Save the Date for upcoming Services Days

On May 12 (Chinook) and May 20 (King Street Center) KCIT and DES are teaming up once again to present Service Day. Don’t miss this opportunity to talk with your internal service owners to better understand KCIT & DES internal services and rate structures. You can also get a copy of our 2015 Service Catalog and join the discussion on Mobility, the cloud, ESJ in IT, Energy Efficiency (SVE, Data Center), Bring your Own Device & Mobile Device Management, SharePoint, Unified Communications and more! May 12, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Chinook… Read More

Kudos! Callista Kennedy, Access & Outreach, Public Health – Seattle & King County

“I am a full time UW student and busy mother of 3 small children. After the switch from DSHS medical to Apple Health, my one year old was suddenly dropped from his insurance. I have been trying for a couple weeks to figure out how to get him back on insurance without messing up the rest of the family’s insurance and having to reapply for everyone. I called and visited multiple local and state resources only to be told there was a waitlist, I couldn’t be helped, and to be hung up… Read More

Employees Share Learnings from Equity Conference

A group of employees who attended the Governing for Racial Equity (GRE) Conference in Portland, Ore., last month came back with new ideas and renewed energy for challenging racial inequity in our community. “People brought all of their expertise and experience to the conference, and our job now is to bring that back to our work and to grow it,” said Jo Anne Fox, a Budget Analyst in the Office of Performance, Budget and Strategy, at a lunch and learn discussion for employees. More than 550 people from around the United States… Read More

Five Questions with Tom Watson, Manager, King County EcoConsumer Program, Solid Waste Division

1. What was your first role with King County? I started as a 60-percent-time employee in 1992, working three days a week and caring for our baby while my wife also worked part-time. I started with the same section I’m still in, Recycling and Environmental Services in the Solid Waste Division, but at that time it was called Waste Reduction and Recycling. My first assignment was developing a plan for appliance recycling. 2. What does the EcoConsumer program do? The King County EcoConsumer program does public outreach on a wide range of… Read More

WTD Staff Rescue Citizen in Amazing Emergency Response

On March 20, West Point wastewater treatment plant staff rescued a man who had climbed over the fence, fallen into the channel, and was carried downstream about 500 feet where the current pinned  him to equipment in the partially-treated wastewater where he was difficult to see. In an amazing twist of luck, Operator Darek Kenaston happened to see the man through a grate during his routine area check. Thankfully, the operations team pulled the man to safety and he was taken to the hospital and did not appear to be injured. The… Read More

Lisa Daugaard tapped to serve as DPD’s Deputy Director

Lisa Daugaard, a longtime public defender with a rich history in advocacy and civic affairs, was recently named the deputy director of the Department of Public Defense. She comes to DPD from The Defender Association Division, where she has served as deputy director since 2007. Lisa is a graduate of Yale Law School; she also has a master’s in government from Cornell University. After she obtained her J.D. in 1995, Lisa went to work for The Defender Association, where she handled misdemeanor and felony work, represented hundreds of WTO co-defendants, and helped… Read More

SNAP-Education is Changing Lives

Aaron Porter, a fifth-grade student at John Muir Elementary school, has been a participant in the Public Health SNAP-Ed Eat Better, Feel Better (EBFB) nutrition education classes for the past six years, since kindergarten. And for the past several years, Aaron’s mother Akberet Gedlu has volunteered in his classroom. She sat in during several lessons when Public Health’s EBFB nutrition educator, Nancy Tudorof, taught students about healthy eating. She appreciated that the students chopped lettuce, sampled kale, and made healthy recipes that actually tasted good! Over the years, Akberet reports that Aaron began realizing that… Read More

Rebuilt Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station earns LEED Platinum

King County’s redeveloped Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station was designed and built with sustainability in mind, and the U.S. Green Building Council has now certified Bow Lake with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. “Having a recycling and transfer station that is certified LEED platinum is an example of how our physical plants complement the work we do,” said Executive Dow Constantine. “We are more effective at protecting our environment when the facilities we operate are as sustainable as the services we provide.” The new recycling and transfer station reopened… Read More

Public Defense staff join forces with Operation Nightwatch

On a blustery Saturday night last month, seven volunteers served a home-cooked meal to 150 homeless men and women at Operation Nightwatch, a ministry located in Seattle. The volunteers included stalwarts in the Department of Public Defense as well as their relatives – DPD Division Director Donald Madsen and his wife, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, DPD Senior Staff Attorney Jonathan Newcomb and his daughter Natalie, DPD Seattle Municipal Court Supervisor Karen Murray and DPD financial controller Anne Dolan and her husband Cary. As that night’s coordinator, Karen had checked the kitchen pantry… Read More

Featured Job: LAN Administrator – Journey

Closing Date: Wed. 04/30/14 4:30 PM Pacific Time Salary: $63,856.00 – $80,953.60 Annually Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington Department: King County Department of Information Technology Description: King County Information Technology – Public Health is seeking an individual with strong technical and customer service skills. This individual will be comfortable working independently as well as in teams with other technical staff. The ideal candidate will have a broad IT background and strong problem solving skills. This position will be responsible for performing complex, though generally routine, tasks in the… Read More