Crossposted from Inside Transportation After months of hard work, I want to thank the King County Council for embracing many of the Executive’s proposals and adopting our $1.9 billion biennial operating budget and $1.2 billion capital investment plan for 2017-2018. The adopted budget makes significant investments in 88 Metro Transit bus routes to reduce crowding, improve reliability and increase the frequency of trips on key corridors. It includes infrastructure funding for 2017-18 and a six-year plan of capital investments outlined in Transit’s long range plan, METRO CONNECTS. The budget also invests in… Read More

Crossposted from Go, Green Team! As of October 2016, fifty percent of K-12 schools in King County outside City of Seattle have received assistance, tools, and recognition from the King County Green Schools Program. Join these 248 schools and get help to engage your school community in improving waste reduction, recycling, and other conservation practices. King County Green Schools Program provides assistance, school visits, and the resources and tools (including recycling containers and signs) schools need to make improvements. Sign up to participate. Here are a few examples of what schools are… Read More

Transportation advocates in New York are pushing the city to consider a reduced-fair program similar to ORCA LIFT. The program received a mention in the New York Times for its success in charging residents with low incomes less to ride public transportation. Read more about this national movement and how King County helped lead the way in the original New York Times article.

How will Metro Transit’s new long range plan impact you? What’s it like to be a King County Sheriff Detective, and take a ride on Bellevue’s Wilburton Trestle? View this video to get the latest information on a few of the most recent King County hot topics. Join host Kimberly Hill for King County @ Your Service.

Crossposted from Election Connection The King County Canvassing Board has kicked off its meetings for the November 8 General Election. The board is a public entity that conducts a formal assessment of the election. The assessment includes reviewing vote totals, determining the validity of challenged ballots, certifying the vote and administering a recount. Canvassing Board meetings take place at the King County Elections office in Renton. All meetings are public. State law mandates that the county auditor – or commensurate official – serve as the Canvassing Board chair. Other members are the… Read More

This piece was featured at the top  of the Seattle Times’ Rants and Raves list. Kudos to the Elections office for a job well done! “RAVE To the staff at King County Elections office who helped us to obtain our overseas ballot. The staff members were all polite, problem focused and patient in guiding two senior citizens through the computer programs. Thank you for making our votes count.” Image courtesy of the Seattle Times

About 40 women participated in Pantsuit Tuesday on November 8 to celebrate the accomplishments of professional women. This informal, non-partisan, non-political lunchtime event invited staff from multiple departments to “suit up” and enjoy the opportunity to network with each other and recognize the achievements of women here in King County and around the U.S.

Crossposted from King County Natural Resources and Parks Blog  Employees of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks recently volunteered to plant trees and other plants at a restoration site in Marymoor Park. We planted 500 native plants, including 170 trees in a wetland area near the Sammamish River. Planting one million trees by 2020 is a goal set in King County’s 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan, a road map for how King County will reduce carbon pollution, increase transit, protect open spaces, and prepare communities for the impacts of a changing… Read More