Our most-read online stories of the year paint a picture of our economy, where opportunity and challenge exist side by side.

Q&A with VJ Meadows, executive director, Tri-Cities Food Bank.

A longtime Port of Benton commissioner died at age 92. During his 27-year tenure on the commission, he played a pivotal role in shaping the region’s economic development. 

The city of West Richland is looking for applicants to fill a vacancy on its city council after voters elected one of the current council members as mayor.  

The top leadership of Washington state’s largest wine producer is being tweaked roughly a month after it was bought by a longtime lower Yakima Valley farm family. 

A plan to embed a high-voltage cable 10 to 15 feet beneath the Columbia River to better transfer the renewable energy generated east of the Cascades to the west side is now open to public comment. 

A Kennewick restaurant where a vegan, someone with a peanut allergy or following the keto diet could easily order from the same menu has shut down. 

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Tri-Citian of the Year Award. Nominees must exemplify the highest standards of community service and leadership. 

Kennewick School District’s $45.5 million modernization of Tri-Tech Skills Center is on schedule for completion in July 2026, setting it up to expand popular training programs and add new career pathways. 

A Tri-Cities nonprofit serving survivors of sex trafficking is making upgrades to its new outreach center in Kennewick after receiving a $15,000 grant.