Look for “KnowBe4” email with cybersecurity training links on July 15

On July 15, King County’s trusted vendor KnowBe4 will send a countywide email with links to cybersecurity training. This is a legit email, not a phishing attempt. Annual cybersecurity training is required for all employees and contractors with access to King County systems. Training must be completed by Dec. 31, 2024.

Cybersecurity training is an important safeguard that helps protect vital King County systems. The number of employees that complete training each year impacts King County's insurance rates. Total instruction time for the training is about 60 minutes. If employees cannot find the email with the links to their assigned training, they should login to the KnowBe4 website with their work email at https://training.knowbe4.com/ui/login. 

Thank you to every employee for doing their part to protect King County. For assistance, contact the KCIT Helpdesk.

Loop Truck Shop in North Bend earns LEED Platinum certification

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories

You wouldn’t guess that a semi-truck maintenance facility would be all that tranquil, but on a recent morning in North Bend, the bay doors were open, and the sunshine was pouring in. Between the occasional rumble of a truck firing up, you could hear a woodpecker working on breakfast. Tucked into a thicket of trees just off I-90 sits one of King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division’s newest buildings.

Completed in late 2022 and operational since January 2023, the Loop Vehicle Maintenance Facility (AKA the Loop Truck Shop) has improved our ability to efficiently distribute biosolids to our farm and forestry customers across the state. Read more.

Get to Know: King County’s Behavioral Health Outreach Teams

Crossposted from Cultivating Connections

At King County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Division, we’re working toward a future where everyone is able to access mental health and substance use care when, where and how they need it. We are also actively bringing care and support to people in the community experiencing behavioral health crises.  

Our growing cadre of behavioral health outreach teams go anywhere and everywhere in the County to meet people where they are, offering compassion, support, connections to resources and treatment, medications for opioid use disorder, and more in a culturally responsive way. Read more.

Making Life Easier, now powered by CuraLinc

Balanced You is excited to announce that effective July 1, 2024, Making Life Easier (MLE) is now administered by our new vendor CuraLinc. Through CuraLinc, King County employees and anyone living at the employee’s home address now has access to an expanded library of Making Life Easier resources to support emotional and overall well-being. All Making Life Easier resources are confidential and offered at no-cost to you. Read more.

Get Movin’ with Balanced You: Summer 2024 schedule

These 30-minute move breaks are free and virtual so you can tap in from anywhere and benefit from the instruction of a certified trainer. Join us for all the classes in the Get Movin’ with Balanced You series focusing on yoga, stretching, cardio, the core, mat-based Pilates, and strength training. Classes are for all levels, from beginner to advanced. No special gear is needed, and the sessions are all body-weight movement. A yoga mat is optional.

Below is the Summer 2024 Schedule. We look forward to seeing you there! If you have questions, please contact BalancedYou@kingcounty.gov.

• Yoga, Wednesday, July 10, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.
• Cardio, Wednesday, July 24, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.
• Stretching, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.
• Strength Training, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.
• Mat-based Pilates, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.
• Yoga, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 12:30 to 1 p.m. Register here.

No AC? Can't open your windows? Here's how to stay cool

Crossposted from Public Health Insider

When it’s hot outside, it can be miserable inside if you don’t have air conditioning or can’t open your windows. These tips can help when it feels like an oven in your home.

How to reduce the heat inside

• Block the sun with shades, open the shades at night. Curtains and shades can keep your home from heating up. But at night, when lights are out and if you don’t need them for privacy, keep the shades open to let the windows release heat.
• Trap heat with closed doors. If one room gets hotter than other parts of the home, close the doors to keep the heat trapped in that room.
• Turn off the lights. Lights generate heat. Only keep on the lights you really need.
• Limit your electronics use. Home electronics heat up the home, so turn off electronics you aren’t using. Reduce the time you spend using computers, video games, TVs, and other electronics.
• Use your oven or stove less. Cooking with heat increases the temperature inside your home.
• Put a bowl of ice under a fan. The fan can circulate air cooled by the ice.
• Hang blankets over windows. Emergency survival blankets or wraps (the silver type also known as “space blankets”) work well to reflect the heat and typically cost around a dollar at drug stores, outdoor suppliers, or online. You can use painters tape to keep them up and block out the heat. The video below shows how simple it is to do.

Read more.

5th Avenue Theatre discount tickets for all shows in the upcoming 2024-2025 season