Kari Plog

Michelle Bennett couldn’t hold her mother’s hand in those final moments, 10 days after Carolann Christine Gann tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Bennett couldn’t even go through her mother’s belongings as she prepared to bury her.

So two people in protective gear did what she couldn't.

Joe Buchanan died two weeks ago, after months of routine dialysis treatments. His wife of 34 years, Kimra, and their son, Justin, braced for this day they knew would eventually come.

But they weren’t prepared for what came after.

“The time when we should be mourning and going through old photos and hugging this out, we can’t,” Justin Buchanan said during a video interview last week.

This story originally aired on March 2, 2019.  

Mary Anne Moorman has been a management consultant, an activist, a storyteller – even a radio host. She’s also been keeping a secret since she was a little girl.

“Where are you?” a younger Moorman asked. “Everywhere,” the voice replied.

Gov. Jay Inslee issued a statewide stay-at-home order Monday night, following the lead of other states that have taken the extraordinary step to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.  

The order — which the governor is calling “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” — follows actions taken by some local jurisdictions who decided not to wait for the state to make the call. Inslee's order will stay in effect for at least two weeks. 

A Puyallup resident has died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The woman in her 50s is the first reported fatality in Pierce County since the outbreak started.

Every day during a normal work week, thousands of Tacoma residents commute north to jobs in King County. But the last couple work weeks have been anything but normal.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has turned life upside down in the Puget Sound region, as Gov. Jay Inslee and health officials continue to take extraordinary measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus.

Still, even before the governor closed all schools and banned gatherings of more than 250 people statewide, small business owners in Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square already noticed an alarming drop in patrons. 

This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

Gov. Jay Inslee has announced mandatory social distancing measures for three Washington counties in response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In a news conference Wednesday morning, Inslee said he’s prohibiting events and gatherings of more than 250 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is “The Past Is Still With Us.” First, we hear about how a man who died in Missouri in 1855 crossed the Oregon Trail in a whiskey barrel to be buried in Southwest Washington. Then, we hear how a Seattle rapper uses music to process his pain of the past. We travel to a Concrete to learn what happens when Hollywood takes over your small hometown. We meet a Bellevue teacher who uses typewriters to make art — and unlock students’ inner authors. Finally, we learn about an implicit bias test, and what it can teach us about how our environment shapes our attitudes.

Homelessness on the West Coast is rising to crisis levels at a time of historic economic growth and prosperity. In fact, Washington, Oregon and California are home to two-thirds of the nation’s unsheltered population.

KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times’ Project Homeless spent one year in a city that’s grappling with homelessness — Washington’s capital city, Olympia.  

Allen doesn’t present like the typical resident of a homeless encampment.

“He’s not struggling with the type of addictions that you often see. He’s not struggling with severe mental illness,” says Vianna Davila, editor of the Project Homeless team at The Seattle Times. “He’s known as kind of a cook, chef, around the mitigation site.”

The mitigation site is a sanctioned camp in Olympia — the center of a podcast series by Project Homeless and KNKX Public Radio called “Outsiders,” hosted by KNKX’s Will James.

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is “Family Matters.” First, we meet one Indipino woman and learn how she connected to her roots on Bainbridge Island. Then, we meet a mother and author who is sharing her son’s story of addiction as a cautionary tale for other parents. We meet a woman who might have been forbidden from having children a century ago — and we meet her daughter. Grieving parents turn a tragedy into something constructive. And we meet the father — so to speak — of “I Didn’t Reproduce Day.”

Our latest Sound Effect theme is “Friend or Foe.” First, we hear how artists took over a business group and changed Camano Island. Then, we meet an ex-Army Ranger whose flip-flop business is an olive branch for peace. We dive into the epic life of Sidney Rittenberg, a "towering historical figure" who settled near Tacoma. We learn about the ups and downs of having someone else’s DNA. And one woman shares how a bad fortune telling session led to a new outlook on life — and some payback. 

As soon as Daniel Lyon jumped out of the wrecked fire engine in Twisp, he was burning alive.

“It was the loudest, brightest thing you’d ever seen,” he said of the wall of flames. “It sounded like a freight train all around you.”

Lyon crawled up the ravine to the dirt road and took off running, toward the wildfire safety zone. That, he says, was the easy part.

For the latest Sound Effect, our theme is “New Year, New Me” — stories of reinvention, no matter what the calendar says. First, we meet a self-proclaimed former “couch potato” whose four-month solo hike changed how he sees the world. Then, we learn about the funk song former Mariners player Lenny Randle wrote about the Kingdome. We learn about an effort to eliminate legal debt for formerly incarcerated people. We meet a basketball player who made the unexpected leap to man of God. And finally, two unlikely roommates overcome setbacks to form a genuine friendship. 

In celebration of our 200th episode, this week’s Sound Effect theme is “Suite 200,” where all of the stories connect to a place with Suite 200 in their address. First, two sisters follow up their brush with scientific fame by tackling homelessness in Seattle. Then, we meet a mom who helped raise money for childhood cancer research with help from some special athletes. We learn about a population boom in Bremerton that puts 21st century Seattle to shame. Finally, we meet one of Tacoma’s biggest advocates who has taken up residence in a city that’s, well, not Tacoma. 

Author's note: I’ve worked at KNKX Public Radio just over a year now. And it’s stories like this that brought me here. The words scribbled on love notes hidden in boxes at Tacoma’s Over The Moon Cafe belong on the radio. As I said in this story, reading them over a tasty meal feels like being engrossed in a good book you never want to put down. But hearing them spoken — by the woman who dreamed up the restaurant where they live in anonymity — is that much better. The audio injects life into these stories of everyday people, which is precisely what KNKX does best. I hope everyone enjoys this story as much as I do. And if you have time this holiday season, stop by for a meal and leave a note of your own. (This story originally aired Sept. 12.)  

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is “Cheating Death” — stories of defying the odds and living to tell the tale. First, we meet a 1920s daredevil who survived 104 vertical feet of certain death. A diver recounts her underwater brush with death. A a 92-year-old author recalls how an unlikely ally saved her from Nazi occupation. We meet a UW researcher studying how to help your dog live longer. And a local storyteller talks about his unexpected connection with a woman who was awaiting a heart transplant. 

The State Auditor’s Office released a fraud report Monday morning detailing $6.9 million in misappropriated funds within the Pierce County Housing Authority (PCHA). It’s believed to be the largest misappropriation on record in the state, propagated by the authority's former finance director.

Pierce County has found its next chief medical examiner, shortly after reaching settlement agreements with the office’s top two officials.  

The county announced Tuesday that Dr. Mark Fajardo will lead the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office as soon as he relocates from Southern California. He’ll succeed Dr. Thomas Clark, who recently announced his intent to retire amid a whirlwind of complaints.