Working as a King County Drug Court Case Manager is Yuka Hayashi’s dream job. “I am so happy that I’m here,” Hayashi said. “It’s such an opportunity to work for a program that helps so many people. There are people who walk in to the program that are so broken down. They have no family, no home, their health is bad— they have nothing. We have the opportunity to give them all these resources and I see people’s lives change.” Hayashi works with defendants enrolled in the King County Drug Diversion Court,… Read More

When the permanent hazardous waste facilities weren’t enough to deal with all of King County’s hazardous waste disposal demands, the Wastemobile was created. “We didn’t know how big the demand was; we needed a better plan of doing it,” said Henry Draper who was the original project manager of the Local Hazardous Management Program’s Household Hazardous Wastemobile. “That was the genesis of the Wastemobile.” Now, celebrating its 25th anniversary, two Wastemobiles serve rural and suburban areas of King County, accepting residential and small business hazardous waste materials. The Wastemobile is dedicated to… Read More

King County’s emergency responders have long been recognized as among the best in the world and that standing was enhanced even further this week when it was revealed that the cardiac arrest survival rate in King County, already the world’s best, has reached an all-time high. Someone who has a cardiac arrest in King County has a greater chance of survival than anyone else in the world, with the survival rate in King County up to 62 percent in 2013, according to the latest analysis by county officials. By comparison, the cardiac survival… Read More

Wastewater Treatment Division recently had great success getting information out about its Brightwater Treatment Plant when a story posted on its Facebook page about weddings at Brightwater went viral. A KIRO-7 story about wedding availability at Brightwater’s Environmental Education and Community Center led to coverage from FOX News, Huffington Post, TIME.com, and newspaper websites galore including the Washington Post, New York Daily News, the UK Daily Mail, the Times of Malta and the Irish Examiner. WTD was even interviewed for A3 Radio’s morning show in Melbourne, Australia! The context was playful but… Read More

Four years ago King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an Executive Order that aimed to reform the County’s procurement and contract business processes, and included a goal of providing greater opportunities for small, disadvantaged, and minority- and women-owned businesses to compete for and obtain County contracts. As we get ready to celebrate National Small Business Week from May 12 – 16, we spoke to some of King County’s small business advocates in the Business Development and Contract Compliance group in the Department of Executive Services to see what the County is doing… Read More

King County has opened a Rural Services Center on Vashon Island to provide residents with a one-stop shop for King County services. The Vashon Rural Services Center is home to the King County Sheriff’s Office, King County District Court, the Vashon Community Service Center, and services provided by the Department of Permitting and Environmental Review and the Community Service Area Program. The new center was made possible through a partnership between King County and Vashon Island Fire and Rescue (VIFR). “King County is the local government for Vashon-Maury Island but they’re separated… Read More

The Department of Community and Human Services’ Developmental Disabilities Division recently hosted its annual Transition Resource Fairs. Held every March for the past seven years, the fairs support the School-to-Work program by informing and better equipping students and their families to prepare for a successful transition from school to employment and other community resources. The fairs were at Highline Community College on Saturday, March 1, and at Microsoft on Tuesday, March 4. The fairs are intentionally held away from high schools—the message is about adult life in the community. Over 900 community… Read More