Ashley Gross
In July 2017, Ashley Gross became KNKX's youth and education reporter after years of covering the business and labor beat. She joined the station in May 2012 and previously worked five years at WBEZ in Chicago, where she reported on business and the economy. Her work telling the human side of the mortgage crisis garnered awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Chicago Headline Club. She's also reported for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage and for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.
She studied history at Brown University and earned a master's in international affairs at Columbia University. She grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She lives in West Seattle with her husband and two sons.
One of Ashley's most memorable moments in radio happened several years ago in Northwest Alaska: "I was visiting an alcohol and drug rehab program in the tiny village of Selawik. It helps Alaska Natives recover by helping them get back in touch with their subsistence lifestyle. It was spring, which meant the river was still frozen - barely. We went out on snowmachines to go ice-fishing, but late in the day, as we headed back, the river had melted to the consistency of a Slurpee. It was a harrowing ride and a good lesson in trust - I rode with my eyes closed, clinging for dear life to the woman driving. A week later, three people drowned trying to ride a snowmachine over that river, and that's when I realized just how dangerous life in rural Alaska can be."
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Boeing workers and retirees in Washington state are grieving. The pride they felt from designing and building airliners has been tarnished by the company's 737 Max crisis.
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Amid Board Game Boom, Designers Roll The Dice On Odd Ideas — Even Exploding CowsSales of hobby games grew about 20 percent last year, and crowdfunding sites are opening doors for indie game designers. All this is paving the way for more than a few new and, well, inventive games. -
The council on Monday passed a first-of-its-kind ordinance that makes it possible for drivers with ride-hailing companies, such as Uber, to unionize and collectively bargain for better pay.
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More than a third of Americans play video games three or more hours a week. Part of the appeal is the richly developed characters in the games. -
Seattle Plan To Ease Public Housing Waitlist Is Met With CriticismThe city's public housing agency wants to hike rents for current residents who are able to work and are not disabled. But that announcement has led to an outcry from those in public housing.
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While a debate rages over the future of the Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C., the bank's potential demise has drawn warnings from the other Washington — Washington state. Ashley Gross of KPLU reports that businesses, labor unions and politicians are raising alarm bells about potentially severe consequences.
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The push by Boeing to wring concessions from its unionized workers — including the loss of pensions — echoes what's happened at other big manufacturers and demonstrates the state of organized labor across the country. -
Boeing machinists voted Friday to accept a slightly revised offer that union rank-and-file rejected in the fall. Union leaders say they want to preserve pay and benefits, but they feared if machinists didn't accept the offer, Boeing would consider moving production of the 777X elsewhere.
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Boeing machinists are set to vote Friday on whether to accept a slightly-revised offer that union members recently rejected. Union leaders say they want to preserve pay and benefits. But they fear if machinists don't accept the offer, Boeing may move production of the 777X elsewhere.
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Even though it's not a negotiating period, Boeing told the union that members have to vote Wednesday on an eight-year contract extension that includes higher health insurance costs and a pension freeze. Boeing says if they don't pass it, the company may build the next version of its wide-body 777 jet elsewhere.
