Articles by Guest Contributor
New White Bluffs wine region will be north of Pasco
By Andy Perdue The Tri-Cities is philosophically and geographically in the heart of Washington wine country. And when the federal government approves a new American Viticultural Area north of Pasco, where some of the state’s oldest vines were planted nearly a half-century ago, the region’s position in the wine industry will be solidified. The AVA…
Hydrogen fuel cells gaining momentum
In the coming decade, investors are betting that hydrogen will become a prominent fuel that can eliminate carbon dioxide discharges from the vehicles it energizes. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector has dominated the growth in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, accounting for 69 percent of the total increase. It…
Better batteries likely to drive electric car market
By Andrew Kirk With a nuclear reservation, national laboratory and cutting-edge agricultural processing in the Tri-Cities’ backyard, Jeff Leskovar expected Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle Outlander would be well received. “We thought they’d be popular with Hanford scientists, a high-tech product like this,” he said. “But we sell a lot of them to Spokane.” Almost…
Snake River dam removal distracts from salmon recovery efforts
By Todd Myers Should Washington state risk 11 years of salmon recovery funding on something scientists believe will do little to increase salmon populations? How about eliminating electricity generation equivalent to every solar panel and wind turbine in Washington state? Essentially, those arguing we need to destroy the Snake River dams suggest we do both.…
SIGN Fracture Care ends 20th year with goals for next five years
By Andrew Kirk SIGN Fracture Care International ends its 20th year in business with a goal to more than triple the number of patients it serves each year over the next five years. Doctors trained by Richland-based SIGN treat long-bone fractures in 30,000 people per year in dozens of developing countries. The nonprofit manufactures the…
Online purchases, phishing, tech support scams among most reported in Tri-Cities
By Tyler Russell Your Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific wants you to be safe navigating the world when your money and personal information are involved. Scams popping up in your backyard are a fact of life, but we don’t have to be happy about it, and we can do something about it. Let’s dive…
2020 wish list should include making progress on Tri-Cities’ early learning gap
By D. Patrick Jones In this year-in-review issue, I’d like to look forward – far forward to the impacts of early childhood education in at least a couple decades. This is not the usual stuff of my columns, but the topic has significant implications for the future, including economic ones, of the greater Tri-Cities. As…
Your best friend can be a strict liability
By Beau Ruff Personal liability exposure is an important planning consideration. A person should be able to identify potential risks and assess means to mitigate those risks with the ultimate goal of reducing liability and the costs associated with the liability. In the world of liability, “man’s best friend” presents notable liability traps for the…
Sharing the spirit of the season across our state
By Kris Johnson Sometimes you meet a person who makes you feel proud to be a human being. When that person is only 10 years old, it’s especially inspiring. Several of us at the Association of Washington Business had exactly that experience recently as we prepared for the lighting of the 31st annual Holiday Kids’…
Expect changes to real estate excise taxes in coming year
By Dennis Gisi I was amazed at the number of items we voted to maintain or repeal that were listed on the Nov. 5 ballot that contained the phrase, “without a vote of the people.” I am not sure why I am surprised. I am learning a lot about how things are done in Olympia,…
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