Celebrating Disability Awareness Month
This October King County is celebrating Disability Awareness Month and taking the opportunity to recognize the many contributions of people with disabilities to our workforce and our communities. King County provides many programs and services – such as easier access to public transit, greater access to parks, facilities and trails, housing assistance and improvement programs, and Accessible Voting Centers – to help people with disabilities bring their unique contributions to our communities and live fulfilling and rewarding lives. King County Executive Dow Constantine and the Metropolitan King County Council proclaimed the month of October as Disability… Read More
Metro Transit celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month
During National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15), we at King County recognize the important presence of Hispanic and LatinX Americans and the contributions they have made to the United States and King County, and celebrate their heritage and culture. National Hispanic Heritage Month begins each year on September 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Dia de la Raza is October 12. Before Washington was a state, people of Hispanic origin were coming to the region to work on… Read More
Resources to help you cope with traumatic events
The horrific mass shooting that took place Sunday night in Las Vegas has deeply affected all of us. This senseless, heartbreaking event may evoke feelings of fear and anxiety, or bring back thoughts associated with other tragedies that have happened closer to home. King County Making Life Easier is providing several resources to help you and your family cope with your emotional reactions to this tragedy. If you need immediate support, or specific resources, please call the King County Making Life Easier program at 1-888-874-7290. The following links are curated articles provided… Read More
New cat café opening soon to feature felines from RASKC
Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) will be providing adoptable cats for Neko, a new cat café in Capitol Hill, opening in October. RASKC already works with Seattle’s first cat cafe, Seattle Meowtropolitan, to provide adoptable cats for customers to interact with. “Working with Meowtropolitan has been a really cool experience,” said Nickie Ford, RASKC animal services coordinator. “We got started with them about a year and a half ago, I believe, and we found the cats, they really just thrive in that colony environment.” Slated to open in mid-October, customers at Neko can expect to find 12-15 cats looking… Read More
Changes ahead for Metro and DOT
Crossposted from Inside Transportation by Harold S. Taniguchi Director, King County Dept. of Transportation Executive Constantine announced this week that he is working with the County Council to make a big change: In early 2019, Metro Transit will become a stand-alone County department, no longer part of the Department of Transportation. This change makes sense. Public transportation is a top priority for the Executive and our region. Population and job growth mean that Metro must provide more and better travel options for all who live and work here—and Metro has a long-range plan for doing just… Read More
New commuting options for employees: Sounder, Uber, Park-and-ride
Two new roundtrips have been added for the Sounder between Seattle-Lakewood, bringing the total number of roundtrips in South King and Pierce Counties up to 13 per weekday. During peak hours, Sounder trains will arrive as often as every 20 minutes. View the full Sounder Lakewood-Seattle schedule here. A new transit discount program offered by Uber aimed at people living in Rainier Valley and South King County will allow for employees to get a $3.50 discount on all UberX and UberPOOL trips to and from qualifying light rail stations. To see participating light rail stations and full instructions to set up the discount in the Uber app, please… Read More
Five tips on how to prepare for a disaster on a budget
Crossposted from Public Health Insider Whenever I think about emergency preparedness, it sounds like a lot of work and a lot of money. When money is tight, it’s hard to make emergency preparedness a priority. Since it is National Preparedness Month, I decided to find ways to help save money while preparing for an emergency. Here are a few tips to make emergency preparedness kit less expensive. Tip #1: Start with Things at Home In my home, I have a lot of stuff. I started building my kit by taking things from my house that… Read More
Industries honored for dedication to clean water
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories Believe it or not, industry is still a major employer in King County, accounting for over 100,000 jobs in the city of Seattle alone. Another little known fact is how much emphasis our local industries put on environmental stewardship. One of our responsibilities as a clean-water utility is to regulate facilities that discharge industrial wastewater to our regional sewer system, and we issue permits to make sure this wastewater won’t harm the environment, our workers, or our treatment system. Permit conditions might call for facilities to regularly… Read More
KCDOT works with local consulates to reach Spanish-speaking customers
Crossposted from Inside Transportation As part of our commitment to delivering accessible service to all residents of King County, regardless of their place of origin, KCDOT leadership recently met with the local consuls of five Latin American nations to help us improve our communications with Spanish-speaking customers. Nearly one of every 10 King County residents is of Hispanic/Latinx origin, according to the last census, and of those who speak Spanish at home, nearly half say they speak English less than “very well.” Language can become a barrier to using public transit, and elements… Read More
Drug court judge helps people get back on the road to recovery
Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook For years, Judge James Cayce presided over mostly criminal trials: Child rapes. Murders. One family torture trial stretched out over four months, but despite the difficult nature of the crimes, Judge Cayce enjoyed the work. When the opportunity came along to preside over Drug Court, Judge Cayce hesitated. “I didn’t want to do drug court at first, but Judge Carey asked me to do Drug Court on Fridays in Kent, so I sat in a couple of times…and I loved it,” he recalls…. Read More
Employee News 