Trail Spotlight: Eastside Rail Corridor

Crossposted from King County Parks Plog By Gabriel Avila-Mooney One of the most exciting projects happening at Parks is the development of the Eastside Rail Corridor (ERC). This trail is being developed in partnership with Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Woodinville, along with Sound Transit, Puget Sound Energy and many others. Once completed this 42-mile recreational trail will connect the Cedar River Trail and Lake to Sound Trail (in progress) with the SR 520 Trail, the I-90 Trail, Redmond Central Connector, the Cross Kirkland Corridor, the Sammamish River Trail, and the East… Read More

King County’s South Treatment Plant celebrates perfection with prestigious environmental awards

The Washington State Department of Ecology honored King County’s South Treatment Plant with a coveted “Outstanding Performance Award” for operational excellence that resulted in perfect compliance with all permit conditions in 2017. South Plant is one of 111 wastewater treatment plants out of about 300 statewide that received the recognition. To earn the award, the plant had to operate around the clock for the entire year with no violations of any kind. In addition to meeting or exceeding effluent pollution removal requirements, the plant operations also flawlessly complied with monitoring and reporting… Read More

Metro Transit to become independent department Jan. 1

Shared from King County Council News King County Metro, recognized this month as the best large transit system in North America, will become an independent County department with Monday’s unanimous approval of legislation by the Metropolitan King County Council. In September 2017, Executive Constantine announced his proposal to make Metro Transit a stand-alone department rather than a division of the Department of Transportation. King County has been responsible for public transit since the voter-approved merger of the county with the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro). Metro Transit has been a division of… Read More

Pet of the Week: Eggsy

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC Fall head over heels for Eggsy, our Pet of the Week! This sweet and loving senior boy would love to cuddle up with you at home in his golden years. Eggsy also loves petting and will knead you in contentment. Eggsy is a gentle and affectionate boy who likes to take things slow. As one of our “Bashful Blue” personality pets, he may get a little nervous in new situations and would do best in a family who understands he may need some time to warm up…. Read More

Turning passion for people into opportunities

By Katelin Gladney, Customer Service Intern Take a walk around King County and you’ll see how residents’ experiences can vary wildly. Some are doing well and benefitting from the strong, tech-fueled economy. But far too many are struggling to even keep a roof over their heads. Finding ways to help those struggling is the mission of King County employee Andréa Akita, Director of Communities of Opportunity (COO). King County partnered with the Seattle Foundation a local philanthropic organization, to create the initiative aimed at providing equity and social justice to all communities… Read More

Lift Every Youth graduation: Each one, teach one

Last week, we shared how our Lift Every Youth Employment & Mentorship Program is helping to break down barriers to well-paying jobs and career success for young people through an innovative internship and mentorship program that intentionally prioritizes young people with the greatest needs in Internship program breaks barriers for young people most affected by inequities. This year’s program participants graduated last week, and marked the occasion with a graduation event with King County Executive Dow Constantine at the Dexter Horton Building. “Over the last two years, Lift Every Youth has been… Read More

King County uses ACS data to help older Americans with housing affordability

King County uses the American Community Survey data in many ways to support our residents.  The following story from King County Assessor John Wilson was featured in the ACS User Data group; which includes users from cities and counties around the nation.  This story was put together by the assessor’s office, the Executive Office, and Public Health staff; including Chandler Felt and Susan Kinne. When I became King County Assessor in 2016, real estate values had been jumping at a double-digit pace annually and housing affordability was headed towards a crisis level—especially… Read More

2018 Equity & Social Justice Speaker Series

You are invited! The 2018 Equity & Social Justice Speaker Series invites you to a Lunch & Learn Tuesday, Aug. 28, noon to 1 p.m. in room 123 of the Chinook Building. This session features The Anti-Defamation League, with a presentation by Hillary Bernstein and Miri Cypers (Director), and is brought to you by KC Equity Fund and KCIT ESJ: Learning, Advocating, Cultivating.  

Equity from birth: Why community-based support is crucial

Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Blog Via The Giving Compass – Original contribution by Brenda Blasingame, M.A., Executive Director at HealthConnect One and Dila K Perera, MSW MPH, Executive Director at  Open Arms Perinatal Services In communities across King County, parent peer support programs are building networks of resources and social supports for caregivers. Best Starts seeks to strengthen and expand these programs by partnering with community organizations that serve expecting parents, families, and caregivers, and who have expertise in providing maternal-child health and prenatal and perinatal peer support direct services. If this describes your work, stay tuned to the… Read More

Learn more about Metro’s Shared Employer Shuttle program

Crossposted from Metro Matters By Scott Gutierrez Have you heard about Metro’s “Shared Employer Shuttle” program? On Aug. 15, employers who are interested can learn more during an informational meeting at Metro’s main office. Metro launched the program earlier this year to work with groups of employers interested in sharing transportation services for their workers.  This represents a great opportunity for employers to improve the coverage or frequency of their transportation services, lower the cost of providing service, and help improve regional mobilty. Read more. Interested groups of employers need to submit… Read More