Lync Awareness Event at King Street Center
More than 175 employees stopped by the KCIT Lync Team’s booth on July 23 and 24 to learn more about Lync. Some of the questions we heard were focused on: What’s changed in Lync 2013 compared to 2010 Update on the Outlook contact phone numbers in Lync issue How to get your picture in Lync How to get more information and training.
Lunch and Learn highlights County’s efforts to end human trafficking
According to Kelly Mangiaracina, King County’s Task Force Coordinator for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC), an estimated 300-500 children are forced into prostitution in Seattle every year. When the CSEC Task Force was convened by Juvenile Court Judge Barbara A. Mack in 2013, it hoped to change that. “King County was very fortunate to realize this is an issue. We’re very fortunate to have great organizations in the area that want to do something about it,” Mangiaracina said at the Equity and Social Justice “Stopping Human Trafficking” Lunch and Learn held on June… Read More
Five Questions with Judy Garcia, Director of Probation Services, District Court
1. What was your first role at King County and how did you progress to Director of Probation Services? I began as a Volunteer for the Federal Way District Court Probation Department in 1982, while working for the Weyerhaeuser Company. During my time as a volunteer, I enjoyed interviewing defendants about life problems and writing pre-sentence reports much more than I enjoyed talking with sawmill managers about log inventories, and writing competitor analysis reports. I found working in the criminal justice system, rather than in the timber industry, to be highly interesting… Read More
It’s not waste anymore at King County Transfer Stations
King County is reducing our impact on the environment by helping residents and businesses increase recycling at County owned transfer stations, keeping reusable and recyclable items out of the landfill. Transfer station recycling is up by 2,057 tons or 49 percent over the first half of this year, due largely to a 21 percent jump in yard waste recycling, a 60 percent spike in scrap metal recycling, and a more than 400 percent increase in wood waste recycling. These increases are the result of a number of changes, including the full restoration… Read More
Helping young adults with disabilities make school-to-work transition
The transition from high school to adulthood can be scary for anyone, but particularly for someone who has a developmental or intellectual disability. “You start to become an adult when you leave high school. Whether you’re an 18 or 21 year old like the people we serve, it’s just a pivotal time. Everyone wants to know, ‘Well what are you going to do?,’” Richard Wilson said. Wilson is the program manager who heads up the Developmental Disabilities Division’s School to Work Program. The program works with school districts in King County to… Read More
Transitional Duty Program a win-win for employees and King County
When an employee gets injured at work, returning to their job can sometimes be difficult. That’s where King County’s Transitional Duty Assignment Program comes in. The TDA program helps employees who aren’t medically ready to return to their regular jobs because of temporary medical restrictions. A TDA helps employees get back into a work routine through short-term, temporary work assignments. The TDA program, managed by Human Resources Division’s Safety and Claims, partners with work groups throughout King County to identify short-term work assignments that can be performed by employees with temporary medical… Read More
Disproportionality in the jury room
Three attorneys with King County’s Department of Public Defense are partnering with the Public Defender Association’s Racial Disparity Project to prove what they have seen over and over again in their work as felony public defenders: African-Americans are not only vastly under-represented on juries, they’re also under-represented in the jury pool. Ben Goldsmith and Twyla Carter, both felony attorneys in DPD’s The Defender Association Division (TDAD), and Daron Morris, deputy division director, hope to collect enough data to put forward a compelling case to court administrators and others in the criminal justice… Read More
Kudos! Wastewater Treatment Division employees
I am proud to announce that WTD employees have once again earned the Platinum Peak Performance Award for multiple years of consecutive 100 percent NPDES permit compliance for effluent limits for both West Point and South Plant. AND… Brightwater, Carnation, and Vashon treatment plants will all win Gold Awards this year! The Gold Awards honor treatment works that have achieved 100 percent compliance with their NPDES permit for an entire calendar year. West Point has achieved 100 percent compliance for 12 years, and South Plant has achieved this status for 16 years…. Read More
Project RAMPART saving lives with AEDs
The city of Duvall is now better equipped to respond to cardiac arrest calls thanks to Public Health’s Project RAMPART. Project RAMPART, an acronym for Regional Approach to Municipal Public Registry and Training, provides funding to cities within King County to purchase Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and train employees on how to use them. The project falls under Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS) and is funded by the EMS Levy. Duvall Police Department recently received two AEDs under Project RAMPART—one AED for their office and… Read More
Poetry on Buses showcases local voices
Starting in November, some of the spaces that contain advertisements on King County Metro Rapid Ride buses will display poetry instead. “It’s about local voices and art in your everyday life,” Tamar Benzikry-Stern, Project Manager for 4Culture’s Public Art program and Poetry on Buses, said. 4Culture, King County’s cultural service agency, is a public development authority which works with County departments to bring art into King County buildings, infrastructure and public places – including buses. This year, 4Culture and King County Metro are rebooting “Poetry on Buses,” a program that originally started in 1992. King County residents were asked to submit poems online and invited to… Read More
Employee News 