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Austin Jenkins

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  • Untitled

    McKenna Calls Loss “Very Disappointing” In Concession Video

    Republican Rob McKenna was leading in 31 of 39 Washington counties. But it was not enough. Friday night he conceded defeat in the race for governor to Democrat Jay Inslee. McKenna called Inslee after the latest vote tally showed the race narrowing, but not fast enough to reverse the Democrat’s lead. Later, McKenna posted a video to Facebook.“Despite the extraordinary efforts of our volunteers, donors, staff and everyone who’s been a part of team McKenna it appears we will fall short of victory when the last ballots are counted," said McKenna. "After 17 months of hard work that is a very disappointing result.”McKenna, a two-term Attorney General, says in the video he doesn’t know what will come next for him. But he vowed to continue to stay involved in public service and specifically mentioned education reform.Shortly after McKenna conceded, Inslee declared victory at his Seattle headquarters. He called on the state to  “to build a working Washington.”

  • Untitled

    Many Races Still In Flux In Washington

    Many races in Washington state are yet to be decided. In the highly contested race for governor, Republican Rob McKenna is trailing Democrat Jay Inslee by about 2.5 percentage points. The same-sex marriage referendum and the charter schools initiative are also too close to call.  But the returns on the marijuana initiative are decisive: recreational use will soon be legal in Washington. KUOW’s Sara Lerner speaks with our political reporter Austin Jenkins.

  • Environment

    The Modern Day Columbia River

    The Columbia River is often called the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. It flows 1,200 miles from British Columbia, through the inland Northwest, to the Pacific Ocean. A hundred years ago the Columbia was a free-flowing river. Today it's tamed by no fewer than a dozen dams. In part one of a series on the modern day Columbia River system, Correspondent Austin Jenkins takes us on a canoe trip in Northeastern Washington. Today we go searching for history that's hard to find.