Crossposted from King County DES Express King County will become a national leader in supporting LGBT-owned small businesses under an inclusive policy announced by Executive Dow Constantine. King County will become the largest county in the United States to track the number of contracts that are awarded to LGBT entrepreneurs, an approach that has dramatically increased the number and value of contracts awarded to local small businesses owned by women, people of color, and people who are disadvantaged during Executive Constantine’s administration. Read more at the DES Express

Crossposted from Public Health Insider I’m at a conference, and I just saw a T-Rex wearing a Supergirl backpack trot by.  Clearly, I’m not at the CDC (otherwise, Dr. Tom Friedan has a hobby that no one knows about). I’m at San Diego Comic-Con, the premiere comics convention in the world, alongside a projected 130,000 other conference attendees. So what’s a public health professional doing here? I spoke on a panel called “Comics and health: Saving lives and preventing disease” as part of the Comics Arts academic conference associated with Comic-Con. Our… Read More

Sheriff Urquhart talks with host Enrique Cerna about building bridges to communities of color. He speaks about protecting the public, the need for collaboration between law enforcement and the community, and the impact of the recent shootings in Dallas, TX, Minnesota and Baton Rouge, LA. Interviewer Enrique Cerna gets to the heart of the Sheriff’s emotions about building trust, listening and better serving the community through diverse hiring. “There is an expectation, the community expects us to keep them safe, and we expect and work to keep them safe. The problem that we have… Read More

The King County Archives and Records Center buildings do not normally attract attention.  First time visitors will comment that they’d drive by (or some even live or work nearby) but had never known we were here! On July 30, the Archives and Records Center walls facing Fir Street and the parking lot will be decorated with the results of a day-long graffiti contest, held for young graffiti artists from around the Northwest. The event is from 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and is open to the public. People are welcome to drop by to view the… Read More

A team of 12 King County employees found their ‘inner wild’ and conquered 200-ish miles of relay running through the Northwest Passage July 15-16 in the Reebok Ragnar Northwest Passage Relay. A week after supporting his children’s high school team during the 2015 relay, Al Dams, Chief Deputy Assessor, pitched the idea of forming a King County team for the 2016 Ragnar during a regular lunch-time run with his fellow King County Running Club members. A year later, after recruiting nearly 20 runners to ultimately field a team of 12, the King… Read More

Crossposted from Public Health Insider Pokémon nostalgia has roared back with the release of Pokémon Go and those of us in the public health field are not immune to its charms. We wish we could offer you tips on how to catch that elusive Vaporeon, but the only Insider play tip we have so far is that the lobby of the King County Chinook Building is a Pokéstop. We’ll  just stick to the kind of tips we do best for those looking to fill their Pokédexes: injury prevention (woot!). Have fun getting… Read More

Crossposted from Election Connection Ballot boxes are now open for the August 2 Primary Election and Elections Director Julie Wise marked the occasion this week with ribbon cuttings at new ballot drop boxes at both Fairwood Library in Renton and Lake City Library. A total of 29 drop boxes will be available for this Primary Election followed by 14 more boxes for the November General Election. A total of 43 ballot drop boxes will increase access and convenience for voters across King County. For a complete list of boxes visit our website…. Read More

Crossposted from Metro Matters Abdi Elmi has a motto: having a career driving a bus for Metro is one of the best kept secrets in the region. Elmi, a Metro Base Chief in Bellevue, is from Somalia, and his story is one of triumph and hard work to overcome adversity. As a teenager he and his family fled the civil war in Somalia, and he lived in a refugee camp for several years. Later he brought his family to the US, and came to Seattle in 2009. In 2012, he was hired… Read More

*Correction: This article incorrectly lists Dave Murphy as the current interim Director of the Community Corrections division. Saudia Abdullah is the current Director, starting in August 2015 and confirmed by counsel in October 2015. Each year in Washington state, hundreds of inmates are released from correctional facilities after completing their sentences with $40, a bus ticket, and whatever they had on them upon entering. They are released into society without any training on how to deal with reintegration or changes in the way we live. Many have served long-term sentences and find… Read More