Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
Citing the threat to native salmon populations, King County Executive Dow Constantine has called for a six-month moratorium on allowing any new Atlantic fish farming facilities along marine shoreline in unincorporated King County. “The hundreds of thousands of farmed, invasive Atlantic salmon that spilled into the Salish Sea in August threaten our native fish populations and our way of life,” said Executive Constantine. “Atlantic salmon don’t belong here. Beyond a six month moratorium, we need to ensure these operations can never again pose a threat to indigenous salmon already struggling to survive.”… Read More
“It’s our responsibility as human beings to leave this world in a better situation for our kids. And that’s what the real legacy of all this is,” Michael Bennett, Seahawk defensive end, number 72. This video clip aired last week during ESPN’s pregame show before Monday Night Football. It features Seahawk defensive end Michael Bennett mentoring youth housed at King County’s Juvenile Detention Facility, as well as comments from DAJD Juvenile Division Director Pam Jones and Doug Judge, Assistant Principal for Interagency Academy with Seattle Public Schools. Read more at ESPN.com.
Crossposted from KC Employee Giving Story submitted by Beverly Hawkins, King County Assessor’s Office Listening to NPR, National Public Radio, I heard a story about the Ebola outbreak in Liberia a few years back. It spoke of the brave doctors on the frontline, fighting this horrible affliction. One doctor, after coming down with Ebola, was nursed by his mother in an old plastic raincoat and galoshes used as protective gear. As she nursed him past the worst part, he was airlifted to a hospital funded by Samaritan’s Purse, one of the non-profits that I… Read More
Dear fellow King County employee, What kind of workplace do you want King County to be? How we can serve our customers better? How can you be your best at work? Almost 8,350 of you told us about your experiences at King County in our 2017 Employee Survey, and I thank you for taking the time to have your say. We have now received the results, which show a lot of improvements, as well as some areas where we need to do more work. Please take a moment to watch this short… Read More
On Friday, December 1 Bloodworks Northwest is hosting a blood and apheresis drive on the first floor of the Chinook Building, Room 123. The blood drive is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed between 11 to 11:45 a.m. Additionally, all registered donors will be signed up for the Bleed for the Blue and Green Sweepstakes, possibly winning a chance to meet Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner. To donate apheresis or blood: Make an appointment, click here or call 1-800-398-7888. To donate platelets or plasma: Make an appointment, click here or call 1-800-398-7888. For more information visit www.BloodworksNW.org/drives (Sponsor Code: 6500). Give Blood, it was meant to… Read More
In 2010, Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) was formed as a partnership between King County and more than two dozen cities to improve animal welfare in our region. Today, RASKC provides services to nearly one million residents living in 25 cities and unincorporated King County. With help from our city partners, more than 100,000 cats and dogs are licensed with RASKC annually. License fees are used to provide animal care and control services and to shelter homeless pets until they get adopted. Our animal services officers cover a territory of more than… Read More
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 12/03/17 11:59 PM Pacific Time Salary: $34.38 – $43.58 Hourly, $71,510.40 – $90,646.40 Annually Job Type: Term Limited Temporary, Full Time, 40 hrs/wk Location: West Point Treatment Plant – 1400 Discovery Park Blvd, Seattle, Washington Department: Department of Natural Resources & Parks – Wastewater Treatment Division Description: The responsibilities of this classification include providing basic engineering designs, analysis and other functions for new construction projects or modifications/repairs to existing wastewater treatment facilities or assistance in reviewing complex design of large projects. The Wastewater Engineer – Entry, under close supervision from licensed professional engineering staff, will provide basic… Read More
Crossposted from the Election Connection Every election, voters call and email us with a number of questions. Why did I receive a ballot for the previous resident of my home? What do I do if I forgot to put my ballot in the security envelope? But each election fields a few questions specific to the races on that year’s ballot. Here are some of the most frequent questions we heard this election. I live in Seattle. Why aren’t any of the city’s candidates on my ballot? If you live in Seattle and… Read More
In 2014, KCIT asked employees about their satisfaction with Unified Communications tools like Skype for Business, Instant Messaging, Lync phones and headsets, conference calls and desktop sharing. In three years, KCIT has made many improvements. Now it is seeking employee feedback again to measure adoption and satisfaction level. This survey will take about 10 minutes and is very valuable to KCIT as it moves forward with employee communications tools. To access the survey click here.
Crossposted from Public Health Insider With the holidays drawing near, many of us look forward to travel or seeing family and friends. And just as our schedules get busier, it’s also the time of year when the flu starts to circulate. We turned to Libby Page, manager of our immunizations program, to get the scoop on flu vaccine . Why is it important to get vaccinated now? LP: Autumn is often the time when flu activity picks up and it can take at least two weeks from the date of vaccination for most… Read More
Crossposted from The Captain’s Blog When we unveiled our new branding earlier this year, our riders offered rave reviews. This month, our new look received even more recognition when we were named a MarCom Gold Award Winner, an international marketing and communications competition! The honor is especially meaningful for us because our branding campaign – which features a new logo and program mark –was entirely an in-house effort that saved an estimated $30,000. We designed, produced and implemented the rebrand solely with King County talent. Read more at The Captain’s Blog
As part of King County’s commitment to reduce traumatization of youth in detention, eliminate racial disparities in the juvenile justice system and advance the goal of zero youth detention, Executive Constantine directed a multi-departmental team under the oversight and direction of Public Health – Seattle & King County to draft a proposal reorganizing juvenile detention services. In addition, Executive Constantine announced that King County will contract with a third-party validator, New York-based Vera Institute of Justice, to review its juvenile detention policies and practices, and recommend potential reforms. “By adopting a public… Read More
As many as 22,000 low-income people in King County will be eligible for same-day outpatient treatment for mental health and addiction services under an innovative new program announced today by King County, Ballmer Group and Third Sector Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based nonprofit advisory firm that collaborates with communities on how to contract for social services. The “Pay for Success” model will allocate $1.4 million a year in incentive payments to mental health and substance use treatment agencies that provide outpatient treatment on demand for people in need. “We are combining County… Read More
Employees are welcome to take advantage of an offer to receive 15% discount to select performances at the Seattle Symphony. Using promo code COMPOSER18, employees can purchase tickets to upcoming performances including: The Tenors: Christmas Together Tour – Saturday, November 25 Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 – November 30-December 2 Jeremy Denk in Recital – Sunday, December 3 Holiday Pops – December 8-10 To buy tickets employees can visit the website at www.seattlesymphony.org, contact the symphony at 206-215-4747 or 1-866-833-4747 (toll-free) or visit the ticket office at Benaroya Hall, on the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
We would like to take the time to say how thankful we are for our employees and their dedication to making King County a welcoming community and a great place to live, and for supporting and serving the 2.1 million people who call this part of the world home. You drive the way that we innovate, connect and excel in our service to our community and people across the region. King County never stops serving, and we send a special thank you to the employees – bus operators, jail guards, sheriff’s deputies,… Read More
Did you know over 40 percent of us check our phones within five minutes of waking up in the morning, and nearly half check up to 25 times a day, according to a 2015 study by Deloitte? Consider detaching from your phone and other electronics this upcoming holiday season. This will give you more time to spend with loved ones, and help you sleep better. To get started, here’s seven ways to break your technology habit: End idle moments. Use tech to help you stay off tech. Don’t rely on willpower. Unplug before bed. Start small. Turn off notifications. Plan… Read More
In honor of Veteran’s Day, county agencies are recognizing their veterans and reservists throughout the month of November in unique ways. The Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) held a department-wide recognition event on November 13. The event acknowledged employees based out of King Street Center who are veterans and reservists. DNRP Director Christie True and management team members provided their veterans and reservists with the King County “Veterans” thank you card and pin to commemorate their service. Employees were from the four DNRP divisions: Solid Waste Division, Wastewater Treatment Division, Parks Division and the Water… Read More
This article is shared from the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s In Depth column and is featured courtesy of Linda Robson, Communications Specialist with the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. Martin Douthit teaches janitorial vocational classes at RJC “I’m grateful. Truly grateful.” “I feel like being here is kind of a blessing in disguise.” “Extremely grateful.” “I really feel blessed to be here.” It was still early on a Wednesday morning, but the face of every student-inmate in Martin Douthit’s janitorial class was alert, intent, focused, and full of emotion. When… Read More
If you are looking for a fun and rewarding team-building activity, how about boosting esprit de corps by helping King County plant a million trees? As part of the County’s “1 Million Trees” initiative, King County Parks is currently signing up volunteers for tree planting events this fall and winter on many of its properties. Planting a million trees by 2020 is a target action in King County’s 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan. “Whether pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, cleaning contaminants from the air and water, preventing flooding, providing shade or… Read More