Northwest Reports

The Push to Preserve Mobile Home Communities

Residents say that WA-based management company Hurst & Son LLC is responsible for price hikes, reduced services and other grievances.
Mobile home communities have long served as an affordable-housing option for Washington residents, but many say they’re now being priced out of their homes. 
Crosscut reporters Farah Eltohamy and Mai Hoang investigated allegations against Hurst & Son LLC, a company that has acquired dozens of mobile home parks across the state in recent years. Some residents allege that the company is responsible for rent hikes, new fees and reduced services.  
Now these community members are pushing back against Hurst & Son – which is not the only company that has been accused of these practices. 
In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Eltohamy about why mobile homes are not in fact mobile; the different ways community members are advocating for themselves; and why it’s so important for them to stay where they are. 
Read our full report on the fight to preserve mobile home communities here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Scot Michael  
Reporter: Farah Eltohamy and Mai Hoang
Executive producer: Sarah Menzies
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Free Speech vs. Civil Rights

Reporter Mai Hoang explains how the court decision to exempt a Colorado web designer from LGBTQ+ antidiscrimination laws could have a ripple effect.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that a Christian website designer in Colorado can refuse to provide wedding websites to same-sex couples, because doing so falls within her First Amendment right to free speech.
As Crosscut reporter Mai Hoang found, the ruling in Colorado was the first to address whether prohibiting discrimination against a protected class can be set aside for someone’s free-speech rights.
This decision signals a marked shift from a Washington Supreme Court case, settled in 2021, that required Barronelle Stutzman to follow public accommodation laws after she refused on religious grounds to provide custom floral arrangements for a same-sex marriage.
In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Hoang about the significance of this Supreme Court ruling; its potential implications in Washington; and the tenuous balance between upholding First Amendment rights and protecting vulnerable communities from discrimination.
Read our full report on the impacts of 303 Creative in WA here.  
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Mai Hoang
Executive producer: Sarah Menzies
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

The Fight Over Public Libraries

Calls for censorship of LGBTQ+ young adult books in Columbia County mirror a national political debate. Meg Butterworth shares her reporting.
A fight has been raging nationwide over book-banning in schools and libraries. According to the American Library Association, calls for censorship of specific titles nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022, and the vast majority targeted books by and about the LGBTQ+ community and people of color.
But as reporter Meg Butterworth found, in one rural county in Washington the battle has gone beyond the books themselves. It could end up eliminating an entire library system.  
That’s because, after a year of tense board meetings, misinformation and demands to censor half-a-dozen titles, one local resident collected enough signatures to put a petition to close the library on Columbia County’s November ballot. 
For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Butterworth about what’s been happening in Columbia County, how closely it tracks with the national debate and what all this says about political polarization, censorship, the role of librarians and the meaning of a public library. 
Read our full report on the local and national battle over books here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Meg Butterworth
Executive producer: Sarah Menzies
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

The Hidden World of WA Surveillance

Federal relief funds are financing new surveillance technology across the state. Reporter Brandon Block discusses why privacy advocates are concerned.
If you walk around downtown Seattle and look closely, you may notice that you’re being watched. From traffic cameras to automated license-plate readers, surveillance technology is all around us. And thanks to new funding from the American Rescue Plan, many cities across Washington and the country are buying even more technologies that can collect personal data. 
As Crosscut reporter Brandon Block discovered, the laws that govern this kind of technology are limited, and vary from city to city. 
Police and other city departments say these new devices and software will help them do their jobs far more effectively. But privacy advocates say they allow government agencies to track innocent people, with little regulation or transparency around how sensitive data is being used or shared. 
For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Block about his tour of existing surveillance technology in downtown Seattle; what kinds of surveillance federal funds are now making possible in police departments around the state; and the potential ramifications of all of this. 
Read our full report on surveillance in Washington here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Brandon Block
Executive producer: Sarah Menzies
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Biking Every Single Street in Seattle

Reporter Conor Courtney explains how cyclist Danny Roberts began the passion project — and what the journey meant to both of them.
In late 2021, freelance writer and photographer Conor Courtney noticed some strange patterns on the fitness app Strava. An acquaintance, Danny Roberts, was posting about riding his bike all over Seattle—but not on typical bike-friendly routes. He would consistently zig-zag back and forth on every street in a given neighborhood.
Turns out Roberts was doing this for a specific purpose. He’d decided to bike every single street in the city of Seattle. In the end, it took him about 13 months of riding hard. And Courtney thought it was worth asking why. 
Along the way, Roberts found unique, hidden corners of Seattle and learned a whole lot more about the city he loves. But he was also hit by a car and suffered fairly serious injuries. That didn’t stop him.
In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Courtney about Roberts’ unusual project and what it meant to him; the joy and challenges of riding bikes in Seattle; and why Courtney was inspired to report on this project in the first place.
Read our full report on Danny Roberts' Seattle cycling journey here.
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Conor Courtney
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Fixing a Fundraising Gap in WA Schools

PTSAs can reduce resource gaps, but also exacerbate inequities among schools. Reporter Venice Buhain shares local efforts working to change that.
Seattle public schools, like most public schools, don’t all have the same resources to offer students. And they tend to rely on parent-led fundraising to fill in the gaps. But that can exacerbate the inequities that already exist, as wealthy families can often afford to donate the money and time that low-income families can’t.
Crosscut associate news editor Venice Buhain recently dug into this issue in Seattle, exploring why these fundraising efforts, run by Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs), have recently come under scrutiny.  Some parents and advocates now hope to change the paradigm altogether.
For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Buhain about what these parents are doing to make PTSA-based fundraising more equitable, with the goal of reducing the schools’ significant disparities in staffing and supplies.
Some local PTSAs, for instance, have begun pooling resources and distributing raised funds among schools in their neighborhoods – and questioning why parent groups are relied on for fundraising in the first place.
Read our full report on the effort to change PTSA fundraising in Seattle here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Venice Buhain
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

How Washington Cities Shape State Law

Politics reporter Joseph O’Sullivan details the Association of Washington Cities' sway over the Legislature.
One of the most powerful lobbying forces in Olympia is the Association of Washington Cities, a nonprofit that represents the state’s 281 cities and towns. It has influenced lawmakers, defeated bills, and even written its own legislation — and often gets its way.
Crosscut state politics reporter Joseph O’Sullivan has explored the many ways the Association has recently wielded its power. In collaboration with McClatchy reporter Shauna Sowersby, O’Sullivan looked at the influence of the Association through major legislation that came up in this year’s session.  
Legislation like the “missing middle” housing bill, which passed this year only because of an unprecedented bipartisan push, had been blocked by the Association for years, for example. And this session, the organization drafted a bill that would make it harder for citizens to obtain government records, arguing that overfrequent records requests, made by a small number of individuals, waste staff time and money.
For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with O’Sullivan about the Association; how this level of influence is par for the course for many Olympia lobbyists; and the Association’s attempts to chip away at Washington’s Public Records Act, which, if successful, could make our view of state government more opaque.
Read our full report on the Association of Washington Cities and how power works in Olympia here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Joseph O'Sullivan
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.
 

Fighting Chronic Homelessness in One Small City

Reporter Mai Hoang discusses the growing issue in Central Washington and the efforts to build permanent supportive housing.
Big cities like Seattle and Spokane get most of the attention when it comes to homelessness in Washington state. But housing instability is not limited to the borders of major metropolitan areas. 
For this episode of the Crosscut Reports podcast, we look at a smaller Washington city that has gotten less attention when we discuss homelessness or possible solutions: Yakima. Like larger urban areas, the Yakima region has recently seen significant growth in the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness and housing instability.
Host Sara Bernard talks with Mai Hoang, Crosscut’s Central and Eastern Washington reporter, about one solution that service providers are doubling down on right now: permanent supportive housing. 
It’s a longer-term alternative to emergency shelters for the unhoused, and the system includes services such as case management and connections to various forms of health care. Data shows permanent supportive housing works, but challenges remain – not least, finding the funding to sustain it.
Read our full report on permanent supportive housing in Yakima here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Mai Hoang
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Learning from the Legacies of Black Artists

Writer Jas Keimig discusses their work profiling current creators and researching the lives of those that shouldn't be forgotten.
Seattle has been home to Black artists of great renown, from Jimi Hendrix and Ernestine Anderson to Jacob Lawrence and August Wilson. But those big names are by no means the only ones from our city deserving of recognition. 
For this episode of the Crosscut Reports podcast, we’re peeling back the curtain on a massive multimedia project that seeks to shed light on artists past and present who have helped shape this city and region. 
Black Arts Legacies is a series of written profiles, videos, photography and a podcast, all highlighting the vital and ongoing role of Seattle’s Black artists and arts organizations. 
Freelance writer and critic Jas Keimig joins host Sara Bernard to talk about their role in Season Two, writing a number of profiles of some of Seattle’s most influential painters, poets, musicians, dancers and directors. Keimig shares stories of a few artists they’ve profiled, as well as their thoughts on the power and importance of the project as a whole.
Read, watch and listen to the Black Arts Legacies project here.
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Jas Keimig
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Supporting Girls’ Education in Afghanistan

As the Taliban tightens restrictions, Marnie Gustavson's nonprofit finds workarounds. Reporter Hal Bernton shares the WA native's history of advocacy.
Journalist Hal Bernton took his first trip to Afghanistan back in 2009, to cover the war for The Seattle Times. There he met a Washington woman, Marnie Gustavson, and learned about PARSA, the Kabul-based nonprofit aid organization she has now led for 16 years. Through PARSA, Gustavson, who spent part of her childhood in Kabul, has helped run schools, improve orphanages and train teachers and social workers.
Bernton returned to Afghanistan in 2012 and continued to cover both the war and PARSA’s efforts over the years, as well as one of the issues that has amounted to a new, urgent crisis in the country: the draconian effect that Taliban control has had on women and girls. 
Now, even as the Taliban regime’s severe restrictions have sought to remove girls and women from public schools and public life, Gustavson has continued PARSA’s work, helping launch new efforts to run classrooms out of people’s homes.
For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard also talks with Bernton about his own experience reporting in Afghanistan, and why now is not the time — for him, anyway — to forget these stories or America’s promises to the Afghan people.
Read our full report on PARSA, its history, and its new work in Afghanistan here. 
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Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: Hal Bernton
Story Editor: Donna Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
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If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.