Ashley Hiruko
Reporter
About
Ashley reports and writes stories for KUOW. While she focuses on in-depth digital journalism, she can occasionally be heard on the radio.
Prior to KUOW, Ashley covered crime in the greater Seattle area, and before that wrote for the Lynden Tribune. She also serves as the president of the Society of Professional Journalists Western Washington Pro chapter.
After growing up in California, Texas, and Mexico, she moved to Washington, where she later graduated from Western Washington University.
As a journalist, she strives to uncover the truth of an issue, give a voice to those we seldom hear from, and hold those in power accountable.
Send her your news tips at hiruko@kuow.org.
Stories
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This Seattle woman says the courts barely protect her from domestic violence
Domestic violence impacts # of people each year. Here's one woman's account of navigating the system.
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Impending Monroe prison closure leaves inmates, families reeling over the future
The imminent closure of all four units of the Reformatory unit at the Monroe Correctional Complex has incarcerated people, their families, and advocates worried about what their futures hold.
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KUOW Newsroom
'She has worked so hard for this.' Seattle Hmong community on Suni Lee's Olympic gold
Lee, the youngest member of the U.S. gymnastics team, is the first ever Hmong American Olympian.
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Who Seattle Mayor Durkan texted with last year: Mike Pence’s body man, and an Amazon CEO
After reporters requested Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s text messages in June 2020, they were told those messages had been deleted. KUOW has received a log for those text messages, which show some of her messages — the mayor’s office says that most of her messages were via iMessage, which are not included in the log.
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KUOW Newsroom
Two Seattle police officers trespassed at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, oversight office finds
An Office of Police Accountability investigation into six Seattle Police officers who attended President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally found that two officers broke the law and violated police policy when they trespassed outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. A third officer may have also trespassed, based on a review of maps outlining restricted areas and officer interviews, but the police accountability office could not meet its burden of proof.
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Outages that hit thousands of Seattle area homes are heat-related, utilities say
“Every surface in my entire apartment is radiating heat. I touch the wall. I touch the floor, the tub, it was all radiating heat.”
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Yogurt from PCC Markets recalled after 11 people, including children, sickened with E. coli
Washington state health officials said PCC Community Market brand yogurt is the likely source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 11 people, including six children under the age of 10. Seven hav
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We asked for Mayor Jenny Durkan's text messages, and this is what we got
It was June 2020, and Seattle Police’s East Precinct was a flashpoint as protestors called for police reform.
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This Redmond mom was fatally shot by police after calling 911 for help
When Andrea Thomas Churna moved into her luxury apartment in Redmond, Washington, last summer, she was looking forward to a fresh start. She had recently moved back to Washington state from California, to raise her 7-year-old son with her ex-husband. One month later, on a balmy fall night, Churna dialed 911. “I think someone’s trying to kill me at my apartment,” Churna told emergency dispatchers at 9:23 p.m. on September 20. That call would result in her death 30 minutes later. To understand what transpired that night, and why the investigation into this police death has stalled after seventh, KUOW reviewed 911 emergency phone calls, police radio audio, police statements, and spoke with Andrea Churna’s family, and fourth-floor residents who were home that evening.
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Eligible for a vaccine in Seattle but unable to get one? It might be your ZIP code
The city of Seattle has tried to make vaccine access more equitable by quietly enacting its own vaccine priority standards, within Washington state’s eligibility framework. Instead of taking a first-come, first-served approach, the city says it is prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and people of color, older adults who haven’t been vaccinated yet, as well as people living within ZIP codes hardest hit by Covid.