A Pasco-based union that got its start using cutting-edge technology on the top-secret Manhattan Project at Hanford continues to innovate as it prepares the next generation for careers as plumbers and pipefitters.
No Tri-City area lawmakers voted against the bill, though state Rep. Gloria Mendoza, R-Grandview, was absent for the vote, and two Yakima-area state lawmakers, state Reps. Chris Corry and Jamie Dufault, voted against it.
Zeno Power, which has ties to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, plans to grow its labor force to 100 employees in Seattle and Washington D.C. and invest in manufacturing to scale production and meet customer demand.
Its median home price of $406,000 – just above the national average – and slightly lower than average cost of living were cited as reasons for its selection.
The pace is picking up at Vista Field, which had two groundbreakings in the last 30 days as an eye care clinic and bridal boutique plan to make the Port of Kennewick-owned land home.
Federal lawmakers will next come up with their own budget proposals before negotiating a final budget ahead of the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
While the state oversees groundwater permits, some of the water comes from surface level irrigation as part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project. That co-mingling has made it difficult to determine who gets to use that water and what agency is responsible for it.
The bill is designed to reduce health care costs for the state. But the Washington State Hospital Association says it shifts the burden to care providers and that hospitals could lose around $100 million per year if the change becomes law.
