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

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

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