By Kris JohnsonAs summer turns to fall and farmers wrap up their harvests, the changing season is a good reminder about the importance of trade and infrastructure for Washington’s economy.Apple growers in Wenatchee and Yakima, wheat growers on the Palouse, Mid-Columbia potato growers and Washington’s celebrated wine industry all rely...
By Beau RuffThere are many options available to pay for the education of a loved one. There are direct gifts, state-sponsored 529 plans and educational savings accounts, to name a few. But, if a person wants to use funds that are not available until after death and wants to influence...
By Andrew KirkSeveral Tri-City employers and nonprofit leaderscriticized the state’s proposal to overhaul its worker overtime exemption ruleat a recent public hearing, citing concerns about their bottom lines andability to serve customers and clients.More than 50 people attended an Aug. 6 hearing inKennewick—one of seven meetings held across the state—to provide...
By Andy PerdueOne of Washington’s topwinemakers has consolidated his operations in the Tri-City area.Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest Victor Palencia, owner ofPalencia Winery and Vino La Monarcha, recently closed his Walla Walla operationto focus on a tasting room and winemaking facility in downtown Kennewick and anew tasting room in West...
By Andrew KirkDespite recent ownership challenges, the Tri-Cities CancerCenter is not going anywhere and there will be no noticeable difference in itsoperations or the care it provides to cancer patients. That’s the message Chief Executive Officer Chuck DeGooyeris working hard to share.It’s an important message because a lot recently haschanged....
By Andrew KirkAs Tri-City baby boomers age, the number findingthemselves losing vision is expected to balloon. One in six Americans develop a visual impairment afterage 70, according to National Center for Health Statistics. It’s a scarystatistic people do their best to ignore, said Paul Shane, the new executivedirector at Edith...
By Michele RothSomeonerecently commented to me how they didn’t want to donate to a charity eventbecause the organization had a paid staff. Being from the nonprofit industry, Iwanted to know more about why they felt this way. The answer: the organizationwas a nonprofit, meaning nobody should be paid (at least...
By East Benton County Historical SocietySixty-five years ago this month, the Benton County Fair and Rodeo cameinto its own.Officially!By tradition, the bicounty fair is said to have begun in the late 1940swith the ending of the annual Grape Festivals, which for decades highlightedthe area’s rich agricultural history and practices. Spinning...
By Beau RuffFinanciallysuccessful people often contemplate the highest and best use of their assets.In some cases, those same individuals have decided that the natural objects oftheir bounty (i.e., the children) already have enough resources, or that momand pop have otherwise adequately provided for their children. Alternatively,some of these successful people...
By Byron Martin and Ty MulhollandWhen asking people for aword to describe the Tri-Cities, some of the answers that you hear might bewine, water sports, Hanford, agriculture or tumbleweeds. The last thing youwould expect to hear is “technology.” What most people don’t realize is thatthe Tri-Cities has a long and...
