What will the passage of Initiative 1433 — raising the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour by 2020 — mean to small businesses in the Tri-Cities?To Don Karger, owner of Henry’s Restaurant & Catering in West Richland and his eight employees, it could translate to an $11,000 drop in his personal...
Social Security recipients will receive a modest increase in their benefits next year after getting no cost-of-living adjustments in 2016.Benefits for more than 65 million Americans will increase 0.3 percent in 2017, the Social Security Administration announced last month.The cost-of-living adjustment will begin with benefits payable to Social Security beneficiaries...
The Tri-Cities posted its lowest unemployment rate of the year in September, 5.9 percent, up from 5.5 percent a year ago.The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in September with the state adding 20,000 jobs, according to preliminary estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.The state’s...
A new startup based in the Tri-Cities is seeking to disrupt Seattle’s hiring culture.WholeStory was cofounded by John Roach, vice president of information and communication technology for TiLite in Pasco, Adam Brault, CEO of &yet in Richland, and Erin Anacker, a design entrepreneur based in Seattle.The web-based professional network and...
A training center for agricultural workers is scheduled to open Dec. 1. in Kennewick.Lacey-based Wafla, formerly known as Washington Farm Labor Association, opened in 2006 and this will be its first training center, said George Zanatta of Kennewick, Wafla’s chief operating officer.“We are planning to utilize the Kennewick office for...
Veterans are finding an easier time finding work in the Columbia Basin.The statewide jobless rate for veterans is 3.8 percent, while the state jobless figure is 6.9 percent. In 2015, the veterans’ jobless rate for Richland and Kennewick was 3 percent, according to the U.S. Census.“It is lower than the...
By Veronica CrakerWhile working at Better Business Bureau serving the Northwest, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from various types of business owners. I’ve chatted with leaders of large establishments like Expedia to smaller productions like the 1899 House Bed & Breakfast in Spokane. Despite their difference in size or...
When the Chacons saw that their favorite Richland restaurant was for sale, they knew they wanted to buy it.Joey Chacon, a health care administrator at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, and his wife Christina Chacon, a local psychiatric nurse practitioner, expect to take ownership of McKay’s Taphouse in December.“It’s...
The owners of Barracuda Coffee Company say their popular Richland shop is more than a place to get a mocha, latte or tea. To them, it’s a place to connect with others and build relationships.“This has become our ministry and this is how we want to relate to people,” Michelle...
A Richland man who’s helped file more than 31,000 claims for VA assistance for veterans and their families is quick to shrug off any praise for his work.“I ain’t nothing but a secretary with hairy legs,” said Steve Prince, who served in the Marine Corps.The gruff but kind-hearted 64-year-old works...
