Viewers of Jerry Wennstrom’s art might walk away inspired or disturbed – or both. From a hot New York painter to a homeless wanderer to a renown sculptor now in his second act - we're talking with Whidbey Island's Jerry Wennstrom on this edition of Northwest Now.

Tacoma still flies under the radar when people talk about the Pacific Northwest. But the people who know it - love it. That includes the city's new mayor Anders Ibsen who says public safety and homelessness are his two top priorities. That's the discussion on this edition of Northwest Now.

Legally required open government measures are supposed to help discourage corruption, until they're legislated away. Every now and then though, an average person gets wise, roots out exposes malfeasance. Those stories are at the heart of independent journalist and Syracuse University fellow Miranda Spivack's book, "Backroom Deals in Our Backyards - How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back" - on this edition of Northwest Now.

Some view Arthur West as a litigious thorn in the side of state and local governments, others see him as one of the most influential and effective open government activist in state history. It's a bit of a Rorschach test. We're talking with Arthur West on this edition of Northwest Now.

There are so many ongoing battles between transparency advocates and government, it's fair to say there's a clear cut effort underway to kill the public records act. That's part of the discussion on this edition of Northwest Now.

After almost three years without one, the new Attorney General has re-instituted the position of public records ombuds - now called the Chief Transparency Counsel. We're talking with the person holding that title, Morgan Damerow, on this edition of Northwest Now.

He picked cotton as a child growing up in the Jim Crow South. But Willie Stewart overcame through education, moving North, and finding a new home in Tacoma where he is now a living legend. We're sitting down with Willie Stewart on this edition of Northwest Now.

Washington has the third-highest number of homeless people in the United States. Into that walks We Heart Seattle, a group of volunteers working at the intersection of the effort to save the city's environment and influence homeless policy on this edition of Northwest Now.