On February 11, 2014, PBS NewsHour visited Juvenile Detention to film a story about Pongo Teen Writing – a volunteer, nonprofit organization – and the therapeutic impact of poetry on at-risk youth. Richard Gould, the founder and Executive Director of Pongo Publishing Teen Writing Project, has been helping troubled teens express themselves through poetry and has published their work in anthologies since mid-1970. He has volunteered his services at Juvenile Detention since 1998. Detained youth have responded to Mr. Gould’s encouragement and help by writing about traumatic events in their lives, such… Read More

For hours on end, bus drivers manage to keep a schedule, check fares, give directions, remember stop requests and more, all while safely maneuvering an extra-large vehicle through unpredictable traffic, adverse weather conditions and some really tight spaces! The fact is, bus drivers don’t have an easy job; they just make it look that way. On Tuesday, March 18, join us in celebrating the contributions of our hard-working bus drivers, Access drivers and rail operators. It can be as simple as a smile when you board the bus, and a “thank you”… Read More

The Department of Executive Services (DES) held its first-ever All-Hands Meeting on February 26 with more than 500 employees in the 832-person department taking part in one of the two sessions. The All-Hands Meeting, which brought employees from DES’ 10 divisions, agencies and offices together as one department, featured a short video highlighting a dozen DES employees talking about how they “Deliver Excellent Service” every day; an overview of DES’ “clarity map” that will guide the department over the next 10 years; the results of a recent survey of DES employees focusing… Read More

Over the past few years, the Department of Judicial Administration’s (DJA) management team has held an employee contest to design a logo to go along with the departmental theme for the year. The 2014 theme is “Better Together.” This theme reflects how successful we are when we all work together, across divisions, up and down the chain of command. DJA employees are truly skilled and talented, and the logo submissions just keep getting better and better, making the decision more difficult each year. Congratulations to the winner of DJA’s contest for her… Read More

To read the most recent issue of Retirement Outlook with the latest news from the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS), go online to http://www.drs.wa.gov/outlook/active. There, you can also read past issues of the Retirement Outlook newsletter. If you have questions, contact King County Benefits, Payroll and Retirement Operations at 206-684-1556 or kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov.