King County has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Pro Patria Award for the support it provides to its employees serving in the Guard and Reserve. Pro Patria means ‘for one’s country’, and the ESGR Pro Patria Award is presented annually by each ESGR State Committee. This award recognizes the leadership and practices of an organization that have demonstrated the greatest support to Guard and Reserve employees, including adopting personnel policies that make it easier for them to serve. King County Executive Dow… Read More

As King County completes the change from Skype to Teams, we want to remind users of our general County policies for recording meetings and calls.  Here are a few things we need everyone to be aware of:   First, we’re a two-party consent state. What does that mean? It means the person making a recording must tell others he or she is doing so.   Just as in Skype, when you’re on a computer and a meeting or a call is being recorded, a banner will appear across the top of your meeting window. Look for it!   If you’re calling into… Read More

Crossposted from Roll Call: the DAJD newsletter January 2021 Corinna Hyatt first set foot inside the King County Correctional Facility as a volunteer. In the late 1980s, her full-time job was at the downtown Seattle YMCA. After a few months helping inmates with physical fitness, a jail supervisor suggested she apply for a corrections job. More than 31 years later, she retired – as leader of DAJD’s COVID-19 Incident Command and the recently departed MRJC facility Commander. At a low-key going-away ceremony in December, Director John Diaz called her “one of the… Read More

King County Executive Dow Constantine has shared the top priorities he is focused on in 2021 and beyond. “While 2021 has begun with new challenges, it is crucial that we continue to push ahead with our priorities and solutions with a sense of renewed urgency and action,” Executive Constantine said. “I am proud of everything we have accomplished together, and I am excited about what’s possible and what’s needed on our path ahead.” Executive Constantine listed his top priorities as: Health through Housing COVID-19 Response & Vaccination COVID-19 Recovery Anti-racism and pro-equity… Read More

A major milestone is in the books for Clean Water Healthy Habitat, King County Executive Dow Constantine’s environmental initiative launched in September 2019 to better align the outstanding work we do throughout King County government to achieve better results faster for all living things in King County. Executive Constantine last month announced completion of the Clean Water Healthy Habitat Strategic Plan (SharePoint link), saying it was shaped by expert employee advice that strengthened the strategic plan and turned an aspirational concept into a roadmap with clear direction and measurable goals. “I am… Read More

Many of us at King County recently were moved to the Modern Edge browser, which is faster and runs all web applications previously accessed with Internet Explorer and Edge Legacy. The move doesn’t impact any other browsers employees may currently have on their devices, such as Chrome or Firefox.  Last week, a vendor inadvertently hastened the move to the Modern Edge browser by changing settings for many county users. This meant if you previously had Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge, you were moved to Microsoft Modern Edge ahead of KCIT’s schedule. We regret users didn’t receive advance notice. However, all employees need the Modern Browser to work more effectively with applications and web-based content.   Here is… Read More