Articles by Elsie Puig
Tri-City leaders offer tips to foster workplace LGBTQIA+ inclusivity
PFLAG’s Benton-Franklin chapter offers several training sessions every month for employers Janie Romine remembers the time she was counseled by administrators against openly talking about her gay son with her colleagues. It taught her a valuable lesson: the workplace is not inclusive and supportive by default. “That was a glaring example of discrimination of just…
Richland company adds new manufacturing plant, robotic automation
Plastic Injection Molding expansion allows for improved capacity, speed A north Richland company is poised for growth with the addition of a new 28,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in the back of its existing building that includes a 4,000-square-foot mezzanine. Plastic Injection Molding Inc. manufactures filter body parts for agricultural irrigation, special parts for medical diagnostic equipment,…
Tri-City’s only free medical clinic sees rise in patient volumes, visits
Grace Clinic — the only free medical clinic in the Tri-Cities — is seeing a greater volume of patients, pointing to a greater need for volunteers and services. In 2018, patient volume increased by 35 percent and there was a 25 percent increase in new patients over the previous year. Last year, the Kennewick clinic…
Longtime builders move to Tri-Cities after 22 years in North Dakota
A longtime custom home-building company with a successful operation in North Dakota has moved to the Tri-Cities. The father-and-son team of John and Stephen Worlund decided to move Anasazi Builders after almost 22 years to be closer to family. “We had to turn down 21 homes. We finished the last two homes in North Dakota.…
‘Weirdo’ publication gets new owners, publishers as it enters third year
The Tri-Cities’ self-proclaimed “local liberal rag” has new owners and publishers dedicated to keeping the scrappy two-year-old independent paper in print. Adam Brault, owner of &yet, and Sarah Bray, &yet’s chief of strategy, bought Tumbleweird — an eclectic alternative community zine (that’s short for “magazine”) in October. The 10-year-old Richland-based &yet is a design and…
Restaurateurs take baby steps toward brick-and-mortar ventures
Notice more food trucks opening brick-and-mortar locations? It’s a growing trend in the Tri-City food scene, accelerated in part by incubators like the Pasco Specialty Kitchen. Once mobile food vendors like Fresh Out The Box, Hot Tamales, Foodies and Mercy’s Pizza Taco have graduated from food truck to sit-down restaurants. And more hope to follow…
Employers preparing for state’s new paid family, medical leave program
In January, employers will begin collecting premiums for the state’s paid family and medical leave insurance program passed into law last year. Although benefits won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2020, this statewide benefits program will allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of guaranteed paid time off — 18 weeks in limited special…
Washington L&I considers salary revision for exempt employees
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries could soon be proposing new wage requirements for salaried executive, administrative and professional employees. The wage requirements would be tied to the state’s minimum wage, which is set to go up $1.50 every year through 2020 with the passage of Initiative 1433. The current proposal would increase…
Community First Bank launches rebrand, new website
Community First Bank recently underwent a rebranding to modernize its curb appeal and to unify its different business lines, which now include wealth management, trust services and home mortgages. Formed in 1997, Community First Bank, headquartered in Kennewick with branches in Richland, Pasco and Connell, is the longest running community bank in the area, according…
Award-winning Moses Lake dance studio expands to Pasco
When Danielle Andre opened Today’s Generation Dance Co. in Pasco, she hoped to continue a legacy of award-winning dance instruction that her mother Lori Baker and co-founders Peggy Earl and Janet Bergeson started 19 years ago in Moses Lake. Andre and her husband moved around the U.S. while he finished his medical degree. This allowed…
