6:37am

Wed February 16, 2011
NEWS ROUNDUP

Wednesday morning's headlines

Credit Greg Gilbert / AP
Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk, left, and his wife Camille Birk talk with Birk's attorney Ted Buck during the coroner's inquest jury verdict on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011 in Seattle.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

  • No Charges in Woodcarver Shooting
  • Vulcan hired to re-develop Bothell
  • Monroe Weighs Schools Consolidation
  • Seattle Fireworks Show Needs Cash - Again

 

Seattle Officer Won't be Charged in Williams Slaying; Could be Fired

The King County Prosecutor's Office has decided not to file criminal charges against the Seattle Police officer who shot and killed a Native American woodcarver last year. An official announcement is expected today from the Prosecutor's Office.

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2:31pm

Tue February 15, 2011
Food for Thought

Put them all together, they spell tiramisu

Created for a Medici, it was the dessert of choice for Venetian working girls.

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12:31pm

Tue February 15, 2011
SEATTLE MARINERS

Ken Griffey, Jr. back with Mariners again as special consultant

Credit Charlie Riedel / AP
Ken Griffey Jr. talks to the media during a news conference at spring training baseball Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 in Peoria, Ariz.

Junior is back.

Ken Griffey, Jr. is returning to the Seattle Mariners as a special consultant less than a year after abruptly retiring from baseball.

The Mariners made the announcement Tuesday morning.

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10:59am

Tue February 15, 2011
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD

Obama's budget plan would boost JBLM construction

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
Army Col. Thomas Brittain, (r), and Air Force Col. Kenny Weldon, (r), shake hands upon the merger of Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base into Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Feb. 2010.

Construction at Joint Base Lewis-McChord would increase further if Congress adopts President Obama's 2012 budget proposal.

The News Tribune reports that the spending plan released Monday would set aside more than $300 million for construction at the base south of Tacoma, up from about $172 million in the 2011 budget proposal Congress has yet to approve.

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10:32am

Tue February 15, 2011
K-12 Education

Private school enrollment down as parents struggle to pay

The recession is forcing Washington families to make tough decisions about their children’s education. As incomes have dwindled, so has attendance at private schools. In the past few years, the schools have lost nearly 3,000 kids, according to data reported to the state. 

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10:25am

Tue February 15, 2011
Coal Exports

New revelations heat up Longview coal port fight

Credit Tom Banse / N3
The coal export terminal would utilize the former Reynolds Aluminum smelter property in Longview, WA.

Previously undisclosed documents are raising questions about whether the Australian company trying to build a new coal export facility in Longview has tried to snooker local officials.

According to an article in the New York Times, documents show officials at Millennium Bulk Terminals “tried to limit what state officials knew about its long-term goals during the early permitting process last year.”

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9:20am

Tue February 15, 2011
KPLU Studio Session

If you could sit down and talk with jazz pianist, Benny Green, what would you ask him?

Benny Green performs live today on KPLU at 12:15 p.m. PST.

Let us know, because Benny Green will be visiting KPLU for a Studio Session this afternoon at 12:15 PST and we thought it would be fun to ask you to provide us with a question.

Head to our Facebook Page and post your question - If Abe Beeson reads yours during the interview, he'll credit you for it on the air!

8:43am

Tue February 15, 2011
NEWS ROUNDUP

Tuesday morning's headlines

Credit Pier Paolo Cito / AP Photo
Amanda Knox's father Curt and her stepmother Cassandra in Italy in 2009.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

  • Amanda Knox's Parents Indicted in Italy
  • Teen Kicked by Officer Seeks $450K
  • Wind, Rain Hit Western Washington
  • Lakewood  Police Kill Woman Who Pointed BB-Gun

 

Italian Authorities Charge Amanda Knox's Parents With Libel

 A lawyer says the parents of Amanda Knox, the University of Washington student convicted of murder in Italy, have been ordered to stand trial for alleging that Italian police abused their daughter.

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7:51am

Tue February 15, 2011
High Tech Military Hardware

Giant military ship coming soon to Seattle (or maybe Everett)

Credit mda.mil
The U.S. Missle Defense Agency's Sea-Based X-Band Radar vessel is slated to come to Seattle -- or maybe Everett -- for maintenance and repair.

“It’s 25 stories tall and looks like a giant, floating golf trophy.”

The Herald of Everett takes first prize for describing a massive vessel the federal government plans to bring to the region this spring.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar vessel (SBX for short) is, according to a release by the Missle Defense Agency, “an integral part of the nation’s Ballistic Missle Defense System” (BMDS for short; the military does love its acronyms).

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10:22pm

Mon February 14, 2011
Artist Profile

George Shearing 1919-2011

This disc features his early recordings from the late 40s to the late 50s

Sad to report the passing of British jazz pianist George Shearing, who died Monday from congestive heart failure in New York. He was 91. 

He came to the U.S. in 1947 and quickly established himself as a popular instrumentalist and composer. His recording of "September In The Rain" sold nearly a million copies, and his tune "Lullaby of Birdland" became a popular jazz favorite.

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8:30pm

Mon February 14, 2011
The Jazz 100 Q&A

Listeners pick top 100 jazz recordings of all time

Listen to the Q&A here:

What is the greatest jazz recording ever? That's the questions we asked listeners of KPLU and our jazz stream Jazz 24. From that, we came up with our list of the Top 100 Quintessential Jazz Songs of All Time.

KPLU music and news host Kevin Kniestedt tabulated the nearly 3,000 votes.  One thousand five hundred songs were nominated over a period of several weeks.

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8:28pm

Mon February 14, 2011
Money Matters

Egypt and the risk of foreign stocks

Credit Asim Bharwani (modenadude) / flickr.com
Cairo skyline, including the pyramids at Giza 9/2/2010

The revolution in Egypt serves as a reminder of the risk of investing in foreign stocks. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tell's KPLU's Dave Meyer that events in Egypt don't just make him wary of investing in foreign stocks, he's "horribly fearful"!

How risky are Egyptian investments?

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5:54pm

Mon February 14, 2011
Budget battles

Enviro Groups Urge Higher Resource User Fees

Credit wta.org
A trail sign at Tiger Mountain in east King County. The recreational area is managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Lawmakers in Olympia are proposing to slash or even eliminate dozens of important programs and services, as they struggle to eliminate a nearly $5 billion budget gap.

Environmental groups are hoping to stave off what they say would be crippling budget cuts to natural resource agencies in charge of protecting water, air and forests. But with education and health care for the poor on the chopping block, they face a tough battle.

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3:44pm

Mon February 14, 2011
Grammys

Who is Esperanza Spalding?

Credit Justin Steyer / KPLU
Esperanza Spalding shocked millions Sunday night as she beat out teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, among others, in the category of "Best New Artist."

Esperanza Spalding walked into the KPLU Seattle studios like some teenaged gunslinger. However, she’d been working full time in music for most of her 25 years, and her chosen weapon was a double-bass that reached just above her impressive afro.

Now a Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist (take that, Justin Bieber!), I’ve recently enjoyed listening back to our meeting a year ago, and specifically our interview.

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2:20pm

Mon February 14, 2011
HUMANOSPHERE

Head of Gates Foundation's global health program leaving

Credit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Tachi Yamada with Indian child during polio vaccination drive. Dr. Yamada has directed the Gates Foundation's largest department for five years.

Dr. Tachi Yamada is leaving his position in June as head of the Gates Foundation’s global health program.

That’s big news primarily because the Gates’ global health program is so big, the largest program at the world’s largest philanthropy, accounting for more than half of the $3 billion the Gates Foundation spends every year trying to make the world a better, healthier and more equitable place.

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