A few months ago, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was demoted following numerous HR complaints – and legal filings – during his time at the helm of the SPD. Those complaints include claims of discriminatory behavior by Diaz toward women and people of color. There were also rumors of a relationship with an employee.

Diaz has denied those allegations, but in May, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that Diaz would no longer lead the department and appointed former-King County Sheriff Sue Rahr to replace him as interim police chief. 

But in a recent unsigned letter sent to the Seattle City Council, a whistleblower has alleged that the department’s issues could continue even after Diaz -- because the agency tasked with holding SPD accountable hasn’t been doing its job. 

KUOW’s Ashley Hiruko has been reporting on all of these developments and joined Soundside to discuss a letter confirmed to be written by a whistleblower within the Office of Police Accountability. 

Guests: 

• Ashley Hiruko, KUOW investigative reporter

Recommended Links:

• KUOW - Seattle Police watchdog heads ignored complaints against former Chief Adrian Diaz: letter to council
• KUOW - Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is being dismissed
• KUOW - Interim SPD Chief talks SPD culture, school safety, and whether to bring officers back to campuses

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Where do you put juvenile offenders when correctional facilities won’t take them?

That’s the question many county judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials are facing after Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families closed both of the state’s youth correctional facilities to new inmates until further notice.

To explain what’s happening and what it means for youth who are convicted of serious crimes, Soundside was joined by KUOW investigative reporter Ann Dornfeld.

Guests:

• Ann Dornfeld, KUOW investigative reporter

Related Links:

• KUOW - Conflict and confusion after state suspends intake for convicted juveniles
• WA suspends taking in sentenced youth at two detention centers | The Seattle Times

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Last night - President Biden sat down with NBC’s Lester Holt, and answered a question on everyone’s mind: will the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump change the election?

His answer: "I don't know. And you don't know either."

He’s right - we don’t know how last weekend’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump will change things.

But, at least for now, some corners are calling for unity and dialing back extreme rhetoric.

And public calls for the incumbent president to pass the torch within the Democratic Party have quieted, as attention instead turns to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

This is not the first act of political violence that has occurred in America in recent years. To name a few:

Two people died when supporters of President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, to disrupt the certification of the presidential election.

In 2017, a gunman opened fire as Republican members of congress held a baseball practice, injuring congressman Steve Scalise.

And in 2011, another member of congress, Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head while meeting with constituents in Arizona. Six people at the event were killed.

Congressman Adam Smith represents Washington’s 9th congressional district, which includes areas from Auburn to Bellevue and parts of Seattle. He’s also a close friend of Gabby Giffords.

Congressman Smith sat down with Soundside to discuss the shooting, as well as continued calls for President Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee.

Guest:

• Congressman Adam Smith, who represents Washington’s 9th congressional district, which includes areas from Auburn to Bellevue and parts of Seattle.

Related Links:

• Transcript: Read the full Biden interview with Lester Holt on NBC News
• Adam Smith, renegade? The promise and peril of crossing your party

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Washington’s 3rd Congressional District covers the southwest corner of the state, from Long Beach to Mount Adams, and from Yelm down to Vancouver. 

It’s also the home of one of the most fiercely contested congressional seats in the entire country.

In 2022, Republican challenger Joe Kent defeated incumbent Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler in the Primary, but lost to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the General election by roughly 2600 votes.

This election, Kent is back for round 2, and looking to flip the district back to the GOP.

He’s once again facing off against Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in this primary election… along with another candidate from the Republican Party, – Leslie Lewellen, a councilmember in Camas, WA.

This week, we’re speaking with candidates in the race, to get a sense of their policy positions and vision for the future.

GUEST: Joe Kent, Army veteran and Republican candidate for District 3 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Joe Kent is campaigning differently. Will it make a difference? - Washington State Standard
• Poll: Southwest Washington’s 3rd District congressional race in a dead heat - Oregon Public Broadcasting

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The FBI is still searching for a motive in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Republican and Democratic leaders have urged Americans to turn down the temperature of rhetoric that demonizes and dehumanizes political opposition 
to try to take the edge off the anger and division that’s come to be standard in public discourse.

But it’s not clear everybody’s listening to that hopeful message.

We had reports that former President Trump had moderated his speech for the GOP convention in Milwaukee this week to focus on a message of unity. But this morning, Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate the dismissal of the classified documents case in Florida.

He decried what he calls a “weaponization of our Justice system.” And he claimed without evidence that the numerous legal cases against him a “conspiracy” coordinated by the “Democrat Justice Department” to hurt “Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME.”

So - are we back where we started? 

Are the events of the past 48 hours going to lead to any change in the tone and tenor of mistrust and polarization that defines our politics in 2024?

And if so, how might that change be realized? 

Soundside host Libby Denkmann spends the hour exploring these questions with a variety of experts.

Guests:

• KUOW politics reporter Scott Greenstone
• Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan
• Jacob Ware - a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of "God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America."
• Ronald Feinman - a professor at Florida Atlantic University, and the author of “Assassinations, Threats and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama.”

• Monica Guzman - host of the podcast “A Braver Way”, and a senior fellow at “Braver Angels” - a cross-partisan organization dedicated to political depolarization. She’s also the author of the book “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voters statewide have big choices coming their way: They’re getting their ballots for the August primary starting next week, and there are a lot of candidates to decide between.

Over the last week, Soundside host Libby Denkmann has been interviewing the top candidates in the race for our state's next Attorney General. 

Now, KUOW politics reporter Scott Greenstone, and former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna are chiming in on the race so far.

And later, Greenstone will take a deeper look at whether Washington Democratic voters, and donors, are still behind President Biden. 

Guests:

• Scott Greenstone, KUOW politics reporter
• Rob McKenna, former Washington Attorney General

Related Links: 

• How Washington's lawmakers, donors, and delegates could influence the Biden conversation
• The race for WA Attorney General: Pete Serrano
• The race for WA Attorney General: Manka Dhingra
• The race for WA Attorney General: Nick Brown

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington voters this year are contemplating a wide-open race to replace the state’s Attorney General.

The Attorney General manages the state's largest public law firm, overseeing a staff of attorneys charged with representing public agencies and defending the rights of Washington residents, covering issues including consumer protection, civil rights, environmental regulations, and antitrust. 

This year’s race is an especially interesting one. The current Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, is running for governor. That means that without an incumbent, the office will see its first new A.G. in 12 years. 

This week Soundside is interviewing the three candidates who all want to be the state’s next top lawyer. Libby Denkmann spoke with Republican candidate and Pasco mayor Pete Serrano and Democratic candidate and State Senator Manka Dhingra earlier this week.

Our last candidate is Nick Brown. Brown has been General Counsel to Governor Jay Inslee and from 2021-2023, he was the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington.

Guests:

• Nick Brown, formerly general counsel to Governor Jay Inslee, and from 2021-2023 the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington.

Related Links:

• Who are the three candidates running for WA attorney general?
• What is an attorney general? They’re more attorney than general
• As fentanyl deaths skyrocket, U.S. attorney maintains tougher prosecution isn't the answer

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I can’t stop listening to the news, it’s stressing me out to the max, you say?

I’m literally listening to the news right now, and may be developing an anxiety-induced twitch, you say?

If that’s how you’re feeling right now, you may be in need of a little escape this summer.

Perhaps a good book is in order?

Well, if that’s the case you’re in luck because our next guests are here to hook you up with novels, non-fiction roller coasters, and storylines that’ll make you forget TikTok dances exist for a while. You’ll be like Tyla Dance what, never heard of her.

Book Recommendations:

• Jenna Zarzycki, adult services librarian at King County Library System
  • You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo (Summer Pick)
  • Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura (Beach Read)
  • No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister (Local Recommendation)
  • Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Horror)
  • The Yellow Handkerchief (El Pañuelo Amarillo) by Donna Barba Higuera (Children's)
  • This is Chance! by Jon Mooallem (Non-fiction)
• Charlie Hunts of Charlie's Queer Books:
  • Goblin Mode by McKayla Coyle (Summer Pick)
  • THE GUNCLE series by Steven Rowley (Beach Read)
  • Someplace Generous edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame (Beach Read)
  • Second Night Stand by Karelia and Fay Stetz-Waters (Local Recommendation)
  • Cryptid Kids: The Bawk-ness Monster by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter (Children's)
  • Off with their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta (Young Adult Horror)
• Katie Campbell, KUOW editor and reporter
  • Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Summer Pick)
  • Subduction by Kristen Millares Young (Local Recommendation)
  • Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Local Recommendation)
  • Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang (Mild Horror)
  • The Last One by Will Dean (Medium Horror)
  • The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons (Hot Horror)
  • The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Thriller)
• Diana Opong, KUOW host
  • Dinner at the Brake Fast by Renee Beauregard Lute (Children's)

Guests:

• Jenna Zarzycki, adult services librarian at King County Library

• Katie Campbell, KUOW editor and reporter who runs KUOW's book club

• Charlie Hunts, owner of Charlie's Queer Books in Fremont

Relevant Links:

• KUOW Book Club
• King County Library Summer Reading Program

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington voters this year are contemplating a wide-open race to replace the state’s Attorney General.

The Attorney General manages the state's largest public law firm, overseeing a staff of attorneys charged with representing public agencies and defending the rights of Washington residents, covering issues including consumer protection, civil rights, environmental regulations, and antitrust. 

This year’s race is an especially interesting one. The current Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, is running for governor. That means that without an incumbent, the office will see its first new A.G. in 12 years. 

This week Soundside is interviewing the three candidates who all want to be the state’s next top lawyer. Libby Denkmann spoke with Republican candidate and Pasco mayor Pete Serrano yesterday. 

Next up is state Senator Manka Dhingra. Dhingra is a Democrat representing the state’s 45th legislative district, which includes Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish and other parts of the Eastside. She’s also the Deputy Majority Leader in the State Senate. 

Guests: 

• Manka Dhingra, Democrat representing the state’s 45th legislative district, which includes Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish and other parts of the Eastside.

Related Links:

• Who are the three candidates running for WA attorney general?
• What is an attorney general? They’re more attorney than general
• WA attorney general candidate questioned over employment claims, asked to correct website

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Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Washington, is a 350-acre working farm. It’s celebrated for its family-friendly attractions, including amusement parks, petting zoos, berry picking, pumpkins, hayrides. There’s an on-site cafe and brewery. 

And now it’s become the Seattle area's hottest new concert venue. 

Partnering with Seattle Theater Group, the farm is hosting a brand-new concert series. The 6000-capacity outdoor space has booked performers like Portugal the Man, Mt. Joy and Elvis Costello. 

BUT tensions are brewing between the farm and some vocal community members who oppose its existence.

GUEST: Michael Rietmulder | The Seattle Times

RELATED LINKS:

• Remlinger Farms’ new music venue has small Carnation concerned | The Seattle Times
• Alleged hit-and-run incident at Remlinger Farms under investigation | The Seattle Times
• Facebook Statement by Remlinger Farms

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