Proponents of last fall’s voter-approved gas initiative may be upset with how the state is implementing the law but that isn’t stopping them from working with the state to defend it against a constitutional challenge.
Work paid for by the grants include upgrading lighting to efficient LEDs, modernizing heating and cooling systems, implementing smart building controls to optimize energy use and developing compliance documentation, such as energy benchmarking reports, operations and maintenance, as well as energy management plans and audits.
Benton and Franklin counties saw its unemployment rate increase slightly from December 2024 to January 2025 despite Benton County adding nearly 1,250 workers to payrolls during that time and the region’s labor pool growing by fewer than 50 people.
Potential impacts to research funding at Washington State University from recent federal directives are being lessened, but university leaders say that projects and programs are still expected to lose millions of dollars.
Work on this west Pasco intersection includes installation of new traffic signals, dedicated turn lanes, bike lanes and other upgrades to support current traffic flow and as the area grows.
Senate Republicans have published the Legislature’s first budget proposal for the next biennium, and it includes full funding for a workforce program that has lifted hundreds of Benton and Franklin county residents out of poverty.
A man who was the first in his family to attend college and has held roles at multiple colleges and universities serving Black and Hispanic students is the new leader of Heritage University, which has a branch campus in Kennewick.
