Crossposted from the Best Starts for Kids Blog We’d like to thank the 4,000+ parents and caregivers who have completed the Best Starts for Kids (BSK) Health Survey! The BSK Health Survey is still open, and we’ve extended the deadline to late January to make sure all voices are heard. We asked Sheila Capestany, King County Strategic Advisor for Children and Youth and lead of Best Starts for Kids, to answer some of the common questions we are hearing from families. Read more at Best Starts for Kids Blog

King County’s food safety employees want to ensure that the County’s restaurant safety ratings are as simple and user-friendly as possible for residents so they turned to a new system that everyone understands: emojis. “[Diners] were telling us that they wanted the information to be easy to understand, and to see it at the restaurant, helping them make decisions on the spot,” Becky Elias, Food Program Manager with Public Health – Seattle & King County, said. “People can walk down the street, see a window sign outside of a restaurant and be able… Read More

King County is harnessing the power of the sun and the innovations of its employees to provide lighting at its bus shelters. King County Metro Transit is one of the largest transit systems in the country, and its network of more than 8,000 bus stops and 1,800 bus stop shelters is growing! Metro’s employees are using solar power as a climate- and budget-friendly solution to providing lighting at bus shelters. Solar lighting is being installed in about 50 new shelters each year, as well as in another 50 shelters through refurbishment. “Solar… Read More

Flooding is the most common winter weather disaster and one which many residents are unprepared. From river flooding to urban drain and stream flooding, “Be Flood Ready” is a print resource available in 21 languages to raise awareness about available resources and best practices for reducing risks associated with flooding. The brochure is available as a PDF online at www.kingcounty.gov/floodservices or in print, by request. The web site also has videos in the same 21 languages on flood preparedness that are available for sharing to your web site, social media or in communications.

From Tuesday, January 3 through mid-February, crews will close the sidewalk on the east side of 4th Ave S between S Washington and Jefferson streets. This sidewalk closure is in addition to the sidewalk closure on the west side of 4th Ave S, check out the detour map here. Crews will be widening the bridge footings (beneath the sidewalk) during the weekdays, and other crews will be installing a large electrical utility duct bank next to the eastern bridge abutment on weeknights. The right lane on 4th Ave S will be closed during weeknights to… Read More