Vivian McCall

This is the second week of Washington's legislative session, and there's a lot going on in state politics. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins joined KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick to explain it all, from the governor's controversial housing plan to a Republican proposal that would eliminate the gas tax for a year.

It’s day two of the 2022 legislative session, and Gov. Jay Inslee is delivering his State of the State address. But instead of speaking to a packed joint session of the Legislature, it will be a mostly virtual event.

In this first week of the new year, it's evident that COVID-19 is overshadowing everything in Washington — from the upcoming legislative session to the lack of tests for those who want them.

Today is Bruce Harrell's first Monday as the mayor of Seattle. He's taking over during a difficult time for the city: Omicron is pushing caseloads and infecting vaccinated people; homelessness is a monumental and growing issue without clear solutions, and the city's future of policing is still up in the air.

Jenny Durkan has been mayor of Seattle during a time of incredible change. She oversaw the city's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, protests against racist policing and the controversy over police tactics that followed. On Friday at the stroke of midnight, she passes that responsibility on to Bruce Harrell.

Each year, the staff at KNKX enjoys gifting each of you this special sonic holiday gift. Here's our abridged reading of "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore.

This year, some families are returning to holiday traditions they've sorely missed during the pandemic. KNKX's Vivian McCall remembers a particularly sweet one from her childhood.

Three weeks before the start of the legislative session, the state Legislature has once again filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jay Inslee that claims he abused his veto power. Meanwhile, omicron has quickly become the dominant variant circulating in Washington state, and Republican state Sen. Doug Ericksen has died.

Gov. Jay Inslee is traveling around western Washington this week, rolling out budget and policy proposals ahead of next year's legislative session. Today, he's in Skagit County, outlining another part of his environmental agenda. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins joined Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick to talk about it.

KNKX reporter Will James tracked down some of former residents of Tacoma's Merkle Hotel to see where they are now, and it created a picture of the forces driving homelessness in the region and their effect on people’s lives. His three-part series aired last week. He sat down with Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick to talk about it.