Diana Opong
Reporter/Announcer/Producer
About
Diana Opong is a general assignment reporter and announcer at KUOW. She has reported on stories related to the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, and moose at Mount Rainer National Park. When she is not reporting Diana can be found working as a fill-in announcer. In addition to her local work for KUOW, Diana also works as a freelance host for NPR's Life Kit, and spot news reporter for NPR News.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, conversational Ashanti Twi
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: Member of SBJA, PMJA, SPJ, AIR Media
Stories
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Washington state population tops 8 million and it's not getting any younger
The state of Washington has reached 8 million people, and it's growing twice as fast as the national average.
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A music teacher left two jobs following allegations of sexual harassment. Kent School District hired him anyway
When parents in Kent, Washington, heard whispers that the new music teacher at Lake Youngs Elementary School had made students and colleagues uncomfortable, they probed his past. What followed was a frustrating journey that exposed deep flaws in background checks for teachers moving from state to state, which rely heavily on disjointed systems, applicant disclosures, and a district’s discretion — and sometimes allow teachers with a history of alleged predatory behavior to remain in the classroom.
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A career of dangerous rescues on Washington's 'Graveyard of the Pacific'
Just outside Ilwaco, Washington, is the nation’s largest and busiest coast guard unit. This stretch of coast, known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” is one of the most dangerous waterways to navigate in the U.S.
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Author Stephanie Land has struggled as a single mom in college, but don't call her a 'success story'
Soundside interviews author Stephanie Land about her most recent book, "Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education."
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Hundreds of Providence nurses take to the picket line in Everett
Hundreds of nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett went on the picket line Tuesday morning after authorizing a five day strike. The major sticking points are staffing levels and pay. The union and Providence have been in negotiations for months over a new contract for roughly 1300 nurses.
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The love story that grew Seattle's 'secret garden'
Since 1972, the Streissguth Gardens have become one of Seattle’s most unique landmarks. The gardens take up a full acre of hillside just west of Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park. If you’ve spent a morning running up the long Blaine Street Stairs, you’ve passed right by the gardens. But the story of how this unorthodox public garden came to be is one of coincidence, love, and perhaps a bit of magic.
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OL Reign loses NWSL championship, Rapinoe injured in final game
The stage was set this Saturday, the OL Reign were vying for their first National Women’s Soccer League Championship against New York's Gotham FC. It was also the final professional game for the Reign's transcendent talent, retiring winger Megan Rapinoe, and then, less than five minutes into the match, Rapinoe left with an injury.
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How 'forever chemicals' got in the groundwater west of Spokane
Seattle Times reporters Isabella Breda & Manuel Villa talk with Soundside about PFAS chemicals in the drinking water near the city of Spokane.
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EPA sides with tribes on petition to regulate toxic tire chemical that kills salmon
6PPD has been in use for decades as a kind of bonding agent that prevents cracking and general wear and tear in tires. When the surface of the tire reacts with ozone or oxygen, it turns into a new compound called 6PPD-Quinone, which is toxic to aquatic life like coho salmon.
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One man’s mission to save the California redwoods by bringing them to the Pacific Northwest
Coast redwoods and giant sequoias are iconic trees that tower over Northern California’s forests, but scientists are wondering if these trees will survive through a rapidly changing climate. It's leading some to consider a potential solution: moving the trees to the Pacific Northwest.