General Manager, Legends CasinoLetisha PetersonNumber of employees you oversee: 700Brief background of Legends:Yakama Nation Legends Casino opened in May 1998, and we’re excited to celebrate 25 years in 2023. The casino has grown steadily since our opening, and we’ve taken the time to plan and build the necessary infrastructure along...
You don’t need to be a numbers geek to know that the pandemic wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry, here and elsewhere. Travel stopped, dining in became a dare and the workforce disappeared. None of the 19 large groupings, or sectors, of the local economy took so much of the...
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to meet Michael Landry, head of LIGO Hanford Observatory. He was part of the discovery team that detected gravitational waves that were created when two black holes collided 1.3 billion light years from earth. No one had ever “heard” the sound of...
The Port of Benton has been busy investing in promoting economic development in Richland, Prosser, Benton City and Benton County.The Richland-based port, has been welcoming new businesses, supporting workforce development and improving infrastructure.In Prosser, a triple ribbon-cutting in mid-September provided a belated celebration for businesses located in Vintners Village, a...
When Bunim Laskin was a kid in New Jersey, he was always looking for things to do.“I am the oldest of 12 kids,” he said. “And growing up, I never attended summer camp.”One day during a long, hot summer, Laskin eyed his neighbor’s swimming pool.“I convinced the neighbor to let...
The Reach Museum survived the pandemic, increasing admissions beyond pre-pandemic levels, celebrating its eighth anniversary and looking to the future with hope for an expansion at its Richland facility overlooking the Columbia River.“It’s really a milestone for us,” said Rosanna Sharpe, executive director.The museum was meeting its goals before the...
Golf tournament supports Arts CenterThe Arts Center Task Force is inaugurating a golf tournament to support plans to build a performing arts center.Par for the Arts starts at 8 a.m. Sept. 29 at the Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland. The fee is $125 for individuals and $500 for teams...
Mid-Columbia is being transformed into an 80-mile scaled replica of the solar system, one planetary orbit at a time.The ambitious project promotes science education and tourism by placing orbital markers representing each of the nine major planets (Pluto is included) in orbit around a 40-foot sculpture of the sun at...
The LIGO Hanford Observatory opens its much-anticipated visitor center to school children in September and to the public in October after a delay attributed to the pandemic.The LIGO Exploration Center, or LExC, is a short walk from the LIGO Hanford Observatory, the gravitational wave observatory whose Nobel Prize-winning work it...
From an economic perspective, measuring tourism is a bit dicey.Outside of a national “experimental” account from the U.S. Department of Commerce, government statisticians don’t track a sector labeled “tourism.” That’s because economic activity related to tourism cuts across several established ones: accommodations, food and beverage, retail, transportation, and arts and...
