Executive launches new Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay today launched our new Vision, Mission, and Values for the Executive Branch.
“Today, I am pleased to introduce our new Vision, Mission, and Values,” Executive Zahilay said in an email to all employees. “Together, they define where we are headed as an organization, the role we play in serving our communities, and how we will work together internally to deliver on those external priorities.”
Our Vision Statement defines the future we are striving toward: a vibrant, inclusive, and resilient region where every individual and community is safe, connected, housed, healthy, and empowered to succeed.
Our Mission Statement defines the role of King County government in helping achieve that future: to be a high-performing organization that delivers excellent services, drives progress, improves lives, and strengthens our region.
Our ACTIVATE values are our shared expectations for the way we act, make decisions, and deliver change for the people of King County. ACTIVATE stands for: Accountable, Collaborative, Timely, Impactful, Value Employees, Accessible, Trusted, and Equitable.
You can read the Executive’s employee email here and learn more about the vision, mission, and ACTIVATE values by watching the Executive’s video and on this intranet site.
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New discount available to Seattle Opera
Employees can now take advantage of discounts to multiple performances at the Seattle Opera for upcoming shows in the 2026/27 season. This includes “Salome,” “Lakme in Concert,” and others. Purchase tickets here, using promo code KING20.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount intranet page.
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Behind the scenes of the limited-edition SEA26 ORCA Card
Crossposted from Metro Matters
There’s nothing Seattle-area transit riders love more than a special-edition ORCA card! To celebrate Seattle’s status as a host city in the 2026 World Cup, ORCA produced a limited-edition, promotional ORCA card which celebrates the excitement of the sport and the culture of the Pacific Northwest.
Led by King County Metro in partnership with 4Culture, this ORCA card was designed by local artist Alison Bremner. 4Culture is King County’s cultural services agency, providing funding and support for art, heritage, historic preservation, public art, and science and technology to help connect people throughout the region with cultural experiences. Read more.
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Events Ahoy! West Seattle Water Taxi is set for sailing to Mariners games, soccer matches and more this summer
Crossposted from the Captain’s Blog
You don’t need a soccer tournament to stay busy in Seattle this summer, and the King County Water Taxi wants to help you get to all of the events taking place downtown—as well as to that soccer tournament!
Weeknight trips after Mariners baseball
Weeknight post-game sailings for the Seattle Mariners are returning this summer. The weekday post-game trips from Pier 50 to West Seattle started June 1, after an interleague game between the M’s and the New York Mets.
The water taxi will provide evening post-game service Monday through Thursday. The scheduled trips between Pier 50 and the Seacrest Dock in West Seattle will operate. Read more.
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Hundreds of thousands of people are coming to Seattle for the World Cup. Here’s what it means for your health
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
With six World Cup matches and many fan events in Seattle planned in June and July, up to 750,000 people are expected to come to the region! Public Health and our partners have compiled tips to help people going to the events and exploring King County stay safe and healthy, whether you’re new to King County or already live here.
Please share this information if you are hosting or working with visitors during the World Cup. Read more.
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Employee Assistance Program and Making Life Easier undergo refresh, July 1
King County’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Making Life Easier (MLE) are about to go through a refresh. This is the result of feedback from employees, supervisors, leaders, and HR staff.
Historically, the MLE program focused on helping all King County employees with home- and life-related stress and concerns. Beginning July 1, MLE will expand their services to also support employees with workplace issues. MLE will continue to provide support to employees and their families living in the same household for home-related stress and concerns. This all-in-one counseling is provided by our external vendor Curalinc and includes:
- Confidential and free counselor accessibility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for employees who work all shifts
- Network of mental health counselors and coaches who offer a variety of clinical specialties, cultural backgrounds, and diversity
- Tools to cope with work-related stress and career decisions, navigating conflict with a coworker or supervisor, addressing burnout and trauma, coping with workplace change, and more
- Financial and legal consultation; referral and consultation for adult, elder, and childcare; and counseling for individual, marital, and family problems
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Using data to guide resources to where they’re needed most: Portraits of Public Health
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Our website is full of all sorts of interesting data dashboards, synthesizing information from an array of data sources to allow our staff and the public to better understand who is most impacted by various health issues.
Danny is one of the data scientists who does the behind-the-scenes work to make these data visualizations possible and to allow our staff to work efficiently. For this month’s Portraits in Public Health, we look behind the scenes to understand the work of Danny and his colleagues.
Hi Danny. What’s your job at Public Health?
I’m a data scientist. I create software tools to help my colleagues easily access and analyze public health data for the community.
I love taking away unnecessary complexity for people. If I can free their time, their energy, their resources, they can engage more fully with community partners. Read more.
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King County officials urge extra caution on rivers after December flooding created new potential drowning hazards
King County officials are urging the public to be extra cautious on rivers this summer after major flooding this past December changed conditions and created new potential drowning hazards. They also warn that Lake Washington and Puget Sound remain dangerously cold even when the air temperature is warm.
Widespread flooding this past December moved logs, rocks, and other hazards into rivers throughout King County, creating new drowning risks that might not be visible above the surface. Historically high flows shifted riverbeds, resulting in deeper or shallower pools that can create hazards for swimmers, tubers, boaters, and kayakers. Read more.
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Free summer lunches for kids at King County Parks
Every kid should have access to healthy foods year-round. To help fill the gap in the school lunch program during summer break, King County Parks’ Teen Rec Aides are providing free summer sack lunches to kids under 18 along with activities at multiple locations throughout the summer.
- Steve Cox Memorial Park Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd St Seattle 98146, June 29 – Aug. 21: Mondays – Fridays from noon to 2 p.m.
- West Hill Community Center, 12320 80th Ave S Seattle 98178, June 30 – Aug. 21: Tuesdays – Fridays from noon to 2 p.m.
- Thurnau Memorial Park Picnic Shelter #1, 11050 10th Ave SW Seattle 98146, June 29 – Aug. 21, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
- Skyway Park Playground, 12010 71st Ave S Seattle 98178, June 30 – Aug. 21, Tuesdays – Fridays with snacks and crafts from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.
For more information, visit wcteenprogram.org/recreation-aide-program.
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It’s swimming season! Answers to your top questions about beach closures and reopenings
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
There’s nothing quite like relaxing on a beach by the lake in the summertime. Here in King County, we’re lucky to have dozens of great beaches to choose from, and the Lake Swimming Beach Program works hard to make sure the water is safe for people to swim.
Every week during the summer (typically from mid-May through mid-September) we test the water at popular swim beaches in King County for bacteria. If there’s a high risk that people could get sick from swimming or playing in the water, we recommend closing the beach. Once there’s less risk that people will get sick, we recommend reopening the beach. Read more.
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