Employees from the Department of Transportation’s Marine Division recently rescued a capsized kayaker in the water about a mile off Alki Point, bringing him to safety aboard their Vashon Island ferry. On Friday, March 13, 2015, Captain Frank Massaro and Deckhands Joe Chrisman and Scott Denhart, were operating the M/V Melissa Ann serving the Vashon Island route. After departing Vashon Island at approximately 5:58 p.m. bound for Seattle, the crew on the bridge noticed something in the water approximately one-half to three-quarter miles away. They slowed the vessel and looked through the… Read More

When Patty Overby isn’t managing construction projects, she’s often singing in an a capella, barbershop chorus. “I think it makes you a better rounded person – for me it’s a big stress reducer and it’s a positive influence. It’s another opportunity to meet new people who are doing different things,” Overby said. A  Project Manager in King County’s Department of Transportation, Design and Construction Section, Overby has worked at the County for more than 35 years. Overby has been singing all her life, but six years ago she decided to give the… Read More

Tony Wright has been selected as the new Director of King County’s Facilities Management Division (FMD).  FMD is charged with providing clean, safe, secure, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective facilities for King County and the public.  FMD is also responsible for designing and managing capital construction projects that are responsive to customer needs. Wright has served as interim director of FMD since October and has demonstrated strong technical knowledge, professionalism and innovative leadership during that time. He joined King County in May 2014 and was responsible for managing high-profile, complex projects involving multiple King… Read More

Got conflict in your workplace? The King County Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) recently launched the Conflict Clinic blog to help you work through it. They post weekly tips and tools for shifting destructive conflict into a creative force for stronger relationships and better results. “Instead of avoiding difficult conversations for fear things will just get worse, or lashing out at others, you can read the blog for practical approaches to engage others in conversations that matter,” said Doug Nathan, a mediator with ADR and a writer and editor for the… Read More

When Linda Romanovitch joined King County 30 years ago she didn’t consider herself a trailblazer but she unwittingly broke through a barrier that would make it easier for other women to follow in her footsteps. Linda became King County’s first female carpenter on December 4, 1984. Her interest in carpentry grew while helping her grandfather, also a carpenter, complete odd jobs. At 22 she joined an organization in Seattle that helped women and minorities become successful in the trades and she completed a six-week pre-apprenticeship. She went on to complete a full… Read More

King County’s new KCWeb Intranet will officially launch on Thursday, Feb. 26, and we will be celebrating with a traveling roadshow, an online treasure hunt, prizes and giveaways to help you get to know your new one-stop shop for employee news, information and the tools you use every day. Join us from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, for live demonstrations of the new KCWeb, tips and giveaways in: The Chinook Building lobby King Street Center lobby Administration Building 5th floor lobby. If you can’t make it to one of the… Read More

King County’s commitment to Equity and Social Justice is taking another step forward with the creation of an Office of Equity and Social Justice. “This has been a progression. It has become one of the priorities for our leadership, especially for our Executive Dow Constantine. It’s essential to what he and our other County leaders are trying to accomplish,” said Matías Valenzuela, the Director of the Office of Equity and Social Justice (ESJ). What started as an initiative by former County Executive Ron Sims has now evolved into a sustained effort that… Read More

Protecting Our Waters is King County’s program to prevent pollution caused by excess stormwater in the sewer system on rainy days. The older parts of King County’s wastewater system use a single set of pipes to carry both sewage and rain running off streets and buildings. Most of the time, this polluted water goes to a wastewater treatment plant. But in heavy rains, the pipes can overflow into rivers, lakes, or Puget Sound. Overflow points called “combined sewer overflows” or CSOs are built into the system. CSOs prevent sewer backups into homes… Read More

Once a month, on his own time, part-time Metro Transit operator David Waggoner (East Base) takes friends from the Issaquah Senior Center on bus trips that, he feels, profoundly improve their lives. “Just because you belong to a senior center doesn’t mean that the next thing is that you’re in a coffin and next you’re in the ground,” he said recently. “The best thing for seniors is travel.”  He has taken friends on bus rides from Issaquah to downtown Seattle, Northgate, the North Bend outlet stores, and Sea-Tac Airport. “It’s amazing to… Read More

King County’s Human Resources Division (HRD) has launched a new and improved website to help visitors to the site get quick and easy access to the content they are looking for. The new site will make it easier for King County employees, human resources professionals, residents and job seekers to navigate the site and find what they are looking for, quickly and easily. “We wanted to make sure that all visitors to our website, whether they are current employees or possible future employees, have a good experience with our website and leave… Read More

Sometimes workplace issues get to us. Whether it’s stress, a performance issue, conflict with a coworker or any other type of workplace problem, the Employee Assistance Program is there for all King County employees to use. “We’re on-site, in-house. We’re here for you to deal with work issues,” said Tony Hansen, one of the County’s EAP councilors along with Pam Wyss. “We know the internal resources that we can guide you to and we can help facilitate.” EAP is an in-house resource available to all King County employees that offers tangible strategies and useful resources to resolve workplace problems.