2025 is officially here - and with that comes a whole lotta new: new resolutions, new goals, and a new page a day pull away calendar on your desk at work. 

But even with all this new to look forward to - at least one thing will stay the same in 2025: we’ll be here to bring you the news coverage you rely on and trust every day.

Soundside reached out to the KUOW newsroom to ask reporters about the big stories they’ll cover this year. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

2025 is officially here - and with that comes a whole lotta new: new resolutions, new goals, and a new page a day pull away calendar on your desk at work.&nbsp;
But even with all this new to look forward to - at least one thing will stay the same in 2025: we&rsquo;ll be here to bring you the news coverage you rely on and trust every day.
Soundside reached out to the KUOW newsroom to ask reporters about the big stories they&rsquo;ll cover this year.&nbsp;
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

A new governor, budget woes, and pickleball: KUOW's newsroom shares their big stories of 2025

In an effort to curb gun crime, Tacoma announced last year that it was turning to a tool called ShotSpotter.

ShotSpotter is a form of Gun Detection Technology (GDT), which uses a series of acoustic microphone sensors to track loud bangs, booms, and pops in a designated area. Once those "dynamic events" are triggered, a human classifier verifies the sound was a gunshot and alerts local police. The entire process happens within 60 seconds or less. 

The idea is that it’s a faster and more accurate way to alert police to gunshots, compared with relying on 911 calls. That, then, allows police to get to a more targeted crime scene sooner, and have more evidence to ideally solve the crime.

SoundThinking, the company that runs ShotSpotter, says the technology has been used in more than 180 cities globally.

However, the technology has been controversial in several large cities. Houston’s mayor called ShotSpotter a “gimmick” when he announced plans to scrap the city’s contract. After years of debate over its effectiveness, Chicago ended its use of Shotspotter in September. 

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell advocated for years for using an acoustic gunshot detection technology in Seattle before backing off his plan to fund a pilot program last year. 

Tacoma is moving forward with ShotSpotter, thanks to an $800,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. That grant will fund three different kinds of technology aimed at improving the city’s ability to investigate gun crimes. The police department is on the verge of piloting ShotSpotter in a two square mile area around Hosmer Street, in South Tacoma.

Tacoma Police told us the city's ShotSpotter rollout is now slated for Spring 2025. 

But some in the city are concerned about the cost and accuracy of ShotSpotter, and say it might lead to greater police presence and surveillance in communities that have long suffered from over policing. 

To learn more, Soundside spoke with a group of community advocates who've spoken against the technology at ShotSpotter information sessions in Tacoma; Alfred Lewers Jr., the Senior Director of Trauma Response and Community Engagement at SoundThinking; and Eric Piza, a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University in Boston who's studied the use of ShotSpotter in major cities like Chicago and Kansas City. 

Guests:
Latasha Palmer, community advocate and board secretary of the Hilltop Action Coalition.
Bunchy Carter, minister of defense for the Black Panther Party in Tacoma.
Oneida Arnold, long term member of The Conversation 253, a Tacoma and South Sound community group.
Alfred Lewers Jr., senior director of trauma response and community engagement at SoundThinking, the company that oversees ShotSpotter. 
Eric Piza, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston.

Related links: 
Tacoma residents voice concerns about gunshot detection pilot program during public forum | king5.com
ShotSpotter FAQs - City of Tacoma
I studied ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City – here’s what people in Detroit and the more than 167 other cities and towns using this technology should know
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell shelves plans for ShotSpotter technology | The Seattle Times

 

In an effort to curb gun crime, Tacoma announced last year that it was turning to a tool called ShotSpotter.
ShotSpotter is a form of Gun Detection Technology (GDT), which uses a series of acoustic microphone sensors to track loud bangs, booms, and pops in a designated area. Once those "dynamic events" are triggered, a human classifier verifies the sound was a gunshot and alerts local police. The entire process happens within 60 seconds or less.&nbsp;
The idea is that it&rsquo;s a faster and more accurate way to alert police to gunshots, compared with relying on 911 calls. That, then, allows police to get to a more targeted crime scene sooner, and have more evidence to ideally solve the crime.
SoundThinking, the company that runs ShotSpotter, says the technology has been used in more than 180 cities globally.
However, the technology has been controversial in several large cities. Houston&rsquo;s mayor called ShotSpotter a <a href="https://abc13.com/post/shotspotter-program-mayor-john-whitmire-support-gunshot-detection/14891606/">&ldquo;gimmick&rdquo;</a> when he announced plans to scrap the city&rsquo;s contract. After years of debate over its effectiveness, Chicago <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/shotspotter-tecnology-goes-dark-sunday-night-chicago/">ended its use of Shotspotter</a> in September. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell advocated for years for using an acoustic gunshot detection technology in Seattle before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-mayor-bruce-harrell-shelves-plans-for-shotspotter-technology/">backing off</a> his plan to fund a pilot program last year.&nbsp;
Tacoma is moving forward with ShotSpotter, thanks to an $800,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. That grant will fund three different kinds of technology aimed at improving the city&rsquo;s ability to investigate gun crimes. The police department is on the verge of piloting ShotSpotter in a two square mile area around Hosmer Street, in South Tacoma.
Tacoma Police told us the city's ShotSpotter rollout is now slated for Spring 2025.&nbsp;
But some in the city are concerned about the cost and accuracy of ShotSpotter, and say it might lead to greater police presence and surveillance in communities that have long suffered from over policing.&nbsp;
To learn more, Soundside spoke with a group of community advocates who've spoken against the technology at ShotSpotter information sessions in Tacoma; Alfred Lewers Jr., the Senior Director of Trauma Response and Community Engagement at SoundThinking; and Eric Piza, a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University in Boston who's studied the use of ShotSpotter in major cities like Chicago and Kansas City.&nbsp;
Guests:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Latasha Palmer, community advocate and board secretary of the Hilltop Action Coalition.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Bunchy Carter, minister of defense for the Black Panther Party in Tacoma.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Oneida Arnold, long term member of The Conversation 253, a Tacoma and South Sound community group.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Alfred Lewers Jr., senior director of trauma response and community engagement at SoundThinking, the company that oversees ShotSpotter.&nbsp;</li>
<li dir="ltr">Eric Piza, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston.</li>
</ul>
Related links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/tacoma-residents-concerns-shotspotter-pilot-program/281-b4ebb3e6-6a95-4533-b456-3afb36ba6674">Tacoma residents voice concerns about gunshot detection pilot program during public forum | king5.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cityoftacoma.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=169&amp;pageId=263206">ShotSpotter FAQs - City of Tacoma</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/i-studied-shotspotter-in-chicago-and-kansas-city-heres-what-people-in-detroit-and-the-more-than-167-other-cities-and-towns-using-this-technology-should-know-230265">I studied ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City &ndash; here&rsquo;s what people in Detroit and the more than 167 other cities and towns using this technology should know</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-mayor-bruce-harrell-shelves-plans-for-shotspotter-technology/">Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell shelves plans for ShotSpotter technology | The Seattle Times</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

As ShotSpotter rolls out in Tacoma, feelings over gunshot detection technology remain mixed

Amazon employees are back in the office five days a week, five years after Covid-19 shook up work as we know it; as the company’s so-called Return-To-Office policy took effect on Thursday, January 2nd. 

Amazon is the largest private employer to roll back its pandemic-era work from home policy.

So, what will this mean for both employees AND local businesses in the hubs where Amazon resides? 

Monica Nicklesburg tackled this question for KUOW as the resident Labor & Economy Reporter, she’s also the co-host of the KUOW podcast BOOMING, and she joined Soundside host Libby Denkmann to break down how those employees are feeling about this shift.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

RELATED LINK: 
Culture-building or cost-cutting? Amazon's return-to-office order raises questions, fears 

Amazon employees are back in the office five days a week, five years after Covid-19 shook up work as we know it; as the company&rsquo;s so-called Return-To-Office policy took effect on Thursday, January 2nd.&nbsp;
Amazon is the largest private employer to roll back its pandemic-era work from home policy.
So, what will this mean for both employees AND local businesses in the hubs where Amazon resides?&nbsp;
Monica Nicklesburg tackled this question for KUOW as the resident Labor &amp; Economy Reporter, she&rsquo;s also the co-host of the KUOW podcast BOOMING, and she joined Soundside host Libby Denkmann to break down how those employees are feeling about this shift.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.
RELATED LINK:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/culture-building-or-cost-cutting-amazon-s-return-to-office-order-raises-questions-fears">Culture-building or cost-cutting? Amazon's return-to-office order raises questions, fears</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

A look into Amazon's "Return to Office" mandate

It’s been five years since Covid 19 began spreading around the world from its origin in Wuhan, China. In that emergent time of the pandemic, there was widespread concern about clusters of the virus, in Italy, then Iran, then an outbreak at a nursing home in the Pacific Northwest. By March of 2020, an unprecedented international phenomenon took place: countries began closing their borders.

When the World Closed its Doors by Laurie Trautman and Edward Alden looks at how this international effort disrupted the lives of people who had grown reliant on movement between countries; from migrant workers to cross-border families.

Guest:

Laurie Trautman, Director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University

 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

It&rsquo;s been five years since Covid 19 began spreading around the world from its origin in Wuhan, China. In that emergent time of the pandemic, there was widespread concern about clusters of the virus, in Italy, then Iran, then an outbreak at a nursing home in the Pacific Northwest. By March of 2020, an unprecedented international phenomenon took place: countries began closing their borders.
<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/when-the-world-closed-its-doors-9780197697818?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">When the World Closed its Doors</a> by Laurie Trautman and Edward Alden looks at how this international effort disrupted the lives of people who had grown reliant on movement between countries; from migrant workers to cross-border families.
Guest:
Laurie Trautman, Director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University
&nbsp;
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.&nbsp;

A new governor, budget woes, and pickleball: KUOW's newsroom shares their big stories of 2025

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