federal budget

National Train Day: An Update On Northwest Rail Lines

The Conversation With Ross Reynolds — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:57:39 +0000

Tomorrow is Amtrak’s National Train Day, a holiday that was started back in 2008 to celebrate US passenger trains. Here in Seattle, the King Street station was recently renovated with the help of funds from the federal government. But starting in October, the feds are cutting funding to Amtrak lines that are less than 750 miles long. The effects of the change will be felt here. Ross gets the details from Ron Pate of the state Transportation Department’s rail division.

We also hear from Sound Transit spokeswoman Kimberly Reason about the Sounder Train and Light Rail projects. Plus, Ross talks trains with Seattle Times economics columnist Jon Talton.

Post Office Will Keep Saturday Mail Delivery After All

Scott Neuman — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

The U.S.

It's Not Me, It's You: The Politics Of Sequestration

Producer — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:34:51 +0000

As the date of the sequestration nears, fingers continue to get pointed, but what if political infighting is really the fault of the constituents? Ross Reynolds talks with New York Times Washington Bureau Chief David Leonhardt about why he thinks it is the constituents that are to blame for the looming across-the-board budget cuts.

Universities Say Research Funding Cuts May Bring Job Cuts

Tom Banse — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:47:43 +0000

The Northwest's public universities pull in massive amounts of federal research dollars. It totaled $1 billion last year at the University of Washington. Oregon State University won close to $200 million in federal research funds. The University of Idaho is counting on $100 million this year.

Can We Still Afford Higher Ed?

Steve Scher — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Recent debate over the future of the state's pre-paid tuition program and the continually rising cost of college raises a larger question: Who is going to pay for a college education? It used to be that Washington state paid most of the cost of a public university degree. Today, students must find most of the funds. As costs rise, how will society keep higher education affordable? William Zumeta heads the graduate program at the Evans School of Public Affairs and has written about the costs of college. He joins us to talk about how we can make sure people in Washington state can pursue higher education without having to go into crushing debt.