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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Business
No shirt, no shot, no service: Bring your vaccine card to Capitol Hill
CC Attle’s, a bar on Capitol Hill known for its stiff drinks and leather nights, started asking customers to see their vaccination cards in May, before anyone else.
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Environment
An architecture firm dedicated to green building felt the heat and got AC at the office. They still cut their energy use
"When you realize that you're sticking to the trace paper on your desk, that's not a good thing."
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Government
Federal rental assistance dollars can prevent evictions — if you can navigate the process
The national moratorium on evictions ended over the weekend. Renters still have some significant protections here in Washington, but accessing that help can get complicated.
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Business
Why it’s taking longer to build homes in Seattle
Home builders in the Northwest are working as fast as they can to build housing for all the people coming to the region. Currently, there are 23,000 homes under construction in Seattle or about to break ground. But they’ve hit a snag. Or rather, a whole mess of snags. And those snags are slowing them down.
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Business
Firecracker Alley: It's about more than fireworks
Every year on Puyallup land near the Port of Tacoma, Puyallup tribal members gather to sell fireworks. It’s an event that draws tribal members together to socialize and make some money. But it’s an annual tradition that may not be around forever.
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Business
This tiny Washington tourist town found its workforce after all
The town of Coupeville Washington, on Whidbey Island, has solved its labor shortage. That could be a promising sign for other communities with the same problem.
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Environment
Tourists tell Seattle how to handle the heat
The Puget Sound region is getting ready for a heat wave this weekend. A lot of people in the area aren't used to temperatures in the upper 90s. But some of the tourists on Seattle's waterfront - are used to that kind of heat. And they shared some of their advice on how to stay comfortable.
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Environment
Seattle’s port is greener than ever. That may not be enough.
The Port of Seattle finished unloading 4 giant white cranes from China late Monday. They’re among the biggest cranes in the world, and part of a major upgrade of Terminal that includes new green infrastucture designed to reduce pollution. But critics say it's hard to be green in an industry that's nowhere close.
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'Stop taking anything from Israel': Block the Boat movement aims to halt cargo ship at Seattle Port
Demonstrators gathered near the Port of Seattle Thursday afternoon. Their aim – was to block the unloading of a cargo ship owned by the shipping company ZIM, which was founded in Israel. Demonstrators are using the ship’s arrival as a way to protest Israeli actions in Gaza last month.
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Business
First essential, then 'devalued': Gig workers don't want to return to ebb and flow of wages
Wages ebb and flow in the gig economy, where workers pick up odd jobs on apps like Doordash and TaskRabbit. Sometimes, the money’s good. But with gig work, there’s no minimum wage. This summer, the Seattle City Council will work on ways to remedy that.