A dramatic early morning fire on Feb. 4 destroyed a downtown Kennewick building that contained six second-floor apartments and five street-level businesses.The cause of the fire, which sent flames into the darkened sky and left downtown covered with a layer of ash the following day, was unknown, said Kennewick Fire...

Tax season returns, and, once again, the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program stands ready to assist taxpayers with form preparation.Tax-Aide sites began taking appointments for free tax preparation and e-filing services in early February. The program has a special focus on assisting taxpayers over 50 or those who have low to...

A Kennewick audiologist and a Pasco optometrist have teamed up to launch a new business model to make it easier for seniors to receive care.The Columbia Basin Hearing Center and Mid-Columbia Eyecare Center will host the other doctor once a week, starting in mid-February. Nicholas GublerOptometrist Nicholas Gubler will do...

An established physical therapy clinic with offices in Pasco, Kennewick and Walla Walla and two in Richland has joined an Alabama-based physical therapy provider network. Mindi IrvineWalla Walla native Mindi Irvine started Oasis Physical Therapy & Sports Rehab with a single outpatient clinic in 2002, growing it to five locations.As...

Like so many other states, the teacher shortage is hitting Washington hard.Staffing shortages in our schools have resulted in multiple cancellations of classes, leaving students and families to navigate shifting schedules and academic interruptions.The crisis has led the state to approve 10% more emergency substitute certificates, according to state schools...

A California couple sold their home and moved to the Tri-Cities to open an electric bike shop in Richland.The empty nesters wanted a new adventure after their daughters grew up and left home, so they began scouting places to launch a Pedego e-bike franchise.Troy and Erin Franzen had never been...

Kennewick’s Jordan DeVoir absolutely loves baseball.He loves everything about it. Playing it. Coaching it. Watching it.But perhaps making baseball products is where he’ll make his biggest mark in the game.DeVoir founded DeVo Bat Company in 2008. He makes wooden baseball bats for players ages 10 up to adults.Give him a...

The Kennewick, Prosser and Finley school districts face significant budget challenges after voters appeared to reject Feb. 8 ballot requests to renew the local property tax levies that supplement state funding to pay for basics such as building maintenance and educational programs.The districts could  hold another election this year to...

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington broke ground Feb. 3 on Pasco Haven, a 60-unit complex that will provide housing and other services to the chronically homeless in the Tri-Cities.The site is not in eastern Pasco where it once envisioned building Haven, but to the west at a spot not far from...

Pasco voters will get a fresh shot at building an aquatics center in April when they’ll be asked to raise the local sales tax by two-tenths of a percent.The Pasco Public Facilities District is putting the $40 million project on the April 26 ballot, nearly a decade after a similar...