Celebrating Latino/Latina Heritage Month in King County
King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed the month beginning September 15 “Latino/Latina Heritage Month in King County. “I urge all County residents to join me in celebrating the many contributions of people of Latino heritage to our community,” Executive Constantine said in his Proclamation. More than 55 million people of Latino/Latina ancestry live in the United States, with almost 200,000 calling King County home. You can read the Executive’s proclamation here (SharePoint).
Executive Unveils $11.3 Billion Proposed Budget
On Monday, King County Executive Dow Constantine transmitted his 2017-2018 proposed biennial budget to the Metropolitan King County Council. The proposed $11.3 billion, two-year budget invests in Metro Transit, human services, and other important programs that reflect the values of King County residents and again maintains costs below the rate of population and inflation. Find out more by watching the Executive’s address below or read more on the budget website.
A new video addresses voting rights of citizens with felony convictions
Crossposted from For The Defense A powerful new video underscores what many persons with felony convictions in Washington state are never told: Once out of custody and no longer under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections, he or she can register to vote. The 4-minute video – with clips from persons with felony convictions who said they went years thinking they had permanently lost the right to vote – was released by the 2016 graduates of the Washington Leadership Institute (WLI), a program that recruits, trains, and develops minority and… Read More
Attorney to be honored for a major federal court win for immigrant detainees
Crossposted from For The Defense The win last year was a game-changer. Thanks to a class-action lawsuit brought by several public interest attorneys, a federal judge ruled that immigrants with mental disabilities facing deportation proceedings are entitled to a lawyer, a first-ever affirmation of the right to appointed counsel for immigrant detainees. One of the lead attorneys was Matthew Adams, legal director at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) in Seattle and a member of the King County Public Defense Advisory Board. He’s now about to receive the Washington State Bar Association’s… Read More
Saying goodbye to a public health hero, “Uncle Bob” Santos
Crossposted from Public Health Insider By Kalayaan Domingo, Healthy Eating and Active Living Project Manager at Public Health A celebration and remembrance in honor of Robert “Uncle Bob” Santos will be held on Friday, September 23 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at WAMU Theater at CenturyLink Field (800 Occidental Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98134), located on the corner of S. Royal Brougham Way & Occidental Avenue S. The public is invited to attend. On August 27th, 2016, Seattle lost one of our hometown heroes, Bob Santos, or Uncle Bob, as he was… Read More
Employees change work environment, open up to new opportunities
Photo by Paul Israel Working with strong personalities can be challenging, especially when they’re all on the same team. To help create understanding and better work flow, it’s important to recognize what is impacting the group dynamics and address these concerns directly. One construction crew in the Parks and Recreation Division of King County DNRP is taking on this challenge, working to improve the culture for themselves and build a better, more efficient work environment. Aaron Hall, the supervisor for this group, worked with staff after the 2015 King County Employee Survey… Read More
Public Health teen sex education program expanding nationally, making difficult conversations easier
“We have been doing this for so long now that kids in King County just call their sex ed FLASH.” Andrea Gerber says this matter-of-factly. She has good reason to be proud of both the longevity and the quality of the FLASH curriculum. Along with her colleague Kari Kesler, the two led a three-day training in May that attracted 35 leaders and health educators from 14 states across the U.S. to become experts on FLASH, showcasing the success of the curriculum and its far-reaching impact. “It was amazing to have people from… Read More
Third Annual Veterans and Military Spouses Career Expo draws a crowd
More than 250 veterans and military spouses converged upon the Washington State Convention Center August 10 to take part in the Third Annual Working with our Troops Career Expo – an event cosponsored by the King County Veterans Program, WorkSource Seattle / King County, and the Washington State Convention Center. In addition to King County, the employers in attendance included more than 120 major corporations, small businesses, and Federal, State, County and City agencies; including Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks, ThyssenKrupp, Tommy Bahama, Weyerhaeuser and first responders. King County was represented by the Human… Read More
Our new King County Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan 2016-2022
Many of us have thought about what more we can do to create a racially-just and inclusive King County and country. Many conditions in our county continue to become more inequitable with stark demarcations between the haves and the have-nots. At King County we are very proud to launch our first King County Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan. This Plan builds on much of the good work that we and our partners have been doing to advance equity in our region and pushes us to become more thoughtful, strategic and effective…. Read More
Kudos! RainWise Program Reaches 1,000 Installations
In July, the RainWise program achieved a milestone: 1,000 rain garden or cistern installations on private property. The program offers rebates to install rain gardens and cisterns on private property in Seattle neighborhoods where King County and Seattle are working to prevent combined sewer overflows (CSO). Almost half of the 1,000 installations are located in King County CSO basins. To learn more about this successful program visit the King County website, visit the 700 Millions Gallons website or read this previous KC Employee News article.
Employee News 