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Tell
Us What You Think about iMAP and Parcel Viewer
and You Could Win a Prize
June 2, 2006
 As
useful as our online mapping applications,
iMAP and Parcel Viewer, are to their many
thousands of users, we're always working
to make them better. And now you can help.
If you've used iMAP or Parcel Viewer we'd
like to invite you to take just a few minutes
to fill out our easy online survey. Our goal
is to find ways to help you get the
information you need from our online mapping
applications more efficiently. Your feedback
is critical to our ability to do that.
The
survey takes about five
minutes or less to
complete, and
you could win a prize! All survey takers
who supply us with their contact information
will be entered into a drawing to win a $50
gift certificate or one of three Chinook
Book coupon books. Help us make online mapping
at King County better than ever, and secure
your chance to win one of these great prizes.
As an iMAP or Parcel Viewer user, you win
either way.
KCGIS Center Map Wins Washington GIS Conference Award
May 12, 2006
"Columbia
River Basin," a map by Patrick Jankanish
of the KCGIS Center, has won the People's
Choice Award for Best Entry in the 2006 Washington
GIS Conference Poster and Map Contest. The
Washington GIS Conference, held May 8-10
at the Tacoma Convention and Trade Center,
was attended by approximately 250 GIS professionals,
users, and vendors. About two dozen of the
most outstanding examples of cartographic
products from Washington State were entered
into the contest this year. In addition to
the People’s Choice
Award,
other awards included:
- Best Map: "Fort Lewis
Environmental and Natural Resources Division
Wall Map" by Keith D. Jackson, Anteon
Corporation and Fort Lewis Public Works
- Best Map Poster: "Calculating
Upper and Lower Confidence Levels for IDW
Interpolation" by Cindy Jackson
and Craig Hanson, Windward Environmental
LLC
- Best Student Map: "Classification
and Distribution of Lake Types in Washington
State" by
Janet Rhodes, Andrew Perkins, Dr. Anthony
Gabriel, and Dr. Karl Lillquist, Central
Washington University.
The quality of all entries into the contest was extremely high this year. Congratulations to all winners!
KCGIS
Center Instructor Cheryl Wilder Named to
Top 5 by ESRI
May 4, 2006
KCGIS
Center Training Coordinator, Cheryl Wilder,
was named one of the "Top 5 Instructors"
by ESRI for the first quarter of 2006. During
this period Cheryl taught the ESRI-authorized
classes Introduction to ArcGIS I and II
to a total of 96 students.
See: www.esri.com/training/atp/top5.html (external
link).
The
KCGIS Center
Training Program also includes
the ESRI-authorized Introduction to ArcView
3.x. The KCGIS Center is able to
provide these classes at a considerable cost
savings in our convenient and comfortable
downtown Seattle training facility. Plus,
we offer ESRI-authorized training in your
facility! Recent on-site clients have included
Snohomish County, the Seattle Public School
District, and the City of Bellingham.
We
also teach a growing catalog of custom
classes designed to enhance the productivity
of both novice and more experienced GIS users.
These custom classes are offered under our
GIS
Training Express program. The GIS
Training Express curriculum is designed
to be specific and detailed, yet broad enough
to suit the business needs of individuals
from many different agencies. A range of
class and course offerings allows users to
stick to GIS basics, or to expand their knowledge
with advanced or highly specialized topics.
For current and
future KCGIS Center GIS training opportunities,
see www.metrokc.gov/gis/Training/.
What students have said about Cheryl Wilder….
- Clear
and concise - gave good information and time
to finish the exercises and experiment on
our own. Always willing to help and took
the time to find answers she didn't have
on hand. Cheryl did a great job explaining
the course materials.
- The
course was extremely useful. Cheryl was a
fabulous instructor. Book and sample exercises
very well suited to my skill level. Logical,
easy to follow. I did not feel lost in course.
- Good
pace for a two-day course. I didn't feel
rushed or bored. The material will come in
handy for my typical work duties.
- Cheryl
has an excellent teaching tempo and is very
open to answering questions during the course.
I would recommend her to others.
- I
have taken several GIS classes from Cheryl.
She is an excellent instructor, very patient,
and very willing to work with students to
help them understand the concepts.
- Cheryl
Wilder is a great instructor. I came to the
class without any knowledge, now I am eager
to pursue further in the next GIS course
to enhance my career path.
Map
by KCGIS Center Client Services Illustrates
New Book and Museum Exhibit
May 1, 2006
The
Columbia River is a Pacific Northwest icon,
and the average northwesterner is likely
to have a pretty good sense of its geography
seaward of one of the many familiar landmarks
in eastern Washington, such as Grand Coulee
Dam, Wenatchee, or the Tri-Cities. But did
you know that the source of the Columbia
River is in Canada? Did you know that portions
of seven states and two provinces compose
the Columbia River drainage basin?
 This
information and much more is depicted in
a striking new map conceived by Columbia
River historian William Layman and created
by King County GIS Center Client Services.
The map was designed to illustrate River
of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia, a new
publication of the University of Washington
Press authored by Layman. Through narrative
text and more than ninety historical photographs,
River of Memory takes readers on a journey
along a Columbia River that has not existed
since the era of Pacific Northwest dam building
began. Accordingly, the map blends contemporary
and historical data to provide a composite
of the Columbia's past and present. Readers
will spot many places along the course of
the Columbia that have vanished beneath the
surface of reservoirs, and can see other
places that were recorded in the journals
of early explorers but are rarely mentioned
today. The book and map focus on the Columbia
River itself, but the striking physical topography
of the entire drainage basin from the Pacific
Ocean to the crest of the Rocky Mountains,
from British Columbia to Nevada, will fascinate
map readers.
William
Layman is also the author of Native
River: The Columbia Remembered, and
is a recipient of the Castles Heritage Award
bestowed by the Center for Columbia River
History. In conjunction with the publication
of River of Memory, Layman has guest curated
an exhibit by the same name that opened on
April 21 at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural
Center. The exhibit will travel to the Washington
State History Museum and several other Northwest
venues in 2007 and 2008.
This
new map is just the latest example
of the wide variety of custom cartographic
products created for King County government
agencies and external public and private
clients by KCGIS Center Client Services.
More
(Map reproduced
here courtesy of William Layman and the Wenatchee
Valley Museum & Cultural Center. ©2006
Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center.)
New iMAP Custom Print Options
March 31, 2006
The variety of custom maps you can print in iMAP just increased dramatically with the ability to choose from three page sizes and two page orientations. Formerly iMAP offered only letter-size map prints in a portrait orientation. Now you can print your own maps in standard letter (8.5x11-inch), legal (8.5x14-inch) and tabloid (11x17-inch) sizes, and you can choose a portrait or landscape page orientation for any of the three sizes. These six page layout options combined with iMAP's other map customizing functions, such as the ability to choose which layers to display, to highlight features on the map, and even to draw your own points, lines, polygons and text, make it possible to create truly individual and unique maps tailored to your specific needs.
The King County GIS Center is dedicated to making iMAP an ever more useful tool for you to find the information you need and get your work done. Your input is important to us and this update to the iMAP print function is in direct response to requests from iMAP users.
Please contact us if you find a problem, have a question or idea for us, or just to let us know what you think of our efforts. 
Check it out! iMAP home page
National Spotlight on Puget Sound Area GIS
March 16, 2006
King
County GIS, along with Pierce and Snohomish
counties, were the focus of an article on
effective use of spatial technology in the
latest issue of Cadalyst Magazine (external
link). The article outlines some of the ways the three counties make use of GIS technology to meet the needs of citizens, help protect the environment, and provide more cost effective government services. For more information about how King County GIS can help you, contact the KCGIS Center.
Updated Bicycling Guidemap in the Virtual Map Counter
February 17, 2006
King County has a new and improved Bicycling Guidemap which is now available for download. The map is a comprehensive guide for bicyclists, and includes information on roads, trails and facilities throughout the county.
This is the first significant update of the map since 1998. The map layout has been changed to a larger, easier-to-read format that includes helpful information.
More: Bicycling Resources
Updated Road Index Maps in the Virtual Map Counter
February 8, 2006
King County Dept. of Transportation, Roads Services Division has updated its Road Index Maps (formerly known as the County Road Inventory System maps) with 2005 data.
Users can view or download the entire (extremely large) map book in PDF format, or choose to view / download any of the 43 individual maps that it contains.
Two New Custom Classes from GIS Training Express
January 4, 2006
Keeping Up with ESRI
Keeping Up with ESRI will be offered on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 (morning). This half day class will cover changes and updates to the ArcGIS interface that will effect how KCGIS users, analysts and data stewards interact with their GIS data and environment.
Geoprocessing for Analysts
Geoprocessing for Analysts will be offered on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 (afternoon). This half day class will walk students through a real analysis example that will enable them to become familiar with the ArcGIS Toolbox and geoprocessing tools, the Command Line and the Model Builder.
King County GIS Training Express Program
The GIS Training Express program was launched in September 2005 with its first custom class, Basics of SQL. This class sold out quickly and will be offered again soon. During the first half of 2006 four additional new classes will be announced and more are in development. The GIS Training Express curriculum is designed to be specific and detailed, yet broad enough to suit the business needs of individuals from many different agencies. A range of class and course offerings allows users to stick to GIS basics, or to expand their knowledge with advanced or highly specialized topics.
Classes are offered in King County GIS Center office training facility in downtown Seattle.
Sign Up For Both Classes and Save
Sign up and pay for both GIS Training Express classes on February 8 and save 10% for each student! The KCGIS Center will pass on our administrative savings for each student who signs up and pays for both the Geoprocessing for Analysts and Keeping Up with ESRI classes. Simply complete your registration form and show the 10% discount ($27) when you calculate the total cost, and send it along with your payment.
More: Read the full description of GIS Training Express.
Visualize Your Data
Better Decisions
Superior Public Service! |
We
have revised our 
Transit
users in the Central Puget Sound region have
a new tool to guide them in the use of public
transportation and travel options throughout
the region. Public transit service providers
in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties are
distributing free copies of the “Regional
Transit Map Book,” a new 28-page collection
of regional and local transit maps, service
information, and provider contacts.
July 21, 2006
We've recently
expanded the list of data layers that can
be viewed in iMap's 
