Inquest Program collaborates with 4Culture to bring art to a courtroom
Crossposted from the DES Express
When the Inquest Program started moving into a vacant courtroom in the King County Courthouse, the room looked, well, a bit dismal.
“It was a courtroom that hadn’t been regularly used for the last few years,” said Claire Thornton, an Inquest Program attorney. “There was dust everywhere. Members of the team pitched in to clean, mop, and wipe shelves down.”
Once Courtroom E-753 was painted, Thornton, whose husband is an artist, felt like the room really needed art. The program once was housed in the Clark Children and Family Justice Center, which was designed with art as an integral aspect.
The Inquest team wanted to make their new home a welcoming and beautiful space so everyone who entered, especially jurors, would have a variety of art pieces to appreciate during a difficult and often emotional process. The Inquest Program manages fact-finding inquiries into the manner, facts, and circumstances of deaths involving a member of law enforcement or corrections in the course of their duties. Read more.
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Discount available to April 24 comedian performance
Employees can receive $10 off for each ticket to an upcoming Jeff Dunham performance.
- Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
See all available employee discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
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King County Council Women’s History Month celebration, March 25
The King County Council will host its annual educational panel discussion for Women’s History Month. The purpose of the event is to bring people together to explore, share and honor women’s history. This year’s theme is Moving forward together! Women educating and inspiring generations, which will be an opportunity to celebrate the collective strength and influence of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. Councilmembers will also present the second annual Jeanne Kohl-Welles Women Uplifting Women Award.
- Tuesday, March 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. King County Chinook Building, Rooms 121/123, 401 5th Avenue, Seattle.
This event will be live streamed by King County TV beginning at 11:30 a.m. This event is co-sponsored by Councilmembers Claudia Balducci, Teresa Mosqueda, Sarah Perry, and Dae Shogren Director of the Legislative Branch Equity and Social Justice Team. The presentation is open to all King County employees and the public. The first 30 minutes are set aside for informal mingling, which will be a meet and greet with light snacks. The panel discussion will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:40 p.m., and the award will be presented at 12:40 p.m.
The panelists sharing their experiences this year are:
- Andrea Anderson, CEO, Girl Scouts of Western Washington
- Lauri Conner, Head of School, Lake Washington Girls Middle School
- Laura Clise, CEO and Founder, Intentionalist
For County-sponsored events, employees who are scheduled to work and wish to attend must get the approval of their supervisor. Supervisors are encouraged to permit employees to participate, if possible. For more information, please refer to your supervisor or Human Resources Manager.
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Department of Local Services launches LinkedIn, YouTube accounts
Crossposted from King County Local
There are now more ways to connect with the King County Department of Local Services.
We’re excited to announce that we have launched our official LinkedIn and YouTube channels! These channels offer new ways for us to engage with the communities we serve in an ever-evolving social media landscape. These also allow us to give the public a direct connection to those on the Department of Local Services team. Read more.
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Helping people in a crisis: Update on King County’s Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Teams
Crossposted from Cultivating Connections
King County launched its new Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Teams (MRRCT)1 in December and the expanded program is providing much-needed relief to our communities while we build more crisis care centers for people to go in a mental health, drug or alcohol related crisis.
Mobile crisis teams are trained mental health workers and peer specialists with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges. They travel to help people in a crisis where they are. The teams work to calm, stabilize, and solve the crisis in the field and then connect people to supportive services.
“Who better to approach somebody in distress than somebody who has also been in the same kind of situation as the person they are meeting?” stated Allen Nyribo, an MRRCT manager. Read more.
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Recognizing our employees as we celebrate Transit Appreciation Week!
March 16-22 is Transit Appreciation Week, which recognizes and celebrates everyone who contributes to the operation of the best transit system in America: King County Metro! A highlight of the week is Transit Operator Appreciation Day on Tuesday, March 18.
The most visible faces you see every day are the operators—bus drivers, light rail and streetcar operators, Access, DART and Metro Flex drivers and Water Taxi captains and crew—but our regional mobility system has more than 5,700 people working to get you where you need to go comfortably and safely every day! Whether you ride daily or use one of our mobility options for a trip to the store, a medical appointment, or a night on the town, all of Metro’s employees work together to get you there.
Transit Appreciation Week is also your opportunity to say thank you to anyone and everyone at Metro. Read more.
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Watch 2025 State of the County address on March 26
King County Executive Dow Constantine will deliver his 2025 State of the County address at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, and employees are invited to watch the address live from their workspaces.
You can watch Executive Constantine’s address streaming live online or by tuning to King County TV:
- To stream online paste the following in your browser: https://livestream.com/accounts/15175343/events/4485487
- To watch on King County TV tune to Channel 22 (Comcast Channel 22 and 322 (HD) or Wave Broadband Channel 22).
Every year, during the State of the County address, Executive Constantine discusses the condition of our County and outlines his priorities to the people of King County.
The State of the County address is a County-sponsored event and King County directors, managers, and supervisors are encouraged to permit employees to join, if possible. Employees should speak with their manager about HR policies regarding employee attendance and County-sponsored events.
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Meet some of the amazing women of King County Metro!
Crossposted from Metro Matters
In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we’ve asked some of the fantastic women at King Count Metro to discuss why they work in transit.
Desiree Andersen, Metro Transit Operator
Being a Metro Bus Operator has been one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. Each day I get to interact with people from all walks of life. I get to look through a unique window into our King County community. Driving for Metro has taught me to be grateful for the little things, having a warm home, reliable transportation and people who support me. Read more.
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King County Security Tips – Lock your screen
Locking your screen when you get up from your desk is a security action that is often overlooked and can have dangerous consequences. Failing to lock your screen can open you up to several vulnerabilities–some more serious than others.
Although many organizations have a policy which automatically locks your screen with a screen saver after a certain amount of inactivity, not all screen savers are password-protected, leaving your workstation defenseless.
Here are a few actions the bad guys can do when you leave your workstation unlocked and unattended:
- Files can be downloaded from the internet and executed on your computers, such as malware, spyware, keyloggers, and other types of malicious software.
- Emails can be sent from your email address to coworkers, your boss, or other business contacts.
- If you save passwords in your browser (another no-no), they now have access to your online banking, Facebook, and other accounts.
Locking your workstation before you get up from your desk is simple and can prevent you from ending up in a bad situation. Here are some ways you can lock your workstation:
For Windows:
- Press the Windows key + the L key at the same time on your keyboard.
- Press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Del and then choose Lock This Computer.
For Mac:
- If using Mac OS X (2015 and later), be sure to enable the lock screen ability. Find this under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > and look for the “Require password…” setting under the General tab.
- Then, press Control+Command+Q on your keyboard, or do a quick web search to learn the keyboard shortcut for your Mac’s Operating System.
- Set up hot corners, which allows you to push your cursor to a certain corner of your screen to lock the computer. This can be set up under System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver then choosing Hot Corners.
Get in the habit of locking your screen.
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Tap your King County ID or ORCA card on transit
King County Metro will resume fare inspection on March 31. Fare Enforcement Officers will ask riders for proof of payment. As a reminder, everyone—even riders with fully-subsidized transit benefits from an employer like King County—needs to tap their King County ID or use another payment method. As a reminder, you can use your King County ID to travel anywhere, at any time, for free on transit.
Tapping your card directly supports transit—and benefits you and Metro in other ways, too. For example, it lets Metro know how you ride public transportation so they can update service to meets the changing needs of riders. Tapping also lets Metro know how many people are taking Metro. The more people who ride, the more state and federal transit funding is directed to Metro and the other transit agencies you use.
As more employees commute to King County worksites more frequently, forgetting your badge can happen. If this happens, employees can coordinate with FMD/ID Access to receive a replacement or temporary badge.
Family, friends and visitors can get their own ORCA card or download the Transit GO Ticket mobile app to purchase digital tickets. And don’t forget, transit is always free for riders 18 and younger thanks to Move Ahead Washington, a statewide transportation funding package. We strongly encourage youth riders ages 6 to 18 to get a free Youth ORCA Card.
If you have any questions about your commuter benefits offered by King County, reach out to the King County Employee Transportation Program at ETP@kingcounty.gov.
