The West Richland City Council has hired the construction and design team for the first phase of the city’s new police station.Chervenell Construction of Kennewick and Design West Architects of Kennewick were awarded a progressive design-build contract June 2. The contract is not to exceed $819,672.Design West chose TreanorHL Architects,...
The Benton County Commission encourages area residents to wear face masks to reduce the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19. The move came after the Washington Department of Health said it was pausing applications to move both Benton and Franklin counties to Phase 2 of the Safe Start program because of high infection rates in the Tr-Cities. Phase 2...
Did you know?Here in Washington, more than 93,000 small businesses and nonprofits have received $12 billion in forgivable the Paycheck Protection Program loans.During the past few weeks, I’ve been reading a lot about hope and its necessary role in healing, recovery and moving forward, not only as individuals, but as...
While Lamb Weston and Mid-Columbia potato growers were dealing with an unexpected surplus of spuds this spring, Mid-Columbia asparagus farmers had a different tale to tell.They had the skilled cutters they needed to bring in the harvest and prices were strong. 2020 was a solid year for the iconic first...
While the quality of grapes and winemaking in Washington state remain world-class, the global glut of wine continues to cut into the industry’s bottom line.Consumers stand to benefit, whenever shelter-in-place restrictions and pandemic-affected spending allow.“The Washington grape market is suffering from a structural imbalance between supply and demand that will...
Washington’s agricultural exporters faced brutal headwinds in 2019 and they are facing them again in 2020.Trade wars, retaliatory tariffs targeting the state’s most iconic crops and a new Pacific Rim trade alliance that didn’t include the U.S. marred the 2019 season, driving producers to seek new markets in Vietnam, the...
Covid-19 could hurt southeast Washington’s cherry crop by limiting the number of fruit pickers allowed in orchards.The fickle crop is healthy, delicious and highly profitable, but a litany of factors can threaten its success. If weather cooperates and diseases are kept at bay, the fruit must be picked, packed, shipped,...
The Washington apple industry has had a challenging year.Retaliatory tariffs. Labor shortages. And now a pandemic that has contributed to a slowdown in the supply chain.On the other hand, growers of Washington’s top agricultural product produced another large crop featuring a new star — the Cosmic Crisp, a new variety...
The state of Washington is under pressure to enforce social distancing guidelines at farms and orchards, but farmers say they can’t find enough agricultural workers to hire, and social distancing requirements interfere with plans currently in place.“We might force people into housing conditions that are less safe. If someone comes...
Demand for Mid-Columbia potatoes was growing every year — until coronavirus.Area potato growers specialize in varieties that taste great after freezing, while most Idaho potatoes wind up in the grocery store produce section. Southeast Washington potatoes head to processing facilities like those owned by Lamb Weston or the J.R. Simplot...
