Q&A with our Elections translators: Signe Chan, Chinese
Crosposted from Election Connection We’re highlighting the great work our translators do helping make our elections and services accessible to every member of the community. Here we sit down for a brief Q&A with Signe Chan, our Chinese language translator. What is your background and what brought you to working in local government at King County? My family immigrated to the United States when I was a teenager. Often times I have to interpret for my parents and elderly friends who speak limited English. Helping people is one of my specialties; I started… Read More
Sisters Who Care about breast cancer awareness
True to their name, the Sisters Who Care really do care about their Juvenile Court colleagues and clients. This group of employees includes African American women who champion various causes and projects throughout the year. They are responsible for the annual Juneteenth celebration, and this month they feature Justice in Pink, a focus on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Justice in Pink is the brainchild of Superior Court Renton Unit Supervisor JoeAnne Taylor and Renton Juvenile Probation Counselor Darlin Johnson who noticed many co-workers and family members were affected by cancer diagnoses. Justice in Pink is designed to educate Juvenile Court staff… Read More
Q&A with our Elections translators: Juan Vazquez, Spanish
Crossposted from Election Connection We’re highlighting the great work our translators do helping make our elections and services accessible to every member of the community. Here we sit down for a brief Q&A with Juan Vazquez, our Spanish language translator. What brings you to working in local government at King County? I was born in Mexico, but immigrated to the United States when I was thirteen. I attended Seattle University for my Bachelor of Arts, then completed my Master of Arts at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA. Afterwards I… Read More
King County Council recognizes Water Taxi crew who rescued man near West Seattle over the summer
Crossposted from The Captain’s Blog Fifteen minutes. That’s the amount of time that had elapsed from the moment the crew working King County Water Taxi’s West Seattle route on Aug. 30 spotted a man overboard in Elliott Bay to the time medics were giving him a clean bill of health. During those 15 minutes, the three-person crew – relying on its extensive marine safety and emergency training – positioned the MV Doc Maynard near the man, fastened together a rope-and-pulley system, pulled him safely aboard and delivered him to waiting medics. Read more… Read More
John Taylor takes helm as inaugural director of Department of Local Services
Crossposted from Inside Transportation One day after being named the first director of a new King County department designed to exclusively serve residents of the unincorporated areas, John Taylor participated at a retreat for division leaders and outlined his vision for delivering outstanding local public services. “There is currently no city hall for the residents of unincorporated King County, yet it’s in effect a city of 250,000 people,” he said. “Our goal is to give them that ‘city hall’ — a place they can get permits in a simple way, get their… Read More
Lourdes Garcia brings her family’s passion for helping others to DPD
Lourdes Garcia slipped out of Cuba with her family when she was 7 years old, carrying little more than the clothes she could cram into a suitcase. Her parents left behind good jobs, furnishings, a large extended family. It was hard rebuilding their lives once they landed in Seattle, said Lourdes, who today works for the county’s Department of Public Defense. But her family’s remarkable story also instilled in her the importance of helping others – in part, because of the role model of her father, a man who helped countless Cuban refugees… Read More
Judge Maureen McKee brings a wealth of experience
Crossposted from For the Defense Since she obtained her law degree from Cornell University 16 years, Maureen McKee has been in the trenches of public defense, working as a line attorney and supervisor in one of King County’s public defense agencies. She has represented teenagers and adults, people charged with felonies and misdemeanors, clients who stood to be hospitalized against their will or civilly committed as a sexually violent predator. As the newest member of the King County Superior Court bench, Judge McKee has stepped into a profoundly different world. Assigned to… Read More
Executive Constantine names new Deputy Chief Operating Officer to serve as interim jail director
Brenda Bauer, former city manager for the City of Bainbridge Island and director of the City of Seattle’s Fleets and Facilities Department, will join the Executive’s Office as Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Now serving as director of the King County Road Services Division, Bauer will report to Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller. Following the announcement that Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention Director William Hayes will retire at the end of October, Bauer agreed to serve as interim director until the position is filled on a permanent basis. A national search… Read More
King County Metro honors three ‘Operators of the Year’
Ricardo Diaz, Penny Scott and Robert Leyse walked into cheers and applause at a surprise ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Atlantic-Central Base where they were named King County Metro’s Transit Operators of the Year. Each year since 1979, Operators of the Month are selected from each of Metro’s seven bases, who later are responsible for selecting an Operator of the Year from among them. In nearly 40 years, there has never been a tie between three operators. Metro had two-way ties for Operator of the Year in 1994, 1997 and 2007. Having three operators… Read More
Congratulations to DCHS Director Adrienne Quinn
Crossposted from the Best Starts for Kids Blog Today King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) Director Adrienne Quinn has accepted a new position at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance as a Distinguished Practitioner (a faculty post). We are deeply grateful for Adrienne’s leadership with our department and with Best Starts for Kids. Under her leadership and vision, we’ve launched the most comprehensive approach to childhood and youth development in the nation, living into our equity and social justice values at… Read More
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