Crossposted from DNRP Field Notes

On Dec. 8, the first of two atmospheric rivers slammed into King County and brought historic river flooding, setting all-time records for portions of the Snoqualmie and Cedar rivers. Five of the six major rivers in King County (Cedar River, Green River, Issaquah Creek, South Fork Skykomish River, White River, Tolt River, and Snoqualmie Basin) reached a flood Phase 4 during the storm, the Tolt River was the one that only reached a flood Phase 3. Read more.

By MyNorthwest News

Crime scene DNA test results in minutes rather than weeks or months. It’s a new technology now in the hands of investigators at the King County Sheriff’s Office. It’s called the Rapid DNA machine.

“It allows officers to place DNA into a machine and instead of waiting weeks or months, you get results on whether that DNA is a single source of human DNA in 90 minutes,” King County Sheriff’s Captain Chris Leyba said. “Right now, every sample we collect at a scene, let’s say we collect 14 blood samples at a scene, we have to send 14 samples off to the WSP Crime Lab. Whereas, with this machine, we can run 14 samples at 90 minutes each and determine, say, eight of them belong to the victim. So now instead of sending 14 to the Crime Lab, we’re only sending six because we don’t need all 14 analyzed anymore.” Read more.

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC

Progress continues on a new site for Regional Animal Services. King County is renovating a former warehouse in the Kent Valley into a new, modern animal shelter that will replace RASKC’s current facility. The new center is expected to open in early 2027.

2025 highlights

• Purchasing the property at 5920 S. 194th St. in Kent
• Onboarding an architectural firm to develop design and construction plans
• Establishing a Project Delivery Team in partnership with the county’s Facilities Management Division
• Developing initial design plans

Read more.

Crossposted from Cultivating Connections

As 2025 comes to a close, the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) reflects on a year marked by challenges and meaningful progress. Amid federal funding uncertainty, rising housing instability, and growing behavioral health needs, on top of an audit that underscores the need for more policies, procedures and infrastructure, DCHS focused on what matters most: helping people live connected, supported, and stably housed.

Across King County, DCHS’s work shared a common purpose: building communities where everyone can thrive. That meant expanding access to stable housing, strengthening crisis response, investing in the human services workforce, and partnering with communities through contracted providers to deliver services rooted in dignity, equity, and belonging. Read more.

City Grind Espresso is now open on the ground floor of the King County Courthouse serving coffee, tea, Italian sodas, energy drinks, food from local vendors, and more.

Located just past the security check point near the Third Avenue entrance, the City Grind Espresso café is a great place to grab a drink and snack to go or take a break at one of the tables and chairs.

“It’s really nice to have a spot that isn’t a bench outside a courtroom where employees and Courthouse customers can meet up, sit down, and enjoy a drink or a snack,” said Catherine Cornwall, Superior Court Clerk and Director of Department of Judicial Administration. “There is such a wide variety of people that come to the King County Courthouse every day – and for many people, the Courthouse is the face of King County. It’s great to have the café make it a little more welcoming.”

The City Grind Espresso café is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Get ready for the next stage of construction on Seattle’s busiest corridor. As early as Jan. 9, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will resume its Revive I-5 preservation work on the northbound Ship Canal Bridge.

The Revive I-5 project is designed to extend the life of the aging Ship Canal Bridge and improve safety and ride quality for years to come. While the short-term traffic impacts will be challenging, the long-term payoff will be smoother, safer travel through this critical stretch of I-5.

As part of the project, two northbound lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge will close while crews repair and resurface the bridge deck. To minimize impacts during major events, work zones will be removed in June for World Cup soccer matches in Seattle, then reinstalled when games conclude in July.

To help support ridership demand during Revive I-5, Metro is planning to add up to 17 buses on key routes on weekdays and 12 buses on weekends to help riders avoid travel delays due to highway construction. These buses will be able to be deployed flexibly by Metro staff to locations and routes where there is crowding or delays.

Learn more about this work from WSDOT.

The WSDOT schedule of northbound I-5 includes:

• As early as Jan. 9 to 12: weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure (work zone set up).
• As early as Jan. 12 to June 5: five-month closure of the two left northbound I-5 lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge, causing northbound traffic delays. The reversible express lanes will remain northbound for the duration, causing southbound traffic delays.
• June 5 to 8: weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure (work zone removal).
• June 8 to July 10: all lanes of I-5 reopened for FIFA World Cup games.
• July 10 to 13: weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure (work zone set up).
• July 13 to end of 2026: months-long two right northbound I-5 lane reduction across the Ship Canal Bridge.
• End of 2026: weekend-long full northbound I-5 closure (work zone removal).

Weekend-long full closures for work zone set up or removal are weather dependent. Crews need dry weather to re-stripe lanes. That means if the weather is too rainy, crews may reschedule work for the following weekend.

Express lanes will run northbound only, 24 hours a day, whenever there are lane closures or reductions for Revive I-5 construction. Read more.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are trained volunteers who advocate for the best interests of children involved in the dependency court system. Whether or not serving as a CASA is the right fit for you, we encourage you to share this information session with family members, friends, colleagues, or recently retired coworkers who may be interested. Increasing awareness of the CASA program helps ensure more children have a consistent, caring advocate by their side.

CASA information sessions are held via Zoom on the second Monday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. The next one will take place on Monday, Jan. 12 at noon. To register or learn more, visit kingcountycasa.org. View additional information session dates in this flyer.

You can also follow King County Dependency CASA on Facebook and Instagram for updates, upcoming information sessions, and program highlights.