Tech Tip: Conference Room Smartboard Training
King County Information Technology is installing more smartboards in Department Conference Rooms. These tools allow unprecedented collaboration for departments, employees, external partners and customers. If you aren’t sure how to maximize these new tools, join us for a drop-in training session in Chinook.
Smartboard Training
Smartboards are in 50+ county conference rooms. To make the best use of the new technology, KCIT is offering three training sessions in May. Drop-in for 10 minutes or stay for 30. No signups required.
What: Open house! A Surface Hub Tour and Live Demo: The Future of Online Collaboration
Who: Jeremy Birney and Alex Patrut
May 7, 2018, anytime from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Chinook 714 “Reboot” Conference Room & Chinook 931 “Compiler” Conference Room
May 11, 2018, anytime from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Chinook 616 “Avatar” Conference Room & Chinook 714 “Reboot” Conference Room
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Listen to Executive Constantine on KUOW’s “The Record”
King County Executive Dow Constantine joined KUOW host Bill Radke on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss a range of issues, including the new Children and Family Justice Center, which is being built to replace the failing Youth Services Center.
“King County has long had a goal of reducing the number of kids involved in the justice system, including the number detained,” Executive Constantine said during the interview. “Over the course of the last 20 years we’ve reduced the number of kids in detention from around 200 on an average day to, on this last Friday there were 34.”
Radke and Executive Constantine also discussed options for reforming the state tax system and ways that King County is tackling homelessness, among other issues. You can listen to the full interview here.
(Featured Image: Megan Farmer / KUOW)
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Local cases of E. coli linked to romaine lettuce outbreak
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Two King County siblings, both under age 5, have been diagnosed with E. coliromaine-lettuce-medium 0157:H7 infections that genetically match the ongoing national outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. One child was hospitalized and has since been discharged. Both children have recovered and neither child developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure that can result from an E. coli infection.
Public Health’s disease investigators are currently working to identify the exact source of the E. coli exposure and suspect romaine lettuce as a potential source but it is not yet confirmed. Other members of the family ate romaine lettuce and were also ill but were not tested for E. coli. It is possible that the children contracted the illness from other ill family members rather than from eating romaine lettuce. The family reported that they have not traveled out of state recently, suggesting that the family’s exposure to E. coli was local.
An additional case of E. coli linked to the national outbreak was found in a King County resident in her 50s who had eaten romaine lettuce while traveling out of state.
Connection to national outbreak
The national outbreak related to romaine lettuce has been ongoing since mid-March. The infections in these two siblings appear to be the first locally acquired cases. As of April 26, 98 people ill from a matching E. coli 0157:H7 infection have been reported from 22 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food Drug Administration (FDA) have been looking into these cases and so far, the information indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated and make people sick.
Consumer advice about romaine lettuce
The CDC has issued advice to protect consumers:
- Avoid all romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region, including whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.
- Do not eat or buy romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.
- Product labels often do not identify growing regions, so don’t eat or buy it if you don’t know where it was grown. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it.
Symptoms of E. coli
Talk to your healthcare provider if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection: diarrhea that can be bloody, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting. Anyone who is ill with suspected E. coli should not work in food handling, patient care, or child care settings. Ill children with suspected E. coli should not attend daycare until they have seen a healthcare provider and been tested for E. coli infection even if their illness is mild.
What do restaurants and retailers need to do?
Retailers, restaurants, and other food service operators should not sell or serve any romaine lettuce from the winter growing areas in Yuma, Arizona. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, baby romaine, organic romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. If you cannot verify the source of your romaine lettuce, do not sell or serve it.
Food workers should always take steps to avoid the cross contamination of cutting surfaces and utensils through contact with potentially contaminated products. As a reminder, follow these precautions:
- Regularly wash, rinse and sanitize display cases, cutting boards, refrigerators, and other food contact surfaces where potentially contaminated products were stored in order to avoid cross contamination of surfaces.
- Wash hands with hot water and soap following the cleaning and sanitation process.
- Always wash all leafy greens (e.g., romaine lettuce) with water thoroughly with water before use.
- Always store cut leafy greens in refrigerator under temperature control 41ºF or below.
If you have questions please call the Public Health – Seattle & King County at 206-263-9566. Learn more about recommendations for restaurants and retailers.
For more about the national outbreak, visit the CDC’s webpage.
For more on E.coli, visit Public Health’s webpage on shiga-toxin producing E. coli.
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Wastewater employee’s hard work saves ratepayers $32 million
On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its first-ever loan from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) for $134.5 million to the King County Wastewater Treatment Division to help finance the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station.
Dan Kaplan, Wastewater Treatment Division Financial Services Administrator
Organizations have to be invited to submit an application, and the deadline is tight. Dan Kaplan, WTD financial services administrator, devoted one year to the pursuit of the low-interest loan, which will save ratepayers $32 million in interest payments over the life of the loan.
Dan had to first analyze and determine this was a good source of funding for WTD, and then had the tough task of convincing the EPA that the project was what they were looking for – that we could deliver it on time, and that we were able to engage in the challenging application process.
The WIFIA program supports spending on water and wastewater infrastructure. The Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station is designed to significantly reduce the amount of untreated wastewater and stormwater entering the Duwamish River, and will create approximately 1,400 direct and indirect jobs.
Of 44 national projects, only 12 were selected to proceed to the application stage.
Wet weather treatment stations clean overflows locally on-site during heavy rain storms.
It took three months to complete the application package, which required legal, engineering, and financial information from attorneys, project managers, permitting managers and finance staff. The process involved producing 32 pages of narrative, 70 exhibits, a preliminary rating letter from bond rating agencies, and a two-hour video conference presentation.
As this was the first loan ever awarded from the WIFIA program, the draft loan agreement included more than 100 pages of technical and legal requirements, which were reviewed in detail. Then the final loan language was negotiated. Dan managed a team of experts, including bond counsel, bond advisor, debt manager, prosecuting attorneys and project managers in developing an agreement that will provide the template for similar loans in the future.
For more information on the project, visit the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station site.
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EcoConsumer Tom Watson on KOMO4 News
In observance of Earth Day, KOMO4 News hosted King County EcoConsumer’s Tom Watson and four of his special guests to showcase youth innovators and leaders who are working on great projects and making a difference in our communities.
“Earth Day is all about the future” said Watson, “and our guests today are the future.”
Two of Tom’s guests were University of Washington students Maika Bui and Kaitlin Tighe, from the team that won the 2018 Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge Grand Prize with their BioPots – biodegradable planting pots that are an earth-friendly alternative to the plastic containers typically used for the seedlings and flowers we buy.
Watch the KOMO4 coverage of Tom and his fantastic guests below:
Maika Bui explained, “It is a biodegradable pot that is plantable, that is made of wood fiber and spent beer grain. Over 1.6 billion pounds of plastic end up in landfills every year because of plastic pots. With BioPots, we hope displace that.” Kaitlin Tighe then demonstrated how the pulp and spent grain – a waste product from the beer industry – combine to form a slurry that is poured into a mold, producing the BioPots.
“That is so, so functional, and helpful for the environment as well,” said KOMO4 Anchor Mary Nam. “Alright, very cool.”
Tom’s other two guests were Duwamish Valley Youth Corps’ Daniella Cortez and Director Carmen Martinez. Daniella shared with KOMO4’s Mary Nam how youth corps members are learning about environmental issues in our communities and spending usually one day a week taking action to make the Duwamish Valley community a better place, emphasizing the love the community has for Seattle’s only river, saying, “… it’s really important to the people here in South Park and Georgetown, because we do live right there and it is a big part of our community. We love our river, and it’s a beautiful thing to have. But, if we don’t take care of it, we’re not going to have it for much longer.” Director Martinez shared details about the youth corps’ tree planting program.
King County EcoConsumer is a DNRP Solid Waste Division program. Tom and the rest of the EcoConsumer team share the stories of many of their impactful efforts on their King County EcoConsumer Twitter feed, Pinterest board and YouTube channel. The KOMO4 coverage of Tom and his fantastic guests can be viewed here on their YouTube channel. Past KOMO4 features are available on EcoConsumer’s King County site.
From left to right, KOMO4’s Mary Nam, King County EcoConsumer’s Tom Watson, University of Washington students Maika Bui and Kaitlin Tighe, and Duwamish Valley Youth Corp’s Daniella Cortez and Director Carmen Martinez.
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Buy small and local through Amazon? Yes you can!
This is National Small Business Week. We know that small businesses are the backbone of our regional economy, contributing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. King County has a long tradition of supporting local small businesses through our Small Contractors and Suppliers (SCS) certification program, as well as other efforts, and we want to do even more to support these entrepreneurs.
Last year, King County purchased nearly $1 million from thousands of sellers through Amazon Business – and we want to direct more of that spending toward small businesses.
If you use Amazon Business to purchase goods for the county, you’ll see that Amazon Business highlights SCS-certified small businesses as “preferred King County sellers.” If available, you’ll see their products first in your Amazon Business search results.
For purchases less than $10,000, you may use your discretion to purchase from these preferred sellers and support SCS-certified small businesses (even if it’s not the lowest price available). In September, we’ll evaluate how this approach benefits local small businesses, and the overall impact on King County spending. Our goal is to direct at least half of our purchases under $10,000 to small businesses.
Learn more about the Amazon Business Pilot program at here on the King County website or contact Procurement and Payables at Procurement.Web@kingcounty.gov.
View this video to learn more about the pilot.
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DiscoverU gives budding Tukwila aviation students a chance to learn about the Airport
Crossposted from The Centerline
Even to our neighbors, it might seem as if the Airport is a world away.
That’s why our second DiscoverU event – which allowed students to discover and explore college and career opportunities – was such a special experience.
This week, we got to host about 30 high school sophomores from Foster High School in Tukwila, all of whom are interested in a career in aviation.
Much like our first DiscoverU student event last year, visitors got an overview of the different jobs necessary to keep the airport functioning on a 24/7 basis. The day started with opening remarks from Deputy Airport Director Mike Colmant. Then each student received a “passport” in which they could visit one of six stations, ask a question and get stamped to receive a gift bag.
The students heard directly from Boeing Field staff about:
- Building Information Modeling
- Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)
- Engineering and Maintenance
- Operations and Security
- Finance & Administrative Services
We also teamed with one of our tenants, Galvin Flying, which provided students with information about its program. If that wasn’t enough, Galvin offered a twin-engine, four-seater Diamond 42 on display and allowed students to actually sit in the cockpit!
This marked another unforgettable DiscoverU event organized by Program Manager Tricia Diamond. We can’t wait to welcome the next batch of young minds who will make up our industry.
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Sally Halela, RASKC volunteer, receives Governor’s Volunteer Service Award
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
South County Cats Founder and Director Sally Halela was honored with the 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award under the Animal Welfare category. The award honor some of the state’s most dedicated individuals, groups, and families for their commitment to volunteerism as the foundation for caring communities and a thriving Washington. Regional Animal Services of King County proudly nominated Sally for this award.
Along with other award winners throughout the state, Sally was honored at a reception at the Governor’s mansion in Olympia, including was featured at a pre-game ceremony at the Seattle Mariners’ Salute to Volunteers Night.
Sally is a lifelong animal lover and has been an animal welfare volunteer for more than 35 years. Her first volunteer experience was with Seattle Humane’s Pet Food Bank for low-income senior citizens, where she realized there was a need for access to low-cost spay/neuter for cats. Sally devoted many hours and personal funds to community cat spay/neuter before starting South County Cats in 2006. She has volunteered for Regional Animal Services of King County since 1998. Sally has also volunteered for MEOW Cat Rescue, PAWS, Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project and Pasado’s Spay Station.
“I am honored to receive this prestigious award. There are many animal welfare volunteers deserving of this recognition. The Governor’s Service Award not only recognizes, but validates the important work we do, which impacts cats, caretakers and our community. I am energized to increase our spay/neuter programs and partnerships, and trap-neuter-return of feral/community cats in south King County, to prevent future generations of homeless cats.” she said.
Sally’s enormous dedication, phenomenal skills, and hard work have contributed significantly to South County Cats’ mission of reducing euthanasia rates at local shelters.
Sally is also a recipient of Auburn Valley Humane Society’s 2018 Animal Champion Award-Individual and was recently honored at the AVHS Gala and Auction.
In addition to volunteering full-time for South County Cats, Sally works part-time as an elementary school paraeducator.
Other RASKC volunteers were recognized as Honorable Mentions for the Governor’s Service Award:
- Individual Teen Category: Julia Yagelowich, Partner Volunteer (Kirkland Petco)
- Service Group Category: RASKC’s Foster Program, led by Foster Care Coordinator Lori Mason
Thank you Sally and all our other winners for everything you do for pets!
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Metro again ramps up training to provide better bus service
Crossposted from Metro Matters
Two-week uptick in canceled trips is possible
Transit customers might experience a two-week uptick in trip cancellations starting Monday, April 23. While we have been hiring, training, and deploying more bus drivers to meet our service needs, some current drivers will stop driving for a couple of weeks as they take training to become supervisors or to move from part-time to full-time driver roles.
Metro has 2,950 bus drivers providing more than 12,900 weekday bus trips across King County.
Ten new part-time drivers graduated on Friday, April 20 and will start work on Monday, April 23. Thirty-six drivers completed their training to move from part-time to full-time positions that start on April 21, and another dozen part-time drivers are expected to graduate April 27. The more drivers we have joining the ranks, the better, to help reduce the chance of cancellations.
Pictured: New full-time transit operators began service April 21.
During this same window, 22 full-time drivers will stop driving as they enter field supervisor training, and 36 more part-time drivers will begin two weeks of training to become full-time transit operators. Those 36 operators will return to service Monday, May 5, with the ability to provide even more service to riders.
In the meantime, we’re asking all available drivers to help pick up additional trips so we don’t have to cancel single trips, but we’re still giving riders a heads-up that individual trips might be canceled. On routes that operate very few trips during the commute time, our customer communications staff will be working closely with our control center to send electronic transit alerts and to flag canceled trips in the Puget Sound Trip Planner app. Transit coordinators will do their best to fill any missed trips that might emerge, even if the trip needs to run later than scheduled.
We apologize for the temporary inconvenience this will mean for some riders. We’re striving to meet the high demand for transit service in King County, and that requires a constantly growing workforce. More information about our ongoing hiring efforts is online.
Metro has increased bus service seven consecutive times since 2015, thanks to the region’s strong economy and Seattle voter-approved funds. The Seattle area leads the country in growing transit service, integrated closely with Sound Transit Link light rail.
We know that continuing to invest in frequent and reliable transit service is the best way to move people in our community, to reduce pollution, to connect people with opportunity and help them reach their potential. We appreciate your continued support.
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Kudos! to Judge Erlick
Judge Erlick has been chosen by the King County Bar Association as Outstanding Judge! The award will be bestowed upon him at KCBA’s annual Awards Dinner Monday, June 18. Details about the dinner should be on KCBA’S website in late April.
Congratulations, Judge Erlick! Very well deserved.
Employee News 