Banking & Investments
STCU hits $5 billion, eyes more branches in the Tri-Cities
Five years after it expanded into the Tri-Cities, STCU reports it has hit important milestones on its way to becoming a $5 billion institution, making it Washington’s third largest credit union after Boeing Employees and Gesa. STCU, for Spokane Teachers Credit Union, has more than 250,000 members and 875 employees following its latest expansion, a…
Loans against investment accounts can offer compelling benefits
Though most Americans have at least a passing understanding of the ability to use the equity in a house to obtain a low-interest loan though a home equity line of credit (HELOC), there is a lesser-known option for obtaining quick line of credit financing that might offer more compelling benefits for some. The financing option…
Q&A with Leanne Antonio
Leanne Antonio President/CEO Yakima Federal Savings and Loan Association Number of employees you oversee: 130 employed by company with eight direct reports. Brief background of your business: We started in September of 2018. We started out of a love for people in our community and a passion for technology. At Applied Established in 1905, Yakima…
Banking & Investment Briefs – August 2022
FDIC clarifies what it covers. Hint: Not crypto Failures by cryptocurrency companies and other non-bank institutions are not covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The agency took the unusual step of issuing a fact sheet clarifying what is and is not covered by FDIC deposit insurance after some crypto companies inaccurately represented that crypto…
It pays to revisit investing basics in uncertain market
It has been a tough year for the market, battling the headwinds of record inflation, rising interest rates and Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, some portfolios may be more battered and bruised than others, depending on their investment selection. In times like these it pays to revisit the fundamentals and determine whether any adjustments need…
Tourism
Tri-City homeowners take the plunge into pool rentals
When Bunim Laskin was a kid in New Jersey, he was always looking for things to do. “I am the oldest of 12 kids,” he said. “And growing up, I never attended summer camp.” One day during a long, hot summer, Laskin eyed his neighbor’s swimming pool. “I convinced the neighbor to let me use…
Richland’s Reach Museum emerges
from pandemic leaner and stronger
The Reach Museum survived the pandemic, increasing admissions beyond pre-pandemic levels, celebrating its eighth anniversary and looking to the future with hope for an expansion at its Richland facility overlooking the Columbia River. “It’s really a milestone for us,” said Rosanna Sharpe, executive director. The museum was meeting its goals before the Covid-19 pandemic forced…
Tourism Briefs – August 2022
Golf tournament supports Arts Center The Arts Center Task Force is inaugurating a golf tournament to support plans to build a performing arts center. Par for the Arts starts at 8 a.m. Sept. 29 at the Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland. The fee is $125 for individuals and $500 for teams of four. Registration…
Cities embrace space when the solar system comes to town
Mid-Columbia is being transformed into an 80-mile scaled replica of the solar system, one planetary orbit at a time. The ambitious project promotes science education and tourism by placing orbital markers representing each of the nine major planets (Pluto is included) in orbit around a 40-foot sculpture of the sun at the Reach Museum in…
Exploration center caters to science-savvy community
The LIGO Hanford Observatory opens its much-anticipated visitor center to school children in September and to the public in October after a delay attributed to the pandemic. The LIGO Exploration Center, or LExC, is a short walk from the LIGO Hanford Observatory, the gravitational wave observatory whose Nobel Prize-winning work it shares with visitors old…