Kent Public Health is a design winner
The new Kent Public Health Center received a national design award in the 2014 International Interior Design Association Healthcare Interior Design Competition. The IIDA presented nine awards, including projects at major institutions in New York City, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. Designed by Buffalo Design, in collaboration with Public Health an the Facilities Management Division (FMD), the Kent project was the only winner in the Northwest. In addition to winning the IIDA award, it’s important to note that this and other projects, managed by Public Health and FMD, achieved goals set forth by the… Read More
New office is ready to harness new ideas to achieve social change
King County’s commitment to Equity and Social Justice is taking another step forward with the creation of an Office of Equity and Social Justice. “This has been a progression. It has become one of the priorities for our leadership, especially for our Executive Dow Constantine. It’s essential to what he and our other County leaders are trying to accomplish,” said Matías Valenzuela, the Director of the Office of Equity and Social Justice (ESJ). What started as an initiative by former County Executive Ron Sims has now evolved into a sustained effort that… Read More
Rebranded program helps people understand CSOs
Protecting Our Waters is King County’s program to prevent pollution caused by excess stormwater in the sewer system on rainy days. The older parts of King County’s wastewater system use a single set of pipes to carry both sewage and rain running off streets and buildings. Most of the time, this polluted water goes to a wastewater treatment plant. But in heavy rains, the pipes can overflow into rivers, lakes, or Puget Sound. Overflow points called “combined sewer overflows” or CSOs are built into the system. CSOs prevent sewer backups into homes… Read More
Five Questions with Jennifer Hills, Risk Manager, Department of Executive Services
1. What was your first role at King County? I came to King County in April of 1999 as the Loss Control Manager in the Office of Risk Management. My position was new and was added as a result of a budget proviso. The council wanted more resources dedicated to preventing liability losses. One of my early attempts at sharing lessons learned with departments was through a publication called the Risk Management Recipe (I love to cook, hence the name!). The publication did not last but the concept of collecting, sharing, and disseminating… Read More
Metro’s unofficial ambassador to seniors
Once a month, on his own time, part-time Metro Transit operator David Waggoner (East Base) takes friends from the Issaquah Senior Center on bus trips that, he feels, profoundly improve their lives. “Just because you belong to a senior center doesn’t mean that the next thing is that you’re in a coffin and next you’re in the ground,” he said recently. “The best thing for seniors is travel.” He has taken friends on bus rides from Issaquah to downtown Seattle, Northgate, the North Bend outlet stores, and Sea-Tac Airport. “It’s amazing to… Read More
New Human Resources website makes navigation quick and easy
King County’s Human Resources Division (HRD) has launched a new and improved website to help visitors to the site get quick and easy access to the content they are looking for. The new site will make it easier for King County employees, human resources professionals, residents and job seekers to navigate the site and find what they are looking for, quickly and easily. “We wanted to make sure that all visitors to our website, whether they are current employees or possible future employees, have a good experience with our website and leave… Read More
Stay-in-School program builds opportunity for local students
When a student is in danger of not graduating from high school in south King County, the Stay-in-School program is there to help. The federally-funded and County-operated program identifies students who are at risk of dropping out based on their grades and/or not passing the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) in their Junior year. Each year about 120 youth in King County receive assistance through the program, and its results are impressive: in the 2013/14 academic year, 86 percent of participants completed their high school diplomas and 82 percent went on to… Read More
Five Questions with Robin Fenton, Chief of Technical Services, King County Sheriff’s Office
What was your first role at King County? Upon completing the police academy, I was assigned to the SW precinct as a patrol officer. I was in a marked patrol car dealing with calls for service in the unincorporated area of King county. Loved that assignment. Everything was new and exciting. I worked with wonderful people and had many eye opening experiences. Why did you choose law enforcement as a career? I initially entered college with the thought of becoming a dispatcher. It was during my criminal justice classes, that I changed… Read More
2015 MLK Celebration focused on voting rights
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed not possessing the right to vote was similar to enslavement. “[A right to vote] enables all Americans, most especially those who have been denied other rights, to participate fully in their community, this country and our world,” said Maria Gitin, the Keynote speaker at King County’s 28th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, held on Thursday, January 15, at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. Gitin joined the civil rights movement in 1965 at the age of 19 to work for the Summer Community Organization and Political Education… Read More
Employee Assistance Program is there to help you
Sometimes workplace issues get to us. Whether it’s stress, a performance issue, conflict with a coworker or any other type of workplace problem, the Employee Assistance Program is there for all King County employees to use. “We’re on-site, in-house. We’re here for you to deal with work issues,” said Tony Hansen, one of the County’s EAP councilors along with Pam Wyss. “We know the internal resources that we can guide you to and we can help facilitate.” EAP is an in-house resource available to all King County employees that offers tangible strategies and useful resources to resolve workplace problems.
Employee News 