Monica Spain

This story originally aired on Sept. 8, 2018.
 

Growing up on Mercer Island, Mark Rose was captivated by rock n’ roll. And like most kids, he wanted to be a part of it. But unlike most kids, Mark did end up in the music business. He didn’t make it as a musician, but instead worked on the business side of things.

In the small hours of April 2, 2001, a 92-foot trawler called the Arctic Rose was swallowed up by the Bering Sea. The Seattle-based crew of 15 went down with it, and it was called the deadliest fishing accident in 50 years.

There was no mayday call, no survivors and no obvious reason for this terrible tragedy.

A Coast Guard investigation came up with its most likely scenario: that the crew had mistakenly left a watertight door open, allowing waves to swamp the boat.

This story originally aired on May 26, 2018.

On a hot, windy night in San Francisco, a good friend of Everett musician Jason Webley climbed into a dumpster. His nickname was Chicken John, and he crouched at the bottom of the dumpster to light a cigarette. What he found, there among the garbage, turned out to be unexpected treasure: an oversized, handmade leather scrapbook that was falling apart.

The Islamic Center of Eastside is Bellevue’s only mosque. It was at this Sacred Space that Muslims from more than 40 different countries prayed five times a day.

That is, until it was the target of arson -- not once, but twice.

In the Islamic faith, the mosque is not only a house of prayer, but the central place for Muslims to gather, according to Omer Lone, a mosque elder at the Center.

"The mosque plays the role of the community center," he said. "It's the university and the town hall."

On Thusday, people across the state will be taking part in the Great Washington ShakeOut. It’s an earthquake drill.  You might remember this sort of exercise from grade school, but kids aren’t the only ones who need to know what to do.

Seattle’s Cafe Racer, the iconic coffee house and bar in the University District will be closing its doors for the last time Wednesday night.  Many remember Cafe Racer as the scene of a deadly mass shooting in 2012. Yet,  for regulars it’s the real deal in a city where it’s getting hard to find that kind of character.

If the recent Equifax data breach has you thinking it’s getting harder to protect your personal data, the Washington State Attorney General says you’re right. 

Almost three million Washingtonians were plagued with compromised data in a one-year period. That’s six times the number of consumers affected compared to the previous year, according to a report that tracks data breaches over a yearlong period, from July 2016 through this past July. 

Nearly every county in Washington has a shortage of doctors, particularly in the areas of primary care and mental health. But there is a new push to train more practitioners for rural and underserved places.

As any expectant parent knows, names aren’t something to be taken lightly. That’s definitely the case in the naming of Washington State’s geographic features, like creeks and hills. 

After such a glorious summer in the Pacific Northwest, you might be gearing up for the achy joints that many people swear come with cold, wet weather. But a local researcher says your knees could actually get a break when the weather changes.

A pianist and saxophonist, Billy Tipton became a fixture of the jazz scene in the Northwest. He frequented clubs here in the late 1940s and early '50s, first as a soloist and then with his trio.  Billy was a regular at places like the Elks club in Longview, Washington.  

After recording several albums, he decided to settle in Spokane, where he died in 1989. That's when more of Billy Tipton's story began to emerge. 

Imagine being trapped inside a bubble filled with the hazy exhaust fumes from a car. You might be sputtering, coughing as your throat constricts with the smoke.  This eerie scene will be played out in a performance art piece in downtown Seattle.

When Matthew Metz, a lawyer by trade, switched to an electric car, he wondered why so many people he knew were passionate about the environment, but still so attached to their gas-powered cars.  He decided public art was the best way he could get people to stop and think. 

For lovers of the outdoors, camping season is in now in full swing. It’s easy to book campground reservations online.  So easy, in fact that many Washington State Parks are booked up.  But don’t despair, there are always last-minute opportunities.

For decades, Canadian shoppers have walked back and forth across the U.S.-Canada border into Sumas, Wash. to shop at a family-owned grocery store called Bromley’s Market. 

After 57 years, the store is closing its doors for the last time today.

Catherine DeBruin, is the front-end supervisor at Bromley’s Market. Her grandparents bought the store in 1960 and she grew up in the family business.  

As it becomes more expensive to live in Seattle, the racial and economic disparities in public schools become more glaring. Researchers from a Pacific Northwest think tank say the antidote may lie in updating Seattle’s zoning laws – the rules that determine what types of housing can be built.  

Tacoma’s City Attorney’s Office is exploring ways to hold the makers of opioid painkillers accountable for the city’s growing homelessness crisis.

The city is gathering information from law enforcement and other city officials to determine whether to move forward with a lawsuit against drug manufacturers.

Last January, the city of Everett filed a lawsuit against Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, alleging the company knowingly allowed pills to be funneled to the black market.

The city of Seattle doesn’t track the number of big, white land use signs that are out there, but as anyone who lives here knows, there are an awful lot of them right now.

After 30 years, the ubiquitous public notices are getting a facelift. Yes, they’ll look nicer and they should be easier to decipher.

City officials say the updated signs will be easier to understand and they’ll feature color images of what the buildings will look like.

Six King County African-American groups are vowing to collaborate to break the cycle of poverty in their communities. The groups cite a growing wealth gap between blacks and their white neighbors.

A study commissioned by the organizations explores factors behind this disparity. The groups gathered stories from more than 500 African-Americans who live and work in the Seattle area.  

Weather in the Puget Sound might be dreary, but that hasn’t dampened the interest in solar energy. Cash incentives have only fueled the attraction. But one very generous program is being phased out, and others are set to follow suit. 

It’s been five years since the 2012 May Day protest that left windows shattered in downtown Seattle. May Day events usually turn violent at night, but police were caught off-guard that year when a small group of protesters lashed out in the middle of the day.

Seattle is no stranger to protests that end in chaos, arrests and injuries. In 1999, World Trade Organization protests shocked people around the world. And on every May Day in recent years, after peaceful daytime marches wrap up, mayhem creeps in.

It’s never been easier or more affordable to dress based on fashion trends seen on the runway. But the glut of inexpensive clothing from 'fast fashion' retailers is leaving another mark, and it’s not so beautiful.

It takes about 1,800 gallons of water to make one new pair of jeans. Caroline Fichter, a mom of two boys might not know the exact figures, but intuitively she does. That’s why she dropped off used clothes at Value Village in Seattle.

Changes in federal immigration policy are stirring up fear for many Washington immigrants. At the same time, state and local employees are unsure about their obligations when it comes to immigration enforcement. But now there are some new guidelines that should help clear up the confusion.

More than 11,000 households in King County rely on federal assistance to pay the rent. And that’s just in the county’s suburban cities and unincorporated areas – not including Seattle and Renton. Starting Wednesday, the waiting list to get this help – also known as Section 8 housing — will open up for only the second time since 2011.

Seattle’s bike-share program is in its final hours. The city tried to bail out the little-used system about a year ago, to the tune of $1.4 million. But in the end, there were not enough riders to make a go of it.

It’s going to be a noisy day in Olympia, Monday. The Capitol will be teeming with builders wielding hammers and nails; not inside the dome, but on the lawn outside.

Jared Eaton is a junior at Aberdeen High School. His construction class –what old-timers know as “shop” -- is one of more than 20 from across the state that has carted its handiwork within yards of the Capitol steps.

"There's two windows and a door, which makes it feel really cool," said Eaton.

Seattle’s Green Lake is one of eight city parks with buildings that are in what officials call a ‘desperate’ situation. After considering a remodel of the 1928 community center and the 1950s-era swimming pool, the city concluded the facilities are at the end of their useful life. That is raising questions about the best way to pay for their replacement.

Imagine what it would be like to find yourself without a roof over your head. It’s not easy to put yourself in those shoes. But what if you could experience homelessness by hearing and feeling it in music — the uncertainty and trauma, the hope, and the question of how to solve it?

A new secretary of housing and urban development, Ben Carson, was sworn this week. Officials who help low-income people get housing in Seattle say it’s not clear how the new HUD secretary’s policies might affect this area. But one thing is certain -- there are many more people asking for federal help with housing than will receive it.