Articles by Wendy Culverwell
Job growth continues to fuel housing demand
The upside-down economics of the pandemic are driving the Tri-Cities into something of a quandary. Record job development coupled with a severely constrained supply of homes for sale means it will continue to be difficult to buy a home. But it isn’t impossible, and the situation isn’t a crisis, according to industry leaders. “A crisis?…
Defendants have a right to counsel, but Tri-Cities struggles to hire enough lawyers
Providing legal counsel to criminal defendants and other low-income people facing court proceedings has always been a challenge in the Tri-Cities. Heavy caseloads, low pay relative to private practice, the lack of a local law school and now Covid-19 has not made it easier. But with 2022 now in full swing, the Offices of Public…
Port of Kennewick CEO claims retaliation for not stopping Latino medical clinic
Tim Arntzen, chief executive officer of the Port of Kennewick, is seeking $225,000 and to have performance reviews amended as a bitter dispute over a farmworkers clinic extends into its fourth year. Matthew Crotty, a Spokane attorney representing Arntzen, served the port with a notice of a tort claim on Jan. 4. In it, Arntzen…
Benton Franklin Legal Aid pivots to prevent evictions
Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society, the nonprofit legal services agency that connects clients with volunteer attorneys, pivoted to helping area residents facing eviction in 2021. Barb Otte-Potter, executive director, said that prior to the pandemic, about 80% of its work centered on family issues. The pandemic, coupled with the end of a ban on evictions…
Public defense in Washington has a new champion
Larry Jefferson Jr. will pay off his law school loans in about seven years. That would not be remarkable if Jefferson were a young attorney, just starting out. He’s not. He’s worked as a public defender in Seattle, and, more recently, Olympia, for more than 25 years since he graduated from the former University of…
Meals on Wheels dedicates new building, seeks help to restart deliveries
The new year brought good and bad for Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels and its parent, Senior Life Resources Northwest. It has a new office to handle growth at its Richland campus, but a lack of volunteers forced it to delay plans to resume daily meal deliveries to its homebound clients. Kristi Thien, nutrition services director,…
Investors pay top dollar to snap up Tri-City apartments
A buying frenzy hit the Tri-City apartment market in the waning weeks of 2021. Driven by tax considerations and attracted by the strong economic recovery and low rental vacancy rates, investors closed deals for complexes large and small, new and old. Investors paid big prices and signaled their confidence that future rent increases will justify…
Benton REA moving admin to West Richland
Benton Rural Electric Association will move its administration offices to West Richland from Prosser after closing a deal for nearly 18 acres near the former Tri-City Raceway on Dec. 20, 2021. The electric co-op is the latest entity to embrace the raceway site, which was dormant before the Port of Kennewick sold it to West…
Clover Island Inn buyer plans micro apartments
A developer wants to convert the Clover Island Inn to micro apartments, but it may face a significant roadblock. The 150-room inn, restaurant and conference center was built in 1977 on land leased from the Port of Kennewick. The port has ambitions for its prized island property that include transforming it into an upscale visitor…
Funding cut kills The Nineteen, luxe Kennewick project
A Tri-City developer has shelved The Nineteen, a luxury office-and-apartment project planned for downtown Kennewick, after a key lender cut funding by more than two-thirds. Andrew Klein and Brian Griffith, operating as Klein Griffith Properties Group, said the project was “effectively killed” in October when the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund Advisory Committee reduced its…
