Tag Archives: King County Washington

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women. Although it’s one of the deadliest cancers in the United States, breast cancer is often treatable when detected early.

Mammograms, which are low-dose x-rays of the breast, continue to be vital in the early detection of breast cancer. To learn more, read the publication Mammograms by FDA’s Office of Women’s Health. You can read it online, download it as a PDF, and order print copies for yourself and loved ones.

Visit WomensHealth.gov for additional information about breast cancer, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment, and more.

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News … the other Washington

09/16/2013 Nativegrl77

ONE YEAR INTO MANDATORY PAID SICK TIME, A LOOK AT IMPACT ON BUSINESS

KIRO

On Tuesday, the Main Street Alliance of Washington released a report stating that the new paid sick time ordinance has not hindered the Seattle–King County economy. In fact, the number of businesses in Seattle has continued to grow in services and retail, and the volume of sales has continued to grow, according to the Alliance’s Marilyn Watkins. Three small business owners championed the paid sick time law as they gathered on Tuesday at the unveiling of the report’s results. Makini Howell of Plum Bistro, Jody Hall of Cupcake Royale, and Joe Fugere of Tutta Bella all said the law hasn’t stopped them from expanding. They acknowledged an increase in business expense but said it’s very minimal.

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New SPD oversight director outlines a way forward

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Click on Photo for complete story

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Walleye pollock show some behavioral problems when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.

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PARTICIPATE

Keeping track in Olympia

Find your lawmakers and track bills in the state Legislature. Legislative Guide

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On Tuesday, Progressive Radio Northwest is launching the first in a series of monthly get-togethers to meet each other, mingle and discuss issues central to our mission of bringing progressive radio back to the region. We hope to have a speaker at each session and look forward to engaging in a wide variety of lively topics.

First session: Tuesday, September 24

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Topic: “Corporate Media and the Demise of Progressive Talk:

Lack of Listeners or Political Suppression?”

Geov Parrish, Guest Speaker

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Board of Health … the Other Washington

08/18/2013 Nativegrl77

See this video from King 5 News on how we could make eating out safer in King County.

By Sarah Schacht

Seattle, Washington

King County Board of Health: Create clear restaurant inspection ratings & improve access to ratings.

Each year, 1 in 5 Americans gets food poisoning. This completely preventable illness results from poor food handling. Restaurants are a major source of food poisoning, yet King County’s antiquated restaurant inspection ratings website makes it difficult for county residents to easily search and understand if a restaurant has had good or bad inspection ratings. Essentially, these ratings show the progress of a restaurant to maintain high levels of cleanliness and well trained (for food safety) staff.

King County could reduce reported food poisoning hospitalization rates by at least 14% (which is a lot, since most food poisoning cases go unreported or don’t make it to the hospital) by creating a “A, B, C…” ratings system, with “A” being highest, and “F” being grounds for closure. These ratings should be posted publicly near the entrance of all restaurants, bars, cafes, and eateries. In addition, these ratings should be made available through open data, allowing websites like Yelp to post restaurant inspection ratings in their websites and apps. So, when you quickly look for a restaurant in your area, you can see how safe it is along with their menu and customer reviews.

Currently, King County Public Health (the agency that manages restaurant inspection ratings) has a website that hasn’t been upgraded since the early 2000’s, and a convoluted inspection ratings system that confuses consumers. None of these ratings are posted at restaurants. As a result, restaurants that don’t adhere to safety standards keep serving food to unknowing customers, and restaurants who are safe and clean don’t get rewarded for their work with an “A” rating. Consumers should be able to use transparent, readily available restaurant ratings to drive their purchases, rewarding safer restaurants with more business.

King County Public Health has refused to improve their current website or ratings system, creating small patches that don’t meet citizen’s needs. In the meantime, more people unknowingly eat at unsafe restaurants and fall ill.

We can prevent food poisoning in King County and set a higher standard for food safety. Sign the petition and tell King County Board of Health to make King County Public Health update its ratings systems and create more transparency in ratings.

(Photo above by woodleywonderworks on Flickr.)

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Support Suzan DelBene : for Congress

09/27/2012 Nativegrl77

Leaves Please Join

Mayor Joan McBride and Kirkland Councilmembers Doreen Marchione, Penny Sweet & Amy Walen

For a Wine Tasting and Auction to Benefit

Suzan DelBene Democratic Nominee for Washington’s 1st Congressional District

Monday, October 1, 2012 6:00 – 8:00 PM

The Grape Choice 9 Lakeshore Plaza Kirkland, WA 98033

Bring Your Checkbook! Contributions in addition to auction items gladly accepted!

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Hold Rob McKenna accountable

06/04/2012 Nativegrl77

Oops, someone forgot to purge their files! Rob McKenna got caught… red-handed.

Documents stored at the King County Archives reveal that, while serving as a King County Councilman, Rob was campaigning on the public dime, out of his Council office.

Now McKenna is facing an ethics compliant over his actions, which may have violated ethics law.

Talk about being caught red-handed and red-faced. McKenna’s an attorney. He knows the rules – It is illegal for public resources to be used for campaign purposes.

Can you donate $10 now and help us hold Rob McKenna accountable for his actions?

There may be more to this story.

One of Rob McKenna’s first actions as Attorney General was to hire a Republican campaign operative as his “outreach” director and put him on government payroll. Was this Republican operative reaching out to constituents or working to further McKenna’s political ambitions?

Earlier this week it was revealed that McKenna boosted campaign spending from his Attorney General account in the months before he declared his candidacy for governor – raising concerns with the state campaign watchdog, the Public Disclosure Commission.

After reading these ethics stories, it’s easy to imagine a late-night file-purging party in the Attorney General’s office.

We must continue to hold Rob McKenna accountable for his actions. Will you send us a small donation to support our “Tell the Truth Rob McKenna” team?

http://www.wa-democrats.org/contribute/accountable

Our candidate for governor, Jay Inslee, is dedicated to creating a working Washington. He is the best candidate to rebuild our state’s middle class and get people back to work. Jay would serve the state with integrity and would never violate the public trust the way McKenna has.

Part of our mission at the State Party is to ensure that Jay has a level playing field for this fall’s election. That means we need to hold his ethically challenged Republican opponent accountable for his actions.

Please help with a small donation today. Your support is appreciated by all of our candidates.

Sincerely,

Dwight Pelz
Washington State Democrats Chair