By Arielle Dreher Members of the Benton Rural Electric Association bought out a new solar co-op program in just a week, despite declining incentives for the renewable energy source. Troy Berglund, community development and member relations manager at Benton REA, said he did not know how the program would be received. “I was uncertain of…

Nearly one in five Americans now listen to audiobooks. That’s because smartphones have helped usher in a new way for consumers to digest books, and audio has quickly become the fastest growing format in the publishing industry. That’s according an Audio Publishers Association’s May 2017 survey. Despite the surge in popularity of audiobooks, voiced books…

Small businesses face a lot of challenges. And the least of business owners’ worries should be accepting payments from customers. In the modern era of chip cards, cryptocurrencies, Apple Pay, and other emerging payment methods, processing transactions can be a tedious and frustrating part of running a business. That’s where Kennewick’s BlockChyp comes in. The…

It turns out data analysis isn’t just a game for number crunchers. For one Richland manufacturer, it’s also a means of finding new ways to improve medical devices and equipment. During the nearly 20 years that SIGN Fracture Care International has been treating patients worldwide, the company’s vast network of surgeons has logged more than…

By D. Patrick Jones The 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 part of the first…

By Michelle Dupler Whether its ransomware, viruses, data theft or some other cybersecurity risk, a network breach can be one of a business owner’s worst nightmares — costing time, money and reputation. [blockquote quote=”At least one employee will click on anything.” source=”Byron Martin, owner of Teknologize” align=”right” max_width=”300px”] A 2016 report by the Better Business…

Pasha Rudenko started his materials science doctorate at Washington State University in 2009 with one goal: to make lubricants safer. “Lubricants are just a mixture of base oil, most often mineral or synthetic, or vegetable oil and additives,” said Rudenko, whose undergraduate degree is in materials science for nuclear reactors. “(The) toxicity of lubricants comes…

PNNL study finds opinion, emotion in tweets change when you get sick In the future, public health workers could monitor trends on social media to quickly identify a rise of influenza, depression or other health issues in a specific area, thanks to research at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. Public health…

Prototype reduces transport impact on bins of fruit, inventor says Pasco-based HarvestMoore prototype fork impact limiter is now in production, with one run scheduled in time for apple harvest. The new invention is designed to reduce the shock loads and impact to fruit bins carried by forklifts. Prototype testing completed last month showed reduced impacts…