New owners acquire Senior Resource Guide

Pinnacle Marketing Group has acquired and assumed publishing responsibilities for multiple Senior Resource Guides serving adults 55+ and their families throughout Washington state, including in the Tri-Cities.

The guides were previously published by Orion Media Group LLC of Pasco, under the leadership of the late Sri Naidu. Pinnacle’s acquisition includes the following counties: Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Walla Walla and Yakima, plus Ellensburg.

The transition took effect Oct. 9. 

Each guide provides a directory of local services, housing, health care providers and community resources for older adults and their support networks.

Eddie Bauer’s Columbia Center mall store to close

A more than 100-year-old clothing retailer that was part of a merger last year with JCPenney and Columbia Center mall owner Simon Property Group will shutter all 200 of its stores, including in the Tri-Cities. 

Seattle-based Eddie Bauer will close its brick-and-mortar locations ahead of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. A sign posted at the Eddie Bauer store at Columbia Center indicated that the store will close in the coming weeks.  

Eddie Bauer became part of Catalyst Brands last year, which includes clothing brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand and Nautica. The organization is a joint venture formed in an all-equity transaction between JCPenney and SPARC Group, with shareholders Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group and Shein. 
Eddie Bauer’s reported planned bankruptcy will not affect the rest of Catalyst Brands, nor its brick-and-mortar stores in Japan. 

Eddie Bauer was founded by its namesake in 1920 as an outdoor clothing retailer. Its founder patented the first quilted down jacket it became known for in 1940. The company has passed through several owners since founder Bauer sold it in 1968, and went through bankruptcy in 2009.

Founder of Baum’s Candy dies at age 87

The woman who founded a Kennewick chocolate and candy shop that served the Tri-Cities for more than 40 years has died. 

Kathryn Baumgarten, 87, died Feb. 5, according to an obituary from Einan’s at Sunset Funeral Home. She and her late husband George Baumgarten opened Baum’s Candy, which was last located at 513 N. Edison St., in 1981. She retired in 2008, though its new owners continued to use her recipes until they retired and closed the business in 2024. 

“This was her lifelong dream, a job she loved so it was never work,” read her obituary about her time running the chocolate shop. 

Baumgarten was born in Colorado and she and her husband spent the first 20 years of their marriage there after eloping in 1957.  

The couple moved to Richland in 1978 to work for her brother who owned Tri-City Fence. A few years later they opened the chocolate and candy shop, with George becoming a bus driver for Ben Franklin Transit “so she could afford her ‘expensive hobby.’” 

By the time Baum’s Candy closed in 2024, it had filled a 12,500-square-foot store with its sweet treats but also party supplies, balloons and even costumes during Halloween.  

The former chocolate shop became the Kennewick location of local thrift store chain Community Thrift in 2025. 

A memorial service for Baumgarten took place Feb. 21 at Richland Lutheran Church with a celebration of life at Baumgarten’s residence in West Richland following the service.

Pickleball club announces summer tournament with $25K prize pool

Registration is now open for a June pickleball tournament with a $25,000 prize pool hosted by a local pickleball club.

Club 509 Pickleball recently announced its Summer Classic Pickleball Tournament, which will be held June 19-21 at the CBRC Health & Fitness, 1776 Terminal Drive, Richland. 

The tournament will feature 22 courts and multiple events, including full court singles, gender doubles and mixed doubles, and players of all skill levels and ages are welcome.

Club 509 Pickleball launched its Summer Classic in 2019, and the event has seen significant growth since then. Last year, participation grew by 189%, with 426 attending, including a number of spectators from 10 states and two countries, according to the club’s news release.

The event will also feature “Vendor City,” which is modeled around the idea of a pop-up bazaar where local businesses can showcase products and services and sell items to athletes and spectators during the tournament. 

A player social event will take place during the weekend, and attendees have access to food vendors, a photo booth and a beer garden. 

Registration for the Summer Classic costs $55 March 1 through May 24 and $75 after May 25. 

Volunteers are also needed and will receive a free gift if they sign up by May 1.

Go to: PickleballTournaments.com, club509pickleball.com. To get involved or become a sponsor, email: [email protected].

Longtime Pasco judge dies at age 73

Vic Lee VanderSchoor, a longtime Pasco judge, died on Feb. 17. He was 73. 

He was born in 1952 in Pasco and graduated from Pasco High School in 1970. He met his wife, Gail Louise Love, during college and they married in 1975.

After graduating from law school at the University of Washington in 1979, VanderSchoor joined the law firm Olson, Olson & Hevel in Pasco, across from the Franklin County Courthouse. He became court commissioner for District Court Judge Pete Felsted and discovered a love for serving as a judge, according to his obituary. He joined the firm of Ed McKinley and Dan Hultgrenn before later being elected to the Benton and Franklin County Superior Court Bench, where he served for 20 years.

VanderSchoor also served on boards throughout the community, including Carondelet Psychiatric Care Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, the Pasco Chamber of Commerce as past president, Benton/Franklin Legal Aid and Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery, among other organizations. 

Singing was a lifelong passion, according to his obituary. For many years he served as master of ceremonies for the Miss Tri-Cities Pageant and sang at many events with his band Candleflame.

National burger chain plans second location in Kennewick

A California-based fast food restaurant chain specializing in chargrilled hamburgers appears to be opening a second Tri-Cities location in the heart of Kennewick. 

Building permits valued at $270,000 issued by the city of Kennewick for 7415 W. Canal Drive show branding and plans for Habit Burger & Grill to move into one portion of the building that last served as a David’s Bridal location. 

Portland-based Rich Duncan Construction is the contractor for the project. 

Yakima-based Hogback Development built the first Habit Burger & Grill in Richland’s Queensgate shopping district in 2021.  

The first Habit Burger & Grill opened in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969.

Ice cream chain expanding to Richland

An Arizona-based ice cream chain plans to open its first Tri-Cities location in the Queensgate area of Richland. 

Cold Stone Creamery has submitted building permits to renovate the 1,375-square-foot space at 2560 Queensgate Drive for its latest ice cream shop. The shop is listed on Cold Stone’s website as “coming soon,” and the local owner confirmed it’s planned to open in early May.

It will be located in a strip mall home to Kadlec Express Care and Sake Express Sushi & Teriyaki, near an STCU branch and Spanky’s car wash. 

A $150,000 permit was issued for demolition of interior walls, plumbing, HVAC and electrical to prepare for a remodel. A permit valued at $369,063 was issued to convert the location from a beauty salon into an ice cream shop.

Year-round swimming comes to Pasco

No need to wait until summer to start getting in laps or practicing your backstroke as the city of Pasco officially opened Memorial Pool as its new dome cover will provide year-round pool time.

Swim lessons are now being offered under the pool dome.

The 30-minute classes will meet at 5:30 p.m., 6:05 p.m. or 6:40 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday.

Cost is $35 for residents and $43.75 for non-residents.

The project, which included updates to the facility’s pool house, cost $2 million and was paid for via a combination of bonds, real estate excise tax revenues and a $100,000 contribution from the Pasco School District. 

The pool is available for open swim from 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for youth and those 55 and older.