Featured Headlines
Holiday travel? Metro will help you get there
Emergency exercise tests communications ahead of World Cup
King County Wins 2025 Geospatial Professional Network Award for Innovative AI-GIS System
Recognizing the service of Metro veterans
News
Federal Way Youth Action Team making a difference
See how the community in Federal Way is working together to help at risk kids. This video features local organizations, such as the HYPE Program, CHI Franciscan Health, and the Federal Way Boys & Girls Club as well as commentary from Jason Clark, Equity and Justice Advocate with King County Superior Court. Youth mentors are needed for this growing Federal Way community support network. Click here to learn more.
Our thoughts on the West Point Independent Review Report
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories As promised last spring, the King County Council has publicly shared the results of an independent review of our West Point Treatment Plant operations. The report took an unbiased look at our operations and maintenance practices as part of an effort to learn from what happened at West Point on Feb. 9, 2017, when severe storms and high flows led to flooding and serious equipment damage. We agree with the report’s findings, which include a number of recommendations to improve plant operations, increase system redundancy, and strengthen employee safety and training. Read… Read More
Employee is proud to provide excellent customer service to King County residents
By Jimmy’a (jih-MY-uh) Carter, a summer intern for the Executive’s Office Customer Service team. Jimmy’a, a 16 year old who will be a junior this fall at West Auburn High School, plans to attend a four-year college and get a degree in youth counseling. She joins us from the Bridge to Prosperity mentoring program. What do a fancy clothing store and King County have in common? For Teesha Bailey, serving store customers helped her transition to serving county customers. She currently works as a Confidential Secretary with the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) for Director Adrienne… Read More
Metro employee gets to “Be the boss”
By Hannah Debenedetto, intern with King County Department of Transportation What would you do if you were boss for the day? Metro’s Gerald Freeman found out after winning an employee sweepstakes to “be the boss” of KCDOT Director Harold Taniguchi. As a marketing specialist, Gerald is regularly at community events to help customers sign up for ORCA cards or to answer their questions. This month, Harold joined him for an afternoon helping customers in Metro’s booth at Kent Cornucopia Days. “Harold jumped right into engaging people, answering questions, and referring people to me… Read More
Reducing customer wait times with Check the Line
With an on-the-go lifestyle, customers are looking for ways to reduce waiting in lines. Web cameras at King County’s Algona, Bow Lake, Factoria, Houghton, Renton and Shoreline recycling and transfer stations help customers plan their trips using www.kingcounty.gov/checktheline, which shows the line of vehicles waiting to enter the facilities and facility wait times. Solid Waste Division (SWD) Special Projects Manager Alejandra Calderon was the lead on the project, and oversaw implementation and outreach of the web cams at the six transfer stations. Alejandra emphasized the practicality of the mobile-friendly website and its functionality: “What… Read More
Searching for identity, author earns recognition with story collection
King County employee by day and published author by evening, Donna Miscolta writes novels and short stories inspired by anecdotes that she has witnessed or heard about in her family or within her community. “I take that tiny, true piece and turn it into fiction,” Miscolta said. “From there, it takes on a life of its own, and it’s not really about any specific person, and yet many people recognize a part of themselves in these stories.” Her latest work, “Hola and Goodbye,” is a collection of stories inspired by her grandmother’s journey as an immigrant in the… Read More
Tech Tip: Identifying and reporting scams and malicious emails
By Ralph Johnson, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer On July 6, 2017 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an alert on scammers posing as FTC officials who contact individuals and claim they have won prizes from a charity contest. The scammers ask for money to cover taxes or insurance costs associated with the prize. While this is a new malicious campaign, scammers use these basic tactics time and time again with slightly different wording to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals. It may seem like a day doesn’t go by without scammers contacting… Read More
Invasive knotweed control workshops a great success
The early bird gets the worm. This summer, the Riparian Noxious Weed Team offered free workshops on knotweed control for local homeowners. Knotweed, a noxious bamboo-like plant is growing in backyards, community gardens and most successfully along river systems of King County and throughout North America. Two project leads that are doing work on King County Rivers are Erin Haley (Green-Duwamish) and Sayward Glise (Cedar River Team). “We currently have knotweed control projects on the South Fork Skykomish and Tye River, the Upper Snoqualmie River, the Cedar River, and the Green-Duwamish River. In 2016 our team and its contractors treated 17 acres of knotweed… Read More
Senior leaders meet with Veterans Program employees
Two members of King County Executive Dow Constantine’s leadership team visited the King County Veterans Program facility in Belltown, Seattle, last week to learn more about how employees are helping local veterans live healthy and productive lives after their military service has ended. Senior Deputy County Executive Fred Jarrett and Gary Kurihara, Lean Transformation Director, met with Program Manager Bryan Fry and Pat Lemus, Assistant Division Director for Community Services Division, to tour the facility, talk with some employees and find out more about their work. The King County Veterans Programs serves veterans and current service… Read More
Keeping employees safe delivers cost savings
“Prevention is the best cure” might sound like a cliché but it’s an important part of keeping King County employees safe at work and decreasing injury-related costs. King County’s Safety and Claims section is implementing a multifaceted approach to reduce costs on workers compensation claims and lost work days as a result of occupational injuries and illnesses, and their efforts are delivering an estimated $7 million in annual savings in liabilities – funds that can go to providing services to more customers. “It’s not any one thing in isolation that is moving… Read More
Tech Tip: Saying no to 9
Please do not dial “9” when making a “206” area call. A resident with the number “920-6263” is getting many calls intended for King County agencies, as most agency numbers begin with the prefix 263. When sending a fax, employees who have not yet migrated to using IP fax, should still dial 9 first. For any issues, please contact the KCIT Service Desk at 206-263-HELP or log a ticket at helpticket@kingcounty.gov
Social Media spotlight: All Home Twitter
All Home is a community-wide partnership to make homelessness in King County rare, brief and one-time. Follow All Home on Twitter today! Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Employee learning priorities: Online resources survey
Your learning and growth are important to us. If you haven’t had a chance to complete our quick survey yet, please do. It will help us in the short-term to tailor our online learning portal, KC eLearning. Results also will be used to identify priorities for future development of learning resources. Access the survey here. Complete the survey by July 25 and be entered to win a prize! Details can be found using the survey link above.
Explore farm fresh food in King County
A new virtual tour of farm fresh food in King County will spark inspiration in foodies and newbies alike. Explore the farmers markets, farm stands, and CSA programs in our community with a dash of history and helpful shopping tips. Click here to take the tour.
You belong here: Welcome Inclusion Symposium supports 2018 Special Olympics
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter The Special Olympics USA Games are coming to Seattle/King County in 2018! Thousands of athletes and their families will travel to the Pacific Northwest to compete in the games. Businesses and governments across King County are actively preparing for those visitors. More than 300 people attended the Welcome Inclusion (WIN) Symposium hosted by Microsoft at their Redmond Campus on June 27, 2017. Sponsored by the Arc of King County, WIN is a public awareness campaign to promote a community of inclusion for children and adults with intellectual, behavioral and… Read More
The 2017 King County Trans Resource and Referral Guide is now available
The Department of Community and Human Services is excited to announce that the 2017 version of the King County Trans Resource and Referral Guide is now available! Thanks to Mental Illness and Drug Dependency (MIDD) funding provided last year, the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, in partnership with several community organizations and with support from King County, was able to produce this updated guide. The online version is available here and is live – available in both Spanish and English versions now. The web hosting has been donated by a community member and will be updated ongoing. In 2014, the Coalition was… Read More
KCIT named top large county IT organization in the U.S.
King County Information Technology (KCIT) took first place in the 15th annual National Association of Counties (NACo) Digital Counties Survey. King County was recognized for its vision, strategy, innovation, and collaboration. “This is an important award,” said Bill Kehoe, Chief Information Officer and IT Director. “It validates the real, day-to-day work that our employees do. They are the reason King County is known as one of the Best Run Governments in the country.” The Digital Counties Survey comes from the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. The national… Read More
Reuniting families through Reunification Day 2017
King County celebrated the efforts of parents to reunite with their children that were once placed in foster care at the eight-annual Reunification Day on June 30, 2017. Judge Helen Halpert, Superior Court Chief Dependency Judge, kicked off the celebration which was attended by several Superior Court Judges and Commissioners, and featured Presiding Judge Laura Inveen, a Reunification Day Proclamation by King County Executive Dow Constantine and parents sharing the stories of their journeys to reunification. “I listened to those wonderful words from [parents] Scott and from Natalie, and I think they couldn’t have… Read More
Video Voters’ Guide: 2017 Primary – King County/Port of Seattle
Hear directly from candidates participating in the August 2017 Primary.
Featured Job: Transit Electrical Designer IV
Closing date/time: 07/30/17 11:59 PM Salary: $27.69 – $37.43 Hourly Location: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle Job type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Division: Department of Transportation – Transit Division Description: Come help build the future of Transit in King County! Over the next few years King County Metro Transit will be expanding our fleet to provide greater transit service which will include a fleet of all electric buses. We are recruiting for a Transit Electrical Designer IV to help build the infrastructure that supports that new fleet. That infrastructure will include: the design and installation… Read More
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