Let’s face it – the Tri-Cities is a car town, or set of car towns.The number of miles Tri-Citians travel daily owes its origins to the settlement of not one, but three cities, or four, counting West Richland, in an area that has some distance between the communities. There are...
As Malin Bergstrom ponders the future of the aviation business her father Karl started in 1971, she is worried.The coronavirus pandemic all but froze travel, which hammered the Pasco business. It reported a 90 percent drop in fuel sales to airlines.It closed its flight school when Gov. Jay Inslee issued...
West Richland’s Tapteal Elementary will not open as planned this fall after construction stopped when a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus, which causes the deadly COVID-19.The shutdown is sending a ripple through the Richland School District’s construction schedule.Fowler Construction, the Richland contractor for the $20 million project, had...
These are challenging times. Uncertain and troubling times. (Fill in your favorite adjective here) times.More than a quarter of a million people across our planet, including nearly a thousand in our state as of press time, have died from COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by the coronavirus.Our national, state and...
Homebuilders and homebuyers appear undaunted by the COVID-19 crisis that has sidelined construction and much of the economy since March.Building permit activity dipped in April, but it is still solid for the year to date, according to new figures released May 7 by the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities.Local agencies...
A local union hopes the 1,450 workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Wallula will rethink collective bargaining after coronavirus spread through the workforce and killed at least one man.Teamsters Local 839 is “absolutely” interested in representing Tyson’s beef plant workers, said Russell Shjerven, secretary, treasurer and business agent. The...
Tri-City hoteliers found creative and unexpected ways to stay relevant after a wave of cancellations washed over the industry on what one owner called Black Friday in March.“People are definitely thinking outside the box,” said Michael Novakovich, president and chief executive officer of Visit Tri-Cities, the region’s tourism marketing agency....
An oft-used description of economics has been the “dismal science.” Most of us economists soundly dislike that nickname. After all, recent Nobel prize winners in economics have been rewarded for their insights into poverty alleviation (2019) and technological change (2018).But this month, I present some definitely dismal numbers.In a departure...
Port of Pasco officials are delighted and perplexed by the $5.9 million they received from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to support the Tri-Cities Airport during the coronavirus pandemic.Airport traffic is down more than 95 percent, casting its ability to pay the bills into chaos.The government money from the Coronavirus...
Ongoing safety measuresTo protect Ben Franklin Transit passengers and drivers, all vehicles and facilities are disinfected daily and social distancing measures are in place, including no fare collection and rear-door bus entry until further notice.BFT offers these reminders for riders:Passengers are encouraged to wear face coverings.If you are not feeling...
