Articles by TCAJOB Staff
New 94-room hotel to open June 1 in Kennewick
The oft-delayed Comfort Suites Kennewick at Southridge will open June 1 after years of development. The 94-room value-oriented property is at 3703 Plaza Way in Kennewick. The $6.5 million hotel is owned by Kennewick Hotel Operations Inc. and managed by Spokane-based Hospitality Associates Inc. The project launched more than a decade ago under different ownership. The city of Kennewick approved building plans in 2009 but…
Tri-City entrepreneurs are a scrappy bunch
These are challenging times. Uncertain and troubling times. (Fill in your favorite adjective here) times. More than a quarter of a million people across our planet, including nearly a thousand in our state as of press time, have died from COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by the coronavirus. Our national, state and local economies are…
Walkabouts restore calm in crazy world, lead to new discoveries
By Wendy Culverwell & Kristina Lord The week of May 18 marks our ninth week working from our home offices for the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. It also marks more than 45 days of walks. Our daily WFH (working from home) routine includes a walk around the Tri-Cities—paved paths, sandy trails, bike routes, river…
Ben Franklin Transit, Via offer new on-demand service
Ben Franklin Transit has launched a new on-demand transit service to connect riders to the places they need to travel to most during the COVID-19 crisis. The new service—called BFT Connect—is powered by Via, a New York City-based company that provides an app, drivers and vans in cities across the world, under a $6.6 million,…
Colorado firm plans 600-megawatt Horse Heaven Wind Farm
A 600-megawatt wind farm south of Kennewick will employ 300 during construction and help cement the region’s status as Washington’s center for wind energy. Scout Clean Energy of Boulder, Colorado, will apply for a conditional use permit from Benton County for its Horse Heaven Wind Farm project later this year. Pat Landess, spokesman for Scout,…
New nonprofit wants to speed up Hanford cleanup, shift mission to energy
A new Tri-City nonprofit has formed to push for a faster cleanup at Hanford and transition to energy research and development. Bob Ferguson, Bill Lampson and Gary Petersen established Northwest Energy Associates with the twin missions of advocating for a faster cleanup and for a long-term focus on energy research. Ferguson, former U.S. Department of…
Q & A with Adam J. Fyall
Benton County Sustainable Development Manager Number of employees you oversee: 3 You have a unique role in Benton County government. What do you oversee and how did your job come to cover such diverse areas?I primarily manage our economic development, natural resources, intergovernmental affairs, Hanford-related and parks functions. While the county as a whole has…
American Lung Association: Washington air quality is worsening
Wildfires and wintertime wood fires helped drive Yakima, Spokane and the Seattle area to the top of the nation’s worst cities for air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2020 State of Air report. The Tri-Cities was not on the list, but Benton County received a failing grade for air quality in the report.…
Networking – May 2020
NEW HIRES • Joel Ockey has joined Cornerstone Wealth Strategies Inc., a full-service independent financial planning firm based in Kennewick, as a wealth advisor. Ockey has been in the financial industry since 2002. After graduating from the University of Saint Mary in 2002, he became a financial advisor at Waddell & Reed in Portland, Oregon.…
12 questions about contractors returning to job sites
The Building Industry Association of Washington has compiled a list of frequently asked questions for contractors returning to job sites after Gov. Jay Inslee amended the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order to allow some existing construction to resume if they comply with steps to hinder the spread of coronavirus. Jackson Maynard, general counsel, provides guidance…
