King County is helping local military veterans make the transition from military to civilian life through its model Veterans Services program. More than 127,000 veterans of the U.S. Military live in King County and, since the 1950s, the County has made it a priority to serve those who’ve served. Early on, the County’s programs provided services to indigent disabled and homeless veterans with funds provided by Revised Code of Washington 73.08.010, which authorized a dedicated property tax as a source of funding. Continuing in that tradition, the residents of King County passed… Read More

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC This is the fourth of nine segments which Univision Seattle, KUNS Channel 51, is proudly airing on Wednesdays at 6pm and 11pm. This segment is focused on adopting a pet. Learn more about RASKC’s stories on Univision. For more information: About RASKC featured stories on Univision Watch RASKC on Univision: Saving lives (story no.1) Watch RASKC on Univision: Pet licensing (story no.2) Watch RASKC on Univision: Pet disaster preparedness (story no. 3) Read more at Tails from RASKC

We have two upcoming legislative forums to identify legislative priorities for the coming year. Developmental Disabilities Legislative Forum – The King County Board for Developmental Disabilities’ 27th annual Legislative Forum will take place on Monday, Nov. 21 at the DoubleTree Suites in Tukwila. This event is hosted by the King County Parent Coalition, a program of The Arc of King County. The King County Board for Developmental Disabilities will present the 2017 legislative agenda, focusing on issues important to the developmental disabilities system. Monday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree Suites, 16500… Read More

KOMO news reported on how more than 900 individuals received free medical care at the clinic, which was held at KeyArena Thursday, October 27 through Sunday, October 30. The clinic relied on over 1,000 volunteers to provide free dental, vision and medical care for almost 4,000 people. Read more about this successful event in the article Massive effort to provide free health care gets underway at KeyArena, including a quote from King County Executive Dow Constantine. Image courtesy of KOMO news

Al Viray, Al Williamson, and Bryon Fauchald recently received a 35-year service award, as well as lunch with acting Wastewater Treatment Division Director Gunars Sreibers and Department of Natural Resources and Parks Director Christie True, to celebrate each employee and his incredible commitment to wastewater services for our region. Thank you to all three for their dedication to King County! On December 1, 1981 three men, Al Viray, Al Williamson, and Bryon Fauchald, reported for their first day of work at the West Point Treatment plant in Discovery Park. At that time,… Read More

Crossposted from Lean in King County In September, King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) celebrated the hard work of hundreds of employees who have been streamlining how WTD operates the regional system and how it builds new facilities needed for our growing population. Employees explained to coworkers how they used Lean techniques to improve efficiency, standardize processes, and save time – thereby saving ratepayers money – during a four-hour open house. WTD has a long history of continuously improving our business using employee ideas. Over 1.5 million people in the region depend… Read More

Crossposted from Metro Matters The people of King County are fortunate to have Penny Lara. A longtime advocate for equity, Lara is a transportation planner at King County Metro focused on improving access to transportation for communities with special needs. Lara came from the Department of Public Health, Seattle-King County, where she played a key role in implementing ORCA LIFT –the reduced fare card for low-income riders —  and building upon her experience leading efforts to enroll King County’s Latinx community in health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Read more at… Read More

Crossposted from Public Health Insider When we think about people at risk of lead poisoning, we may think about children exposed to lead-based paint, or those exposed to lead through certain hobbies. But did you know that thousands of workers in this country are exposed to lead at their workplaces – day in and day out? Alarmingly, the federal and Washington state worker health & safety standards to protect those workers are inadequate and are based on outdated science from the 1970s. In addition, workers of color in King County are at… Read More

Ensuring your safety and security at work is our top priority. Recently, King County hosted an employee Lunch and Learn with representatives from the Sheriff’s Office and the Facilities Management Division (FMD) Security Unit sharing information and resources. In response to employee requests, we now have a list of safety tips online. This information from the Seattle Police Department is designed to help you enhance your personal safety and avoid potential trouble. We have also launched a new online security incident report form. You can use this form to report non-emergency incidents… Read More