King County posts record transit ridership in year of bus and train expansion
Transit ridership across King County Metro and Sound Transit climbed to its highest levels ever, totaling about 150 million rides in the King County area in 2016. The Seattle area leads the nation in ridership growth compared to the largest metro areas in the U.S. Strong ridership between Metro and Sound Transit highlights significant progress on King County Executive Dow Constantine’s priority of integrating the region’s transit network. “Transit ridership continues to grow, and we’re meeting the need by offering more and better service, improving reliability, and making transfers between bus and rail… Read More
Celebrating Black History Month in King County
King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed February to be Black History Month in King County. “The contributions to science, technology, business, arts, and cultural innovation by African Americans have been essential to the progress of our nation,” Executive Constantine said in his Proclamation. “We will continue to honor these accomplishments every month and every day in Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., County.” You can read the Executive’s proclamation here (on SharePoint).
Latest edition of King County @ Your Service show
How does the county’s new Food Safety Rating System work? Fighting back against the Opioid Epidemic and new high tech Collaboration Spaces means services on-line instead of in line. View this video to get the latest information on a few of the most recent King County hot topics. Join host Tim O’Leary for King County @ Your Service.
Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project: Update, February 2017
The Yesler Way Bridge Rehabilitation Project has been going quite well, and is now preparing for a major milestone—the placement of new girders across 4th Avenue. Carefully putting these structures into place will require the full closure of 4th Ave S between Washington and Jefferson Streets several nights this month. Crews will close 4th Ave S to all traffic on Monday, February 20 through Friday, February 24 from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Pedestrian, bicycle, vehicle, and bus detours will be placed around the 4th Ave S closure. Check out the detour… Read More
When the unexpected unfolds: Protecting people after wastewater overflows
Crossposted from WTD Clean Water Stories When conversations in our region circle around to water quality, the trigger is usually bad news. Puget Sound’s resident orca whales had a tough year because they couldn’t find enough salmon to eat. Shellfish harvests and beaches close due to toxic algae in the water. Fingers point at polluted stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows, leaking septic systems, and more. At King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD), our mission focuses around being part of the solution. We pride ourselves on the hard work we do treating our… Read More
Kudos! King County among the first in the nation to achieve a global milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS
Crossposted from Public Health Insider King County is among the first major metropolitan regions in the United States – and possibly the first – to reach a major milestone set by the World Health Organization in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A broad partnership led by Public Health – Seattle & King County achieved what is known as the 90-90-90 goal: 90 percent of residents infected with HIV know their infection status, 90 percent are on HIV antiretroviral treatment, and 90 percent are virally suppressed. King County reached the milestone three years… Read More
We put ourselves in tight spots to care for our system
Crossposted from WTD Clean Water Stories At 6’2”, Randy Westendorf fit right in as a linebacker for the University of Colorado football team. Imagine that same man, now a facilities inspector working for King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD), squeezed into a 48” wide manhole. That visual caught the eye of a coworker, and became a feature in an industry organization’s annual calendar. What was Randy doing in that manhole, anyway? Read more at WTD Clean Water Stories
All Are Welcome Here: How a statement of King County commitment became a sign for every work site
By Meredith Li-Vollmer, Public Health – Seattle & King County Even before the Trump administration announced its travel ban, Public Health staff started to notice a downturn in the number of immigrant patients coming for care at our clinics. Tina Maestas, Public Health Nurse at the Renton Community Service Organization, contacted Director Patty Hayes to express her concern. “The Latino community is rightfully fearful and many are unaware that we are a [welcoming] county,” wrote Maestas. “As national policy takes a grim turn, we can be a beacon of light by proactively… Read More
ESJ book winners and the continuing conversation on racism, new series to begin March 21
By Rowena Johnson, Department of Natural Resources and Parks Earlier this year an Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) project team in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks held a drawing to give away five books by poets featured in the 2016 “Reflecting on Race and Racism through Spoken Word, Story, and Conversation” series. To be eligible for the drawing, King County employees were asked to submit their reflections on the 2016 reading series, particularly on what they had learned and what they hope to see in future ESJ literary events. Those… Read More
Water Taxi’s Ron Panzero wins national safety award
Crossposted from The Captain’s Blog Keeping riders and crew safe is Job 1 for us here at King County Water Taxi, so when a national organization recognizes one of our team member’s efforts, we humbly accept the accolades. Ron Panzero, Operations and Maintenance Manager for the Marine Division, was awarded the Roger Murphy National Marine Safety Award, for his work to improve safety by demonstrating, enhancing and contributing to the Water Taxi’s overall safety efforts. He received the award Tuesday at MariTrends 2017, the Passenger Vessel Association’s (PVA) Annual Convention held this… Read More
Employee News 