More accountability, higher customer standards: upcoming Access paratransit service will have both
Crossposted from Metro Matters By Chrissy Russillo, Managing Director of King County Metro’s Paratransit Rideshare Operations program With the help of customers and advocates, King County Metro is just a few weeks away from reaching a major milestone toward improving Access paratransit service. Later this month, we plan on calling on contractors to formally resubmit service proposals that will better meet the expectations and needs of our customers. A list of key changes was developed with Access customers and advocates of the disability community, built over the course of 11 workgroup meetings… Read More
Metro’s Lost and Found Office featured on MyNorthwest.com
Executive Constantine shared Chris Sullivan’s MyNorthwest.com article on Facebook, and reminds us that, despite Metro’s Lost and Found program, many items and personal effects are never claimed. Visit Metro’s Customer Service site for more information, and help spread the word!
The King County Immigrant & Refugee Commission is recruiting!
Shared from the Executive’s “King County Immigrant and Refugee Commission” page On Feb. 27, 2018 King County Executive Dow Constantine and members of the County Council signed legislation creating an Immigrant and Refugee Commission, a permanent body committed to integrating, strengthening and valuing immigrant and refugee communities and upholding the county’s commitment as a welcoming community. The Commission will meet monthly beginning in fall of 2018, and will work to achieve fair and equitable access to county services for immigrant and refugee communities, improve opportunities for civic engagement, set annual goals, and… Read More
Taking emergency action to prevent the possible extinction of native kokanee salmon
A work group created by King County is taking emergency and long-term action to counter an alarming downward trend of Lake Sammamish kokanee, a native salmon population that appears closer than ever to extinction. County and state biologists counted fewer than 20 kokanee in the most recent return, five years after more than 18,000 spawners returned from Lake Sammamish. “The native kokanee salmon – important to our history, our culture, our environment – are facing new challenges that potentially threaten their very existence,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Together with our… Read More
Celebrating your service during Public Service Recognition Week
Dear fellow King County employee, This week we celebrate Public Service Recognition Week and the people who have dedicated their careers to serving their communities. You chose a public service career because you believe in the power of public service to create positive change and make a difference in people’s lives. You chose a career with King County because you believe in our work to make this a better, fairer place for the people who live and work here. The services you provide are wide-ranging and varied, but they all have the common… Read More
Prosecutor partners to end sex trafficking
Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook Even before Liam Neeson’s film, “Taken” hit movie screens in 2008, Tanya Fernandez had the notion that sex trafficking involved kidnapping young girls and forcing them into the commercial sex trade against their will, but that’s not the reality. Tanya learned what trafficking actually looks like while running youth programs in her hometown of Oakland, Calif. and volunteering as a rape crisis counselor for sex trafficking victims. “Every victim I worked with, I kept thinking, ‘How can I build a time machine and… Read More
Listen to Executive Constantine on KUOW’s “The Record”
King County Executive Dow Constantine joined KUOW host Bill Radke on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss a range of issues, including the new Children and Family Justice Center, which is being built to replace the failing Youth Services Center. “King County has long had a goal of reducing the number of kids involved in the justice system, including the number detained,” Executive Constantine said during the interview. “Over the course of the last 20 years we’ve reduced the number of kids in detention from around 200 on an average day to, on… Read More
Report it to Stop it: Let’s put an end to sexual misconduct on our services
Crossposted from Metro Matters By Rob Gannon, King County Metro General Manager Today Metro launched an important public awareness campaign to encourage reporting of unwanted sexual harassment and misconduct on board our services. We’re working with the King County Sheriff’s Office, Metro Transit Police, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, and local law enforcement to increase awareness, encourage reporting, support victims, and reduce misconduct through our “Report it to Stop it” effort as part of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. All of us have a critical role to play in keeping one another… Read More
Senior Leaders meet with Juvenile Detention employees
Two members of Executive Constantine’s Senior Leadership Team recently met with a group of employees from the Juvenile Detention Division to hear about the work they are doing to help the young people entrusted to their care. Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams and Chief Performance Officer Gary Kurihara sat in on the daily briefing of about 20 employees at the Youth Services Center to hear about their work, the challenges they are facing, and what they can do to remove any barriers. “Employees know more than anyone about the work they are… 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
Employee News 