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Not your typical first day back to school

caption: Alayna Holmes, a first-grade student at Northgate Elementary School, hugs her mom, Michelle Holmes, while saying goodbye on Monday, April 5, 2021, on the first day of in-person learning at the school in Seattle.
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Alayna Holmes, a first-grade student at Northgate Elementary School, hugs her mom, Michelle Holmes, while saying goodbye on Monday, April 5, 2021, on the first day of in-person learning at the school in Seattle.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

On Monday, K-5 public school students returned to the classroom for the first time since the start of the pandemic under a hybrid model that combines in-person instruction with remote learning. Also, we hear from King County Executive Dow Constantine on a possible fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Plus, why it’s so tough to stop depending on fossil fuels to heat and power your home.

Correction 04/06/21: A Washington state bill, HB 1084, mentioned in this episode that would phase out the use of natural gas in all new buildings has not made it out of the House Committee on Appropriations for further legislative consideration.

Individual segments are available in our podcast stream or at www.kuow.org/record.

King County Executive Dow Constantine 04.06

King County Executive Dow Constantine talks with Bill Radke about rising COVID-19 case counts that threaten the progress Seattle and the county have made in trying to curb the pandemic. He also discusses a new audit of the county's jails.

Why it's so hard to wean your home off fossil fuels

Grist writer Emily Pontecorvo talks with Bill Radke about the challenges of green-ifying your home to stop using fossil fuels for heat or power. (Correction 04/06/21: A Washington state bill, HB 1084, mentioned in this episode that would phase out the use of natural gas in all new buildings has not made it out of the House Committee on Appropriations for further legislative consideration.)

Welcoming back elementary students to the classroom

KUOW education reporter Ann Dornfeld talks with Bill Radke about the return of students in grades K-5 to classrooms throughout the state on Monday under a new hybrid model that combines in-person instruction with remote learning. We also look ahead to April 19 when middle and high school students will return to the classroom for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

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