Tagged: Radio Retrospective

Earlier this month King County Executive Dow Constantine signed some of the state's first same-sex marriage licenses and spoke against a plan to run more coal trains through Seattle. We'll ask him about these and other stories impacting our region. Have a question for the King County executive? Call 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

In 1917, the glittering elite of Tzarist Russia were crushed, practically overnight, by the Communist revolution. What happened to the nearly two million people who lived at the top of Russian society? Douglas Smith, awarding-winning historian and author, joins us to talk about "Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy."

Starting today, you can light up in the privacy of your home. State law has changed regarding marijuana possession, but the business rules will have to be developed. The state Liquor Control Board has a year to figure out how to set up Washington’s marijuana market. The federal government’s tax laws will put a crimp on any Washington state entrepreneur until Congress makes a change. We talk to the Aaron Smith of the National Cannabis Industry Association about the path ahead.

Puget Sound Energy owns and operates a coal-fired power plant out of Billings, Montana, that the Sierra Club calls "the dirtiest coal plant in the West." The Colstrip Plant meets EPA emission standards and PSE touts its green-energy portfolio, with plans to triple its renewable energy supply by 2020. How does coal fit into that equation? And with coal plants generating 42 percent of America's electricity, how much impact would closing one plant have? We take a look with PSE's Andy Wappler and Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center.