to $100 off right now, and use code BGF at checkout for an extra 15% off your first purchase. BON CHARGE: Holistic wellness brand with a wide range of products that naturally address the issues of our modern way of life. They can help you sleep better, perform better, recover faster, balance hormones, reduce inflammation, and so much more.  Go to boncharge.com/GREENFIELD and use coupon code GREENFIELD to save 15%. Ben Greenfield Coaching (Corporate). Head to BenGreenfieldCoaching.com to learn more about my corporate wellness programs and how they will make your company a better place to work.

College basketball reporters Mark Zeigler (San Diego Union-Tribune) and Jim Meehan (Spokesman Review) join Prater and Mallory for separate conversations about San Diego State (vs. Alabama) and Gonzaga (vs. UCLA) in Sweet 16 games this week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born in Texas, but raised in Spokane, Jake Rozier's music is a peek inside his humanity. He stops by to share his journey to sobriety and two songs off of his 2022 album. Keep up with Jake- https://www.facebook.com/jakeprozier/Get free Tee Party gear! www.teepartypodcast.com/free-stuffCreditsMusic - Jesse QuandtVoice Over - J. GwinnHost - Ty PisaniSounds - ZapSplat

Gonzaga advances to the Sweet Sixteen for the eighth straight year and Drew Timme leads the way again. We break down the first weekend victories and look ahead to the Vegas showdown against the Wieners from Westwood. We'll also review all the upsets from another exciting weekend in the NCAA tournament and discuss our fantastic weekend in Spokane. patreon.com/freeirabrown

On this midweek show, Seattle Times reporter Dahlia Bazzaz returns with a run-down of education issues across Washington state. Dahlia and Crystal review the Legislature's considerations of special education funding, restraint and isolation in Washington schools, and free school lunch provision. They then cover the lawsuit brought by the Wahkiakum School District against the state, arguing that capital construction costs shouldn't be entirely borne by local taxpayers through school bonds. Finally, Dahlia and Crystal discuss the shift in enrollment patterns whereby students of color are now the majority in Washington public schools, the rise of direct student advocacy with lawmakers, and a call to action to get involved and educated about school boards and school district budgets. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find our guest Dahlia Bazzaz at @dahliabazzaz.   Resources “Special education spending, oversight top priorities for WA lawmakers” by Dahlia Bazzaz and Jeanie Lindsay from The Seattle Times   “WA schools still restrain, isolate students often despite state laws, report says” by Lulu Ramadan and Claire Withycombe from The Seattle Times   “Restraint and isolation in Washington schools: What these practices are, how they are being used and what needs to change” | ACLU of Washington   “The next McCleary? Tiny district with decaying school buildings sues WA state” by Dahlia Bazzaz from The Seattle Times   “No clear answers as WA Supreme Court hears case on school construction” by Dahlia Bazzaz from The Seattle Times   “WA legislators scrap plan for free school lunch for all students” by David Gutman from The Seattle Times    “Students of color are now the majority in WA public schools” by Dahlia Bazzaz from The Seattle Times   “WA kids deserve 45 minutes of recess time, new bill proposes” by Dahlia Bazzaz from The Seattle Times    “After fatal shooting in school, Seattle searches for answers to gun violence” by Dahlia Bazzaz & Jeanie Lindsay from The Seattle Times   “In Session: Drug possession bill passes, students make opinions clear on multiple bills” by Drew Mikkelsen from King 5 News   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today, I am thrilled to be welcoming back to the show: Seattle Times education reporter, Dahlia Bazzaz. Welcome. [00:01:02] Dahlia Bazzaz: Thanks for having me again. [00:01:04] Crystal Fincher: Excited to have you back. We talk about education basically weekly on the show. There are so many things happening in the realm of education - in our schools, with our kids and students. It's so impactful in so many ways. Right now, we're in the middle of a legislative session where they're taking up a lot of issues that will be impacting education. And I thought we would start off by talking about what is currently in play, what is happening legislatively when it comes to education in our schools. So what is top of your mind with what the Legislature is working on? [00:01:43] Dahlia Bazzaz: Yeah, I think to set a little bit of context - this was one of the first sessions post-school closure and we didn't have any sort of form of remote schooling happen this year. So we're coming out of a lot of federal money that was offered to schools - a historic amount of federal money - as well as a lot of enrollment challenges affecting school districts and their budgets. So we came into the session hearing - lots of school districts facing financial challenges, and there's also been some topics that have crept up that have been on legislators' minds since before the pandemic. The most recent session before the pandemic started in 2019, the Legislature really took up special education and that was a huge topic. And it appears that has resurfaced again because that's been probably the biggest thing that's come up in terms of education legislation. One thing to note here is that this particular focus on special education is mostly related to funding. And one of the things that lawmakers are working through - today was the cutoff for bills to make it out of the house of origin, so out of the House or the Senate. And some of the bills that have survived include one bill in the House and one bill in the Senate that seek to address the same problem, which is that the state funding that goes to school districts to support disabled students is capped at a certain enrollment rate. So if you have more than 13.5% of your students receiving special education services, the state will not fund beyond that in its formula. You can seek to apply for a set of funds called safety net funding, but that's an additional barrier and paperwork, and it's basically an as-needed type of pot of funds. So the bill in the House proposes gradually decreasing that funding cap until 2027, when it's eventually removed. And it also proposes increasing the - what they call a multiplier - it's basically a per student rate. So for every student, let's say if you have - for every general education student, the state will give you $2,000. If you have a disabled student, they might give you an extra $900 on top of that. So this bill would also seek to increase that multiplier. It's not the exact amount, but let's say like instead of $2,900, they're giving you $3,500 per student receiving special ed. [00:04:23] Crystal Fincher: This is really an important thing because we already have districts who are above and beyond that cap right now. We're hearing from teachers across the state that more students are in need of more services. Certainly it takes more resources, it costs more money to educate students who have disabilities. And it's a responsibility of the state. It's a responsibility of each of these school districts to do so - we've had so many school districts talk about, They just don't have enough money to do it. They don't have enough educators, para-educators to do this. So does this look - it's continuing to move on - does it look like this is going to meaningfully help a lot of these districts who are in this situation right now? [00:05:09] Dahlia Bazzaz: Districts do, by and large, support this legislation. I think - I've watched enough legislative sessions to know that when things come down to the final budget writing, that what makes it in can be very different from what was going through the different chambers. So as it is, I think I've heard most people who are really in the education world support getting rid of that cap completely. There have been other proposals, including the one from the Senate, that just propose increasing that cap to 15% instead of 13.5%. So it does seek to put a lot of additional funds - we're looking at for the House bill, about $410 million over the next four years. The Senate bill would add about $771 million extra dollars over the next four years. So it's a significant amount of money, but time will tell about what actually makes it in in terms of concrete policy and funding changes. [00:06:09] Crystal Fincher: Got it. What else is being looked at? [00:06:11] Dahlia Bazzaz: So within special education and things that are affecting disabled students, there's also a bill out that would ban isolation and isolation rooms for students. It's a pretty big problem across the state. It was documented in a recent Seattle Times investigation as well. Essentially, this bill would seek to ban isolation rooms, which is a space that educators or school staff would put a student with a behavioral problem. It has a lock in which the student cannot unlock themselves, so basically it's just locking a student in a room. There are really not many provisions about what these isolation rooms look like, and a lot of research has shown that it's very harmful for students and kids and it can actually worsen behavior and worsen school avoidance. So this legislation would seek to ban these isolation rooms by 2025. It also would prohibit mechanical and chemical forms of restraint, so think of things like different medications used to sedate students or things like handcuffs that are used outside of a criminal justice type of environment - so these are all sort of ways to regulate the response to students with any behavioral problems at school. [00:07:32] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. This is really important. I actually - just yesterday, I believe it was Kendrick Washington from the ACLU, who I know is involved with advocating for that bill actually posted a picture on social media about some of these isolation rooms. And it looks like a prison inside of the school. And this flies in the face of evidence about what actually does work to improve behavior and integration within schools. These types of tactics are used disproportionately against BIPOC students. It just - this doesn't seem appropriate for school settings at all, and for kids at all. This is not productive discipline, it's not effective. And so I really hope this is something that does make it through. [00:08:23] Dahlia Bazzaz: Yeah, and I'm remembering a case out of Spokane - I believe a few news outlets covered it in Spokane - where a student who is nonverbal was locked in a room that didn't have any sort of padding or whatsoever. And the student ended up hitting herself against a few walls and really injuring herself to the point of needing medical care and attention. So it's a pretty huge issue and it can cause physical harm to students. [00:08:47] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. So we'll be keeping our eye on that one. Is there anything else that you've been tracking in the Legislature? [00:08:54] Dahlia Bazzaz: One other big issue is capital construction costs, which is something that I think we don't talk about enough within the K-12 sphere. But right now, the State Supreme Court is hearing a case that could be the next McCleary, except on the school construction side. So McCleary was the big school funding case that changed the way that teacher salaries and all these operational parts of a school are funded - really increased how much the state was spending versus how much local taxes we're collecting from voters. And so this case came up because a tiny school district in southwest Washington called the Wahkiakum School District sued the state. It hasn't been able to pass a bond in 22 years. And when you are a district that cannot pass a bond in Washington state, you don't have a ton of options to get funding for school construction. You can't apply for the biggest state program that offers assistance, which is called the SCAP [School Construction Assistance Program] program. This program only allows you to apply for funding if you pass a bond. So you're locked out of a lot of options. And so the same attorney that won the McCleary case for the plaintiffs has taken on this case for Wahkiakum, and they're coming at it from the same angle, which is that the State Constitution says that it is the state's paramount duty to amply fund education. And they are arguing that school construction that is essential to the safety of students is - falls under that umbrella term. So there are a couple of bills floating out there that try to address this problem. One of them is from State Representative Joel McEntire, who is an alumnus of Wahkiakum, I should say. And it is very specifically tailored to these very small school districts that struggle to raise money through bonds. It would provide about half of the construction costs for school districts that are 1,000 students or fewer. As of right now - 1:25PM - it has not passed out of its chamber of origin. But i have seen things come up in the budget out of the dead before in the final weeks of the session, so can't say for sure whether or not that's going to come through. There's also some proposals to redirect revenue from timber harvests over to school districts - also not sure where that's going to end up. But I think a fair amount of legislators see this issue as a problem - they think the state should provide more funding for school construction. But there are many who also believe that local taxpayers should be fronting most of that cost. And they don't really agree with a model like school operations where you would get, let's say, a certain amount of funds per student for school construction every year. So that's been a big topic. The hearing for that case, the first and only, is going to be next week on Tuesday. And I have a story publishing about the Wahkiakum School District this weekend, and it just takes a look at their school facilities. I went down there. The buildings are in some dire need of some improvements. The floors of the high school are lined with asbestos that are sealed in by a layer of wax. Their fire alarm system is from the 1960s and if it's activated, you have to use a leather welding glove to disable it - it gets really hot. There are lots of broken sinks in their science classrooms - they can't do experiments inside, they have to go outside, sometimes sitting in the rain to do any sort of chemistry labs. And yeah, they haven't been able to pass a bond in 22 years. So as you can imagine, there's a lot of outstanding maintenance and leaky ceilings and just crumbling infrastructure around the buildings. So look for that story coming up this weekend. [00:12:43] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And we record before people hear this aired, so they may not hear this for a couple of weeks - but we are recording this at the moment on March 8th. So by the time people hear this, we'll be well past this - we'll know what definitely made it out of the chambers of origin. And we will absolutely share the upcoming article that you have in our resources in the show notes so people can have all of that context. And this is such an interesting conversation. The McCleary decision was such a big decision - messy process throughout that decision in even getting the Legislature to comply with that decision after it was made - was just its whole dramatic tooth pulling endeavor. But this is really a necessary continued part of this conversation. So many school districts across the state are reliant upon bond and levy revenue - they're reliant upon local voters opting in to fund these things throughout the district. And there was just a Marysville school levy election last month that if they wouldn't have passed that, they would have had to take immediate major steps to cut to fit within their limited budget. And so if it truly is the paramount duty of our state to fund education - whether it's special education, whether it's school funding in these capital costs - it really seems like there's a long way that we still have to go. And regardless of how this court case turns out, it seems like there is a responsibility for the Legislature to reckon with and fund this in a better and more sustainable way. [00:14:29] Dahlia Bazzaz: Yeah, that's certainly what Wahkiakum would like to see. And there have been other proposals to - let's adjust the bond approval rates - right now it's 60% with a certain percentage of voter outcome. And for Wahkiakum, the last bond they attempted - they only got 30% approval. So it's very challenging even without making those really substantive adjustments to the law. And there's also the issue of how much the districts can tax - when you have a really small school district and you have a really poor property valuation, you're not going to raise as much money as districts that are really well-to-do. So it would take - you would tax at a way higher rate to make a third of what Mercer Island or Bellevue would make if you were Wahkiakum. So it's also another sort of issue that lawmakers, Supreme Court justices will have to contend with. [00:15:21] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And we have to ask ourselves - what are we setting ourselves up for and what kinds of patterns are we allowing this to fall into? If people coming from districts that already don't have the financial resources that others do, then aren't able to fund new building construction costs and are not able to provide a quality education or even a quality environment for people to learn in. If they aren't able to pass levies that provide some of what lots of people would consider to be educational basics and necessities - providing things like nurses and libraries and things like that, that we expect to be part of a traditional school experience. If we are setting ourselves up to make sure that people in lower income districts just cannot enjoy, just cannot have these types of things - seems like we're just further setting in stone cycles of poverty, because we're not enabling people from these areas to have a good education - who are more reliant on that education for mobility socially, economically, and otherwise. So I hope that this gets the attention that it deserves. [00:16:34] Dahlia Bazzaz: I hope so too. [00:16:35] Crystal Fincher: Is there anything else in the legislature that we should be looking at? [00:16:38] Dahlia Bazzaz: Just a couple of other things. There's a school lunch bill that would essentially extend, in a modified way, extend a Biden administration policy that expired last school year - which would offer free school lunch to all students. This state substitution would lower the threshold for when schools are required to offer free lunch to all students, regardless of income eligibility. So currently it's at about 40% or more students that would get, if they qualify, for free and reduced lunch at the elementary school level, then the entire school has to provide it for all students. And this would bump it down to 30% qualifying. So it would help a lot of schools that kind of straddle that 30-40% line, but it's not free lunch for everybody. And there's also a different graduation pathway option being proposed. So basically a different way for students to graduate high school. [00:17:37] Crystal Fincher: Well, yeah. And certainly if you follow me online, if you have listened to prior conversations - the bill, the original bill that would have just provided free school lunch to all students in Washington, sponsored by Senator T'wina Nobles, was something that I was very excited about, that lots of people were very excited about. To me, it seems - hey, if we're mandating kids be in this space, we can provide meals. Especially with what we learned throughout the pandemic in providing this additional school meals, with the addition of SNAP funds - that actually also just expired - we made such improvements, such dramatic improvements in childhood poverty reduction and in hunger reduction. And these are such basic things. If we cannot feed our kids, if we cannot keep our kids from being hungry, what are we even doing - just as a society - is basically where I'm at. And so especially the SNAP benefit boost ending and people essentially receiving a $95/month cut after we've seen so much food inflation in the first place. We know this cut is going to be made by making choices between food, medication, and rent, and clothes. And they're going to be more kids who are hungry - who just may not have as much food as they had before to eat. And we know that that impacts students' ability to learn. I can't sit through a meeting and pay attention well if I'm sitting there hungry and then I get hangry. And to think of kids going through this in school, it just seems like we can do better. But we have a number of people who said - Hey, there just isn't the money in the budget to do that. So as I said in other settings, I will say again - if that is the case, if that is the truth, then I sincerely hope that we see these legislators who said that we couldn't afford it fighting for the revenue to be able to afford that as soon as possible. Because it just doesn't seem like we're doing our job as a society if we're enabling kids to go hungry when we have the option to do better. [00:19:45] Dahlia Bazzaz: Yeah, I'm just sitting here and thinking about those first few months of school closures when school districts just turned into these food banks - and they were passing out food to anyone who came by - didn't have to be a student in a lot of these places. I remember talking to a lot of school districts in central Washington and South King County, and I was there when they were distributing a lot of food and goodies. And it was just a line constantly from 8AM to 5PM, so it's crazy to see the difference between now and then, and the transformation of what schools are doing. [00:20:22] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. So we've talked about what's happening within the Legislature, but what else is happening, or what else is making news in the state of education here in Washington? [00:20:34] Dahlia Bazzaz: A little bit at the top, but there's the enrollment patterns that emerged after the pandemic. Some of it is undefined, but we've lost a lot of students in Washington state - we've lost more than other states have on average. And a lot of districts are feeling the crunch because, of course, funds are tied to that student enrollment. And there is a bit of hand-wringing going on right now among school districts about school closures, about possible layoffs - Seattle Schools has warned about that. There could be school closures happening around the Seattle area and other parts of Washington state. And so I think that state officials, state education officials have been pushing for funding to help cushion that blow. And a lot of this is related to the pandemic federal aid running out, or the deadline coming out. They still have a couple of years to spend all those funds, but a lot of districts invested that money in salaries, and short-term positions, and then to fill budget gaps. So this is the result of all of that pandemic-era spending, and also a realization that students need more resources for mental health and counseling and social services. And so there's been a lot of addition of staff to school districts even as enrollment has been declining. And so this is kind of a crunch point right now for school districts. I wrote recently about a landmark that we just hit - we hit it last year technically, but it's also on the books this year - but students of color are now the majority in Washington state. And this is not unique across the country - we're actually a little bit behind the rest of the nation when it comes to this, but officially now make up the majority of the state. And it's been interesting digging into the enrollment patterns within those changes because not all student groups that are nonwhite have increased. In fact, we've seen some decrease over the years. And so I wrote a story about that recently as well. And it's been interesting seeing how districts are adapting to that new reality. [00:22:35] Crystal Fincher: And did I see that Black students were one of the groups that were decreasing? [00:22:39] Dahlia Bazzaz: Yes, Black students and Native students are among those that have decreased - and white students. [00:22:44] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. Another issue that is important - just in terms of childhood development - is how much unstructured play time kids have and that's something that I think you wrote about, too. And paying close attention to the Legislature - this is the time of year that just hurts my feelings the most, because even the good things - they just get hacked to pieces and - [00:23:06] Dahlia Bazzaz: I know. [00:23:07] Crystal Fincher: - that hurts my feelings. And so I try to just not pay attention to - I'm not working on any legislation at the moment. So it's just like - I just want to not look, just let me know what survives and what doesn't, and I'll try and - So we've also seen a lot of advocacy directly from students talking about what they need, whether it is mental health, special education services, or even feeling safe on campus and what they need to do that. What have you seen from students and heard directly from them about what they say they need? [00:23:40] Dahlia Bazzaz: A lot of students have taken their advocacy directly to the state and to lawmakers. They recognize that violence on school campuses is a direct consequence of whatever laws there are in the state around who can own a weapon. And I think a lot of students are cognizant that the violence that happens on school campuses is just a microcosm of what happens outside of school campuses. So mostly they have been advocating for gun control law changes. They've also been advocating - as they have been for several years and for many different reasons - more mental health counseling, more social and emotional support and help, violence, de-escalation education in their classes. So a few different things. And even going back to 2018, 2017, we had those March for our. Lives movements that brought a lot of Seattle area students out - walking out of their schools and classes. So it's been something they've been thinking about a lot, and especially in light of the recent fatal shooting at Ingraham High School. [00:24:42] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Now you have a perspective that is unique in the state - as someone who's covered education for a while thoroughly, who has seen things with her own eyes in a variety of different environments and circumstances, districts across the state - for people who really care about public education and who want to improve conditions but don't quite know where to start or what types of things would make the biggest difference, what would you say to someone who says, I want to help, but I'm not sure how. What would make the biggest difference? [00:25:18] Dahlia Bazzaz: Pay attention to your school board meetings. I think every year there's a city council election, there's a school board election. And when I see the turnout differences in Seattle - and in any other city, honestly - when I see the turnout differences between a city council race or a mayor race and then the school board elections, it always makes my heart fall a little bit because these folks are in charge of a lot of money and a lot of decisions that affect students. And there just isn't the same type of advocacy and accountability for these bodies. And journalists do the best they can, but there are 300 school districts in the state and not that many news organizations covering all of them. I know reporters that double up and they cover like 20 different school districts out in central Washington. There's no way you can watchdog all of those school districts at the level that is required to really catch everything. So I would say - get really involved in the school board politics, show up to meetings, testify to school board members - they have a lot more power than you think they do. And it is a, I think, a largely ignored body of policymakers as well, because they don't get paid very much - I think the law caps it at $4,000 in compensation. And people have been trying to change that because it can be an equity issue where only people that can sustain themselves and don't have to work a full-time job can take those positions. Do have the rare school board member that is a teacher at the same time, or can make the time or set it aside for school board activities. But it is - it is a full-time job for many people. And so I would say make sure to vote in those elections - I know that a lot of the time people ask for solutions and we just shout "Vote" at them, and it can be an incomplete answer. But I think in these cases, it's especially important to vote - because they can be separated by just like 20, 30, 40 votes - your vote really does matter in those elections. And just read through all of the documents that they're working through. They're required to record those meetings in minutes, so definitely pay attention to what is happening on the policy level. And if you can get a school board member to partner with you, they can introduce different policies and pass them at the school board level. I think more people are becoming cognizant of that - unfortunately, because of how much chaos has erupted in school board meetings over the past several years. But it's important that even outside of these huge controversies with masking, with CRT, that we're paying attention even when it's not dominating the headlines. [00:27:58] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. I think that is such wise advice, and I just second everything that you said. Especially because hardly anyone engages with school board races, school board meetings - so few people vote in those elections, are aware of who the candidates even are or what they stand for, that it really - because they can operate under the radar and without notice. People may be shocked to see the egregious things that are happening in school districts that they think are fine and safe and "normal" - and to see, whether it's conversations about book bans, about allowing all members of our community, including people in the LGBTQ community, all different cultures, ethnicities - it is just so important to engage in these races. And I have personally seen some shocking and alarming things happen at school board candidate forums and school board meetings. And I tell you, it just takes - three people showing up to a school board meeting can completely change the trajectory of things. It can make them reverse votes. I've been involved in movements to do that successfully, and it just doesn't take much. It just takes paying attention and engaging and getting involved. So whatever your local school district is, I think you are absolutely right in encouraging people to stay engaged, pay attention, make sure to vote in those elections. But also stay engaged throughout the rest of the year to make sure that you see what's going on - to make sure if some elements are trying to come in and usurp power or take over the district, that there are people who see that and who organize against it. Because right now a lot of it's flying under the radar and people may not notice until it's too late. [00:29:50] Dahlia Bazzaz: Absolutely. And I would also add to that - trying to gain a knowledge of how school districts budget and just the essentials of education finance, because - and I hear this a lot and I love this phrase, but - a budget is a moral document. And if you want to know where a school district puts its values, then you just have to look at what they're spending, and where they're spending it, and on which students they're spending it on. So if you show up for those days where they're going through the budget, going through their fiscal strategy - all those things can really pay off and give you a better understanding. Don't just show up for the policy days, show up for when they're actually putting the money behind those policies. [00:30:33] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Thank you so much for taking this time again with us today to help educate us on what is happening in education across Washington state. Thank you so much, Dahlia. [00:30:44] Dahlia Bazzaz: Thank you for having me, Crystal - it's fun. [00:30:46] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is co-produced by Shannon Cheng and Bryce Cannatelli. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Kerri talks about a case that police never thought they would solve.  Listen to hear about Marsi Leah Belecs, a sweet 12 year old girl from Spokane, WA. Donna talks about The Eberhardt family and their haunted ranch.  They were on the Dead Files and their house had a lot of ghostly activity. If you have any local true crime, local urban legend/lore, ghost stories.. we want them all!! We want to hear from YOU.  Especially if you have any funny Ambien stories! Email us at aparanormalchicks@gmail.com Join The Creepinati @ www.patreon.com/theAPCpodcast Please rate and review us on Spotify, Apple Podcast and Stitcher!  Thanks so much. This episode is sponsored by Ettitude!  They have the right attitude about bedding! It's so luxurious and soft.. you owe it to yourself to get a better night sleep! You can get $25 off your bedding order!  Go to ettitude.com/creep Ettitude offers a 30 night back guarantee. This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh!  Everyone's favorite meal kit company!  Go to hellofresh.com/CREEP60 and use code CREEP60 for 60% off your order PLUS free shipping!! This episode is also sponsored by REEL!  Toilet paper that is luxurious and good for the environment! Get 30% off your first order and FREE SHIPPING by going to reelpaper.com/creep or enter promo code CREEP! This episode is sponsored by Beis!  The coolest, fashionable luggage by Shay Mitchell!  If you want 15% off your first order, please visit beistravel.com/creep.

Running the Bases today with Adam Chronister: Digital Marketer, Speaker, Investor, and Philanthropist.  The 2021 Spokane Washington winner for best SEO Company - the Founder of Enleaf MarketingAdam is a fun and passionate entrepreneur, small business owner, digital marketer, speaker, investor, world traveler, philanthropist, student, husband, father and some might say Fashionista.   How many of us have matched clothing or in his case their glasses to their laptops?  Hailing from the Great State of Washington, this Spokane business entrepreneur founded his successful digital marketing company in 2009 and has contributed to digital marketing campaigns for some of America's largest brands including Smiths, The Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and the University of Idaho.  His insights and training tools have appeared in Social Media Week, MarketMuse, SEMRush, SERranking,and many more. This hardworking and dedicated entrepreneur is often on the road traveling for speaking engagements or just dedicated travel to see the world.Key LessonsAdam Chronister encourages entrepreneurs to invest in themselves and seek out mentors to open up growth opportunities.He suggests wearing something unique to conferences to make a lasting impression.He offers free SEO tools to his clients.To learn more about Adam and Enleaf visit: www.Enleaf.comFree SERP Preview ToolHeadline AnalyzerGet Local SEO and Digital Marketing information from 38 Digital MarketListen and subscribe to our show on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, iHeart Radio, Pandora or TuneIn.Follow 38 Digital Market on our Social Accounts:FacebookLinkedInTwitterYoutubeInstagram

John talks to Julian Mininsohn, sports director at KXLY-TV in Spokane, about Gonzaga's run to the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament, their upcoming showdown with UCLA, and who he picked in his bracket. Subscribe now to this podcast for more great content.

This week, Joe's dog Mack steals the show in Spokane and Gaspare tries his hardest to befriend the Amish community before the fellas do a deep dive into some fascinating Chinese history and several hilarious listener emails. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kerri talks about a case that police never thought they would solve.  Listen to hear about Marsi Leah Belecs, a sweet 12 year old girl from Spokane, WA. Donna talks about The Eberhardt family and their haunted ranch.  They were on the Dead Files and their house had a lot of ghostly activity. If you have any local true crime, local urban legend/lore, ghost stories.. we want them all!! We want to hear from YOU.  Especially if you have any funny Ambien stories! Email us at aparanormalchicks@gmail.com Join The Creepinati @ www.patreon.com/theAPCpodcast Please rate and review us on Spotify, Apple Podcast and Stitcher!  Thanks so much. This episode is sponsored by Ettitude!  They have the right attitude about bedding! It's so luxurious and soft.. you owe it to yourself to get a better night sleep! You can get $25 off your bedding order!  Go to ettitude.com/creep Ettitude offers a 30 night back guarantee. This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh!  Everyone's favorite meal kit company!  Go to hellofresh.com/CREEP60 and use code CREEP60 for 60% off your order PLUS free shipping!! This episode is also sponsored by REEL!  Toilet paper that is luxurious and good for the environment! Get 30% off your first order and FREE SHIPPING by going to reelpaper.com/creep or enter promo code CREEP! This episode is sponsored by Beis!  The coolest, fashionable luggage by Shay Mitchell!  If you want 15% off your first order, please visit beistravel.com/creep.

This episode's guests are Henry Holub and Troy Burns, who are bringing their congregations together to build unity and advance the gospel of Jesus in Spokane, Washington. What a great story this is! Join us for this inspiring conversation between two leaders making a difference in Spokane. Thank you to our sponsors, Mission Alive www.missionalive.org and Central Christian College of the Bible www.cccb.edu. CGU creates spaces, communities, and resources to help people experience "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), advancing the prayer of Jesus (Jn. 17:21-23). We have big ideas for unity, but we can't do it alone. Our support comes from people like you who give a tax-deductible monthly donation or a one-time gift. Please donate at https://www.commongroundsunity.org/donate. Please check out commongroundsunity.org to learn more about CGU, how to subscribe to the newsletter, join the Facebook group, or find the YouTube Channel. Check out the gatherings page, where you can connect with other unity-minded Christians in your area. If you cannot find a gathering in your area, we can help you start one. It's not difficult or time-consuming, and we will help you out along the way. It really does, simply, start with a cup of coffee. If you want to volunteer or ask questions, please email John at john@commongroundsunity.org. Until next time, God bless, and remember, “Unity Starts With A Cup of Coffee.” The Common Grounds Unity theme music for our intro and exit for Season 3 is Cody Martin's "Forever with You." Download and permission to use from Sound Stripe.

What's Trending: Bruce Harrell might have a plan to issue an executive order on fentanyl and Minnesota Lt. Governor supports gender-affirming care for kids.Big Local: A teen was shot and killed in Federal Way and a convicted killer in Spokane attacks multiple women. // The most outrageous comments by Janet Yellen today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our main paranormal man, MERLE, from the Paranormal Road Trippers is back for 'Ghosts of the Great White North'. Tonight we talk about ghosts in Spokane, Washington, and the potential sighting and recording of a Skinwalker.

Gonzaga Bulldogs I'm sure you've heard of these famous Jesuit institutions, Boston College, Georgetown University Marquette – but have you hear of Gonzaga?. According to Wikipedia – Gonzaga made their CINDERELLA RUN in 1999 – and became a household name by making it to the Elite 8 with a win over Florida. Since then - Bulldogs have appeared 25 times in the NCAA tournament. GONZAGA UNIVERSITY Founded: 1887 Located in Spokane, WA – 300 miles due east of Seattle Size: 5160 / about 1200 freshmen 52% Women 51% Out of State Colors: Red and Blue Mascot: Spike the Bulldog Nickname: Zags NOTEABLE ALUMNI: Father Greg Boyle: founder of Homeboy Industries and Author of Tattoos of the Heart Carl Pohlad – owner of the Minnesota Twins Tom Foley – Speaker of the U.S. House (1989–1995) Bing Crosby – Academy Award-winning actor and singer (did not graduate) When it comes to sports at Gonzaga – basketball rules. The student section is known as the KENNEL – and fits upwards of 1200 students are there to make a racus at each game. Let me repeat – 1200 students out of 5100 – that is 25% of the entire student body – that is AMAZING! For a few extra special games – like against St. Mary's – there is such a demand for great seats in the Kennel that they have a tradition known as TENTING – where the students live in TENTs days leading up to the game, earning them a specific row and seat in the KENNEL. Too long to explain here – but I'll leave the link. FACTS AND FIGURES for Gonzaga and few other Jesuit institutions: from 2022: Gonzaga # of Applicants: over 9200 % Accepted: 61% Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles # of Applicants: over 21,000 % Accepted: 46% Fordham University in New York # of Applicants: over 46,000 % Accepted: 58% Boston College # of Applicants: 31,000 % Accepted: 327% Georgetown University # of Applicants: neary 27,000 % Accepted: 12% So, if you're interested in a Jesuit education, Gonzaga, in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, just might be the place for you! Click to Watch Video Click to Read Blog FREE: Download 10 Sample Essays FREE: Watch Mini College Essay Training Book a Call with Dr. C Visit the website

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In Episode 26 Lynn Morstead & Kelli Soika interview Bob Francis about his family's move into Haystack Heights, in Spokane, Washington.  His family was part of the first wave to move into their community after several years of planning. He shares some of the mechanics of the move-in process, personal experiences with the start-up and what they are focusing on today, 18 months later.Listen in to learn more.For more information about our project, please check out our website at www.cohousinghouston.com. Let us know if you have any comments or ideas by emailing us at info@cohousinghouston.com. 

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When Eric Kinney took over as president of Spokane legend White's Boots in 2019, the 170-year-old maker didn't even have a website. Just four short years later, Eric—a former White's bootmaker for 26 years who made upwards of 50,000 pairs himself—and the White's team have positioned the brand as one of the preeminent and beloved high-quality lifestyle bootmakers anywhere in the world. This episode, Ben and Ticho chat with Eric about the unceremonious reveal of the first table-setting White's MP boot Eric developed; how he views the differences  between White's Goodyear welt, stitchdown, and handwelt lines; if we can expect to see fully custom offerings from White's into the future; how Japanese conglomerate ABC Mart's ownership of White's has changed things for the previously family-owned company; and how the brand is contending with an ongoing bootmaker shortage. Perhaps the quote from the episode that sums up Eric, and the brand, best: “To be truthful, the [best] part about being in charge is being the one who can make White's…stay White's. What happens when I leave? I don't know. I do know that if I'm still there, it's not going to change.” This episode was sponsored by Grant StoneTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera

Sportswriter Jim Meehan, talking with former Zag player and TV commentator Richard Fox, called March Madness the top holiday on the calendar, with apologies to Christmas, in the 3/13/2023 edition of the Zags Insider podcast this week.

In this episode of the Millionaire Mindcast, we have a stellar guest, Mike Dehaan who imparts a ton of valuable insights around real estate wholesaling, the effective wholesaling sales and marketing process, the mindset around building a successful Virtual Assistant Team, and building a successful real estate business that making millions while getting more freedom in life! Mike Dehaan is an entrepreneur, a real estate investor, lead generation master, systems specialist, host of the Collecting Keys Podcast, and the owner of Collecting Keys LLC, Backyard Home Buyers, and INW Properties, a real estate service company based out of Spokane, WA that specialize in buying properties for cash throughout the Inland Northwest. The properties they purchase are primarily restored with lasting quality and made available for lease. Real estate stuff is never on Mike's radar. After spending 5 years as a corporate engineer, he quit his engineering career in 2018. He spent the following 2 years studying real estate investing and business to start an investing venture. At that time, he found a major skill set and passion in building scalable repeatable systems that creates disruption in the real estate wholesaling space. Since 2020, Mike has made from 0 to 200 real estate deals in 3 years. Currently, he is working to productize the wholesale business system and process that anyone can benefit from.   Some Questions I Ask: Where did these real estate, investing, entrepreneurship, and/or professional careers start for you? What do you think the problems are of wholesaling in the industry as a whole? By partnering with the right people, how can you guys allow them to accelerate getting to a place of profitability and the benefits of having a really strong sales and marketing process? How have you approached building such a successful Virtual Assistant Team? What do you think some of the people that have failed with Virtual Assistant Teams are overlooking and might need to revisit? Who is the ideal partner for your company? How do you go about identifying who the right person is and what the right market looks like? What does the startup investment look like for this wholesaling system? What is your vision as you see your company taking off? Is this something that only applies to single-family or is there a commercial aspect and approach that you guys have been exploring and providing as well?   In This Episode, You Will Learn: The effective step-by-step sales and marketing process.   Connect with Mike Dehaan on:  Collecting Keys Podcast https://www.collectingkeyspodcast.com/partner Instagram LinkedIn   Sponsor Links: GoBundance  - Text: "MILLIONAIRE" to 844.447.1555 Indochino: Get 10% off of any purchase on $399 or more with the promo code: MINDCAST BackBlaze: Click the link to start your fully featured 15-day free trial or use the promo code: MINDCAST    Accredited Investor List - Text "DEALS" to 844.447.1555 Free Financial Audit: Text "XRAY" to 844.447.1555 Upcoming Events: Text "Events" to 844.447.1555 Millionaire Notes: Text "Notes" to 844.447.1555 Connect with Matty A. and Text me to 844.447.1555    Show Brought To You By: www.MillionaireMindcast.com Questions? Comments? Do you have a success story you would like to share on the show?  Send us an email to: Questions@MillionaireMindcast.com  

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On this episode of Spokast! Brennon sits down with Reinaldo Gil Zambrano, printmaker, professor, co-founder of Spokane Print & Publishing & co-host of the podcast Hello Print Friend. We talk about how Carlos ended up in Spokane, co-founding the community-led space Spokane Print & Publishing and Spokane Print Fest's annual event. All that, plus more! Visit his website www.reinaldogilzambrano.com Renaldo Gil Zombrano on IG - @vintage_print_and_neon Spokane Print & Publishing on IG - @spokane_print Hello Print Friend Podcast - lnk.bio/helloprintfriend Produced locally in Spokane, Washington by @spokast.co

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On this Hacks & Wonks week-in-review, political consultant and host Crystal Fincher is joined by Seattle Axios reporter, Melissa Santos! Now that the Washington state legislature has passed a major bill cutoff deadline, Crystal and Melissa discuss a long list of bills that died and those still fighting to survive - including landmark gun safety and housing bills. They also discuss Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's still-unfulfilled promise to advance alternate 911 response programs that can make our streets safer and help mitigate the SPD staffing crisis that the mayor says we have. They also discuss Mayor Harrell's decision to postpone the removal of cherry trees at Pike Place Market after community pushback. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's co-host, Melissa Santos at @MelissaSantos1.   Melissa Santos Melissa Santos is one of two Seattle-based reporters for Axios. She has spent the past decade covering Washington politics and the Legislature, including five years covering the state Capitol for The News Tribune in Tacoma and three years for Crosscut, a nonprofit news website. She was a member of The Seattle Times editorial board from 2017 to 2019, where she wrote columns and opinion pieces focused on state government.     Resources Shasti Conrad, Newly-elected Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party from Hacks & Wonks    “Rifle ban, housing bills and more advance in the WA Legislature” by Joseph O'Sullivan & Donna Gordon Blankinship from Crosscut   “WA House votes to ban assault weapons” by Jim Brunner and Claire Withycombe from The Seattle Times   “Ban on selling assault weapons clears state House” by Melissa Santos from Axios   “The Olympia Waltz Continues for Middle Housing and Other Vital Legislation” by Ray Dubicki from The Urbanist   “WA's Missing Middle Legislation Threatened by Grab Bag of Municipal Excuses” by Ryan Packer from The Urbanist   “State Democrats Stiff Renters Again” by Rich Smith from The Stranger   “Legislative Cutoff Fizz: Police Pursuit Bill Moves Forward While Tenant Protections Die” by Andrew Engelson and Ryan Packer from PubliCola   “High-Speed Police Chase Bill Still Unpopular Among State House Democrats” by Ashley Nerbovig from The Stranger   “WA police a step closer to resuming pursuits under bill passed Wednesday by Senate” by Shauna Sowersby from The Olympian    “Innocent Bystanders are the Losers in this Week's WA Senate Shenanigans” by Amy Sundberg from Notes from the Emerald City   “Bills aim to protect abortion patients who travel to Washington” by Melissa Santos from Axios   “Seattle's alternative 911 response program falls behind schedule” by Melissa Santos from Axios “Removal of Seattle cherry trees near Pike Place Market paused” by KING 5 News     Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. If you missed our Tuesday midweek show, I spoke with new Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, Shasti Conrad, about what the role of chair entails, lessons learned from the previous Chair, Tina Podlodowski, and her plans for continuing forward as a strong and effective political party in Washington state. Today, we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week with a cohost. Welcome back to the program, friend of the show, today's cohost: Seattle Axios reporter, Melissa Santos. Hey. [00:01:23] Melissa Santos: Hi, Crystal. [00:01:23] Crystal Fincher: Welcome back. Glad to have you and always enjoy the Axios newsletter in my inbox every morning. [00:01:30] Melissa Santos: I'm so glad - good, good. [00:01:32] Crystal Fincher: It's good stuff - good updates and easily digestible, which is good. Today we have just passed a significant deadline in our legislative session. We're just about halfway done. And with that comes the deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin. They need to pass a floor vote, and get to the other chamber in order to survive. So now we have a list of bills that have died, as well as those that go on to be heard in the other chamber. So I guess starting a roundup of what is living and what is dead, what is going on still in our legislature? [00:02:14] Melissa Santos: Oh, you're asking me - there are so many things that actually lived this year - I'm actually kind of surprised. For instance, a ban on selling assault weapons did pass the State House, and this has never happened before in our state. The governor and the attorney general and a lot of Democratic lawmakers have been trying to pass a ban on assault weapons - different versions of it - for, I don't know, six, seven years now, maybe since 2015. I don't know how many years that is 'cause time is like a vortex, but a lot of years - and this time is the first time it's passed a chamber. So that's actually fairly significant. [00:02:44] Crystal Fincher: Very significant and nationally significant. And was an issue that a lot of Democrats ran on in this past election - promising to take action, saying thoughts and prayers are no longer enough, we have seen enough of this. But this is a pretty substantial, major piece of legislation that we can expect to see also wind up in the courts. [00:03:05] Melissa Santos: Yeah, there definitely will be challenges. I think there are challenges happening in Illinois over there's - they've already been promised if they're not already in progress. And Illinois was the most recent state, I think, to enact one. We would be the 10th if we do so, unless someone somehow gets to it first - a couple of months before our legislative session ends. But there's still a big road. It has to pass the Senate. And you know - that we've had some shifts in the Senate, though. I think that legislators did take a message from last year's election results in which Democrats gained seats - didn't lose ground - after passing high-capacity magazine bans. There's no backlash, even in what was supposed to be a big Republican year. There's a lot of factors that go into that, but they're like this is not something that is hurting us at the ballot box at all. And in fact, Washington voters - I think you and I have talked about this before - they have been voting for stricter gun control measures for several years now. It's not an issue that loses in Washington state, or even the polls don't really show nationally. I think there's a big shift to - this is not 1994 when it comes to these gun laws. It's just not, and it's not the political football it was. [00:04:06] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. And especially given the amount of mass shootings that we've seen, of just gun violence overall, of people dying by suicide using guns - it is just a lot. And we've had just about everyone say that we need to do something, and expecting our elected officials to do something. And we did see them take action - pretty significant action - in responding to the calls of parents, of students. We even saw students from Seattle's Ingraham High School, which experienced a school shooting, advocating for some of these gun bills, saying that they needed it to be safer in their schools. So this is something that Democrats promised - they took action on. This is something where they heard, and they've delivered - and we'll see how this legislation withstands court challenges - but certainly a big step here in our Legislature. Another big bill that was talked about - has been talked about really since last session - big time is the state's hallmark missing middle bill, HB 1110, which passed out of the House. [00:05:13] Melissa Santos: It did. And one thing I think that is one reason maybe why - I think there has been some conflict, not just the cities not wanting regulation - that was an argument that worked last year, cities saying - Hey, we don't want the state telling us what to do, essentially. We need local control over these things. Maybe it was an argument that worked last year, but I think the housing crisis is so deep that I think that that wasn't necessarily gonna work forever. But what I think was a genuine concern is whether allowing four to six units per lot, in basically all residential lots in some of these cities, might contribute to displacement. I think that's a concern for some people, and whether - there's a lot of stuff that goes into that. But what they did do was essentially make it so if you have neighborhoods where this upzoning would contribute to displacement - I'm not describing the bill very well, I'm jumping right in - but they basically said you can zone only 75% of your residential area to have these upzones and requiring four units or six units per lot. So that's a change that I think was made to try and assuage those who are worried about displacement. And it's possible the displacement argument is a front for other concerns - and that's just a - but that was a change they made this year that makes it a little more flexible. There's an alternate way to comply other than just saying - Hey, it's a strict four units per lot. You have to build a duplex on every lot - I should back up - zone for a duplex. God, you know what, Crystal? I really got ahead of myself. But my point is, changing zoning doesn't necessarily mean that there's a duplex going everywhere. It just means that the next time someone wants to do something, maybe they can do this thing. So yeah, there was never gonna be just suddenly everything's apartments. That never was gonna happen with any of these versions of this bill, but - [00:06:52] Crystal Fincher: Right - and we saw some hyperbolic headlines over the past week saying the Legislature's banned single-family zoning - which you can still build single-family - it just prohibits the exclusion of other types of housing. And the reason why this is so important and necessary - and there was such a broad coalition of business, labor, environmental groups, others saying - Hey, we absolutely need more housing - is because study after study has shown that we are behind on building the amount of housing necessary to house people who currently live in this state, even before we get to others who are moving to the state. And it's because so many areas have been prohibited from building anything but single-family homes - and the areas where you can build a duplex, a triplex, a sixplex, or a larger building are so small in comparison to all of the other areas. There just isn't the ability to build the appropriate and necessary density without a change in this zoning. And the way this manifests is - we have seen these rent hikes, these price hikes - when you have constrained supply and you have people moving here, that in and of itself has contributed to a lot of displacement and affordability crisis. And most people now recognize that we do have a housing affordability crisis. And so this is what has been proposed as a remedy - giving homeowners more control and property owners more control over what they can do with their lots and how they can build, and making sure that cities can absorb the amount of density that is there without the escalating costs that are driving so many people out of cities, out of housing, preventing seniors from being able to age in place, and their families from being able to live near them. And we've seen a shift in public opinion in support for this, where before it was something where it's like - Ah, it's dicey, a lot of people don't - but we've seen poll after poll showing northwards of 60% of residents across the state believe in this. And we've seen cities like Spokane and cities in Pierce County and Clark County take action on this already. This is actually an area where Seattle is behind the bend of several other cities. So interesting to see this going. Certainly there are a lot of cities who - judging by just some city and municipal meetings over the past week - who were hoping and thinking this would probably not get out of the House, but now it has made it to the Senate and they seem like they plan on stepping up their opposition to this bill. So people who are trying to get this passed also need to step up their advocacy of the bill and make sure that their elected officials know that they support this - even if they're homeowners, even if they're in higher income brackets, even if they're seniors - that this is something that they want in their communities if they want this to succeed, 'cause there certainly is a continuing battle ahead. Absolutely - and so other things that have survived, or are talking about housing and talking about the issues of displacement - for those really concerned about the issue of displacement - a couple of bills that didn't make it out, would have been nice and helpful for that. And those included some renter protections. One bill would have capped rent increases at 7% a year. Another would have required six months notice of rent hikes for more than 5%. Some cities also currently have some of those provisions, but certainly the majority of cities in the state do not. That would have certainly helped people. Rent increases are having a devastating toll on our communities and on homelessness, frankly. And those would have been really good to see pass the House - would have directly addressed issues leading to displacement and homelessness - and I'm disappointed that they didn't make it through. Other bills that didn't make it include a bill raising the age of juvenile sentencing from 8 years to 13 - that didn't make it through. A bill that would have ended design review statewide for residential developments didn't make it out of the House, nor did a WRAP Act bill that attempted to improve the state's solid waste system through bottle deposit and packaging reform. As well as a really common sense bill to ban jaywalking laws which are disproportionately enforced against BIPOC and low income people without an impact on public safety, it looks like, and so that didn't survive. One thing that looked like it was on its deathbed, but that was snatched out was a police pursuits bill. What happened with this? [00:11:36] Melissa Santos: Essentially, interestingly, the Senate had looked like it was not gonna advance this bill at all. This is a measure that kind of - it would roll back some of the stricter standards for police car chases that were passed a couple of years ago in 2021. It would say - We're not gonna be as strict in restricting when police can chase people in vehicles. Now, the Senate wasn't looking like it would advance it at all, but it was pulled from the floor and kind of skipped the whole committee process, basically - on Tuesday or so, I think - and it passed the Senate. And interestingly, what bill that looked like it had been moving on this issue in the House did not actually pass out of the House. So now we have a little situation where we don't really know what's gonna happen with it going forward. But, it essentially is just saying the Legislature, following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the protests against police brutality that we saw - one of the things they did in the Legislature was say - Hey, you can't just chase people over stolen car or whatever and go on a high-speed chase that could be deadly for people. And it applied to more things too. It basically said that you have to have probable cause to chase people in some of these scenarios. You can't chase people for low-level crimes. Police have just been saying that they can't really do their jobs - that's been pushed back on quite a bit. But, there's been a lot of pressure for the Legislature to change this law and make it easier for police to engage in these pursuits again, especially when it comes to certain crimes that are violent. They still can chase them under the current law, but it would make it easier to with a lower-level evidentiary standard that that's the right person in the car - basically is what these bills would do. So we'll see what happens there. It is a weird bipartisan interest in this bill, I would say - the sponsor of the bill in the House is a Democratic lawmaker from a swing district. And I've got to look at the vote count again, but there are some Democratic votes for this. It's not like one party against another. So that makes it hard to figure out how it'll play out. But the House wouldn't take it up, so I'm not sure they'll take it up now - what's coming from the Senate - on the actual floor. [00:13:31] Crystal Fincher: We will see what happens with this. I think the House probably will end up taking it up, but maybe they won't, but - I hope they don't - because this is a bill that frankly, in my view, lacks the data behind it to justify what its proponents are saying. To your point, a lot of police have said - Ah, we just can't pursue anymore - and have been in community meetings where police officers and departments have suggested that their hands are tied, that they can't pursue anyone. It's never been the case that they straight up could not pursue anyone or that pursuits were outlawed. It really is a question between, as you said, two evidentiary standards - that of probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Probable cause having a much higher - or not a much higher, but a significant - a threshold that is significant, that is also higher in terms of what they can do and when they are authorized to chase. And so when it came to serious things, if they had proof of something - they can and have been pursuing vehicles, including continuing to pursue in ways that have endangered the public and have injured the public, even in recent weeks and months. And so really a challenge here is addressing the potential harm and expected harm to the community as a result of these chases that in many jurisdictions already - certainly across the country - they have limited when this can happen because of the collateral damage that occurs, especially when oftentimes they're able to identify who is in the car, apprehend them after the fact, or apprehend them in a way that doesn't endanger the public through a chase. And they've also, I think, tried to say - Well, we've seen some increases in certain types of crime and it's because these criminals know that we can't chase them. And so they're just doing stuff and chasing, running away from us and laughing at us. And it doesn't really look like there's much evidence to back that up. In fact, they've talked about auto thefts and tried to suggest that auto thefts were increasing because they were limited in pursuing somehow, when it actually looks correlated to the price of used cars and that being much more correlated there. So it seems like it would make sense to pass legislation that would deal directly with the challenges that are having instead of some of fighting to re-enact and re-allow practices that have just frankly been harmful to innocent people in the public. [00:16:03] Melissa Santos: I think the data is a little lacking. There was this weird data war going on on both sides with this bill at one point. And it was kind of like, but it is a little - some of the data that's being used to say - Look, look, look, this is all is a huge problem. It's incomplete. It is incomplete. Like for instance, there's a lot of been, did a lot of citing of the State Patrol saying - We've had more people fleeing stops - basically, and that sort of thing. But then they don't - there's not any sort of follow-up about - were they caught from another means, some other - like later, which you can do through investigation or if further down the road, if they're doing something, maybe you would find them and be able to pull them over for something. There's not complete data there. They weren't tracking the stat exactly before. So there's not a good way to compare. It's just really hard. So I think that that's one reason why the Senate committee chair and the Democratic side on this has really been saying - Can we, do get some more data on this before we change the law? And the Republicans have been like - We should have gotten the data in the first place before we changed the law in the first place. But it is true that people die. Vehicle chases are dangerous. There are people who die. And it looks like we've seen fewer deaths - but the number from police pursuits since the law passed, but the numbers are so small, that the percentages can fluctuate wildly. I think there's an argument to be made to get a little bit more information for sure on this. And there has been crime increases in a lot of places, so it's just - there's a pandemic, there's been a lot of stuff happening. Sometimes when people are attributing the rise in crime to certain things, there's just - there's been a lot going on in the last few years and there's been a lot of contributions to crime rising, and there's been a lot of economic problems and that corresponds, and other places have seen crime rise. So it's just really hard to pinpoint it on this law. It's really difficult to do that as much as people want to. And honestly, some of the stories actually - when I followed up on them - haven't quite been accurate about how these things have played out. So it's just really messy to untangle. [00:17:47] Crystal Fincher: It is. And it seems like even when things are messy and in need of being untangled, we find ways to expand and support increased policing, especially of Black and Brown bodies. Also, things that passed this legislative session - passed their house of origin - made it out of their house of origin into the other chamber to be discussed to see if it will be passed, include a new drug possession bill that increases penalties for drugs such as fentanyl, meth, cocaine - and pushes those convicted into treatment, mandated treatment - a lot of people consider that coercive treatment. And really addressing laws in the wake of the Blake decision and the subsequent legislation, which had a sunset provision, meaning that they need to take action again now. Anything notable you saw with this bill in the process? [00:18:41] Melissa Santos: Honestly, I think this bill is gonna be totally different potentially by the time the session ends. It's one of those - it passed out of a chamber and they're being viewed as like a vehicle. You know what I mean? They can, it maybe will look very different by the end. But I think it's - the problem here a little bit is you want people to basically make drug possession a felony again, especially on the Republican side. Some people want that and then other people want the state to have it be totally decriminalized. And people are trying to, I think, thread the needle on it and there's not really a lot of - those sides don't really agree. You're not gonna find a compromise on - between make it a felony and decriminalize drug possession - that makes any of those folks feel like it's a good policy. So I think it's gonna be a really tricky one for that reason. I think this compromise of being like - Let's make it a gross misdemeanor, it won't be a misdemeanor anymore, but it'll be, it won't be a felony. I don't think that's gonna make people who think that the War on Drugs has been damaging to communities of color and everyone happy that it's still criminalized. And then I don't think that Republicans think that's strong enough. And so that's another one where it's - I think you're gonna see some weird vote counts. You're gonna see some weird coalitions build and it could be very different by the end. [00:19:49] Crystal Fincher: This definitely could change by the end. I think one thing that is useful to just recall is that - in this reality that we're in, we have been enacting and tinkering with criminalization for drugs for basically my entire life. I went to DARE assemblies when I was in elementary school. [00:20:13] Melissa Santos: Does that mean we're old if we went to those? I just wanted to check. [00:20:15] Crystal Fincher: I am definitely old. [00:20:16] Melissa Santos: Oh, okay - I went to those too. [00:20:16] Crystal Fincher: I won't lump you in with me, but I'm old. [00:20:18] Melissa Santos: No, I went to those too, so I guess - I don't know, all right - [00:20:21] Crystal Fincher: But I'm okay with being old. [00:20:22] Melissa Santos: It's fine. We all accept it, but I just wanted to check if that's what that means. I don't know - [00:20:26] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, yeah, it does, it does. [00:20:27] Melissa Santos: Okay, all right. [00:20:29] Crystal Fincher: But we have seen this big War on Drugs - billions upon billions spent - for what? To be in arguably a worse position than we've been in - to have this entire criminalized approach that has supported mass incarceration, that hasn't reduced recidivism, that hasn't reduced addiction, that has allowed it to proliferate really. And what we really need is a public health approach, and we've seen a public health approach to substance use disorder be much more effective than that. But that's not what a number of people have grown up watching on TV, have grown up being told from the DARE assemblies - anything about drugs is just bad and illegal and immoral. And if you touch those things - especially if you're poor or Brown, really, or in a low wage job - you're bad and horrible and immoral. Even though, my goodness, drug use is rampant among high income and high powered people. It doesn't seem to carry the same social stigma with them that it does for people who don't have the benefit of a home to do their drugs in, or can't do it as privately as others are able to do it. But man, this thing has failed, and it just feels like we're doubling down on a failed policy here because of fear - some of the same fear that went into the vehicle pursuit bill conversation - of not looking sufficiently tough on crime, of not doing that. Even though the public really is in a better place than most of our elected leaders are here - on not looking at this as such a binary and understanding that public safety includes a lot more than policing, a lot more than punitive punishment penalties. And if we focus on people being well, and if we focus on building a healthy community, and focus on stopping the harmful behavior, addressing root causes - that we prevent a lot of the problem and do a lot better in fixing the existing problems that we have. But that seems like a conversation that many people are not entertaining about this right now, but I certainly wish they would and hope that legislation improves. Also a bill survived that would reform the state's criminal sentencing system so that the juvenile convictions no longer lead to longer sentences for crimes that people commit as adults. Also Growth Management Act climate change provisions. This was also discussed last year - forcing and mandating that counties, cities, as they go through their Growth Management Act planning, which is mandated by the state, consider climate change impacts throughout that and build that into this process. Certainly helpful. Another bill promoting transit-oriented development - that's assigned to the Housing Committee - a lot splitting bill, easing barriers for ADUs or accessory dwelling units. A bill which was - I think we talked about it last week - near and dear to my heart, especially this session, for free school meals was watered down significantly to now - what passed is if a school has 30% or more of their students eligible for free and reduced lunch, then any student at that school can request a free meal - which is better than nothing certainly, but would love to see that expanded to be universal for everyone. As well as a bill that creates a task force for promoting research into psilocybin and developing a pathway for legal access to that psychedelic substance. So a lot of things are still alive. A lot of good stuff is still alive. A lot of good stuff still looks like it's moving forward. Other stuff - there are some abortion bills that are still alive this session. What will they do? [00:24:22] Melissa Santos: There's been ones trying to protect people from other states with restrictive abortion laws who might come here for an abortion. So we have some bills that basically create a shield law so that - trying to say - doctors here really can't be, putting them out the reach of those abortion laws if they perform abortions on someone. So they would basically - one of those bills that did pass the House - would make it so courts here can't participate in subpoenas from other states that are trying to get information about abortions that maybe happen here, if someone from their state travels to our state. And so that's designed to protect the doctors as well as the patients who come here. And that's something that Democrats have been going for. Similar bill dealing with data and health data on apps, because we have federal protections for health data under this law called HIPAA, but that doesn't apply to everything. It doesn't apply to period tracking apps. And there's also apps that track if you're trying to get pregnant and then maybe have a miscarriage - that there's data in there that maybe could be used, is the fear, from some states trying to prosecute abortions if they've criminalized it or have created civil lawsuit potential. Getting that data could show you had a miscarriage, you terminated pregnancy, this shows that. So they're trying to say - You can't get that, basically. So those are some of the things that are still alive. [00:25:33] Crystal Fincher: We will continue to follow this legislation as they make their way through the House and Senate. Also, they will - the Legislature will be taking up Governor Inslee's proposed budget, $70 billion biennial budget, before adjourning on April 23rd. So a lot to be done - still special education and other educational funding is wrapped up also with the budget - so many things are, so we will follow along. Also wanna talk about some Seattle news that you covered this week about Seattle's alternative response - another leg in the public safety stool - running behind schedule, at least Bruce Harrell running behind schedule on the promise and commitment that he made for this. What is happening? [00:26:23] Melissa Santos: It's actually interesting to me to see the mayor's office have actually laid out a commitment, a bunch of commitments, in writing like this. 'Cause sometimes at this mayor's office, it's not really - I'm not really clear on what's happening with them. That's the case sometimes with a lot of administrations, I suppose. But in this case, there was a document that the mayor's office agreed to in September - I think under pressure from the council, basically, to be honest, from watching that meeting - just saying we need some deliverables. We have this program we've been talking about since, again, the Black Lives Matter protests. It's now 20 - as of last year, it was 2022 - we still don't have this pilot program that we said to the community - Okay, we're going to reimagine public safety. This is going to be part of it. We're going to try and not send police officers to some calls where maybe it's not warranted and it can escalate into police killing someone or injuring someone, or just even an arrest that's traumatizing, potentially. So they're trying to say - We want to have a way of sending mental health responders and others to some of these calls. But there was supposed to be a pilot program that was supposed to have a plan from the mayor's office in December that was actually delivered and it hasn't been delivered. So the mayor's office is driving this - it looks like that's part of the agreement - waiting on the mayor to develop sort of some policies, proposals for the permanent program, as well as this pilot. And they have not come forth. There's also some intermediate steps that I didn't get into in my story, but that were missed. The mayor was supposed to narrow down what calls would this would actually apply to, what calls would some mental health responder go to? Is it officer down calls? Is it welfare check calls? And that really hasn't been narrowed down, which means there's not really - when someone asks me, for instance, how does this interact with our new 988 system? You can't really, we don't know because we don't know what calls they're going to be directing this to. But the idea is at least the 911 center would be able to dispatch something other than a cop - even though it's called a dual dispatch for some reason, which I found very confusing - the cop wouldn't necessarily have to be on site for these responses. And it's just - if this was a response to this - I have a policy document that says the social outcry for justice for policing, this is a City document - and it's been now three years and we don't have a pilot in range of being started. I think there's a lot of frustration on the city council saying - What the heck? And they expressed that at a meeting last week in the Public Safety Committee. I think Andrew Lewis, one of the city council members said - It seems like the mayor's office is behind on every deliverable that was asked for. The city council staff was - demurred on that, was like - I don't know if I would say that, but they have working relationships to maintain. As much in Seattle speak, it could be - as much as a WTF could be said in Seattle municipal speak - that's what happened last week, I think, on this, honestly. And yeah, it's just, I don't know where, how things - things don't seem very far along, is what it seems fair to say. [00:29:08] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, and it's challenging for me - looking at this administration and how confidently they talked about their ability to handle public safety in the City, particularly during the election and the commitments that were made. Bruce Harrell having sat on the city council and had been a former mayor of Seattle - very familiar with the workings of the City, the size of the bureaucracy, and the scope of what needs to be done. He has seen that from every angle for over a decade. And the response when you asked that office - Hey, why is this behind schedule? - was like, Okay, but it's really hard, is what the response boiled down to. And it's yeah, no kidding. That's what you signed up for when you say you wanna be mayor and can handle that job - and not only can handle it, but can handle it better than everyone else in the field. We want to see what's gonna happen. And this isn't just for good feelings and responding to a community call, even though listening to the community is absolutely important. This is also about public safety. This is about reducing the amount of people who are victimized. It's about keeping the entire community safe and making it safer. This is about a more effective response that keeps people safer. And that can eliminate the frustration that a lot of people have with seeing a revolving door issue where they're being arrested for a problem - that isn't primarily a desire to commit whatever crime or to be loitering in whatever area - that are exacerbated by a variety of different things, where if we actually addressed those things, we can also eliminate any criminal or harmful activity and more effectively deal with an issue of someone who is creating a disturbance or causing discomfort or whatever that is. This is good for the City. This helps keep everyone safer. And it seems like there is no bigger priority than getting this spun up. [00:31:13] Melissa Santos: If there's a concern - the mayor's office and the police department are concerned they don't have enough officers to send to important calls - if that's a concern, the people who are concerned about that, right? This theoretically could make it so officers aren't responding to stuff they maybe shouldn't even be responding to, or aren't the best equipped at responding to. Theoretically, freeing up officers to respond to stuff for which an officer is really needed. It seems like both people who want to have a less aggressive police response, and then also people who want to have more police response in a way - both kind of are coming together to say - This would be good for us. The business people want it - for again, more cops to respond to crime crimes would be - they want. And then people who want to not have traumatic police encounters want it too, which - theoretically, everyone wants to not have those, I would assume. But, people who, that's their focus, also think this is good. It's okay, so what - and I don't even think it's gotten to, to be honest, I don't know if it's had the chance to get to the part that's actually really complex. 'Cause I think the mayor's office and a lot - honestly, city council and everyone - it's easy to say the police union won't let us do this, or something. I don't even think they've gotten to the point where they're even talking about that, really, with labor yet. It's okay, so if that's always the hurdle in doing police reform and you're not even really - you haven't really decided what you want to do. It's like the Legislature passed a bill to create an independent office for police investigations that theoretically should have been ready to have takeover jurisdiction of police killings last summer. And I haven't checked on it for a couple months, I'm gonna say, but it still was not up and running six months after that. And there's still a lot of hiring to do and a lot of policymaking to do. And you could argue - Okay, maybe that was too fast. Maybe a year - okay, so some people would say maybe a year plus was 18 months or so. You can't really set up a whole agency in that time. I'm like - Well... eh, like, how long? I don't know, I don't know. This just seems like - there's a lot of stuff that ends up taking a long time and then other cities do have some of these programs in place already, so it seems like there should be some models. And I don't have great answers about - could you, Denver does this thing - did you ask them? What's going on? It's hard to get a sense of what conversations are happening within the administration about this stuff. [00:33:24] Crystal Fincher: It is. We know they've had tons of conversations about graffiti and there's definitely an action plan and things happening for that, so priorities - seems to come down to priorities. I hope this becomes a higher priority in this administration for sure. Also this week, we have seen trees at Pike Place Market make a lot of news. How come? [00:33:49] Melissa Santos: Seattle people love cherry trees. Everyone loves cherry trees. Does anyone dislike cherry trees? So there are cherry trees, one of - yeah, there's cherry trees by the entrance of Pike Place Market that kind of frame one of our city's biggest landmarks, biggest tourist attractions. And they were set to be removed on Tuesday, maybe Monday and Tuesday possibly, and there was a group that's called, I think, Save Our Market Entrance, something along those lines, that put out some press releases on Sunday and also went and demonstrated and were like - Why are we tearing these down? There's some - it's been raised that there's some significance potentially in the Seattle's Japanese and Japanese-American community of having these cherry trees. The origin is being traced to maybe there was a significant gift to these potentially, but even if there's not - it's just, there's some people asking - Why do we need to replace these trees? They're part of the sort of fabric of our city and what we love about our city. I think the mayor did, someone in the mayor's administration did press pause on the removal of the trees this week, so that was a pretty successful effort by people who wanted to see those trees stay. And their future isn't really certain right now because there's gonna be some probably very Seattle-esque discussions about the trees. And there's some disagreement about whether the trees are healthy and will be healthy for the next 50 years or not. And so that's just all kind of being worked out. But I think people in Seattle like their cherry trees and also there might be some cultural significance here to pay attention to, so that's - at least for now - saved the trees for time being. Yeah, definitely. And this is also happening amidst discussions of Seattle's waning tree canopy and a need to increase the amount of trees - mature and other trees - and certainly not lose trees in the process. And I know some people are concerned about that as we go through this whole thing. But with that, we will wrap it up for today, Friday, March 10th, 2023. Hacks & Wonks is produced by Shannon Cheng. Our insightful co-host today is Seattle Axios reporter, Melissa Santos. You can find Melissa on Twitter @MelissaSantos1. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. And you can find me on Twitter @FrenchFries - it's two I's at the end - @finchfrii, I don't even, whatever. You can catch Hacks & Wonks wherever you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Dan and his wife went from not knowing a thing about buying a home to purchasing a duplex three states away in Spokane, WA. The couple's lack of real estate knowledge, though it was scary, didn't stop them from taking a leap of faith into the home-buying process. Listening to David's podcasts gave them the knowledge and courage they needed to make the jump. Catch up on this fascinating story! Here are some topics from today's discussion: How to buy a home from out-of-state Properly preparing your finances House hacking with a duplex Trusting in the home-buying process Episode Highlights: [01:39] Trusting the Process Dan wasn't sure about what to do when buying a home, but that didn't stop him from looking into it. When he and his wife decided they wanted to move closer to her family, they began saving money and learning everything they could about buying a home. After four years of careful financial preparations, they knew it was time to make the investment! [12:39]  House Hacking With a Duplex Buying a duplex is a great option when it comes to “house-hacking.” Living in one half while renting out the other is an easy way to help mitigate the cost of a mortgage while still being the full owner of your property. This is what Dan and his wife did when moving to Washington, giving them the opportunity to make their move even more affordable. [13:00] Preparing the Finances Dan and his wife needed some financial support to make the purchase, but it ended up helping them in the long run. Making sure you have as little debt as possible puts you a step ahead when it comes to working with lenders.

Christi Armstrong is the Executive Director of World Relief in Spokane, Washington. World Relief is committed to helping refugees from around the world who have either lost their homeland or fear for their lives to continue living there. A credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches, Christi has a heart of compassion for refugees and the agency she leads in Spokane helps to find housing, clothing, food, and jobs for newly arrived, displaced people. In the episode of Better Roads, Randall and Christi talk about how much refugees are just like us. They care about their kids. They want to best for their families. They want to maintain responsibility for caring for their families. And, they are so appreciative of this nation for opening its protective arms to them. They are not looking for handouts. That is why Christi emphasizes caring about their dignity and peace, two fundamentals of life for all human beings. The story of refugees is not a border crossings matter; it is an ongoing story of people who have been carefully vetted and receive some of the very limited number of acceptance notices that are provided by the government. You don't hear much about this ministry, but it is a moving one. Pull up with your cup of coffee and learn about what God is doing through this.

The SKATCAST Network presents:The Dave and Angus Show #61!Today's Bullshit:This episode Dave and Angus are in Spokane, talking about their top five favorite "weird bands" and "fake bands" as well as a whole look at the Highlander franchise, plus a couple new segments and D&A have another try at interviewing the Lilac City Nightmare Band.Throb-tastic your Thursday!Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/mVFf2brAaFFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcast Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Texas Tech big man Fardaws Aimaq is back in the NCAA transfer portal after being a high-priority target for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs last offseason. With Drew Timme making it official, will Aimaq choose to come to Spokane this time? And after an injury-riddled and up-and-down season in Lubbock, should Gonzaga still make him a high priority? Anton Watson has not committed to leaving after his fourth season in Spokane, so we discuss what him returning could look like and why he could easily play his way into the 2024 NBA draft conversation if he returns. Finally, we close out the show discussing Gonzaga's 2023-24 frontcourt as a whole - what it would look like with Aimaq and Watson together, where Ben Gregg and Efton Reid would fit in, and what next year might hold for Kaden Perry, Braden Huff, and newcomer Alex Toohey. Link to new college basketball national podcast: https://linktr.ee/LockedOncbb https://linktr.ee/LockedOnZags Locked on Zags - Part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! LinkedIn LinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply. Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get started FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Kacy Tellesen was born in Spokane and raised in Spangle, Washington, a small farming community that clings to the edge of the Palouse. Kacy joined the Marine Corps infantry directly out of high school and deployed twice to Iraq as an Infantry machine gunner with Second Battalion, Third Marines from 2005-2009. He lives in Spangle, Washington with his wife and two children and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at Gonzaga University School of Law.Kacy's debut memoir, Freaks of a Feather, has been reviewed and excerpted by Task & Purpose, The War Horse, The Big Smoke, KHQ, and others. Previously, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Zero-Dark-Thirty literary journal, as well as the SOFLETE website.

Lauren Paterson reports.

On this midweek show, newly-elected Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party Shasti Conrad joins Crystal for a conversation on what the role entails, lessons learned from the previous Chair, and her plans for continuing forward as a strong and effective political party. As leader of an umbrella organization for local party organizations across the state, Shasti acknowledges the futility of a top-down approach and the need to listen and to understand what resonates with Democrats from different areas. Discussion of her plans to broaden the Party's appeal includes creating inclusive spaces, expanding the base, messaging Democratic wins, and showing up and investing in rural areas.  Crystal and Shasti then tackle the question of “who is a Democrat” and the dilemma faced in sharing Party resources with: those who are ideologically aligned but not labeled as D, versus those who self-label as D but are not ideologically aligned. Finally, Shasti shares her dream of strengthening the Party through bench building of candidates and support staff by making campaign work attractive, which includes taking seriously the violence and hostility predominantly targeting Black candidates and staff members, building sustainable pipelines for careers in politics, and encouraging good working conditions through unionization. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Shasti Conrad at @ShastiConrad and the Washington State Democratic Party at @washdems.   Shasti Conrad Shasti Conrad was elected as Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party in January 2023. She is the first woman of color and youngest chair of the Washington State Democrats! She is also the first South Asian woman to lead a state party in the entire country! Previously, Shasti was the Chair of the King County Democrats from 2018-2022, making her the first woman of color chair in the org's history. She is a versatile strategist and thought leader with a broad range of political, policy and operations experience within government at all levels and throughout the private and non-profit sectors. She launched her own consulting firm in 2016 to support government, campaign, and business clients looking to better our world. She was named to the American Association of Political Consultants' 40 under 40 list and Seattle Met's 100 Most Influential List (top 10 in politicos category).   Resources Washington State Democratic Party   “Washington State Democrats Elect Shasti Conrad as Party Chair” from Washington State Democrats   “WA Democrats choose Shasti Conrad as new leader” by David Gutman from The Seattle Times   “Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in a Time of Crisis” by Maurice Mitchell for Convergence Magazine   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. I'm thrilled to be welcoming back to the program, the now-Chair of the Washington State Democrats - Shasti Conrad - welcome. [00:01:01] Shasti Conrad: Hi Crystal, it's so great to be here. [00:01:03] Crystal Fincher: Great to have you here. So you were just recently elected as the chair of the Washington State Democrats, after a pretty notable tenure as the Chair of the King County Democrats. Starting off for a lot of people who may not be familiar - what does the Chair of the Democratic Party do? [00:01:24] Shasti Conrad: That is a great question and one that I have been getting quite a bit. So the State Party Chair, basically - I see it - job number one is to win elections for Democrats up and down the ballot. That's job number one. Job number two is really studying the vision and strategy for what the Democratic Party looks like, how it works, how it's built here in Washington State. We're here to work with our allies in labor and to build winning coalitions across the state and across the progressive movement. I've often described the party as - we are the steady drumbeat - we are here to make sure that candidates and campaigns have the resources that they need, that they have the volunteers, that they have the - they know the relationships, the community leaders. And then the candidates in the campaigns - they bring the jazz, right? They bring the energy, the nuances that match the different communities that they're representing - and we're here doing all year-round organizing to make sure that we're ready for whoever steps forward to run for office - that we can support them and get them across the finish line. [00:02:36] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. So now you are taking over after Tina Podlodowski stepped down after a pretty successful run, by those metrics, as the Chair of the State Party. What lessons did you learn from Tina, and what are you carrying forward from her? [00:02:53] Shasti Conrad: I think that Tina deserves a ton of credit for the successes that we have had here in Washington state for the last six years. We had the three most successful cycles in terms of delivering Democratic wins across the state. We elected the most diverse State Legislature - each cycle we just kept improving and growing our majorities - this past cycle was probably one of the most successful cycles that we've had, certainly one of the best for Democrats in probably at least 20 years. We now have control of - the Democrats are in office for all of the statewide offices. We finally got a Secretary of State for the first time in, I think, 56 years as a Democrat in Secretary Hobbs. And so much of that credit does go to Tina. I think Tina really built the State Party as an organizing machine - she invested in it. We talked about doing this multi-cycle organizing, all year-round organizing. She helped to move the Party from it being - there were times when I think the Party was a bit of a social club - it was a bit about just who of our friends were gonna run for some of these different offices. And Tina really, especially in the Trump era, really built up the resistance and helped us make sure that we were winning. We can't lose any of that ground. Tina was a great ally for me these last several years while I was Chair of the King County Democrats, and so I learned a great deal from her. And we're not gonna go backwards, that's for sure. I think Tina would be the first one to say this, which is - now that we've built such a solid organizing foundation, in my tenure my hope is that we get to grow and expand it, particularly in bringing in more diverse folks into the Party. And that's inclusive of young people, that's inclusive of people of color, communities of color - and really helping to get more people into these leadership roles. The Washington State Democrats - we're comprised of 88 different local party organizations, so there's a lot of different regionality, diversity - but I think across the Democratic Party, we have our work cut out in trying to make sure that we are fully reflective of the state. And there's some of that work that I think I definitely wanna grow upon what Tina has built. [00:05:17] Crystal Fincher: Now you mentioned those local party organizations - like county party organizations, legislative district organizations, affinity caucuses, that type of thing. I think a lot of people don't realize necessarily that those are not branches, those are not subsidiaries of the State Party - they're actually their own independent organizations, their own bylaws, and can do what they want. They can't in most situations be told what to do by the State Party - it doesn't work like that. So basically it's a big statewide coalition of Democratic organizations. In that kind of structure, how do you galvanize and expand the organizing footprint in the entire state - in more metropolitan areas like King County, in rural areas in Central and Eastern Washington, Southwest Washington - and lots of different areas, different needs, different representation, different issues that they may be dealing with. How do you approach that, or how will you approach that across the state? [00:06:19] Shasti Conrad: Yeah, it's definitely a tall order to try to get all oars in the water rowing in the same direction. I have found that it's - we can be unified in our values, but it's important for us to be localized in our messaging. We're certainly seeing this here in Washington state, but I think this is something that the entire Democratic Party writ large is dealing with, which is that urban and rural divide and really thinking about - the ways in which we talk about things in King County and Seattle doesn't necessarily work in Spokane or in Walla Walla. And I look at Washington state as a microcosm for national Democratic Party politics. In Washington state, we have Pramila Jayapal, who is the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. We now have Representative Suzan DelBene, who leads the DCCC, which is more moderate arm of trying to make sure that we are helping Democratic Congressional members get re-elected. And then you have our newest member of the Congressional delegation in Marie Perez. And Marie ran in - down in Southwestern Washington - as a very working class, working mom Democrat that was able to work with Republicans and get Republicans to support her. She won by just a couple thousand votes against a complete MAGA Republican. And so that's a big spectrum. And that is what I, as Chair, have to try to make sure that folks along that full spectrum feel that the Democratic party is theirs. And so like you said, each of the different party organizations are their own entities. It's not a top-down approach. We, as the State Party, are somewhat of an umbrella organization, but we're here to work alongside those different party organizations. And so it's a lot of just - it's a lot of listening, it's a lot of really making sure that folks are feeling that their lived experience is valued, that their perspective - that they know their neighbors, that they know what's gonna work with talking to their neighbors and moving them along. And that there's space for that, that it doesn't just come down from on high. One of the things that I've spent the last several years having to do quite often is unpacking when people say - Oh, the Democrats. It's like - Okay, but who are you actually frustrated with? Are you frustrated with the DNC, which sets the national stage and national messaging? Are you frustrated with the Senate Caucus or the House Caucus? Are you frustrated with your local party organization? What are these different pieces, and how do they all work together in this big ecosystem? And how can we help? How can we address your concerns? And a lot of that, I think, comes down to just people-to-people canvassing and organizing in those conversations, as well as really making sure that the messaging is resonant in those particular communities. [00:09:15] Crystal Fincher: So you talked about expanding the organizing apparatus - certainly something that you've talked about. In your tenure as Chair of the King County Democrats, was participating in all elections - not just the even-year elections right now that are legislative statewide, but also in what are currently - hopefully not for much longer - but currently odd-year elections for school boards, city councils, mayors, county council positions. Those elections haven't traditionally seen a lot of participation or engagement from the Democratic Party and local party organizations. What is gonna be your approach to that? [00:09:58] Shasti Conrad: Definitely. I think we saw, particularly in the last several years, the ways in which the Republican Party was doing a better job at building the bench than we were. They were having their folks run, and they were - run for these various seats, like you just said, like school boards and city council seats and whatnot. And they were going unchallenged. Democrats were not running for them because we just weren't paying attention in a lot of ways - we weren't indexing what all of those opportunities were. When I was Chair of King County Democrats, in an odd year, we had over 300 seats that folks could run for. And folks just didn't know that. And as soon as we started to talk about that, and started to actually really recruit, and also demystify the process - people didn't even know - how do you run? What does it take to run? How do I get onto the ballot? And once we started saying - Actually, there's a filing week in May where you go to - for King County Elections, or whatever your local county elections office is - and you can file online. Sometimes they have different fees, but they range in size - and you get your name on the ballot, and then you get to know your neighbors, and you encourage folks to vote for you. And so already this year at the State Party, I have asked our data team to look at opportunities where - what are the races across the state that we could win, that are at a nice edge. And one of the - really excited about this - so one of the things we just found when we were looking at the data this past week is that in the town of Sunnyside, which is in Yakima County, there are three seats that are up that are currently held by people that are leaning Republican. All three of those people won by less than 100 votes when they ran last time - one won by one vote. All three of them are men and they lean Republican. Sunnyside is a city that is 70% Latino. If we do the organizing work, if we get a Spanish language organizer, if we encourage those people to register to vote, we get some great candidates who represent the community - we could get those seats. And we could really make a difference that then, once those folks have some experience - their name's already been on a ballot - then in a couple of years, maybe they decide that they run for the next level of government. Maybe they even run for the State Legislature. And people have gotten to know them, they've been able to build up a resume. And that's the type of investment and engagement that I think is gonna be really important and a real opportunity for us to change up, particularly in these places that when you look at the map, they just look red. But then when you can get underneath that, there might be some opportunities where we can actually make a difference, pick up some of those seats, and start changing who's representing these folks. [00:12:51] Crystal Fincher: And part of that is also recruiting candidates. You talked about recruiting great candidates - that's been an area where there have been some excellent successes and there's still a lot of opportunity, some things haven't quite been mined yet for opportunity. What do you see the Party's role in developing leaders, and what can the Party do to help that happen? [00:13:12] Shasti Conrad: Yeah, I think - for years, we've talked about developing campaign-in-a-box - having some of these templates of - it's just people just don't, they don't know, right? They don't know - how do I find a treasurer? How do I set up a website? How do I - do I need to put a mailer together? How do I call people? How do I do all of these things? And for those of us who've been in this work, we do this year after year, but most people just - they're living their lives, they're not paying attention to the ins and outs of political work. And so I think that's something that we can develop the resources and the tools - there's been, especially in the Trump, post-Trump era - there've been a number of outside organizations that have developed really solid candidate training programs like Emerge, Institute for a Democratic Future, there's Run for Something, She Should Run - there's a bunch of these different organizations that are doing a great job. And I think that that's where we can partner with those folks. We've had our own candidate training program at Rise and Organize in the State Party. I am really passionate about training up the next generation of staffers and campaign managers and doing that type of leadership as well, because I also think that that's partially what we're missing in the ecosystem - is all of that support. So you get someone who's gonna step forward and decide to run, but they need help - they need a Crystal Fincher in their support system. And we need to be developing more of us that can help them do that, so I think that's something that we'll tackle in this next cycle as well, if the State Party is developing that training and organizing training. And then on the candidate recruitment side, it's really, it's just, it's finding those gems of talent. There are such great community leaders who - they're really active in their churches or they're really active - they're a nonprofit leader. They're doing this great work, but they just never thought about running for office. But talking about the impact and talking about - Okay, you're able to do this great work in your community or in your job. Let's take it to the macro level. Let's help you be able to do it for cities, and school boards, and the State Legislature, and things like that. [00:15:20] Crystal Fincher: Another issue that I think people on the ground, who may not pay close attention to party politics but they look around and they look at who Democrats are nationally, looking locally who are Democrats - wondering - there's lots of talk about - Okay, should Democrats be trying to win voters who may be disaffected from the Republican Party, or focus more on turning out people who may not be motivated to vote often for whatever reason. Do you do both? Do you do neither? What is that? And who is the base? Who is the party? Who is a Democrat? How do you approach that? Is this a big tent party that takes anyone? Is this a party that has strict ideological boundaries? What do you think that is and what will your approach be as Chair? [00:16:12] Shasti Conrad: Certainly, and I think that those answers are different in different places throughout the state, throughout the country. We are certainly a big tent. We have to create a space where the Party feels like it's welcoming, feels like it's inclusive, feels like it's a place where folks can make it their own. We need to be clear and aligned in our values - which is that we stand up for human rights, we stand up for people who are vulnerable, we're about choice, we're about freedom. These are the things that we are clear about. But there are some places where - I go back to CD3 because of just, it's the most, it's the biggest example of where that was a real opportunity for growth for us, because Marie Perez really did have to have conversations with folks who had been supporters of the Republican Party, who had voted for Jaime Herrera Beutler. But as the Republican Party has become more and more radicalized - where they are - they're not speaking for folks who maybe are a little bit conservative in their, some of their values, but for the most part are just trying to feed their families, get to work, pay the bills. The Republican Party has abandoned those folks too. And we have to be able to say the Democratic Party will make space for you if you are willing to recognize that there are some of these lines that will not be crossed, which is that we believe that everyone has right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and all of that. And then I also think that we have to expand the base. And that means really making investments with - into communities of color, young people - I think the Party is dealing with a relevancy problem when it comes to young folks, right? Young people have seen across their entire lives the ways in which our biggest challenges keep not being addressed. And at times, on both sides of the aisle, politicians have paid a lot of lip service but nothing changes. You can feel that, you can feel the lack of movement, and then this prioritizing of incrementalism over actually doing big, bold changes - transformative work. And so we have to demonstrate that we actually are going to do the work, that we're going to make the change, that we're going to not just talk the talk. Joe Biden wasn't my first choice as president several years ago, but he has - you have to give him credit for the fact that he has been a very progressive president. We have done big things underneath his leadership the last several years, and we're not doing a good job of talking about that. We're not doing a great job of actually messaging to say - Look at what the childcare tax credit was able to do - it halved childhood poverty, it made a big difference. We are delivering and bringing infrastructure projects back into the state - money is getting moved, things are improving. The economy has been tough, but we're making it through. That's under Democratic leadership. That is without Republicans helping. And . We believe in climate change. The Republicans don't. And these are big issues, particularly I think for young people as they're looking at a future that feels like it might be worse than their parents'. So we've got to do that work. And I think we've got to actually make it action oriented too. And that's a big part of what my job will be and what we will be trying to set with the State Party is that direction and that - those changes to make the Party feel like it is a much more welcoming place and a place where people can do good work and see change happen. [00:19:55] Crystal Fincher: I think that's spot on, really smart to recognize. Younger people actually are - definitely are feeling disaffected, trying to find reasons why they should trust institutions or institutional power after seeing so many examples of it not being helpful. And that you have to have an action-oriented approach that enables people to see the change around them without relying on rhetoric or seeing that rhetoric unfulfilled. With that, how do you play a role in messaging what Democrats are doing on a national and statewide level? How can the party improve that? [00:20:34] Shasti Conrad: One of my frustration points from the last several years is I have felt we spent a lot of time identifying and speaking about our values in reaction to the other side. And you heard me probably just do it just a few minutes ago. And so often we put ourselves against - because that's who they are, we are this. And I think it's important that we start to make the shift where we start to take some of the power back and start to control the narrative by saying - This is what it means to be a Democrat. And this is what Democrats are delivering. This is what Democrats are doing. Like I said, we are the party of choice and freedom and opportunity and optimism. We're more than just the fight, right? And also I think a lot of times we just talk about winning and losing elections, but I wanna take us also to the - how are we making a difference in people's lives? What does it mean to win? Because just winning - sure, we pat ourselves on the back, we get to run up the score and be like - Look, we have this many more than them and good for us. But is it actually making a change? Are people actually feeling like they are better represented, that their lives are improving because we have the majority in the State Legislature here in Washington state? I think that's true, but we have to make sure that we're talking about that. When things are getting passed through the State Legislature, when we're taking up the middle income housing bill, when we're taking up gun safety bills, when we are looking at the wealth tax - these are things that are going to actually make an improvement on people's experience, what their time on this earth is gonna be like. And that, I think, is really important for us to talk about and take it to that next step. And I think folks are tired - they're tired of the - we get these emails where it's like urgent, deadline, biggest fight of our lives. And it's hard because it's true - every election is, feels like it's the most important one - but at some point that just, it's burning folks out. And so we've got to just be able to be honest and level with folks - Hey, I don't know if this is gonna be radically different, but this is the right step that we need to take. It's like I-135 - I was so happily surprised that it did as well as it did. It's a step in the right direction. Is it gonna solve the housing and homelessness crisis in Seattle? No, but it is going to help us move in a direction where we can actually start to look at some solutions. And so I'm grateful that folks decided to step forward and vote and participate and do, especially in an off-cycle, odd year election. And again, it's we just have to be - we have to be able to level with folks. And that, I think, is a change in tone that I hope I can help to bring to the Party here in Washington state. [00:23:22] Crystal Fincher: I think Seattle's Initiative 135 for social housing is a really great and instructive example for how we can organize and what the opportunity is. We saw seniors who were afraid that they weren't gonna be able to age in place. We saw young people who wanted to make sure that there was gonna be a space for them in the community - urbanists, communities of color. The DSA was canvassing in support. We saw local democratic party organizations - from the King County Democrats, 46th District Democrats, and a number of folks and coalitions coming together. Some elected leaders, community leaders, activists - all coalescing around this. And really willed that to victory, as you said, during an off-year - not in those higher turnout elections that have Congresspeople and the president on the ballot. And in February, no less - I'm still excited by that. But it does bring up some interesting questions going back to - Okay, who is a Democrat and who is the Democratic Party there to serve? Because in Washington state, particularly to a degree that a lot of other states don't, there's an interesting dynamic here in that it's not just the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Certainly we have very competitive Democratic and Republican races - we've both been involved in quite a few of those. But also in several areas in King County, especially in Seattle, Washington - Republicans aren't as much of a competitive party to Democrats as the DSA, Democratic Socialists of America, or the People's Party. People who predominantly skew younger and don't necessarily find themselves completely aligned with the Democratic Party - a lot of times due to national issues - but are saying, I am aligned with these values. I am finding more action and I feel that there is more honesty about those values outside of the Democratic Party in something like the DSA or other organizations. And that playing out in interesting ways, whether it's access to the Party database and VoteBuilder, endorsements in local party organizations, and so on and so forth. How will you be going about defining who is a Democrat, in ways that are consequential when it comes to running for office or advancing policy and the utilization of State Party resources? [00:25:52] Shasti Conrad: You have to be able to say that you're a Democrat, right? You have to be willing to identify as a Democrat in order for us to be able to share those resources. It's like any other kind of club or organization - you have to be willing to sit with us at the lunch table and say that you're willing to work with us to be able to do that. But I am clear that, particularly in urban areas in Seattle and King County in particular, that we as a Democratic Party - we have been losing out folks to alternative parties. You mentioned DSA, Working Families Party, the People's Party - we have been losing out. And particularly young people are finding that moving to some of these other parties is where they feel like they identify better, that they feel like they're being seen, that they feel like they're able to get more work done. And I think that's something that we have to address. We talk a lot about recruitment. We talk a lot about trying to get people to come into the Party. But I don't think we've spent enough time really talking about - what is the experience of being in the Party? It's the retention piece of it - it is the experience of when you come into a party organization - who are you being met by? Are our folks being welcoming? It's not a secret that a lot of our Party spaces are - it's mostly run by folks that are older, it's retired folks - because they have the time. And I value that work - so I've learned from so many of our elders, who have been organizing and doing this work since the '60s, right? And they have committed their lives to doing this. And that is something that I value and appreciate and respect. But you look at any kind of organization, company, brand - and if your workforce was all 65 and older, you would say - That's probably not a sustainable brand. We've got to figure something out. And so I think making room to create these intergenerational communities where younger people can see themselves - and not just as tokenized members, but as leaders. I'm the first woman of color in this role. And I'm also the youngest Chair - I'm under 40, and that makes me the youngest Chair in Washington State Party's history. And I think that I'm a marker of showing what - this next generation of leadership - that it's time. It's time for us to move into these roles and into - both in terms of the visibility, but also in just the change in perspective and the ways that we organize. And that's something that I think is - we're gonna have to show that. We do a lot of telling, but we're gonna have to really demonstrate that those changes are gonna happen. And that - particularly those younger folks that are choosing to go to other spaces, that they can see themselves in the work. Really quickly, I'll just say Maurice Mitchell, who's the head of the Working Families Party nationally, wrote a really beautiful article a couple months ago where he talked about what was needed for continuing the work in the progressive movement. And he talked about the need to be able to meet the moment, to build winning coalitions, and to bring joy into the work. And what I say to that is - I agree 100% - we are in alignment there. It's just maybe a little bit of a difference in tactics and in institutions. My sense is that the Democratic Party is what we have and what will be here, and that it needs to be built and transformed from within - to be able to meet the moment, to be able to build winning coalitions. And we've got to infuse it with more joy - to push back against the institutional burnout that is happening everywhere. And my hope is by doing that, folks will see that we, the Democratic Party, can also be a part of where they can do their organizing work. It can be a part of the coalitions that they want to be a part of, and that they'll see themselves as members of the Democratic Party, alongside maybe some of these other organizations. [00:29:49] Crystal Fincher: And following up on that - just because this has come up in so many different situations and circumstances here in Washington state, so you say - Okay, you need to be a member of the Party. Can someone align themselves with more than one party? If they say - Hey, I'm in DSA and I'm a Democrat? Do you feel that that counts as membership in the Democratic Party? Does it have to be exclusively the Democratic Party? I know some local party organizations have different approaches to this. What is the State Party approach? [00:30:21] Shasti Conrad: It is a case-by-case scenario. Again, as we talked about earlier, each of the party organizations have their own rules, their own sets of how they do things. And so I don't think that it's right for us, at the state, to go against what some of those different organizations have said. So it is case by case, but I will always just advocate that I want folks to feel proud to be a Democrat and so it is important - to be able to have access to resources and whatnot - that they are willing to say that and are willing to come and be a part of the work. And we have wonderful volunteers that are part of this Party that are doing great work. And I hope that folks who maybe have been a little bit wary of getting involved in the Party will just come and give it a try, and will see that it's a new day and folks are, I think, a bit more willing to work with people who come from different backgrounds and different perspectives. [00:31:17] Crystal Fincher: Definitely. And it is a very King County-centric issue to be having to negotiate through - Okay, we seem to be aligned on values, but this person says they're in the People's Party and we're Democrats - and working through that. But what has happened in situations where there is a clear lack of alignment, whether it be from people who are self-labeling themselves as Democrats - but who are predominantly supported by Republicans, or just officially endorsed by the Republican Party, have a history supporting and donating to Republicans. And that has been called out by your predecessor, Tina Podlodowski, in a few different situations - revoking access to the Party database, or preventing access to Party resources, and standing behind the refusal to endorse from several organizations. Do you anticipate that continuing? What's your approach to people who seem to be clearly misaligned, but who insist on calling themselves Democrats? [00:32:22] Shasti Conrad: Certainly, this is - probably at times I was somebody who was like - Hey, Tina, what do we do here? And maybe was pushing her in some ways on some of these issues. And now, as I'm in the role, I understand better what the challenges are - 'cause it's nuanced. To be able to set one policy that works for the entire state, it's difficult because the issues here in King County are - this person wants to organize with the Working Families Party, can they also be considered a Democrat? In other parts of the state, it's - No, this person is a full Republican, but we don't have any Democrats that are running. Can we endorse the Republican? And then we even had a case last year in King County where somebody was running as a Democrat who was on a - that was for a white supremacist rally. And those are our data we have to be so careful with. This is people's personal private data that we are responsible for, and so we have to be careful about how that is shared. And so that is something that I take very seriously. And I think that there's a lot more that we could be doing to ensure privacy and security for our candidates, for our elected officials, for our members, for our volunteers, and whatnot. And so these are things that I now think about when making these types of decisions - that it was easier when I wasn't in the catbird seat to be able to say - Hey, why can't we do X, Y, and Z? And it's - Now I'm on the inside, I get it. So these will be things that we'll get and review as they come up, but it is certainly a challenge and I think making sure that our folks are safe is the number one priority. [00:34:06] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. There was - speaking of folks being safe - several notable instances of predominantly Black candidates and staff members of those Black candidates being targeted for violence and hostility during campaigns. Several of those instances made news, several more didn't - but certainly a concern among people who are volunteering and who are turning out in the Party apparatus to help their local and federal candidates. What is the Party's responsibility in keeping candidates safe, especially those candidates who have shown to be targeted at a higher rate than others? And what more can the Party do to address that? [00:34:50] Shasti Conrad: Absolutely, yeah. It's candidates - it's also their staff and their volunteers. We had a number of cases this last year where a Black campaign manager was targeted. We had volunteers who were followed and whatnot. Already, I've talked with members of our Black Caucus to say - Let's be proactive. 'Cause one of the things that I've heard quite a bit was - these things would happen, and then after the fact, there'd be some kind of - Okay, now what? But then action maybe wasn't taken. And we know that the environment that we are in right now is - it's very heightened. And that's particularly, it's even though that white hot light is even harder on people of color - we just know that particularly Black people. So I definitely want to be proactive in making sure that we have thought through safety and security plans as folks are starting to get back out on the campaign trail, that we have talked through what kind of security support we can provide. I think it's something that needs to be tackled by the ecosystem, so that's something that needs to be worked through with the caucuses as well - the House and the Senate - because they also support folks that are running for those seats. And working with the specific folks to make sure that this is something that they actually want. And yeah, I take it very seriously. And I think about it too - I'm a woman of color who - I live in south Snohomish County and I've got white supremacists in my neighborhood. And I know that feeling - both in terms of there's a physical threat, but there's also the psychological, the emotional, the mental, like all of that - of just knowing that these folks that are right here, who want to destroy what we believe in and want to hurt us, right? They see us as the enemy, so I take all of that very, very seriously. And I think that's something I would love to maybe come back - and if you can help me put together a group too - to talk through what that looks like and how we can build solid safety plans for our folks. [00:36:48] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely - have been involved in those conversations - happy to be helpful in any way I can. You talked about Marie Gluesenkamp Perez earlier who, in the Third Congressional District, won what was probably the biggest upset in the country last November - in winning her race over Joe Kent for the seat previously held by Jaime Herrera Beutler. What do you take away as lessons from that race, and how will Democrats be showing up in rural areas in your tenure? [00:37:18] Shasti Conrad: I think it was clear - we can't miss these opportunities. We can't take them for granted. We have to do the direct people-to-people organizing. And I think it's particularly true in rural communities, but I find that it's true also in communities of color where - in these places where they have often felt left behind, dismissed by the Democratic Party, we have to build trust - and it takes showing up, not just showing up only in the fall of an even year, but it takes showing up throughout the year, being there. And it's being neighborly. It's like - How are you? What do you need? What's going on in your life? It's asking and actually getting to know folks. Something a lot of people don't know about me, but I actually grew up on a farm. I grew up in a small town in Oregon. I grew up on a farm - we had ducks and chickens and sheep. My task as a small kid was to go get the eggs from the chicken coop every day, and I talked about this a lot as I was campaigning and whatnot. My grandmother really taught me how we would trade the chicken eggs with the neighbor down the street who had a beehive and we would get honey from them. And then you'd have the neighborly conversation of - Hey, how are you? How are the kids? You'd get to know - okay, if you wanted to meet up with so and so, the best time to see them was at church. Or everybody would go to the local Shari's and go after church. Or if you wanted to talk to Bob, you'd see him at the local pub on Wednesday nights - and that's where you would find these folks. And so getting to actually know them, talk to them - that it takes this people-to-people, conversation-by-conversation relationship building to be able to demonstrate that you are a real person who cares and wants to make their lives better. And because they know you, and you're saying - I believe that Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is gonna make the difference - then they'll trust you. And that just takes time. You have to operate at the speed of trust. And that's particularly true, I think, in rural communities - but I am finding that to be the case in the Latino community, in the tribal communities, Black community, Asian API community - this is true just with organizing and with people, but particularly with folks who have felt like they've been sold a bill of goods before by many politicians. So yeah, so I think this type of organizing is what matters. I just heard about - last week, there was a house party for Marie and 140 people showed up - and that's exciting. And in February of an even year - folks are excited - they want to help. They wanna make sure that we return Marie in two years and that she has the support. Marie held the first town hall that that district had had in years because Jaime Herrera Beutler wasn't doing town halls. And she's talking to people who didn't vote for her. And she's talking to people who didn't think that she would represent them. And she's demonstrating - no, I represent this whole district and I'm gonna show up - even if you're gonna tell me you don't like me, I'm here. And that is what we have to do. And it's gonna take several years probably for some of these districts to change, particularly in Central and Eastern Washington. But if we make the investment, we do the organizing work - we have to be ready for when an opportunity presents itself for us to get that and flip those seats. [00:40:38] Crystal Fincher: So I know we're right at the beginning of your tenure - you're just starting out, learning everything, getting your feet underneath you. But what might that look like operationally and in practice? Is that more satellite offices across the state and in rural areas? Is that hiring a different kind of organizer underneath a different kind of model? What can that look like? [00:40:59] Shasti Conrad: Everything costs money, and so I have to go raise the money to go make this happen. But my dream is to develop a organizing pipeline that is particular to rural communities, and maybe even developing an organizing fellowship at some of the rural colleges, community colleges throughout the state - where we can actually develop folks who come from the communities to get the right training, but then get hired into the organizing jobs - onto the Coordinated Campaign where we can actually keep them and support them so that they're not only there for a few months at a time, but actually are building these relationships over several years. And then when we have a Coordinated Campaign and that's over, that we have a place to be able to move those organizers - to go work with the unions and do union organizing when it's not high campaign season and then move them over to us, getting them into internship programs with different agencies and things like that. I benefited from the fact that I was a college student who graduated into Barack Obama running for president back in 2008. And had I not had those opportunities early in my life, early in my career - I would not be here today, I would have picked another job, I wouldn't have stayed in politics. But there were opportunities that presented themselves - and the mentors and people supporting me - and then one job turned into another and suddenly it's been 15+ years and here I am. And I just think that there's so many Shastis out there. There's so many folks, but they just haven't had the opportunity and the support. And like the rest of the country and so many other industries, young people are like - How am I gonna take care of myself? How am I gonna pay the bills? And if politics and working for a local government and whatnot doesn't pay the bills and those opportunities aren't there - they're gonna leave their home communities, and they're gonna take jobs with Amazon, or they're gonna take jobs that are steady paychecks, and we're gonna lose them for a generation. They're gonna - it's hard to get off those trains when you're on them. And so we've got to build those opportunities, and we've got to - one of the things that I'm really excited about potentially doing is I really wanna work with the youth councils on the reservations to really talk about job opportunities in the political sector - and running for office themselves - but also being a campaign manager, being an organizer, finding those opportunities. So that they can see that there's this whole other world of opportunities and jobs that could help them to stay in their own communities, but also take them around the world to work on other campaigns all over the place if they would like to. [00:43:42] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. And thank you for spending all of this time with us, being generous with your time. As we begin to wrap up, I want to draw inward a little bit. We've talked about what the Party will be doing within the community and your approach to that. But I also wanna talk about staff, really - of the State Party, of campaigns, of Democratic electeds serving in office - and this conversation that we've been having, that's been evolving, about unionization, working conditions, supporting workers in that. We have lots of labor partners, as a Party entity, and alignments there. But there has been, frankly, a mixed reception from a lot of people when it comes to the unionization of campaign workers, for campaigns across the board - this is something that has certainly made it to legislative and congressional campaigns. There may be conversations about that in some local campaigns - we have seen a few instances of that. But also within the Party, legislative staffers just had a battle to get some of that kicked off. Do you think that campaign workers should be able to be represented by a union? And what guidance and examples are you providing for local electeds and other progressive organizations? [00:45:02] Shasti Conrad: 100%. I actually believe that the State Party - under Tina's leadership, to give credit where credit's due - was the first State Party to unionize. And that's not without its challenges, right? People have been figuring it out as they go - we've been building the plane as we flew it, and so I think that's been - some of the trying to find the right home for Campaign Workers Union, trying to work through the particular seasonal working issues that come with being on campaigns and whatnot. But I think it's incredibly important. I remember what it was like as a young person where I was in unpaid internships - I was certainly working way more than 40 hours a week at times on campaigns and didn't have much recourse of things were happening, where to go to. And so I think it's a vast improvement of where we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago - certainly the last couple of years. So yeah, I think we will certainly encourage the candidates that come through that they should unionize their staff, depending on the size, on all of that - but I think it's really important. I did the Pathway to Power program last year that's put on by the Washington State Labor Council and learned a lot about labor issues, but learned a lot also about - in the role of candidate or chair or whatnot, how to leave room for your staff and workers to be able to unionize and the ways to show support. But also that means sometimes taking a step back and allowing them to take the lead and not having - you now have to see yourself as a manager, and not putting yourself on both sides of the table and things like that. So there's things that we're still working through to have all of this stuff figure itself out, but I think it's incredibly important. I was excited to see that I believe the - nationally, I believe that the Democratic Congressional staffers unionized and I think here in Washington State, we're gonna continue to see those unionizing efforts happen in all parts of our ecosystem, and I think it's a really exciting thing. As I've been talking to labor union leaders - particularly the last few weeks, like I've just said - some of the best progressive wins of the last several years have been labor wins. And so we have to be good partners, and that includes unionizing efforts of our own staff, our own teams. [00:47:16] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, completely agree. And thank you for spending this time with us today. We'll be following along as things progress and look forward to speaking with you again. Thanks so much, Shasti. [00:47:26] Shasti Conrad: Thank you so much - always a joy to see you and spend time with you. Thanks so much. [00:47:29] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is co produced by Shannon Cheng and Bryce Cannatelli. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Join us in this conversation with Jody Prior as we discuss helping women feel like they aren't being held back, the worth that we have as women, the growth that we get when we take on something challenging and so much more.  Jody is a Captain at Empire Airlines as a cargo pilot. At 16, she told her parents she wanted to be a pilot, she has now been flying for 25 years. She shares that one of her most favorite and memorable flights was up to Alaska. Whenever she gets a chance she loves speaking to kids at schools or elsewhere about aviation because she is really passionate about making aviation not be a private club that no one knows about. She is a great advocate for encouraging girls to dream big. She currently lives in Spokane, WA with her husband of 22 years and 3 daughters. If you would like to connect with Jody you can find her by her name on Facebook.  Do you find yourself unsure or stuck? Connect with Debbie at www.leadyourlituplife.com and schedule a 30 minute clarity call. She can help you become crystal clear about what you do want in your life and help provide tools so you can show up as your best self.  Debbie helps entrepreneurs make a lot of money, doing what they love without sacrificing what's important to them, so they can live the life they desire. She is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs lead their businesses instead of the business running their lives, so they can have their hopes, wishes and dreams come true. She also is an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University.   

Sports Dump Ep. 54: And On Sunday, the Sports Guys Rested The Sports Guys gather ‘round to discuss the state basketball tournaments in Yakima and Spokane and whether or not the brackets were GOOD or BAD. Sponsored by Elam's Home Furnishings, Goebel Septic, and Americool Heating and Cooling.

Welcome to the weekly podcast of Sozo Church in Spokane, Washington with sermons by Mark Blair and the pastoral staff. To learn more, visit www.sozospokane.org

On this episode of Spokast! Brennon sits down with Darrien Mack (rosethrow), a rapper, photographer, graphic designer, and DJ, among many other passions. We talk about his life in Spokane, how he got into making music & why he chooses to make the Lilac City his home. Be ready to be inspired. Rosethrow on IG - @rosethrow Find Darrien's Music here - rosethrow.com Produced locally in Spokane, Washington. www.spokast.com

Kacy Tellesen was born in Spokane and raised in Spangle, Washington, a small farming community that clings to the edge of the Palouse. Kacy joined the Marine Corps infantry directly out of high school and deployed twice to Iraq as an Infantry machine gunner with Second Battalion, Third Marines from 2005-2009. He lives in Spangle, Washington with his wife and two children and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at Gonzaga University School of Law.Kacy's debut memoir, Freaks of a Feather, has been reviewed and excerpted by Task & Purpose, The War Horse, The Big Smoke, KHQ, and others. Previously, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Zero-Dark-Thirty literary journal, as well as the SOFLETE website.

By Paul Moody in Clearwater Valley, ID, Kennewick, WA, Kettle Falls, WA, Spokane, WA - February 25, 2023 - Jesus Christ stated, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." A truly abundant life goes far beyond merely accumulating nice material things. While physical things can certainly add a measure of comfort and security to our lives, God's way brings true joy and abundance. This calling is such an incredible blessing - it leads to a truly abundant life both now and in the Kingdom of God.

For this edition of Shop Talk, Kristin Sinnott is back with the owners of the Spokane Alpine Haus, Drew and Rachel Harding, to discuss skiing with kids. We cover how we were introduced to the sport as kids, what it looked like to bring our own kids into the sport, and how it's going. We also talk about how shops can help facilitate children and families getting into the sport, what it looks like to grow the next generation of skiers and snowboarders, what to look for in kids' gear, the gear that's helped us get our families out on the hill, and more. TOPICS & TIMES:Drew and Rachels' Background in Skiing as Kids (2:07)Kristin's Background (5:02)Affordability (5:56)Child Care and Traveling with Kids for Skiing (8:05)Drew and Rachel's Kids Intro to Skiing and Parent Mentorship (10:42)Seasonal Leases (19:31)Parental Advice for Soft Goods and Apparel (23:14)iGrow stitches and Boot Cuff Considerations? (27:48)Boot Considerations and Growth (34:27)Hard Goods and Ski Poles (36:47)Leashes and Harness (41:38)Sense of Freedom for Kids (46:33)How Can Ski Shops Play a Roll In Kids Skiing (49:59)Helmets and Goggles (52:21)Kids Join the Conversation (56:01)RELATED LINKS:Blister Recommended Ski Shop: Spokane Alpine HausBlister Recommend ShopsSpokane Alpine HausShop Talk: Spokane Alpine Haus (Ep.160)Shop Talk: Recap of the Season; Skiing with Kids; & Heated Socks (Ep.194)Blister + Spot MembershipGet Your Blister x John Fellows Artist Series ShirtCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:CRAFTEDBlister PodcastBikes & Big IdeasOff the CouchHappy Hour (for Blister Members) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Jonny as he interviews Lili Thomas and Alaina Anderson from the touring company of Dear Evan Hansen the Tony and Grammy winning musical!  If you are in Spokane on the week of March 14 thru the 19th be sure to head out to the First Interstate Center for the Arts and catch the show, order tickets online at broadwayspokane.com

For those who have wondered, this post will explain what I work on and how I function as a “million-dollar writer.” It is my hope this will stimulate you into taking the required steps to earn significantly more income than you do now. After I spell out how I manage to create a million dollars in revenue, I'll give you a simple 3-step roadmap to increase your own income. (By the way, even though I am describing the life of a writer, virtually all of what I'm about to share will work for any freelancer or business owner.) Links My Copywriting As A Million Dollar Business April Workshop - Want to work on building your business together, live and in person? There are a few seats remaining for my upcoming workshop this April. These seats will sell out - Click Here For Details and Availability.  Read This or Die - Click to preorder my soon-to-be-released book, Read This or Die.   Notes From This Episode This subject seems slightly impolite to write about. Like many, I was taught from my earliest years that it is impolite to talk about politics, religion, or money. I routinely violate all three of these directives, however, so this is not new territory for me. Let's begin… I am not writing to boost my own ego. I am writing to answer a very frequently-asked question: “How does a writer make a million dollars?” This is a great question, because the industry income average for freelance writers is just under $5,000 per year. When someone asks me how, as a writer, I make a million dollars, they may not actually express it, but what they really want to know is: “How does a guy who writes ad copy, who has never published a book I've even heard of… how does that guy make a million dollars?” And of course, ultimately, the real question burning in their heart is: “Could I do that? Or even half that?” That's what people really want to know and that's what I want to share with you. Before I get to the tactical stuff like: • How do you get paid?• What are your rates? • How do you get clients? It's imperative that I share 3 Prosperity Principles for Writers. PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #1: YOU MUST DISCOVER YOURSELF Many writers and other creatives have a not-so-secret fantasy. They labor intensely for years on a masterpiece, hoping that an influential publisher or literary agent will “discover” them, and they'll be catapulted to fame and fortune. That's a nice fantasy, but with one problem: it doesn't happen that way. It never does, or at least almost never. Okay, rarely it happens. But you're more likely to be struck by lightning on the same day you win the Powerball, than you are to be “discovered” in this way. You must discover yourself! You must identify what makes you different, what “special sauce” you add to this common craft (writing) that makes you a distinctly differently voice on a common subject. In what way are you a player with a unique, unduplicable advantage? We spend 3 full days answering this question definitively in our Dreamstorm Workshops, using our Core Thesis Process; obviously, if you don't already know the answer to this question, you'll need to spend some time on it, PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #2: YOU MUST PROMOTE YOURSELF To succeed, dear Reader, you must realize you are not actually in the “writing business.” You are in the business of You, Incorporated. It is your unique personality, and the fascinating persona you share with the world, that shapes how that world sees you. Done right, this can make you an irresistible character to whom people are attracted as their chosen and trusted authority. Done wrong, this can break the ties between you and your readers. Specifically, instead of promoting and advertising your highly-developed craftsmanship as a writer, you must be in the business of promoting you. You cannot rely on word-of-mouth, or critical acclaim, or impersonal ad campaigns. You must conscientiously promote yourself, and intentionally craft the way customers perceive you. If you have interest in knowing HOW it is I do all this, and want to see the detailed steps I take, let me know your interest in the comment section. Enough interest expressed will generate a new post on this “Implementation” phase. But for now, on to… PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #3: YOU MUST GET OVER YOURSELF You might be disappointed to learn that your dream of being a purely creative being whose hands are never “sullied” by crass commercialism or “manipulative” marketing are mere fantasy. This may be hard to swallow, but you need to get over yourself in this regard. So, let me get the disappointing stuff out of the way right upfront: 1. This approach may require a readjustment of what you think of as “craft.” The kind of writing I do is very specific: direct response copy. This is copy meant to result in a sale. It's copy that moves the reader to buy. Personally, I find the craft of writing sales copy to be endlessly fascinating and fun. While you may not choose to write sales copy (arguably the most lucrative kind of writing available to the average writer), you may also have to spend a little less time writing poems about the secret lives of elves. 2. My approach is not an “instant income” strategy. This whole system of “writing as a business” has taken me a few years to figure out and build up. I am able to pass on some hard-won lessons (like those in this post), which I believe may considerably shorten your learning curve. You can go faster than I did. But it's still not instant. And I'm constantly learning new things. You and I are very much works in progress. 3. There is more than one way to achieve a million-dollar income as a writer. For instance, there is a writer (whose name you would not recognize) who writes 3-4 books a year and gets paid $300,000 – $400,000 for each book. He's a ghostwriter. You'd be shocked to learn how many New York Times best-selling books with famous names on the covers were actually written by this one ghostwriter. Another writer I know raked in a million dollars last year writing content, white papers, and annual reports for big corporations. As I said, my way is not the only way. But it is worth noting that though the kinds of writing differ, the basic ideas I share here apply to every wealthy writer I know. 4. In my experience, a million-dollar writing business means you're selling more than “just” writing. You will probably find it necessary to offer products and services that are not strictly writing (but which you would not be able to sell without your foundational work as a writer). It's the rare writer who can merely write and cash checks (our ghostwriter friend notwithstanding). I'll dive more deeply into this in the next section. 5. This whole endeavor requires me to use a four-letter word that will shock and offend some people. But I feel the use of this word is required to communicate the force of my argument. The four-letter word is: w-o-r-k. Work! Ya gotta put in the effort! This is a glimpse “behind the curtain,” and you may or may not like what you see. Then again you may find it encouraging to know there is a proven path to prosperity as a writer, and you don't need a fat contract from a big publisher to pull this off. You can simply decide, and then go do it. “The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation; it is only available by labor … the greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. That is when we must learn to reap without complaint if the amounts are small and to reap without apology if the amounts are big … you must either get good at sowing in the spring or begging in the fall. The soil says: don't bring me your need, bring me your seed.” — Jim Rohn HOW I GET PAID The first thing to know is I “fudged” a little on my income – it wasn't really $1 million last year. The actual number is closer to $1.2 million. The second thing to know is I didn't get to keep most of it. Where did it go? A lot of places: • The IRS and the State of Washington got their portions, of course. • Then there are payroll taxes, Social Security, etc. • Employee salaries. • Affiliate commissions. • Vendors and independent contractors. • Other business expenses. • There are the medical expenses related to my little neurological disorder. • Plus we finished paying off all consumer debt, which at its height topped $400,000.(I'm actually embarrassed by this. I learned a lot through the mistakes which landed me in so much debt – perhaps I'll share more about that journey in a future post.) So, you can forget asking me for a loan. I didn't sock a million into the bank. But I'm not complaining – the Edwards household did, and still does, quite well. With all that out of the way… here's where the money actually comes from. How I get paid. Product Sales Product sales are far-and-away our biggest source of revenue. These include high-ticket items ($1,000 and up) sold mostly via PLF-style launches, advertising, purchased solo email campaigns, and organic website traffic. “Day with Ray” Consulting This is where I meet with a single client (or their team). I require this meeting before Private Client Copy Engagement. The “Day With Ray” costs $15,000 if you come to me in Spokane, WA, or $20,000 plus private air charter if I come to you. What do we do in such a meeting? It depends on the client (everyone is different, so there is no template for this). I grill the client for the first hour or so, and generally this will lead to a discovery of the 1-3 most powerful “levers” we can pull in their business to increase revenue and profits, while providing the business owner with less stress and more peace of mind. Private Client Copy Engagement After a long period of protesting that I was no longer writing for clients, I am finally giving in to market demand. I am accepting a very few assignments wherein I personally run the copy project and write the copy. This is prohibitively expensive for the client, and if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Also, I require that all Private Clients pass a rigorous application process, and agree to my admittedly unreasonable demands (100% compliance with my advice, 100% commitment to running my copy as written, 100% commitment to testing and tracking, payment of a percentage of gross sales to be made quarterly, and acceptance of my total lack of availability for “chummy chats,” psychological counseling, and babysitting sessions). I charge a minimum of $150,000 payable up front. Maximum four clients per year, booked well in advance. Royalties These are payments on gross sales of Private Client projects. They also include royalties on co-created projects and revenue share deals. This is becoming a more significant percentage of my company revenue. Please do not contact us looking for me to do your marketing for free and offering me a percentage. I only do these deals when I know the person well, know the company and market well, and when it is my idea. Group Coaching Group coaching has been lacking in my portfolio of services until recently. Experiments thus far show it to be fun and profitable, as well as extraordinarily valuable to participants. These are online groups of up to 20 people at a time, who receive coaching and feedback from me once per week for a finite period (usually 6-12 weeks). Workshops I host a few small group workshops that focus on a single theme or outcome each year. Participants pay a premium fee ($5,000 – $10,000) and must qualify through application. These consist typically of three intense and productive days that can significantly alter the course of the client's business and life for the better. Private Masterminds Small group Mastermind Alliances involve a strict application process, membership requirements, and required compliance to meeting attendance and participation. Affiliate Commissions We generate commissions through the recommendation of products and services we ourselves use. This accounts for about 7% of our company revenue each year, but nearly 18% of our annual profit. Why is it so profitable? All we do is promote the product. We don't actually do any work, creation, or customer support. REIC Membership This is our newest offering. Members receive a printed newsletter each month with my best (and freshest) thinking, a monthly video training, a live Q&A once per month, and more. We are launching this in September 2017. Those methods fairly well sum up how I earn my income. HOW I GET CLIENTS My marketing system is not immediately obvious to most. It is complex, carefully thought out, and rigorously tested. I am constantly experimenting. Every “thing” we do is designed to point to all the other “things” we do. Client Attraction vs. Client Pursuit Client attraction is foundational. Long ago I decided I did not wish to “chase” business, but prefer instead to let business chase me. So, I have carefully designed a ubiquitous system for attracting a steady flow of possible clients and customers from many different streams. This adds up to a large flow of potential business at various levels of engagement and investment, all swimming (upstream if necessary) to me. Some of the “pools” from which I attract business include: • Podcasting. This is one of the most intimate mediums available. Podcast listeners have me literally “in their head” for an hour per week (or more, if they binge-listen… and many do just that from our library of nearly 300 episodes). This is a curiously powerful medium. Numerous customers have listened to 1-3 episodes and proceeded directly to a $5,000 – $10,000 purchase. • YouTube channel. This is a new, experimental marketing tool for me. I have been enjoying playing around with the possibilities, and have now settled on a strategy going forward. Look for a slight shift in focus on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks. The goal, as with all third-party media, is to move people off third-party properties like YouTube (and Facebook, and Twitter, etc.) and onto my email list. • Social media. While many claim direct money making power through social media, my approach is to use it to attract and build a bond and relationship with my tribe, and then move them from social media to the media I own, i.e., my email list. • Printed newsletter. Already mentioned once, this is not only a product but also a marketing tool. Since the largest primary segment of my audience is made up of writers (meaning, presumably, they're also readers), having a print newsletter is vitally important. Print media carries more impact than electronic media. This is not something I'm guessing at. According to this Millward Brown study, brain scans demonstrated the same message presented to the human subject printed on paper lights up more areas of the brain than the electronic equivalent. More areas of the brain lighting up equals more engagement. • Speaking. This is a way that I accomplish a number of objectives: for instance, I like to travel. I want to travel to exotic places. So, I have a speaking engagement next month in Hong Kong, primarily because I've never been there. This will also afford me the opportunity, as do all speaking engagements, to establish personal contact with a new group of people, perhaps add them to my mailing list, and maybe generate a few clients along the way. Speaking automatically grants you a certain amount of gravitas and authority. As far as generating clients, this is an indirect benefit of speaking. I do not hock or pitch my services from the stage. I do, however, strategically communicate that I am available to be hired by the right people, and that I have products available for people who are not ready to hire me. Perhaps I'll write more about this at a later time. • Books. Both physical and Kindle versions of my books are available. I currently have three books that are relevant to my business as a copywriter and marketer, and by the end of next year I plan to have no less than 10. The current books are How to Write Copy That Sells, Moneywords, and Just Get Started. These books generate a certain kind of prospect or client. They are engineered to do so, and also provide valuable content. And, as with speaking, having a book in hand conveys on the author a certain amount of authority and credibility which cannot be gained in any other way. • Guest posts/appearances. From time to time I guest-post on the blogs of other people. I also appear on other people's podcasts as a guest interview. Once upon a time, I did this indiscriminately and would post or appear anywhere asked. The demands on my time have become so overwhelming I now have to choose more carefully. Each decision whether to appear on a podcast or write a guest post is a tactical decision designed to support my overall business strategy. For more on my thinking about this, see this book with my friend Tom Schwab, Podcast Guest Profits. That, in a nutshell, is how I get new clients. I admit it is condensed and leaves out a lot of details. The subject deserves a book of its own. The above will get you started and will have to do until I write that book. HOW I RUN MY WRITING BUSINESS This is not an exhaustive description of methodologies and practices for running a business, but a brief overview of some key principles that I believe help keep my business lean and growing. Minimal staff. Once upon a time, I wanted no staff at all. This came after having been responsible for hundreds of people in my corporate position in radio broadcasting. But I finally realized I was limiting my growth by not hiring employees for my personal writing business. So now we have a few full-time employees and a number of independent contractors. We try to keep the staff as minimal as possible, but no smaller than needed. I have seen more than one friend destroy their own business by over-hiring. I'm determined not to make this mistake. Remote workers. Rather than limit my pool of prospective employees to people who live in my hometown, we simply look for the best people for the job. This means we have hired staff from all over the place. In the US, we have workers on our team in Tennessee, Colorado, California, and elsewhere. For more on how to orchestrate a remote workforce (because there are some unique challenges), I highly recommend the book Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried. Employees vs. Contractors. I am not offering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. You should seek the services of a qualified professional to answer those questions. I can tell you that in my experience there is a difference between an employee and contractor in terms of mental attitude and dedication to the job. This is not to say that contractors don't have a place. In my work as a freelance copywriter, I am, after all, an independent contractor. However, the person who is a full-time employee in your company can devote 100% of their working efforts to you. You must see that makes a difference. I'm not saying one is better than the other; I'm saying there's a place for both. Client Selection. Anytime I'm going to be personally interacting with clients, such as on a copywriting or marketing project, I use a selection process. The prospective client will have to convince me that I want them as a client. This may sound arrogant, but it is not meant to be so. It actually serves all parties concerned. If I do not have good chemistry with the client, if our working styles do not match, or if we have mismatched expectations, that is a recipe for discord and upset. Contentious, negative, or sketchy people do not make the list. And if they do somehow sneak in, once we discover these fatal flaws, they are invited to go elsewhere. Immediately. PRIORITIZING PRODUCTIVITY I place priority on stewarding my most valuable non-renewable resource – time – as if it is treasure. Because it is treasure. Thus productivity gets priority. My Morning Success Ritual. This is vital to my most productive days. While I don't manage to get this all in every day, I'm getting better at it. My goal between is to achieve 95%+ compliance with this ritual every day. The days when I follow this MSR, starting the minute my feet hit the floor out of bed, are invariably my best days (most productive, most joyous, most satisfying). Probably because the most important things were done first – like prayer, reading, meditating, journaling, exercise, etc. And they are done when I'm still in the “NDZ”: No Distraction Zone (meaning no email, no voicemail, no phone calls, etc.) Writing. The first thing I must do each day after my MSR is complete (and after I have showered, driven to the office, etc.) is WRITING. I am primarily a writer. You can always tell who the writers are – they're the ones who are writing. This is my #1 Revenue Producing Activity (RPA). At this point my phone is off, I have still not checked email, not checked voicemail, etc. Still in the NDZ. I write for a large block of time at the beginning of the day — often 4 hours. NOTHING gets to interrupt the writing — including (especially) the clients for whom I may be writing. Fortress of Solitude. This is the most important and perhaps the most controversial piece of advice I can give you. You must construct for yourself a “fortress of solitude”. While I do not pretend to be Superman, I do take inspiration from the Man of Steel's secret hideaway. The Fortress of Solitude is the place Superman goes to be in absolute solitude. A place of silent contemplation. This is the place he goes to think, to learn, to plan, to rejuvenate. Some of the ways in which I've done this are: I never answer incoming business calls. They're always screened, dealt with, and if I really need to speak with the person a call is set for Call Day. I have only one day per month that I make phone appointments (Call Day). I make all phone appointments on that day. If that date cannot work for a person seeking a phone conversation with me, my assistant will schedule them for the next month. I schedule all my interviews on one day per month, grouped together so that I can take care of this task all in a single day. My daily schedule is relatively free from appointments. This creates large blocks of time for me to do what I do best, and what is most important for generating revenue in my business: writing, creating content, and recording (either audio or video). For more details on why I resort to these extreme measures, please see No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, by Dan Kennedy. Rest. In order to deliver the very best work to my clients and partners, and to still leave room in my schedule for rejuvenation (sleep, family time, time with God, and time to just plain relax)… I have to guard my time vigorously. And I have to be on guard against what Dan Kennedy calls “Time Vampires”. They will suck the life out of you. I Don't Check Email, and I Only Get One Email Each Day. My auto-check feature in Apple Mail is turned OFF. I only get email when I press the “Check Mail” button. I check it once per day, Monday thru Thursday. Usually around 4 pm Pacific. All my email is screened by my assistant, who compiles the relatively few messages I must read or respond to. She sends those to me in a single email at the end of each day. This is one of my policies that tends to be unpopular with those who are “urgency addicts”, and who want me to have a constant email discussion about all manner of things with them. I refuse to sacrifice my highest valued commodity (time) for the sake of what usually amounts to trivia. I suggest you adopt the same policy. I Avoid Meetings Like the Plague They Are. Any meeting that lasts longer than 15 minutes is probably too long. Not always, but most of the time. Any project that requires multiple meetings each week is probably in trouble. Long meetings = inefficiency at best, and postponement of the inevitable at worst. (As a sidebar: frequent short meetings are just a disguised way of having long meetings. HEAR ME: if you have “meeting-itis”, either you just want an excuse to talk about work instead of doing it, or something is wrong with the project … something another meeting won't solve). Phone Meetings / Conversations. Same as in person meetings, only worse. Conversations and phone meetings should be 15 minutes or less and have a predetermined purpose and ending time. These all take place on aforementioned Call Day. Instant Messenger. Any Flavor. (I'm looking at you, Slack). Just say no. The only time I use it is when I have SCHEDULED events on Skype or Zoom (usually interviews). I am NEVER “just available” to be interrupted. (If I was, that would mean that I was either doing something unimportant or that I was doing NOTHING. If I'm doing something unimportant… WHY? And if I'm doing NOTHING, it's a PLANNED nothing and it's important that this not be interrupted!). I HATE TEXT MESSAGES. The end. Office Hours. Yes, I have an office outside my home. I lease currently. I'm considering buying an office building. I keep regular business hours most of the time: Mon – Thurs, 8 am – 5 pm Pacific. By the way, my office phone is answered by a LIVE HUMAN (not some stupid voicemail torture device) Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm Pacific time. Why do I have the phone covered even when I am out of the office? Because other members of my team keep different hours… and because emergencies DO happen, and I like to be available if a TRUE emergency arises. My phone team knows how to reach me in those cases. WHY THE EMPHASIS ON NOT BEING INTERRUPTED? Interruptions cost you dearly. As a writer, I know that allowing myself to be interrupted by a client or vendor (“Hey Ray – got a minute to talk about the new logo?”) can seem harmless… but it isn't. That interruption costs me (a) the state of “flow” I was in while working, maybe impossible to recover, (b) the time of the interruption itself, and (c) the time it takes me to get back into the “zone” with what I was working on… minimum 20 minutes, maybe longer. I can't afford to let that happen. My clients and customers can't afford for me to let that happen. I once had a client who loved to call me at 11 pm at night and talk for two hours. I tried to tell him I worked set hours and was available at those times, but he didn't seem to understand. When our first project was finished, I fired him. His dysfunction did not automatically become my problem. Be warned – people will WASTE your time if you let them. Will you let them? Be polite, be loving… but don't be a victim. In the end, if you guard your time, you are being most respectful of other people. Think about it: if you allow yourself to be interrupted, or your time wasted when you should have been doing something else… who suffers? Your clients. Your customers. Your family (“Sorry honey, I have to stay late because I wasted 2 hours today listening to the web team make excuses…”). You're not serving anyone by being a poor steward of your time. WHAT TO DO NEXT Here's the 3-step plan I promised you to help increase your own income. It's quite simple: 1. Choose just one of the practices I listed above – the one that excites you the most. 2. Put that practice to work in your own business, and use it until it begins to produce results. 3. Now pick a new practice, add it to your daily/weekly/monthly routine, and repeat the process. (Don't stop doing the new “thing” you started in Step 1. Keep doing all the activities, and as you add them one by one, you will likely see a corresponding surge in income. I am not promising you any income results, just sharing what has worked for me. Your mileage may vary.) If this post has struck a chord with you, please let me know in the comments, and ask any specific questions you have. I'll endeavor to answer as transparently as possible. Finally, if you did find this post useful, I pray that you put it into action. So, here's my question for you: What ideas from this post will you implement and what results do you hope to see?   How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. Questions or comments? Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.   Get the Transcript and Video https://rayedwards.com/612

Today, I interview Jami Carlacio whose mother died when Jami was an infant. An older sibling cared for her for a few months, and then her grandmother took over for a while. When Jami was five, the family was gathered in Spokane and her grandmother suddenly died while they were there. An already precarious little life had just gotten infinitely more difficult. Jami was left behind to stay with family in Spokane until she was 21. During this time, Jami felt lost and alone. She began using drugs and alcohol at age 12 to ease the pain of feeling unlovable and unwanted. Jami struggled with alcohol addiction for the next 25 years, living in misery and experiencing suicidal thoughts. She had hit a spiritual rock bottom. Then, she looked back on her grandmother. Her grandmother had cared for her when no one else would. She had planted the seed of love during those first crucial years of Jami's life. Jami began to understand that she was lovable and that she had been very loved by someone. She saw that perhaps she was, in fact, still worthy of love. She realized that alcohol couldn't fill the void in her life. It couldn't heal her heart. Only love could do that. Her grandmother's sweet words came back to her, and this was the voice that empowered her to move forward and find value in herself. Jami then felt led to become a priest, but couldn't do this as a woman. So she went to New Haven and studied theology, earning an MDiv. God was leading her toward her purpose, and her purpose was to facilitate powerful, meaningful change and healing. She became a successful writer, coach, and activist.After experiencing so much loss, neglect, and trauma, Jami has come out so much stronger on the other side. She made it, and today she takes others by the hand to show them love and belonging. She has made it her life's work to help others find validation, encouragement, wholeness, and self-esteem by harnessing the power of their own voices. __________________ Jami Carlacio is a master-certified trauma-informed life coach, a writer, and a writing consultant. She has also consulted on gender equity in the workplace as well as on white privilege and anti-bias. Jami holds a PhD in rhetoric and composition and has taught writing and literature at various colleges and universities, including Cornell and Yale. She is the author of numerous scholarly works that feature the rhetorical genius of religious Black women in the public sphere. She is the editor of a collection of essays designed to help educators teach the work of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Her most recent book is an edited collection entitled Activism in the Name of God: Religion and Black Feminist Public Intellectuals from the Nineteenth Century to the Present, due out in August of 2023 from the University Press of Mississippi. After about 25 years in academia, Jami left to pursue her spiritual calling. Since June of this year, she has focused her attention on coaching women who struggle with trauma-informed self-sabotaging behavior, who are re-evaluating their career choices, and who want to develop the self-confidence to choose healthy, affirming personal and professional relationships. Find Jami here:https://jamicarlacio.academia.edu/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088134970508 https://www.empoweredlifecoaching.me Access Jami's book, From Trauma to Triumph: The Spiritual Path to Joy: https://empoweredlifecoaching.me/empowered-products-for-you/ebooks ________________I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.