Applications for ESJ Opportunity Fund due Sept. 1
A reminder that applications for the Equity and Social Justice Opportunity Fund are due on September 1.
The ESJ Opportunity Fund is a competitive process run by the Office of Equity and Social Justice that provides resources to King County employees to develop and implement projects that work to advance equity and social justice and that complements the ESJ Strategic Plan. For the 2017-2018 biennium, there is a total of $100,000 in one-time funds available and grants ranging from $500 to $7,500 will be awarded to projects that the Funding Committee determines best the outlined criteria.
While criteria for the 2017-2018 fund have changed, a few examples of previously funded projects include:
- Equity in Hiring People with Disabilities Symposium
- ESJ Movie Night in White Center
- Spanish Language Books for Infants and Toddlers
- Strategies for Resolving Cultural Bumps in Public Health and Prevention
- Cultivating a Culture of ESJ through Literature and Poetry Event
Click here for the 2017-2018 Opportunity Fund Overview and here for the 2017-2018 Opportunity Fund Application which is due on or before September 1, 2017.
If you have questions about the application or the process, please reach out to Tynishia Walker at twalker@kingcounty.gov or at 206-263-0534.
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Baby falcons rescued by county employees
Recently several baby falcons fell out of their nest on the third floor window ledge of the King County Courthouse. Lucky for these little birds, County employees were on hand to rescue them.
After saving the birds from oncoming traffic, Seattle Animal Control was called. Animal care staff then took the chicks to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Lynwood. This facility specializes in wildlife rescue.
The baby falcons were given a full exam by a vet. Out of the three, one bird had a fracture, but otherwise, all were declared mostly healthy with no serious injuries. Too young to fly, the chicks were kept at the facility for several weeks before recently being reunited with their family.
Two of the chicks were released on the roof of the King County Administration Building, overseen by two PAWS animal specialists, several security officers and a few interested employees. Both birds proved strong and healthy, soaring above the courthouse and the jail. The third will be monitored for some time at PAWS before also being released.
Thank you to County employees for being interested in preserving our local wildlife and helping achieve a happy ending for these birds.
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Coming soon: 2017 Employee Survey
The 2017 King County Employee Survey is starting in September for employees in participating departments, so please take this opportunity to let the County know what’s on your mind:
• Online survey: September 18 – October 6
• Paper survey (except Transit): September 11 – October 6
• Transit paper survey: September 11 – 25
Almost 340 action plans were created to act on the issues you said were important in the 2016 survey. Two critical issues you raised were Career Opportunities and Leadership Visibility. Here are some of the ways that we acted on your responses:
Career Opportunities
• Expanded the Bridge Fellowship program to provide leadership and development opportunities to more employees.
• Created an intensive leadership training program to help managers and supervisors support their employees to do their best work.
Leadership Visibility
• Executive Constantine has launched quarterly listening sessions with employees, met with employees on site visits, and continued his employee video messages.
• Multiple departments have worked to improve communications channels and build understanding of division and department priorities.
The annual Employee Survey is part of our Investing in You efforts. See all the employee survey responses here (intranet). For more information about the survey visit www.kingcounty.gov/employeesurvey.
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Now open: King County surplus ‘pop-up’ shop
Always wanted to call dibs on King County surplus items but couldn’t find an hour or two out of the office to do so?
Don’t fret. This week, the King County Surplus Program opened a new “Pop-Up” shop intended to help County employees who work in and around the Seattle Core claim surplus items.
The shop is located at on the second floor of the 420 4th Ave. building, across from the Administration Building. The entrance is located off Jefferson Street.
This week, the shop will be open from 10 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Aug. 24.
This shop is intended to eliminate the inconvenience of traveling to and from the Surplus Program’s warehouse at 717 S Orcas Street. It will be stocked with office supplies and equipment, available for King County employees to have for work use within King County or to improve their work spaces. All items are free of charge.
It will help reduce the amount of surplus material going unused in King County and make disposing of items in the landfill a last resort.
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Pilot aims to reduce vehicle congestion at hiking trailheads
King County has just launched Trailhead Direct, a pilot project sponsored by King County Parks and Metro’s Community Connections program, to help people get to hiking destinations in the Issaquah Alps and along I-90 without needing a car.
Hikers can park their cars or catch the bus to two locations – Issaquah Transit Center Bay 5 and Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride Bay 1 – and get dropped off at one of three trailheads: Margaret’s Way Trailhead, Poo Poo Point Trailhead, East Sunset Way Trailhead, connecting hikers to more than 150 miles of hiking trails.
Trailhead Direct offers shuttles every 30 minutes on weekends and designated holidays from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. until the hiking season ends in October, resuming in spring 2018.
The program aims to ease vehicle congestion, reduce safety hazards and expand access to hiking destinations. Click here to learn more.
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Confronting climate change aboard a floating classroom
Crossposted from Inside Transportation
The King County Water Taxi functioned as a floating classroom recently for a firsthand lesson on how King County is confronting climate change.
On an unusually hot day on the waterfront, in the midday hours when our vessels are docked, the Marine Division hosted 13 high-schoolers from the Woodland Park Zoo’s Seattle Youth Climate Action Network (Seattle Youth CAN). They boarded the Sally Fox for our new “Floating Classroom” program, designed to engage students of all ages in environmental and climate change education, and introduce them to internship and job opportunities in both King County and our region’s maritime industry.
KCDOT Director Harold Taniguchi praised the students for their commitment to addressing climate change, and advised them to be thoughtful in how they pursued their future careers, “Luck is where opportunity meets preparedness,” he said. “Always work hard, learn as much as possible, and be ready when an opportunity comes your way.”
Read more at Inside Transportation
View a video about how the Water Taxi is teaching students below.
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Puget SoundCorps helps stomp out knotweed
Crossposted from the Noxious Weeds Blog
Each year, the King County Noxious Weed Control Program gets a great boost of support from the Puget SoundCorps, a branch of the Washington Conservation Corps’ AmeriCorps Program. Just when we need it most, a crew of six hardworking young adults heads out to help us tackle some of the county’s toughest noxious weeds.
This summer, the crew is spending fourteen days battling knotweed on three sites along the Snoqualmie River* under the guidance of Justin Brooks, riparian team lead for the Snoqualmie River. I met up with the corps members at the last of the three sites, on the South Fork Snoqualmie River just north of downtown North Bend. (Our crew calls this site “the Lost Forest” because it’s easy to lose your way out there.) This year’s team came to us from EarthCorps, a Seattle-based organization that joins AmeriCorps members and international young adults to work on conservation projects. By the time I arrived, most of the crew was already out controlling knotweed. Crew Leader Hannah Supplee was waiting for me at her truck. Fording the river, we hiked downstream to join the rest of the team.
Read more at Noxious Weeds Blog
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Metro’s top bus driver is cheerful, patient, considerate
Quick as a wink, he climbs out of the driver’s seat to help a passenger with her grocery bags. Riders know him by his cheerful smile and say he’s friendly and courteous, and that he looks out for riders who are older and need a helping hand. He even eases the stress riders feel when the whole bus is stuck in congestion.
Meet James Turner. At a surprise ceremony today, Metro officials, Turner’s fellow bus drivers and his family shared stories of his kindness and kudos from riders spanning 35 years as he was named Metro Transit Operator of the Year.
As he was praised for the thoughtful and considerate way he treats riders, Turner, 70, shared the same smile that riders say brighten their day. Turner currently drives electric trolley bus Routes 2 and 12 through downtown Seattle.
Read more in the official press release.
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Walkpools, stepping in a safer direction
The hustle and bustle of vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists in and around our worksites is an everyday reminder that King County employees’ safety should not be overlooked.
Safety Labor/Management Committee member GIS Specialist Gunnar Goerlitz is spearheading the coordination of Employee Transportation Program (ETP) Walkpool, a new buddy-up initiative that helps organize employees in numbers.
“King County employees, we’ve been listening! Some of you have said you’d feel more comfortable walking to and from work with a buddy or two,” Gunnar said. “The ETP Walkpool option intends specifically to address employee safety and security concerns en route between their workplace and their train or bus commute option.”
From Left to Right: Tim Drangsholt, Asher Rosebrook, Gunnar Goerlitz, Karen Estevenin and Taryn Russo
Walkpools are a great option for long distance walkers, early starters and late stayers, or just for navigating crowded bus or train stations.
With access to WSDOT’s well-established pooling signup engine, King County employees can get started by creating an account at www.RideshareOnline.com.
Here’s how it works: Simply create an account (sign in if you already have one) and “add a trip” in your Ride Match / My Trips section. Instead of using your home and work address, enter where you would be walking from (for example, from King Street Station to the Chinook Building) and select ‘Walk’ as your preferred travel mode. Happy walking!
“Some King County employees would dearly like to find someone they can walkpool with on the walking leg of their daily commute strictly for safety in numbers,” Gunnar said. “That’s what our Walkpool initiative seeks to facilitate.” Click here to get more information.
Employee News 