 One of the best strategies to combat climate change is to make it safe and easy for people to travel without needing a car. Last weekend, on Earth Day, I joined youth and adult leaders from Sustainability Ambassadors, the City of Kirkland and community groups for a town hall on bikes. The theme? "Make Biking to School Safe, Easy, and Cool!"
We had a wonderful day touring sites from Juanita High School to Feriton Spur Park on the Cross Kirkland Corridor. We stopped along the way to learn about using bike racks on Metro buses, safer bicycling with the Kirkland Neighborhood Greenway project, compact/walkable/bikeable development at Totem Lake, the importance of bike racks at Lake Washington High School, the 42-mile regional Eastrail (which includes the Cross Kirkland Corridor), and more.
It was a fun and educational event, with dozens of students from elementary through high school. In the end, we biked 10 miles, learned a lot, and left inspired to encourage our family and friends to try travel by bicycle.
Representing King County in the other Washington
 This week, the King County Council and Executive took our annual trip to Washington DC to meet with our congressional delegation to share our federal priorities. It was a pleasure to meet with both our senators and representatives and to thank them for their work on behalf of King County's constituents, especially for the critical assistance they provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with discussing important federal grant programs, like Safe Streets and Roads for All and the National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration program, this year we also talked about how to bring federal resources to support King County’s efforts to electrify our bus bases and replace our vast and aging wastewater treatment system. We’re lucky to have such fantastic partners in our congressional delegation!
Your one-stop shop for King County services is now open!
 Are you looking to get a marriage license, taxpayer assistance, make a public records request in-person, or to access one of the other many vital services that King County offers?
Good news: King County’s new Customer Service Center is now open! The Customer Service Center, located on the second floor of King Street Center in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, is designed to be a "one-stop shop" for many of the most-requested services offered by King County, including:
- Property tax payments
- Taxpayer assistance and exemptions
- Vital Records (birth and death certificates)
- Vehicle and vessel licensing
- Marriage licensing
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- Document recording
- Taxi, TNC, and for-hire driver permits
- Pet licensing
- Public records requests
- Claims
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Regular business hours for the Customer Service Center will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, though individual agencies may occasionally have adjusted hours.
 Yesterday, with more than 412,000 ballots counted, representing 29.89% of registered voters, The Seattle Times reported that the new crisis care centers levy passed. This levy will raise $1.2 billion over nine years to create five crisis care centers, restore mental health residential treatment beds that our region lost over the last five years, and invest in behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention. Collections will begin in 2024 and will cost the median King County homeowner about $119 per year. The election will be officially certified by King County Elections on May 5.
I look forward to working with my colleagues and the community to ensure we use the funds to provide quality behavioral health services efficiently and effectively throughout King County.
Spread the word!
Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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