On the latest episode of sound politics, the vast majority of Americans say that money in politics is a threat to democracy.

Seattle came up with a novel solution.

Give everyone money to donate to candidates.

Now, is that working?

We'll talk about it ahead of the August 5th primary when voters will decide if the democracy voucher program

should stick around. That's on the latest sound politics, wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, good morning. I'm Paige Browning. It's Wednesday. This is Seattle now. Washington's waters

aren't as clean as you might think. One big reason for this is hundreds of abandoned boats

floating in them. The boats themselves are trash and may be leaking toxins. So why can't we just

get rid of them? Aspen Ford investigated the issue and is here to explain it, but first, let's get you caught up.

The Seattle Police Department says it's hired more than 100 recruits recently. SPD Chief Sean Barnes says they come from diverse backgrounds with many speaking at least two languages.

City leaders say the hiring increase is due to efforts to modernize the recruitment process and reduce application times.

Barnes says recruits will be trained in subjects like cultural

competency and de-escalation techniques before they earn a badge. The starting

salary for an entry-level SPD officer is $103,000. Seattle Public Schools will

give an update today on the search for its next superintendent. Brent Jones

announced this spring he was leaving the district.

The district hoped to have its new leader in place by this fall,

but that won't happen.

The school board says they wanted to give community members more time to give feedback.

The deadline was extended to August 4th.

Today's school board meeting begins at 4.30.

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