Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
This is a long message but please read it entirely. This message contains important information that all King County employees need to be aware of. KCIT is aware of a new ransomware called WannaCry. You may have seen news articles and publications on this over the weekend. WannaCry encrypts computer files and demands an average payment of $300 which doubles three days after the infection. If no payment has been received after seven days, the files will be deleted. WannaCry utilizes a known weakness affecting most versions of Microsoft Windows. Systems that… Read More
The Department of Executive Services, Records & Licensing Services (RALS) is announcing the Leadership Fellowship Opportunity, an effort to create a culture that develops the next generation of leaders and nurture an empowered workforce. The Leadership Fellowship opportunity will be for two six-month fellowships (Special Duty Assignment) to two Career Service employees. The first fellowship will start in July 2017 and the second fellowship will start in January 2018. It is open to all Career Service Employees who have a salary range of 65 or higher (or equivalent). To check salary information… Read More
“Whether you arrived here last week or whether you’ve lived here for five generations, you belong here” – King County Executive Dow Constantine Please join King County Executive Dow Constantine and other colleagues, friends and family as we walk in the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 25. Bring yourself, your family, your friends and enjoy the parade together! As always, there will be fabulous t-shirts available for order soon for about $10 with our theme for this year: We ALL Belong Here. Want to be up on all of the Pride information?… Read More
King County Office of Emergency (OEM) has earned full accreditation by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) – a validation of the capabilities of our disaster preparedness and response systems. Accreditation from this internationally recognized program represents a significant achievement and compliance with sixty-four industry-recognized standards. The rigorous EMAP process required a year-long internal self-assessment of OEM’s organizational programs, plans, and procedures, capped by an on-site peer-review by a team of EMAP assessors drawn from programs across the U.S. “For the past five years, OEM has completed a top to bottom assessment… Read More
Crossposted from Inside Transportation King County’s ambitious program to extend fairness and opportunity to all is rolling out to departments and agencies. First came the six-year strategic plan, adopted last year as a blueprint for putting equity and social justice (ESJ) at the heart of every county activity. Now each department is creating its own specific plan for meeting the goals the county has set. These fall into six areas (see box at left). This far-reaching program aims to transform the way we do business—both internally (hiring, promotions, training) and externally (customer… Read More
In celebration of Mother’s Day, King County Employees can take advantage of a special offer to see LUZIA by Cirque du Soleil at Marymoor Park before it ends on May 21. Click on this link to receive 20% off select show dates on price levels 1-2-3.
Crossposted from Go, Green Team! May 14 is Mother’s Day! Celebrate your mother and Mother Earth. Mother Earth has a place in many different cultures. The Greek version is Gaia from whom all live sprang and who personifies the interconnected ecosystems of Earth. The Earth on Turtle’s Back is a story from Native American tradition about a world of all water in which animals bring soil up from its depths that grew to become the Earth. Mothers, cultural histories, and healthy ecosystems, are all cause to celebrate. What better way than with… Read More
Crossposted from Public Health Insider Burnout is a problem in many professions – and particularly in nursing. For National Nurses Week this year, the focus is on promoting good health for nurses themselves. Within Public Health – Seattle & King County, this fits squarely with many efforts to help people overcome the impacts of burnout and “secondary trauma” (which comes with providing intensive, compassionate care to vulnerable populations). At the core of this work is resilience – the capacity to recover from adversity. Anneleen Severynen, a Public Health Nurse with Health Care… Read More
This week, May 7 – 13, is “National Correctional Officers and Employees Week.” To honor their service, today the DAJD Food Services Section will be providing King County Correctional Facility staff a specially prepared meal. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation creating “National Correctional Officers’ Week” to honor the work of corrections officers and correctional personnel nationwide. In 1996, Congress officially modified it to be more inclusive, to “National Correctional Officers and Employees Week.” President Reagan said, “Historically, correctional officers have been viewed as ‘guards,’ occupying isolated and misunderstood positions… Read More
Most of the time, you can instantly get a sense of whether or not a given photo was taken by an amateur or someone with a lot of photographic experience. This is because amateurs don’t have a feel for composition, and good composition is the soul of a great photograph. Composition is the placement of every element in a photograph. It describes how a photo is “composed,” which implies intentionality. Someone who pays no mind to composition can only take good shots by coincidence. On the other hand, once you truly have a… Read More
The Bridge Fellowship Program, or Bridge, is a multi-week program where participants are challenged by not only classroom learning, group projects and presentations, but also participate in interviews and site visits to explore King County agencies and their priorities. By stretching themselves to grow up and out, participants gain the skills needed to see the bigger picture. Bridge teaches employees who are considered “emerging leaders” to tackle issues head on and create future successes from current challenges. It’s a lesson past participants have taken to heart. Linda Morales, currently a RideShare Coordinator… Read More
This article is featured courtesy of Donna Miscolta, Project/Program Manager, King County Solid Waste Division Luna, Alice, and Saraphina are friends. They live in the same building. They’re of different generations – Luna is a kid, Alice an adult, and Saraphina a 90-year-old widow. But these three black females are bound together by something burdensome – a fear of not being safe in the world. They’re fictional characters in a one-woman play by local writer, performer, and educator Anastacia Tolbert. In 9 Ounces, the characters come alive, expressing in realistic actions and… Read More
King County employees had the opportunity to attend an April 26 May Day celebration focused on protecting immigrants and refugees that featured a panel of guest speakers and a spoken word artist. More than a seasonal holiday celebrating the arrival of warm weather in the Northern Hemisphere, May 1 has also shared its stage as International Workers’ Day since the 1880s. “It’s interesting that in much of the rest of the world, May Day is Labor Day. But, increasingly, there is more activity and things that are happening around May Day here,… Read More
Closing Date/Time: Wed. 05/17/17 12:59 PM Pacific Time Salary: $27.08 – $34.33 Hourly, $2,166.40 – $2,746.40 Biweekly Job Type: Regular, Full time, 35 hrs/week Location: Maleng Regional Justice Center – 401 Fourth Avenue, Kent, Washington Department: King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Description: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is looking for a highly motivated Victim Advocate to join our Protection Order Advocacy Program. This position provides advocacy for petitioners who seek domestic violence orders for protection to include: intake and interviews with petitioners; support and assistance in completing forms; general information dissemination;… Read More
This kudos is from Jennifer Ackerman, the Deputy Executive Director of the Public Risk Management Association. She is recognizing Jennifer Hills for her article published in Public Risk magazine. Hi Jennifer, Congratulations! Your article on the Risk-Crisis Continuum has been selected as Public Risk magazine Article of the Year! You were selected by the judging panel for your article. This is a big honor as you were chosen from a pool of practitioner-writers. Your name will be announced at PRIMA’s awards luncheon, to be held on Monday, June 5, during PRIMA’s Annual… Read More
Located on Puget Sound in Washington State, and covering 2,134 square miles, King County is nearly twice as large as the average county in the U.S. With more than 2 million residents, it is the 13th most populous county in the nation. Learn about King County services you can use, and tell us how we can serve you better. Follow King County, WA on Facebook today! Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter The 2017 Unincorporated Community Service Area (CSA) series of town hall meetings kicked off in April with well-attended meetings in Snoqualmie Valley and on Vashon Island. Residents received reports on local initiatives from their Councilmember, sheriff, assessor and other leaders from King County departments, and had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about issues affecting their community. A few DCHS management members and Best Starts for Kids reps attended the meetings, hosting a DCHS table with information about DCHS programs. The CSA town… Read More
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories King County shared good news April 27 that West Point Treatment Plant is back online. Employees and contractors worked around the clock to restore critical mechanical and electrical systems that were damaged by severe flooding on Feb. 9. Whenever clean water infrastructure is affected, King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) gets in front of environmental monitoring. The scale of the West Point incident called for increased environmental monitoring and close coordination with the State Department of Ecology. King County knows how much people in our region care… Read More
King County is hosting the fourth annual “Working with Our Troops Career Expo” at the Washington State Convention Center on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Expo is free to both employers and job seekers and attracts 300-400 Veterans, transitioning Service Members and their spouses. There is space for approximately 130 employers. The deadline for employer registration is August 4, or until all spaces are filled. Here is the registration form. Each participating King County agency receives a: 10×10 booth space with an eight foot draped table, two chairs,… Read More
King County is participating this year as a sponsor in the 2017 T.R.A.I.N Support Staff Conference, taking place June 21 and 22. The conference is open to employees of public agencies who work in an administrative, departmental, customer service or office support role. Registration for the conference opens May 8, 2017. Click here to register then, or download this PDF for more information about the conference.