It will come as no surprise to readers that Benton and Franklin counties boast a high number of engineers.According to data from the state Department of Employment Security (ESD), the area’s economy supported nearly 3,000 engineers in spring 2020.Those are numbers from the latest survey, published in July 2021. But...

Doug MitchellPrincipalMMEC Architecture and InteriorsDoug MitchellNumber of employees you oversee: We have seven partners and a total staff size of 19.Brief background of your business:I along with three others formed MMEC in 1999 in Spokane. We opened our Kennewick office in 2012.We do a lot of public projects – many...

The new year brought good and bad for Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels and its parent, Senior Life Resources Northwest.It has a new office to handle growth at its Richland campus, but a lack of volunteers forced it to delay plans to resume daily meal deliveries to its homebound clients.Kristi Thien,...

What a spectacular end to 2021 – the parties, the fireworks, Covid-19 omicron surges. Perhaps as an alternative to New Year’s Eve festivities, you were scurrying away in your home office, creating spreadsheets and gathering documents for the upcoming tax season. Or not. If you did, hopefully, you had a...

By Michael Samson Yakima Valley Business TimesMcCurley Integrity Dealerships of the Tri-Cities recently bought the Stewart Subaru dealership in Yakima.Now known as McCurley Subaru of Yakima, the business at 506 Fruitvale Blvd. is the company’s sixth dealership in the state.“One of the reasons why we wanted to come over here...

Chris ReykdalState schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal recently provided an update on Washington’s K-12 public education system, as well as his vision for transforming the last two years of high school.The Jan. 7 address was the first of what will be an annual update on Washington’s K-12 schools from the superintendent.In...

In the market for music equipment? Ed and Moe’s Pawn Shop & Guitar Bar is a store you’ll want to put on your list.It has typical pawn shop items – electronics, power tools, jewelry, collectibles – but Ed and Moe’s puts special focus on providing a replete inventory of secondhand...

Matt Ulrich owns a dog, two turtles, two tortoises and a couple of fish tanks at home.“I have fewer tanks at home than I used to,” he said. “I’ve got 300 tanks to take care of at Finatics.” That’s why people call Ulrich the Fish Guy.He owns Finatics Tropical Fish,...

A buying frenzy hit the Tri-City apartment market in the waning weeks of 2021.Driven by tax considerations and attracted by the strong economic recovery and low rental vacancy rates, investors closed deals for complexes large and small, new and old.Investors paid big prices and signaled their confidence that future rent...

Benton Rural Electric Association will move its administration offices to West Richland from Prosser after closing a deal for nearly 18 acres near the former Tri-City Raceway on Dec. 20, 2021.The electric co-op is the latest entity to embrace the raceway site, which was dormant before the Port of Kennewick...