Mercer Island pulls school talk show

Mercer Island High School's student radio station will no longer carry a morning talk show that some listeners maintain is both lively and educational — and that others describe as inappropriate for a school station.

Mercer Island School District officials said the "Maraires in the Morning" show, which was broadcast from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays on KMIH-FM (104.5), will not be reinstated. The program has been off the air since July 11.

"When you look at the mission of the school district, it's to educate children from 5 to 18 years old. We had no students involved in the program," said Cyndy Simms, the district superintendent.

"The show reached a lot of people. And I'm told it was a real positive voice for the hip-hop music groups. But the program will not be reinstated."

The "Maraires" show debuted last fall, the brainchild of Dumi Maraire, 28, a graduate of Seattle's Franklin High School and local rapper who once hosted a public-access TV show. Maraire said he wanted to host a talk show that reflected the kind of conversation that flows at a barbershop.

"We would talk hip-hop. Life. Relationships. Community issues," he said.

Eventually, three people, all working as nonpaid volunteers, co-hosted the morning show: Maraire, Jameel Shabazz and Ladessa Cobb. And according to some listeners, the show worked because it wasn't vulgar, as some talk shows can be, and because it spoke to a young audience.

But Simms said the hosts also had made some inappropriate comments at different times while on air that had raised some concern. She declined to go into detail, stressing that the main reason for the program's cancellation was "how it fits in with the district's mission."

The program was the only live show on the station.

The superintendent also said yesterday that school officials would be taking a closer look at the music being played on the station to ensure that it was "appropriate."

Simms said that she doesn't listen to the station herself but that the quality of some of the music was criticized at a meeting earlier this week with the former radio hosts and a group of supporters advocating their return.

KMIH, also known as "X104," plays hip-hop and broadcasts school sports games. High-school students can sign up for a yearlong media-broadcast class. Twenty students, Simms said, are signed up for the fall.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com