By Marilou SheaIf you’re looking for flavors like bobcats, scorpions and goats, look no further than Harris Produce in Pasco. An institution of freshness, Harris’ all-natural produce has offered items like the bobcat varietal of tomatoes, scorpion varietal of super-hot peppers and goats, as in just goats, for the past...

By Lori AraujoThe Department of Energy’s Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center is a critical resource for worker health and safety at the Hanford site.The facility north of Richland features an 88-acre campus comprised of numerous classrooms, specialty training areas and props that create a variety of hazardous material and emergency...

By David ForsythOne sign that an industry is maturing and becoming an important part of the regional economy is the development of an educational infrastructure that trains its existing and future workers. David ForsythAdditional support comes in the form of research from some of these same facilities. Such is the...

By Annie FowlerThe uneven blacktop is gone. So are the weeds growing in the middle of the court, and the basketball hoops that had no nets.In their place is a quality playing surface, complete with green keys and gold free-throw lines. The baskets are reinforced to withstand even the mightiest...

By D. Patrick JonesThe Tri-Cities sport an enviable concentration of talent in science and technology. In economic statistics, most of these professionals show up in the sector “Professional & Technical Services”. The other sectors that contain tech workers are Information and Manufacturing.  While firms of lawyers and accountants make up...

By Don C. BrunellIt is impossible to ignore Lampson International’s monstrous cranes in its Pasco assembly yard. Those gantries stand out like the Space Needle in Seattle and reach over 560 feet into the sky. Don C. BrunellLike the Space Needle, Lampson is built on a solid footing. Last month,...

By D. Patrick JonesDiversity comes in many dimensions — gender, sexual preference, racial/ethnic makeup, to name a few. This column takes up one — racial and ethnic diversity — in part because it tells such an interesting story for the two counties.First, let’s state the obvious: Benton and Franklin counties...

By David ForsythVerasion is the harvest wake-up call for wine-grape growers and winemakers. The sign to get the harvester ready and the vats empty for the coming harvest. Verasion is the point of development where the berry starts to soften and plump and the fruit is making the final lap...