Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business - October 2019

October 2019

Volume 18 • Issue 10

Focus Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities

300 layoffs loom as plant shuts down apple packing line

BY ANDREW KIRK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

2019-20 specialty publication of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Focus magazine

10/3/19 8:32 AM

Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities Specialty publication inside

Food

Restaurant supply store moves, expands showroom Page 13

Real Estate & Construction

Costco’s busy food court gets overhaul Page 23

Education & Training

Apprenticeships offer path to lucrative careers Page 39

uZIRKLE, Page 4

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Focus Fall 2019.indd 1

Almost 100 people will lose their jobs at Zirkle Fruit Co.’s Prosser plant in October and about 200 more will be laid off in the coming months.

The layoffs are necessary as the Selahbased Zirkle Fruit Co.’s plant at 101 Max Benitz Road closes its apple packing line.

The layoffs begin Oct. 17.

A company statement said it was a “difficult decision,” and “we see employees as part of the family,” but also that “maintaining and continually modifying multiple apple packing operations has been a difficult task.”

Zirkle will consolidate its apple packing operations at its Selah facility.

“Zirkle Fruit will continue to store bulk fruit and run their winery operations yearround at the Prosser facility. They will also pack and ship cherries seasonally and this is expected to generate approximately 300 seasonal positions,” according to a statement released by the company.

Deb Heintz, executive director of the Prosser Economic Development Association, said about 20 percent of the 300 employees—or roughly 50 people— are Prosser residents.

Heintz said the company is working to relocate as many of the 300 apple packing workers to Selah as possible. That’s good for the workers but still a loss for Prosser, she said.

“We had an influx of people here every day. They need groceries, to buy fuel, to shop businesses here. It makes a difference for the economic base in our community,” Heintz said. “We don’t like to see these things, but they happen.”

When a ConAgra Lamb Weston potato processing facility in Prosser closed in 2010 it took about 75 jobs with it. The plant was eventually bought by a new

Photo by Robin Wojtanik Richland’s Shilo Inn at 50 Comstock St. has remodeled its common areas, repainted and rebranded itself as a riverfront property. The name change will be official at the end of October.

Multimillion dollar hotel projects offer visitors more getaway choices

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Tri-Cities will add more than 300 hotel rooms to the market when multiple hotels open in the next year.

And more rooms will be available in 2021 and beyond, with other hotel projects currently in the planning stages.

The opening of three hotels with a combined value of $21.5 million will increase the number of available rooms to 4,285 this year and 4,506 in 2020.

Today, there are 4,191 hotel rooms in the Tri-Cities.

Five years ago, there were 3,361 hotel rooms. Since then, Home2 Suites opened in the Queensgate Drive area of Richland,

Hampton Inn & Suites opened in west Pasco and SpringHill Suites welcomed guests next door to the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

In this competitive field, existing hotels are working hard to attract guests by renovating their properties and changing their names.

“The addition of more hotels in the TriCities is a wonderful thing for visitors as they have more choices from nationally recognized brands,” said Michael Novakovich, president and chief executive officer of Visit Tri-Cities. “It also shows that investors continue to view the TriCities as a viable market for new hotel investments. The Tri-Cities has experi-

uHOTELS, Page 30

Kennewick YouTube celebrity trades 9-to-5 life for professional gamer gig

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

It’s not easy to describe what Kennewick’s Lance Frisbee does for a living.

He’s a gaming celebrity, social media influencer and YouTuber.

“There are a lot of people who are really curious about my line of work. They want to know why I travel all over the world. I am still working on my elevator pitch; I’ve got to get that down. The best way I can describe it is ‘ESPN for nerds,’ ” he said.

The 36-year-old helps broadcast and entertain an online audience with video game content—more specifically, a multiplayer video game, PlayerUnknown’s

Battlegrounds, or PUBG, through a YouTube channel that boasts nearly 1.5 million subscribers.

Frisbee—who operates Powerbang Gaming, or Powerbang—posts daily content recorded in his home studio on PUBG gaming tips, tricks and tutorials for those interested in building their skill set at the popular mobile game.

Statsmash.com estimates Powerbang Gaming’s brand has a net worth of more than $1 million, collected from ad placement, sponsorship, celebrity appearances, winnings and more.

Yet Frisbee said he’s continuing to work to diversify his overall brand and become uPOWERBANG, Page 10

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PASCO, WA PERMIT NO. 8778

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Kennewick company plans to go public this fall UNIBEST International simplifies method for gardeners, commercial farmers to predict what’s next for their crops

Commercial applications

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A Kennewick company already selling a popular soil-test kit on Amazon is poised to grow its success when it goes public this fall.

“What I see this company doing is going from several million in sales to a whole lot more,” said James Katzaroff, senior vice president for finance for UNIBEST International. “We’re going to save fertilizer costs, save the planet and bring either a better yield or better product.”

Currently operating in a small Kennewick strip mall near West Clearwater Avenue, the company has developed an ion-exchange resin technology used in the Soil Savvy home and garden kits that also is used in largerscale applications.

The technology allows a gardener or farmer to practice precision agriculture by converting raw field data—what’s in the soil—into specific recommendations on what to apply to the dirt—and when —to optimize plant health and soil quality.

“There’s a big shift in this predictive analysis, and we expect to be the leader,” Katzaroff said.

Home kits

The kits sell on Amazon for about $30, allowing UNIBEST to analyze customers’ lawn or garden soil needs by determining their soil’s composition and to recommend what nutrients their plants might benefit from.

UNIBEST has sold thousands of kits and shipped them to more than five dozen countries in recent years. It’s also been featured on the Rachel Ray Show.

“There’s only a certain form of nutrients that are available for the plant to uptake through its root structure. We have

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Courtesy of Dennis Bullock/Evergreen Cottage A Kennewick company has sold thousands of boxes of its Soil Savvy home soil-test kits on Amazon. Now, UNIBEST International is poised for an expansion when it goes public this fall.

a technology that measures what is bioavailable, so it acts like a synthetic plant root,” said Mark Riess, chief executive officer for UNIBEST. The home kit comes with sample jar with a plastic capsule that mimics plant roots, a soil scoop and pre-paid return mailer that gets sent to a lab in Walla Walla, which tests the soil and determines what nutrients are available to the plants —not just currently, but in the near future.

“A regular soil test will tell you what’s in the soil but not necessarily what’s available to the plant,” said Dennis Crass, president of EcoTrack Services, a division of UNIBEST International. “We bridge the gap using our technology. It will tell you what’s available to the plant, and what we’ve been able to demonstrate is, our data can tell you two to four weeks out, what will be in the plant. Whether it’s cannabis or hemp, or from the agricultural side, we can help you make proactive decisions on what you need to recover, rather than a reactive decision.

Because once you find it in the plant, if you have deficiencies, it’s too late.”

The company said this is the crucial difference between a basic soil test that could run about $50, or a test on the tissue of the plant to determine what’s

inside. Neither has the predictive technology to allow a commercial farmer or home gardener to make necessary changes to save their crop or lawn.

“It’s like going to the doctor when you’re sick. Wouldn’t you rather just not go to the doctor?” asked Katzaroff. “If you get a cold, it doesn’t matter how much zinc you take. In this case, the plant is our patient.”

The company’s Soil Savvy kits have proven popular with those interested in growing cannabis or hemp, allowing the fertilizer recommendation report to be tailored to the specific growth stages of the plant, which may be critical for overall quality and results.

UNIBEST plans to market a different kit, using the same technology, specifically for cannabis growers.

The company uses the same technology found in the lawn and garden kits on a larger scale to measure nutrients in bigger farming operations, streams and watersheds, Riess said.

“Our goal and objective is to get our solutions into the cloud. That allows us to work with our worldwide partners, like large agronomic partners, to allow lab partners all over the world who can handle our systems,” he said. “What’s really the value-add is the data, from understanding and knowing what to apply and when to apply it. The timing is very crucial.”

Additionally, the company can work with growers to get desired results based on soil quality and fertilizer choice.

“You tell us your crop, you tell us your yield goal, you tell us the growth stage, and we can do very intense calculations and we’ll tell you if you’re in a sufficiency range and then we’ll give you a recommendation on the major ones, including what fertilizer to buy and the rate in which to apply it,” Riess said.

“If you come in and say, ‘I want to grow soybeans, and here’s my soil and I’m looking at these three or four products, which one would work better to give me the best results?’ We can do that in a month in the lab, or less,” Crass said.

The same technology is being used to improve water quality in areas ranging from golf course ponds to the Chesapeake Bay or Mississippi River Delta.

“One of the big issues out there right now is over-fertilization and the nutrients are getting into watersheds,” Crass said.

“You get the nutrients feeding the algae, the algae die, the bacteria feed off that, the bacteria basically deplete the oxygen and then nothing can live in those areas.” uUNIBEST, Page 5

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 ZIRKLE, From page 1

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The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, a publication of TriComp Inc., is published monthly and delivered at no charge to identifiable businesses in Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Kennewick, Prosser and Benton City.

Subscriptions are $27.10 per year, including tax, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of TriComp Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed in guest columns and by advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, other columnists or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by staff, columnists or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

company, and it brought jobs—but not as many as were lost, Heintz said.

Heintz also said the Zirkle apple processing closure isn’t surprising.

“Ag has been hit very hard in general the last six years. They need to catch a break,” she said.

Chris McGann, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, agreed tariffs, low milk prices and drought conditions have created challenges for Eastern Washington farmers.

Despite the challenges, the state boasts a $10.5 billion average in production value from more than 300 products.

That said, Washington state was home to fewer farms between 2012-17,

with less land dedicated to orchards, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Heintz pointed to other bright spots in Prosser, where the population has grown 7.5 percent in the past nine years to more than 6,100 people.

Heintz said the city’s building permit requests for the first nine months of the year are nearly double the previous record set in 2016. “Quite frankly commercial and residential construction growth is off the charts,” she said.

Total permit valuation for 2015-16 averaged $23.5 million annually, Heintz said. Prior to that, the average was about $8 million annually. The last two years have averaged about $20 million annually, but this year is on track to be more than $40 million, she said.

Heintz also said the building occupied by the former Shopko Hometown store, which closed in spring 2019, could have a new occupant soon that could bring 35 to 40 new jobs.

Shopko declared bankruptcy in early 2019 and shuttered stores nationwide, including Kennewick’s.

Heintz said the Shopko closure created a need in the community for new retailers, and the association is working to recruit businesses.

As the Zirkle layoffs loom, the company and several agencies stand by to help affected employees.

“We are now doing everything in our power to be there for the impacted employees, with as many resources as possible, during this difficult transition,” according to the company’s statement.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act generally requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide notice 60 days prior to closures and layoffs. Notices must be given to affected workers or their representatives, the local government and the state’s rapid response team, which works to aid workers losing their jobs.

Crystal Bright, operations manager for WorkSource Columbia Basin, said once this notice is filed, several partnering entities—including government, educational institutions and private agencies—collaborate to offer assistance and information to laid-off workers.

This includes unemployment insurance, an explanation of how WorkSource can help with employment and training, such as labor exchange and dislocated worker services, as well as other resources.

Anyone affected by the Zirkle Fruit layoffs can seek these services by contacting Jamilet Nerell at 509-734-5984 or jnerell@bf-wdc.org.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Small business resources workshop coming to Pasco

Learn more about state regulations, compliance issues, paid family and medical leave tax responsibilities and how to avoid paying penalties at an upcoming workshop.

Business-friendly representatives from the state departments of revenue, employment security, labor and industries, and the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Innovation and Assistance have teamed up to offer information to businesses.

Learn about regulation updates; programs and services; a one-stop website; and best practices and tips for success at the free workshop.

The class is from 9:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 24 at the Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center, 2525 N 20th Ave., Pasco.

Register online at http://bit.ly/ smallbizclass. Class size is limited.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 UNIBEST, From page 3 The test kits can be used to determine where the farmland runoff is occurring, he said.

The company is participating in a long-term study of Mill Creek in Walla Walla to help isolate the sources of pollution.

UNIBEST also teamed up with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) to mitigate and repair waterways.

“Instead of farming right up to the edge of the stream, you leave a buffer area of brush, shrubs, trees that help pick up the nutrients as they run through,” Crass said. “Farmers don’t like that because it’s money out of their pocket.

Virginia Tech is looking at crops that can be harvested. We’re using the agriculture manager kits to get a baseline on nutrient buildup and eco-trackers in the groundwater to look at what are the nutrients, not just in the groundwater getting past the red zone of the plant and into the water column.”

The control plots use hazelnut trees in the repairing areas as a buffer, but they also can be harvested so farmers aren’t losing out on potential income from an unplanted portion of land.

“Once the hazelnut trees have matured, we’ll put trackers into streams. Then we’ll know what’s in the field, what’s getting below the red zone migrating through the repairing area and what’s making it into the stream, to determine how effective the repairing area of the hazelnut trees will be,” Crass said.

Going public

As it prepares to go public, UNIBEST is looking to partner with more labs around the world that could run the technology it has patented, with some adjustments.

“We’re trying to set up lab partnerships in Vietnam, the U.K. and Chile,” Riess said. “So with that comes interpretation.

What’s corn here is maize in the U.K. What’s pounds per acre here is kilograms per hectare. When we do all these calculations, we have to do a conversion of all of our reports, along with the language barrier.”

The expansion is expected to increase staff “dramatically” at UNIBEST, which currently employs about a dozen people, and likely means a name change for the company, though a new one has not yet been determined.

“We would definitely be adding staff as far as agronomists and other key functions. But we’d also be looking for niche skills, like with cannabis, within that skillset,” Crass said.

“This company has got the opportunity to do a $500 million to $1 billion market cap due to the amount of people who are coming to the company who want to do work. The technology with the patents is fantastic,” said Katzaroff, who is excited about the possibilities ahead. “There is no competition that we’ve ever found yet.

So, properly mined, this is huge.”

Kennewick’s UNIBEST International is expected to be on the Over-TheCounter Bulletin Board, the electronic quotation service for investors and traders, within the next 45 days.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Connect Tri-Cities returns on Oct. 22

Connect Tri-Cities will bring job seekers, employers, educators, labor, tribes, veterans and industry leaders together during this year’s Connect Tri-Cities event on Oct. 22.

Connect Tri-Cities offers visitors an opportunity to engage with the Tri-City community, Hanford contractors, small businesses and youth.

One of the highlights is the STEM Scholarship Competition for high school students, featuring 17 teams. Teams of five students and a faculty advisor from local high schools will put their STEM skills to the test in this challenge.

The top five teams compete Oct. 21 for $20,000 in scholarships. Winners will be announced Oct. 22.

Connect Tri-Cities also will feature an all-day opportunity fair Oct. 22.

Community employers, including Hanford contractors, organized labor unions, manufacturers, national laboratories, colleges and universities, and more, will be present.

On-site résumé review and interview preparation also will be available.

A sold-out veterans luncheon will feature retired Gen. James Mattis, the 26th U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Connect Tri-Cities will offer breakout sessions focused on science, technology, engineering and math topics, with live demonstrations featuring scientist Kevin Delaney and Hanford laboratory contrac-

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tor Veolia, as well as digital media influencer Lance Frisbee and YouTuber Sally LePage.

Attendees also can meet with colleges and universities from across the Northwest and listen to speakers, such as local executive coach Semi Bird and nationally-renowned speaker Edward DeJesus. Presentations geared toward veterans and focused on the next generation Hanford workforce also are on the schedule.

Connect Tri-Cities is sponsored by Hanford contractor Mission Support Alliance and its corporate partners Leidos and Centerra Group.

More information and a detailed schedule of events can be found at connect-tricities.com.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

DATEBOOK

VISIT TCJOURNAL.BIZ AND CLICK ON EVENT CALENDAR FOR MORE EVENTS

OCT. 16

• Tri-Cities Diversity Summit: 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Register: tricityregionalchamber.com

OCT. 17

• Building Bridges & Breaking Down Barriers: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the HAPO Center (formerly TRAC), 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco. RSVP: 509-378-5333.

• Tour D’ Arts: 5-9 p.m., Tucannon Cellars Winery, 40504 N. Demoss Road, Benton City. Go to: 509tourdearts.com.

• Blessed to be a Blessing, benefiting Center for Sharing: 6-8 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: centerforsharing.org.

OCT. 17-20

• Tour D’ Arts: various

times and Tri-City locations.

Go to: 509tourdearts.com.

OCT. 18

• Hearts are Wild Gala, benefiting Junior Achievement: 6-10 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: juniorachievement.org.

OCT. 22

• Connect Tri-Cities Opportunity Fair: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

Go to: connect-tricities.com.

OCT. 23

• Strategies for Success Workshop: 4-5 p.m., Port of Pasco, 1110 Osprey Pointe Ave., Pasco. RSVP: 509734-1000 ext. 235.

OCT. 24

• Washington Policy Center’s annual dinner: 6-9 p.m., Davenport Grand Hotel,

333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane. Tickets: washingtonpolicy.org.

OCT. 25

• A Place to Call Home, benefiting Elijah Family Homes: 7:30-8:30 a.m., Best Western Plus, 1515 George Washington Way, Richland.

RSVP: efhaplacetocallhome. eventbrite.com.

NOV. 5

• Prosser Chamber member luncheon: noon to 1 p.m., Jeremy’s 1896 Public House, 1232 Wine Country Road, Prosser.

RSVP: 509-786-3177.

NOV. 6

• Lighting the Path Breakfast, benefiting Chaplaincy Health Care: 7:30-8:30 a.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

RSVP: 509-783-7416.

• Tri-Cities Alzheimer’s & Dementia Conference:

9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Bethel Church, 600 Shockley Road, Richland. Call: 509-3214581.

• West Richland Chamber Monthly Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mayfield Gathering Place (formerly Sandberg Event Center), 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland. RSVP: 509-967-0521.

• National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association #1192 monthly meeting: noon, Red Lion Hotel, 1101 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick.

Call: 509-378-2494.

NOV. 7

• Meet the Buyer: Army Corps of Engineers: 9-10:30 a.m., Tri-Cities Business and Visitor Center, Bechtel boardroom, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

RSVP: washingtonptac.org.

NOV. 9

• Autumn Affair, benefiting the Tri-Cities

Cancer Center Foundation: 5:30 p.m., Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 S. Oak St., Kennewick. Tickets: 509737-3373.

NOV. 12

• Visit Tri-Cities’ annual meeting: noon to 1:30 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP: visittri-cities.com.

• Ask the Experts: GoalSetting: 3:30-5 p.m., TriCities Business and Visitor Center, Bechtel boardroom, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Register: tricityregionalchamber.com.

• Columbia Basin ASQ dinner meeting: 5:30 p.m., Joker’s Event Center, 624 Wellsian Way, Richland.

RSVP: 0614asq@gmail.com.

NOV. 14

• Tri-Cities Farm Hall: noon to 2 p.m., The HAPO Center (formerly TRAC), 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco.

RSVP: washingtonpolicy.org.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

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In-home care employer shift now underway

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A Montana-based company soon will manage individual providers who offer inhome care to clients through the state’s Department of Social and Health Services.

It’s a switch from the current system that has DSHS handling all administrative functions. Now, Consumer Direct Care Network out of Missoula will become responsible for 20,000 individual care providers across 22 counties in much of the southern part of Washington state, including Benton and Franklin counties.

Consumers will continue to be able to select, schedule, supervise and dismiss their individual providers.

CDCN recently was selected as one of two employers contracted with DSHS to oversee individual providers, with the other company handling the remaining 17 counties in the central and northern part of the state.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Ben Bledsoe, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “It’s the biggest thing we’ll probably do as a company, so it’s very important for us to succeed.”

The conversion is underway following a change in law that required a consumerdirected employer to manage these workers, removing the burden from DSHS. In promotional materials, the state said this “will make the system work more smoothly for everyone,” suggesting it will free up case managers to have more time with the clients actually receiving services. Prior to this, case managers and staff at offices across the state had taken on additional duties to manage individual providers, including timecard approval, background checks and training.

CDCN will now be the legal employer for all individual providers in the region.

These individual providers offer care to clients for everything from bathing, dress-

ing and grooming, and also may cover social supervision and respite care.

Typically, the workers have skills similar to a certified nursing assistant, offering inhome care for daily life tasks. Due to the often sensitive, private nature of the role, clients always have had the ability to choose who works with them, and this won’t change.

“The client still gets the choice to hire, fire and train,” Bledsoe said. “Typically they have a better satisfaction with the services they receive, a better way to control what’s happening in their home. It doesn’t necessarily eliminate those folks that want to do a traditional model of service where we send people into their homes. We’re not absolved of that by making sure quality care happens.”

The process to find a contracted employer began last year and is expected to be fully in place by summer 2021. By that time, CDCN will take on all responsibilities currently administered by Aging and Long-Term Support Administration, Developmental Disabilities Administration

and the Area Agencies on Aging.

Bledsoe said he’s targeting March or April 2021 for the switchover to begin so that everything is in place by the official July 1, 2021, start date.

“When you have 20,000 people who are basically grandfathered in, they’ll have to fill out some paperwork, because that’s how the world works,” Bledsoe said. “If you’re a new carrier, you’ll do some sort of application online, and we’ll make sure you’re matched up with a client, someone who’s receiving services, or that person receiving services may submit that application directly to us.”

Bledsoe said his company has been preparing to increase the capacity of those it employs, already providing care in 17 states with the intention of using a model that was first tested in Virginia.

“Washington’s got a very unique model of service,” Bledsoe said. “We’ll have some local staff. We plan on having five offices and then a handful of home offices across the southern part of Washington state. Our goal is to make sure that you can

reach a representative of ours face to face within 90 minutes if you really need to, no matter where you are in the state. So we’re not just going to be sitting here in Missoula pretending like we know what goes on in Washington.”

The roll out will coordinate with a change in federal law known as an “electronic visit verification” and will require electronic timecard reporting from individual providers who visit a person’s home.

It’s an additional change in processes for the providers during a similar timeframe, but the impact to clients receiving services is expected to be minimal.

“Our goal is to always have that continuity of care and for it to be as painless as possible but we acknowledge there will be some painful points,” Bledsoe said. “We want to make sure we get out and communicate with everyone, introduce who we are, not just a big out-of-state entity.”

For the caregivers, Bledsoe also hopes the switchover is well received. “You’re changing your employment relationship, uCDCN, Page 8

Civil Arbitration Attorney / Succession Partner Allen Brecke Law Offices is recruiting for an experienced personal injury litigator.

Allen is AV Preeminent® (Bar and Judiciary), 2013 Tri-Citian of the Year, and interested in engaging either an apprentice or junior partner who will gradually take over the practice. Former hourly defense counsel are encouraged to apply.

Allen has been involved in over 150 jury trials (plaintiff and defense) and over 250 Civil Arbitrations, all plaintiff. Over the years, Allen has developed better than average organizational and marketing talent, plus a decent procedures, forms and data inventory.

He intends to maintain his two law licenses about 7 more years.

Allen’s staff consists of Chief Technical Writer Brian Kady, CLA, with ABLO over 24 years, Senior Case Managers Erica (14 years) and Malcolm (10 years), Systems Analyst Brando Suarez (10 years), and 3 part-timers.

We offer a comfortable, professional work environment, full benefits, and creative camaraderie. Please submit an email or letter of interest with resume to allen@allenbrecke.com; all inquiries will be kept confidential.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Roasters’ future at busy Gage Blvd. corner uncertain Demolition work on a former south Richland gas station is complete but the corner lot’s future is still up in the air.

The gas station at 590 W. Gage Blvd. closed in the spring, and the owner of the local Roasters coffee chain announced his plan to add a drive-thru coffee stand there.

But the plan has hit a snag, with Roasters owner Wes Heyden citing concerns about the site.

“There have been some concerning issues with the Department of Ecology on this site. It may derail the possibility of Roasters building there. While the deal has been penciled out, these issues may

keep us from being able to move forward on this project,” he said.

The property is owned by Circle K Stores Inc. and realtor Lance Bacon of Kiemle Hagood said it is in the process of being sold with a December closing date.

The underground gas tanks were removed, and Bacon said the state Department of Ecology added well monitors for additional testing.

Ecology has listed the property as a “confirmed or suspected contaminated site,” with six contaminants suspected in the groundwater and two confirmed in the soil.

Bacon said the site would be great for a quick service restaurant, possibly serving subs or pizza.

Bacon intends to market the property with new signs advertising it is available

for lease.

Since the plans for the property are not finalized, the building will not be demolished unless it is determined a future tenant won’t need it, Bacon said.

Airport reports record number of summer travelers

The Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco recorded 119,894 outbound passengers during the summer months of June, July and August—an 11 percent increase above the previous summer’s figures.

The trend sets up the airport to finish the year with another record number of travelers.

Airlines count their passengers in terms of enplanements, or the number of people who board an aircraft at an airport. With

286,537 enplaned passengers this year so far, PSC is up 13 percent over 2018.

All four airlines that serve Pasco have shown growth this year.

United Airlines currently leads the pack with a 32-percent increase, as the airline added a third daily flight to Denver last year and began new nonstop service to Los Angeles this spring.

Delta Airlines served the largest number of travelers in Tri-Cities, with 55,199 enplaned passengers in the summer months, and is up 16.3 percent this summer over last.

Alaska Airlines, which flies six times each day to Seattle, is up 9 percent over 2018, and Allegiant Airlines’ move to an all-Airbus fleet allowed the airline to grow 13 percent more than last year.

A total of 785,164 people traveled through the airport in 2018—the best year on record.

Local businesses named finalists for Torch Awards

Two Tri-City businesses were named finalists in the Better Business Bureau Northwest and Pacific’s 2019 Torch Award for Ethics contest.

The award honors organizations demonstrating exceptional commitment to building trust and integrity with their customers, fellow business owners and communities.

This year, nearly 300 businesses and charities were nominated.

Torch Award finalists from the TriCities included Frost Me Sweet of Richland and Campbell & Company of Pasco.

All Travel Guru of Post Falls, Idaho, and Precision Tax Relief of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, were both named Business of the Year.

Additionally, BBB added a new honor this year, the Spark Award, to recognize newer businesses that exhibit the Torch Award values of ethics, integrity and building trust among staff, customers and around their communities. This year’s Spark winners were Arrottas Automax and New Beginnings LLC, both of Spokane.

CDCN, From page 7 you’re changing who your paycheck comes from, managing Medicaid dollars coming through and you’re also doing a new time sheet system. With all that, there are some hurdles to clear, and we have roughly a year and a half to do it,” he said.

Both the state and CDCN aim to improve service with the new system, allowing more time for clients and their case managers, and for individual providers to work with a single entity for all employment needs.

“We’ve been preparing our own company for a large leap in our capabilities, trying to scale up to take on large volumes of clients, caregivers and support them the way we like to support them. We want to have people feel like they’re the only ones an organization cares about,” he said.

The state is offering monthly webinars for interested parties to receive updates on the changeover, the next scheduled for Oct. 22. Go to dshs.wa.gov/altsa/ stakeholders/consumer-directed-employer.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Pick up your playground pickets before Oct. 30

The deadline to claim the pickets from the original Playground of Dreams is approaching.

Pickets are available for pickup at the Southridge Sports and Events Complex, 2901 Southridge Blvd., during business hours through Oct. 30.

There are 1,423 pickets engraved with names of donors who helped fund the 2004 playground rebuild after the original structure was destroyed by fire. They were removed by volunteers in 2018 in preparation of the playground rebuild.

For more information, contact Brandon Lange at 509-585-4279 or brandon.lange@ci.kennewick.wa.us.

Additional information is also available at go2kennewick.com/1245/ Claim-Your-Picket.

Pasco swears in new police chief

After conducting a nationwide search for a police chief, the city of Pasco promoted one of its own.

Ken Roske was sworn in Oct. 7.

His selection is the first time in more than half a century that an internal candidate has been named chief. Nearly 20 candidates from across the nation applied for the job.

Roske has a 33-year career in law enforcement, serving in progressively responsible leadership positions. He began his career as a Pasco officer in 1986. He was promoted to sergeant in 1998, captain in 2004 and deputy chief in 2017.

Outside of the department, Roske has served in several key leadership positions, including seven years as TriCities Regional SWAT incident commander, state president of Fraternal

Order of Police and chairman of the Columbia Basin College Law Enforcement Advisory Committee.

Roske holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice management and a master’s in organizational leadership, both from the Union Institute and University. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Sunnyside Chief Al Escalera was a runner-up for the job.

The city hired the Prothman Co., an executive recruitment company, for the recruitment effort. The process included interview panels with several community members, third-party background checks by Public Safety Testing and multiple interviews with the city manager.

PNNL joins team to create new artificial intelligence research center

Scientists from U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories and the Georgia Institute of Technology will collaborate on solutions to some of the most challenging problems in artificial intelligence today, thanks to $5.5 million in funding from DOE. They’re partners in a new research center, known as the Center for ARtificial Intelligence-focused ARchitectures and Algorithms, or ARIAA. Funded by DOE’s Office of Science, it will promote collaboration between scientists at the three organizations as they develop core technologies important for the application of AI to DOE mission priorities, such as cybersecurity and electric grid resilience.

PNNL senior research scientist Roberto Gioiosa will be the center’s director and will lead the overall vision, strategy and research direction.

Siva Rajamanickam from Sandia and

Professor Tushar Krishna from Georgia Tech will serve as deputy directors.

The center will explore how AI and machine learning can support four areas that touch virtually everyone: the power grid, cybersecurity, graph analytics and computational chemistry.

Those disciplines touch upon how new medicines are created, how to keep one’s online identity safe, how to analyze masses of information, and how to keep the electric grid humming despite multiple challenges.

A focus of the center is to develop algorithms and architectures that can be used and applied in a variety of different systems, both today’s as well as systems to be created in the future.

Pasco chamber cautions local businesses about misleading calls

The Pasco Chamber of Commerce is cautioning Tri-City area businesses to be alert about a company making misleading calls.

CGI Communications, a Rochester, New York-based communications company, allegedly has been saying it is calling on behalf of Pasco Mayor Matt Watkins and the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, according to a news release from the chamber.

“The Pasco Chamber encourages businesses to not engage with CGI’s aggressive sales tactics for their subpar, overpriced product. We have not given permission to CGI to use our likeness and name and have requested CGI to

9

cease their practices in the past. We are exploring our legal options to end their misleading tactics. Please for the sake of your hard-earned dollars, don’t answer their sales calls,” the release said.

Finley’s Green2Go passes vaping product testing

Finley’s Green2Go, a recreational cannabis shop, has passed a supplementary round of product testing conducted by the OK Cannabis Program.

The program is a randomized, endproduct testing program for the Washington state cannabis industry.

Due to the recent increase in health risks connected to vaping products, OK Cannabis decided to conduct extra testing in September.

More than 50 brands of vape cartridges from the Green2Go shelves, as well other shops, were tested for Vitamin E acetate.

OK Cannabis determined that all of the randomly selected products tested OK. The program also commended the participating vendors for their integrity and transparency throughout the testing process.

Vitamin E acetate, a synthetic vitamin supplement, has been linked to 55 percent of the cannabis vape products tested by the Food and Drug Administration in connection with the lung disease outbreak. However, the FDA does warn that no one device or product has been linked to all cases.

10

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 POWERBANG, From page 1

Courtesy Powerbang Gaming Kennewick’s Lance Frisbee recently received a plaque from YouTube acknowledging 1 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, which focuses on video gaming and specifically the game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

even more lucrative in the electronic sports, or esports, industry. It’s estimated the world’s top gaming YouTuber earns $30 million annually.

The father of three travels worldwide hosting events, commentating, emceeing or making paid celebrity appearances at events for industry leaders like Supercell, Tencent, Razer and Facebook.

He’s also a guest speaker at this year’s Connect Tri-Cities, an event designed to bring job seekers, policymakers, educators, veterans and labor, tribal and industry leaders together to build the local workforce of the future. It’s Oct. 22 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick and a public appearance using his real name, which

has been a closely-guarded secret for most of his YouTube career, due to privacy and safety concerns.

Beyond YouTube

Today, Frisbee is growing and diversifying beyond his role behind a microphone in a home studio.

As CEO of Aftershock Media Group, he said YouTube is “a very small percentage of my overall revenue.”

He makes more from sponsorships and brand integration, product placement, public appearances, ownership in an esports team and recently founded a talent agency to represent fellow YouTubers.

“You’ve got to pinch yourself sometimes,” he said.

He’s also undertaking a project that could result in the world’s best streaming setup, an effort that would be documented as online content and then also as part of a video highlighting its capabilities, once finished. The project would have naming rights in Frisbee’s home studio and result in an additional revenue stream beyond the initial investment.

It all started with Atari

Frisbee’s interest in gaming began with an Atari console in the 1980s.

“I’ve always been really good. The games I play are very strategic and I’m somebody who can see top down, like what’s going on on a battlefield. I have an innate ability to position my teammates and communicate that with them,” he said. This helped determine what to focus on. “I didn’t do well at one-versus-one, who could operate their thumbs the fastest, so I typically stayed away from those types of games,” he said.

As a kid, Frisbee found it wasn’t socially acceptable to focus on gaming as a hobby. “Video games were very stigmatized, ‘Why don’t you do something with your life or go outside?’ It still is like that to an extent, but it’s way more mainstream and culturally acceptable than it was in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Frisbee, who earned an athletic scholarship to play baseball at the University of the Pacific in northern California, until he was sidelined with an injury.

“I still had the competitive spirit but I wasn’t able to compete. So I picked up a game called Counter-Strike and I took that to the highest level,” he said. He was young and without other obligations, affording more time to focus on building gaming skills.

“Video games were always an outlet.

That was my entertainment. Instead of going to the bar, or going out with friends, I would stay home and play games. And then I found myself amongst the world’s elite,” he said.

The first time Frisbee set himself apart from the pack was when he traveled to Bellevue for a tournament, playing team-based games that involved strategy, coordination and communication. His team didn’t perform well overall, but Frisbee’s skills were noticed by other gamers.

“One of the elite teams in the area uPOWERBANG, Page 11

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 POWERBANG, From page 10 took note of that after the tournament and reached out,” he said. “I joined up and played for about two years at the highest level in the world.”

Giving up 9-to-5 gig

While Frisbee would have preferred to make this his overall focus at that time, he said the industry hadn’t caught up to gaming as a profession. He soon had a family and needed to secure a fulltime job with benefits. “All of a sudden I didn’t have time to sit in front of a console all day,” he said.

A 2002 Richland High graduate, Frisbee eventually received an associate degree from Columbia Basin College in Pasco and started working as a computer scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. He followed it up with stints as an entrepreneur, public speaker, health physics technician at Washington River Protection Solutions and as a graphic designer for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection.

“I ended up splitting my time with days working at Hanford stuff, and then had stumbled into mobile games and would play those to pass the time. I had gotten good at them and had some notoriety. People were starting to recognize me and video game developers were starting to tag me on the forums,” Frisbee said.

YouTube was emerging as “the TV of today’s kids” and Frisbee realized his skill set for the platform was perfect, due to his background in marketing, experience with public speaking and knowledge of computer- and web-related systems.

“I just didn’t know what the subject matter was. And then I put up a video because I was annoyed at having to describe the same video game tactic over and over and over to my teammates,” he said.

At the time, he was exclusively focused on a battle royale genre with a game called Clash of Clans. “I recorded it and put it out on our team forum, and now I didn’t have to explain it anymore,” he said.

Birth of the brand

A brand was born without much strategizing behind the name. “A game had

asked me, ‘What do you want to be called?’ and I had headphones on and was listening to Nirvana or something and headbanging and just wrote (Powerbang) in,” he said.

Frisbee began posting daily, beginning in spring 2015, balancing a fulltime job, family and efforts to build a following online.

“There were thousands of people coming to look at these videos and I realized I don’t know that many people.

I stayed within the same game and became well known as being a subject matter expert,” he said.

On the journey to more than a million YouTube subscribers, a mark surpassed earlier this year, Frisbee said he always had slow and steady growth posting content about Clash of Clans, never going backward, yet never going viral, with a pace of about 300 new subscribers daily.

Running on just a few hours of sleep a night, Frisbee said he eventually burned out and needed a new challenge.

He saw that in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which was just preparing to launch as a standalone experience on mobile.

“That was the game that I looked at that I thought I could have fun and get back to my roots as a similar game to Counterstrike, and that was a lot more fun than what I was doing. It was a change of pace and it was also getting in at the ground floor at a game that hadn’t launched,” Frisbee said.

He contacted the game’s developer and expressed interest in being part of the PUBG community for the mobile launch. Four years later, “I’m more or less the face of the game. I’m the host of all the major global events; I’m their key ambassador,” he said.

Content for his community

As Frisbee continues to find new outlets to capitalize on his brand, he averages four hours a day making a fresh video for his followers, but also recognizes it can’t always happen 365 days a year.

“I’m so focused on building a business and a legacy that goes beyond me in front of the camera, so I’ve made a conscious effort to not get as frustrated if I don’t meet a self-imposed deadline of posting every day,” he said.

He admits it’s still a challenge to create content worthy of maintaining his average of 380,000 views per video, totaling 9 million to 10 million each month.

“I add a layer of community and belonging to the game itself so when people feel that it’s stale or it’s run its course, there’s still something to stick around for,” Frisbee said. It’s a novel concept to profit off someone else’s intellectual property and was initially rebuffed by developers.

“That’s the No. 1 thing influencers bring to the table: community-building for game developers,” he said.

Frisbee is committed to staying in his own community to do his work. He said he loves the Tri-Cities too much to

11

move his brand elsewhere, and the digital nature of the industry allows him to stay put in the place he grew up in.

“Eventually I’ll transition from an influencer to more of an executive,” he said. “That’ll take years, but I’m hoping to build something that is bigger than me just having to show up on camera, and eventually when I wake up and realize, ‘I’m not cool anymore, the kids don’t like me,’ I have a business that’s built and generating revenue so I’m not like, ‘Oh, my job’s over.’ ” Find Frisbee on various platforms at @powerbanggaming, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

12

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

13

FOOD

Restaurant supply store moves, expands showroom

Western Restaurant Supply & Design aims to serve home chefs, as well as commercial market

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The store may include “restaurant” in its name, but Western Restaurant Supply & Design also is hoping to serve home chefs at its new 10,000-square-foot Richland showroom.

“If you’re looking for a $15 knife, I got those, or if you want a $400 knife, I got those, too. We’re always looking to reignite or ignite people’s passion to cook and you’ll find that here,” said Joel Kruse, general manager. “We want to be able to come alongside somebody on their crazy food adventure and say, ‘We can help you get there.’ We can do our best work within whatever budget you have.”

The company’s move to 1957 Fowler St., which is visible from Highway 240, after more than 15 years tucked away in east Kennewick means it’s getting more

Photo by Robin Wojtanik The team from Western Restaurant Supply & Design welcomes customers to its new showroom at 1957 Fowler St. in Richland, which offers equipment for commercial kitchens and home use.

traffic, Kruse said.

The team has seen former customers they hadn’t seen in a decade as well as new ones who were mostly unaware the store has been a fixture in the community

since 2002.

“We are full-service food service,” said Kruse, who looks to appeal to those owning and operating restaurants, but also those looking to build their home

kitchen inventory.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that commercial cookware is often less expensive and more durable than stuff you’re going to get at Macy’s, Bed, Bath & Beyond, or Target. Is all of it as glamorous? Not all of it. But I’m bringing in lines to address those who still want something that’s aesthetically pleasing but is still a commercial brand.”

This includes pots and pans, cooking utensils and high-performance knives.

Kruse intends to offer classes on cooking techniques, like knife sharpening and use, for a small fee that would be offset by the purchase of an item.

The classes are just one of the new possibilities Kruse sees for the store now that it has relocated from 1620 E. Seventh Ave., near Finley. That location was retained as a shop for the arm of the company that now focuses on food trucks.

Western Food Trucks and Trailers is currently under the same limited liability company, but specializes in the build-out and repair of mobile food vehicles. Kruse said the company has been doing it for about a decade, but demand really uWESTERN, Page 14

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

FOOD WESTERN, From page 13

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Budd’s Broiler

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509-735-3377 www.chervenell.com

exploded in the last five years.

“We’ve done repairs or upgrades to most of the trucks and trailers in the TriCities,” he said. “We’re the only food truck or trailer builder in the region that, in addition to the builds, is an authorized equipment dealer. Other ones are partnering with someone like me. I buy all my equipment from the manufacturers directly, so I can be more aggressive with pricing.”

As a fully-licensed and bonded general contractor in the state, Western Restaurant Supply & Design offers inhouse computer-aided drafting to help customers design their ideal kitchens.

“If you come in and say, ‘I have a dream.’ We’re like, ‘Cool, we love dreams.’ And if you want to start a restaurant, I can tell you what kind of equipment you’re going to need on your cook line, what size hood you’re going to need. I can recommend different commercial spaces if you have one in mind, or we can take a site visit. We can do a whole design, spec out the equipment, and then if you want us to build it, we can bid out the construction costs,” Kruse said.

The new showroom supplies everything a restaurant would require, covering not just the back of the house, like cooking and cleaning, but also the front of the house, like glassware, china and furniture.

“We carved out 500 square feet for a design center so customers can come in to touch and feel stuff, sit in the chairs, so you’re not just flipping through a catalog,” Kruse said.

The company is locally-owned and operated and the team boasts combined restaurant experience of more than 40 years.

“We can share that knowledge with customers and say, ‘Hey, we want you to open a restaurant, too, but we want to paint a realistic picture before you throw $10,000 or $20,000 into it and be halfway through it and run out of money, barrel up,” Kruse said. “We care about people succeeding and we want them to do well. We want to be sure they have the right equipment with the right budget.”

Kruse believes half of the effort to successfully open a restaurant is knowing how much you’re going to need and what you’ll likely have to spend to fulfill your vision.

He’s also typically in the know about new restaurant openings, as those affiliated with the industry often come to him looking for equipment and supplies early on.

This was the case recently with Walla Walla Indian Cuisine, which plans to open a new sister restaurant at the former Famous Dave’s restaurant in Kennewick.

Kruse said he hears the frequent refrain from people who would like to see a Cheesecake Factory potentially fill the former P.F. Chang’s next to Famous Dave’s, but he doesn’t see that happening. “There’s not a building in the TriCities that meets the Cheesecake model,” he said.

Still, Kruse is encouraged by the growth and emphasis on food offerings on all levels, designing a high-end bar at

Photo by Robin Wojtanik Western Restaurant Supply & Design offers a wide selection of highperformance knives.

The Bradley in Richland, extending the patio at LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen on the Columbia River and building out the entire Honey Baked Ham Co. in Kennewick.

“If there’s a spot in a strip mall, we can turn it into a restaurant,” said Kruse, who added his team works directly with the state Department of Labor and Industries to be sure everything is operational on day one, as intended.

Western Restaurant Supply & Design became part of a buying group called Excell Foodservice Equipment Dealer Network in 2016, and Kruse said this drastically changed the pricing structure to pass more savings on to their customers. “It gives us the ability to have much more aggressive pricing, better service, better relationships with vendors and access to a lot more lines,” he said. “It opened up the ability to get more things for customers and be competitive, whereas before we were just a standalone with no buying group. Relationships we had with vendors were direct.”

Now, Kruse said he keeps an eye on the pricing offered by competitors and feels confident people will save money shopping at Western. “We obviously have to make money because we’re a business, but I don’t feel the need to overcharge for stuff. We want to make it affordable for everybody to enjoy cooking,” he said.

The company opened its doors in the new location in early September and held a grand opening to industry professionals and the public in early October.

“I want this to be like a WilliamsSonoma restaurant equipment place,” Kruse said. “If you’re looking for gifts for foodies, or someone who loves to cook, this is going to be the place to do it. This equipment is designed for commercial abuse, day in and day out cooking and food-grade safe. If it’s good enough for a commercial kitchen, it’s good enough for your kitchen.”

Western Restaurant Supply & Designs: 1957 Fowler St., Richland; 866-5856978; westernfoodequipment.com.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

FOOD

15

Couple see burger joint as place to bring community together

Three generations of Erstad family worked at Burger Factory before owning it

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Rhonda Erstad grew up in Connell.

So did her husband, Mike.

They’ve lived in the Connell area pretty much their whole lives, and Rhonda wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love Connell,” she said. “Our kids always had someone looking out for them. It’s true what they say – that it does take a village to raise kids. You know everybody in a small town. You can talk to your mayor, your police chief, whenever you want.”

Or the owners of the local burger joint, who happen to be the Erstads.

About eight years ago, Rhonda was looking for a business to own and run in Connell.

“I had a salon here at one time,” she said. “I told (Mike) I wanted a coffee shop. He said, ‘No.’ ” Then she remembered when she worked as a teenager at the Burger Factory II at 452 S. Columbia Ave. in Connell.

Courtesy Mike Erstad Mike and Rhonda Erstad have owned Burger Factory II in Connell since 2012.

At the time she thought of it, the business was closed and had sat empty for six to eight months.

“I worked here as a teenager,” she said. “My husband’s sister helped the original owner. My mom has worked here. So many of our nieces and nephews, and our daughter, have all worked here.”

It made sense to the Erstads to reopen it because it seemed to be a place to bring the community together.

“So in 2012, we bought it from Max Yager,” Rhonda said. “Max and Jackie Yager opened it in 1980.”

Courtesy Burger Factory Three generations of the Erstad family have worked at the Columbia Avenue restaurant best known for its eagle burger. Named after the Connell High mascot, it’s a cheeseburger with a slice of ham on a hoagie sandwich bun.

A little bit of history here: The Yagers opened the original Burger Factory in Prosser, then opened a second one in Connell and a third in Othello.

Only the Connell restaurant remains open in a town that has but one restaurant franchise open.

“We cleaned (the building) up,” Rhonda said of the 2012 reopening.

“We’re invested in the community.

Every little community needs a place like this.”

The restaurant earned a five-star rating on Yelp, which offers reviews of businesses worldwide.

One reviewer recently posted this observation about Burger Factory: “The gal at the counter was super friendly! I noticed she called a lot of the ‘regulars’ uBURGER FACTORY, Page 16

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Food

Can “AI” Help You Become a Better Investor?

For the past several years, artificial intelligence – or AI – has increasingly found a place in many walks of life. Almost certainly, you use some form of AI, whether it’s your time on social media, your use of mobile banking, the navigation system you rely on for directions, or any of the many other AI-driven applications relevant to your daily life.

But AI has also become a significant TERRY SLIGER part of the financial services industry.

(509) 943-2920 So, you might wonder if AI can help you become a better investor.

To begin with, what is AI? Essentially, it’s the ability of a computer program or machine to think or learn. Using complex algorithms (a set of rules, or steps), computers and machines can mimic many of the thought processes of human beings.

But how can you use AI to invest? And should you?

In the financial services world, many companies use AI to select investments for specific funds. On an individual level, you can work with an AI-powered “robo-advisor” to build an investment portfolio. These robo-advisors are typically quite affordable, and they generally follow proven investment principles, such as diversification, in making recommendations.

Yet, you are more than just the sum of your answers to a roboadvisor’s online questionnaire. Investing is a highly personal matter, which means that, in the following areas, you may well benefit from some human intelligence – and empathy: • Understanding of your risk tolerance – A robo-advisor will ask you to identify your tolerance for risk – low, medium, high – and will plug in your answers when constructing a portfolio. But only a human financial advisor – someone who truly knows you, your personality, your family situation and your hopes for the future – can know how your sensitivity to risk might cause you to react to events such as sudden market declines. Armed with this knowledge, a financial advisor can talk through your options to help keep you on the road toward your goals.

• Answers to qualitative questions – A robo-advisor can provide you with many key data points – rates of return, projections of future accumulations, etc. But so can a personal financial advisor, who can also go beyond the numbers to help you answer qualitative, subjective questions: How can I save for college for my children and my own retirement at the same time? If I change jobs, should I leave my 401(k) in my former employer’s plan, move it to my new employer’s plan or roll it over to an IRA? What’s the best way to guard my financial independence if I ever need some type of longterm care, such as an extended stay in a nursing home?

• Guidance for the “big picture” – Your investments are important, but they’re also connected to other areas of your life, including your taxes and your estate plans. And while a financial advisor might not provide you with tax or legal advice, he or she may be able to connect you to other, appropriate professionals, and work with them to help you put together your “big picture.” That’s not something a typical robo-advisor is equipped to do.

Artificial intelligence will support many of your activities throughout your life. But when it comes to investing, a personal touch may never become obsolete.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

BURGER FACTORY, From page 15

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by name. Our burgers came out quick and piping hot. Good sized burgers for a decent price.”

Burger Factory II employs six people and is open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.

Rhonda thinks about what she’s doing now and laughs.

“I’ve always liked to feed people,” said the 1984 Connell High School graduate. “People are paying me to cook. To think I was struggling with that when I got married at 19. My husband—he was a patient man. I just stay in the kitchen now.”

Mike runs his father’s company, Orv’s Potato Services in Othello, and was deep in the middle of harvest at the time of the interview.

When works slows down, he usually works the front counter, taking orders and greeting customers old and new.

Meanwhile, Rhonda’s in the back cooking. Or creating new menu items.

“I added a jalapeño burger, added a Philly burger,” she said. “You can still get the western burger off the menu.”

While her favorite is the jalapeño burger, Rhonda said the most popular item on the menu is the eagle burger.

Named after the Connell High mascot, it’s a cheeseburger with a slice of ham on a hoagie sandwich bun.

The restaurant draws a lot of the school-age crowd during and after local sporting events. And it’s pretty busy during community events.

“During Connell Days, we stay open late,” Rhonda said. “Connell Days is the second weekend of September. In two days, we made 500 meals.”

Rhonda admits they can put in long hours. And with her youngest child being 16 years old, she ponders that they may sell the business in a few years when they become empty nesters and try traveling a little more.

Until then, however, she loves what she and her husband are doing.

“This place – I get to see people that I’d never normally get to see again because I’d be at home,” Rhonda said.

“I love when you get people who want to come here to eat. People on their way to the Tri-Cities or Spokane, and they stop here,” she said. “There are so many excellent choices here in Connell. We’re extremely blessed when they choose us because all of these places are good.”

And she’s doing it in the town she’s always called home.

“I love this little town,” she said.

“I’ve lived here my whole life. It needed something like this.”

Send us your business news news@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Food

17

Cultivate a love affair with versatile lovage In a recent column, I waxed poetic about how lovage, among other uncommon herbs, is trending as a culinary darling these days. I’ve just done a deep dive into lovage—which sounds like “luggage”—and it’s a pretty, cool herb, and while it won’t shake the shingles off your roof, it’s sure to intrigue (and I hope please) you with its yummy flavor family and easy cultivation.

A major thanks to the Tri-Cities Herb Club members who not only offered me an up close and personal look at this trendsetting herb, but a taste of it, so I can attest that what you’re about to read is true and accurate.

Lovage, or Levisticum officinale, is a sun-worshipping perennial herb. While its average height is six feet tall, it can grow to a whopping eight feet, and you’ll want to position it in your garden accordingly—perhaps as a border plant?

Its name harkens from medieval times and means “love-ache,” with “ache” being a derivative for parsley, so it should come as no surprise that they share the apiaceae (carrot/parsley) family in the plant kingdom.

Nothing akin to the Peloponnesian War, but there are disputes about its botanical heritage. Some say lovage’s roots lie in southern Europe and the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and southern France.

Like many herbs, it can trace its origins, food love and medicinal applications to ancient Greeks. Others claim that it Marilou Shea originated in southeastern GUEST COLUMN Asia, the Afghanistan region and the Mediterranean. No matter. The truth is that many herbs have originated on both continents or found their way there to thrive and live happily ever after, thanks to trend-setting explorers, pirates and travelers.

Lovage flourishes in the United Kingdom in its propagation and use.

The Brits adore this herb, fostering its use in a fabled winter lovage cordial with brandy.

Among its many attributes, this herb is super easy to grow and cultivate in our region, which makes it a favorite among herb lovers, gardeners and farm-to-table chefs.

If you’re a parsley or celery lover, then lovage is your new-old BFF because it captures the flavor of both— “new” because while it’s not a common herb, like say parsley, its lookalike cousin, its star is rising, and “old” because the Greeks adored it, and well,

If you’re a parsley or celery lover, then lovage is your new-old BFF... they’re considered ancient.

The herb has an intense celery flavor which makes perfect sense since it was the original celery before consumers played favorites and chose celery, usurping lovage’s popularity.

By all accounts lovage should be used sparingly in your dishes, as a little goes a long way, which creates great efficiencies because you get a lot of mileage using a small amount of the plant.

Lovage is also hyper-efficient. You can use every single part of the plant for something. The leaves can be used as an herb, say as a salad topper, in soups, or to up the flavor of broths, and, of course, it can be brewed for tea.

Its seeds can be used as a spice, like that of coriander; its stems as celery; and its roots—good heavens—its roots can be used as a vegetable.

Lesser known is that its seeds and stems also are a secret weapon in popular confectionary treasures. In fact, the pilgrims of New England used to candy the root and chew the seed to stay awake and upright through prolonged

pastoral remonstrations from the pulpit during church services.

On the recipe front, it’s a darling in potato soup and there are a gazillion lovage-potato soup recipes online.

Lovage also pairs well with egg-anything, such as omelets and frittatas, stews, stocks, pork or poultry dishes.

Like oh so many of its counterparts, lovage has epic therapeutic benefits grounded in the very origins of its use and application. According to the Herbal Academy, it’s served in a broad array of forms, including infusions, tinctures, elixirs, and bath and foot soaks.

The Greeks used it for flatulence and digestive issues, and as a balm for those weary sandaled feet—sort of an ancient version of Odor-Eaters.

It’s known to treat inflammation and indigestion, a host of urinary issues, including prevention of kidney stones, gout, migraine headaches, jaundice, malaria, joint pain and pleurisy, among others.

Whether as a culinary partner to your frittata or as an herbal remedy to soothe a sore throat, this herb will provide a blanket of perennial good taste and comfort. What’s not to love? Marilou Shea is an educator by day and is the founder of Food Truck Fridays. Read her blog at foodlove.net.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

5 tips to reduce your vulnerability to cyberattacks

Six trillion dollars.

It’s a large sum and one that warrants a better understanding. How much is $6,000,000,000,000?

• It’s the estimated cost of the war on terror.

• It’s slightly larger than the gross domestic product of Japan ($5.4 trillion).

• It’s six times the value of Apple.

• And it’s the projected annual cost of cybercrimes by 2021. In 2015, it was $3 trillion.

Cybercrime has become a global nightmare. It affects all businesses, large and small, as well as nonprofits and municipalities.

CNN Business reported in early October that in the last 10 months 140 local governments, police stations and Aaron Welling hospitals have Teknologize been held hostage by ransomGUEST COLUMN ware. It further stated that the actual numbers of cyberattacks across all sectors is in the thousands. There is no

recorded number though, since most cyberattacks don’t become public because of the damage to reputation and loss of consumer confidence.

This year, it’s evident that it’s not just companies that are being hit.

Government agencies, municipalities, regional airports, school districts, colleges, nonprofits and churches are finding that no one is safe from cyberattacks.

The cost of surviving a data breach is significant. The Ponemon Institute stated that the cost of the average data breach to a U.S. company was $7.91 million.

Those are big numbers, but that’s also figuring in big organizations like Equifax, Facebook, Marriott and the city of Baltimore whose costs (thus far) are: • Equifax: $1.4 billion, plus $700 million in fines • Facebook: $5 billion in fines • Marriott: $72 million • The city of Baltimore: $18 million When it comes to a small or medium businesses (less than 1,000 employees), the average cost for recovery from a cyberattack is around $80,000. That’s no small amount and is sure to affect your bottom line. So how do you ensure it doesn’t happen to you?

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee of staying safe from a cyberattack.

Cybersecurity experts say it’s not a matter of if you’re hit, it’s a matter of when.

But you can take steps to ensure that you’re less likely to be affected and lessen the blow once you are.

Here are five simple tips for preventing and mitigating the effects of cyberattacks on your organization: 1. Keep systems current. Ensure your hardware and software is being patched regularly and running up-to-date versions. This makes you less vulnerable to breaches via brute force attacks.

2. Make sure you have proper backups. Backups are a must for any business and should be done daily, if not hourly. Ask your information technology provider for a copy of the backup logs for the last month. If they’re not current, look for a new solution.

3. Use multifactor authentication and stronger passwords. Don’t opt out of multi- or two-factor authentication.

Your account is safer with this protocol.

And ensure that you’re using pass-phrases, not passwords. A string of words put together is exponentially more difficult to crack than a password. Both are annoying to use but worth the effort in the long run.

4. Educate employees. Ninety percent of all breaches are the result of phishing emails. Your IT may be secure, but it only takes one person to click the wrong thing and bring everything down.

Talk about cybersecurity with employees often and encourage non-email communication when money or info transfer is involved. Also, consider running phishing simulations to find your weakest links.

5. Get cybersecurity insurance. You can do this through your current business insurance provider. The cost is minimal compared to what you would pay for lost business, lost reputation, and the cost to get your system back up after a cyberattack.

Cyberattacks aren’t going away anytime soon, but with vigilance and diligence, your organization can be better protected against attacks, detect them when they happen and respond quickly to keep you up and running.  Aaron Welling is a business intelligence and technology strategist at Teknologize in Kennewick.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

19

It’s time to celebrate the amazing things Washington makes Washington makes some really cool things.

We’re famous for many of them—airplanes, apples, software, wheat and more.

The state’s iconic manufacturers established the foundation that our recent economic expansion is built upon.

But there are many medium and small manufacturers that fewer people know about. The fishing rod manufacturer in Woodland. The music stand manufacturer in Yakima. The boat builder in Colville.

And the manufacturing company in Richland that makes surgical tools to help heal patients around the world.

This year, for the third straight October, the Association of Washington Business hit the road in a big, custom-wrapped bus to travel the state in support of manufacturers—big and small, global icons, virtual unknowns and everything in between.

The tour stopped in the Tri-Cities on Oct. 10, visiting Cascade Natural Gas in Kennewick, United Western Technologies in Pasco and Plastic Injection Molding in Richland.

Over the course of seven days, we stopped at small, medium and large manufacturing companies in every corner of Washington to raise awareness about the importance of manufacturing to the state’s economy and to shine a light on some of the amazing things Washington makes.

Here in Washington, manufacturing accounts for nearly 12 percent of the total output in the state and employs nearly 8.5 percent of the workforce. Because it’s

such a critical part of the economy, we use the tour to talk with manufacturers about what’s keeping them up at night and look for Kris Johnson ways to support Association of them.

Washington We know Business some of the major issues GUEST COLUMN already: educating the next generation workforce, supporting trade and exports, and supporting tax and regulatory policies that protect the ability of manufacturers to compete in a global economy.

One of the most consistent and urgent issues we hear from the manufacturers we visit is the shortage of an educated, skilled and trained workforce.

There are currently 12.8 million manufacturing jobs in the country, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Over the next decade, the NAM predicts 4.6 million manufacturing jobs will likely be needed and 2.4 million are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap.

National Manufacturing Day, which is always the first Friday in October, is part of the effort to address this critical issue.

Manufacturers around the country open

Courtesy Brian Mittge of AWB From left, Gary Christensen of R.E. Powell; Fran Forgette of Rettig of Forgette Iller Bowers LLP; Lori Mattson of the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce; Association of Washington Business President Kris Johnson; and Steve Simmons of the CG Public House in Kennewick pose with the 2019 AWB Manufacturing Week bus after touring Cascade Natural Gas in Kennewick on Oct. 10. Natural gas is important to the manufacturing industry as a dependable supply of energy. Cascade Natural Gas Corp. is one of four utility subsidiaries of MDU Resources, which provides energy to rural communities across eight states. In Washington and Oregon, it serves nearly 300,000 customers in mostly rural areas and employs 240 employees.

their doors and invite young people to come inside and learn about the career potential in manufacturing.

This is not your grandfather’s manufacturing economy. In many respects, today’s

manufacturing jobs are high-tech jobs. In Washington, the average manufacturing worker makes over $88,000, well above the statewide average of $58,000. uAWB, Page 22

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

AWB, From page 19 For decades, manufacturing has provided a path to the middle class, a way out of poverty and a path of opportunity. Today’s young people—and their parents—need to know it still does.

Trade and export policy also is an important issue for Washington manufacturers. Washington is the most trade-driven state in the nation per capita, and the goods we make here get sent throughout the world. Last year, Washington exported more than $63 billion worth of manufactured goods and manufacturing accounted for more than 80 percent of the state’s total exports.

This is why programs like the Export-Import Bank, which provides

credit to overseas purchasers of U.S. goods and services, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which modernizes the North American Free Trade Agreement, are so important.

For manufacturers to succeed, they need to have access to global markets.

They need educated, trained and skilled employees. They need predictable and competitive tax and regulatory policies.

And it doesn’t hurt, every now and then, to stop and celebrate the cool things they make.  Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.

uBUSINESS BRIEFS John L. Scott merges Pasco, Kennewick offices

John L. Scott Real Estate has merged its Pasco and Kennewick offices.

“Since we opened the Pasco office in 2010, we have developed a regional footprint serving the real estate needs of Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties, as well as Umatilla and Morrow County, Oregon,” said Dennis Gisi, owner of the John L. Scott Tri-Cities Pasco franchise.

The franchise has offices in MiltonFreewater and Hermiston, Oregon, as well as Walla Walla and Pasco.

“The addition of the Kennewick team just makes us stronger and more effective in serving the real estate needs in the com-

munities we are located. We gain a lot of synergy in marketing, the use of technology, and most importantly experience with the addition of the agents,” Gisi said.

Terry Parrish Sr. and Randy Blumer from the Kennewick office became business partners in 1986 with the establishment of Pyramid Real Estate, originally as a Century 21 franchise and later a John L. Scott franchise in 2006.

In addition to Parrish and Blumer, those joining the Pasco office are: Rhonda Alberts, Jason Huffman, Scott Saltz and Vonetta Wolleat.

The Kennewick office closed last month to search for a new location, Gisi said.

“The community has been very good to us over the years and we do not want to be absent for too long,” he said.

In the meantime, the office phone numbers, websites and other contact information remain the same and will be forwarded to the Pasco office to make the transition as seamless as possible for clients, Gisi said.

The Pasco office is at 5109 N. Road 68 in suite E. The office can be reached at 509-547 5542. The email addresses and agent cellphone numbers remain the same.

Founded in 1931 in downtown Seattle, John L. Scott is headquartered in Bellevue.

It has more than 110 offices with more than 3,000 brokers in Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.

Learn more about Hanford cleanup at livestream event

Find out more about Hanford cleanup by joining Tri-Party Agreement agencies from 7- 9 p.m. Nov. 7 for Hanford Live, an online conversation with managers from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Ecology.

The livestream will start with a brief overview from each agency on Hanford’s past, present and future, followed by a facilitated question-and-answer session.

Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to participate in the online conversation. The goal is to provide an opportunity for communication between Hanford leadership and the public regarding the environmental cleanup.

To receive the livestream link, register at https://HanfordLive2019.eventbrite.com.

To submit questions or for more information, email HanfordLive@rl.gov.

Commerce announces rural infrastructure grants

Two small communities about an hour outside the Tri-Cities have landed state Department of Commerce Community Development Block Grants.

The state distributed more than $10.5 million in grants for 2019 that include 27 projects selected from 41 applications requesting more than $20 million.

The projects receiving funding will improve water and sewer systems, streets, community facilities and fire protection systems and also support affordable housing projects and community planning.

The city of Kahlotus received $680,000 for well and water distribution improvements.

The city of Mabton received $750,000 for drilling and equipping water supply well No. 7.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

23

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Costco’s busy food court gets overhaul

Renovation means new counter location, more space for workers, equipment

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Costco’s food court window is rotating toward the entrance of the store, intending to alleviate backups near the registers while improving efficiencies for workers who are constantly taking and filling orders behind the counter.

“It will create internal efficiencies and make it easier for our members to get out of the building,” said Tom Olson, general manager of the Kennewick Costco.

There can be up to a dozen people working in the 2,000-square-foot foot area that’s filled with coolers, pizza ovens and other food machinery. The remodel will add about 450 square feet dedicated to the food court service area, which Olson expects to make a big difference.

“People were bumping into each

other. The volume had increased to where we couldn’t function in the space,” Olson said.

Outside of some cosmetic updates, the Kennewick food court hadn’t been updated since the store opened at 8505 W. Gage Blvd. about 17 years ago.

The five-week remodeling project is estimated to cost about $295,000, with work being performed by CTA Architects and Engineers, which has an office in Seattle.

During construction, the store is serving only hot dogs and sodas from a temporary cart.

When the project is finished in late October, there will be new equipment, including a larger cooler.

Olson said that while the company tests new offerings throughout its Northwest stores, he doesn’t expect any new menu items to be available once the construction is complete.

Photo by Robin Wojtanik The Kennewick Costco is only serving hot dogs and sodas from a temporary cart while the food court is renovated and expanded to improve customer flow and staff efficiencies.

The self-service kiosks will remain, as Olson said about half of all food court orders are now placed this way.

“They’ve become a big part of our business,” he said.

Olson said he isn’t aware of any plans

to bring an additional Costco warehouse to the area.

The food court remodel is scheduled to be completed by the third week of October.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Real Estate & Construction

Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

McCain Foods’ Othello plant expansion to add more jobs, fries

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Photo by Shawna Dinh The Richland Mor Furniture for Less store is at 1430 Tapteal Drive, near Kohl’s.

Chinese company acquires Mor Furniture for Less

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A Chinese company has signed a letter of intent to acquire Mor Furniture for Less’ 36 stores, including the one in Richland.

Healthcare Co. Ltd. expects to pay $68.4 million for the furniture chain, and the transaction should be completed by the end of October.

Healthcare Co. will operate the stores separately, each with a different team of executives with direct reports to China.

The Richland store is at 1430 Tapteal Drive, near Kohl’s.

The San Diego-based Mor Furniture has estimated annual sales of more than $310 million.

Healthcare Co. calls itself a global home furnishings juggernaut, with 20 holding companies globally, including MLILY USA, a mattress manufacturer based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Mor Furniture acquisition will give Healthcare a direct pipeline to better understand U.S. retailers and customers, according to a news release from the company.

“The direct day-to-day contact with consumers through Mor’s vibrant retail locations gives us the opportunity to gather critical information about consumer shopping behavior in the U.S.,” said James Ni, chairman and chief executive officer of Healthcare Co, in a news release. “Direct consumer interaction will help us hone our (original equipment manufacturer) product development and better serve our growing network of customers throughout the world.”

Healthcare will acquire the chain from Mor Furniture founder Richard Haux Sr. and a number of other Haux family members.

Haux founded the San Diego-based company in 1977 as a small waterbed store.

Today, Mor operates large-format stores in seven states: Washington, California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona.

The Mor acquisition will be the second retail acquisition by Healthcare in the last 18 months, but its first in the United States. Last year, Healthcare acquired Maxcolchon, a Spanish bedding manufacturer and retailer, and now operates 57 stores across Spain.

Healthcare operates factories in China, Serbia and Thailand. In addition to the United States, the company serves markets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

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An expansion project is underway at Othello’s McCain Food plant that will add more than 180 new jobs.

The construction project—a $300 million investment—also will add 170,000 square feet and a state-of-the-art battered and conventional french fry processing line. The line will significantly expand McCain Foods’ North American production capacity, said Tarah Arnold, McCain Foods’ U.S. corporate affairs business partner.

The expansion of the plant, which employs 452 people and is about an hour north of the Tri-Cities, also will require about 11,000 additional acres from local potato growers in the region.

“We are very excited about the expansion of the McCain Foods potato processing facility in Othello,” said Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission. “The demand for frozen potato products in the Pacific Rim has been red hot. Many of our customers who have relied on Washington state potato products have been on rations because the supply has not been able to keep up with the demand. This expansion is a big step in meeting the demand for frozen potato products in Asia.”

The expansion is anticipated to be completed in early 2021.

The general contractor is Burlington, Washington-based Fisher Construction Group.

The company celebrated the start of the project with an Oct. 15 groundbreaking ceremony at the plant at 100 Lee St. Potatoes are big business for Washington farmers, who grew 10.5 million pounds on 165,000 acres in 2018, worth $70 million.

Processors take those hundreds of millions of potatoes and turn them into billions in frozen product. The entire industry is worth about $7.4 billion to the state’s economy.

The Othello plant expansion comes on the heels of Lamb Weston opening new plants and lines in Boardman in 2014, Richland in 2017 and Hermiston earlier this year.

McCain Foods USA is a leading supplier of frozen potato and snack food products for the food service markets, retail grocery chains and private label brands in restaurants and supermarket freezers across the country.

Headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, it employs 4,000 people and also operates production facilities in Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

The parent company manufactures frozen potato products and supplies french fries, potato specialties, appetizers and desserts to retail and food service customers around the globe. McCain employs more than 20,000 people and operates 53 production facilities on six continents.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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The Kennewick bar and grill joins two other locations. The Richland Dugout is at 99 Lee

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

29

New transfer on death deed avoids probate, seamlessly transfers land One of the challenges facing anyone who owns property outside of his or her state of residence is the fact that a person’s estate generally must go through probate in the state of residence and any state where the deceased person owned real property. A relatively new law is making it simpler and less costly to avoid a secondary, or “ancillary,” probate through the use of a transfer on death deed.

Each state is governed by its own laws. This can make planning for assets outside of a single state cumbersome.

Sometimes the states decide to adopt uniform laws to bring some amount of consistency. Indeed, this is the mission of the Uniform Law Commission. In 2009, the commission introduced the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. Since that time, about 16 states have adopted the act. As of the date of this writing, more states continue to introduce or adopt the act. In 2019, two states have enacted the law and another four states have introduced the legislation for consideration.

Washington adopted its version of the act in 2014. The law allows the owner of real property (land, house, condo, mineral rights, oil rights, building, etc.) to record a deed in the state where the real property sits that only takes effect upon death.

For Washington real property, the deed would be recorded at the county auditor’s office in the county where the real prop-

erty is located.

In simple terms, I might, for example, record a deed that says, “Upon my death, I convey and quitclaim Beau Ruff to (my chilCornerstone dren) my interWealth Strategies est in the folGUEST COLUMN lowing described real property….”

The effect of such a deed is that it makes the probate process unnecessary with respect to that single asset. The recipients (in this case, my children) receive the land upon my death, subject to any encumbrances, like liens or mortgages.

And, it works in any of the 16 states (mostly in the western United States) that have adopted the act.

So, a person could, for example, record a transfer on death deed on his personal residence in Washington, on his oil rights in South Dakota and on his ranch land in Texas. The effect could be the avoidance of probate in all three of those listed states. Of course, this presupposes proper deeding and recording in each of the three states.

The transfer on death deed is revocable. So, a person could record the deed and later change his or her mind about

the ultimate disposition. The same person would simply record a revocation of the deed. Similarly, if the subject property is sold during life then the asset is not owned at death and the previously recorded transfer on death deed has no effect. Accordingly, a person is not necessarily locked into the decision to transfer the property.

Prior to the act, it was common to consider placing out-of-state real property into a living trust or perhaps a limited liability company to avoid the administrative cost and hassle of probate in that other state. The transfer on death deed is often a superior and less expensive alternative to either a living trust or an LLC. And, though a key benefit of the transfer on death deed is the ease of transferring out-of-state property to heirs without the use of probate, it also can be used to transfer in-state property (e.g., a personal

residence) to heirs at death without the necessity of probate.

Though I’m not necessarily suggesting the need to avoid all probate (as probate can have some advantages), it is worthwhile to consider limiting the number of probates one might have his assets subjected to. Each probate adds cost and complexity that should be factored into the decision-making process.

To determine if a transfer on death deed is right for you, talk to your attorney or financial advisor to help structure your estate plan to fulfill your vision with the least complexity possible.  Beau Ruff, a licensed attorney, is the director of planning at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

HOTELS, From page 1 enced a 10 percent growth in the number of rooms sold over the past five years.

Year to date, our market is performing slightly above last year. However, occupancies are still considered healthy.”

Every overnight stay contributed to the overall $87 million spent on all accommodations in the Tri-Cities in 2018, according to Visit Tri-Cities.

Hotel stays equal tax dollars

Every room added to the Tri-Cities brings the possibility of additional revenue, as each of the three cities collect a 4 percent tax on stays, with half of the money restricted to promote tourism or expenditures related to operating tourism facilities.

In 2014, Richland collected about $825,000 through lodging taxes, Kennewick about $900,000 and Pasco, which has fewer large hotels, about $500,000.

In 2018, those numbers rose to just under $1.2 million for Richland, $1.1 million for Kennewick and $684,000 for Pasco.

Through September, Richland has collected $891,000 in taxes for stays, Kennewick $858,000 and Pasco $469,000. Kennewick has allotted some of its tax dollars toward debt service and operating subsidy of the Toyota Center and Arena.

Residence Inn in works

A prominent hotel ownership group has announced plans for a new hotel

Photo by Robin Wojtanik A $20 million extended-stay Residence Inn by Marriott is planned across the street from Columbia Center mall. It will become one of several new hotels planned in the Tri-Cities, including three in Kennewick alone.

across the street from Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. Ignite Hotels LLC will build a $20 million Residence Inn

by Marriott on South Quinault Avenue.

The president of the hospitality group also owns the Red Lion Hotel Richland, commonly called the Hanford House, both Kennewick Red Lion properties and the Hampton Inn in Kennewick.

Ignite president Gurbir Sandhu said the property will be four to five stories, with about 90 rooms intended for extend-

ed stays. Design work is not yet finalized.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2020, with the hotel opening by fall 2021.

Sandhu said he’s excited about bringing an upscale extended-stay hotel to the heart of the Tri-Cities. It will be the third Residence Inn in Eastern Washington, with the other two in Spokane’s east valley and Pullman.

Sandhu also intends to switch brands for two of his properties—the Red Lion

Inn near the Toyota Center and the Red Lion Hotel Richland.

The Richland property will become a Holiday Inn. It will be a full-service property, ideal for catering, conferences and banquets, and provide more options than the “select” service options currently available in the market.

“Spokane has been stealing a lot of our convention business,” Sandhu said.

He hopes the upgrade of the rooms uHOTELS, Page 31

Real Estate & Construction HOTELS, From page 30 and banquet facilities will draw new business to the property.

The rebranding and upgrades will begin in November and should be completed by the end of April. The property will be renamed the Holiday Inn Richland Riverfront at that time.

Sandhu also intends to rebrand the Red Lion Inn & Suites at 602 N. Young St. in Kennewick. The approval is in place to turn the hotel into a Best Western property, but there is no timeline for the change.

Sandhu said it is important to be a part of one of the five nationwide hotel chains because consumers want to stay where they have hotel reward membership. These main hotel brands are Hilton, Marriott, Best Western, IHG and Choice Hotels International. Holiday Inn is owned by IHG.

More hotels coming

Choice Hotels International is the parent company of the WoodSpring Suites, set to make its debut in the TriCity market next year, opening more than a year later than originally anticipated. The $6.7 million project at 1370 Tapteal Drive, near the Richland Kohl’s store, will have 122 rooms.

At the time it was first announced, the company said it was still working through construction financing. The brand is considered basic economy for extended-stay hotels and competes with MyPlace and Extended Stay America.

The hotel is being developed by West77 Partners, a real estate investment company based in Bellevue.

A Comfort Suites is set to open later this year near the Hampton Inn at 3703 Plaza Way in the Southridge area of Kennewick.

The $6.3 million project is scheduled to open before the end of the year with 94 new rooms across four stories. The project is being undertaken by Southridge Investments following a $1.1 million purchase of the land in 2016.

Across the river, an even larger project is underway near the Tri-Cities Airport at 2101 W. Argent Road in Pasco. The $8.5 million hotel will be a Courtyard by Marriott with 99 new hotel rooms. It’s expected to open in the first quarter of 2020.

The land is owned by the Port of Pasco, which signed a deal with A-1 Hospitality Group for a 50-year lease on the ground with a 25-year renewal. That lease includes a yearly sum of either $28,000, or 1.25 percent of the hotel’s gross revenue, whichever is higher.

A-1 is a heavyweight in the local hotel ownership scene, building the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in west Pasco, Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Kennewick and the SpringHill Suites in Kennewick.

Following success with the property at the convention center, the A-1 group worked out a public-private deal with the city of Kennewick to expand the convention center by adding another hotel, a theater and the potential for more. It’s looking at a massive $50 million investment for its portion of the

plan.

Kennewick will hold a second open house on the $85 million project from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Three Rivers Convention Center, 7106 W. Grandridge Blvd.

The purchase and sales agreement between the city and A-1 covers 3.56 acres for a $50 million seven-story hotel connected to an expanded convention center. Multiple previous efforts to pay for expansions at the convention center have failed.

The project would include a $35 million investment from the city to fund the expansion of the convention center and add a performing arts theater with seating for 2,000. The city has said this project aligns with its vision for the

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 entertainment district and area near the former Vista Field.

The agreement also gave the city the option to buy the adjacent property for a future phase that could include “residential, commercial, and public spaces with water features and boardwalk,” likely to be condominiums, restaurants and parking.

Kennewick estimates the first phase of the project will include $1 million collected in a one-time local sales tax and $105,000 collected yearly from the new hotel, thanks to the tax added to hotel stays.

Name changes

In the race to attract more guests, other hotels in the area have remodeled,

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rebranded or renamed their properties to attract more overnight stays.

The waterfront Shilo Inn at 50 Comstock St. in Richland is now advertised as the Richland Riverfront Hotel, with a new sign and nearly $150,000 in improvements, including a remodel of the lobby, bar, breakfast area and conference rooms. The hotel said the name change will be official at the end of October.

A name change also came to the former M Hotel at 1515 George Washington Way, which underwent a complete overhaul of both the interior and exterior that lasted more than a year before it debuted as a Best Western Plus property.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Real Estate & Construction

Lemon Heads construction program launches at Pasco High

Association of General Contractors partners with schools to train next generation of workers

BY ANDREW KIRK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

This spring a few hard-working Pasco High School students will get to work outside the classroom at an actual job site where they’ll earn $16 an hour or more, while earning class credit.

The opportunity is being offered by the Association of General Contractors through its “Lemon Heads” apprenticeship program.

Lemon heads refer to the yellow hard hats worn by some workers in the construction trades.

Pasco High is the first school in the TriCities to offer the program.

Mike Ankney directs the AGC’s apprenticeship and internship programs in the Inland Northwest region and oversees the Lemon Heads program from Spokane, where it’s been successful at Davenport High School and the Newtech Skills Center.

The first year, four of the five participants went into the construction trades.

Last year, 19 students were put to work, he said.

“It’s considered work-based learning, and it’s a chance for participants to get hands-on learning while making a doggone good wage,” Ankney said.

To qualify, high school juniors must be

enrolled in a career and technical education program, maintain a minimum 2.8 gradepoint average and be available to work 20 to 28 hours per week.

During the summer, the interns enter the apprenticeship working 40 hours per week.

To continue in the program, they have to return to school for their senior year and maintain their grades while working the 20 to 28 hours.

Upon graduation they’re ready for fulltime employment, Ankney said.

This spring, John Weatherby, who teaches the construction skills class for Pasco High’s CTE program, will recommend a handful of students showing good work ethic, attentiveness, a keen interest in the industry, he said. They also must be able to pass a drug test.

As more contractors participate, more interns can be accepted in future years.

“It’s all about seeing if it’s a career option they want to pursue… and get exposure to our industry. And it’s a chance for contractors to train new talent. There’s a tremendous labor shortage in the construction industry, and a tremendous shortage of young people coming into the industry,” he said. “And in Tri-Cities there’s a tremendous workload.”

Weatherby’s class helps the students get safety certifications and learn what they need to know before entering the job site.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography The Association of General Contractors’ “Lemon Heads” apprenticeship program has rolled out at Pasco High School, the first school in the Tri-Cities to offer it.

Students earn a paycheck, as well as class credit, for participating. Lemon heads refer to the yellow hard hats worn by workers in the construction industry.

Upon graduation, the students are workready and competitive candidates for trade schools to become specialized laborers if desired, he said.

“Everyone seems to be hiring,” Weatherby said. “Now they’re reaching into the high schools trying to get them interested at an earlier age… It’s a good opportunity. It’s another direction for our students to get some skills for the workplace.”

Ankney believes the Lemon Heads program has a bright future in Tri-Cities. He’s been meeting with Tri-Tech and Kennewick School District’s CTE administrators to

expand the program. Partnering contractors require work permits and other criteria, but his office knows how to meet those requirements, he said. Now it’s a matter of building relationships. The AGC’s local office is working on that now, he said.

Chervenell Construction in Kennewick has already expressed support.

“With the success the program is having in Spokane, we are eager to help start the program here in the Tri-Cities. It is our hope that it will lead the workforce of tomorrow into construction,” said Brandon Mayfield, president of the company.

Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

35

McKinstry expands Pasco offices to serve as regional hub

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A Seattle-based construction and energy-efficiency contractor has expanded its Pasco offices to coordinate project teams and job site operations across the region.

McKinstry recently opened a larger office to accommodate staff growth and the future buildout of a 10,000-squarefoot fabrication shop at 5702 Industrial Way in Pasco.

The mixed-use office and light manufacturing facility features multiple offices and collaboration spaces. The expansion was completed Sept. 24.

The Pasco fabrication shop will specialize in heavy-gauge steel and sheet metal along with kitting space for packaging, assembly and last-mile delivery.

“Construction remains a major economic engine for the Tri-Cities region, accounting for more than 10,500 jobs,” said Pat Roberts, director of mechanical construction for McKinstry’s Inland Northwest region, in a news release.

“McKinstry relies on this amazing talent pool to drive high-performing building projects. Expanding our presence in the Tri-Cities gives us access to the region’s best talent to benefit our clients

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Cascade Natural Gas proposes rate increase

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission has reached a settlement agreement with Cascade Natural Gas on its request to raise rates.

The agreement filed Sept. 20 outlines a plan that would increase Cascade’s natural gas annual revenues by $6.5 million, or 2.8 percent, instead of by the company’s requested $12.7 million, or 5.6 percent.

If the settlement is approved by the three-member commission, the average residential customer would pay $1.45 more a month, for an average monthly bill of $47.46. These changes would take effect March 1.

Per the settlement agreement, Cascade would also be authorized to earn a 7.2 percent overall rate of return, instead of the 7.7 percent rate of return the company originally requested.

The UTC, which is not bound by the company’s request or the settlement agreement, will make a final decision on the utility’s request this fall.

The commission received 13 public comments through Sept. 20 on Cascade’s rate increase proposal, all of them opposed.

Customers who want to comment on the proposed plans can submit comments online at utc.wa.gov/comments; write to P.O. Box 47250, Olympia, WA, 98504; email comments@utc.wa. gov; or call toll-free 1-888-333-9882.

In March, Cascade filed a general rate case with the commission requesting a $12.7 million, or 5.6 percent increase.

and our projects across the Northwest.”

McKinstry manufactures and assembles mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in off-site fabrication shops.

McKinstry has long served clients in the Tri-City region, with an emphasis on construction and deep energy retrofits.

McKinstry first opened a Tri-City office in 2012 to provide critical construction and energy services for clients in health care, data center, food and agriculture, industrial and other markets.

Darigold turned to the company to design and install mechanical systems as part of its ongoing expansion in Sunnyside. The effort kept the Sunnyside plant operating smoothly while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. Darigold has turned to McKinstry as a client since 1960. McKinstry also has performed ongoing energy retrofits and upgrades across the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus, including a recent boiler upgrade in the Elson Floyd Building.

A McKinstry open house is planned from 3-6 p.m. Oct. 22 at the new office.

The public is invited to attend. RSVP to gabeb@mckinstry.com.

Cascade’s last general rate increase was in 2018.

Kennewick-based Cascade Natural Gas Corporation serves almost 220,000 residential and business customers in 68 communities throughout the state, including Kennewick, Walla Walla, Moses Lake, Wenatchee and Yakima.

Desert Fiber Arts Guild to hold show and sale

Members of the Desert Fiber Arts Guild have worked all year to create a variety of items, from handwoven rugs and blankets, to fine hand-knit lace shawls and delicate tatted jewelry, to showcase during their Fall Fiber Arts Show and Sale.

Daily fiber arts exhibitions will be a highlight of the event. See how modern spinners make their handspun yarns.

Shoppers also can enjoy a large selection of goods for sale, including shawls, wraps, scarves, mittens, caps, rugs, blankets, towels, tatted jewelry and more.

The annual event will be held Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 7-9 in Kennewick.

Hours are 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 7; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 8; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 9.

The show and sale will be at Badger Mountain Yarns’ new location in Kennewick. The yarn shop shares space with Art on the Columbia, a fine art supply store at 830 Columbia Center Blvd., below the Sprint store near Lowe’s.

For more information, go to DesertFiberArts.org or find on Facebook.

Courtesy McKinstry McKinstry recently opened a larger office in Pasco to accommodate staff growth and the future buildout of a 10,000-square-foot fabrication shop.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Real Estate & Construction

New home décor store opens in time for holidays

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Photo by Kristina Lord The nationwide home décor store At Home opened Oct. 1 inside the former Shopko building at 867 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick.

A nationwide home décor store is now open in Kennewick.

At Home opened its newest store Oct. 1 at 867 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick. The new store is the third in the state and 210th store nationwide.

The Texas-based company spent $2.6 million to remodel the former Shopko store next door to Ranch and Home.

The 100,000-square-foot home décor store offers more than 50,000 home décor items, from furniture, mirrors, rugs, art and housewares to tabletop, patio and seasonal décor across a variety of styles.

“As we strategically grow our national footprint, we are excited to open our first store in the YakimaPasco-Richland market,” said Lee Bird, At Home chairman and chief executive officer, in a news release.

“Our vast selection of on-trend styles is winning over home décor customers who want it all: value, variety and an inspiring, hands-on shopping experience.”

Shoppers will find style ideas throughout the store, which is based on a warehouse model with continually updated items that showcase trends and seasonal products. An average of 400 new products arrive each week.

“At Home strives to have the widest selection of home décor items, and we are dedicated to inspiring you to refresh, play and experiment with home décor that reflects your unique personality and style,” said Lori DeZoeter, director of the Kennewick store.

An open house is planned for 9 a.m.

Oct. 19, with gift card giveaways for the first 50 people who visit the store and sign up for the At Home Insider Perks program.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Teens sought for free radio journalism workshop

Do you know a teen with a story to tell? They can spend a weekend with professional journalists learning how to make a nonfiction radio story from start to finish.

Participants will learn how to use audio recording gear, conduct interviews, write a script, edit audio and speak on air. This free workshop is for teens ages 16-18. No previous journalism experience necessary.

The two-day workshop is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 16-17 at Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland.

Apply by Nov. 3 at http://bit.ly/ radiorichland.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION uBUSINESS BRIEFS Pac/West Communications opens Hermiston office

Pac/West Communications is expanding its reach and investment in the Columbia Basin with the opening of an office in Hermiston. The office will serve clients in eastern Oregon and Washington.

The company has a long history of work in the area, including running successful election campaigns, developing communications strategies and lobbying for rural issues and initiatives. The office is in the Columbia Phillip Scheuers Professional Building at 1050 W. Elm Ave. and will act as the company’s regional base of operations.

“The Columbia Basin is a powerhouse of innovation, growth and development in the Pacific Northwest. We’re eager to enhance and promote that work,” said Pac/West Communications President Paul Phillips in a news release.

Pac/West will staff the Hermiston office with two local professionals who have firsthand knowledge of the region and its issues.

For the last 10 years, Phillip Daniel Scheuers has Wattenburger worked on government affairs and economic development, specifically in Eastern Oregon. Before joining Pac/ West, he served as a legislative assistant in the Oregon Legislature, focusing much of his time on the ways and means and capi-

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

tal construction. He also has significant experience in economic development programs, including business incentives and industrial land development for both public and private entities.

Daniel Wattenburger, previously an editor at the East Oregonian newspaper for more than a decade, specializes in communication and has reported extensively on rural Oregon politics, economy, natural resources, education and health care. He offers insight on media relations and delivering effective messaging campaigns across multiple channels.

Pac/West services include lobbying, political consulting, campaigning, issues management, branding, marketing, public relations, website development, crisis communications and association management. The company also has offices in Wilsonville and Denver.

Musser Bros. to auction port’s surplus property

O’Reilly Auto Parts to build store in Prosser

Lourdes Occupational Health relocates east Pasco clinic

O’Reilly Auto Parts plans to build a new store on Wine Country Road in Prosser, but a timeline for when it’ll open hasn’t been determined yet.

Eric Bird, external reporting and planning manager for O’Reilly’s corporate office in Springfield, Missouri, confirmed the new store will be at 361 Wine Country Road.

The building will cost $1.4 million, but Bird said he had no other information about the project. “It’s pretty early in the process,” he said. “We’ve approved plans on it.”

But there is no preliminary date for when construction will begin, Bird said.

“My guess is this is going to be late next year when it opens,” he said.

O’Reilly Auto Parts has 5,344 stores in 47 states, with 81,000 employees.

There are 157 O’Reilly Auto Parts stores in the state, including two each in Kennewick and Pasco, one each in Richland, Walla Walla, Grandview and Sunnyside.

The Port of Kennewick will auction four surplus commercial properties in south Kennewick next month.

The available land is located near the intersection of Interstate 82 and Highway 395 and the new Bob Olson Parkway; and adjacent to Trios Hospital and the Southridge Sports complex.

The parcels are zoned community commercial and range in size from 1.34 acres to 2.69 acres, totaling 8.5 acres.

The port said the land offers “outstanding opportunities” for medical, residential, restaurant, hotel, entertainment and retail development.

Musser Bros. will conduct the live auction starting at 11 a.m. Nov. 15 at its auction facility at 3125 Rickenbacker Drive in Pasco.

Lourdes Occupational Health has moved its east Pasco clinic to Grandridge Boulevard in Kennewick, near the Three Rivers Convention Center.

The Occupational Health Clinic is now sharing space with Trios Urgent Care and Trios After-Hours Pediatrics clinic.

Lourdes operates two occupational health clinics—one in west Pasco on Sandifur Parkway and the newly relocated clinic at 7201 Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick.

Both clinics will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to assist employers with pre-employment require-

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ments, injury claims, safety education and more.

This move marks the first time Lourdes and Trios will share clinic space.

Both Lourdes Health and Trios Health became members of the for-profit LifePoint Health in 2018. Together, Lourdes and Trios employ about 2,000 people and work with nearly 300 health care providers.

Grant County Airport lands $9.9M grant

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake a $9.9 million grant for runway and runway lighting reconstruction.

The amount is based on the airport’s master improvement plan, which was submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Operations at the Grant County International Airport support both commercial and military users, serving as a key facility for test flights and air traffic control,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, in a statement. “This grant is a substantial federal investment that will allow the Port of Moses Lake to continue their efforts to improve one of the largest airfields in the United States.”

In 2018, Newhouse included language in the FAA Reauthorization Act to prohibit the FAA from realigning or consolidating the terminal radar approach control system at the airport was exempt from consolidation, due to its military operation activity.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

High costs drive people to move elsewhere

Too often, elected officials overlook the cumulative costs of regulations, taxes and fees on taxpayers; however, it comes back to bite them hard when people move, or take matters into their own hands by initiative.

Consider what is happening in hightax and cost-of-living states, such as California, New York and Connecticut.

Florida recorded the highest level of net domestic migration in 2018 and added 1.2 million people from other states since 2010. “Many Florida transplants are retirees and tax refugees from the Northeast, but businesses of all sorts also are recruiting young workers from

other states to serve the state’s booming population that has reached 21.3 million,” Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, Don C. Brunell Connecticut Business analyst lost the equivalent of 1.6 perGUEST COLUMN cent of its annual adjusted gross income, as the people who moved out had an average income of $122,000,

which was 26 percent higher than those migrating in. “Leavers” outnumbered “stayers” by a 5-to-4 margin.

People with higher incomes from northeastern states are fleeing to Florida, “lower income Californians are the ones who are leaving,” CNBC reported.

In 2017, the Census Bureau reported California saw a net loss of just more than 138,000 people, while Texas had a net increase of more than 79,000 people.

Arizona gained more than 63,000 residents, and Nevada gained more than 38,000.

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll of Californians found the high cost

of living, including housing, and taxes, such as the state’s new gas tax (which increased by 40 percent) were driving factors.

The good news is the Pacific Northwest is gaining population and some key advantages for Washington are no income or capital gains taxes.

However, there are warning signs as well. Washington’s Legislature adjourned last spring after raising taxes substantially. While legislators killed carbon and capital gains tax proposals, the Democrats’ tax package aims to raise more than $830 million over the next two years and $2 billion over four years.

“That doesn’t factor in a new payroll tax to fund a first in the nation long-term care benefit that was passed separately.

It also doesn’t include an overhauled hazardous substance tax designed to raise $359 million over the next four years,” NPR’s Austin Jenkins reported.

Tax increases drive citizens away and spawn a raft of initiatives. For example, a similar increase in state taxes in 1993 led to approval of Initiative 601, a citizen’s initiative to limit state spending.

(I-601 was overturned by our state’s Supreme Court in 2013).

Twenty years ago when citizens objected to high license tabs fees, voters overwhelmingly approved a $30 car tab initiative. Although the courts invalidated the initiative on technicality, Gov. Gary Locke and lawmakers immediately reinstated the law.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the city council learned the hard way when it voted unanimously added a “head tax” primarily directed at Amazon and Starbucks. “No Tax on Jobs,” spontaneously formed and amassed more than 45,000 signatures calling for a public referendum. The mayor and council backtracked and repealed it by a 7-2 vote.

Here’s the point: while politicians may earnestly believe their actions will have no repercussions, they do. When cumulative taxes and costs of living exceed what people can afford, they either move or seek relief by initiative or referendum.

Unfortunately, school boards, cities, state legislatures and Congress overlook the total impact of their collective actions—but there is a tipping point.

There is no argument that politicians can justify every tax, fee or regulation they add; however, that approach often ignores how much taxpayers can afford.

It isn’t as much an issue of which tax or fee is increased. It is about their accumulation on taxpayers and the family budget.  Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

Trade apprenticeships offer path to lucrative careers Demand is high locally for skilled tradespeople, union officials say

BY ANDREW KIRK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Those who graduated from college or a university this year could expect to make on average about $50,000 for their first year of work, according to several independent national surveys.

They could also expect, on average, to have about that much in student debt.

Those working in the construction trades shake their heads at those statistics, as they start their education earning the same salary and then graduate debt-free for a salary that’s twice that.

David Jarrett was working in the banking and real estate industry when he experienced medical issues and found himself searching for a career at age 29 that would provide medical benefits.

Nearly 10 years older than most of his classmates, he started the UA Local 598 Plumbers and Steamfitters apprenticeship program five years ago. Not knowing any-

Courtesy JATC Apprentices from the Joint Apprenticeship Training Community, or JATC, which receives support from both the Local 112 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association, receive about $1,500 per year for books, fees and tuition for five years and finish the program with a six-figure salary and a Columbia Basin College certificate.

thing about welding, Jarrett said he was amazed by the training and support he received while earning with a living wage working alongside a veteran welder.

During the day he worked and then attended school twice a week and every other weekend. He’s now ready to graduate

and can realistically expect $90,000 to $100,000 per year, benefits and a retirement plan.

“The experience was amazing… I went from not knowing anything to successfully getting paid to fit, grind and weld large industrial projects,” he said.

Jason Lee, field representative for Local 598, oversees the training program in Pasco and said there’s a huge labor shortage in today’s economy—especially in the Tri-Cities. Large local projects are bringing in tradespeople from outside the area to perform skilled labor, and then those people leave with their paychecks, he said.

“There’s a need for skilled workforce.

That’s what apprenticeships are all about.

They’re not secondary to a four-year degree, they’re equal to a four-year degree in building a skilled workforce,” he said.

The program is competitive, with between 15 to 30 new apprentices accepted each year at Lee’s facility in Pasco. But the program is free to participants and paid for by the union.

They “earn as they learn” for five years and boast a 95 percent retention rate. And those who drop out do so for personal reasons, not because the program was too demanding, Lee said. Since it’s the union’s money and reputation on the line, union officials are invested in making sure each apprentice succeeds.

About 5 percent of program applicants have family in the trades. No previous uAPPRENTICESHIP, Page 43

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Education & Training

Education & Training Number of employees you oversee: The college employs approximately 700 regular employees, not including adjuncts, part-time hourly and student workers.

Brief background about your college: Columbia Basin College is a public community college serving the Tri-Cities and surrounding communities since 1955.

Our mission is to inspire, educate and support all students in an environment of academic excellence leading to the completion of degrees, certifications and educational transfers, while fostering meaningful employment, engaged citizenship and a lifelong joy of learning. CBC offers both two- and four-year degrees, one-year certificates, as well as many short-term certificates. We offer seven different four-year programs: a bachelor of applied science (BAS) in applied management—with optional concentrations in agriculture or health care administration; cybersecurity; dental hygiene; information technology; project management with an optional concentration in construction; teacher education; and a bachelor of science in nursing.

How did you land your current role?

How long have you been in it?

I was looking for a college that would be a good fit with my experience and skill set as well as a board of trustees with whom I could share a vision for the college. I believed I found that when I saw the position posting and began researching CBC. That was confirmed when I visited the campus and community in August 2017 to interview for the position and continues to be confirmed every day since I began on Nov. 1, 2017.

What are your professional goals for the coming school year?

This year we will develop our next strategic plan. The current plan continues through the end of 2020. We will continue to review our academic programs to be responsive to the needs of the Tri-Cities.

We are in the final steps of proposing new or additional programs in agriculture, culinary, health physics, as well as many trade areas. We are implementing several essential elements of a guided pathways framework for community colleges such as a case management model of advising for students. This includes hiring new completion coaches who will work individually with their specific case load of students.

They will support their students from their first day on campus until their last day on campus when they have successfully completed their goals. We are also developing a new Career Center on campus. This was one of the first things I heard from the community. When employers had jobs to advertise or were looking for an intern or part-time employee, they did not know who to contact. I heard similar concerns from students—that there was no centralized location to receive support in job searches, internships, help with résumés, mock interviews, etc. We currently have a new director position posted and are identifying the right location on campus in which to house the new center.

On the importance of community colleges: Community colleges are the gateway to

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Q&A

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REBEKAH S. WOODS

President of Columbia Basin College the American dream. We provide open access to a low-cost, high-quality education for the entire community, helping our students prepare for jobs in highdemand fields with family-sustaining wages. Community colleges are designed to be responsive to their communities, which means we intentionally minimize the internal bureaucracy so we can move quickly to add new or modified programs and services based on the needs of our area businesses and employers.

What do you wish more people knew about CBC? That we are a comprehensive community college offering everything from trade programs to transfer degrees. We serve more than 11,000 students each year preparing them to step directly into a career or to transfer to a four-year university. As a comprehensive community college we offer everything from learning English, completing a high school credential, pursuing a trade or professional technical program, or preparing to successfully transfer on to a four-year university. I’ve heard more than once

that we need a trade school in the TriCities, but CBC, among other things, is the trade school of the Tri-Cities.

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

All leaders need to possess a vision for their organization, courage to make the hard decisions and humility.

Advice for someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Listen and learn. Take time to get to know the organization, learn its culture and meet the people. Assume nothing.

And at the end of the day, be yourself.

The biggest challenge facing business owners/managers today?

Balance. I don’t necessarily mean work-life balance, although that is always a challenge. I mean balance between where to spend your time—internally to the organization or externally with the community. How to balance between moving fast enough to keep your organization relevant in today’s fast-paced society, yet slow enough to ensure change is authentic and sustainable.

Rebekah S. Woods Who are your role models or mentors?

I’ve been fortunate to have had many mentors in my professional journey. Dr. Dan Phelan, the president of Jackson College in Michigan, committed to mentoring me in 2009 and continues to this day. He gave me experiences and responsibilities during my eight years at Jackson College that had nothing to do with my job description. I remain grateful to him for his trust in me. Dr. DeRionne Pollard, the president of Montgomery College in Maryland, has also been a tremendous mentor and support for me. No matter what she has going on, she drops everything and makes you feel like you are the only thing that matters. She gives selflessly to so many leaders. uQ&A, Page 42

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Q&A, From page 41 How do you keep your employees motivated?

By keeping our students—their stories, their challenges, their successes—front and center. We love what we do because of the students we have the privilege to serve every day.

How did you decide to pursue the career that you are working in today?

I was practicing law in Virginia and contacted my law school’s Career Services office because I was looking for my next step. They told me their office was looking for a new director and asked if I would be interested. I started working there one month later in 1997 and fell in love with working in higher education. I

began studying community colleges in 1998 while I was working on my doctorate and began working at my first community college in 2004. My heart and my values align well with the mission of a community college. We provide opportunities to individuals who might not otherwise have them.

Measuring success in your workplace: If our students are successful, then we are successful. We define the outcomes and metrics that define student success at CBC. If those metrics are moving in the right direction, then we are succeeding and fulfilling our mission.

What is your leadership style?

Collaborative. Team-oriented. I focus

EDUCATION & TRAINING on bringing the right people around the table and listen to them. I don’t hesitate to ask hard questions and challenge others. I do what is necessary to support the right decision moving forward.

How do you balance work/family life?

Not well. I could spend 24/7 on work and there would still be more to do. I try to focus on the important and not get consumed with the urgent. I also intentionally surround myself with an amazing team of leaders and continually remind myself of the line between my job and their jobs.

What do you like to do when you are not at work?

Spend time with my husband, Robert, and our four rescued fur-babies. My hus-

band and I are also foodies so we enjoy cooking, eating and watching the Food Network.

Best time management strategy?

I live by my calendar. I schedule everything—meetings, phone calls, walking around time, office time, think and reflect.

Best tip to relieve stress?

I’m obsessed with my workouts. I’m a different person after my workout. A lot of that has to do with being an “I” on the Myers Briggs and needing time alone to refuel. But at the end of the day, it’s about mindset. Keep everything in perspective.

What’s your favorite podcast?

I rarely listen to podcasts, but I will take the opportunity to give a shout-out to Paul Casey’s Tri-Cities Influencer podcast. His podcasts have been a great way for me to get to know more about some of the leaders within the Tri-Cities. I meet so many people in the community and oftentimes don’t know more than their name, title and organization. These podcasts have given me the opportunity to learn more about different people I’ve met as well as receive some great insights on leadership.

Most-used app? Or favorite website?

I use the YouVersion Bible app a lot, especially when I travel. I also really like the GLSNext app which is a product of the Global Leadership Summit. It includes two-to three-minute encouragements, lessons and inspirational quotes from leaders all over the world who have spoken at the summit.

Favorite book?

I usually read books that help me grow in my knowledge of student success, leadership and my faith. I enjoy all of Patrick Lencioni’s books. They’re wise reads with practical application.

Currently, I am reading “Whistling Vivaldi” by Claude M. Steele, about how stereotypes affect us. I also recently finished “The Making of an Ordinary Saint”

by Nathan Foster.

Favorite TV show?

My favorite show of all times is “MASH.” It was way ahead of its time and is still relevant today. My husband and I own all 11 seasons. Of those on right now, I enjoy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and my husband and I currently are working our way through “Downton Abbey”—it’s addictive.

Favorite movie?

Without question, “Pride & Prejudice.”

I certainly enjoyed the 2005 version with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, but my favorite is the six-episode miniseries produced by BBC in 1995 with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

Six hours flies by.

Do you have a personal mantra, phrase or quote you like to use?

“It is what it is.” To me that means we don’t let ourselves get caught up in the emotion or drama of a situation. We approach the situation objectively and work the problem.

EDUCATION & TRAINING APPRENTICESHIP, From page 39 experience is necessary, although it may make one a better candidate. The unions are actively recruiting more women and minorities.

“I’m a first-generation pipefitter/steamfitter,” Lee said. “We’re there to benefit the apprentice.”

Marcus Burleson is the training director for the Joint Apprenticeship Training Community, or JATC, which receives support from both the Local 112 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association.

He said apprentices at the JATC pay about $1,500 per year for books, fees and tuition for five years and finish with a sixfigure salary and a Columbia Basin College certificate.

“It’s for anybody and everybody,” Burleson said. “We have a couple job classifications you don’t need any previous experience for. It’s basically unlicensed work.”

The JATC accepts about six to 10 apprentices at a time and staggers start times throughout the year for a total of about 40 to 60 first-year apprentices per calendar year.

Qualified applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent and have fulfilled a minimum math requirement, which can be satisfied with an online course, if needed. Applicants must be 18 years old. The apprentices come in for a week’s worth of training, then work in the field under supervision for six weeks before returning for more training.

Applicants are interviewed by a committee at the JATC and if they score highly but don’t make the cut, their name stays on the list for two years. They’re invited to join when openings appear, Burleson explained. In the meantime, they can work unlicensed jobs, such as a material handlers shuffling supplies from source to site, and observing apprentices and their instructors working on site.

Lee said applicants who don’t make the cut can take classes in the trades at CBC, or apply to other trade schools like Perry Technical Institute in Yakima. Tri-Tech Skills Center is free for high school students and offers an excellent program, he said.

It’s important to remember union apprenticeships are an incredible opportunity and are therefore competitive, Lee said. Many doctors aren’t accepted to medical school the first time they apply, he added.

“This is definitely a career path forward—not a job. If everyone would buy into it, we’d be building a workforce for our area,” he said. “Imagine if our graduates were building Tri-Cities and putting their money back into the Tri-Cities.”

Burleson said there’s a big push to bring more women into the trades, and even change language to create a more welcoming environment. Journeymen are now journey-level persons,” he said.

To explore a career in the trades Lee recommends students sign up for wood shop and/or metal shop, take classes at TriTech and meet as many professionals in a

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 given trade as possible.

Burleson said he was invited to attend a construction trades job fair for high school students and he brought two women with him to talk about their profession. Tri-Tech has a popular “women in construction” day that opens students’ eyes to the variety of workers who can find a place in the trades.

If a student is really tech savvy, his or her parents might push them toward engineering, but they’re also needed in the trades, Lee said. Technology is making waves in his profession and apprentices comfortable with mastering new tools and learning new computer programs are going to have a comfortable future, he said.

Kurt Gustafson is about to start his fifth year at JATC. He said he’s already amazed by what robots and machines can do. There will always be a need for a human touch in electric work, he said, and it gives him the assurance of job security.

“Here locally we have the best work outlook,” he said. “Here we make fantastic money. The training is second to none. I think… it’s an essential job.”

Gustafson said apprenticeships are for people who prefer hands-on learning.

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“For me… I managed to graduate high school in spite of myself,” he said. “A typical classroom environment wasn’t conducive to my learning style. This is fantastic.”

He advises young people to find out the pros and cons of different trades. They’re all in such high demand locally there isn’t a bad one to choose, but some are more physically demanding. Some have unparalleled benefits packages.

Jarrett said he loves that the union fosters camaraderie.

“A lot of people don’t understand how good the trades are,” he said. “Unions aren’t just about collective bargaining, but also about the amount of education we provide and how we support and train each other.”

To see a list of all apprenticeships available in Washington state, Lee recommended perusing the Department of Labor and Industries’ website, which has a comprehensive list at lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/ Apprenticeship.

According to the list, more than 16,000 Washingtonians are currently enrolled in apprenticeships.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Education & Training

Education & Training

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Tri-City teacher salaries closing in on state average New state standardized salary schedule responsible for pay discrepancies

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Kennewick teachers walked out of their classrooms, delaying the start of school by four days this year amid salary concerns.

The move resulted in an 8 percent raise for educators in the Tri-Cities’ biggest school district, putting their salaries more in line with neighboring districts. But why was there a pay discrepancy in the first place?

One factor at play was state lawmakers’ decision to toss a standardized salary schedule for teachers.

“Rather than provide districts with the funding for each teacher’s salary on a uniform state salary schedule that recognizes experience and education, a system that worked well for over 40 years, the Legislature changed to a flat rate model. In this new model, districts get a flat rate for each teacher of $66,520, regardless of the teacher’s experience and education,” according to the Kennewick School District.

Under this new system, if an average teacher base salary fell below the state average, the districts have the ability to pay more. But Kennewick said it doesn’t get additional funding to cover these salary gaps to bump its average teacher salaries above the state average.

Additionally, a new system of regionalization also threw the method of teacher pay into “chaos,” said Rob Woodford, president of the Kennewick Education Association, which represented the certificated teachers in the collective bargaining.

“The model it is now doesn’t make more sense. When they threw out the salary allocation schedule, and the staff mixed factor, they kind of ruined two of the best aspects Washington had in the education system. Teachers could bargain for wages with a baseline to start, due to the salary allocation schedule, and school districts could count on being able to hire whomever they wanted. Now they’re starting from ground zero instead of having a place that’s fair to start from, and it’s every man for himself when it comes to bargaining for wages,” Woodford said.

The state’s regionalization system assigns a figure to an area, based on its average cost of living, which allows for additional funding if it’s estimated to cost more to live in that district’s boundaries.

Richland received a higher regionalization factor, bringing with it more funding, compared to the Kennewick or Pasco school districts—neither receive regionalization dollars.

The Kennewick district said the inconsistency amounted to about $4,000 more per teacher a year for those employed in Richland.

There’s wide discrepancy across the state, according to data from the state’s

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, which tracks salaries by taking a snapshot of them at one point in time annually.

The state’s data is the teacher’s average base salary before stipends or supplemental contracts are added on, which aren’t the same across the state, OSPI officials said.

Kennewick School District officials also pointed out that the data submitted to the state in the fall is “cleaned up” as the year progresses, with districts submitting revised numbers in the summer.

But those revised numbers aren’t the ones OSPI uses to monitor statewide salaries.

The most recent OSPI data from October 2018 shows the base annual salary for a certificated teacher in Kennewick was $67,005 for its 1,116 teachers. The district is the largest employer in Kennewick. The newly negotiated “average” teacher salary in Kennewick now is $80,096 annually, according to the district.

Richland’s 751 teachers earned an annual base salary of $73,248 in 2018, according to OSPI data. Pasco’s 1,164 certificated teachers earned $70,616 annually.

It should be noted unions represent-

ing Richland and Pasco teachers already had negotiated new contracts prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year.

In nearby Kiona-Benton City, Prosser and Finley school districts, teachers made $71,115, $67,528 and $71,419, respectively, during that same time in October 2018, according to OSPI. In the Seattle School District, the annual base salary for a certificated teacher was $70,165, in Spokane, $75,299, and in Vancouver, $66,702.

The teachers earning the highest annual base salary in the state are 1,430 educators in the Edmonds School District, north of Seattle in Snohomish County. They earned $92,502 annually in 2018-19, according to OSPI. The least compensated were in Summit Atlas, a tiny district in King County serving West Seattle and White Center that opened as a charter school in 2017.

Its 23 certificated teachers received an annual base salary of $40,272 each.

The state’s average annual base salary was $73,009 for its 66,391 certificated teachers in 2018.

Woodford said the figures often can be misleading when people think teacher compensation covers a 12-month schedule.

“People think we have paid holidays, we don’t. People think we have paid summers, we don’t. What happens is we’re paid on a contract that’s literally 180 days a year, 7 1/2 hours a day. No teacher puts in 7 1/2 hours a day.

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There’s a lot of extra time that teachers put in because you’re dealing with human beings and there is a lot of extra work,” he said.

The decision to change the way the state funded its school districts and the way teacher salaries were determined is a result of a court case known as the McCleary decision, named for a family who sued the state alleging inadequate funding of the public schools. The state Supreme Court sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the state to come up with a new system to properly fund public education.

It resulted in a $2 billion windfall set aside by the state for primary and secondary public education.

Many contract negotiations and strikes affecting school districts across the state occurred prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year when the new law was put in place to “fix” the old system and properly fund the schools.

This resulted in double-digit pay increases for many teachers whose pay had stalled from salary caps that were in place.

“I probably went for a decade where I never got a single increase. I kept on working,” Woodford said. Prior to the 2018-19 school year, Kennewick did not have an open contract and its teachers were not in a position to bargain.

Kennewick School District said the uSALARIES, Page 48

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Education & Training

More education needed to foster a Tri-City knowledge economy To what degree will the Tri-Cities participate in the knowledge economy well underway this century?

First, a quick definition: a knowledge economy is one where a large number of jobs exploit brainpower. We need to look no further than King County to see what this kind of economy looks like. In the economists’ taxonomy of jobs, where there’s a large concentration of information technology, as well as scientific, professional and technical jobs, there’s a good chance that the local economy is knowledge-based.

Why does that matter? One reason lies in a strong and positive correlation between educational attainment and sal-

aries. There are many other benefits, such as a greater defense to artificial intelligence’s implications for job destruction.

D. Patrick Jones Higher salaries, Eastern of course, lead Washington to higher University incomes, which GUEST COLUMN bring all sorts of benefits— from retail sales, to real estate, to local government revenue. Consider King

County’s annual wages: in 2018, it averaged a little more than $88,000. That’s more than $22,000 than the state average.

A knowledge economy rests, well, on knowledge. If the Tri-Cities is to succeed in developing more of a knowledge economy—now minimal outside of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—my hunch is that there’s a strong desire to grow local talent. Typically, that talent is acquired at schools. How is talent acquisition doing here?

One has to start with the K-12 system, even though a high school diploma hardly gets anyone in the knowledge economy door. By one metric, high

school graduation rates, which we can observe in the Benton-Franklin Trends data, some modest improvement can be celebrated. The extended rate is appropriate to consider in communities with a large number of English-language learners. Since the 2010-11 school year, the rate has increased by nearly 7 percentage points, with the most recent value at approximately 81 percent. Note, however, that success in the past several years has been stagnant. And also note that the local rate—averaged over all districts in the two counties—is still below the Washington average.

How about actual knowledge? If graduation rates capture the educational outcome of quantity, assessments reflect quality. As any parent of a public school student knows, the current tool to do this in Washington state is the Smarter Balanced Assessment, or SBA. It is a much more difficult test than the prior state test, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL, but aligns with the national effort around Common Core standards. Benton-Franklin Trends depicts three assessments, each for two grades: fourth and tenth and above.

Consider the English language arts assessment. For the fourth-grade, some progress is observable; most recently, about half of the area’s fourth-graders are meeting standard. But the share throughout the state has been considerably higher. Due to changes in the test administration by the state, only one observation is available for tenth grade. But that shows the area’s tenthgraders lagging the Washington average by several percentage points.

What about math, key to the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines, powering the growth of the knowledge economy? For fourth grade, Trends data reveals no progress in meeting standard over the past four years.

And area schools lag the state fourth grade average by about 10 percentage points. Less than a third of area tenthgraders were able to meet the SBA math standards, and the gap to the state is similarly around 10 percentage points.

With this K-12 backdrop, it is not surprising that local college-going behavior lags its benchmarks. Consider the metric of share of high school seniors in a two- or four-year college in the year after graduation, found in the Trends data. The trend has gone in the wrong direction.

Compared to 2005, fewer area public high school grads are attending either a community college or a private fouryear college or university.

The one category that has gained a bit over time is the share of students attending public four-year universities. While the trend for the entire state has been one of decline, local college-going still lags behind the state average. The one exception is community-college-going behavior: It has been and still is higher than the state.

Related Trends data—the share of adults enrolled in higher education— uEDUCATION , Page 49

Education & Training

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

DNR repurposing land to make more money for schools State works to diversify public lands to grow Tri-City school funds

BY ANDREW KIRK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

At statehood, the federal government granted Washington millions of acres of land to be managed for the support of public schools, including universities.

Today, it, along with other lands dedicated to different state needs, is managed by the state Department of Natural Resources.

A portion of the 1 million acres of state farmland managed by the DNR is in Benton and Franklin counties. State Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has been working to convert farmland now surrounded by development in Pasco and Richland into neighborhoods and businesses.

“We’re working to diversify the lands so they’re not just agriculture and timber. Our responsibility is to fund schools and counties intergenerationally. We’re working to diversify that portfolio and now working to leverage more of our commercial and industrial lands,” Franz said.

In addition to generating more money for schools with long-term leases, developing the land also aids economic growth.

Courtesy state Department of Natural Resources Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards and Winery President Bill Monson, left, talks on Sept. 11 with Hilary Franz, the state commissioner of public lands, while touring Goose Ridge’s vineyard in Richland, a piece of Department of Natural Resources state trust land now being utilized more optimally to generate dollars for school construction.

“(Franz) has shown a keen understanding of the need to enable the agency to further develop appropriate commercial properties in the DNR portfolio that are within the Pasco Urban Growth Area,” said Rick White, city of Pasco’s community and economic development director. “For example, DNR recently partnered with the city to establish a local improvement district for extension of Chapel Hill Boulevard and installa-

tion of utilities from Road 68 to Road 84 just south of Interstate 182.”

When DNR installed the irrigation pivots near Road 68 so it could be farmed, it increased the value of the land. When the opportunity arose to increase the value again by inviting commercial development on 73 acres, DNR installed infrastructure to invite long-term leases.

In Pasco that turned into the LID,

47

with a $4 million investment from the state Legislature. Franz estimated the leases will eventually bring in $2 million each year for K-12 Common School Trust.

The money reaches Tri-City school districts indirectly, said Ty Beaver, spokesman for the Richland School District. The state Legislature draws upon the funds to allocate money for school construction and other education needs. It is therefore impossible to say how much local funding comes from the local leases.

In south Richland, a 300-acre orchard on DNR land north of Kennedy Road near Queensgate will be available for development in 2021 after a lease with Chiawana Orchards expires. The city has already rezoned the land, hoping 200 acres will become a residential neighborhood while the DNR will improve 55 acres for commercial leases.

Mike Stevens, planning manager for the city of Richland, said the rezone was passed May 21 to allow for multi-family, medium-density residential units, as well as low-density single-family homes, and parks and/or public facilities in addition to the commercial allotments.

After Jan. 1, 2021, the DNR will auction the 200 acres and retain management of the 55 acres. The plan has been in place since 2017, Stevens said.

“We might sell a piece of land that’s

uDNR LAND, Page 48

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

DNR LAND, From page 47 not a great revenue generator, or is zoned high residential (like the one at Chiawana Orchards) and go buy better ag land or timber land or commercial land. It’s very difficult to manage lands in checkerboard patterns. It’s easier in big blocks,” Franz said.

Not all agricultural land has been slated for development. Near Paterson, the DNR is supporting the transition of land from wheat to row crops.

In an effort to not lose water rights worth about $41 million on 5,000 acres in south Benton County, DNR struck a deal with Frank Tiegs LLC. Tiegs is president of the Washington Potato Co. headquartered in Pasco.

The DNR obtained water rights in the

1970s and had to use them by 2020 or lose them. For three years the department searched for a development partner to turn the dry wheat and grazing land into irrigated farmland. Earlier this year a pipeline from Paterson was completed by Frank Tiegs LLC to begin watering 3,100 acres of the farmland in the Horse Heaven Hills and begin growing potatoes, onions, corn and other row crops. The private company installed the eight-mile, $23 million pipeline in return for lower rent for the next 24 years.

The joint effort results in the roughly $155,000 in rent collected each year from the dry land jumping to about $625,000, and the $12,000 collected in taxes becoming $80,000.

Around Red Mountain DNR manages

Education & Training thousands of acres that grew no grapes as recently as 2017. Now in cooperation with Goose Ridge Vineyard, DNR land is planted with vines bringing in $1,100 per acre per year. Soon the operation near Candy Mountain will expand.

“Years ago it was almost nothing.

Now it’s sizable dollars,” Franz said.

Lastly, DNR land near tiny Bickleton —southwest of Benton City in Klickitat County—was bringing in about $2 per acre. A recent solar power project means the land is now renting for hundreds of dollars per acre.

“The story coming out of the TriCities with our land ownership and how we’re managing it is… we’re growing infrastructure and generating revenue for our schools,” Franz said.

SALARIES, From page 45 four primary changes from the McCleary decision were all detrimental to district, including the regionalization bumps. The district pointed out that it is the largest district in the state not receiving regionalization, and therefore, extra funding.

Additionally, the district said a flat salary allocation negatively affects communities with a more experienced staff, who can earn higher salaries than the state-funded average salary allows. The district also did not qualify for extra funding due to a new system called the “experience factor.” While Kennewick’s staff had a mix of experience above the state average, it didn’t meet the threshold to receive additional funding.

Finally, the district was financially impacted by the decision to reduce the maintenance and operations levy from $3.35 per $1,000 of assessed value for property value, to $1.50-per-$1,000, which resulted in a loss of revenue estimated at $12.6 million.

In 2019, maintenance and operations levies proposed by school districts and approved by voters were replaced by enrichment levies. Enrichment levies are capped at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Districts with more than 40,000 students can receive more.

It was part of the state’s solution to solve funding challenges brought

by McCleary. Levy money cannot be used to pay teacher salaries.

The Kennewick Education Association was aware of these changes to the district’s financial picture, yet still felt the district had an adequate reserve fund to pay its teachers on a level similar to the neighboring districts. Both sides agreed to a new two-year contract in late August.

The Pasco School District and Pasco Association of Educators’ two-year contract is in place through 2020. The district last saw a strike in 2015.

Richland Education Association teachers have been able to avoid a strike; they signed a three-year contract in 2018.

KEA representatives say teachers are satisfied with their new contract. “People are excited about the raise, but at the same time, you can’t face 150 kids a day and be thinking about money the whole time,” Woodford said.

The hope is that any contract negotiations between districts and unions can be negotiated successfully without the need to walk off the job, he said.

“Teachers don’t want to be on strike and districts don’t want to have strikes. But part of collective bargaining is that this is a power people have, to control what they get paid for their labor,” he said.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Education & Training

uBUSINESS BRIEF State cracks Kiplinger’s top 10 list for tax-friendly states

Courtesy Benton-Franklin Trends

EDUCATION, From page 46 tells a similar story. Here the activities of area students have been and continue to be lower than for both the state and the U.S. On a bright note, recently that gap has narrowed a bit.

Where then might a knowledge economy in the Tri-Cities be within a decade? It appears to this observer that new firms will need to emerge, unless PNNL doubles its headcount. Beyond talent, other factors come into play in firm creation: the appetite for entrepreneurship, the presence of earlystage financing and an ecosystem of

related firms. But the need for talent will remain paramount. Let’s hope that both the K-12 and higher ed trends over the next few years will look a little different.

 D. Patrick Jones is the executive director for Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis. Benton-Franklin Trends, the institute’s project, uses local, state and federal data to measure the local economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

Kiplinger ranked Washington state No. 6 on its list of best states for taxes.

The list was revealed as part of Kiplinger’s seventh annual Tax Map— available at Kiplinger.com/links/taxmap—which shows state income taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, “sin” taxes (for products such as alcohol and tobacco) and other tax rules and exemptions across the country.

Washington makes the list of the most tax-friendly states because it doesn’t have an income tax, Kiplinger said. But some of the other state and local taxes in the Evergreen State aren’t quite so taxpayer friendly, it noted.

The Tax Foundation’s average combined state and local sales tax rate for

uGRANTS • Columbia Basin College has received a $10,000 grant from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and a matching $10,000 grant from Battelle, which operates Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to help prepare local K-12 educators in teaching computer science. In 2018, CBC also received an OSPI grant to establish the Tri-Cities’ first Computer Science Teacher Association chapter, which provides local K-12 teachers with upgraded technology,

49

Washington is the third-highest in the country. The state’s gasoline tax is the fourth-highest in the nation. At 19.4 percent, Washington also has the thirdhighest average state and local cellphone wireless service tax in the U.S. Washington is also one of a handful of states with an estate tax. For 2019, it’s imposed on estates worth more than $2,193,000. The estate tax rates range from 10 percent to 20 percent.

Property taxes in Washington are more modest. For a $400,000 home, the average tax bill in the state will run about $4,499 per year, which is close to the national average.

To create the rankings, Kiplinger evaluated data and state policies from a wide range of sources on taxes on income, property, sales, fuel, tobacco, alcohol, wireless services, and inheritances and gifts.

innovative workshops and extended training for obtaining a computer science certificate.

With the additional $20,000, the project team, led by CBC Associate Professor of Computer Science Josh Bee, will use the network and resources established by the CSTA chapter to develop and conduct additional computer science professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers, including an ideation workshop, a train-the-trainer program, a cybersecurity challenge and a computer science professional job shadow program.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

uBOARDS • Empowered Health of Richland has established a new advisory board to help propel the health care clinic into becoming a premier wellness center. The board includes Dr. Jessica Schneider, chief executive officer of Empowered Health, Nicole Chiaramonte, the founder of Synergy MedAesthetics and CEO of TWG consulting, and Dr. Brian Lawenda, mediNicole cal director for Chiaramonte the Northwest Cancer

Clinic/21st Century Oncology.

Chiaramonte has 25 years’ experience founding, building and exiting businesses, with Dr. Brian Lawenda a focus in the medical and legal spaces. Lawenda is a Harvard-trained radiation oncologist who is nationally recognized for clinical expertise, has served on numerous medical boards and served as a commander in the Navy.

• The Tri-City Development Council has elected the following people to serve on the TRIDEC board of directors for the 2020-22 term: John Solheim, chief exec-

utive officer of Trios Health; Katie Nelson of Kamiak Vineyards and Gordon Estate winery; Kirt Shaffer, a real estate broker at Tippett Co.; Luis Ojeda, owner/ operator of Ojeda Business Ventures; Melanie Hair, founder of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, Senior Times and Focus publications; Mike Miller, president and co-owner of Moon Security Services; and Sandra Haynes, chancellor of Washington State University Tri-Cities.

uPROMOTIONS • Walla Walla-based Baker Boyer Bank has promoted Michelle Thacker to director of retail and digital banking, Lynsey Sherry to banking operations manager, and Olivia Loomis to trust advisor.

• BrandCraft Marketing of Kennewick has expanded its leadership team. Torey Azure has been promoted to chief executive officer. Kellie Easley has been promoted to vice president of creative and digital.

Azure, formerly chief marketing officer of Wildland/ Torey Azure BrandCraft, founded BrandCraft in 2012 and merged with Wildland in 2017 to combine Wildland’s software expertise with BrandCrafts’ design, marketing, video and photography services.

Easley joined BrandCraft in July 2018. She Kellie Easley previously worked for Columbia Hospitality in Seattle as director of marketing.

In other Brandcraft news, Ty Mulholland, formerly chief executive officer of Wildland/BrandCraft, is departing for a position as head of operations of Managed Squared Inc., which has been acquired by a legal services company based in California. Denovo, the flagship law practice management “software as a service” of Managed Squared, was developed by Wildland. The Wildland team members responsible for the development of Denovo also have been hired by Managed Squared, which will remain based out of Tri-Cities and continue to bolster the Tri-Cities startup ecosystem.

• Nicole Stickney has been promoted to planning project manager at AHBL. She joined AHBL’s TriCities planning department in 2015, bringing extensive experience as a land use planner, economic development manager Nicole Stickney and as a program manager for U.S. Army Europe. Her specialized experience includes policy development, code writing, environmental analysis and development review. She served as an appointed member of the city of Richland’s Economic Development Board.

• Matt Kloes has been named executive director of AgForestry Leadership.

For the past six months, he has been the interim president and program director.

He has been AgForestry’s program director for four years.

AgForestry, Matt Kloes based in Spokane, offers hands-on learning experiences for people working in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other natural resource-based businesses.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 uNEW HIRES • Andrea Whitlow has been named manager of STCU’s Queensgate branch in Richland, and Andres Montero will be the assistant manager of the Pasco branch, set to Andrea Whitlow open early next year. Whitlow brings 14 years of financial services experience, including nine years with credit unions.

Montero draws on six years of financial and retail management experience. He is curAndres Montero rently attending Columbia Basin College.

The Spokanebased STCU also named Marty Dickinson its new chief marketing officer.

She will oversee the credit union’s brand marketing, community relaMarty Dickinson tions and facilities teams.

• Jay Scott is the new development director at Blue Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America. He will work to help the council develop new avenues of fundraising through grants, special events and community relationships. In the last 12 years, he has worked for multiple grant programs, including Jay Scott the 21st Century, GEAR UP and Upward Bound programs. The Navy veteran and father of four serves as the executive officer for the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, helping veterans in need.

• Dr. John Winkelman has joined Trios Health as a pediatrician.

Winkelman is board certified in pediatrics and provides care for neonatal intensive care unit follow-up, newborns, asthma, pre-operation clearance, school physicals, sports physicals, wellchild care and more. He attended medical school at New York Medical College and most Dr. John recently pracWinkelman ticed in California at St. Joseph Heritage-Santa Ana. • Dr. Juergen Mueller, a gastroenterologist, has joined Trios Health. Mueller previously worked at Trios and was most

recently working in Kalispell, Montana.

He treats acid reflux, heartburn, all types of hepatitis and other liver diseases, HIV/hepatitis C co-infection, ulcers, rectal bleeding and Dr. Juergen more. Procedures Mueller he performs include colonoscopies, endoscopies and colon cancer screenings. He earned his medical degree from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Faculty of Medicine.

• Walla Walla-based Baker Boyer Bank hired Sean Haselrig as an investment advisor representative and Nick Punch as a business advisor for the Tri-City team.

Haselrig has 20 Sean Haselrig years and Punch has 10 years of experience in the financial service industry. Baker Boyer also hired Tyson Romanick as a portfolio manager, Travis Wittnebel as a Nick Punch business advisor,

and John Adams and Caleb Flippo as trust advisors for the Walla Walla team.

• Tri-Cities Orthopedics, which has offices in Kennewick and Richland, has recruited Dr. Cathryn “CJ” Vadala as a hand and elbow orthopedic surgeon.

Vadala is fellowship-trained in hand and elbow surgery and has a Dr. Cathryn Vadala certificate of added qualification for surgery of the hand. She specializes in the treatment—surgical and nonsurgical—of conditions such as fractures, carpal tunnel, arthritis, trigger fingers and arthroscopy.

• Josh Beck joined Petersen Hastings of Kennewick as the financial controller for the firm. In this role, he is primarily

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51

responsible for developing and monitoring the company’s financial strategy, budgeting and forecasting to ensure robust financial performance for the firm. He was born and raised in the Lower Yakima Valley and graduated from Pacific University in 2011 with a bachelor’s in economics. While working in the financial industry, he earned numerous certifications in the areas of financial management and compliance, was quoted and cited in numerous industry publications and graduated from Western CUNA Management School based at Pomona College.

• Haley Helland joined Petersen Hastings of Kennewick as an associate wealth advisor for the firm. She will be part of a team assisting lead advisors in serving clients’ planning and investment needs. Born and raised in the Tri-Cities, Helland graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s in social sciences.

52

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

BUSINESS PROFILE

Tri-City couple’s business focuses on college-bound high-schoolers SAGECollege Prep Services offers test prep classes, private tutoring, college counseling

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

When Rich Quadrel retired from his research and development manager position at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2015, he thought he’d return to something he really enjoyed years before—teaching.

He and his wife Marilyn started SAGECollege Prep Services four years ago and have been running full steam ahead since.

The husband-and-wife team both hold doctorate degrees and taught previously in their careers.

Rich was once a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

Marilyn is a former instructor at Carnegie Mellon University and a former director of strategic planning at PNNL. “When we started SAGECollege Prep Services in October of 2015, it was meant to be a part-time thing,” Rich said.

But business has been growing.

SAGECollege Prep focuses on the college-bound high school student. The Quadrels got the idea after reading a newspaper article, which stated that in hard times, affluent families double down on education.

“Given the number of Ph.D.s here in Richland, this seemed like a natural mar-

ket,” he said.

SAGE offers three types of services: • Test preparation, especially for SAT and ACT tests. This is the most requested service from their clients. Students meet with the Quadrels four to five weeks ahead of the test to prepare for it. The cost is $900.

• Private tutoring in a variety of subjects. Math—algebra 1 and 2, geometry, pre-calculus, advanced placement calculus – and essay writing are the most popular.

Rich, along with staff tutor Rob Mauws —a chemical engineer at Washington River Protection Solutions—specialize in math and science. Marilyn’s expertise lies in English, critical reading and writing.

The cost is $55 an hour.

• College counseling. The Quadrels will assemble a top 10 list of colleges that would be a perfect fit for students. They start with a student interview and have their teen client fill out a questionnaire.

They’ll then deliver a list of recommended schools with a detailed description of each school.

The college search service is a flat rate of $250.

Rich finds that the majority of the students they have helped—the number is somewhere between 40 and 50—don’t put a geographic limitation on where to

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Courtesy SAGECollege Prep Services Rich and Marilyn Quadrel of SAGECollege Prep Services launched a collegeprep business four years ago designed to help high school students get into the college of their dreams.

go anymore.

“We’ll ask them questions like, ‘How far away from home they want to be, in a city or not, etc.,” said Rich. “When we bring them the list, there are always one or two schools they never thought about.”

He mentioned one student who wanted to enroll in a pre-med program with aspirations of becoming a doctor.

“She never thought about Ohio State University, but their biomedical sciences program has a direct path into medical school,” he said.

SAGE also will help students with their college applications, developing a plan to assemble transcripts, recommendations and other application materials in a disciplined way. And they’ll help sharpen applicant essays.

Obviously, they don’t write the essays, but the Quadrels can help lead them in the right direction.

With their roots in academia, the Quadrels know what catches college and uSAGECOLLEGE, Page 54

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Business Profile

53

Longtime Pasco gardening family offers laid-back pumpkin picking Job’s Nursery celebrates 80 years in business next year

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

As the calendar flips to October, families begin to visit the region’s pumpkin patches.

Many head to Job’s Nursery in Pasco.

“We have two acres of pumpkins in our pumpkin patch,” said Alex Job, who has been a co-owner of the business since 2012, along with his brother Arthur and parents Duane and Kathy Job. “We don’t have food or attractions like some of the other places. It’s more of a laid back thing.

A little simpler.”

And that’s fine with the Job family, which has run the business since 1940.

The nursery has been operating at 4072 Columbia River Road in north Pasco for 40 years.

The business’ original site was near Road 36 and Argent Road, where the TriCities Airport is.

The move to Columbia River Road in the late 1970s was necessary when the airport needed another runway.

It took almost three years, from 197880, to get everything moved, Alex said.

“People have been shopping with us since the move and beyond,” he said. “And we celebrate 80 years in business next

Photo by Jeff Morrow Alex Job, co-owner and retail manager at Job’s Nursery in Pasco, stands in the two-acre U-pick pumpkin patch. His family has owned the business for nearly 80 years.

year.”

Alex’s great grandparents, Conrad and Sophia Job, came to the Mid-Columbia in the early 1930s from Minnesota when they lost their farm.

“My great grandpa was a migrant strawberry picker,” he said.

He’d move around the Northwest to pick strawberries, but decided in 1938 to buy land near the airport.

“They were growing produce and sell-

ing it to the people at the naval air station on the other side of the airport,” Alex said.

Then one day, a customer asked Sophia about getting some peonies.

“My great-grandma said, ‘Oh Conrad, wouldn’t it be fun to start a nursery?’” Alex said. “They were in their 50s at the time. So it became a produce stand and nursery.”

But from 1940 on, Alex’s grandfather Norbert and grandmother Marion went completely in on it being just a nursery, and

it became Job’s Pasco Nursery.

“My mom and dad took it over in 1986,” he said. “The old nursery was 20 acres, then became 36 acres out here. It keeps us busy.”

Today, the business sells fruit trees, herbs, ornamental grasses, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees and vegetables. Tree and shrub sales make up Job’s biggest business.

Job’s also provides the following services: delivery, tree planting and installation, landscape design and transplanting.

The pumpkin patch is U-pick and open daily in October. There also are nursery tour hay rides in October on Saturdays and Sundays.

And the nursery also hosts field trips to the patch for preschool, kindergarten and first grade students.

“We’ve entertained ideas of having something bigger, but probably not within the next few years,” Alex said.

Instead, Alex said the small business — which, including family, has 10 employees—will continue to do what it does best: help customers enjoy gardening.

“I like the creativity of the business,” said Alex, who is the retail manager. “For instance, I love helping someone create a flower bed with layers of flowers in yellow and purple. It’s fun. Gardening has one of those stigmas that it’s harder than it needs to be.”

Alex does his part by writing a “Plant of the Week” blog on the company website. uJOB’S, Page 55

54

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

SAGECOLLEGE, From page 52 university counselors’ eyes.

“In college applications, we know the themes in essays counselors are looking for. For instance, how a student overcame adversity,” Rich said. “We know what themes work and what don’t.”

They know what counselors are looking for in a student’s activities—and it doesn’t always mean being in numerous clubs and organizations.

“Counselors want to see commitment from students, extra responsibility, have them show leadership,” he said. “And certain courses are more important than others in high school. Admissions officials—particularly at selective colleges—are especially interested in seeing good grades in (advanced placement)

courses.”

This college counseling service costs the same as tutoring—$55 an hour.

The Quadrels often visit different schools whenever they go on vacations.

Their work has been well received.

Rich proudly points to the 64 Google reviews: “All 64 of them are five stars.”

Gesa Credit Union also has jumped on board, sponsoring a four-part college preparation seminar series SAGE offers during the fall. It included sessions such as, “Planning ahead for your college career;” “Finding your perfect college;” “Assembling a successful college application;” and “Paying for college.”

“The process has changed,” Rich said.

“Families of college-bound students are looking for help to navigate an increas-

ingly complex admissions and financial aid process.”

Rich said the company’s goal is getting the word out to more people about what SAGE can offer.

“When we started this, it was for the children of our research friends out at PNNL,” Rich said.

But then they built a relationship at Hanford High.

“They have four counselors, and they were delighted to put students in touch with us,” he said.

Since then, they reached out to high schools in Richland, Pasco, Kennewick, Walla Walla and College Place.

They’ve used word of mouth, gone to parent-teacher school nights and other high school events.

And as the business is growing— “We’re probably going to have to start looking for another math tutor”—Rich sees the potential to help a larger number of students.

And that’s what it’s all about. It’s why he and Marilyn got into teaching all those years ago.

“I enjoy the personal connection,” Rich said. “There is a special moment when all of a sudden a student sees the light. Where they say, ‘Now I understand!’ I live for that moment.”

And when one of their students gets into the college of their choice. “When they say, ‘I got in!’ I live for that moment too,” he said.

SAGE College Prep Services: sagecps. com; 509-375-5555.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 JOB’S, From page 53 At one point in his life, Alex entertained the idea of not joining the family business and instead becoming a computer science teacher.

His brother joined the Marine Corps for four years.

But they both came back to it. Alex said he loves it.

“It’s been kind of fun with the increasing population of the Tri-Cities,” he said. “You get the old customers and the new.”

And new challenges, such as modernizing.

“We’ve added (point of sale) systems,” he says, then smiles. “We’re also trying to manage a better work-life balance for the owners by having things such as a computer-controlled irrigation system. My wife does like to see me now and then.”

Watering in the desert, of course, is a constant challenge.

“And the temperature swings are key around here,” he said.

But the small family business is always considering how to improve, stay competitive and find new customers.

“We’ll go to events such as the Home and Garden show,” Alex said. “We put ourselves where the people are.”

And Job’s Nursery plans on that continuing, to the point Alex’s young son may one day join the company as an owner.

“I’d like to take it to that level,” he said. “I’d love to see it get to 100 years.

I’d be in my 50s by then.”

Meanwhile, the company will continue with its laid-back, simple way of providing great customer service with a strong line of products.

“We invite people to come out here,” Alex said. “It’s off the beaten path. But it’s nice and quiet out here.”

Job’s Nursery: 4072 Columbia River Road, Pasco; 509-547-4843; jobsnursery. com.

uRETIREMENT • Benton County’s longtime administrator, David Sparks, retired Sept.

30. Sparks had been with the county for more than 34 years and served as administrator for 19 years.

He began his county career in 1985, working in the David Sparks treasurer’s office before transferring to the auditor’s office about a year later. He stayed with the auditor’s office until 2000, when he became the administrator.

The Benton County commissioners appointed Loretta Smith Kelty as interim county administrator.

uCERTIFICATION • Cathy Schaeffer, assistant vice president and family advisor, and Hollina Wadsworth, financial planner at Baker Boyer Bank, headquartered in Walla Walla, have been received the certified financial planner designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board.

uHONORS & AWARDS

• Joshua Wright, a mechanic for Mission Support Alliance’s fleet services organization, received the 2019 Washington State Fire Mechanic of the Year award from the Washington Joshua Wright Fire Chiefs Association for providing quality service, ensuring

Hanford’s firefighting equipment is well maintained and in proper working order. The Hanford Fire Department is managed by MSA for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Hanford site.

• The Kennewick School District has announced its staff excellence awards: Administrator of the year: Chad Foltz, principal of Amon Creek Elementary; Creativity in curriculum: Johanna Gerry, a Chinook Middle School teacher; Staff Support Person of the Year: Cindy Crane, custodian at Vista Elementary; Staff Support Person of the Year: Debbie Moore, secretary at Sage Crest Elementary; Staff Support Person of the Year: Carol Mattair, paraeducator at Chinook Middle School; Certificated Specialist of the Year: Noemi Morales, a counselor at Amistad Elementary; Elementary Teacher of the Year: Audrey Hickman, a kindergarten teacher at Ridge View Elementary School; Middle School Teacher of the Year: Jessica D’Aquila, a special education teacher at Desert Hills Middle School; High School Teacher of the Year: Lt. Col. Curt Wichers, an Air Force veteran and commander of Kennewick High School’s Air Force JROTC program.

• The Master Chefs’ Institute recently issued Lamb Weston a seal of excellence rating across five product categories, for 52 Lamb Weston potato products. The institute, an organization comprised of certified master chefs, is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of culinary excellence by conducting comprehensive and objective third-party testing of food products, beverages and equipment. Lamb Weston frozen potato products were submitted for testing against national competitors’ products. Different lots of products were tested independently against a variety of attributes. All the products Lamb Weston submitted for

55

testing qualified for the seal of excellence.

• Wine & Spirits magazine has selected Col Solare of Benton City and L’Ecole No. 41 of Lowden as among the top 100 Wineries of the Year worldwide.

• Crossbuck Brewing of Walla Walla earned a silver medal for its NoPac IPA at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, the world’s largest commercial beer competition. Presented by the Brewers Association, the annual event recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded on Oct. 5 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, in 107 beer categories, covering 174 different beer styles.

• The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys has recognized Purcell Law of Kennewick among 2019’s 10 best family law firm for client satisfaction.

• The American Institute of Real Estate Professionals has recognized Ginger Hudson of Century 21 TriCities among 2019’s 10 best real estate professionals for client satisfaction.

uMILITARY • Petty Officer 2nd Class Mercedes Brotski, a 2014 Pasco High School graduate and native of Pasco, is working as a member of naval construction battalion center located in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Brotski is serving as a Navy Mercedes Brotski builder, who is responsible for construction work including concrete, carpentry and masonry.

56

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

57

PUBLIC RECORD uBANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings: Chapter 7 — Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is charged.

Chapter 11 — Allows companies and individuals to restructure debts to repay them.

Chapter 12 — Allows family farmers or fishermen to restructure finances to avoid liquidation for foreclosure.

Chapter 13 — Plan is devised by the individual to pay a percentage of debt based on ability to pay. All disposable income must be used to pay debts.

Information provided by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane.

CHAPTER 7 Ronald Strait, 1104 S. Morain, Kennewick.

Jonhatan Garcia, 1707 N. Sixth Ave., Pasco.

Rigoberto and Raquel M. Garcia, 940 S. 38th Ave., West Richland.

Felicia Walker and Michael Adrian, 1224 Woodbury St., Richland and 445 Columbia Point Drive, Richland.

Angelica A. Hendrix, 1105 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick.

Guadalupe Jennings, 404 W. 49th Ave., Kennewick.

Basmeh Investments, 214 S. Zeus St., Moxee.

Gloria Riojas, 321 N. Sixth Ave., Pasco.

Jesus Herrera Jr., 425 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick.

Michael Hamilton, 609 S. Buchanan St., Kennewick.

Nicholas A. Hurlbut, 1706 Fries St., Richland.

Jesse L. E. Morris, 98507 E. Reata Road, Kennewick.

Jay S. Denney, 608 Williams Blvd., Richland.

Leslie Nance, 2009 Trippe St., Richland.

Joshua L. Hurst, 6626 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

Catherine C. Nef, 315 Douglass Ave., Richland.

Christina M. Powers, 901 S. Cleveland St., Kennewick.

Jerrica Leonard, 6626 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

Michael H. Weiss, 3019 Duportail St., Richland.

Carissa D. Leiberman, 23 Proton Lane, Richland.

Stacey Jessup, 518 S. Perry Court, Kennewick.

Joseph D. McClanahan, 6716 Fenway Drive, Pasco.

Sandra C. Campos, 4908 Malaga Drive, Pasco.

Kip D. and Kelsey L. Morris, 37408 S. Haney Road, Kennewick.

Nicholas J. Jacobsen, 318 Armistead Ave., Richland.

Elden L. Sams, 1337 Cottonwood Drive, Richland.

Kevin L. and Christina M. Bell, 4309 Vermillion Lane, Pasco.

Paul M. Norton, 3030 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick.

Roger Colling, 21904 Finley Road,

Kennewick.

Katherina Dean, 134 S. 39th Ave., West Richland.

Robert E. Patrick Jr., 241 Ada St., Richland.

Siera E. Madrigal, 1909 S. Garfield St., Kennewick.

Alfredo M. Sanchez, 2104 N. 12th Ave., Pasco.

CHAPTER 13 Ozzie A. and Angela E. N. Oliver, 1613 S. Nelson St., Kennewick.

Joshua A. Corke, 5303 Mays Lane, Pasco.

Brian E. and Laura J. Bailey, 3005 S. Waverly St., Kennewick.

Isidro Chavez, 2312 E. George St., Pasco.

Melvin D. and Nicole J. Zornes, 8615 Queensbury Drive, Pasco.

Sean M. and Maria Mills, 409 George Washington Way, Richland.

Angela M. Whitesell, 1410 Gunnison Court, Richland.

Julio Ruiz Sr. and Maricela Munoz, 17556 N. 1385 PRNW, Prosser.

uTOP PROPERTIES

Top property values listed start at $500,000 and have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY 2038 Newhaven Loop, Richland,

3,679-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $525,000. Buyer: David Schroetlin and Brenda Steel. Seller: Robert and Lynn Wiskerchen.

8676 W. 12th Ave., Kennewick, 2,544-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $801,400. Buyer: William and Sherrie Taylor. Seller: Don Pratt Construction.

638 Summit St., Richland, 3,122-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $766,000. Buyer: Cathleen and Gary Somdahl. Seller: Mark and Bonnie Hall.

West 49th Avenue, Kennewick, 9 lots of undeveloped land. Price: $1,192,200.

Buyer: TMT Homes. Seller: Ron Asmus Homes.

Castle Rock Boulevard and Duval Loop, Richland, 10 lots of undeveloped land. Price: $645,000. Buyer: Hayden Homes. Seller: undisclosed.

7018 W. 22nd Ave., Kennewick, 1.59 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $725,000. Buyer: Mark Wondrack. Seller: undisclosed.

86905 E. Sagebrush Road, Kennewick, 0.55 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $556,300. Buyer: Jessra Wolfer. Seller: TMT Homes.

2332 S. Young Court, Kennewick, 2,662-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $645,000. Buyer: Reed and Lisa McKinlay. Seller: P&R Construction.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 58

58

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 57 1568 Manchester St., Kennewick, 3,260-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $525,000. Buyer: Thiphuong Thanh Nguyen and Vu Thanh Long.

Seller: Ricky and Patti Wiseman.

3506 N. Bermuda Road, Kennewick, 2,476-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $634,500. Buyer: Matthew and Yichien Cooper. Seller: Dennis Sawby Construction.

702 Summit St., Richland, 3,709-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $757,500. Buyer: Jace and Julie Wilde. Seller: Prodigy Homes.

297 Rachel Road, Kennewick, 3,278-square-foot, residential home on 0.9 acres. Price: $826,000. Buyer: Lawrence and Shanda Braithwaite.

Seller: Tyson and Natalie Teeples.

1660 Sicily Lane, Richland,

3,015-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $707,000. Buyer: Mershed Alsamara and Dima Al Khouri. Seller: Iris Anderson.

6509 S. 1396 PRSW, Prosser, 4,361-square-foot, residential home on 2.52 acres. Price: $650,000. Buyer: Carol Groenen. Seller: Mark and Cindy Little.

86817 E. Haven View PRSE, Kennewick, 2,530-square-foot, residential home. Price: $500,000. Buyer: Curtis Reichmuth. Seller: Steven and Lindy Widner.

11612 N. Griffin Road, Prosser.

3,687-square-foot, residential home on 4.92 acres. Price: $540,000. Buyer: John Douglas Polson. Seller: Sebastian and Sarah Moritzky.

1262 Llandwood Ave., Richland, 3,160-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $545,000. Buyer: Darin and Jennifer Malcolm. Seller: Stephen Ewer.

3013 E. Lattin Road, West Richland, 2,514-square-foot, residential home on 1.64 acres. Price: $585,000. Buyer: Andrew and Elizabeth Zoller. Seller: Reagan Grabner.

1919 N. Pittsburg St., Kennewick, 3,697-square-foot and 3,860-square-foot commercial buildings. Price: $1,625,000.

Buyer: Seahurst. Seller: RSH Investments.

4201 Kennedy Road, West Richland, 15,496-square-foot, commercial building on 5.92 acres. Price: $2,225,000. Buyer: Reliance Fellowship. Seller: Vandervert Developments.

3150 Q Ave.; 3111 George Washington Way; 908 Battelle Blvd., Richland, 5.3 acres of commercial land. Price: $5,831,500. Buyer: United States of America. Seller: undisclosed.

540 Fifth St., Richland, multiple commercial buildings on 43.48 acres. Price:

$4,900,700. Buyer: United States of America. Seller: Battelle Memorial Institute.

3801 Horn Rapids Road; 3750 SR 240; 3432 Twin Bridges Road, Richland, 300 acres of commercial land. Price: $900,000. Buyer: Washington Securities & Investment. Seller: undisclosed.

Castle Rock Boulevard and Duval Loop, Richland, 9 lots of undeveloped land. Price: $580,500. Buyer: Hayden Homes. Seller: undisclosed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY 146 Angus Road, Pasco, 4,277-squarefoot, residential home on 1.49 acres.

Price: $1,225,000. Buyer: Trevor and Shelly Broetje. Seller: Dan Preas.

1716 Road 56, Pasco, 1,891-squarefoot, residential home on 0.63 acres.

Price: $539,900. Buyer: Sean and Brittney Duffy. Seller: Amee Schwab.

Curlew Lane, Pasco, 7 lots of undeveloped land. Price: $504,000. Buyer: Hayden Homes. Seller: Sunbelt Homes.

12317 Clark Fork Road, Pasco, 2,606-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $529,400. Buyer: Leland and Verland Finney. Seller: Hammerstrom Construction.

320 Giesler Road, Pasco, 2,826-squarefoot, residential home on 2.23 acres.

Price: $667,000. Buyer: Travis and Janine Adamson. Seller: Grant and Carey Rosenlund.

Undisclosed location, 6.21 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $946,800.

Buyer: Nulph Properties. Seller: Granite Investments.

Undisclosed location, 63.35 acres of agricultural land. Price: $716,300. Buyer: LJ Bauermeister Farms. Seller: Donald Bauermeister.

8214 Nelson Court, Pasco, 2,413-square-foot, residential home.

Price: $502,000. Buyer: Kenneth Draper.

Seller: Muzzy Construction.

uBUILDING PERMITS

Building permit values have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY Uel Hansen, 73203 E. Sundown PRSE, $6,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: owner.

Eric & Leslie Hoppe, 27938 W. Old Inland Empire Highway, $138,100 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Construction Management Specialist.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Double Arrow Real Estate, 7021 W. Argent Road, Pasco, $37,500 for a sign.

Contractor: YESCO. KENNEWICK City of Kennewick, 7400 W. Quinault Drive, $10,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: D&R Communications.

East Kennewick Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 32 W. 19th Ave., $309,300 for commercial remodel, $40,200 for HVAC and $10,300 for plumbing. Contractors: owner, Shannon Heights Heating and C&M Plumbing.

Southridge Tri-Cities, 5400 W. 28th Ave., $275,700 for commercial addition.

Contractor: Sharpe & Preszler Construction.

Double-L, 539 N. Edison St., $25,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

Wicked Development, 9312 W. 10th

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 59

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 58 Ave., $15,000 for tenant improvements and $8,000 for HVAC. Contractors: owner and Bruce Heating & Air. Columbia Industries, 900 S. Dayton St., $109,200 for commercial remodel and $5,700 for HVAC. Contractor: Hummel Construction and Total Energy Management.

CIBB Properties, 5453 Ridgeline Drive, $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group.

Benton County, 1500 S. Oak St., $17,000 for miscellaneous. Contractor: owner.

Warren Clifford, 4000 W. 24th Ave., $10,000 for a sign. Contractor: Bouten Construction Co. FC4, 2909 S. Quillan St., $12,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

Mendoza Properties, 518 W. Columbia Drive, $33,000 for a sign. Contractor: YESCO. House of Restoration, 310 W. Kennewick Ave., $10,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Clean Image.

Wannarachue Trustees, 521 W. Canal Drive, $90,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Vertex Tower Solutions.

Los Tres Amigos, 5701 W. Deschutes Place, $256,200 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Clark Custom Remodeling.

Denchel Trustees, 8109 W. Grandridge Blvd., $85,700 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Thornworks.

Tri-City Court Club, 1350 N. Grant St., $100,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Haugen Consulting & Construction.

Damian Padilla, 550 E. Bruneau Ave., $5,000 for a commercial addition.

Contractor: G2 Construction.

Phillip Olson, 615 N. Fruitland St.,

$20,000 for a commercial remodel.

Contractor: Northwest Restoration.

Numerica Credit Union, 3115 W. Kennewick Ave., $50,000 for a sign.

Contractor: Baldwin Sign Co. The Condominiums at Canyon Lakes, 3710 Canyon Lakes Drive, $12,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: JD & Son. Lakeside Tri-Cities, 5100 W. Clearwater Ave., $54,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing.

BNSF Railway, 212 W. Railroad Ave., $100,000 for demolition. Contractor: Ttap Construction.

Bruce Co, 5003 W. Brinkley Road, $5,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: North Sky Communications.

Costco Wholesale, 8205 W. Gage Blvd., $15,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Kennewick Properties, 3030 W. Fourth Ave., $352,300 for commercial construction. Contractor: Roberts Construction.

Kennewick Association, 131 Vista Way, $15,000 for commercial remodel and $6,000 for plumbing. Contractor: owner.

BP JM, 605 E. Kennewick Ave., $30,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Sharpe & Preszler Construction.

Public Utility District #1, 2721 W. 10th Ave., $181,000 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing.

Columbia Plaza, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave., $10,200 for HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Walkers Kennewick, 205 N. Morain St. $13,800 for HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

PASCO 4RD2, 1025 S. Road 40 E, $67,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor:

Contractors Equipment Maintenance.

Hogback Sandifur, 7425 Sandifur Parkway, $49,800 for tenant improvements. Contractor: LCR Construction.

Tires 4 Less, 701 N. Oregon Ave., $15,100 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: owner.

Pasco One, 4501 Road 68, $424,300 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Sineco Construction.

Parr Lumber Company, 2105 N. Commercial Ave., $11,700 for commercial addition. Contractor: Romm Construction.

Oxarc, 716 S. Oregon Ave., $14,700 for accessory building. Contractor: Romm Construction.

Lawrence B Stone, 216 S. Sixth Ave., $1,447,200 for new commercial construction. Contractor: O’Brien Construction.

Goodwill Industries, 307 W. Columbia St., $29,400 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Bosch II Construction.

Sound Investment Group, 9335 Sandifur Parkway, $265,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: CRF Metal Works.

K&S Enterprises, 1931 E. Superior St., $35,900 for new commercial construction. Contractor: CRF Metal Works.

Washington TV, 2807 W. Lewis St., $10,000 for HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Hogback Sandifur, 7425 Sandifur Parkway, $34,600 for tenant improvements and $32,400 for mechanical.

Contractors: Stephens & Sons Construction and Absolute Comfort.

K&S Family Enterprises, 1931 E. Superior St., $1,133,300 for new commercial. Contractor: CRF Metal Works.

Pasco Commercial, 5025 Road 68, $37,300 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: to be determined.

59

Franklin County, 305 N. Fourth Ave., $44,300 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Allstar Construction.

RSB, 1315 N. Oregon Ave., $35,000 for a commercial addition. Contractor: to be determined.

A1 Hospitality Group, 2101 W. Argent Road, $30,000 for a sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group.

Zion Autos, 1424 N. Fourth Ave., $10,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: owner.

SJ & Karen Clayton, 10031 Locust Lane, $22,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: owner.

PK Villard, 5706 Road 68, $50,000 for demolition. Contractor: Associated Construction.

TSK 2013, 120 Pasco Kahlotus Road, $5,600 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Volm Companies, 5702 Industrial Way, $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group.

PROSSER Wautoma Springs, 236 Port Ave., $112,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: MP Construction.

Benton County Museum, 1000 Paterson Road, $107,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Ken Bierlink.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, 660 Frontier Road, $26,300 for HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

RICHLAND Raber, 3100 Queensgate Drive, $40,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: North Sky Communications.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 60

60

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 59 Tagaris Winery, 844 Tulip Lane, $45,000 for commercial addition and $5,200 for grading. Contractor: Apollo Inc. ADSG, 1363 Columbia Park Trail, Suite 101, $200,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: W McKay Construction.

Breit SP MF Richland, 2550 Duportail St., $221,900 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Royal Roofing & Siding.

Blue Pearl, 612 The Parkway, $7,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Riggle Plumbing.

Battelle Memorial Institute, 620 Battelle Blvd., $8,200 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Paradigm Contracting.

Boost Builds, 1100 Jadwin Ave., $2,000,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Chervenell Construction.

Notus Holdings, 3200 Innovation Blvd., $21,600 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Paradigm Contracting.

RM Investments, 767 Williams Blvd., $39,200 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Black Diamond Roofing.

Port of Benton, 3190 George Washington Way, $11,400 for HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Windsong Apartments, 850 Aaron Drive, $17,000 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Real Roofing.

Tri-Cities Self Storage, 3869 Kennedy Road, $8,300 for HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Dule Mehic, 2412 Henderson Loop, $746,200 for new commercial construction. Contractor: DM General Builder.

Dule Mehic, 2420 Henderson Loop, $746,200 for new commercial construction. Contractor: DM General Builder.

Dule Mehic, 2451 Henderson Loop, $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: YESCO. Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, 969 Gage Blvd., $1,100,000 for

tenant improvements and $40,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Parkway C&A LP and Don Pratt Construction.

Tudo BEM, 1908 George Washington Way, $69,600 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: CL Enterprises GC. Melissa Swan, 333 Greenbrook Place, $19,700 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: A&A Roofing Services.

City of Richland, 115 Columbia Point Drive, $25,000 for HVAC. Contractor: ACCO Engineering Systems.

La Verde-Richland, 1173 Dos Palos Court, $8,700 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Renaissance.

La Verde-Richland, 1111 Pompano Court, $9,000 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Renaissance.

La Verde-Richland, 1015 Rio Senda Court, $8,900 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Renaissance.

La Verde-Richland, 1000 Rio Senda Court, $8,900 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Renaissance.

WEST RICHLAND Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, 5885 Holly Way, $5,000,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Scott Hedrick Construction.

The Church in West Richland, 4100 Kennedy Road, $759,900 for commercial addition. Contractor: Quality Structures One.

uBUSINESS LICENSES

At press time, city of Richland licenses were not available.

KENNEWICK Springhill Suites by Marriott Kennewick, 7048 W. Grandridge Blvd.

Tailor Made Homes, 1006 N. Road 70, Pasco.

7-Eleven #20132M, 3606 W. Clearwater Ave. Bite at the Landing, 2701 Columbia Park Trail.

Opitz REI Group, 5202 W. 12th Ave. American Tree Service, 104408 E. 297 PRSE. Livewire Solutions, 8820 Massey Drive, Pasco.

Enercon Federal Services, 8904 W. Tucannon Ave., Spaced Case, 8809 W. Imnaha Court.

Western General Contracting, 828 E. 15th Ave. The Children’s Place #1619, 226 Columbia Center.

IT Solutions, 2828 S. Olympia St. Frameright Construction, 5519 W. Umatilla Ave. A&A Trucking, 227305 E. SR 397.

StarMoney’z Taco City, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco.

One Call Connect, 1916 W. 19th Ave. Wire-Tech Electric, 7110 Kau Trail, Pasco.

Perseverance Martial Arts, 2901 Southridge Blvd.

All Service Asphalt, 614 N. Volland St. CI Express, 900 S. Dayton St. Kinfolk Corner Catering, 1898 S. Fescue St. WA Angels Jager, 8925 W. Canyon Place.

BN Cleaning, 1213 S. Lincoln St. Crawford Interiors, 525 S. Auburn St. Exclusive Styles, 8514 W. Gage Blvd.

Nundeya Express, 617 S. Alder St. Beat the Heat Tanning, 8390 W. Gage Blvd.

Aleen Guerra Watercolors, 728 S. Rainier St.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change, 3502 W. Clearwater Ave. Good Vibez House Cleaning, 711 W. 18th Court.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Entirely Holistic, 3221 W. Kennewick Ave. Free Culture Clothing, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Groundwork One Construction Company, 6520 W. Willamette Ave. Ikon Wellness, 8503 W. Clearwater Ave. Aspire Health, Medical Weight Management, 8045 W. Grandridge Blvd.

Prince Telecom, 1401 W. Kennewick Ave. DML Aesthetics, 8905 W. Gage Blvd.

Romero’s Contractors, 1818 W. Marie St., Pasco.

Malaurabrickeart, 504 W. 49th Ave. Candle Magick, 107 S. Van Buren Court.

J&V Concrete, 1720 W. Court St., Pasco.

Andrea’s Breezy Courier & Delivery Service, 3312 W. Hood Ave. Arrow Concrete and Asphalt Specialties, 12301 E. Empire Ave., Spokane Valley.

2nd to None Roofing, 9202 W. Gage Blvd.

Lipology Medspa, 8905 W. Gage Blvd.

Desert Gem & Appraisal, 306 W. Kennewick Ave. Strong Foundations WA, 8180 W. Fourth Ave. JA&L Carpet Cleaning, 1709 Auburn St. Mar Home Builders, 3105 S. Elm Court.

Lion’s Contractors, 218406 E. SR 397.

Far West Technologies, 606 E. Main, Suite C1, Puyallup.

Fairy Tails Dog Grooming, 8 N Cascade St. Hot Spot Morphs, 219 W. Kennewick Ave. K&R Communications, 1928 W. Hood Ave. Steptoe Car Wash & Mini Storage, 2001 N. Steptoe St. Wholesail Networks, 15008 Bear Creek Road NE, Woodinville.

Air Management Solutions, 5822 W. Werner Road, Bremerton.

Wildland Labs, 5453 Ridgeline Drive.

Apex Contracting & Paving, 1006 W. Bruneau Ave. Sport Clips, 3005 W. Kennewick Ave. Black Veterinary Services, 8500 W. Ninth Ave. Surface Experts of Tri-Cities, 4903 Santa Fe Lane, Pasco.

Kari Hale Electrical Design, 370 McDonald Drive, Pasco.

Taqueria el Molcajete, 321 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Columbia Basin Pediatric Dentistry, 7501 W. Deschutes Place.

O’Bunco Engineering, 1042 W. James St., Kent.

Web App Solutions, 1110 N. Center Parkway.

Hannu Homes, 8220 W. Gage Blvd.

IBK, 828 S. Rainier St. J&A Innovations, 120 W. 31st Ave. MJ’s Auto Transport, 251 Country Drive, Easton.

Tax Recovery Services, 1902 157th St. E., Tacoma.

J.A.C. Handmade, 1112 ½ E. Seventh Ave. Tapani Trucking, 1904 SE Sixth Place, Battle Ground.

Boatman Education Services, 2607 W. 41st Ave. Meritable Sweets, 15002 Butternut Ave., Richland.

Abogabir Photography, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd.

Northwest Retail Group, 4011 S.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 61

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 60 Anderson St. Sound Retina Properties Kennewick, 7516 W. Deschutes Place.

CityRoots, 629 N. Ely St. K&E Bookkeeping, 2105 N. Steptoe St. Columbia River Construction, 4600 W. Fourth Court.

Rustler’s Food Company, 410 S. Zinser St. Idalia’s Cleaning Services, 200802 E. Game Farm Road.

Bellevue Healthcare, 1427 130th Ave NE, Bellevue.

Dalen, 1401 W. First Ave. Peiffer Services, 702 N. Louisiana Place.

Lularoe Amy Parker, 2501 W. 40th Ave. BrandCraft, 5453 Ridgeline Drive.

BKB Enterprises, 1408 Road 59, Pasco.

Dontia Dental Solutions, 5003 S. Dayton Place.

Rattlesnake J&M Construction, 4306 Vermilion Lane, Pasco.

Local Pro’s Networking, 101 S. Washington St. Les J Cleaning Service, 3324 W. 19th Ave. Kelley’s Tele-Communications, 8121 W. Grandridge Blvd.

Caring Transitions of Greater TriCities, 1055 Spokane Ave., Prosser.

D&A Professional Cleaning Services, 9202 W. Gage Blvd.

Amongst Greats, 1808 W. 51st Ave. Dear Daisy, 704 W. 45th Place.

Tri-Cities Concrete Pumping, 6415 Whetstone Drive, Pasco.

PASCO DK&G Development, 7121 W. Argent Road.

S7 Construction, 1901 Road 40.

Pasco Vision Clinic, 2735 W. Court St. MK Stucco, 2115 N. 19th Ave. Nickers and Wags, 10016 Maple Drive.

La Palma Crepes N’ Rolls, 6605 Burden Blvd., Suite C. Patriot Painting, 5615 Topeka Drive. iKleen, 2502 W. Opal St. Tri-Cities Family Fun, 7907 Redonda Drive.

Maria’s Cleaning Services, 1740 N. Sixth Ave. Gun Dungeon, 4507 Monterey Drive.

Urban Mechanical, 4511 Artesia Drive.

Quality Grafting, 6018 Road 90.

Complete AG Service, 4506 Seville Drive.

TC Tacos Catering, 2428 S. Gum St., Kennewick.

MCS Quality Painting, 119 E. Fifth Ave., Kennewick.

MJ Flooring, 608 S. Zillah St., Kennewick.

Pasco Used Auto Sales, 33 E. B Circle.

Mad Design Skills, 1331 Broadview Drive, West Richland.

J.R. Construction, 307 Sixth St., Benton City.

Paradise Golf Adventures, 12300 Rock Creek Drive.

Unified Groceries, 6433 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie, Oregon.

Temp-A-Cure, 15028 S. Cutis Ct., Oregon City, Oregon.

Carl the Carpenter, 1248 Montana Ave., Richland.

Centralia Holdings, 6433 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie, Oregon.

Freedom Bolt Supply, 1114 N. Oregon Ave., Suite A. G&D Auto Repair & Detail, 218 W. Lewis St. Sion Glory Mount, 5501 Fayette Lane.

The Best Option Cleaning, 10421 Willow Way. Amplify Laser and Design, 9711

Norfolk Drive.

Lad Irrigation Company, 4225 N. Capitol Ave. Katty’s Salon & Barber Shop, 923 W. Court St., Suite B. D&D Tri-Rivers Excavating, 253 Jackrabbit Lane, Richland.

Cardenas Cleaning Services, 1308 N. Williams St., Kennewick.

Blind Systems, 212 E. Pacific, Spokane.

Winterhaven Construction Group, 2723 E. Fourth Ave., Spokane.

Roe General Contractor, 809 Snow Ave., Richland.

Terracon Consultants, 21905 64th Ave. W., Suite 100, Mountlake Terrace.

Northwest Roofing, 5204 Cleveland Lane.

Paradise Bottle Water, 900 S. Dayton St., Kennewick.

Columbia Basin Striping, 1061 Road K 8 NE, Moses Lake.

Cascadia Engineering, 12746 240th Place, Redmond.

Tprainoleadership, 629 Pinnacle Drive, West Richland.

Proprety Care, 309 Bradley Blvd., Suite 115, Richland.

Superior Building Services, 152 Stage St. N., Tenino.

Sandessee Electric, 6081 W. 41st Ave., Kennewick.

Q3 Construction, 43705 E. Red Mountain Road, Benton City.

Blue Mountain Paving Company, 331 Woodland Ave., Walla Walla.

AAV Construction, 904 S. Union St., Kennewick.

MRD General Contractors, 1508 W. 21st Ave., Kennewick.

Stemcore Consulting, 2368 Easton Ave., Richland.

Livegrow Bio, 820 S. Chestnut Ave. DM’E Fashion, 1543 W. Pearl St. Tri-Cities Monitoring, 2529 W. Falls

61

Ave., Kennewick.

E&E Pro Detail, 2005 Riverview Drive.

Sky Glass Services, 1315 E. Lewis St., Suite B. Wildflowers Daycare, 4916 Kennedy Way. CI Information Management, 900 S. Dayton St., Kennewick.

Kabob House, 5802 Road 68.

Binder Sign and Design, 280 S. Campbell Road, Walla Walla.

Sign Gypsies Tri-Cities, 221 Broadmoor St., Richland.

Nelcro Developments, 6140 Pimlico Drive.

ADP Lemco, 13702 S. 200 W. Suite B9, Draper, Utah.

Caring Transitions of Greater TriCities, 1055 Spokane Ave., Prosser.

Mod Housing, 4931 McEwan Drive, Richland.

Vida CBD, 4399 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland.

Valavi Counseling, 401 W. Main St., Suite A101, Walla Walla.

New Castle Systems, 12504 Wilde Hollow Road, Yakima.

Meritable Sweets, 1502 Butternut Ave., Richland.

Soltero Framing, 531 S. Wehe Ave. Rattlesnake J&M Construction, 4306 Vermilion Lane.

KL Studio, 6403 Burden Blvd.

Teresa’s Hair Chair, 6605 Burden Blvd.

JJJ Landscaping, 6205 W. Melville Road.

WEST RICHLAND The Endive, 4001 Kennedy Road.

E&L Construction, 2108 N. Road 30, Pasco.

Armadillo Boring, 1980 Oxford St. SE,

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 62

62

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 61 Salem, Oregon.

Lucid Bookkeeping, 6100 Kilawea Drive.

C. Watts Trucking, 693 S. Idaho St., Kennewick.

G2 Commercial Construction, 7117 W. Hood Place, Suite 110, Kennewick.

Adame General Construction, 832 S. Seventh Ave., Pasco.

Sparkling Sensation, 101603 N. Billings Court.

Bi-State Siding & Window, 1310 N. Road 36, Pasco.

Tri-City Plastering and Detail, 25452 S. 823 PRSE, Kennewick.

Quality Carpet Services, 2023 S. Tweedt St., Kennewick.

Armor Coatings, 516 S. 26th Ave., Pasco.

Domus Investments, 6404 Westview

Loop.

AJ & Sons Flooring, 2600 W. John Day Ave., Kennewick.

RPI Contracting, 37129 S. Olympia St., Kennewick.

One 39th Condo Association, 4931 McEwan Drive, Richland.

2nd to None Roofing, 9202 W. Gage Blvd., Kennewick.

uJUDGMENTS The state can file lawsuits against people or businesses that do not pay taxes and then get a judgment against property that person or business owns. Judgments are filed in Benton-Franklin Superior Court. The following is from the Franklin County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.

Wolfpack Grills, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 9.

Hector Luna, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 9.

Tommy J. Kirk, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 9.

P J R Construction, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept.

9.

D & R & G Roofing Partnership, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept.

12.

Vianey Lopez, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 12.

Luis E. Perez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept.

13.

Arnolds Painting, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 13.

Rivera Investments, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept.

13.

Justino Dagoberto Diaz, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept.

16.

JJ Carpet Installers, unpaid Department

of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 16.

A-1 Painting, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 16.

Ruben the Tile Man, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 16.

Moclips Grocery, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 23.

Pacific King Relocation, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 23.

Ashley S. Lealao, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Antonio Garcia Morales, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Ismael A. Perez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Alberto A. Moran Monroy, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Brice R. Conrad, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Clemente A. Herrera, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Manuel Guajardo Jr., unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Leodegario Gomez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Juan Reyes, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Manuel Macias, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Noe Gatica Tobon, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 25.

Quality Restoration Solutions, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept 25.

Campos Intervention, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept 25.

P J R Construction, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 26.

Pacific King Relocation, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept.

26.

Eric L B King, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 27.

Paper Street Brewing Company, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 27.

Bayside USA, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 27.

Stephen Jovan Duran, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept.

30.

Julissa Crow, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 30.

D&S Concrete, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 30.

uLIQUOR LICENSES

Information provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Longship Cellars, 404 Bradley Blvd., Suite 100, Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters additional location; beer/wine restaurant.

Application type: added/change of class.

Springhill Suites by Marriott Kennewick, 7048 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only; hotel.

Application type: new.

Above the Curve Vineyard, 67228 W. Island View PRNW, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters.

Application type: new.

Wautoma Springs, 236 Port Ave., Suite C, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of location.

Red Mountain Trails Winery, 27314 E.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 63

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2019 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 62

type: change of corporate officer.

Ambassador PRNE, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters; farmers market wine sales. Application type: new.

DISCONTINUED

APPROVED Hogue Cellars, 2800 Lee Road, Prosser. License type: domestic winery >249,999 liters. Application type: change of corporate officer.

Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse & Bar, 2522 Queensgate Drive, Richland.

License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge. Application type: change of corporate officer.

Sleeping Dog Wines, 45804 N. Whitmore PRNW, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters.

Application type: added fees.

PowerUp Arcade Bar, 1022 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 210, Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only.

Application type: added/change of tradename; change of corporate officer.

Baums House of Chocolate, 513 N. Edison St., Suite C, Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: in lieu.

Heron Bluff Vineyard and Winery, 27938 W. Old Inland Empire Highway, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new.

7-Eleven #2013M, 3606 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. License type: beer/ wine grocery store. Application type: assumption.

Red Robin, 1021 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. License type: spirits/ beer/wine restaurant lounge. Application

Benton City. License type: marijuana producer tier 2. Application type: added fees.

Establishment 323, 2107 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only.

uBUSINESS UPDATES

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Polished Nail Salon has opened at 3617 Plaza Way, Suite G in Kennewick.

The salon offers manicures, pedicures and other nail services. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Contact: 509-491-3170, Facebook.

Wikid Lash & Beauty Bar has opened at 319 W. Kennewick Ave. in Kennewick. The salon offers eyelash extensions, permanent makeup and waxing services. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Contact: 509-579-5991, wikid-beauty.com.

NEW APPLICATIONS Restaurant Amor a Mexico, 528 W. Clark St., Pasco. License type: spirits/ beer/wine restaurant lounge. Application type: new.

Porter’s Real Barbecue, 7425 Sandifur Parkway, Suite 103, Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant. Application type: new.

APPROVED Middleton Six Sons Farms, 1050 Pasco Kahlotus Road, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: new.

uMARIJUANA LICENSES

Information provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Sunnyside Northwest, 41305 N. Griffin Road, Suite D, Grandview. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: assumption.

APPROVED RMNP, 57406 N. Thomas Road, Suite B,

NEW BUSINESS

MOVED Desert Sky Women’s Healthcare has moved to 4309 W. 27th Ave., Suite 300 in Kennewick. Contact: 509-491-3889, desertskywhc.com, Facebook.

Lourdes Occupational Health has moved its east Pasco clinic to 7201 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick. The location in west Pasco on Sandifur Parkway did not move. Contact: 509221-6770, yourlourdes.com.

MacDonald Healthcare has moved to 6515 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 330 in Kennewick. Contact: 509-628-1958, macdonaldhealth.com.

Pacific Kicks Tae Kwon Do has moved to 6719 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick. Contact: 509-735-3007, pacifickicks.com, Facebook.

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Third Eye Imaging has moved to 4309 W. 27th Ave., Suite 300 in Kennewick. Contact: 509-790-0060, thirdeyeimaging.healthcare, Facebook.

ADDITIONAL LOCATION Club 24 has added a new location at 275 Gap Road, Prosser. Contact: prosser@club24fit.com, club24fit.com.

Little Caesars has opened a new location at 8530 W. Gage Blvd., Suite B in Kennewick. Contact: 509-491-3203, littlecaesars.com Planet Fitness has added a new location at 1711 George Washington Way in Richland. Contact: 509-578-1073, planetfitness.com.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change has added a new location at 3502 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick. Contact: 509-591-0794, vioc.com.

NAME CHANGE Level Up Arcade Bar at 1022 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Suite 210 in Kennewick is now PowerUp Arcade Bar. Contact: 509-579-4255, Facebook.

CLOSED Dr. GoodVape at 7903 W. Grandridge Blvd., Suite R in Kennewick has closed.

The Fix Vapor Café at 470 Williams Blvd. in Richland has closed.

Ms. Rhoda’s Wine Garden at 702 Jadwin Ave. in Richland has closed.

Tri-City Vaperz at 321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite G in Kennewick has closed. zpizza at 4101 W. 27th Ave., Suite B110 in Kennewick has closed.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ October 2019