‘Don’t Blow It, Cut The Fuse’: Reminder that the use and/or sale of consumer fireworks is prohibited in unincorporated King County

As the July 4th holiday approaches, Local Services reminds residents that the use and sale of consumer fireworks are not allowed in unincorporated King County.

To put it another way, #DontBlowIt: Residents must #CutTheFuse on fireworks in unincorporated areas such as Skyway, White Center, Snoqualmie Valley, Greater Maple Valley, Enumclaw Plateau and Vashon Island.

This is the first year that fireworks have been banned in unincorporated King County. For some, the new rules are a big change to their July 4th traditions. Unincorporated areas won’t see fireworks stands. Residents aren’t allowed to light fireworks in their cul-de-sacs or back yards.

Continue reading ‘Don’t Blow It, Cut The Fuse’: Reminder that the use and/or sale of consumer fireworks is prohibited in unincorporated King County

King County Local Services earns national communication award for its ‘Employee Diversity Showcase’

King County Local Services’ efforts to celebrate the diversity of its team in 2021 garnered some prestigious recognition this month.

The department won first place in the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards competition by the National Association of Government Communicators. The winners were announced during a ceremony earlier this month in Louisville, Ky.

Local Services’ entry, “Employee Diversity Showcase,” was awarded the top spot in the “Other – Special Purpose Product” category. Others recognized in the category included the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the City of Clarksville (Tenn.).

Continue reading King County Local Services earns national communication award for its ‘Employee Diversity Showcase’

The People’s Budget – Your Voice, Your Choice: Residents can learn about proposed community projects at pair of virtual meetings May 23-24

Nearly a year after King County embarked on a new process that gives communities the power to choose how money is invested in their neighborhoods, residents will get the chance to learn about the community projects that could come to their areas.

The Community Investment Budgeting Committee, the group of residents from King County’s urban unincorporated areas that created the framework for the new Participatory Budgeting process, will lead a pair of virtual Project Expo Community Meetings on May 23-24.

Continue reading The People’s Budget – Your Voice, Your Choice: Residents can learn about proposed community projects at pair of virtual meetings May 23-24

Join us for Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Plan Engagement Kickoff Event on May 24

We’re back on, Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County!

If you live or work in the unincorporated Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County area, please join us Tuesday, May 24 via Zoom for our Subarea Plan Engagement Kickoff Event! (This event was rescheduled from last month)

This is your chance to help shape the development of your area for the next 20 years. King County Local Services has been working the past nine months to collect data and create a work plan for the 20-year Subarea Plan for the Snoqualmie Valley/Northeast King County Community Service Area.

Continue reading Join us for Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Plan Engagement Kickoff Event on May 24

UPDATED: Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Plan Kickoff Event postponed for a few weeks

UPDATE: The online Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Plan Engagement Kickoff Event scheduled for this Thursday has been postponed and will be rescheduled in the coming weeks. Once a date and time are set, we will post the new information immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience.

For updates and to learn more, please visit https://www.publicinput.com/SnoValleyNEKC

Continue reading UPDATED: Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Plan Kickoff Event postponed for a few weeks

Earth Day 2022: King County Road Services Takes Action on Climate Change

(By Road Services staff )

Not everyone can take transit. Not everyone can bike or walk to school or work. We need roads. Climate-friendly roads.

King County Road Services builds and maintains 1,500 miles of road and 185 bridges. We also build and maintain sidewalks, bike lanes, and traffic lights. Here’s how we do it in a climate-friendly way.

We reuse materials – almost all materials!

Landfills are a top contributor to greenhouse gases which cause climate change.  We keep as much construction material as possible out of the landfill.

Just like you sort your trash at home, we sort materials on a project site. This is what our sorting looks like.

We sort reusable materials into different categories. They include concrete, untreated wood like trees, steel from guardrail, treated wood like guardrail posts, and asphalt.

It’s called the Green Economy because we reuse almost all of it.

Continue reading Earth Day 2022: King County Road Services Takes Action on Climate Change

Forums to give residents a chance to hear from Sheriff finalists directly

Patti Cole-Tindall, Interim Sheriff, King County Sheriff’s Office
Charles Kimble, Chief of Police, Killeen, Texas Police Department
Reginald Moorman, Major, Atlanta, Georgia Police Department

Residents will get a chance to hear from the three finalists for King County Sheriff directly during a pair of online forums next week.

The King County Executive Dow Constantine’s Office announced the names of the three candidates who will move forward to final phase of the recruitment process for a new King County Sheriff, following three rounds of interviews with the hiring committee.

The three finalists selected are:

Continue reading Forums to give residents a chance to hear from Sheriff finalists directly

Local Services awards grants to community organizations working to bring communities together

Included in this year’s list of recipients of the Alan M. Painter Grant Program is The Alajawan Brown Foundation for its Thanksgiving Day event. Photo courtesy of The Alajawan Brown Foundation/Alajawan’s Hands.

King County is awarding more than $100,000 in grants to dozens of volunteer-led community events and projects in its unincorporated areas through the Alan M. Painter Grant Program.

Community groups in unincorporated King County competed for the grants, which range between $500 and $4,000 each. Applicants had to match at least one quarter of the total cost of their projects, and the projects had to be accessible to all unincorporated residents, regardless of race, income, or language.

Continue reading Local Services awards grants to community organizations working to bring communities together

King County Local Services virtual town halls for the unincorporated areas return in March

They’re back! King County Local Services is again bringing local government directly to the unincorporated areas with the return of its popular Community Service Area Town Hall events.

And those who attend will help to prioritize the community requests submitted to Local Services in 2021.

The local government for the nearly 250,000 residents and businesses of unincorporated King County will hold nearly a dozen of these virtual events throughout March. Those who attend will hear from their elected leaders and department staff about services and programs in their communities.

Continue reading King County Local Services virtual town halls for the unincorporated areas return in March

‘Your Voice, Your Choice”: Participatory budgeting focuses on community outreach, idea collection

King County’s participatory budgeting process is coming to the community – and it needs your involvement.

After spending the last six months creating the framework for how this new process will work, members of the Community Investment Budget Committee are now helping educate people about how they can help guide $10 million in investments in five urban unincorporated areas of King County.

Continue reading ‘Your Voice, Your Choice”: Participatory budgeting focuses on community outreach, idea collection