Microsoft generates 125 million building footprints using AI and deep learning
Crossposted from GIS & You By Greg Babinski King County GIS Training Program partner Eric Pimpler of Geospatial Training Services has authored a fascinating article about a building footprint dataset which Microsoft has generated from Bing aerial imagery using artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer vision. The dataset comprises footprints of 125 million structures across all 50 states. This data is available for download via GitHub free of charge in the open standard GeoJSON format. Heads up! Geospatial Training Services will be teaching two specialty GIS classes at the King County GIS… Read More
We’ve got a #PicturingTrails winner!
Crossposted from King County Parks Plog By Gabriel Avila-Mooney, Communication Specialist for the King County Regional Trail System We’re super excited to announce the June winner of our #PicturingTrails photo contest! Meryl Schenker took this photo on the Preston Snoqualmie Trail and got 69 likes! She also met all the criteria for the contest (pays to read the rules and regs!) since she took the shot from one of our Regional Trails. We can’t wait to give her the prize of an S-Zone Camera Bag, an REI Camp Blanket, a Klean Kanteen Water Bottle, and… Read More
Pet of the Week: Loki
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC There’s nothing low key about Loki, our Pet of the Week! This young boy is a spirited cat with a fun-loving personality, so he’s one of our “Rambunctious Red” pets. With all that youthful energy, Loki is a very active cat who loves to play! A couple of his favorite pastimes include chasing lasers and playing with ping pong balls. He is also full of surprises and he will keep you on your feet. Loki enjoys being around people, but he can play a bit rough sometimes,… Read More
White Center Teen Program helps local youth thrive
The White Center Community Center, also known as the Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park, houses King County Parks’ White Center Teen Program and serves the community by fostering a safe positive place for local youth to partake in recreational and educational programs. The goal of WCTP is to reduce youth involvement in violent, criminal or gang-related activities and increase young people’s connection to community through civic and volunteer opportunities. “We want to keep them out of trouble, and we want to also keep them in school,” said Darlene Sellers, Recreation Coordinator for… Read More
Measuring Change in King County
The cranes dotted across the Seattle skyline may lead you to believe that King County has only begun to experience rapid growth within the past decade. However, in a new video, King County Demographer Chandler Felt discusses how the County has been booming and diversifying for the past 40 years. “Looking over a period of almost 40 years, King County’s population growth has been very steady gaining 400,000 people in the last 17 years to a population of more than 2.1 million,” Felt says in the video. Prior to 2010, the majority… Read More
Summer brings more than 40 farmers markets to King County
You’ve probably enjoyed great food and supported your local farmers by visiting the farmers market near your work place, by signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture CSA-at-work program, or by visiting a farmers market near your home. Did you know there are more than 40 farmers markets in King County between the months of May and November? More than 200 unique farms sell at markets in King County, and more than 60 of those farms are in the County. Here are a few of the resources available to make the most… Read More
Metro tops 3,000 bus drivers for first time ever
Crossposted from Metro Matters This new class of bus drivers is one for the Metro record books. Among them is Nathaniel Housman (pictured front and center), who joins his father, Tom, and his brother, Jonathan, in driving for Metro. When Nathaniel and his class graduated from their training program on June 22, Metro topped 3,000 drivers for the first time in our history. Just a year ago, Metro was close to 2,850 drivers. Now we have more drivers than ever before, and we’ll continue growing and growing to meet this region’s hunger… Read More
Kudos! to Parks and Metro for Trailhead Direct recognitions in Seattle Magazine
Seattle Magazine ran a great Northwest Travel and Outdoors feature story covering Parks’ and Metro’s Trailhead Direct program. With the support of sponsors REI Co-op and Clif Bar, and many partners throughout the region, Trailhead Direct eases vehicle congestion, reduces safety hazards and expands access to hiking destinations along I-90. Seattle Magazine’s piece provides a great overview, a little bit of history, a few impressive KPIs, and news that the program is gaining the attention of other municipalities. Kudos, Parks and Metro!
School’s out and summer is in session, but let’s keep recycling!
Crossposted from GO, Green Team! Though summer is upon us and school is out, remember to keep up the good habits of being environmental stewards you’ve practiced during the school year. During the summer, you can focus your recycling, composting, and reducing at home. Donate any old clothing, including single socks and shoes that have lost their mates. Or use old clothes as cleaning rags. For more information, check out our Threadcycle In need of summer clothes or swim wear? Give clothes a second life, go to your local Goodwill and see… Read More
Bringing the Data Together
Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Blog Part 5 of our Community Owned Data blog series This is the fifth and final post in our month-long Community Owned Data series we are doing to highlight our learnings from the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey. If you are interested in the previous posts, we link to them all at the end of this post so make sure you make your way to the end! Putting it all together Last week, we shared what we heard from community members about each of the five key topics we… Read More
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