We wish all our employees a safe and joyous Happy New Year, full of exciting moments and wonderful opportunities! As The Byrds said, there is a time for everything, so enjoy this new season and the chance to start a new.

Crossposted from King County Parks Plog This year, King County Parks’ White Center Teen Program (WCTP), which takes place at the “Log Cabin” (a.k.a. White Center Community Center) at Steve Cox Memorial Park, has been commemorating its silver anniversary (that’s 25 years, for you non-Hallmark card-types!) with lots of reminiscing and festivities and a serious tallying up of some impressive accomplishments. Since its start in 1991, King County Parks’ White Center Teen Program (WCTP) has given White Center youth a safe, positive place to get involved in year-round recreation and educational programs… Read More

Friday, December 30, Bloodworks Northwest is holding a blood drive for the King County Chinook and Administrative buildings, with a special promotion. For the first 30 people that register to donate, Bloodworks Northwest, will give a pound of food for each registered donor to Northwest Harvest. That’s 30 pounds of food that will help our local community! Friday, December 30, 2016 – from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m.) Your single blood donation will help patients in need and help feed community members during the holidays!  Please consider donating. Click here to make an appointment. For questions about… Read More

Please note most King County government offices will be closed Monday Dec. 26 for Christmas and Monday Jan. 2 for New Year’s Day. Metro buses will operate on Sunday schedule. For other transit holiday information, please see Metro holiday schedules. All County transfer stations will be closed Jan 2. For garbage collection, please contact your hauler for details.

We’ve had tremendous successes this year in the Best-Run Government: Employees initiative, working to make King County an employer of choice. A 2017 goal is to communicate more regularly about our successes and challenges. In that vein, here are some highlights from the past year, including negotiation of a total compensation agreement, a record response to the engagement survey and a new interactive Leadership Essentials course.

Crossposted from the DES Express It’s been a busy year in the Department of Executive Services! As 2016 comes to a close, we want to take a look back at our highlights and accomplishments this year, and celebrate 366 days of Delivering Excellent Service. We’re already looking forward to more great work in 2017! Thank you for all you do for the residents of King County. Read more at the DES Express

Each year fires occurring during the holiday season cause injuries and damage. To ensure your happy holidays are fire safe you should follow a few extra fire safety precautions. Candles: Always put candles in candlesticks before you light them. Don’t use lit candles as decorations on your holiday tree or near flammable decorations and curtains. Never leave candles unattended or within the reach of young children. Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep. Holiday trees: Dispose of fresh-cut trees before becoming dry to the extent that needles are falling and the color is fading. Contact… Read More