KIRO Newsradio Commentaries

Call me naïve, but I still believe the government should work for everyone, whether you're rich or poor, young or old. Your color or your class shouldn’t mean different treatment by government agencies. So when I saw that Metro Transit had to suspend a route due to safety concerns, it made me angry and sad. The suspended stop is located at 12th Avenue S. and Jackson Street in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. While it’s not known as the wealthy neighborhood, there are a lot of hard working people there, small businesses and senior citizens. The fact that the city couldn’t protect their ability to safely catch a bus at their preferred stop is embarrassing and unacceptable.

When you go to the doctor, the expectation is they will use their experience, the latest research and their wisdom to offer you the best path forward for your health. But what happens when technology and algorithms play a role? In today’s commentary, Angela Poe Russell highlights a problem she got to see firsthand.

The graffiti problem along Seattle’s Interstate 5 (I-5) corridor is getting worse, and it’s hard to miss.

Donald Trump's new treasury secretary is considered a fiscal hawk who will cut whatever it takes to get the national debt under control -- a debt that now exceeds $36 trillion. But it's a promise we've heard before. EVERY president says it has to be done. And yet, it never is. Which is why every four years or so, I dig this song out of the archives to remind us why it never gets done

The internet continues to analyze the election, but look at this – a CBS News poll shows close to 60% of Americans, including some Democrats, approve of how Trump is handling the transition. And the more I read the post-election analysis, the more I’m convinced voters weren’t just voting for a change – they were voting for a hormone.

Accountability is expensive -- now more than ever -- especially in this new media age where opinion is far cheaper to produce and digging up the facts. This past election showed the line between traditional journalism and opinion is becoming increasingly blurred. New data from the Pew Research Center -- and they do a lot of studies on how people consume news and opinion -- found a growing preference for digital platforms and opinion-driven content over traditional media like newspapers and network TV.

Matt Markovich looks at the changing trends in media consumption and news sources and the costs associated with it

Don’t get me wrong, I love a great headline, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s challenge/threat to Republicans is significant political theater. Sadly, it's also pretty disturbing. To catch you up, Greene posted on the social platform X the following message to her Republican colleagues in the House and Senate: "If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see."

It’s hard to communicate uncertainty, especially when the weather has a mind of its own. That’s why Charlie feels for Seattle meteorologists right now. They’re trying their best to predict a storm that’s as fickle as, well, Seattle weather. And they know that if they get it wrong, people will be cranky tomorrow, accusing them of hyping something up.

Listner Michael Goldenkranz has an idea to help serve those who are underepresented in the court of law and those going throgh the process of becoming a lawyer.

The postmortem on the Harris campaign is underway, and here’s a number that stands out. According to The Washington Examiner, nearly $4 million went to a firm called Village Marketing. Their mission? Pay thousands of social media influencers to hype up Harris and tear down Trump. Now, at that point, can we still call them influencers or paid propagandists?

As President Elect Trump begins filling his cabinet roles, it becomes clear a theme is emerging. Loyalty - the very thing that likely hurt Kamala Harris.

Exit polls show the top issue for voters this cycle was the economy. President Biden’s pointed out that America has the best economy in the world, comparatively speaking. And from a detached perspective, sure, maybe that’s true. It’s been hard everywhere.

Dave Ross takes a look at the election results through the lens of sports, and confirms, you can still be friends with someone who voted differently than you.

Kamala Harris wasn’t the only loser on election night, Left-wing media outlets suffered a stinging defeat.

Governor Jay Inslee -- the state's most powerful Democrat -- proudly proclaimed yesterday that all statewide offices are now held by Democrats. He claimed the last time that happened was when Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was president 80-something years ago. That prompted our Matt Markovich to dig up a familiar tune - to explain why our state is turning from blue to dark blue.

Angela Poe Russell considers some of the impacts of Amazon workers return to the office, and wonders if we are missing the point when it comes to hybrid work

Well, here we are — it’s Election Day. In just a few hours, we’ll start to get a sense of the winners and losers. Sooner or later, we’ll know who the next president is. And no matter who it is, about half the country is going to be pretty upset.

Tomorrow is Election Day – that’s what the calendar says. But there are two problems with the term "Election Day." No. 1, we now have many election days, because people have been voting for weeks. No. 2, we have developed this expectation that, in addition to being Election Day, it should also be the day we find out who won. And this is at the heart of the crisis of trust that we’re going through.

I am a dad. That means I worry almost constantly about our kids. This week, I met two lovely people who made me worry a tiny bit less about how I am doing as a parent. You may have heard of Dr. David Baker. He’s a genius who works at UW on creating brand new proteins. He was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work. He’s a pretty big deal. What you may not have heard, is that long before he was a Nobel recipient, he was a kid in Seattle Public Schools. He went to Garfield High School and what was then Meany Junior High.