Washington State's new hybrid-electric ferries to be built in Florida
Seattle Now
KUOW News and Information
4.7 • 670 Ratings
🗓️ 8 July 2025
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Governor Bob Ferguson has fulfilled a campaign promise by seeking bids to build new ferries. And after a long bidding war that began last year, Eastern Shipbuilding Group will be tasked with producing these first-in-America ferries at a cost of $715.4 million dollars.
But Ferguson’s choice of the company has sparked some backlash. You see, there were only two companies who submitted bids. One of them is based in Washington State… but Ferguson chose the one in Florida. Seattle Times transportation reporter Nicholas Deshais explains the Governor's reasons.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Dyer Oxley and on the latest episode of Meet Me Here, we debate whether it's a good idea to name your baby after a character in pop culture. |
| 0:09.7 | I'm a bit partial to Fox from the X-Files or Cooper from Twin Peaks, a little local flavor. |
| 0:15.5 | In this very personal episode, two baby name experts join me and my pregnant wife, Nina, to help us make the biggest |
| 0:22.4 | decision yet in our unborn child's life. Listen to meet me here on the KUOWW app or wherever you get |
| 0:29.1 | your podcast. Hey, good morning. I'm Patricia Murphy. It's Tuesday. This is Seattle now. Washington State has accepted a bid to build three new hybrid electric ferries, the first of their kind in the United States. But not everyone's happy about Governor Ferguson's decision, and it's not because of green tech or the price tag of more than $700 million. |
| 0:55.7 | It's who the governor picked to build them. |
| 0:58.8 | Seattle Times reporter Nick DeShay is here to tell us more in a minute. |
| 1:02.2 | But first, let's get you caught up. |
| 1:07.9 | New data from the Washington Office of Financial Management suggests Seattle is booming again. |
| 1:16.6 | The office says the city's population hit 816,600,000 on April 1st, which is a 2.4% growth rate from last year. |
| 1:25.6 | The Seattle Times, FYI, guy did some math. If both |
| 1:29.3 | cities keep trending in the same direction, Seattle will pass San Francisco in total population |
| 1:34.8 | within the next two years. The state financial management office says other Seattle areas are |
| 1:39.8 | also growing, including Bellevue, Redmond, and Shoreline. It's officially primary season. |
| 1:46.0 | Election Day is August 5th. |
| 1:48.0 | That's less than a month away. |
| 1:50.0 | You can get a look at some of the candidates tonight |
| 1:52.0 | at the Queer the Vote candidate forum at Massive on Capitol Hill. |
| 1:56.0 | Candidates for City Council District 2, |
| 1:58.0 | citywide seats 8 and 9, |
| 2:00.0 | mayor and city attorney will be there |
| 2:02.3 | answering questions. And a summer tradition is back at Pike Place Market starting tomorrow. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KUOW News and Information, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of KUOW News and Information and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.