Tom Banse
knkx public radio
Olympia, WA, United States
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Recent articles by Tom:
Stockpile of Boeing 737 MAX jets assures Moses Lake years of work
When the 737 MAX was grounded in 2019 after two deadly accidents, Boeing kept on manufacturing the airplane. Today, 100 or more undelivered MAX’s are still parked at an airfield in Moses Lake, Wash., awaiting modifications. The work is taking so long that some technicians and machinists sent there from Boeing’s Puget Sound facilities are now buying homes and putting down roots. → Read More
‘Help the kelp!’ Northwest groups try to aid struggling kelp forests
There's a rallying cry at various bays and beaches up and down the West Coast; it's "Help the kelp!" The towering brown seaweed with the floating bulb on top is in steep decline. That's alarming because underwater kelp forests provide shelter and food for a wide variety of sea life. → Read More
Portland will take delivery of the region's first electric fire truck
You probably no longer bat an eye when an electric car passes by on the road. More novel battery-powered vehicles are soon joining the parade to help operators achieve their sustainability goals. Now, several Pacific Northwest fire departments have ordered their first electric fire trucks. → Read More
Lawmakers consider ban on foreign entities buying farmland
Legislators in Washington are joining more than a dozen other states that are considering whether to restrict or ban foreign entities from buying farmland. The initial hearing on Olympia's version of the foreign ownership restrictions however drew more criticism than support on Tuesday. → Read More
Legalizing jaywalking to reduce enforcement inequities considered at Washington statehouse
Racial and social justice advocates asked Washington legislators on Wednesday to repeal laws against jaywalking. However, a bill to do that generated lots of skeptical questions during a state House committee hearing and its prospects are unclear. → Read More
Washington considers legalizing jaywalking to reduce enforcement inequities
Racial and social justice advocates asked Washington legislators Wednesday to repeal laws against jaywalking. However, a bill to do that generated lots of skeptical questions during a state House committee hearing and its prospects are unclear. → Read More
'It's a gee whiz feeling' — commemorating the lasting legacy of the Boeing 747
Saying goodbye to an old friend is never easy. In Boeing’s case, the friend is a 147-thousand-pound commercial jet with a 195-foot wingspan that changed the face of air travel forever when it debuted in 1970. A.K.A., The 747. → Read More
Before enormous, emotional crowd, Boeing delivers final 747
Thousands of people said goodbye to Boeing's final 747 airplane → Read More
What if voting were not just a right, but a legally required duty?
Numerous Democrats in the Washington Legislature are backing a new proposal to make voting in elections compulsory. Citizens are required by law to cast ballots in about 25 counties, but in no other U.S. states. Republicans in Olympia described the idea as "un-American." → Read More
WA lawmakers debating ways to address surging traffic fatalities
Washington state lawmakers in Olympia are debating a suite of possible new responses to surging traffic fatalities. Those include authorizing photo radar in highway work zones, prohibiting right turns at many red lights, and lowering the breathalyzer limit to convict for drunk driving. Some of these ideas have corollaries in Oregon, where the legislative machinery is getting revved up too. → Read More
Foam dock floats, laundry filters, hotel shampoo amongst newest bids to reduce plastic pollution
Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seen enough to make them seek more regulations. → Read More
Gov. Inslee leans into housing and homelessness in 2023 State of the State address
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee emphasized housing construction and homelessness response during his 2023 State of the State address on Tuesday. The issue is a bipartisan priority for the state legislature, but approaches differ among the lawmakers who convened in Olympia this week. → Read More
Six issues on the agenda for the 2023 Washington Legislature
Washington state voters and lawmakers appear to be in close alignment on their top priorities for the incoming Washington Legislature. The 2023 session gavels to order at noon on Monday, Jan. 9. → Read More
6 issues atop the agenda for the 2023 Washington Legislature
Washington state voters and lawmakers appear to be in close alignment on their top priorities for the incoming Washington Legislature. → Read More
Pacific NW 'hydrogen hub' pitch to federal government treated as top secret
The states of Washington and Oregon have submitted a joint bid to the U.S. Department of Energy to get a share of $8 billion that Congress set aside to launch "Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs" around the nation. But good luck trying to learn what exactly the bi-state bid entails, other than the safe presumption that at least one industrial hydrogen production facility would be subsidized. → Read More
Whales spotted around offshore wind farm zones along West Coast
The federal government has commissioned Oregon State University to look into the possible impacts of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife. In the first year of this four-year project, the researchers spotted sizable numbers of seabirds and whales in areas that could one day host floating wind farms. → Read More
Swelling school of seaweed farmers looking to anchor in Northwest waters
Prospective kelp growers who want to join the handful of existing commercial seaweed farms in the Pacific Northwest are having to contend with a lengthy permitting process. It's gotten contentious in a few cases, but even so, at least a couple of new seaweed farms stand on the cusp of approval. Their harvests could be sold for human food, animal feed or fertilizer. → Read More
Big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help orcas
A majority of captains of big commercial ships transiting Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to temporarily slow down to reduce underwater noise impacts on critically endangered killer whales. The experimental slowdown will be extended into the new year. → Read More
Slow down! Surge in traffic deaths continues in West Coast states
While many of the disruptions of the pandemic have eased this year, the surge in traffic fatalities is showing few signs of abating. Policymakers are trying a number of tactics to respond. → Read More
Some freeways may withstand a major quake per new UW modeling
New modeling by the University of Washington of the impacts of a major Cascadia earthquake offers a less dire picture of the aftermath of the so-called "Big One" — specifically when it comes to highway bridges. → Read More