Articles by Wendy Culverwell
You’ve heard about the vit plant, but do you know what it will do?
Every community has a local language, terms that are commonplace to locals but baffling to visitors. For the Tri-Cities, “vitrification” – the process of superheating nuclear waste with glass-forming materials for safe long-term storage – is one. It has been bandied about since the 1980s as plutonium production ceased at Hanford and later, in 1989,…
Friend of Hanford’ at odds with community leaders on breaching dams
An Idaho congressman is a well- known supporter of Hanford funding, but his ambitious plan to rescue salmon by breaching the four Lower Snake River dams is creating an awkward moment for his friends in the Tri-Cities. In February, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, released a $33.5 billion plan to remove the four dams, calling…
Retired Hanford chemist now tells overlooked stories of Black excellence
John Abercrombie had little use for history during the 28 years he worked as a chemist, analytical lab manager and employment officer at the Hanford site. History was a tangle of people he didn’t know, places he hadn’t been. He had a series of jobs to do, a family to raise. “I hated history, I…
Port of Kennewick bill for complaint tops $450,000
The Port of Kennewick has spent nearly $450,000 to address an “anonymous” complaint against two commissioners over a land sale dispute. The costs include $400,000 to investigate and adjudicate the complaint that Commission Chairman Don Barnes and Commissioner Tom Moak violated port policies and $49,000 to reimburse Barnes’ related legal fees. An investigator concluded both…
Police chief kicks off campaign season with run for port seat
Kennewick police Chief Ken Hohenberg is running for the Kennewick Port Commission seat held by Don Barnes in the 2021 election. Hohenberg registered his campaign with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission on Feb. 27. He announced his retirement from the city, effective February 2022, at the March 2 city council meeting. Financial documents show Hohenberg had raised more than $18,600 as of…
It’s go time for Pasco’s Osprey Pointe market
James Sexton is taking meetings with prospective vendors and ordering a pole building that will form the heart of an ambitious marketplace at Pasco’s Osprey Pointe. Sexton, president of JMS Development, has a development agreement with the Port of Pasco to install the equivalent of a small city on the port-owned waterfront in east Pasco.…
Airline veteran brings new carrier to Pasco, right on schedule
A Texas-based company led by the former head of Allegiant Air is launching a new carrier April 28 with a map that includes three weekly flights between the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco and Burbank, California. Houston Air Holdings Inc., formerly charter carrier Xtra Airways, announced the launch of Avelo Airlines to fly nonstop flights from…
WSU Tri-Cities says gift will help support energy future
Bob Ferguson, a longtime Tri-Citian, energy executive and entrepreneur, contributed $500,000 to Washington State University Tri-Cities to endow a faculty, position and set the stage to turn the Richland campus into a center for clean energy development. Bob Ferguson’s career took him from reactor physicist at Hanford’s B Reactor to the U.S. Department of Energy…
Matson Development building 642-unit self-storage facility
A Tri-City construction business with roots in excavation work is building a $5 million self-storage facility in western Kennewick. Kennewick-based Matson Developoment Co. is constructing its 80,000-square-foot project at 9501 W. 10th Ave. It will offer 642 storage units for rent. Construction should wrap by this fall. The storage facility is owned by Matson…
Swampy’s BBQ wants to put down roots at Columbia Gardens
It’s time to grow or die for Ron Swanby, who brought his barbecue truck and equipment to Kennewick’s Columbia Gardens Urban Wine and Artisan Village a little over a year ago. Swanby, owner of Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Eatery, wants to buy a sliver of land at the Port of Kennewick-owned site to build the…
