Joshua McNichols
Growth and Development Reporter
About
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
Joshua holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington. Public Radio is his second career; architecture was his first. He is proud of the many odd jobs he's held in his life, such as salmon fisher, author, bike courier, and bed-and-breakfast cook.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him
Professional Affiliations: The Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Chapter
Stories
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Biden safety net bill could be better for immigrants, Seattle area activists say
President Joe Biden’s social safety net bill is still making its way through Congress. Local activists are trying to shape the bill’s final form.
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Amazon ready to begin building its world-encircling network of satellites
Amazon asked the FCC today to let it begin launching experimental satellites into low-earth orbit. The system is being developed in Redmond, and it's called Project Kuiper.
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Government
This woman has 'fat stacks' of rent relief for landlords. But some aren't interested.
The pandemic has put lots of renters in precarious positions. There’s relief money available, but it’s taking King County time to work through the backlog. And now agents have run up against a new problem: Landlord that don’t respond, or res. Caseworkers say they're slowing down the system. Landlords say it's about lack of trust.
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Environment
A new tool suggests we're underestimating the environmental cost of new roads
It's difficult to reduce our carbon emissions when we keep building more highways. That's what inspired a national coalition of environmental groups to build a calculator that shows how much air pollution is caused by new roads. It’s intended to help local groups lobby for more public transit instead of roads as lawmakers hammer out the infrastructure bill in DC.
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Business
This Seattle woman wants to know: How can she get those small business grants?
$4 million is up for grabs as Seattle takes applications for its sixth round of grants for small businesses trying to survive the pandemic.
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In King County, rent relief is flowing but funds are drying up
On the one hand, money is moving faster. On the other hand, it's going to run out too soon.
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Arts & Life
New Ballard Food Bank makes asking for help feel more like a day at the supermarket
The Ballard Food Bank opens its new location on 14th Avenue Northwest on Monday. It includes a larger shopping area, designed to look and feel like a grocery store. And there’s a café where you don’t have to pay to eat lunch.
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Climate Pledge Arena goes on offense with sustainability goals
Most big arenas use lots of fossil fuel to heat and cool the space. They’re energy hogs. But backers of Climate Pledge Arena, home to The Kraken and The Storm, say it’ll be the greenest in the world. We checked into those claims.
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Education
Can downtown Seattle attract families? The big question behind the debate about a new school.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan wants to put a public elementary school downtown. She’s offering the school district the right to build the school on the former entrance to the Battery Street tunnel. That decision is not final. But it’s prompted a lot of discussions about the future of downtown.
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With light rail as fuel, Seattle's Northgate is ready to grow
This week, a lot of people tried light rail and got off at Northgate to look around. As they exited the station, many of them were greeted with a neighborhood undergoing massive change.