Employee discounts to Washington State Spring Fair 

Employees can get discounts to the 2017 Washington State Spring Fair. Single gate tickets prices are: Adult $9.50 (usually $12), Student (Ages 6-18) $7.50 (usually $10), Kids (Ages 5 & under) ALWAYS FREE! The Spring Fair runs April 20-23 in Puyallup. To purchase tickets, visit thefair.com/corporate, click the “Buy Tickets” button, and enter access password king17. Discounted tickets are available through April 20 only at thefair.com/corporate. Learn more. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Program webpage.

CPR classes available this spring 

King County employees are welcome to sign up for available CPR classes. Dates for March-July classes are as follows: Basic Heartsaver CPR/AED Training (Open to all King County employees), Register at http://kccpr.eventbrite.com Thursday, March 23, 2017- 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 pm, Chinook Bldg., Room 126 Monday, April 12, 2017- 9am-12 pm, KC Elections, Renton Monday, April 12, 2017- 12:30-3:30, KC Elections, Renton Tuesday, May 23, 2017- 11:30-2:30, Chinook Bldg, Room 115 Thursday, June 22, 2017- 10 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Chinook Bldg, Room 126 Wednesday, July 26, 2017  11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., Chinook Bldg, Room… Read More

Nominations needed for Administrative Professionals Day, April 26

The Administrative Professionals Recognition Program is seeking nominations to recognize employees who embody the attributes of excellence and innovation. For information about eligibility and to nominate an employee before Wednesday, April 26, visit the Administrative Professionals Program website. Also, save the date for the upcoming celebration to honor this year’s award recipients to be held Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at King Street Center, 8th Floor Conference Center. If you would like more information about this event, contact Paige Myers at 206-477-4551 or paige.myers@kingcounty.gov.

The story behind MV Sally Fox’s cribbage boards 

Crossposted from the Captain’s Blog Regulars on King County Water Taxi’s Vashon Island route know them well: glossy wooden cribbage boards stationed at one of four seating areas in the lower passenger deck of the MV Sally Fox. On almost every run, enthusiasts of the popular card-and-board game can be seen huddled around one of these game boards, studying their cards, positioning their pegs and hoping for a coveted hand of 29. Seasoned cribbage players such as Mike Sudduth know the game’s lingo inside and out. After all, the Management Services Analyst… Read More

The changing face of Capital Project Management

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) is facing the same workforce challenges that confront many clean water utilities across the United States.  Hard working senior employees throughout our organization are retiring. We need to recruit new employees and help them onboard to a career protecting public health and our environment. The passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 sparked the beginning of many wastewater careers.  A costly and damaging fire on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio triggered an amendment of the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control… Read More

Leadership and activism: the King County logo honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Crossposted from Bytes and Boxes As County employees, we hope to serve our communities in a way that is just, fair and inclusive of all of our residents. We proudly display the image of Dr. King on our websites, written materials and buildings. But Dr. King’s likeness was not always the County logo. So, how did we get here? The King County Archives has a collection of records related to the events that led up to adoption of the current logo on March 12, 2007. Originally, in 1853, King County was named… Read More

Profiling amazing women working throughout King County: Eden Rogland Peak, KCIT IT Senior Applications Developer

This article is featured courtesy of Jamie Holter, Communications Manager, Department of Information Technology Eden Rogland Peak, KCIT IT Senior Applications Developer How did you get your start in IT? I spent a year after getting my Humanities B.A. working for AmeriCorps and at the end of my service I chose to use the education stipend I earned on computer classes at South Seattle College. At first it was just for fun but I was inspired by some great teachers and decided to go ahead and finish the Software Engineering program. That… Read More

King County Veterans Program’s burial assistance highlighted in Wall Street Journal  

Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter  Did you know? In addition to helping veterans, military personnel and their families with financial assistance, employment, housing, counseling and other supports, the King County Veterans Program (KCVP) also helps pay for burial costs of veterans who die indigent. Last year, KCVP was asked by KCPQ 13 to be a part of a story with Seattle’s Columbia Funeral Home about honoring our nation’s heroes both in life and in death. The story aired in May of 2016 and highlighted KCVP’s role in helping fund services… Read More

Texas-bound employee volunteers with refugees and immigrants 

Megan Holmes, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, has roots in public service. Growing up, her parents worked with children who experienced trauma in Belfast, Northern Ireland and her mother traveled to the Soviet Union to work with teachers. Megan herself spent six months as a volunteer in Guatemala in 2005. In her work with King County she pursues this passion every day as a senior social worker with the Child Care Health Program. Here she helps children develop the social and emotional skills needed to build positive relationships. Her role also takes… Read More

Online tax payments surpass $300 Million in 2016

More and more taxpayers in King County are opting to pay online thanks to the ease and efficiency of eCommerce. In 2016 King County saw double-digit growth in online tax payments, as the number of online payments increased by 8,775 to 66,338, a 15.2% increase from 2015. First-half property tax payments are due Monday, May 1, and can be paid online. “We are encouraged that more and more taxpayers are gravitating toward electronic payments,” said Mark Thompson, Property Tax Supervisor with King County Treasury Operations. “Leveraging technology is just one way we… Read More