Public Health – Seattle & King County and the Washington State Department of Health are announcing new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, including one death. The person who died was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions who had no history of travel or contact with a known COVID-19 case. Public Health is also reporting two cases of COVID-19 virus connected to a long-term care facility in King County. Read the full news release

Public Health-Seattle & King County is continuing to carefully monitor the virus outbreak, which emerged in Wuhan, China in December. They provide detailed information on several channels, including the following:

- A special coronavirus website where you can subscribe to email alerts
- A blog post on what happens if the virus spreads here
- A blog post on what you can do to prepare

COVID-19 is spreading globally and we can expect to see more cases locally, but keep in mind that most coronavirus illnesses are mild with fever and cough. Most do not require hospital care. A small percentage of cases are severe and may include pneumonia, particularly in elderly people and people with underlying medical conditions.

There are specific actions everyone can take to reduce their risk of catching any virus, including the following:

- More hand washing and less face touching. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. 
- Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
- Regular use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer covering all surfaces of the hands and rubbing them together until dry.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home while you are sick and avoid close contact with others. 

The United States Constitution requires a census, or count, of the population once every 10 years. Census data helps determine the number of seats each state holds in Congress and how billions of dollars in funding are distributed to states and local communities every year for services and infrastructure, including health care, jobs, schools, roads, and bridges.

In mid-March, homes across the country will begin receiving invitations to complete the 2020 Census. Once the invitation arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail.

The King County Conservation Corps is a pilot partnership between King County (Solid Waste Division and Department of Local Services) and the Millionair Club Charity. It provides clean-up services, including weeding and graffiti removal, to urban unincorporated areas.

Since its launch last fall, the Corps has done more than 84 work projects in White Center and Skyway. Five-person crews have picked up more than a thousand pieces of garbage, including needles and bio-hazards.

Learn more on the Local Services blog or see the project website.

On March 3, King County Road Services will hold an open house on its proposal to improve the intersection at SE Kent Kangley Road and Landsburg Road SE/SE Ravensdale Way (see map).

King County will present design options for both a roundabout and traffic signal for this intersection, which is considered a high-collision intersection. King County staff members will be available to provide information.

King County Parks staff members will also be available to speak about park projects in the area.

When / where

Tuesday, March 3, 6-8 p.m.
Tahoma High School Commons Area
23499 SE Tahoma Way, Maple Valley

Follow King County Road Services on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kcroads.

Join King County Parks and help improve some of the awesome parks, trails and natural areas within the 28,000 acres of Your Big Backyard! 

March 7 – Prairie Planting Event at Little Lake Forest (near Enumclaw)

March 7 & 8 – North Shorewood Park trail maintenance with Washington Trails Association (White Center)

March 14 – Lake Geneva Park (near Auburn/Federal Way)

See the calendar on our volunteer website for a full list of upcoming projects. To learn more about a specific project or sign up, email parksvolunteer@kingcounty.gov.

Household hazardous waste disposal is easy with King County’s roving Wastemobile service

The Wastemobile – King County’s mobile household hazardous waste disposal service – will be in Kent/Covington March 6-8.

The Wastemobile will be at Puget Sound Fire Station No. 75, 15635 SE 272nd Street in Kent, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. It accepts a wide variety of materials, including automotive fluids, old cleaning products, batteries, and pesticides.

For a complete list of accepted materials, additional household hazardous waste disposal options, and related information, visit the Wastemobile website.

Disaster-ready video series provides emergency preparedness tips

King County Emergency Management has produced a series of five short preparedness videos in collaboration with King County TV. (Watch the videos on YouTube)

These public service announcements promote disaster planning in a fun, yet practical way. For more information about the hazards that threaten our area, visit kingcounty.gov/hazards.

Free disaster skills workshops in March

Learning disaster skills is critical to your ability to prepare for—and respond appropriately during— a crisis. Attend our Basic Disaster Skills and Advanced Disaster Skills trainings to learn how to protect yourself and those you care about and minimize damage to your home and property.

When a disaster happens, many of the services we rely on could be interrupted and emergency responders could be quickly overwhelmed. Critical infrastructure, such as transportation, utility, and communication systems could be damaged, so we should be prepared to be self-sufficient for days or even weeks at a time.

The classes are free and open to all, but registration is required.

Basic Disaster Skills (register here)
Addresses local hazards, utility control, water storage/purification, emergency sanitation, and creating emergency plans.

Thursday, March 5, 6:30-8 p.m.
Black Diamond Library
24707 Roberts Drive, Black Diamond (limited parking available)

Monday, March 9, 6:30-8 p.m.
Duvall Library
15508 Main Street NE, Duvall

Advanced Disaster Skills (register here)
This continuation of our Basic Disaster Skills classes provides an overview of the types of bleeding and ways to control a bleeding wound, and the various types of fires that can occur and how you can mitigate these hazards. Previously taking the Basic Disaster Skills workshop is highly recommended but not required.

Thursday, March 19, 6:30-8 p.m.
Pacific City Hall
100 3rd Avenue SE, Pacific

For questions about accessibility or to request an accommodation, please contact Sophia Lopez by email or phone (206-205-6545). Requests should be made at least 14 calendar days before the workshop.

Learn more on King County's Disaster Skills Training website.

Are you ready for the internship of a lifetime, where you'll rub shoulders with aviation experts and the Blue Angels?
Ready to be exposed to one of the busiest cargo airports in the country?
Ready to break down barriers and help fight for Equity and Social Justice in your own community?
Oh, and you’ll earn a fair wage all while learning skills that will propel your career!

Learn more about these and other internship opportunities on the King County International Airport website.

Flowers aren’t the only thing that will be popping up soon in North Highline!

King County is launching a pilot program for up to two companies to provide shared e-scooters in and around White Center. Scooters will be rented via a smartphone app, though an alternative option will also be available.

The county has been busy the past few months developing rules to make sure there aren’t too many scooters in one place, and that scooters left where they shouldn’t be get moved quickly.  Riders will have rules to follow, too: no riding on sidewalks or roads with speed limits over 25 mph, riders must be at least 18 (some companies may allow 16 and 17-year-olds with consent from a parent or guardian), and yes, helmets will be required.

Scooter companies will be expected to engage with the community before putting scooters on the road and throughout the pilot period. The county expects lots of community input while piloting this micro-mobility solution, which will help shape future pilots and determine whether we will see scooters or other mobility solutions on an ongoing basis.

To learn more, visit King County's e-scooter licensing page.

Voice of Vashon to chat with John Taylor about Vashon roads on March 12

King County Local Services Director John Taylor will talk about Road Services on Vashon Island on the Voice of Vashon's Chamber Chat radio program at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 12.

Find out how to listen on the Voice of Vashon website.

Public servants are often most successful when the public doesn’t notice what we do. Garbage gets collected, water comes out of the faucet, and when you flush the toilet…well, you get the idea.

We do tend to get noticed when things stop working, like they did during our recent storms. The lives of many unincorporated King County residents were significantly disrupted by more than 60 road closures and lane restrictions due to flooding and landslides.

Employees of King County Road Services, Natural Resources and Parks, Emergency Management, and other county agencies put in thousands of hours responding to the effects of this storm. Road Services crews closed roads that posed threats to the traveling public, and then worked tirelessly to reopen them as quickly as possible.

We haven’t totaled all the numbers yet, but by current estimates the cost of responding to this storm and repairing the damage it caused could be greater than $10 million. That's equivalent to about one-third of the amount Road Services typically spends in a year for road capital projects across the county.

The road network in unincorporated King County has been underfunded for more than a decade. Storms like the one we had in February are stark reminders that under-investing in an asset has consequences. Road Services does a great job of maintaining the system with limited resources. But as our roads and bridges age, time and weather are taking a toll, and the system is becoming less resilient.

Recognizing this, the King County Council is considering an increase to the King County Roads Levy that will generate about $120 million of additional revenue over the next six years. The county would invest this money in county bridges and roads in order to maintain this essential system for all of our residents. I encourage everyone to pay close attention to this issue as it makes its way through the legislative process and possibly to a ballot measure in August 2020.

If you’d like to track the consideration of this legislation, you can find committee agendas, briefing papers, and videos of committee meetings on the King County Council website.

Director’s Corner is a column from John Taylor, the director of King County Local Services.To contact John, email AskLocalServices@kingcounty.gov or call 206-477-3800 (Relay 711; language interpreters available).