Sally Halela, RASKC volunteer, receives Governor’s Volunteer Service Award

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC South County Cats Founder and Director Sally Halela was honored with the 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award under the Animal Welfare category. The award honor some of the state’s most dedicated individuals, groups, and families for their commitment to volunteerism as the foundation for caring communities and a thriving Washington. Regional Animal Services of King County proudly nominated Sally for this award. Along with other award winners throughout the state, Sally was honored at a reception at the Governor’s mansion in Olympia, including was featured at a… Read More

Metro again ramps up training to provide better bus service

Crossposted from Metro Matters Two-week uptick in canceled trips is possible Transit customers might experience a two-week uptick in trip cancellations starting Monday, April 23. While we have been hiring, training, and deploying more bus drivers to meet our service needs, some current drivers will stop driving for a couple of weeks as they take training to become supervisors or to move from part-time to full-time driver roles. Metro has 2,950 bus drivers providing more than 12,900 weekday bus trips across King County. Ten new part-time drivers graduated on Friday, April 20… Read More

Jay Osborne appointed Director of Human Resources Division

King County Executive Dow Constantine has appointed Jay Osborne as Director of Human Resources Division, effective April 30, 2018. Jay was selected as the successful candidate after a nationwide recruitment that attracted more than 100 applicants. Jay has served King County for almost 30 years and his experience, skills, and commitment to excellence will be vital as HRD transitions to a standalone people-focused department beginning January 1, 2019. He has acted as Interim Director of HRD since December 2017 and has been instrumental in leading the work to create a HR department… Read More

Kudos! to Melanie Maltry of Public Health

Melanie Maltry, Home-Based Services Manager with Best Starts for Kids, will be receiving a Preceptor of the Year Award for the Population Health track in the University of Washington School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Melanie, who manages BSK’s Home-Based Services investment area, has served as a mentor for DNP School of Nursing student Nadine Martinez over the past year. Nadine conducted research in the community for her report, “Exploring Service Gaps and Systems Needs for Prenatal-to-Five Home-Based Services in King County’s Best Starts for Kids.” The findings from… Read More

Kudos! to Public Health’s Tony Gomez

At the recent State Injury Prevention Summit, Safe Kids of Washington State presented Tony Gomez, Manager of Violence and Injury Prevention, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Injury Prevention. Tony has shaped programs and policies in King County, Washington State, and nationally. His work has led to important reductions in child injuries and deaths. Tony is not just doing the work, he’s preparing the next generation of Public Health professionals by teaching, mentoring and consulting on capstones and thesis with university students.

Crew of the SoundGuardian redeploys water quality buoy

Crossposted from The Downstream Blog The Point Williams Buoy On March 29, the crew of SoundGuardian, King County’s marine research vessel, re-deployed a water quality buoy that got loose earlier in the month at Point Williams, off Lincoln Park in West Seattle. In this video, watch Jim Devereaux, Bob Kruger, Houston Flores, and Christopher Barnes from the King County Environmental Laboratory re-anchor the buoy. The Point Williams buoy is one of four automated, high-frequency data collection systems used by King County in marine waters and is the only floating platform — with… Read More

Executive Constantine appoints experienced tech executive to lead King County’s award-winning information technology team

After a nationwide search, Executive Constantine selected a former senior Amazon manager to lead King County’s Department of Information Technology, recognized last year as the Best IT County in the Nation. Tanya Hannah will lead the 450-person team that was selected as Best IT County in the Nation last year by the National Association of Counties. Hannah, who joined King County IT in June 2017 as Deputy Director, was selected after an extensive nationwide search in which more than 300 candidates applied. “Our award-winning team of IT professionals has established King County… Read More

Employee Spotlight: Using restorative justice to help youth in crisis

Crossposted from the King County Youth Justice blog Jimmy Hung, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney in the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, sees the juvenile justice system from the inside. He has a passion for helping youth in crisis, and he’s been instrumental in bringing restorative justice practices to this work. Via King County TV, learn more about Jimmy Hung and how he’s helping kids make better decisions and stay on a positive path. Read more at King County Youth Justice

Way to Shine! Celebrating King County’s EGP Ambassadors

Crossposted from KC Employee Giving  Thank you, everyone who attended our Celebration event for the 2017 Annual Giving Drive on February 15, 2018. We were delighted to be joined by a full audience of King County employees, county leadership, and nonprofit representatives. Our annual Celebration event is our way of recognizing employees for their hard work, dedication, and general awesomeness. It is their moment to shine because they helped someone else’s star shine a little brighter! Read more at KC Employee Giving

Interview with Katherine King, DCHS Business and Finance Officer III 

Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter What do you do in DCHS? I am a Business and Finance Officer for the Community Services Operating Fund and the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy. For these funds I assist with the development of the budget, review expenditures for budget compliance, track and analyze expenditures against the budget to assist project managers with strategic decision-making, and I prepare financial reports for both internal and external stakeholders. I also review contracts and conduct site visits with our contractors to test for fiscal compliance. What’s something… Read More