Civic Cocktail

Civic Cocktail turned up the energy with two high-powered guests bringing their passion for innovation and the region to the program. First, former Gov. Chris Gregoire shared her latest venture leading Challenge Seattle, a coalition of local CEO's who have joined forces to tackle some of the region's biggest issues. How can technology help with education, transportation and more? Can big business make a difference outside the boardroom? Then, Zillow's CEO Spencer Rascoff offered real-estate tips and shared his strategy for leading the world's largest residential real estate media company. Join host Joni Balter for this episode of Civic Cocktail.

Addressing the challenges of prosperity and revolutionizing the way we treat cancer were on the agenda at April's Civic Cocktail. Fred Hutch's head of immunology Dr. Phil Greenberg  discusses landmark discoveries in fighting cancer and the future of research. Then, Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant and Liz Vivian, of the Women's Funding Alliance, address Seattle's growing class divide, closing the gender and racial wage gap, the impacts of income inequality and more.

Mayor Ed Murray sits down for a one-on-one with host Joni Balter to discuss equity and growth, policing, education and the city's homelessness state of emergency. What's the most important thing Murray will do as mayor? Are city policies pricing people out of Seattle? Will the feds provide more funding to address homeless and housing crises in Seattle and other cities? Then, Murray joins a panel discussion on homelessness, its causes and solutions with Daniel Malone, executive director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center; Seattle City Councilmember Mike O'Brien and Cindy Pierce of the Neighborhood Safety Alliance.

From leading to reading, four of the women of the Seattle City Council and librarian extraordinaire Nancy Pearl weigh in at Civic Cocktail with host Joni Balter. What are the impacts of a female majority council? How do men and women differ when it comes to lawmaking? Then Book Lust host Nancy Pearl reveals the most common question asked of librarians, how she finds the time to consume so many books, the physical "risks" of reading (double tennis elbow!), and a little bit about the novel she's writing!