Walk in the Shoes – Cynthia and Dynese
County employees do amazing work on behalf of our residents, which I was able to see firsthand in May when I visited King County’s Youth Services Center (YSC) to walk in the shoes of Juvenile Detention Nurse Cynthia Marino and Juvenile Detention Supervisor Dynese Greer. They help youth in King County who enter the criminal justice system leave it with a better chance of living a happy, productive, successful life. Accompanied by Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams, I met with Juvenile Detention Deputy Director Angela Toussaint who gave us access badges for… Read More
Balanced You Worksite Fund applications due by noon Monday, July 30
When it comes to health, one size never fits all. Some of us work on buses or drive trucks, and others work in treatment plants or offices. Balanced You is working to offer more choices that take into account where, when, and how we work. The Balanced You Worksite Fund is an exciting new program to help you and your coworkers bring your own good ideas and solutions to life. When you apply for a Worksite fund grant, you have an opportunity to create positive change. Applications are due by noon Monday, July… Read More
Investing in water quality, one community at a time
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories When it comes to making a big impact on the environment, sometimes it pays to think small. King County’s WaterWorks Grant Program began in 2015 to kick-start investment in hyperlocal projects that improve water quality and encourage community partnerships. Through a sense of purpose and the dedication of countless volunteers, our WaterWorks grants are supporting the kind of environmental progress that makes our neighborhoods – and our region – an even better place to live. Take for example how a former parking lot in Kent was transformed… Read More
White Center Teen Program helps local youth thrive
The White Center Community Center, also known as the Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park, houses King County Parks’ White Center Teen Program and serves the community by fostering a safe positive place for local youth to partake in recreational and educational programs. The goal of WCTP is to reduce youth involvement in violent, criminal or gang-related activities and increase young people’s connection to community through civic and volunteer opportunities. “We want to keep them out of trouble, and we want to also keep them in school,” said Darlene Sellers, Recreation Coordinator for… Read More
Bringing the Data Together
Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Blog Part 5 of our Community Owned Data blog series This is the fifth and final post in our month-long Community Owned Data series we are doing to highlight our learnings from the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey. If you are interested in the previous posts, we link to them all at the end of this post so make sure you make your way to the end! Putting it all together Last week, we shared what we heard from community members about each of the five key topics we… Read More
Administration Building 5th Avenue entry ADA wheelchair lift replacement begins today
FMD Advisory The Administration Building ADA wheelchair lift at the 5th Avenue entry is scheduled to be replaced. Construction will begin tomorrow, July 12 and the new lift is scheduled to be in operation by September. The ADA-accessible route into the Administration Building will be closed during construction. An alternative route is through the Chinook Building at 401 5th Avenue, proceeding through the tunnel to the first floor of the Administration Building. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the FMD Customer Care Services Team at 206-477-9400 or by email.
Parks employee competes in 2018 Special Olympics USA Games
Rama ‘RJT’ Tall has been a King County employee since 1990 as a Parks Specialist with the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He is also one of the employee athletes who represented the State of Washington during the Seattle- and King County-hosted 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. Like Metro’s Jonathan Leckband, featured in Employee News leading up to the games, RJT competed on the soccer field. He and his manager, Parks District Maintenance Coordinator Gary Brown, shared some of RJT’s story before the games began. “I’ve been playing soccer since 1987,”… Read More
King County #RiseWithUs highlights
Dear Athletes, Coaches, Family Members, Volunteers, Games Partners, Supporters of the Games, and Greater Seattle Community: Thank you! The 2018 USA Games said, ‘Rise with Us’ and you did – with open hearts and minds. You were magnificent hosts. Chairman Tim Shriver, Special Olympics International Over the first week of this month, we hosted approximately 4,000 athletes and coaches, 15,000 volunteers and 70,000 spectators for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. We at King County also were the athletes, the coaches, the volunteers, and the spectators – and more! Rama ‘RJT’ Tall… Read More
Enseñanzas del Data Dive Latino/a
Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Part 4 of our Community Owned Data blog series This is the fourth post in our month-long Community Owned Data series we are doing to highlight our learnings from the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey. We brought the data to specific communities in the form of “data dives,” asked what they thought, and learned a lot from community input and data interpretation! In this post, we hear directly from a facilitator who led a Latino/a data dive event. Each of our eight data dive community… Read More
Overseas and service voters
Regardless of where you are in the world, you have the right to cast a ballot in every election and have it arrive on time to be counted. Overseas and service voters have additional voter registration, ballot delivery, and ballot return options. Let your King County expats and servicemembers know the deadline to register to vote online or by mail for the August 7 primary and special election is Friday, July 6 – the end of this week! If you have U.S. friends and family overseas, let them know they can learn… Read More
Employee News 