Executive Constantine unveils 2023 – 2024 budget
Focusing on four priority pillars of work first introduced in his 2022 State of the County address, King County Executive Dow Constantine joined the King County Council today to deliver his 2023 – 2024 biennial Proposed Budget. The $15.8 billion budget will make major investments in the Executive’s priority areas focused on battling the climate crisis and restoring our environment, ensuring every person has a home, ensuring a community where every person is safe, and uprooting racism and racial disparities. Read more.
King County’s 2024 Comprehensive Plan survey
King County is starting a once-a-decade update to its Comprehensive Plan, which guides where people live, work, and play in unincorporated King County. To ensure that King County will be a welcoming community where every person can thrive, the 2024 update will focus on policies related to racial equity, affordable housing, and climate change. To achieve this goal, King County employees and residents are encouraged to participate in a survey to provide input. Click here to learn more.
Executive Constantine announces King County’s first-ever Wildfire Risk Reduction Strategy
King County has developed its first-ever Wildfire Risk Reduction Strategy, a set of 12 recommended actions to improve preparedness, response, and recovery as the region experiences hotter, drier summers due to climate change. The strategy’s recommended actions are organized around three guiding priorities: Make King County forests more resilient to wildfire, reduce risks to communities and infrastructure in the wildland-urban interface, and enhance emergency response. Read more.
Be ready for smoky days with 1-minute air filter
Cross-posted from Public Health Insider Wildfire smoke is a near-annual event with the hotter, drier summers we’re getting (see Climate Changes Health). No amount of clever crafting can turn back the climate, but this simple D.I.Y. project can make the smoky days a little more bearable and safe. Read more.
Executive Constantine demonstrates progress on making region’s treatment plant more resilient to climate impacts
As King County hosts a four-day national conference of clean water agencies, Executive Dow Constantine showed progress toward making the region’s wastewater treatment system more resilient to climate impacts. King County crews are preparing to install on-site batteries at West Point Treatment Plant, providing operators with an uninterruptable power supply when voltage sags occur. It’s the latest in a series of improvements to make the 56-year-old treatment plant more resilient to climate impacts. Read more.
How a beaver boom is reshaping floods and fire
Jen Vanderhoof, a senior ecologist with the Water and Land Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, was recently interviewed for a story on beavers. The video was produced by Grist, a non-profit, independent media organization focused on covering climate solutions. The piece highlights how beavers may offer real protection against climate impacts like flooding and wildfires, if people can learn to live with them. Watch the video.
Local Food Initiative supports farmers, protects land, and increases access to healthy foods
King County strives to be a healthy community, where residents can access opportunities and receive the support needed to succeed. One way it does this is through the Local Food Initiative. This program was started in 2014 and aims to make the local food economy more equitable and resilient to climate impacts. The initiative is overseen by Mike Lufkin, Food Economy Manager in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Mike has been with King County since 2015. His work includes growing the food and farm sectors, increasing access to healthy nutritious… Read More
King County’s Vashon Recycling and Transfer Station goes energy neutral with new solar array
Posted by the Department of Natural Resources and Parks As it becomes more urgent to address the effects of climate change, the Solid Waste Division in King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks is working to provide recycling and waste disposal services throughout the county while reducing its carbon footprint and overall environmental impacts. At the Vashon Recycling and Transfer Station, a recently completed solar project will help the division reach its climate goals, providing energy-neutral recycling and garbage service to Vashon Island residents for years to come. Read more.
Executive Constantine delivers 2022 State of the County address
Focusing on four priority pillars of work, King County Executive Dow Constantine recently delivered the 2022 State of the County to the King County Council. The address reflected on both the achievements of the last year and the opportunities ahead. Executive Constantine laid out past successes and future actions in the critical areas of homelessness, public safety and the criminal legal system, anti-racism and pro-equity policies and investments, and environmental conservation and climate change. He also spoke to the ongoing work related to public health, transit, and the creative economy as King… Read More
How King County businesses help protect public health and the environment through our Industrial Waste program
Cross-posted from Clean Water Stories Staff at the King County wastewater treatment plants do an excellent job of cleaning wastewater, but not all types of waste can be filtered out during the treatment process. The Industrial Waste Program is in charge of preventing pollution from entering the wastewater system in the first place. That’s also where local business can make a difference. By making sure that they only send wastewater to the County system that meets the standards set to protect the environment, businesses play a big role in keeping our waterways clean. Read the full story here.
Employee News 