Green spring fashion, sustainable communities and indoor air quality are just three of the topics you can enjoy learning more about on EcoConsumer’s YouTube channel! KOMO4 News features the team discussing a number of topics; most recently, Earth Day. EcoConsumer is a public outreach program of DNRP’s Solid Waste Division.

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Crossposted from GIS & You

By Patrick Jankanish, GIS Specialist and Senior Cartographer with KCIT

One of the most satisfying things that a well-made map can do is convey a sense of place. And an especially well-made map may convey a sense of a past place that both infuses and transcends a present location. I came across such a map yesterday just a few blocks from our own King County GIS Center location, where Seattle’s Pioneer Square transitions to the International District, specifically the historic Japantown.

The “Japanese-American Remembrance Trail Map” somehow seems larger than its modest tabloid print size, due in no small part to the numerous delightful and intriguing hand-drawn illustrations of people and places throughout the ID that are spread across the map, fusing past and present. For us in the present, the map serves as a walking tour of current sights, sounds, tastes, and touch, which can all be gateways to the rich Japanese American legacy in Seattle, a cultural story that continues into our city’s future. (Coincidentally, as I write this I am hearing a radio announcement for this weekend’s—April 20-22—Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival, which two of my KCGIS Center colleagues will be participating in.)

Japanese American Remembrance Trail Map by Arisa Nakamura ©2018

The trail map—as useful as it is a great piece of art—was designed and illustrated by Seattle’s Arisa Nakamura. Read more about her work on the map in this article in The North American Post. The map is available in separate English- and Japanese-language versions at locations throughout the Chinatown/International District, including the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, which is one of the anchors of the Japanese American Remembrance Trail. The Wing Luke Museum website has a section about the trail tour and links to PDF files of both versions of the map.

As the late winter, early spring chill finally relinquishes its grip on Seattle, it’s the perfect time to put on your walking shoes and let a wonderful map lead you through and teach you about a special part of our city.

Patrick Jankanish is Senior Cartographer in the King County GIS Center and is a member of its Spatial Services group.

Read more at GIS & You.

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.

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.