Featured Headlines
DCHS-led Health Through Housing initiative hits major milestone
In the field with Executive Zahilay: Listening to staff and empowering solutions
Tap to pay: Puget Sound region transit systems to accept credit and debit cards, and digital wallets as fare payment
Major ‘Revive I-5’ repairs continue for Ship Canal Bridge
News
Let’s talk about: Financial Wellness
Crossposted from Balanced You This summer, Balanced You is serving up programs, resources, and tools to keep you financially fit because you told us financial wellness is important to you. Over the next few months, we’ll shine the spotlight on financial wellness resources. We want to help you reduce financial worries and feel more confident about your financial future, so if there’s a specific topic you’d like us to feature, let us know. There’s a variety of information to help relieve some of your financial stress. Check out the many options and… Read More
Pet of the Week: Smokey
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC This handsome gent is Smokey, our Pet of the Week! Smokey was brought in by his previous family due to allergies. They described him as shy and loving. He does well with other cats, and was initially brought in with his brother Pisely (who has already been adopted). Smokey has a gorgeous thick coat that could benefit with nice brushing! Smokey is more confident when he is surrounded by confident buddies. He has a “Bashful Blue” personality, meaning he is gentle and loving, and likes to take… Read More
Metro’s 42nd Annual Metroadeo Saturday
ICYMI: join Metro General Manager Rob Gannon and Metro’s Safety team Saturday from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. to recognize the skills of our fantastic bus operators! There are three ways King County employees can participate in the Metroadeo: Bus operators can sign up now to compete. Employees can bring their antique, classic or special interest cars, trucks, motorcycles – or any other vehicle – to the 30th Annual Employee Car Show. Save the date and attend the event. Bring your family and friends! Visit the Metroadeo website for more information on… Read More
Community Owned Data series
Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids During the month of June, we will be running a “community owned data” blog series. This is our kick off post! Every other year, Best Starts collects community data that helps guide our funding strategies. To ensure that we are truly partnering with communities and sharing data ownership, Best Starts partnered with specific communities to have conversations about the data and help us understand it. We learned a lot from this process and want to share our learnings with our larger community here. Best Starts for… Read More
Parks crew’s Lean pilot drives tangible results
In Lean thinking, “Going to Gemba” refers to the process of going where the actual work happens to observe and learn from those doing the work, and that’s exactly what three members of Executive Constantine’s Senior Leadership Team recently did at Marymoor Park in Redmond. Chief Performance Officer Gary Kurihara, Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams and Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller met with employees from King County Parks’ North Utility Trail Crew in their maintenance shop to learn more about their pilot of a Lean Daily Management System. “We went with the… Read More
Superior Court block party to celebrate Juneteenth Tuesday, June 19
In case you missed it, King County Superior Court is observing Juneteenth by hosting a Juneteenth – A Day of Remembrance block party celebration Tuesday, June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, Juneteenth today commemorates African-American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. The event is free and open to the King County work community. Join the Superior Court for exhibits, live entertainment and food on Spruce Street between… Read More
Cine en el Parque outreach opportunities
The Department of Natural Resources and Parks invites King County departments and agencies to participate in the County’s Cine en el Parque Movie at the Park event Saturday, Aug. 4 at Dick Thurnau Memorial Park in White Center. Cine en el Parque, featuring the screening of Coco in Spanish with English subtitles, is a terrific summertime outreach opportunity for County teams to reach our Latino community and connect residents with programs and agencies. Departments and agencies are invited to participate and promote their community programs and services, particularly if you have materials… Read More
Metro managers who #RideTransit: Diane Carlson
Shared from Employee Transportation Program In observance of Ride Transit Month, the Employee Transportation Program is chatting with four Metro managers about their transit commutes, and sharing any advice they’d like to pass along to new riders. First up is Diane Carlson, who became Metro’s Director of Capital Projects in February. Carlson lives along the SR-520 corridor, about three quarters of a mile from the Yarrow Point freeway bus stop. “I’m lucky,” says Carlson. “I can get on any bus. I can catch a bus to the train at the University of… Read More
Michael Jacobson receives national Excellence in Government Leadership Award
Michael Jacobson, Deputy Director of Performance, Strategy and Budget, has been recognized by the Association of Government Accountants with their 2018 Excellence in Government Leadership Award. This nationally recognized award is given to professionals who exemplify and promote excellence in government financial management, outstanding leadership, and innovative management procedures. It recognizes the cumulative achievements of state or local government professionals who have served as a role model and consistently exhibited the highest personal and professional standards. “This award represents cumulative career achievements, all of which were available to me due to the… Read More
Tech Tip: Leveraging Skype for Business at King County
Over the past year, KCIT and Employee News have shared a range of great Skype for Business articles. Here’s a rollup, in case you missed any! Tech Tip: Skype for Business: How to Skype with external customers: The Skype for Business (Lync/UC) account on your computer is a simple and effective way to have meaningful (remote) meetings with clients, partners and customers even if your client, partner or customer doesn’t have a Skype for Business account. Tech Tip: Skype Bite – How to Use Instant Messaging: Want to get in touch with someone fast?… Read More
Stormwater mapping: A glimpse into the world of tracking where the rain goes
Crossposted from The Downstream Blog Aeronautical engineers, consultants, graphic designers, and Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals formed an unlikely, but unstoppable, team at King County’s Water and Land Resources Division last year. The project team’s short-term goal was to map the stormwater drainage system within parts of unincorporated King County, an assignment that allowed them to test their field skills and environmental passion. To help accomplish this, a team was brought together as part of an ongoing effort to map stormwater drainage system that had not been inventoried, as required by King… Read More
All Home: Count Us In 2018 Report
The 2018 Count Us In report found 12,112 people experiencing homelessness across the region on January 26, 2018, including 5,792 people sheltered in emergency shelters, safe havens and transitional housing and 6,320 people on the streets, in vehicles or staying in tents or encampments (both sanctioned and unsanctioned). The count includes a 15 percent increase in unsheltered people and a four percent increase overall, the smallest increases in homelessness in the region in the past four years. The biggest improvement was a 31 percent reduction in veteran homelessness, the result of increased… Read More
Winning – it’s what we do!
Crossposted from Election Connection We’re proud to share that we recently won several awards, three for our voter access programs and two for videos we created last year. NACo awards-transparentFirst things first, we received three awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for the great way we’re improving voter access for residents here in King County. NACo’s annual Achievement Awards recognize programs that are innovative and enhance services for residents. We won the 2018 Achievement Award from NACo in two different categories. We will be formally recognized for these awards at… Read More
Kudos! to DAJD’s Linda Robson for winning a Gold Hermes Award
Linda Robson, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention Communications Specialist, wrote Giving inmates the skills to clean up at work and in life as the In Depth column for the November 2017 edition of the department’s monthly employee newsletter, which we featured in KC Employee News. Linda’s piece won a 2018 Gold Hermes Creative Award in the Writing category for Publication Article in an international competition hosted by the Association of Marketing Communication Professionals. In Greek mythology, Hermes is the Olympian god of orators and wit, of literature and poets, and invention… Read More
Tech Tip: Updating King County-issued and personal devices
In case you missed it: Whether it’s on your county-issued mobile device or your own personal device, KCIT strongly recommends that you update the Operating System when your provider releases OS updates. These updates keep your device free of viruses, make it difficult for hackers to gain access to your information and help your existing apps work better. KCIT is rolling out Exchange Online throughout the county. This allows employees to access King County email anytime, anywhere and from any device if that device has the most updated software. For our security… Read More
Michael Jenkins and GIS on the SoundGuardian
Michael Jenkins is a King County Master GIS Specialist, Developer and Analyst with a focus on enterprise system design, and administration and application development. Michael’s King County GIS Center team manages the King County Geographic Information System, King County’s cooperative, multi-department, enterprise GIS; providing efficient, high-quality GIS leadership, coordination, infrastructure, and services to meet the business needs of our customers and clients in King County government, the Puget Sound region and beyond With more than two decades on the King County GIS Center team, Michael has seen and done a lot! In… Read More
Jennifer Hills named Public Risk Manager of the Year
Congratulations to Jennifer Hills, director of King County’s Office of Risk Management Services! She’s been named Public Risk Manager of the Year by PRIMA, a risk management association for public agencies. Jennifer received the award during PRIMA’s annual conference in Indianapolis. Jennifer has been a King County employee for nearly 20 years and has spearheaded several initiatives, including implementation of Enterprise Risk Management. ERM is moving King County from being a risk-averse organization to one that takes smart risks that enhance value. The award also honors Jennifer’s staff at ORMS who have… Read More
Featured Job: Ruth Woo Emerging Leaders Fellowship
Closing: 06/28/18 11:59 PM (GMT -8:00) $21.54 – $27.39 Hourly Seattle, WA Term Limited Temporary, Full Time, 40 hrs/wk Human Resources Division Job Number: 2018LL08197 Ruth Woo (photo by George Liu for Northwest Asian Weekly) King County has an exciting fellowship opportunity for those who have a demonstrated commitment to public service. The Ruth Woo Emerging Leaders Fellowship is named after the revered community leader who was not only a community leader, but a mentor to many elected officials, and she dedicated her life to public service. In her honor, King County… Read More
Social Media Spotlight: King County Metro on Twitter
June is Ride Transit Month, and King County Metro keeps you informed! Metro provides transit service to 122 million riders each year across King County, and uses Twitter to update riders. Stay informed, and get important information about any changes to service on your route! Join more than 125,000 others and follow King County Metro on Twitter today @kcmetrobus!
Pet of the Week: Thor
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC By thunder, Thor is our Pet of the Week! This young Australian Shepherd mix was brought in by his previous owner because they could not keep him. They described Thor as playful, timid, and protective. Thor is definitely a handsome boy with an overbite that makes him cute and unique! He is also smart and knows how to sit, stay, come, down, and shake. Since Thor is an independent boy who likes to do his own thing, he’s one of our “Rambunctious Red” pets – full of… Read More
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