Employee Discount: 2018/2019 Seattle Symphony Season (ends today!)
Ending today, Aug. 3, employees can buy seats to the 2018/2019 Seattle Symphony Season before ticket sales open to the General Public. When you decide on the concert(s) enter Promo Code: CONDUCTOR19 for a 15 percent discount on most Seattle Symphony concerts and National Geographic LIVE presentations.
Order online: Corporate and concierge customers, enter the 2018/2019 Promo Code: CONDUCTOR19 at seattlesymphony.org prior to selecting seats.
Order by phone: 206-215-4747 or 1-866-833-4747, toll-free
Order in person: Visit the ticket office at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 1 and 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
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CHOMP! is less than a month away!
Crossposted from King County Parks Plog
Enjoy a full day of activities at CHOMP!, King County’s celebration of local farming, food, and sustainability, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 in the Willowmoor Farm area of King County’s Marymoor Park.
Join King County Parks as we celebrate all that is fresh, delicious, local and sustainable. In its fourth year, this free, all-day event will feature cooking demonstrations by Beecher’s Foundation Sound Food School, hands-on workshops, kids’ activities, a farmers market, local vendors and makers, live music, and so much more.
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Pet of the Week: Penelope
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
Penelope is a 1 ½ year-old, brown torbie, shorthair female cat (#A550272). Her adoption color is RED, meaning she is a spirited cat with a fun-loving personality. Penelope is an affectionate lovebug who likes getting attention on her own terms. This sweet girl has a big personality! She can get a little overstimulated with petting, so keep an eye out for signs she may need a break. Penelope can be a little shy and would do best in a calm, quiet home. She may also do best as the only kitty in her new home—she wants your love all for herself! The staff and volunteers at RASKC will be happy to answer any questions when you come to visit her. Penelope is litter box trained, spayed, current on vaccinations, and microchipped. She has been diagnosed with an inflammatory condition that is currently being managed. Her $30 adoption fee also includes a certificate for a free veterinary exam and an opt-in 30 days of free pet insurance through Trupanion.
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It’s time to vote!
NO POSTAGE REQUIRED
In-person registration for the Aug. 7 election has closed, accessible voting centers are open, ballots have been sent out, and it’s time to cast them!
If you haven’t received your ballot, call elections at 206-296-VOTE so they can get a ballot to you.
Ballots have prepaid postage for mailing, or can be brought to a drop box by 8 p.m. on election day. Read Election Connection’s new post to learn about new drop box locations.
If you follow @kcelections on Twitter, you already know it is legal to take a selfie with your ballot.
Happy voting! #kcvotes
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Training Spotlight: King County Mentoring Program Lunch & Learn
Would you like to have a mentor, someone who can help you grow professionally? Do you want to strengthen your coaching skills? As a Mentee, you will have a trusted advisor who can help you navigate complex situations, and as a Mentor, you can uncover new or forgotten skills and build influence. If either interests you, join the County’s mentoring program by signing up for one of our monthly Lunch & Learn sessions to uncover more about mentoring and search for a Mentor! The next session takes place Aug. 9 at the Administration Building. Learn more and register on Eventbrite.
There are also seats available for the Aug. 9 Introduction to Strategic Planning training session. Learn more and register on Eventbrite before the session fills up.
Visit Learning and Development on KingCounty.gov to learn more about trainings and other opportunities to invest in YOU!
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Seafair Fleet Week and Seafair Weekend are here!
Seafair has hosted Fleet Week on the Seattle waterfront since 1950, and is doing it again this week!
Seafair, the Seattle Navy League and the Port of Seattle welcomed ships and personnel from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy to the Seattle waterfront Tuesday, July 31 during a majestic Parade of Ships. Ship tours are operating Aug. 1-5.
The Centerline has published a blog post covering the Aug. 3-5 Seafair Weekend; featuring the annual sun-soaked showcase of hydroplanes, pirates and aerial displays – headlined by the Blue Angels’ Navy and Marine Corps team.
Metro Matters has announced that Metro, Sound Transit and the King County Water Taxi will continue their annual Seafair tradition of providing free transit service to members of the military during Fleet Week; active duty, veterans and retirees.
Both blogs contain numerous links to great Seafair information, and you can also visit the official Seafair site for information about events and more.
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Ready: Airport links injured tsunami victims with area hospitals during disaster scenario exercise
Crossposted from The Centerline
By Brent Champaco; photos by Cameron Satterfield
As the main ramp of the C-17 Globemaster touched the tarmac at Boeing Field, crews of three and four medical personnel rushed gurneys onto the airfield.
One by one, the victims were taken out of the aircraft and transported inside the Airport’s Arrivals building, where crews checked their vitals and eventually whisked away the injured to waiting ambulances.
The July 12 exercise might have involved a fictional scenario – a Patient Reception Area (PRA) exercise that King County International Airport/Boeing Field is required to maintain its status as part of the federal government’s National Disaster Medical System – but the urgency exhibited by actors and role players was the real deal.
Nearly two dozen local, state, federal, and private organizations, led by Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, worked together since last year to plan the exercise – which centered on a fictional tsunami hitting the Hawaiian Islands.
After military and other emergency response crews conducted a similar natural disaster exercise two days prior in the Pacific, the U.S. Air Force evacuated the injured and flew them to the Northwest. By the time they touched down at Boeing Field, crews were ready to meet them.
Inside the Arrivals building, military personnel set up triage areas where victims could be evaluated. There were even role-playing support dogs – courtesy of Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) – in the event that anyone who was injured required a service or support animal.
Once evaluated, the victims were placed in ambulances and taken to area hospitals, which also participated in the exercise. Officials say the Puget Sound is one of a handful of regions along the West Coast with the medical facilities and capacity to provide support during an actual natural disaster or emergency.
In addition to the military and the Airport, there were several other emergency response organizations involved:
- Washington State Department of Health
- Northwest Healthcare Response Network
- Public Health Seattle & King County
- Western Washington Medical Services
- AMR
- Seattle Fire Department
- American Red Cross
- USO
- Washington National Guard
- Disaster Medicine Project
While organizers will spend plenty of time over the next few weeks evaluating the July 12 exercise in detail, early indications point to KCIA/Boeing Field being well-positioned – literally and operationally – to help victims during an emergency.
Related: Airport to host disaster drill on Thursday, July 12
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My internship experience at King County International Airport
By Sydney Brusnighan
Sydney Brusnighan is a Tukwila resident, Raisbeck Aviation High School student and Finance and Business Administration Intern with King County International Airport / Boeing Field. Her internship aligns with KCIA’s support of the King County Aerospace Alliance.
As I approach the halfway point of my time here at the airport, I have begun to reflect on what I have completed and what events lie in the future. Through daily tasks, I have been able to gain a holistic view of Finance and the airport’s inner workings. Everyone on the Finance team has helped me expand my knowledge in a short period of time; especially my supervisor Tony Eayrs. From auditing expense reports and receipts to updating water usages, I have been able to see – numerically – how money flows in and out of the airport. There are few opportunities for young people to delve into Finance. We don’t learn about it in high school and there aren’t internships often available. My intern experience here has given me a realistic perception of what a job in Finance is like – something I always wondered about. I have also been able to experience some of the great opportunities here firsthand.
Pictured from left to right: Fiscal Specialist Deb Crosier, Administrative Specialist Charlene Travers, Elena Wu (Garfield High School Intern), Sydney Brusnighan (Raisbeck Aviation High School Intern), and Shukri Diriye (Foster High School Intern).
The airport offers many opportunities to better yourself. I’ve attended the food handler’s training and Shukri’s discussion on Islamophobia. Both events, though very different, helped me become a better employee who is more aware and knowledgeable. There are also many opportunities for me to explore career paths. Working here has shown me many facets of working in Finance. At the airport, I also see the work done by operations, maintenance, ARFF, and the FAA air traffic controllers. On top of that, I also saw how members of the military reserve complete an evacuation, and saw the job paths that you can find in the maritime industry when we attended a Port of Seattle event. Some of my favorite intern adventures so far include touring the runways, exploring the C-17 and Black Hawk, and watching the GAO presentation on my first day. All of my experiences have combined into my understanding of King County International Airport / Boeing Field. I have seen how all of the groups interact to ensure operations run smoothly.
My experience would not have been as rewarding without the support of the staff here. They have guided me in financial work that is common here at the airport, but completely new to me. They have shown me neat tricks and skills to make me a more valuable employee no matter where I end up. And there is so much more to look forward to. In the next few weeks, I have the chance to go to our Blue Angels Barbeque during Seafair Fleet Week, Nike’s corporate office in Portland, Microsoft, and an AMAC Project Lift event at the Museum of Flight. At the very end of my internship, I will also present my experience at KCIA on King County TV. This is a great opportunity for me to work on my presentation skills, reflect on my internship, and thank everyone for this amazing experience. I am so glad I was chosen as the Finance and Business Administration Intern at King County International Airport. Thank you!
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Funding victory gets staff back to doing what they do best
When funding for a major five-year study of Public Health’s pioneering FLASH sexual health education program was restored last week, employees who work on the program took a collective sigh of relief.
Pictured from left to right: Heather Maisen, Andrea Gerber and Kari Kesler.
“We were starting our third year of the project when we received notification that our study, which is funded by the Office of Adolescent Health’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, was going to be terminated two years early, so we weren’t going to have the final two years of our funding to complete the study,” Andrea Gerber, Health Educator and FLASH co-author, said.
Public Health received a competitive award from the Office of Adolescent Health to do a rigorous, five-year evaluation of the curriculum at the high school level to look at its effectiveness for young people and their families. In July 2017, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced it was cancelling all TPP grants two years early, cutting $2 million from King County–and ignoring the mandate of Congress, which has continually funded the program for nearly a decade.
“Without that last bit of funding all three years and $3 million would have been wasted,” Gerber said. “We wouldn’t have had evaluation results because we wouldn’t have been able to complete our study.”
FLASH is produced by the Family Planning program at Public Health – Seattle & King County and is available to educators everywhere. It’s currently used in every school district in King County, across much of Washington state, and in at least 40 other states.
“The evaluation is looking at the effectiveness of our high school curriculum in preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and improving family communication,” Family Planning Program Manager Heather Maisen, said. “What we were hoping and had intended to do when we applied for this funding was to have results that show the effectiveness of our program so school districts across the country have evidence of why they’re choosing this curriculum.”
U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour ruled on May 29 that HHS acted unlawfully in terminating King County’s funding to study the efficacy of its FLASH sexual health education program. Last week HHS reversed course and approved the $1 million fourth-year payment.
While FLASH is based on the latest research and evidence, the full curriculum has never been evaluated for its effectiveness.
In fact, it’s rare for any sexual health curriculum to receive scientific evaluation because conducting such a study is both complex and expensive. That’s why Congress created the TPP Program, which funds the research.
“It’s been a long journey of uncertainty, so we’re really relieved to get to do the work that we do so well and want to keep doing,” Maisen said.
With the funding restored, the important work of providing evidence and data so school districts can make informed, objective decisions on high school sexual health education is back on in schools in the Midwest and South.
“All of the school districts in King County have adopted FLASH at at least one grade level for youth so the evaluation is not being conducted in King County since we have such a high use of the curriculum and we historically have had,” Health Educator and FLASH curriculum co-author Kari Kesler said. Maisen added, “We need to conduct the study in areas that haven’t had the curriculum so there are no confounding variables, so we can show its true effectiveness.”
Learn more about the FLASH curriculum on this Public Health webpage.
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Employee Spotlight: Governor Inslee appoints Maureen McKee to King County Superior Court
In a July 20 news release, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Maureen McKee to the King County Superior Court bench.
McKee has been serving with King County Department of Public Defense as the Managing Attorney of The Defender Association Division, and has served with the division for 12 years.
“Throughout her career, Maureen has developed a strong understanding of the inequities existing within our justice system,” Inslee said. “King County Superior Court will benefit greatly from having someone with her experience and perspective on the bench.”
During her time with The Defender Association Division, McKee rose to a supervisor role, mentoring and providing guidance to less experienced public defenders, before assuming her duties as interim managing attorney. Before joining King County, her experience focused on immigrant, minority and disability rights in the United States and gender and property rights in Mostar, Bosnia.
Judge McKee received her law degree from Cornell Law School, studied at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College.
Her appointment is effective today, and she replaces Judge Lori Smith, who was recently named to the State Court of Appeals, Division 1. Judge Smith was appointed to the King County Superior Court bench on January 24, 2012 by Governor Christine Gregoire.
The Superior Court shared the news about both McKee and Smith on Twitter.
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