Articles by Guest Contributor
Fertile ag area fuels food processing industry
By Arielle Dreher The Columbia Basin’s rich agricultural resources are well known at local dining room tables and restaurants. The confluence of the Yakima, Snake and Columbia rivers in the region, good soil for growing crops and a long growing season provide not just food resources but also fuel economic growth, jobs and sustainability for…
Tri-Cities has hold on NW industry hub
By Mark Fountain Today, many people do not know where their food comes from. But Tri-City residents can just look down the road and see some of the country’s largest food and beverage manufacturing facilities. The Pasco-Kennewick-Richland area and its surrounding counties are a major hub of food processing. Local companies make products including french…
Agricultural processing seeing rapid growth
By D. Patrick Jones Manufacturing in the greater Tri-Cities is synonymous with agricultural processing. Out of the nearly 7,900 manufacturing workers in the two counties in 2017, more than 70 percent commuted daily to an agricultural processing facility. Unlike other Eastern Washington metro areas, manufacturing doesn’t rank in the top five by the number of…
Herbal love can go beyond the stockpot
By Marilou Shea What’s green and typically soft, smells good and blankets you, your plate or room with swoon-worthy fragrance? Herbs. I love herbs! Can’t get enough of them. Mostly because they’re often pretty, smell good and have lots of variety. Sounds like a good first date, right? And what appeals to the logical part…
Snake River dams key to economy
By Don C. Brunell There are some dams that should come down and those that shouldn’t. Hopefully, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts its review of the 14 federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, that will become abundantly clear. That review is expected to be ready for public comment in late…
Be wary of offers for free medical equipment
By Tyler Russell Don’t fall for the free durable medical equipment scam that’s making the rounds among senior citizens. The Better Business Bureau is hearing from consumers — more than 200 since the first of the year — who have been targeted by scammers offering “free” back or knee braces. Here’s how the scam works:…
It’s time to invest in state’s infrastructure needs
By Kris Johnson Washington’s infrastructure is due for a major investment. Strong economies and livable communities are built on sound roads, bridges and highways, ports that move our goods efficiently to markets throughout the world, and access to safe water and reliable broadband internet in every corner of the state. A new report from a…
Emptying toxic waste from tanks at Hanford a taxing task
By Arielle Dreher In a way, when it comes to tank waste at the Hanford site, the easy stuff has been done. Toxic liquid waste can be transferred until it’s disposed of with a pump. But what about solid waste? What about a million-gallon tank with solidified toxic waste sitting inside? What about 177 of…
PUREX tunnels stabilized after collapse
By Arielle Dreher Nearly two years after a 20-by-20 foot portion of the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant’s Tunnel 1 caved in, both it and its larger sibling, Tunnel 2, have been stabilized. On May 9, 2017, U.S. Department of Energy workers discovered the 20-foot collapse of Tunnel 1, after noticing a background increase in radiation…
Risks linger with Plutonium Finishing Plant’s demolition
By Arielle Dreher The Plutonium Finishing Plant used to be called the Z Plant when the Hanford nuclear site produced plutonium because it was the end of production of the radioactive material before it was shipped to weapons production facilities. The PFP was a group of 60 buildings, which began operating in 1949, where workers…
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