Articles by Laura Kostad
Restaurant owners feel pinch of
food inflation
Price inflation has spiraled upward in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fallout from lockdowns compounded over the intervening months with the effects of other unexpected events on the world stage is leading to shortages and subsequent price hikes. Though inflation is felt by everyone across all sectors, perhaps nowhere does it hit harder than…
Tapteal Native Plants offers drought-tolerant landscaping alternatives
Tucked into a pocket of West Richland is a native plant haven.It’s a nursery in Ann Autrey’s backyard called Tapteal Native Plants. Her business is a grassroots effort to raise awareness about the value of native species, as well as to supply the Columbia Basin with region-specific varieties from its unique shrub-steppe habitat. Demand for…
Estate liquidation professionals help Tri-Citians clear out clutter
Have unwanted stuff lying around? Perhaps a whole houseful? Tri-City estate liquidators can help, offering a variety of selling formats including traditional tag sales, auctions and direct purchases. Estate sales aren’t just for the elderly, or even estates. Rick Craig, owner of Craig Estate Sales, has been running in-home tag sales throughout the Columbia Basin…
Einan’s launches alternative funeral home to bridge gap in death care
The funeral industry can be slow to change. But that didn’t stop Einan’s at Sunset Funeral Home in Richland from offering the alternatives customers were seeking. “The majority of people want customization, and they want unique options. The percentage of funeral homes that actually provide that is less than it should be,” said Holley Sowards,…
PNNL patents method of extracting lithium from water
The alchemists of yore sought to convert low-value lead into high-value gold. A solution to that puzzle remains elusive, but researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered something more applicable to present-day challenges. The lab has patented a game-changing new method of extracting lithium from water. There is a lot more suspended in H2O…
Columbia Birth Center offers alternative to hospital at new location
Columbia Birth Center pulled up roots this spring. The hospital and home birth alternative for those seeking more holistic health care services moved to an updated and more spacious location in Richland next door to the Kadlec Regional Medical Center campus. The birth center’s new home at 948 Stevens Drive was formerly occupied by Washington…
Growers report good volumes despite chilly spring
It’s hard to say how 2022 will play out for Washington’s cherry growers. “It’s always a weather-vulnerable crop, and there are many ways the cherry crop can be sabotaged by weather,” said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. “The joke is that cherry growers don’t have to travel to Las Vegas…
Apple industry renews focus on domestic market
As summertime approaches, consumers begin to look to local markets for the parade of fresh fruits, and apple orchards buzz with preparations for the late summer harvest. Last year, 122 million bushels were harvested in Washington, the nation’s leader in apple production. It was a moderate crop compared to past years that have seen totals…
Richland pharmacy redefines customer service
Doctor’s Pharmacy has been making steady inroads within the Tri-City community through its customer service-focused business model since opening last year. The pharmacy, at 65 Columbia Point Drive in the strip mall adjacent to Winco, joins only a handful of other privately-owned pharmacies in the area. Over the years, privately-owned pharmacies have given way to…
New franchise owners want to bake joy into their Bundt cakes
Tri-Citians need a little more cake. That’s what Julie Zirker believes. She’s the co-owner of the first Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in the Tri-Cities. It’s opening at 110 Gage Blvd., Suite 200, in Richland at the end of June. “We need a little more joy and a little more cake. They’re interchangeable,” she said. Zirker…
