Among those laid off in recent weeks include dozens of staff connected to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford site as well as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and hundreds with the Bonneville Power Administration.
Initially, the Port of Kennewick’s district was only 5 square miles encompassing downtown Kennewick and the waterfront area. The district expanded by citizen vote and has evolved to meet community demands with rail and air transportation, industrial sites and business parks.
This year’s Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year winnersareboth champions for public education, children and veterans in the Tri-Cities. Theywere honored at the annual awards ceremony on Feb. 24.
After Lamb Weston’s abrupt departure from Connell left hundreds unemployed and the city’s budget devastated, the community now may have a clearer path to bringing a new company to town.
State officials were to have their plans for instituting the cuts in by Feb. 6. The state’s public universities are facing a 3% cut to their state funding.
A $100,000 state grant to study potential industrial sites in Connell may provide a path to economic sustainability for a community still dealing with the closure of its largest employer.