To improve innovation and accountability, Executive Constantine proposes to make Metro its own County department
King County Executive Dow Constantine directed work to begin on a plan to move Metro from a division within the King County Department of Transportation to a standalone County department. This would increase innovation and accountability in four areas: increasing mobility options, capital construction, investing in Metro’s workforce, and expanding the transit system through partnerships.
“This region increasingly depends on fast, reliable transit. So it’s no surprise that Metro is one of our most vital, visible, and popular services,” said Executive Constantine. “By elevating Metro as a standalone department, we can better encourage innovation and accountability so that we continue to make strong progress in mobility, delivering capital investments, focusing on employees, and forging strong community partnerships.”
The move builds on the successes in creating the Metro Connects long-range plan, the ORCA LIFT fare for riders earning lower incomes, and services that are better integrated with Sound Transit.
Read more in the official press release.
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King County TV and Office of Cable Communications manager recognized with national awards
KCTV’s video Digital Connection won first place in the “Use of Social Media” category at the Government Programming Awards, an annual national conference held by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).
The county-operated TV station took home three other programming awards including one in the public health category for a piece on King County’s Heroin Task Force.
NATOA’s annual government programming awards honors excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies. This year, NATOA received more than 900 entries submitted in 65 categories by local governments across the country.
“We are very proud of our talented team,” said KCTV Station Manager James Burns. “Our station is an interactive window on government. It’s our job to connect you with the programs and services that make our community a better place.
NATOA also named Washington State’s WATOA as Chapter of the Year and recognized Chris Jaramillo, manager of King County’s Office of Cable Communications.
Chris, past president of the WATOA chapter and longtime member of NATOA, received a 2017 Ovation Award.
The awards won by King County at the 2017 NATOA awards event includes:
- First Place: Use of Social Media: Digital Connection
- Third Place: Public Health: Heroin Task Force
- Honorable Mention: Documentary: Pioneering Wastewater Treatment in King County and Visual Arts: King County TV Graphics
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Support natural disaster victims through Annual Giving Drive
Dear fellow King County employee:
King County Executive Dow Constantine
In the last month we have witnessed hurricanes tear through Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean as wildfires burned through the Pacific Northwest. To make it easier for employees to give to non-profit organizations helping people to recover from these recent natural disasters, I have asked the Employee Giving Program to open the Annual Giving Drive early.
During the Annual Giving Drive, you have more options available through workplace giving than any other time of year. You can support victims of these disasters by pledging before the deadline, November 17, 2017, and putting the name of the disaster in the dedication portion of your pledge.
There are three ways to give:
- Payroll donation: One time, once a month, or twice a month
- Time donation: Up to three nonprofit organizations
- Check: Made directly out to the nonprofit
To read more about how to support these disasters alongside your favorite Employee Giving Program nonprofits during the Annual Giving Drive visit www.kingcounty.gov/disastergiving. Pledge online or download the paper form here.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as well as the fires sweeping the west serve as reminders that we all need to be ready to care for ourselves and loved ones in the event of disaster. I encourage you to visit www.makeitthrough.org to see what you can do to prepare yourself and your family for a disaster.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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The Cat Condos have arrived!
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
Thanks to the Petco Foundation grant, our long awaited cat condos arrived last Friday and were immediately put to great use by our cat residents who have been excitedly purring and relaxing since being placed in their new homes.
See pictures below or feel free to stop our pet adoption center in Kent!
Read more at Tails from RASKC
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Tech Tip: How to install Office 365 for free at home
We recognize that you do county work from your home devices. So King County provides up to 5 free downloads of Office 365 for those home devices. It’s very easy to access if you have a SharePoint account. Not everyone can access this option at this time. We hope we can get all employees a SharePoint login in the coming year.
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Social Media Spotlight: Solid Waste Division Instagram
SWD provides garbage transfer, disposal and recycling services for approximately 1.3 million residents and 660,000 employees in King County. The King County solid waste system serves a large unincorporated area and 37 of the 39 cities in King County – the cities of Seattle and Milton are not part of the King County system.
Encourage SWD to post more frequently by following @kingCountySWD on Instagram today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Kudos! Courteous Metro Transit driver provides outstanding customer service
The following kudos was received June 12 and is from a King County Metro rider:
Driving a bus is not an easy job with the traffic, so when you encounter a driver who goes beyond the job it needs to be acknowledged.
So with that in mind I would like to bring to your attention the driver [Andrea Abbott] I had this afternoon who not only drove the bus in a safe and efficient manner but also provided the kind of customer service you like to receive; each passenger was greeted as they boarded with a smile and an hello and she made you very welcome; a couple of passengers including myself has several questions on the reroute that is currently on the # 372 and she answered those questions to our satisfaction.
She represents Metro Transit in a very professional manner and I would like to acknowledge that.
Kudos to Metro operator Andrea Abbott for providing riders with a professional, courteous transit experience!
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Five free apps to conquer your emergency preparedness procrastination
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
If you’re like me, you’ve been reading the coverage of the hurricanes and feeling like you should do something to be prepared for disasters. Preparing for an emergency sounds like a huge task and I didn’t know where to start. But, since it is National Preparedness Month, I want to share some apps that helped me ease into preparing for an emergency and overcome the anxiety of thinking about the next disaster. These apps are easy to use, intuitive, and great resources for before, during, and after an emergency. Here are five apps that helped me prepare, plus a bonus app to help kids start to understand emergency preparedness.
App #1: Emergency by the American Red Cross
This app has information related to all different kinds of emergencies, including ones we are concerned about here in the Northwest, like earthquakes, power outages, extreme heat, wildfires, and floods. In the “emergency toolkit,” there is a messaging system to alert loved ones that you’re safe.
Read more at Public Health Insider
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Pop Up Shop a great success in reducing surplus material
Last month King County’s Surplus Program opened a Pop Up Shop led by Fleet Administration Intern, Kyle Wallinder. The Pop Up Shop offered smaller items such as office supplies and was created to eliminate the inconvenience of traveling to and from the surplus warehouse at 707 S Orcas Street. Located across from the Administration building on the second floor of the 420 4th Ave building, the shop was geared toward King County employees in the Seattle core. On Tuesday, August 22, 2017, and Thursday, August 24, 2017, the shop was open between 10 a.m. to noon. The shop was stocked with office supplies and equipment available for King County employees to use for work or to improve their workspaces. All items were free of charge.
Between the two days the shop was open, it welcomed 184 employee visitors. Ninety-three of those employees claimed items, resulting in 202 items being redistributed within the County. By pricing items from Keeney’s Office Supply catalog, it was calculated that the County saved over $4,750 by redistributing supplies as opposed to buying new. Ultimately the shop was highly successful in reducing the amount of surplus material going unused and emphasized our mission to make the landfill a last resort in the disposal of surplus county property.
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Featured Job: Family Planning Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner
Closing date/time: Continuous
Salary: $38.61 – $54.34 Hourly
Job type: Career Service
Location: Kent Public Health at East Hill, Washington
Department: Department of Public Health–Community Health Services
The Kent Public Health Family Planning Clinic is looking for a skilled, motivated and enthusiastic ARNP who is committed to serving men, women and teens to provide high quality sexual and reproductive health and education services.
Family Planning ARNP’s work with a multi-disciplinary health care team to provide care and treatment in various clinics.
The ARNP works in the ambulatory care setting integrating knowledge and data from many scientific frameworks to provide care to individuals on an independent basis. The ARNP body of work is distinguished from other nursing classifications in that the incumbent is responsible for medical management of health conditions including prescribing and dispensing medications. Additionally, the incumbent will be working in Family Planning and STD (male and female).
Contact: For questions, please contact Amy Curtis, Nursing Recruiter. She can be reached at amy.curtis@kingcounty.gov or at (206) 263-8358.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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