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Five years after Seattle had to get rid of its free-standing public toilet structures, Mayor Mike McGinn wants to give it another go, this time with a new design. 

Although Oklahoma is a state where tornadoes are a fact of life, few days stand out like May 3, 1999.

That was when some 70 tornadoes touched down over a 21-hour period, cutting paths of destruction like deep cuts of a knife blade in and around Oklahoma City.

Our colleague Andy Carvin has scanned Twitter in search of reaction, including photos and video, from the massive tornado that swept through central Oklahoma on Monday.

Among the tweets:

Sidney Montoya of Oklahoma City says he is "Praying for my little cousins in Moore, their elementary school just got hit by the tornado."

And Dennis Varghese, who also lives in Oklahoma City, says: "Just overheard a lady break down and say, 'my house is gone!' and now worry

On microfinance http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/05/microcredit Continue reading →

A monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide with winds up to 200 mph roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but the storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, south of the city. Block after block of the community lay in ruins, with heaps of debris piled up where homes used to be. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

Pressure is mounting on Washington state lawmakers to approve a gas tax increase to fund road projects. Backers of the 10-cents-per-gallon tax proposal rallied at the state Capitol Monday to push for a vote during the current 30-day overtime session.

Dozens in hard hats gathered on the steps of the Capitol, holding signs and chanting: “Pass it now! Pass it now!”

William von Schneidau, an intrepid butcher in Seattle, is giving a whole new meaning to "potbelly pig." Lately, he's been feeding marijuana refuse to the pigs he turns into prosciutto for BB Ranch, his butcher shop in the city's famous Pike Place Market.<

A number of awards were bestowed upon KPLU in the 2012 Society of Professional Journalists' (Western Washington chapter) Excellence in Journalism Competition.  This year's contest covered work produced or published in 2012 within the region.

Haitians Receive Boxes of USAID Food Aid USAID Food aid reforms came under the spotlight last month when the Obama Administration announced its Fiscal Year 2014 budget. The changes are important to humanitarian response. Oxfam America estimates that reforms to food aid procurement laws could speed up crisis response by 14 weeks and reach an additional 17.1 … Continue reading →

I’m not sure I totally buy the claim that nearly all of these displacements are due to disasters driven by climate change, but it’s still an interesting map. As the Guardian reports: More than 32 million people fled their homes last year because of disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes – 98% of displacement … Continue reading →

If all you do is look at the global health statistics for death and disability, it’s clear that men are doing worse than women. Yet women, and children, tend to get most of the focus and emphasis in global health policy. A recent Lancet paper pointed this out. But NPR quotes one of my favorite … Continue reading →

The so-called ‘war on drugs’ hasn’t worked, by almost any indicator. Some could make the case that the quasi-militaristic law enforcement strategy has actually made things worse by creating massive cycles of violence – not to mention rewarding cartels by, inadvertently, driving up prices. Source: Guardian European governments and the Obama administration are this weekend … Continue reading →

The US government has a long history of mixing up its missions overseas. Is food aid supposed to be about feeding the hungry or serving the interests of the American agribusiness? (Hint: The answer, so far, is yes … with an emphasis on the latter). Similarly, based partly on the idea of ‘winning hearts and … Continue reading →

This is a nice, reasoned rebuttal by to a recent NY Times column by a former aid worker in Haiti who complained about how unproductive her work there had been. The NYTtimes op-ed repeats a popular, and increasingly tired, refrain that tends to accompany the standard story line about how screwed up Haiti is thanks, … Continue reading →

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, a favorite of many politicians and development champions in the West, has been on the defensive lately arguing against accusations that Rwanda has perpetuated a bloody conflict across the border in Congo and is constructing a de-facto one-party, authoritarian state. Source: Guardian Paul Kagame is angrier than I’ve ever seen him. … Continue reading →

Water under threat globally (VOA) – Scientists say a new geologic epoch has begun whereby humans are causing major damage to global water systems. They warn of a planetary transformation comparable to the retreat of the glaciers more than 11-thousand years ago. Iraq car bombs kill dozens (BBC) – At least 60 people have been … Continue reading →

A bird of prey can get so stressed out by city noise that it might abandon its nest—eggs and all, according to a new study by researchers at Boise State University. The study suggests human disturbances affect the American kestrel more than previously thought.

One way to know how much soda people drink is to ask them.

The problem?

A prototype of a self-sustaining portable classroom has arrived at a parking lot in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.

The classroom is meant to set the bar higher for schools by demonstrating that they could fairly quickly meet the highest standard of green building design, the Living Building Challenge.

Noted Dutch saxophonist Tineke Postma recently played in Seattle as part of the Art Of Jazz Series at The Seattle Art Museum.  The concert was recorded for broadcast on Jazz Northwest and aired this Sunday, May 19 on 88.5, KPLU.

The Seattle appearance was the first for the saxophonist and composer who was on a nationwide tour that concluded with a performance at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at The Kennedy Center in Washington.  For her concert at SAM she was joined by Seattle musicians Tim Kennedy, piano, Evan Flory-Barnes, bass and D'Vonne Lewis, drums.