Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business -- September 2018

September 2018

Volume 17 • Issue 9

Builders face rising home permit fees

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Education & Training

Small Business Development Center re-opens Page 13

Science & Technology

Audiobook popularity continues to grow Page 29

Real Estate & Construction

Richland’s M Hotel gets room refresh Page 49

She Said It “I am inspired every day by teachers and volunteers who serve passionately and without fanfare or recognition.”

- Deb Bowen, executive director Washington State STEM Education Foundation Page 35

Tri-City home building permits remain a fraction of the cost they are in larger cities like Seattle and Paortland, but the final price tag still has seen steady increases in recent years across Pasco, Kennewick and now Richland.

“My counterparts in other regions would probably laugh at our fees. In the Portland market, the fees can be upwards of $50,000 for a (single-home) permit,” said Jason Spence, Pahlisch Homes’ vice president of Central Washington. “But we’re all on a neutral field locally between our competitors and homeowners.”

The field is less neutral based on the city where a home is being built, as fees range widely from one to another.

The highest price tag is for homes built within Pasco city limits, where a permit for a single-family home valued at $250,000 would total $8,669. The lion’s share of the fee comes from the estimated impact to schools in the Pasco School District.

The city of Pasco began collecting school impact fees in spring 2012 after nearly two years of discussion on how to roll out the process.

“It’s a direct cost to our jobs that is passed through to our customer,” said Spence, whose Bend, Oregon-based company has been building homes in mostly Richland and Pasco for the past decade.

“There’s a national push for affordable housing, so all those fees affect affordable housing.”

Tri-City builders and real estate groups don’t support any increased building costs.

“The Tri-Cities Home Builders Association is opposed to anything that’s going to drive up the cost of housing even more. The Growth Management Act is intended to promote affordable housing but it does the opposite of that because it restricts the supply of land and allows these impact fees. We would like to see these decisions made locally and not by the governor’s appointees,” said Jeff Losey, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities.

uPERMITS, Page 10

Foodies too will debut this fall in the former site of Paper Street Brewing Co. It will become the third restaurant opened by Joanna and Terry Wilson in the past three years.

Second Foodies restaurant coming to Richland’s Parkway

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Wilson family has expanded from a single floating food counter aboard a pontoon on the Columbia River to three fullservice restaurants in Kennewick and Richland.

Their third restaurant, called Foodies too, is expected to open before Christmas in Richland’s The Parkway, occupying the space once home to Paper Street Brewing Co. Terry and Joanna Wilson are remodeling the space at 701A The Parkway, on the northwest corner of Lee Boulevard, near the roundabout. They’re planning to offer the same menu found at Foodies Brick and Mortar in downtown Kennewick, which has become popular for its American cuisine, featuring burgers, gourmet hot dogs and sandwiches.

“Our menu isn’t eclectic. It’s just our flavors added into a Caesar or a taco salad,” Joanna said. “We do our sandwiches a certain way, and the way we wanted to do it works. We found people liked it.”

The menu is designed entirely by the Wilsons, who enjoy trying out new trends.

“We have a lot of Pinterest boards.

Everywhere we go, we’re always looking at design, looking at textures,” Joanna said.

Joanna has been in the restaurant business since she was 18 years old, while Terry has a history in the construction business.

They once owned a delicatessen and meat market in California for a couple of years before closing the doors to focus on their growing family.

They got the bug to open a restaurant again once the kids were older and decided to incorporate their love of boating with their love of the food industry. uFOODIES, Page 4

Sexual harassment prevention training continues in wake of #MeToo movement

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Nearly a year into the #MeToo movement, the awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace has prompted many large and small business owners to take a closer look at their own policies and procedures.

John Heaton, president of Pay Plus Benefits in Kennewick, believes there’s been cyclical attention to the issue over the years.

“This first became a big deal in 1998 following two Supreme Court rulings, and that’s when the sexual harassment preventing training really took off. But I think as we look at what’s happening today, it didn’t do a good job, did it?” Heaton asked.

The 20-year-old rulings put employers on notice that they can be held responsible for supervisors’ misconduct, even if they knew nothing about it.

Heaton founded a Kennewick-based professional employer organization that contracts with companies to provide human resource services, especially for small businesses. His team can be the first line of defense when an employee has a concern about harassment in the workplace.

Heaton’s experience leads him to believe the industry has a failed method focused more on checking a box and less on creating a culture with frequent conversations about what harassment is and how it can be kept out of the workplace. uTRAINING, Page 22

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

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Businesses relying on Mother Nature feel effects of smoky skies

BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Last month’s smoky skies were the worst Joe Creager said he’s seen during his 21 years in the golf industry.

Smoke from recent wildfires caused the air quality index to spike into the hazardous range for several days, and the Department of Ecology urged people to stay indoors if possible, which meant businesses that rely on Mother Nature took a toll.

“With the smoke, it just wasn’t a good condition (to golf). Usually we have a couple hundred people each day, and we probably lost maybe 20 percent to 30 percent,” said Creager, Columbia Point Golf Course general manager. “The evening golf leagues were impacted, too.

We lost probably 60 percent of those.

People just couldn’t play.”

And it wasn’t just players who were affected. Columbia Point Golf Course is a parkland-style golf course with 35 employees, about half of whom work outside tending the greens.

“A lot of our staff members have been wearing masks,” he said.

John Lyle, air quality engineer for Benton Clean Air Agency, said when the air quality is unhealthy masks are preferred.

“They help filter out particulate matter.

Standard surgical masks aren’t filtering it out. They need to be rated for smoke and dust,” Lyle said.

When the smoke was at its worst last month, air quality index monitoring sites across the state lit up in red.

According to the Benton Clean Air Agency, lungs filter more than 8,000 liters of air a day. Air toxins in the TriCity region come primarily from diesel exhaust and smoke from wood burning.

Breathing dirty air hurts the body by inflaming and destroying lung tissue and weakening the lungs’ defenses against contaminants and infections. And when the air quality index levels reach unhealthy conditions, children and the elderly are most vulnerable.

Sports programs and other events were canceled because the air quality index reached unhealthy levels during the week of Aug. 20.

Meredith Reed, director at Columbia Center mall, said they were grateful to

provide a refuge for people who needed to burn off energy or wanted a way to exercise when the weather isn’t healthy.

“We have a really great mall walker program and average 200 people a week,” said Reed, who added that the program is part of the Kadlec Healthy Ages program, a free program focused on the concerns of the 50 and older population. “And when the weather (is bad) you’ll see that increase. More people are walking the mall earlier in the morning, stretching their legs and getting exercise.”

During the smoky days in August, Reed said the mall saw an increase in about 100 people walking before stores opened at 10 a.m. The mall opens its doors to people of all ages at 7:30 a.m., and there is no limit on the amount of time people can walk the corridors.

While mall traffic increased due to smoky weather, Horst Heating & Air Conditioning in Kennewick didn’t see a spike in business. Owner Steve Horst said his business is affected by temperatures, and the smoke seemed to keep the air cooler than predicted.

“The temperature, when it gets up to 103, it only feels like 98 because the smoke is keeping the heat out. So it’s been slower than normal, actually,” Horst said. “Air filters have been a little blacker, but it wasn’t so thick that it plugged everything up.”

Changing filters out more often when the air quality is bad can help improve health. Long-term exposure to poor air can lead to headaches, chest pains and watery eyes, Lyle said.

The Benton Clean Air Agency has an air quality monitor located on top of the Tri-Tech Skills Center building in Kennewick and the numbers are reported to the state Department of Ecology. When the air is particularly bad, Lyle suggests employees working outdoors find activities they can do inside, as well as doing less strenuous work for sensitive groups with respiratory issues.

But even indoor activities can be affected when the air is polluted.

Researchers believe even modest levels of pollution impair performance through changes in respiratory, cardiovascular and cognitive functions. In a 2014 study, researchers concluded that labor productivity falls when air pollution rises, even indoors, as fine particulate

Smoke obscures the view of the other side of the Columbia River from the patio of the Hampton Inn in Richland on Aug. 19.

The Columbia Center mall typically welcomes 200 mall walkers a week. When the air quality became hazardous in August, the number increased to 300.

(Courtesy Columbia Center)

matter can penetrate.

Josh Garza, head professional at Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland, said now that the air quality is back to healthy levels, business picked back up.

“When it first started, we had a lot of cancellations. It’s definitely the worst I’ve seen,” Garza said. “We don’t have

many trees out here, so it’s very visual.

We couldn’t even see Rattlesnake Mountain.”

Columbia Point Golf Course also has seen an uptick in business as the weather cleared.

“People are itching to play,” Creager said.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

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UPCOMING

October Focuses: • Food • Young Professionals • Insert: Real Estate + Construction Focus magazine November Focuses: • Retail • Labor & Employment

DID YOU KNOW?

Jim House, a 1963 Richland High School graduate and star Bomber basketball player, donated $50,000 to replace the Columbia Playfield basketball courts in Richland.

See story on page 24.

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 by contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, other contributors or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by staff, contributors 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.

FOODIES, From page 1 This led to their first Tri-City venture, Floatin’ Foodies, which included commercial-grade equipment aboard a converted triple pontoon that traveled the river to serve customers already on the water.

“We would float and cook at the same time. And that got a little crazy,” Joanna said.

After a few years of trial-and-error, they docked the boat and had customers come to them. “We tripled our money and spent no gas money,” she said.

Despite eventually finding the recipe for success on a floating food cart, the Wilsons determined it wasn’t a long-term enterprise.

“When you have a mobile kitchen, you have to have a commissary kitchen,” Joanna said. “So we were making deals every year talking to people that had restaurants and facilities approved by the health department that we could get in to make sauces and food prep.”

The pontoon was put out to pasture, quite literally, on the family’s Kennewick property.

They decided to focus on finding a space to support the boat and grow a catering business.

“But when we did that, all of a sudden it started developing into more of a restaurant,” Joanna said. “Within a year, we knew that something was happening, and we knew that it was the dynamics of the community support and being able to provide a different experience. Not a chain experience and not a mom-and-pop experience, we were trying to be kind of middle of the road. It opened up a lot of opportunities for people to come in and try things that

they’ve never tasted before.”

Foodies Brick and Mortar opened in 2015 at 308 W. Kennewick Ave., and two years later, the couple opened 4th Base Pizza at 20 S. Auburn St. Even with two relatively new businesses to operate, Joanna said she always had her heart set on the space at 701A The Parkway.

“When we found out Paper Street was moving in here, when we were moving into downtown Kennewick, I told my husband, ‘If it ever opens up, I want it.’ I loved just the dynamic of being downtown. Where are you going to find another downtown unless you go to Walla Walla?”

The Wilsons happened to be out of town when they learned the brewery was shuttering its doors, but moved quickly to secure it and sign a lease for their third restaurant.

“We’d made phone calls before we even got home,” Joanna said.

The new Foodies will be about the same size as the Kennewick location, but the Wilsons are planning to offer a private room at the Parkway site. The Kennewick Foodies will add to its seasonal seating in the future, with a so-called StrEatery, which transforms a couple of parking spaces into a deck for diners to eat outside.

The Richland restaurant is 1,900 square feet and can seat up to 75, but the remodel of the space is fluid in its initial stages.

Construction is expected to take 60 to 90 days, which would have Foodies too opening sometime around Thanksgiving.

The Wilsons want to include more of a defined 21-and-over seating area, as well as a “peekaboo” kitchen for customers to see the meals being prepared.

A mix of 15 employees will be hired, likely four full time and 11 part time.

The Wilsons are considering offering a late-night menu for those looking for a meal, and not just drinks, during the later evening hours after getting off the river or attending a show at the nearby Richland Players Theater.

Foodies too will be open for lunch and dinner and closed only on Sundays.

The Wilsons are finding continued success despite an often challenging local food scene that sees the opening and closing of locally-owned restaurants frequently.

“The Tri-Cities is rough,” said Joanna.

“We’re rough on people. They’ll give us maybe two tries and that’s it. But they’ll go to the chains because it’s standard. There’s more expectations for us than any chain.”

The couple have benefited from wordof-mouth marketing and social media instead of traditional marketing to grow their loyal fan base in Kennewick.

“Creating more of that buzz downtown has been direct from the stores around us that have been a huge support,” Joanna said.

Now they hope to bring that same buzz to Richland where popular restaurants like Graze, Frost Me Sweet, Porter’s Real Barbecue and Stone Soup are all within a tenth-of-a-mile strip between Knight Street and Lee Boulevard. Miss Tamale recently joined this restaurant row. It opened a few doors down on Sept. 15. (See story on page 9.)

Former Richland Economic Development Manager Zach Ratkai called The Parkway “an institution since its inception.”

He said he is encouraged at how The Parkway has transitioned to meet the needs of a free market, developing now into a focal point for an urban lifestyle.

“It attracts a young, entrepreneurial spirit that really shows The Parkway is a great organic spot to grow. It’s a shift we’re glad to be at the epicenter of,” said Ratkai during his last week working for the city of Richland. He left his post to work for the city of Pasco.

David Lippes, principal of Boost Builds, said he likes to see food retailers showing an interest in the area. His Richland development company has an ambitious goal of bringing city-dwellers back to the central downtown area. Boost Builds bought and drastically updated the building at 723 The Parkway, also home to Fuse SPC, a coworking community, earlier this year.

“We are excited about the demand that retail, and especially food retailers, have shown for locating in and around The Parkway. This is clearly an indication of growing consumer demand driven by the revitalization of Richland’s downtown core,” Lippes said.

The Wilsons are excited about the new venture, too.

“What’s fun is that we get to design and create the atmosphere that we want to be in.

I think that’s pretty much between 4th Base, Foodies Brick and Mortar, and now Foodies too, is that we’re able to design somewhere that we would want to go, and that makes it more pleasant for us. We’re hoping people like to eat where we like to eat,” Joanna said.

Foodies too: 701A The Parkway, Richland; foodiesbrickandmortar.com; Facebook.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Late clock repairman’s wife working to reunite clocks with their owners

A West Richland clock repairman featured in our July issue died at his home Sept. 2.

He was 71.

Al Nihart owned Nihart Clock Repair, taking over the business from his father in the 1980s.

Al Nihart “My business has gotten bigger and bigger because all of my competition has died. I’m one of the last buffaloes in the herd. You can’t find a clock repairman anymore. I’m already backed up three or four months,” he told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and Senior Times in July.

His wife Holly Pedit said her husband suffered a major coronary event.

Pedit said she is trying to reunite clocks left at Nihart’s West Richland repair shop with their owners. Owners may call 509-539-2587.

Life Tributes Cremation Center of Kennewick is in charge of arrangements.

Kadlec Express Care to open in Pasco, Richland Walgreens Two new Kadlec Express Care clinics will be embedded in Walgreens

stores on Road 68 in Pasco and George Washington Way in Richland.

The clinics offer same-day appointments for minor ailments like sore throats, colds, the flu, sprains and cuts.

The Pasco clinic at 5506 N. Road 68 opened Sept. 10.

The Richland office at 1601 George Washington Way opens Sept. 17.

Hours at both clinics are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To book online appointments, visit expresscare.kadlec.org Walgreens and Providence St. Joseph Health recently announced the expanded retail clinic collaboration.

Richland’s Kadlec Regional Medical Center is an affiliate of Providence.

Tri-Cities Airport begins $10.5 million taxiway project

The Tri-Cities Airport has begun construction on a taxiway renovation project. The $10.5 million project will be performed in four phases, and won’t affect travelers.

As part of the plan, the airport will temporarily close Runway 12-30 and general aviation runway 3R-21L. The airport will then move and rehabilitate Taxiway A to bring it in line with current Federal Aviation Administration design standards.

Two additional taxiways will have their pavement rehabilitated, and portions of the apron will be extended.

Including stops for winter weather, the project is expected to be completed in fall 2019.

“Airports are constantly evolving to

keep pace with passenger growth, safety regulations, technological advancements and more,” said Buck Taft, director of Tri-Cities Airport. “This realignment project ensures that the airport will meet federal standards and continue to operate safely and efficiently.”

J-U-B Engineers is the project manager and also developed the taxiway project design; Inland Asphalt Co. will perform the construction work. Both firms have offices in the Tri-City area.

Ninety percent of the project’s costs come from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant, with the remaining portion being paid by the airport.

The taxiway realignment project will not use local tax dollars.

Playground of Dreams closes for $1M in repairs

Kennewick’s Playground of Dreams in Columbia Park will be closed through November while under repair.

It closed Sept. 13 so the 19-year-old wood structure can be replaced with a modern one that is safer and allows children of diverse abilities to play side-by-side with their peers.

The rebuild will take place in two phases, with the first to be completed in November, when it will be reopened for use. The second phase will take place in the spring.

Volunteers helped remove the memorial pickets that enclosed and helped fund the original structure, and city officials have salvaged donated embellishments and sponsorship plaques. The

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original supporters will be recognized along with the new sponsors of the rebuilt playground on new signage, said Kennewick’s Parks and Recreation Director Emily Estes-Cross.

“This playground was built by and continues to be owned by the community, and we intend to honor the contributions and memories that have been made. To ensure future generations also get to make memories, the time has come to replace it,” she said.

The new design will incorporate iconic elements and new features the community asked for during 2017 open houses and surveys, including a hydroplane, the cable bridge, a lighthouse and a Lampson crane. First phase components will be connected by ramps and the second phase of the site poured with a surface that can be navigated by users with wheelchairs or mobility limitations.

The city budgeted $350,000 toward the $1 million inclusive playground, and are fundraising for the balance.

Private contributions total $180,000, and a major sponsorship partner is being sought.

To reclaim one of the 1,423 engraved pickets, visit Go2Kennewick. com/PlaygroundOfDreams. Pickets can be picked up at the Southridge Sports and Events Complex during business hours.

For more information, please contact Emily Estes-Cross at 509-585-4258 or emily.estes-cross@ci.kennewick.wa. us.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities’ second Grocery Outlet opens on Road 68 Pasco store’s new owner-operator grew up in grocery store industry

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A line of hundreds of eager customers waited patiently for Pasco’s newest grocery store to open.

The Black Friday-like line outside the new Grocery Outlet extended past the adjacent Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree stores that opened earlier this summer and wrapped around the corner of the building.

Some waited for more than an hour to shop in the new, 18,000-square-foot grocery store at 5710 N. Road 68.

They arrived early to be among the first 200 customers to receive gift certificates ranging from $5 to $200. All customers also took home their groceries in a complimentary reusable bag commemorating the grand opening.

Grocery Outlet opened in a $5 million, 13-acre development at the corner of Road 68 and Sandifur Parkway.

Grocery Outlet, a third-generation, family-led company based in Emeryville, California, has been offering customers savings on brand-name products found in conventional grocery stores and other retailers since 1946.

Through vendor partnerships, buying direct and opportunistic buying practices that take advantage of close-out and overstock inventory, the stores are able to

provide customers with 40 percent to 70 percent off regular priced fresh produce, meats, deli items, dairy products, frozen foods, beer, wine, health and beauty care items, and more, including natural and organic products.

The stores also have home and garden sections, some clothing, and a wide array of kitchen tools, from pots and pans to bamboo cutting boards, food storage containers, and handheld implements like spatulas and ladles.

“At each store, you’re going to find something different,” said Jamie Lemire, regional marketing manager for Grocery Outlet.

Walking through the new store, the average consumer won’t notice a significant difference between their regular supermarket experience and Grocery Outlet’s shelves, though one doesn’t always find the same products twice due to how inventory is acquired.

Grocery Outlet promotes itself as “the fastest growing, extreme-value grocer in the U.S.,” with more than 300 locations throughout California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania, where it bought out the Amelia’s grocery chain to source more products from the East Coast and establish business in the region.

In the week prior to the Pasco store

Owner-operator Charles Grimm and his wife and their four children cut the ribbon on the new independently-owned and operated Grocery Outlet store in Pasco. Grocery Outlet is a California-based chain that offers discounted brand name products. Grimm formerly owned Mesa Grocery in Franklin County.

opening, two new stores opened elsewhere in Washington, and a location in Sunnyside is set to open next year.

Mirroring the company’s roots in being family-led, Grocery Outlet stores are independently run by owner-operators in their local community.

“The owner-operator model keeps the profits in the community and re-invested through charitable donations,” said Charles Grimm, owner-operator of the new Pasco store.

Grimm and his family were selected to take on the Pasco Grocery Outlet in May. “We try to find the right people for the right store, the right community,” Lemire said.

Grimm was certainly qualified. He was brought up working in his family’s grocery store chain in the Olympia area and has spent 31 years working in the industry.

In 2006, he and his wife, Janice, moved to Franklin County and bought a small

grocery store in Mesa called Mesa Grocery, which they operated for 10 years.

“After serving the community for over a decade, and unable to take the store to the next level, we began to wonder if it was best to move on,” said Grimm in his final ad for Mesa Grocery in June 2017.

“We never did list Mesa Grocery for sale, but one day a gentleman came by and made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”

He said his family still misses the relationships they forged in Mesa, but added, “Sometimes we must all make financial decisions based on financial reasons, and for us, this was one of them.”

Grimm said he wasn’t exactly sure what was next for his family, but luckily fate had it all worked out.

He was returning an auto part one day, and a Grocery Outlet happened to be across the street, which piqued his interest. uGROCERY OUTLET, Page 8

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

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DATEBOOK

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

SEPT. 18

SEPT. 21 – 22

SEPT. 18 – 20

SEPT. 22

• Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber Networking Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP: 509-542-0933.

• 2018 Association of Washington Business Policy Summit: Suncadia Resort, 3600 Suncadia Trail, Cle Elum. Register: awb.org.

SEPT. 19

• Design-Thinking Workshop, hosted by Fuse: 5 – 7 p.m., Kennewick Community Center, 500 S. Auburn St., Kennewick.

RSVP: fusespc.com.

SEPT. 20

• ACT Take Action Luncheon, benefiting Academy of Children’s Theatre: noon – 1 p.m., CG Public House, 9221 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

RSVP: info@actstaff.org.

• Sausage Fest: 5 – 11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. – midnight Saturday, Christ the King School, 1122 Long Ave., Richland. Visit: cksausagefest.org.

• Dinner in the Dark, benefiting the Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired: 6 – 9:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. Tickets: edithbishelcenter.org.

SEPT. 23

• All Aboard Communities in Schools fundraiser: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 802 George Washington Way, Richland. Tickets: bentonfranklin.ciswa.or.

SEPT. 25

• Solutions at Sunrise: 7:15 – 8:15 a.m., CG Public House, 9221 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. RSVP: washingtonpolicy.org.

SEPT. 26

• Tri-City Regional Chamber Membership Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

RSVP: 509-736-0510.

SEPT. 27

SEPT. 29

• Wine & Dine for SIGN: 5 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: signfracture.org.

SEPT. 29 – 30

OCT. 3

• West Richland Chamber Membership Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Sandberg Event Center, 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland. RSVP: 509967-0521.

• Elected Leaders Reception: 4:30 p.m., Reach museum, 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. RSVP: 509-736-0510.

• Tri-City Artist’s Open Studio Tour: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., various Tri-City locations. Visit: tricityartistsopenstudiotour. com.

OCT. 6

SEPT. 28

OCT. 2

OCT. 11

• 10th annual Tri-Cities Wishes & Wine, benefiting Wishing Star Foundation: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: wishingstar.org.

• Junior Achievement’s Hearts are Wild Gala: 6 – 10 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: jawashington.org.

• Building Bridges & Breaking Down Barriers conference: 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Southridge Sports and Events Complex, 2901 Southridge Blvd., Kennewick.

Register: facebook.com/ accesstricities.

• Prosser Chamber Membership Luncheon: noon – 1 p.m., Jeremy’s 1896 Public House, 1232 Wine Country Road, Prosser.

RSVP: 509-786-3177.

• TedxRichland 2018: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Uptown Theatre, 1300 Jadwin Ave., Richland. Tickets: tedxrichland.com.

• Procurement Power Hour: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m., Tri-Cities Business & Visitor Center, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP: washingtonptac.org.

• Women Helping Women Fund annual luncheon: noon – 1:30 p.m., TRAC, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco. RSVP: whwftc.org.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 GROCERY OUTLET, From page 6 After accepting the fact that his family might have to uproot and move to own a Grocery Outlet store, plans for a future Pasco store were announced the first day Grimm began training to become an eligible owner-operator.

“I am thrilled to open a Grocery Outlet here in Pasco and bring the community a simple way to save money on their groceries,” he said. “The partnership with Grocery Outlet allows me to be a true entrepreneur, create new jobs and have positive impact on the neighborhood.”

“Really, it’s kind of like owning my little store in Mesa, but I have the support and the partnership of Grocery Outlet,” Grimm said.

Grimm and his family appreciate that the company’s values align with their own personal philosophies of being involved in the local community. In Mesa, Grimm and his family engaged at the school and civic level and hope to continue to do that in Tri-Cities.

“At Grocery Outlet, we have a saying: ‘Touching lives for the better,’ ” Grimm said. “It’s our idea that as people come in contact with our brand, whether it’s the service we provide or the money we can save them on their groceries, then they will be stronger because of it and so will our company and we will be able to go on to do this in other communities.”

As a first gesture of their commitment to the local community, the com-

bined savings of customers who shopped during the new store’s first hour of operation were donated to the Tri-Cities Union Gospel Mission. Their savings versus what they would have spent at a conventional supermarket totaled $2,493.87.

Grimm also said he hopes to fill the 30 new jobs at the store with local hires and plans to partner with Columbia Basin producers to provide more locally-sourced food products in the store.

Grimm said he most looks forward to “making a difference in the community in which I live; being an improvement of the quality of life for my family and the Tri-Cities area community in general.”

He said he looks forward to working

together with the existing Kennewick store, owned and operated by Brandon and Alycia Shaver, as well to host community events.

“I couldn’t imagine having a sister store with better operators. We’re going to be able to strengthen the brand in the community, to grow the brand and the reputation of the brand … to achieve greater recognition in the Tri-Cities area,” he said.

The Pasco store’s grand opening provided another incentive to shop at the new store: Customer could pick up entries for a chance to win free groceries for a year (up to $1,200) will be accepted until Sept. 20.

Pasco Grocery Outlet: 5710 N. Road 68, Suite 103; 509-492-4564; Facebook.

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Free business-friendly programs event set for Oct. 3

Employers in the Benton, Franklin and surrounding counties are invited to learn about programs to retain workers, improve their work force, increase employee productivity and hear essential information about the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Expert panelists from SharedWork, Paid Family and Medical Leave, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, The Society of Financial Awareness, and others will provide updates to programs benefiting business owners.

WorkSource Columbia Basin, a statewide partnership of state, local and nonprofit agencies that provides an array of employment and training services to job seekers and employers, is offering this free forum from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 3 at the Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center in Pasco at 2525 N. 20th Ave. The event will start with a networking breakfast at 8:45 a.m. Check-in begins at 8:15 a.m.

Register on Eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact WorkSource Columbia Basin at 509-7345953.

3 Eyed Fish plans Sept. 18 re-opening in Richland

Richland’s 3 Eyed Fish Kitchen + Bar re-opens Sept. 18 after closing for a four-month renovation project.

The restaurant at 1970 Keene Road closed in April for a major overhaul that coincided with the Queensgate Drive construction project that lasted through the summer months.

The new and improved restaurant will offer an expanded menu with pasta, burgers and appetizers, thanks to its larger kitchen.

The renovation also means more dining space — including an expanded outdoor rooftop patio — to accommodate more guests.

Wave Design Group was the architect, and IBK Inc. was the general contractor.

The custom fish scale siding work on the side of the building was done by IBK, a company owned by Brian Goulet.

Cindy and Brian Goulet own 3 Eyed Fish Kitchen + Bar. They also own LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen in Richland.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

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New tamale restaurant to open in Richland Parkway Miss Tamale to serve up five different kinds of tamales, plus dessert options

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Food Network taught Leticia Whitten how to cook and even some English.

“She watched a lot of Martha Stewart.

Well, until (Stewart) got in trouble,” joked Leticia’s husband, Mark Whitten.

As a Mexican immigrant, Leticia built her skills in the kitchen while raising three daughters, eventually perfecting her recipes for tamales. She began selling up to 50 dozen at a time to patients visiting her husband’s massage therapy practice, Riverside Therapeutic Massage.

The couple dreamed of opening a restaurant one day, and when the former Seoul Sushi closed in the spring, the Whittens jumped at the opportunity to lease the space at 701B The Parkway.

“When we saw this space, the light bulb went on,” Mark said. “We hadn’t even been thinking about (opening a restaurant) for a while, but it just went, ‘Boom,’ and everything started falling in place.”

Miss Tamale opens Sept. 15 next door to Stone Soup, and soon-to-be Foodies too, which will occupy the space once held by Paper Street Brewing Co. before the end of the year.

“We’re doing it totally on faith,” Mark said. “We have faith in our food, we believe in the small clientele that we already have and word of mouth.”

Leticia’s niche is tamales, but she hopes to build on the menu and eventually offer tacos, burritos and tortas. Miss Tamale also will feature dessert tamale options that change with the seasons.

She expects to debut Mark’s favorite, a piña colada tamale, and even introduce a pumpkin spice variety this the fall.

A whimsical logo of Miss Tamale adorns the restaurant’s glass windows, designed by the couple’s 12-year-old daughter, Samantha, and inspired by Betty Boop and Marilyn Monroe. It features a tamale in a dress and tiara, with other mascots representing menu items, also created by Samantha Whitten.

Now with a toddler son in tow, it’s been a family effort to launch Miss Tamale. The restaurant’s menu was designed with families in mind. It will include flavors like beef and cheese, chicken, pork, bean and cheese, and a vegan option made with vegetables.

“I believe in my food,” Leticia said.

“I know it’s good and the food will speak for itself.” The tamales are all gluten free and cooked without lard.

The Whittens have been working since June 1 on a total remodel of the

Mark and Leticia Whitten prepare to launch their new restaurant at 701B The Parkway in Richland. Miss Tamale will feature tamales sold individually or by the dozen.

1,800-square-foot space, across from Greenies.

“The only thing we kept was the grease trap,” Mark said.

From top to bottom, the floors and ceiling are new, as well as the kitchen and granite service countertop. The restaurant will seat 55 people, with orders placed and filled at the counter. A limited delivery will be available to start, with orders placed ahead of time for frozen tamales to be delivered and resteamed by the customer.

A single tamale starts at $3 and the

price drops to half that if a customer orders them by the dozen.

Up to 16 employees are expected to be hired to operate the restaurant, including four to six full-time employees and six to 10 part-time employees, with Leticia overseeing the kitchen.

The couple sees this restaurant as an anchor location for future growth. They signed a five-year lease for the space and hope to occupy it for at least 20 years. uTAMALE, Page 11

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

PERMITS, From page 1 “We are opposed to impact fees or anything that can restrict or dampen development,” said CEO Lola Franklin of the TriCity Association of Realtors.

Pasco determined the impact fees were needed since school district enrollment had outpaced the ability to continue housing and educating students. The fees were allowed under the Growth Management Act, state subdivision laws and the State Environmental Policy Act. The district argued it needed an additional revenue stream outside of property taxes to maintain a standard of service, pay adequate salaries, offer specialized programs and maintain support services, like school lunches and bus transportation.

A cost of $4,683 was added to each home permit issued to build a single-family home in Pasco. The plan was initially met with an outcry from local builders, but in the six years since, the added expense has not slowed the pace of new construction within Pasco.

“In Pasco, permits are double the cost, and I would hope it would be backwards of that because of what we can we get in a Pasco neighborhood versus what we can get in a Richland neighborhood,” Spence said. “The going rate for a Richland home is just more, the median price is higher.”

Today, the home permit fee in Pasco is determined based on an initial scale for the value of the home. From there, the 2018 fee schedule includes a $4,700 school impact fee, $1,425 parks fee and $709 traffic impact fee.

Since the school impact fee was first introduced in Pasco, the city reports it col-

Kennewick recently revised its transportation impact fees, or TIFs, to a locationbased fee schedule, with the highest fees assessed on homes built in the Southridge area, and the lowest on homes built in the city’s downtown core.

lected more than $8 million between 201217. The district presents biannual updates to the city in the form of a capital facilities plan to maintain its eligibility to receive school impact fees. The plan includes specifics on factors like the district’s standard of service, an inventory of its facilities and an enrollment forecast covering six years.

The city uses this report to make fee adjustments, if necessary, which has led to a slight fee increase since it was initially rolled out. The district also makes yearly reports to the city of Pasco how the money was spent.

Franklin County did not authorize the district to collect fees built for homes in unincorporated areas that lie outside Pasco’s city limits, but still within the boundaries of the school district.

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“The district has attempted to collect those impact fees from the developers, but has been unsuccessful in most instances,” said Shane Edinger, spokesman for the Pasco School District.

The district estimates it lost $1.1 million in potential impact fees because of this, but recently found a new way to enforce the impact fee under the state Environmental Policy Act, without the need for approval from Franklin County commissioners.

Now, when a new development is submitted to Franklin County’s planning department, the district has the ability to identify environmental impacts from the project and work with the developer to mitigate these. Under this new enforcement, the district said it has collected $47,000 in mitigation fees since May for homes built in unincorporated Franklin County.

Kennewick recently revised its transportation impact fees, or TIFs, collected on home building permits to a location-based cost, splitting the city into four separate districts.

City officials say the fees are used to pay for transportation projects needed as a result of increased growth in the city.

The city determined it was more equitable to shift the costs from the community at large, to those directly impacting the traffic. Kennewick’s TIF rolled out in September 2015 and was revised in June. It created Traffic Impact Fee Districts instead.

The Kennewick Municipal Code says the intent of a traffic impact fee, “is to ensure that adequate facilities are available to serve new growth and that the new growth pays a proportionate share of the cost of the infrastructure needed to support that growth.”

In determining the fee, Kennewick calculates the TIF based on each vehicle trip likely to happen during the peak p.m. hour, determined by the use and location of the property, as well as traffic data from the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

The city split Kennewick into four districts, including Southridge, the Vista Field area and downtown. The fourth district, also the largest, encompasses all other areas of the city. Currently, the heaviest growth from new construction in Kennewick is occurring in the Southridge area, which is why the highest fee, $1,324, was assessed for each single-family home building permit issued.

Comparably, a fee of $850 will be charged for single-family units planned at

Vista Field, and $982 for all other areas in Kennewick, not including downtown.

Expecting the least impact to infrastructure, a TIF in downtown Kennewick is $337. Kennewick said its TIF rate is about average for the Tri-Cities and about onethird the national average. The city’s base rate for a building permit has not changed in the last five years.

As with other cities, Kennewick’s building permit fee includes a cost to maintain and operate the city’s parks. A permit of a single-family unit east of Highway 395 costs $760 and a unit west of the highway costs $920. To calculate the cost of a $250,000 home, the permit fee would vary widely based on the location of the home due to the TIF and the park fee. It could range from $2,936 for a home built in the downtown core, to $4,083 for a home built in Southridge.

Taking a page from Kennewick, Richland is also re-examining the costs connected to the impact of traffic created from new home construction, calling them “road impact fees” instead.

Richland adopted its road impact fees in fall 2004, but has been recently working to revise the fees and include the area known as Badger Mountain South, near Dallas Road and Interstate 182. The Richland Municipal Code said these fees should be based on “a showing that new development creates additional demand and need for public streets and roads,” and not that they “make up for deficiencies in public streets and roads serving existing developments.”

Richland also uses a location-based fee schedule for its road impact fees. Previously, Richland had just two zones in the city that were levied a fee, focused only on south Richland, and basically split the map into areas east or west of Queensgate Drive. A new third district, effective Aug. 1, covers Badger Mountain South. Also effective Aug. 1, Richland raised fees for construction east of Queensgate, from $1,533 to $1,991, and west of Queensgate from $474 to $854. The newly-formed third district sees the highest fees, at $2,229.

Once again estimating the permit cost for a $250,000 home, this could range from $2,694 to $4,069 in Richland, depending on the location of the home. Other fees attached to the permit including a right-ofway fee, sewer and water assessments, and a water meter are not included. Richland’s park fee is paid on the subdivision level when a lot is platted by a developer and not when the home permit is issued.

Fees may be paid by the developer or the builder, but they’re generally all passed on to the buyer of the new home, which may be a source of contention when the buyer isn’t the only one benefitting from the infrastructure improvements.

“This has always been a long-term debate amongst builders because most times they say, ‘You’re building new homes, therefore you’re causing other systems to break,’ when in reality, it’s like, ‘Is that true? Or is it everybody’s fault?’ We may be pushing it to the next level but are we responsible for all of the improvements to widen this intersection? Or should it come from property taxes where everyone shares in the cost?” Spence said.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tennessee-based RCCH buys 102-year-old Lourdes, names new CEO

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A Tennessee-based health care company now owns two hospitals in the TriCities.

RCCH HealthCare Partners bought Lourdes Health Network in Pasco on Sept. 1.

The state approved the $21 million Lourdes sale, as well as its conversion from nonprofit to for-profit.

RCCH bought Kennewick’s Trios Health on Aug. 4.

Lourdes had been part of Ascension, the nation’s largest nonprofit health system.

The sale includes the two hospitals associated with Lourdes Health Network: Lourdes Medical Center, an acute care hospital operating in Pasco, and Lourdes Counseling Center, a psychiatric hospital in Richland.

“We are honored to be partnering with Lourdes Health Network to help ensure the continued high quality of care they’ve provided for this community,” said Marty Rash, chairman and CEO of RCCH HealthCare Partners, in a statement.

“With more than 100 years of service to the people of the region and a well-earned reputation for high quality, compassionate care, we look forward to working with and learning from Lourdes’ associates as well as sharing with them and investing in resources for growth.”

With the change in ownership also comes a change in leadership.

TAMALE, From page 9 “We’re in this for the long haul,” Mark said. He previously rented from the same landlord who owns the building housing Miss Tamale, while his practice, Riverside Therapeutic Massage, operated on the corner of Lee Boulevard and Jadwin Avenue. It moved to Williams Boulevard a few years ago.

Mark said the new location was positive for that business, but he hoped to get back to The Parkway, “We knew where we wanted to be. We love the Richland feel, and the community feel and have watched things grow here. The Parkway has grown in the last 15 years and a lot has had to do with the farmers’ market and the city involvement. Lighting the

Lourdes CEO and President John Serle stepped down from his post Aug. 31, after the transaction between RCCH and Lourdes John Serle closed. He said in a statement that he made the move with a heavy heart.

“RCCH asked me to stay on as CEO, but because of issues related to my change of control agreement, I will not be able to remain at Lourdes. It goes without saying that the last three years have been an uncertain time for the Lourdes Health family. Even so, our team has never wavered in their focus on caring for our patients and their families and their commitment to high quality, compassionate care has always been at the forefront, regardless of the challenge,” Serle said in a statement.

Serle said he believes the future of Lourdes is “bright and exciting.”

“I believe RCCH will be a supportive, diligent and engaged parent organization,” he said.

RCCH has appointed Mark Gregson as interim CEO. Gregson has more than 35 years of experience in hospital and health care leadership, including more than 20 years as a hospital CEO. He has spent the past 13 years serving hospitals across the country in interim CEO roles, so he is

trees at Christmastime and just getting the community down here has been huge for this spot.”

The $80,000 remodel has been led by general contractor Arnie’s Construction.

Pancho’s Heating and Air handled the ventilation, Candy Mountain Electric performed electrical work and Pacific Northwest Construction was contracted for the plumbing.

Miss Tamale will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The grand opening celebration on the first day will include free samples of all menu items and free fountain drinks.

Information: misstamale.co (Note: this is not a .com); 509-578-1601.

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RCCH HealthCare Partners bought Lourdes Health Network in Pasco on Sept. 1.

The sale includes both Lourdes Medical Center, an acute care hospital operating in Pasco, and Lourdes Counseling Center, a psychiatric hospital in Richland.

very comfortable and experienced leading organizations through transitions, according to RCCH. He most recently served as the interim CEO at the University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus in Topeka, Kansas.

RCCH officials say they have already begun a national search for the new permanent CEO for Lourdes.

“Once we have identified candidates we will coordinate with the hospital board, hospital leaders, and members of the medical staff to finalize the naming of the new CEO. The great thing about having an interim CEO like Mark is that it allows us the time we need to find the

right new leader for your hospital,” RCCH said in a statement.

Lourdes Health has been serving the Mid-Columbia region’s health care needs since 1916. With more than 17 locations serving the community, the network employs over 900 associates and has more than 300 medical providers.

Through its public private partnership with UW Medicine, RCCH also owns and operates Capital Medical Center in Olympia and Kennewick’s Trios.

RCCH operates 18 regional health systems in 12 states and has more than 15,000 employees and 2,800 affiliated physicians and mid-level providers.

12

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

EDUCATION & TRAINING

13

Small Business Development Center returns to Kennewick

CBC, WSU Tri-Cities team up to fund TRIDEC-based center

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

New businesses are opening up left and right in Tri-Cities, while existing ones continue to grow and expand, with new development opportunities like the Vista Field overhaul and other, smaller scale projects on the horizon.

But there’s a lot of nuance inherent in starting a new business or expanding an existing one.

And the region’s Small Business Development Center wants to help.

After a brief hiatus, the SBDC re-opened Sept. 14 at the Tri-City Development Council at 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick.

Office hours are available on Fridays until it is fully operational on Dec. 3.

“When I came here, it was very clear the community really wanted the SBDC to reopen,” said Washington State University Tri-Cities’ new Chancellor Sandra Haynes.

The SBDC never really left the building,

though the program’s former certified business advisor, Bruce Davis, retired in 2016 after facilitating the center’s services for more than 10 years.

This time around, WSU Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College have teamed up to provide the funding to support the center.

Previously, CBC solely funded it.

As the state’s land grant university, WSU is responsible for administering grant money from the U.S. Small Business Administration to establish SBDCs throughout the state as a part of its national network.

Washington plays host to 21 SBDCs, with almost 1,000 nationwide, according to America’s SBDC, a nationwide network of SBDCs. TRIDEC President Carl Adrian explained that it makes sense for Tri-Cities’ SBDC to be at the headquarters of the economic development council. “It’s certainly a part of our mission to help small businesses,” he said.

Adrian said other organizations in the

Columbia Basin College President Rebekah Woods, left, and Washington State University Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes stand near the Small Business Development Center office at the Tri-City Development Council in Kennewick.

The two colleges have teamed up with TRIDEC to bring the business consulting resource back.

community, such as loan providers and the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, or BFCOG, often would send clients to the SBDC office to receive free, confidential consultation and advice on their business-

related questions.

“We are very, very excited to have an advisor back in that role,” said Stephanie Seamans, community and economic development manager at BFCOG. uSBDC, Page 16

The Kennewick School District just opened Amon Creek Elementary, the largest elementary school in the District. The project was a huge success thanks to Chervenell Construction Co. The teamwork and expertise that Chervenell demonstrated was awesome! The District, and our community, truly benefited from having such a quality contractor build our school. Kennewick School District appreciates Chervenell Construction Co. - Doug Carl, Capital Projects Director Kennewick School District

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Dropout prevention program expands reach in Tri-City area schools Local Communities in Schools helps connect students, families to services

BY ARIELLE DREHER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

What causes a kid or teen to drop out of school? The answer to that question can be vast — and attributed to myriad factors, from housing to economic status to food and transportation.

Enter Paulina Valdez, who works for Communities in Schools, or CIS, and has a portable on the River’s Edge High School campus in Richland. CIS is a nonprofit that acts as a connection point for students in Benton and Franklin counties. Each school that partners with CIS has a site coordinator, like Valdez, who has a space similar to a resource room where students can go.

Valdez’s portable on the River’s Edge campus always has an open door. The word “Empower” is taped to it, showing outward to the ball court outside. Inside, a colorful bounty of food, clothes, hygiene supplies and other resources line the walls.

Valdez serves as a connection point for students — all students regardless of socioeconomic status or background — who need anything from a quick snack to help applying for jobs or other services.

“I’m not just the ‘food lady,’ ” Valdez said. “I help with other resources like housing and job search and résumés. We

have legal resources and legal connections or basic things like shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste or a toothbrush. And I tell them we’re just the bridge that bridges what they need with the services that are out there.”

At the start of this school year, teachers brought their classrooms out to Valdez’s portable to show them they could visit at any time. Valdez is not a school employee; she works for CIS, a distinction specific to the nonprofit’s model.

CIS is a national organization with county affiliates. The Benton-Franklin CIS serves schools in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

What started as a small program in a handful of schools in 2014 has exploded.

CIS has coordinators in 26 schools across the four school districts this year.

Mark Lee, the development director at Benton-Franklin CIS, said the BentonFranklin affiliate — one of 12 statewide — is the fastest-growing and now the largest in the state.

Jill Oldson, who serves on the CIS Benton-Franklin board and the Richland School Board, attributes the program’s growth to a model called PowerSchool, which shows attendance and academic records.

“It’s a model that allows you to get

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Paulina Valdez has worked as the site coordinator for Communities in Schools at River’s Edge High School in Richland for almost four years. She said she believes the program has helped reduce dropouts at the school.

data results to stand behind the process we use,” she said. “It’s really nice that they have such a detailed easy-to-use model of how to engage these students because you still get to do it your own way based on your own community.”

Each school that has a CIS coordinator allows them access to PowerSchool data. Valdez can track students’ attendance, grades or behavior as they work through some of the barriers and challenges they face.

CIS is not so much a service provider as it is a service connector. Valdez said that while she can connect students with immediate needs, like toiletries or coats and shoes during the winter, she said she also reaches out to other community organizations, connecting students to their services. She manages about 32 students at a time, getting consent from their parents if they are younger than 18 years old. Some are homeless.

“It’s just preparing them for adulthood besides trying to graduate them.

It’s not all about graduation,” she said.

The program also can connect students’ families to services. Valdez said she recently helped a mother and a family of six get a housing voucher after finding out they were sleeping in their car at nights to keep the family together.

In the 2016-17 school year, when CIS was in 18 schools, nearly 9,500 students received services, with 585 receiving specific case management. Ninety-seven percent of the high schoolers who received help stayed in school.

The state average graduation rate is nearly 80 percent, according to data from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. But this number drops drastically for students who are homeless. Fifty-three percent of homeless students statewide graduated in 2016. The homeless student graduation rate in Prosser and Pasco school districts is 60 percent; it’s 35 percent in Richland and 45 percent in Kennewick. uSCHOOLS, Page 16

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

CBC offers space to train vit plant lab workers

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

The U.S. Department of Energy and Bechtel National Inc. are collaborating with Columbia Basin College in Pasco to help prepare chemists for their work at the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s analytical laboratory.

The 3,300-square-foot laboratory at CBC will be used to prepare the analytical laboratory’s future staff for work at the vit plant at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

The lab will start developing the processes that will be used to support lowactivity waste vitrification by a courtordered milestone of 2023. Bechtel set up the lab at CBC so chemists and laboratory specialists can train with the same equipment that will be eventually transferred to the vit plant’s analytical laboratory.

“They are developing the methods, processes and procedures today that we’ll need at the analytical laboratory in the future to perform the direct feed lowactivity waste commissioning work,” said Brian Vance, manager of the DOE Office of River Protection, in a release. “This is a key step in preparations to bring the vitrification plant online, begin making glass and continue moving forward in our Hanford cleanup mission.”

The CBC lab’s key function is to confirm that all glass produced by the Low Activity Waste facility, or LAW, meets regulatory requirements and standards.

During direct feed low-activity waste operations, the analytical laboratory will analyze about 3,000 process samples each year.

Analyses will confirm the correct glassformer “recipe” needed to produce a consistent glass form. Samples also will be taken throughout the vitrification process to confirm a high-quality glass product and good process controls.

“We are in the early hiring and training phases for the laboratory technical staff that will eventually be transferred from the CBC lab to the waste treatment plant’s large analytical laboratory at the Hanford site,” said Brian Reilly, a Bechtel senior vice president and Bechtel’s director for the waste treatment plant roject. “Through our work here at CBC, we are preparing the future laboratory work force for the plant’s cold and

Chemists are developing the processes they’ll need to analyze radioactive tank waste before it’s turned into glass. These vit plant chemists are working inside a 3,300-square-foot laboratory at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

(Courtesy Bechtel)

hot commissioning phases.”

During the cold commissioning phase, a waste-like simulant will be run through the Low Activity Waste Facility. Then, a hot-commissioning vitrification phase will begin turning low-activity radioactive tank waste into sturdy glass.

“It’s an honor to know that work supporting the Hanford cleanup mission is happening here at Columbia Basin College,” said Rebekah Woods, CBC president. “It’s great that our campus can be a community resource for companies

who are training the next generation of Hanford’s work force.”

The direct feed low-activity waste approach uses key facilities of the waste treatment plant, including the LAW facility.

Construction is largely complete for the vit plant’s LAW facility, analytical laboratory and a collection of more than 20 support facilities. In addition, some portions of the LAW facility, the laboratory and support facilities are undergoing systems testing and startup activities.

15

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Junior Achievement sets training sessions for interested volunteers

Junior Achievement of Washington is offering training sessions for business and community volunteers wanting to help empower young people to own their economic success.

Sessions will be offered from 9 to 11 a.m. Sept. 28 at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, and from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 2 at Gesa Credit Union, 51 Gage Blvd., Richland.

Junior Achievement of Southeast Washington relies on classroom volunteers to bring the group’s programs to K-12 students. Programs include hands-on education in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Jones at 509-783-7222 or elizabethj@jawashington.org.

Home Show set for Oct. 5-7 The Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities’ Fall Home Show is planned for October.

The show will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 5-6 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 7 at TRAC, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco.

Admission is $5 for adults, and children under 16 are free. Free daily seminars are included with admission.

A donation of nonperishable food items gives a $1 ticket discount.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SBDC, From page 13 “Many of our clients are in the beginning stages of their business and need help with business plans and projections … before they can apply for financing.

The Small Business Development Center has filled that need in the community, so we were strong advocates of making sure it came back,” she said.

The SBDC advisor will be able to answer client-specific questions, such as those regarding marketing, packaging and product pricing, and how to assess cash flow or sell to a broker.

“A lot of people are a little bit unsure where to start,” Seamans said. “Meeting with an advisor can give them a little bit closer a start to a business plan. The advisor can ask questions after review-

ing that may give them a little more perspective on what is needed in their business.”

Adrian said the SBDC helps distribute the work involved in getting small businesses and startups off the ground.

“I think the SBDC is kind of a capstone that fills in the gaps,” he said. “It’s just a good resource in the community, and we think it’s just great that the two institutions have decided to partner in this.”

Rebekah Woods, president of CBC, agreed: “We’re just excited about the opportunity to partner together on a needed resource in the community and I would say this is the first of many other partnerships yet to come.”

Woods said it made sense for both

Education & Training local institutions to team up since both have a goal of supporting economic development and the greater community.

She added that both CBC and WSU Tri-Cities offer curriculum for those seeking more education in business administration and related fields.

“We’ve also talked about the possibility of having a student intern or two working (at the SBDC). There are a lot of synergies and ways that we can partner using our students and our curriculum and the SBDC to advance economic development,” Haynes said.

Now, all that’s left is to find someone to lead the program.

“About a year to 18 months ago, a number of local organizations were beginning to ask questions about what Paid Advertising

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If you are, or will be, a caregiver for elderly parents or another close family member living with Alzheimer’s disease, you may experience some emotional stress – but you also need to be aware of the financial issues involved and what actions you can take to help address them.

You will find few “off the rack” solutions for dealing with the financial challenges associated with Alzheimer’s. For one thing, family situations can vary greatly, both in terms of the financial resources available and in the availability and capabilities of potential caregivers. Furthermore, depending on the stage of the disease, people living with Alzheimer’s may have a range of cognitive abilities, which will affect the level of care needed.

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• Consider obtaining durable power of attorney. If you possess a durable power of attorney for finances, you can make financial decisions for the person with Alzheimer’s when he or she is no longer able.

With this authority, you can help the individual living with the disease – and your entire family – avoid court actions that can take away control of financial affairs. And on a short-term basis, having durable power of attorney can help you take additional steps if needed. You’ll find it much easier to acquire durable power of attorney when the individual living with Alzheimer’s is still in the early stage of the disease and can willingly and knowingly grant you this authority.

• Gather all necessary documents. You’ll be in a better position to help the individual living with Alzheimer’s if you have all the important financial documents – bank statements, insurance policies, wills, Social Security payment information, deeds, etc. – in one place.

• Get professional help. You may want to consult with an attorney, who can advise you on establishing appropriate arrangements, such as a living trust, which provides instructions about the estate of the person for whom you’re providing care and names a trustee to hold title to property and funds for the beneficiaries. You also might want to meet with a financial advisor, who can help identify potential resources and money-saving services. And a tax professional may be able to help you find tax deductions connected to your role as caregiver.

Finally, use your experience as a caregiver to reminder yourself of the importance of planning for your own needs. For example, a financial professional can suggest ways of preparing for the potentially huge costs of longterm care, such as those arising from an extended stay in a nursing home.

Caring for an individual living with Alzheimer’s has its challenges. But by taking the appropriate steps, you can reduce uncertainties – and possibly give yourself and your family members a greater sense of security and control.

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

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we need in an SBDC (advisor),” Adrian said.

Haynes said they are in the process of bringing the new advisor aboard. “We are waiting on paperwork to officially hire and determine (a) start date,” she said. An official announcement is forthcoming.

Haynes, Woods and Adrian also expressed interested in establishing a community advisory group for the center, which would serve to help guide it.

“We have so many successful entrepreneurs in Tri-Cities, it would be great to draw on their expertise,” Adrian said.

“I think once we get going, we’ll be able to figure out who should be on the advisory council,” Haynes said.

SCHOOLS, From page 14 Oldson said that a few schools in the Richland School District qualify for free- and reduced lunch, which means 60 percent of the students are living near the poverty line. She said many students across all four districts served

by CIS are homeless, too.

“It’s our responsibility as community members to make sure that we are having the best interests (in mind) for every student that lives in our community, regardless of the hand that they’ve drawn,” she said. “And I think what we’ve really shown is that we can help them change the cards they’ve been given. They have the power to draw more cards and make a hand that helps them truly succeed in life, and that’s what we all want, at the end of the day, we all want the same things for our kids.”

Currently, CIS coordinators are paid largely with school funds, and the partnership between schools and CIS is dependent on this money. Lee said he is working to increase donations and partnerships to make the program more sustainable.

“We can’t rely on the schools to fund us forever,” he said.

The Benton-Franklin CIS is having a fundraiser brunch Sept. 23 at the Red Lion Hotel in Richland. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/allaboardcisbf.

Tickets are $40 each.

Valdez’s favorite part of her job in almost four years is witnessing “aha” moments. “(When) the student (thinks), ‘Oh, I have it in me to do that. Like aha, I can do that,’ (they realize) their own motivation because we sit down and set attainable goals,” she said. “Their aha moment is so rewarding to me, I just love that part.”

Communities in Schools BentonFranklin: bentonfranklin.ciswa.org.

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

Education & Training

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

17

Richland-based HAMMER facility provides training for thousands annually

BY LORI ARAUJO

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Department of Energy’s Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center is a critical resource for worker health and safety at the Hanford site.

The facility north of Richland features an 88-acre campus comprised of numerous classrooms, specialty training areas and props that create a variety of hazardous material and emergency response scenarios. Annually, HAMMER trains thousands of personnel.

Hammer stands for Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response. The facility at 2890 Horn Rapids Road is owned by DOE and operated by Mission Support Alliance.

About 100 people work at HAMMER to support Hanford training and other separately funded national programs. In addition to DOE, HAMMER is also a training resource for other federal agencies, tribal nations and state and local governments in areas such as transportation, emergency response, military readiness, safety and health, fire protection and law enforcement.

HAMMER’s staff work to create a safe, realistic environment where workers are trained and prepared for hazardous and challenging work, not only at Hanford but around the globe.

HAMMER delivers the high-caliber safety training in fall protection, haz-

ardous energy control, confined space, radiological safety and respiratory protection. Despite the best and most careful planning, the unexpected can and does happen, but with the training received at HAMMER, workers are better prepared to take the correct actions to ensure their safety when faced with the unexpected.

HAMMER partners with Hanford site contractors to address on-site safety. It recently developed an Industrial Hygiene Technician Fundamentals Program to improve skills across the site. The technicians are a fundamental part of the site contractors’ programs for protecting workers from exposure to hazardous materials. HAMMER’s training courses are infused with relevant lessons learned on the site to provide workers with current, meaningful information.

HAMMER sponsors the Hanford Future Workforce Subcommittee, partnering with DOE, site contractors, labor unions, tribes, the Tri-City Development Council, Columbia Basin College, and Washington State University Tri-Cities to address worker turnover, retention and recruitment.

Current initiatives include targeted recruitment strategies, craft apprenticeship programs, educational outreach and work force stability. Additionally, HAMMER hosts visits for high school students, presenting hands-on activities, demonstrations and briefings to stimulate their interests in pursuing careers at

Training props at HAMMER include several for firefighters, including the fuel truck burn prop. (Courtesy MSA)

Hanford.

Local, national and international groups also visit the training campus to conduct real-life drills for a wide array of scenarios.

The Hanford Fire Department and several other departments in the region use the props at HAMMER for emergency response training, including highangle rope rescue activities, live firefighting and confined space entry. The Kennewick, Pasco and Richland fire departments will be at HAMMER for the Tri-City Regional Fire Training Academy for recruit training.

Fire Ops 101 is an annual event conducted at HAMMER by the Washington State Council of Firefighters and

International Association of Firefighters. It offers participants a chance to experience a day in the life of a firefighter. Participants include local government officials, community members and reporters. The event features demanding activities such as ladder climbing, roof ventilation, search and rescue, vehicle extrication and live fire training. The 14th Fire Ops 101 event will be held in March at HAMMER. This month, HAMMER will support working seminars during the Washington State Police Canine Association’s fall seminar, hosted by Hanford Patrol and Tri-City regional K9 units. uHAMMER, Page 18

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Education & Training

Speakers, job fair, science demos aim to connect Tri-City work force

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

An event featuring national speakers and activities designed to bring together job seekers, policy makers, educators, labor unions, tribes, veterans and a variety of industries is from Oct. 1-3 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

Called Connect Tri-Cities, the event is part job fair, scholarship challenge and conference that also includes live science demonstrations from a scientist who appears regularly on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

The event is designed to foster career path and job connections between the TriCity community, small businesses and stu-

dents.

A Hanford-focused retirement planning session with Vanguard runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

A STEM Scholarship Competition for High School students is on Oct. 2.

Teams of five students and a faculty advisor from local high schools will put their STEM skills to the test in a hands-on challenge called Escape the Island.

The first-place team will receive a $2,000 scholarship for each student team member and $1,000 for the faculty coach.

Second and third places will receive $1,000/$750 and $500/$500, respectively.

Connect Tri-Cities also will feature a job fair with more than 70 vendors from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 3.

A range of community employers, including Hanford contractors and national laboratories, will be present, along with representaEdward DeJesus tives from organized labor unions, manufacturing companies and more.

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

Connect Tri-Cities also will include breakout sessions for veteran and labor job connections, featuring Veterans in

Piping and local labor unions on Oct. 3.

A veterans’ breakfast, featuring keynote speaker Edward DeJesus, is open to all veterans.

Kevin Delaney DeJesus, a national youth work force development expert, is the author of the book, “MAKiN’ iT: The Hip-Hop Guide to True Survival,” as well as the author of several publications on issues affecting marginalized young adults. He is a W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Fellow and holds a master’s degree in management and urban policy analysis from the New School for Social Research.

Experience science with Kevin Delaney from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3.

Delaney is a performer, playwright and educator based in Little Rock, Arkansas, who has presented science demonstrations on several television programs, including “The Rachael Ray Show,” and began appearing as the resident science presenter on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2014.

A diversity and inclusion panel discussion is also scheduled, featuring DeJesus; Maj. (retired) Scott Smiley; Sandra Haynes, chancellor of Washington State University Tri-Cities; Rebekah Woods, president of Columbia Basin College; and Semi Bird, executive director of Team Concepts Training Services.

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 can be found at connect-tricities.com.

The Three Rivers Convention Center is at 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

HAMMER, From page 17 Additionally, domestic and international border security training is held at HAMMER in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. HAMMER also plays a critical role in disaster response for the nation, directly supporting DOE to maintain energy infrastructure during emergencies associated with hurricanes and other natural disasters.

On a national level, HAMMER partnered with the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to develop and implement the Train Rail Incident Preparedness and Response training modules to prepare emergency responders for hazardous railway incidents.

HAMMER’s overall mission is to provide training that saves lives and averts disasters. The knowledgeable staff, nationally-recognized worker trainers and worldclass training center are dedicated to protecting workers and emergency responders locally, nationally and internationally.

Lori Araujo is a communications specialist at Mission Support Alliance.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Education & Training

19

Washington wine education thrives alongside industry

BY DAVID FORSYTH

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

One sign that an industry is maturing and becoming an important part of the regional economy is the development of an educational infrastructure that trains its existing and future workers.

Additional support comes in the form of research from some of these same facilities. Such is the case with the modern Washington wine industry. While relatively young, at 60 years old, Washington state has developed a world-class research and education network to train viticulturists, enologists, cellar workers, wine marketers and sales people to support the industry with research specific to issues in our region.

Research on wine grapes began in the ’50s with Walter Clore of Washington State University. Clore had planted native, hybrid and European (Vitus vinifera) varieties and he was evaluating their performance and promise in the challenging Washington environment.

Through his work and the work of others like him, the wine industry began to grow. With that growth, in the early ’70s and ’80s, the Washington wine industry depended on trained winemakers and viticulturists brought in from other regions to fill the technical jobs, mainly from California, trained at UC Davis or Fresno. There also were wine professionals from Germany, France and other regions with established wine industries and universities.

In the early ’70s, the industry was able to get legislation enacted to create funding and oversight for research of wine and wine grape issues with an assessment of wines sold in Washington state. That oversight group, made up of winemakers and viticulturists, became the Wine Advisory Board and, to this day, provides recommendations to WSU for wine and grape research projects.

Additionally, as the wine industry has grown, the university added additional wine and grape researchers and instructors who taught viticulture and enology classes and worked with an industry professional group, today known as the Washington Wine Technical Group, to sponsor seminars for training a growing number of industry professionals.

The wine industry, with its relatively low cost of getting into and the ability of small businesses to compete, allows for small startups and people getting into it as a second career. Many of these people, some older, do not have the time to return full time to school to complete a viticulture or enology degree and rely on industry seminars, reading, internships and the “school of hard knocks” to learn their grape-growing and winemaking skills. There are a number of high intensity programs that are offered to help teach people in this situation, such as the Walla Walla Community College and WSU certificate programs where a one- or two-year curriculum covers many of the mustknow topics.

Fortunately, over the years, a number of higher education institutes have

stepped in to provide schooling and formal programs for the Washington wine industry.

Having this regional instruction is important because we have specific David Forsyth requirements Four Feathers and issues Wine Estates unique to Washington state and this allows Washingtonians the more affordable option of in-state tuition.

The largest program is at WSU, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in enology and winemaking, along with certificate programs. Located at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Center in Richland, the program is in the center of the Washington wine grape industry. The facility was built with money raised from within the wine industry and then gifted over to the university. The $23 million facility is stateof-the-art and was built with expertise that was learned from the previously built UC Davis research enology and viticulture center. The facility has research labs, a research winery and classrooms, and has allowed for worldclass wine research and teaching. The WSU undergraduate program also has an internship requirement that allows for students to work in a winery to prac-

Taylor Brucher, left, and Gabriel Crowell are two of six interns joining the Four Feathers winemaking crew for 2018 harvest.

tice their academic training in a functional winery. This internship also benefits the winery by supplying qualified and motivated workers during the harvest season when their labor requirements triple.

Another important supplier of trained wine industry personnel is Walla Walla Community College with its emphasis on hands-on training. It offers certificate and associate degrees in enology and viticulture, one which will prepare its students for a WSU undergraduate degree. Degrees in wine business and cellar maintenance also are available.

Yakima Valley College also has certifi-

cate and associate degrees in viticulture and winemaking. Both of these programs can feed into a four-year degree at WSU. With an emphasis on the business world, Central Washington University has a global wine studies program which trains professionals for the business side. It also has an internship program important in exposing students to the wine industry.

On the west side of the state, South Seattle College offers certificate and associate degrees in winemaking and wine marketing. uWINE, Page 20

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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Enter drawings, pick up freebies and fill out the “Hunt for the Treasure” contest to win prizes!

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uBUSINESS BRIEF Grant PUD increases rates for evolving industries

Cyptocurrency miners and other evolving industry firms that are Grant PUD customers can expect to pay higher electric rates next year.

Starting April 1, those companies will pay the first of a three-year, graduated increase to a new above-cost rate to protect Grant PUD from risk and preserve below-cost rates for core customers. Grant County commissioners approved a new rate for those industries Aug. 28.

Customers in this rate category will have a 15 percent increase in 2019, a 35 percent increase in 2020 and a 50 percent increase in 2021. The rates compensate the PUD for extra risk and preserve low costs for core customers.

The PUD said it faces risks from the evolving-industry companies, including being vulnerable to potential changes in regulation that could render the industry unviable, being an unproven industry with high potential for cessation partly because of large swings in output and they pose the potential for a significant concentration of electrical load and revenue risk to the PUD if one or all stop operating in a short time.

Franklin PUD placed a moratorium on new high-density load applications related to virtual or cryptocurrency mining. The ban gives staff time to review possible impacts on utility operations and providing future services to those needing high-density loads.

Since summer 2017, Grant PUD has received new service inquiries for more than 2,000 megawatts of power, more than three times the electricity needed to power all Grant County homes, farms, businesses and industry. About 75 percent of those requests were from cryptocurrency miners.

WINE, From page 19 The Washington wine industry has come of age. Our wines are known and sold throughout the United States and are getting attention around the world, especially within the global wine industry with its discerning eye.

We now have students coming from around the world to study, learn and work in Washington, adding to the diversity of wine knowledge and world experience.

The WSU Wine Center is also becoming a magnet for visiting professors who wish to study in our region in a well-appointed modern research and teaching facility staffed by renowned researchers. With the coming years we will continue to reap the fruit of our investments in education.

David Forsyth is the winemaker and general manager of Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser.

Education & Training

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

21

Former Richland star player helps bring Columbia Playfield courts back to life

BY ANNIE FOWLER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The uneven blacktop is gone. So are the weeds growing in the middle of the court, and the basketball hoops that had no nets.

In their place is a quality playing surface, complete with green keys and gold free-throw lines. The baskets are reinforced to withstand even the mightiest of player.

And, in a couple of weeks, the LED lights will be operational, bringing night basketball back to Columbia Playfield in Richland.

None of the above would have been possible without a $50,000 donation from 1963 Richland High School graduate Jim House, who spent countless hours honing his skills on the courts before he became a star player for coach Art Dewald’s Bombers.

“This facility looks amazing,” said Richland Parks and Recreation Commissioner Aaron White. “Thanks to Mr. House and his donation. I hope to see a lot of use come out of it. It has not looked this good in a long time.”

House, along with about 100 of his 1963 classmates, Richland basketball players from the 1950s to present, and community members were in attendance Sept.

8 when the courts were officially opened to the public.

“They have never looked so good,” Richland Mayor Pro-Tem Terry Christensen told House. “It is an amazing thing you did. We are so grateful. This is so important for our youth.”

House, who now lives in Spokane, continued to play basketball until Parkinson’s slowed him down in 2012. He made the donation to the city in February after seeing the poor condition of the courts.

“What I saw was the opportunity to pay back the community of coaches, teachers, parents, mentors and friends,” House told the city in February. “It represents the

chance for youngsters to act out their dreams, and for old gladiators to face off one more time.”

With House’s donation, the city had adequate funds to apply for a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for additional money to complete the project.

The city received $100,000, and a plan was put in motion.

Tapani Inc. of Richland, did a majority of the work, with the city using their workers for part of the labor for the $150,000 project.

“The grant would not have been available if not for his donation,” said Richland Parks and Public Facilities Director Joe Schiessl. “We are pretty proud of how it turned out, and are grateful for the community turning out and supporting Jim today.”

House was not able to show off his once brilliant basketball skills, but he shared a story from his youth.

“One of my most memorable moments at this site occurred in the summer of 1961,” he said. “Theartis Wallace and I were shooting baskets at one end of the courts when Bomber stars Bob Frick and Mike McKeown joined in. I had not met them before. So without introductions and very little chatter, we played 2-on-2.

“I don’t recall who won the games, but I thought Thea and I passed the test and were worthy Bombers.”

The 6-foot-3 House led the Bombers to state in 1962 and ’63, where they placed third both times. He went on to play basketball at Washington and Brigham Young University.

House left BYU for the Marines (196771), where he reached the rank of captain.

He earned a bronze star for valor in 1970.

After the Marines, he returned to BYU, got his degree and went to work for Exxon as an auditor.

Jim Mattis, a 1968 Richland grad and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, was not able

Jim House, center, laughs during a ceremony honoring him for his efforts in helping replace the basketball courts at Columbia Playfield in Richland. The 1963 Richland High School graduate donated $50,000 toward the project.

House is flanked by former Richland cheerleaders Kippy Brinkman, left, and Ellen Weihermiller.

to attend the the ceremony, but he sent a comment that was shared by the city.

“Those courts achieved near religious status, and it was like entry into a sacred realm for coming of age to even attend phys ed on them,” Mattis wrote. “The entire school seemed to show up for the basketball games, as well as most of the adults in town seemed to be there. Richland didn’t always win state, but to win state, any town/school had to beat Richland to get there.”

C.W. Brown, who played on Richland’s 1958 state championship team, gave the

courts his seal of approval.

“This is where we started,” he said.

“Nothing was smooth and the ball went everywhere, but it was a good time. It made you tough and ready to go. Hopefully they take care of it. This doesn’t happen every day.”

The delight in House’s eyes was apparent as he watched the current Richland boys and girls players break in the courts.

“All I wanted was something that was first class,” House said. “This is nice. I hope I can drive by on a Saturday and see a game going. If not, it would be a shame.”

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

TRAINING, From page 1 “Most of the training programs were, in essence, a PowerPoint with a message and you check that you’ve read the message,” Heaton said. “This might go on for 30 minutes for employees and up to an hour for supervisors. If you look at CBS News with Charlie Rose and NBC News, you would say, those training programs John Heaton didn’t prevent anything.”

Heaton has found the average time spent on training has increased 50 percent, but understands small business owners may be

concerned about how they can be successful at preventing sexual harassment when so many large companies with high-profile names have not.

What’s become known as the #MeToo movement started in fall 2017, shortly after entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women. People started posting #MeToo on social media to indicate that they, too, had been sexually harassed at some point in their life.

The groundswell of support for those coming forward, even without making formal allegations, even led to the introduction of a bill using the METOO acronym, called the Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act. The bill was introduced by a California congresswoman with the intention of combatting

EDUCATION & TRAINING sexual harassment in the U.S. Congress.

It’s still sitting in committee and has not been voted on by the full House.

Mission Support Alliance was forthcoming about its training and processes to prevent harassment in the workplace. The Hanford contractor uses in-person training as part of an employee’s onboarding process followed by computer-based instruction.

“It’s video vignettes and some quizzes, multiple choice, if you get the answer wrong, you’re redirected,” explained Debbie Mariotti, equal employment opportunity and diversity officer for MSA. “We do review the videos as well. In fact, I just did it in March, to make sure it’s consistent with the laws and the climate of the country right now.”

The videos were created by Hanford’s

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HAMMER training facility. (See story on page 17.)

“We have pretty rigorous training and we’re always modernizing it,” said Todd Beyers, vice president of human resources for MSA. “We haven’t changed our training, but we think the content of our training is pretty clear and explains to employees how to look for these things.”

Beyers said the #MeToo movement hasn’t resulted in any immediate overhaul of the systems currently in place and describes MSA’s training as aggressive.

“Do we look at it differently now? No, we don’t, because we feel our training is pretty advanced,” Beyers said. “But it has driven a lot of conversation internally.

There is a heightened awareness of it, but our programs and training have stayed consistent.”

The area’s largest employer, Battelle, which manages the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said it also did not make changes in the wake of #MeToo, because it’s always encouraged a culture of appropriate workplace behavior.

“These expectations are communicated regularly, starting with on boarding and continuing through our annual business ethics training, and day-to-day behavior expectations shared by managers,” said Greg Koller, PNNL’s senior public affairs advisor. “PNNL has an active Diversity Council and Employee Resource Groups that support management and staff in realizing this objective. Their recommendations are used to refresh our communications and training content as the external environment evolves. A recent example of this is putting more emphasis on teaching and encouraging bystanders who witness sexual harassment or inappropriate workplace behavior to intervene.”

Beyers pointed to other training efforts at Mission Support Alliance on issues that could also affect a workplace environment, including unconscious bias.

“It’s all about how are people thinking and not knowing what they’re thinking,” Beyers said. This topic led to more than 200 managers receiving instruction from an outside source with extensive experience on the issue.

According to research by the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM, the nation’s largest HR professional society, 94 percent of HR professionals surveyed by the group said their organizations have anti-harassment policies in place. Yet 22 percent of non-management employees couldn’t say for sure if these policies existed. The research was done in January 2018 and included two confidential surveys of 1,078 HR professionals and 1,223 non-manager employees.

The same survey by SHRM found 11 percent of non-management employees said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the past year, and three-quarters of those did not report it.

Reasons for the lack of reporting included fear of retaliation or a belief that nothing would change.

Starbucks created top-of-mind awareness with unconscious bias training when it closed more than 8,000 stores for a single afternoon to educate employees on their own potential racial bias, which they may not even realize exists. uTRAINING, Page 23

Education & Training

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

23

TRAINING, From page 22 Heaton is aware this kind of investment is often not cheap for an employer but he wants it to be. Just in the last six months, Pay Plus Benefits developed a program called “HR Flicks” that sends three-minute videos in cartoon form on a monthly basis, targeted to small business owners.

Heaton said it breaks down complex human resource issues so an employer can identify with them.

“It covers not only harassment, but it also covers new laws. We patterned this after the success of Netflix, with the format that we send out. So it tells you over the last 30 days what are the newest laws you need to be aware of and what is trending.”

An HR Flicks subscription costs about

$13 a month and the company is working to cover employment law in 11 western states.

Other professionals, like financial advisors, are also subscribing to HR Flicks to send to clients as part of an added value to their services. Heaton directs small business owners who identify with the topics presented to seek additional help through their human resources store.

“The stories are to bring it front of mind so a business owner can say, ‘I just experienced that. Now who can I turn to for help?’ ” Over the summer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, convened a task force to study harassment in the workplace. EEOC leadership said the groundwork has been laid

for a renewed effort to prevent harassment.

The EEOC and Fair Employment Practices Agencies recorded 152 charges alleging sexual harassment filed in Washington state in fiscal year 2017.

“Our challenge is to use this #MeToo moment well,” said EEOC Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum.

HR professionals like Heaton and Beyers believe using it well means a constant conversation about appropriate culture within the workplace.

“We have heightened awareness and we bring it up in meetings frequently to managers to be more aware of the environment and things that are going on,” Beyers said.

“You need to have this as a culture within your company and it needs to be

reminded frequently,” Heaton said. “Each individual business has to say, ‘The workers who come here are not going to face harassment.’ And the owner needs to have policies in place where people can turn to.”

But whether the national awareness and conversation will have an impact on changing the problem remains to be seen.

“We won’t know for several years whether the #MeToo movement has had any effect or not,” Heaton said. “I’m not that impressed with it just for grabbing a lot of headlines. Do I think down in the rank-and-file that suddenly people have changed? They outlawed murder a long time ago and that has not changed anything at all.”

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

this fall on the two-year grant.

At the end of the grant, a detailed report will be created that will include data compiled from market analysis, consultants review of insurance parameters for services, identification of coverage gaps or disparities in how mental health care is covered compared to other services, as well as identifying barriers to mental health and treatment disorder services.

Orchards, serves and educates children and under-served through various programs, including First Fruits Scholars to support low-income and first-generation college students and the partners in authentic community initiative to mentor servant-led organizations in Prescott, Pasco, Mexico and The Philippines, as well as other projects.

For more information, go to vistahermosafoundation.org.

injury at the end of July. It is the longest stretch dating back to 1991 when Hanford tank farms safety statistics have been available.

The company has been recognized for the past three years with the Voluntary Protection Program Innovation Awards.

The awards were for developing a tool to help reduce worker exposure during surveys of radioactive equipment used to retrieve tank waste, developing a face shield that protects a worker wearing full face respiratory equipment from an arc flash and work to safely remove radioactive waste from a Hanford site underground storage tank.

Historic preservation grant program deadline nears

Benton County has established an historic preservation grants program to promote historic preservation or historic programs within Benton County to increase knowledge and service to residents, and better preserve, exhibit and interpret historic items.

The 2019 grant cycle has allocated $50,000 to be available to applicants.

The application is in a fillable PDF format and may be saved to a computer and edited as needed before submission.

Email completed application to historic.preservation@co.benton.wa.us as a PDF document. Applications must be submitted by 3 p.m. Sept. 28.

For more information, contact Shyanne Faulconer at 509-222-3760 or Shyanne.

Faulconer@co.benton.wa.us.

State receives grant to increase mental health care

Washington has received more than $284,000 as part of a nationwide grant awarded through the State Flexibility to Stabilize the Market program under the Affordable Care Act. The money awarded to Washington will be used to increase access to mental health and addiction treatment services.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler will create a committee of consumers, medical and behavioral health care providers and insurers to begin work

Jobs up across state, U.S.; second quarter ends strong

Washington gained 12,400 jobs in July according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nationally, the second quarter also ended strong with 157,000 jobs added in the U.S., reported the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

Manufacturing, accommodation and food services and temporary help services saw the biggest gains, while residential construction and auto sales slowed during the same period.

Unemployment claims saw a slight decrease to 4.6 percent compared to 4.8 percent the same month last year.

Vista Hermosa Foundation, Center for Sharing merge

The Center for Sharing and the Vista Hermosa Foundation merged their staff and programs into one team to be housed at the Collegium at 3525 E. A St., Pasco.

Vista Hermosa Foundation, founded by the Broetje family of Broetje

WRPS reaches all-time record for no hours lost over injuries

Washington River Protection Solutions hit a record and surpassed 7.6 million hours without a lost workday

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

25

26

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Ecology seeks public comment on changes to Hanford storage tunnels

The Washington State Department of Ecology is having a 45-day public comment period through Sept. 27.

This comment period addresses proposed modifications to the dangerous waste portion for the treatment, storage and disposal of dangerous waste for the Plutonium Uranium Extraction, or PUREX, plant storage tunnels.

The PUREX plant in the 200 East Area of the Hanford site was used from 1956-88 to process spent nuclear reactor fuel, and recovered plutonium, uranium and other radioactive isotopes.

Two tunnels are used for the storage of waste.

In May 2017, a 20-foot section of the roof of Tunnel 1 collapsed. The collapse caused a two-day emergency response that involved notifying the public and regulatory agencies, sheltering site employees until surveys verified no contamination was released and filling the collapsed portion of the tunnel with soil.

Ecology issued an administrative order to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office requiring corrective actions for tunnels 1 and 2. The proposed permit modification is to describe the stabilization actions taken for Tunnel 1, actions proposed for stabilizing Tunnel 2, and their relationship for future closure and

cleanup actions. The proposed modification is at https://bit.ly/2NEtyAQ. Submit comments on the proposal

by Sept. 27 to http://wt.ecology.commentinput.com. While electronic submissions are preferred, the public may also mail or hand deliver to Daina McFadden, 3100 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland WA 99354.

IRS releases updated W4 form, urges review after tax change

The IRS is recommending taxpayers update their W4s with a new form to reflect changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that included a reduction in the withholding tax tables, elimination of personal exemptions and a

limitation to itemized deductions.

The IRS suggests the following groups in particular review their withholdings: • Two-income families.

• People with two or more jobs.

• People who only work for part of the year.

• People with children who claim credits such as the Child Tax Credit.

• People with older dependents including children 17 and older.

• People who itemized in 2017.

• People with high incomes or more complex tax returns.

A payroll withholding calculator is available at irs.gov/individuals/irswithholding-calculator.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

27

Benton REA’s new co-op solar program sells out in one week

Thirty-one people buy 550 solar units; construction to begin this fall

BY ARIELLE DREHER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Members of the Benton Rural Electric Association bought out a new solar co-op program in just a week, despite declining incentives for the renewable energy source.

Troy Berglund, community development and member relations manager at Benton REA, said he did not know how the program would be received.

“I was uncertain of what to expect, because before the incentive was really high and really popular,” he said.

Previously, Benton REA members who could afford to install rooftop solar panels received state and federal incentives to do so, but because Benton REA is a nonprofit, the association cannot use the federal tax credit for the co-op solar project. Individual members can claim the federal tax credit on their individual returns, however. The state solar incentives have slightly declined in value in recent years. The payback on the latest co-op solar project is about 14-and-a-half years instead of 10 years

previously.

“I was unsure of how popular it would be,” Berglund said. “It sold out in a week, so that answered that question.”

The first rooftop solar incentive program, which 173 members participated in, was so popular that the association ate up almost all of its state incentives at that time.

“Benton REA is one of the quickest utilities to run through our incentives than any other utility in the state,” Berglund said, besides Orcas Power and Light Cooperative on Orcas Island.

The solar co-op program is a 25-year program, and Benton REA, which covers a lot of Benton County, including West Richland, Prosser, and Sunnyside in Yakima County, anticipates the project producing just over 30 kilowatt hours of energy through 550 solar units. State law mandates that at least 10 people participate in each project, so the REA set the project cap at that limit. There are 31 participants in the co-op. Each solar unit cost $200 each up front for members, and they could

Jim Jewell, who owns two electric cars and an electric motorcycle, bought as many solar units as he could in the new Benton Rural Electric Association’s solar co-op program. (Courtesy Jim Jewell)

buy up to 55 units.

“It’s going to take—between the state incentive and the cost savings on their bill—14-and-a-half years to make the $200 back and then after that from 14-anda-half years to year 25, which is the life of the program, it’s all additional profit,” Berglund said.

Ken and Kirsten McCullough, who have been Benton REA members since they moved to West Richland 18 years

ago, were excited to participate.

“Benton REA put it out in their newsletter, and we all jumped on it like June bugs,” Kirsten said.

Kirsten, who used to work at the Hanford area, was grateful to invest in renewable energy, and the couple appreciated the affordability of the co-op program instead of the higher costs of installing and maintaining rooftop solar panels. uSOLAR, Page 28

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SOLAR, From page 27 “I will just be happy to get some kilowatt reduction, and we figure over a long period of time it will be worth our investment,” she said.

Benton REA Solar Co-op members do not have to worry about maintenance or upkeep for their solar panels. The solar co-op project will be built on Van Giesen Street across from the REA’s West Richland office. Berglund expects the permits for the project to be approved this fall, and construction to begin soon after. The solar array is expected to be operating by spring 2019.

The $200-per-panel cost covers construction and maintenance of the project for its 25-year lifespan, Berglund said.

The total project will cost $110,000.

Members who did not get to buy panels

can still apply and get put on a wait list should members who bought the panels have to move or give up their investment.

Ninety-eight percent of Benton REA’s power is carbon-free, Berglund said, which means the utility has done a lot to be environmentally conscious of carbon emissions. Utility companies and providers are beginning to look to the transportation sector to help, however.

“The biggest carbon emitter in the state is the transportation sector, so if there are things we can do with incentives, for example, with electric vehicles that has a big impact on carbon reduction,” Berglund said.

Jim Jewell understands this idea well.

He owns two electric cars and an electric motorcycle. After waiting two years,

Science & Technology his Tesla Model 3 finally came late this August. The inside of Tesla’s latest car looks sleek and futuristic, giving off spaceship vibes with one distinction: there are hardly any buttons. Instead, what looks like a laptop screen protrudes from the front console between the driver and passenger seats. This is the control pad for everything from directions to air to music.

Jewell, who has worked for utility companies in the past, said he loves the feel of electric cars. He charges his Nissan Leaf and Tesla at home on chargers every night. This practice has increased his utilities bill, however, so when Jewell found out about the solar co-op, he was all in.

He was the first in line to get into the program, waiting in the parking lot by

7:15 a.m. he said, despite the REA not opening until 8 a.m. He bought as many panels as he was allowed to under state law. He estimates his solar panels could produce a third or half of his power once they are up and running.

“Over the next several years, it eventually pays for itself,” he said. “It’s doing the right thing for the environment. It’s important, if we all do everything we can, it might make a difference.”

Jewell’s Tesla can make it over the mountains on one charge, and range anxiety that he had with his Leaf (which is older and has a range of about 70 miles, Jewell said) has dissipated.

Benton REA and other utilities in the area are working together to set up charging stations throughout the region.

Berglund said Benton REA is installing an electric car charger in Prosser, and Benton PUD has installed one in Kennewick (See story on page 36).

Jewell sees electric cars as an investment in Washington state, when it comes to transportation since the state has no oil wells.

“Every dollar you spend on gasoline or even gas-fired power plants or coalfired power plants is dollars you’ve exported out of your state,” he said.

“Every time you use solar and wind that the utility provided or you provided yourself, those are dollars that stay in Washington state for Washington state businesses and for the rest of us, and it’s like wow, what a win that is.”

For Benton REA members, who had to pay up front for their solar panels, it was less about the money and more about investing in renewable energy sources. For the McCulloughs, investing in solar is also about doing what they can to prevent climate change.

“It supports a lot of things that can get done without destroying the rest of the earth,” Kirsten McCullough said.

The McCulloughs and Jewell hope that Benton REA will propose more solar projects in the future.

“I can get license plates that say solar-powered, and it will literally be true,” Jewell said.

Whether or not Benton REA is able to do a second phase of the solar co-op program could be a matter of running out of incentives—again.

“The problem is (again) that we’re the victim of our own success. We already almost gobbled up all the inventive for the new program,” Berglund said.

The association is not accepting applications for rooftop solar panels currently to make sure they have enough incentives to cover the co-op.

“In a way that’s a good problem to have,” he continued. “It’s exciting that it’s a program that our members are excited about.”

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

Science & Technology

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

29

Libraries note increase in digital downloads as audiobook popularity grows

BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Nearly one in five Americans now listen to audiobooks.

That’s because smartphones have helped usher in a new way for consumers to digest books, and audio has quickly become the fastest growing format in the publishing industry.

That’s according an Audio Publishers Association’s May 2017 survey.

Despite the surge in popularity of audiobooks, voiced books have been around for almost a century. In the 1930s, the American Foundation for the Blind and the Library of Congress Book for the Blind program established the Talking Book Program. The first recordings included parts of The Bible, The Declaration of Independence and Shakespeare’s plays. By 1985, there were more than 20 audiobook publishers in operation, but their popularity had yet to take off.

Charles Kahlenberg of Richland began narrating audiobooks in the 1990s while working as an actor in Los Angeles. His first project was a series on American presidents he voiced under the pseudonym, Ira Claffey.

“That was when books came out on cassette — a book called ‘The American Century.’ By the time I finished voicing it, you needed a steamer trunk to haul it around,” he said, referencing the number of cassettes required to create the audiobook version of the book.

By 2003, CDs replaced cassettes as the preferred way to listen to audiobooks. Five years later, digital downloads surpassed CDs as the most sought-after format — but some genres did better than others.

“When I started (narrating) I took what I could get to see how the process worked.

Then I did a couple of religious books and I found that the market for that is very limited,” Kahlenberg said. “Then I thought,

Charles Kahlenberg of Richland, a narrator for audiobooks, spends about 20 to 25 hours voicing each book. The national demand for audiobooks means he’s booked out until February with seven projects in the pipeline with his publisher.

‘I’m going to look at the actual statistics.’

At that time, thrillers were on top.”

The APA still lists thrillers among the top digital downloads. Mysteries, suspense and popular fiction — such as New York Times bestsellers — make the list as well.

Biographies and classics also stay in demand.

In 2017, there were 50,937 new audio titles reported to the APA. Net downloaded audio revenues increased 28.8 percent in 2017 over the previous year. And there’s no reason to believe that number will slow anytime soon.

Kahlenberg said he’s currently booked through February with seven audiobooks in the pipeline.

Each book he works on takes about 20 to 25 hours of time, which includes editing the final product before sending it to the publisher. Rather than charging a fixed fee for his services as some narrators do, Kahlenberg said he prefers to collect royalties based on individual sales of books he’s voiced.

“And that means I have sweat equity in

every book I narrate. I look at it as a basket of stocks. Some of them stink and you don’t get much of a payday, and sometimes you do. It’s not a whole lot of money when you start out, but as your basket gets bigger, you make more money,” he said.

Mid-Columbia Libraries’ Prosser branch supervisor, Katy McLaughlin, believes people are attracted to audiobooks because the professional quality oftentimes surpasses many podcasts, and books provide the allure of self-improvement that listening to music can lack.

“The stigma of listening instead of reading has lessened, particularly as the understanding and identification of reading disabilities has grown,” McLaughlin said.

“The industry is also proactively responding to digital demand, so listeners are more likely to find something of interest than they were even 10 years ago, which reinforces their loyalty to the format.”

So who’s listening to audiobooks?

According to the APA, 32 percent of audiobooks are consumed by travelers or those commuting to and from work — but

it’s not just a medium for people on the go.

Thirty-four percent reported listening to audiobooks while relaxing at home.

Another 17 percent listened while exercising, and the same number reported listening to them while cooking or crafting.

Even the demographic varies with the largest listening base — a reported 28 percent — ranging between 30 and 44 years old. According to the APA, the second largest group of listeners is between 18 and 29 years old and accounts for 24 percent.

Richland Public Library Manager Leslie Campbell Hime said media use for those 18 and older has increased a halfhour a week since 2017. She said while smartphone and tablet use still trails television and radio use, the library anticipates those numbers likely will reverse as additional digital content is made available.

“We have brought Hoopla to the TriCities, which is absolutely for (Richland Public Library) card holders and allows users to download or stream digital content from a catalog of over 60,000 audiobooks and over 260,000 e-books,” Campbell Hime said. “This plentitude is necessary as our audiobook use has increased 13 percent and e-book use has increased 17 percent from 2017. Audiobooks, however, outstrip e-books in popularity as people demonstrate their preference to listen rather than read books.”

Campbell Hime isn’t sure what the attraction is to audiobooks, but expects the trend to continue and intensify as the library adds nearly 100 unique users to the library’s digital platform each month.

“Perhaps it harkens back to the days or yore when we told stories around the fire,” she said, “or maybe it is simply a progression like the coming of sound to cinema where it complemented the image. But now audio can bear the full weight of meaning, thereby freeing us from our anchoring to the printed word.”

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

31

Kennewick startup develops payment transaction solution for small businesses BlockChyp opens 1,100-square-foot Payment Technology Lab in Kennewick

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Small businesses face a lot of challenges. And the least of business owners’ worries should be accepting payments from customers.

In the modern era of chip cards, cryptocurrencies, Apple Pay, and other emerging payment methods, processing transactions can be a tedious and frustrating part of running a business.

That’s where Kennewick’s BlockChyp comes in. The tech startup offers a new kind of payment terminal technology whose easily scalable firmware integrates quickly and seamlessly with third-party point-of-sale, or POS, systems.

Developer Jeffrey Payne and a former co-worker have worked for a combined 30 years in designing POS systems.

“We were fed up and understood what was needed in this marketplace. We knew that we could help software vendors grow their business and offer better payment technology,” Payne said.

Jessra and Jake Rivera, owners of Children’s Attic clothing store in Kennewick, said the existing system doesn’t help small businesses succeed.

“Currently, our point-of-sale system is separate from our credit card terminal.

It’s like running two computers at once,”

Jessra. “We’ve been sticking with our same old one because it works.”

One of the “woes” of small business, Jessra said, is processing electronic transactions and keeping equipment up to date to accommodate regularly revised compliance guidelines and new payment methods.

It’s not uncommon for small businesses to have multiple devices behind the counter to accommodate customers.

It’s also not uncommon for small business owners to not accept all forms of payment.

This is largely determined by whether a business owner’s industry-specific POS system, such as the one used by secondhand clothing retailers like the Riveras, is compatible with a given payment terminal.

“A lot of companies make you rent, lease or buy equipment and end up charging you more than it’s worth,” Jessra said. “The cost of equipment is high, and we can’t run enough sales to (qualify for new) equipment.”

What to customers appears a simple insertion or swipe of their card involves multiple parties to route and process the money from the customer’s bank to the merchant.

Big box stores like Walmart or Target have a more direct line of communication with the big four credit card compa-

BlockChyp, a new kind of payment terminal technology, integrates with thirdparty point-of-sale and other transaction systems using blockchain-encrypted firmware. The product was developed by Jeffrey Payne and one of his colleagues. The pair have worked for many years in the development of enterprise e-commerce merchant systems. They recently opened an office in Kennewick.

nies — Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express — and can afford to process their own transactions.

But small businesses are forced to pay a third-party card processor to perform this service. The local representative of the company claims a fee off the top of every transaction, then another percentage goes back to the processing company, and another goes to the routing credit card company whose card was swiped.

Larger corporations can absorb the

loss in revenue paid in fees, but small businesses can suffer because, as Jessra explained, they don’t bring in as much money for the credit card companies and processors, but rely on their services to operate, so they are assessed the highest fees.

“The average (amount collected) ends up being about 1.8 percent to over two percent (of each transaction),” Jake said.

“And if we’re taking a rewards card, they charge a higher percentage, from two percent up to 4.5 percent.” uBLOCKCHYP, Page 39

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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The project was designed to merge four of Incyte’s offices under one roof. The Pendleton, Walla Walla, Yakima and Kadlec histology offices are now all housed in one location.

Samples will be processed more efficiently under this arrangement and will allow for a more equal distribution of the workload to pathologists at hospitals in Walla Walla, Yakima, Sunnyside, Hermiston, Pendleton and Richland.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

33

Improved database enables new capabilities for Richland manufacturer

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

It turns out data analysis isn’t just a game for number crunchers. For one Richland manufacturer, it’s also a means of finding new ways to improve medical devices and equipment.

During the nearly 20 years that SIGN Fracture Care International has been treating patients worldwide, the company’s vast network of surgeons has logged more than 120,000 entries into SIGN’s case database, an invaluable tool studied daily by company founder Dr. Lewis Zirkle to better understand the needs of his surgeons and patients.

SIGN manufactures medical-grade nails and screws as well as surgical tools, and trains surgeons around the world to place them to heal patients’ broken bones.

Technology has come a long way in those decades, with automated search engine tools taking the place of cumbersome, manual data forms.

“About a year or so ago, I was investigating tools to make reporting and dashboards easier so that you don’t have to manually create reports,” said Joshua Short, SIGN software developer.

He described his vision as “something the end user can use,” essentially a streamlined search application to enable SIGN surgeons and employees to more easily drill down through the case database to retrieve information.

Short used an open source, business

intelligence server product called Metabase to translate SIGN’s case database into an easily searchable format so employees can run analytics on the results of their queries.

Previously, Short explained, much of the database’s contents had been collated into multiple Excel spreadsheets.

“Our data was in this production format; it was in smaller partitions that were only kind of linked together. It was good production design versus good analytic design,” he said.

Metabase can reference these data sources to generate more specific results based on multiple search parameters.

What used to take several minutes to generate results now can be done in a tenth or a hundredth of a second, Short said.

The program also generates visual representations of the data to help users better understand the information.

“It’s the ability to start at any one (point) and be able to link through and analyze anything it’s connected to,” Short said.

Though the choice to design the program in-house has been time-intensive, Short said the specialized, time-saving benefits that the search program will provide more than make up for it.

“It will make people’s jobs easier,” he said. “You can buy data warehousing and other retail options to solve the problem, but it’s more expensive, so we’ve been developing our own open-source

SIGN Fracture Care software developer Josh Short, left, and intern Matt Moen worked together this summer to bring online a user-friendly application to enable SIGN employees to more easily mine the Richland company’s extensive fracture case database to better analyze data and trends.

approach to save money and add value.”

The improved search tool will enable SIGN engineers to independently ask engineering questions about the data.

“Engineers can use their intuition to explore trends and analyze the data they get back. There are interesting paths that only they would know,” Short said. “It’s supposed to be a one-stop shop for production, manufacturing, sales, shipping.

We want to consolidate all of our data resources into one enterprise resource planning (tool).”

He explained that improvements to the program’s design are being made as they go.

SPOTLIGHT MEMBERS

“There’s a learning curve to teach people how to use the system, and also programming as you go so that the system can respond to the query. You have to have a little know-how about the system and what it can answer,” he said.

Short said understanding the structure of data and what types of queries can be answered by a given system is an important type of literacy for the digital age.

SIGN’s summer intern helped Short get Metabase online by entering data sets into it and programming pathways to answer user queries. uSIGN, Page 34

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Science & Technology SIGN, From page 33 Matthew Moen, a senior biomedical engineering student at Gonzaga University, heard about SIGN from his grandparents who live in the area, and though no internship opportunities were being advertised, he reached out to SIGN’s engineering manager, who welcomed him aboard for the summer.

As Metabase came online, Moen’s duties shifted to performing the first major data mining operation using the new program, which aimed to isolate case data on SIGN’s fin nail surgical implant.

“Dr. Zirkle is very interested in it due to the increase in the number of accidents happening in rural areas where surgeons don’t have the expertise to use a standard SIGN nail,” Moen said.

“We’re looking (at the data) to see if it’s equivalent to the standard nail.”

Before Metabase, Zirkle and his team were looking at having to individually analyze some 5,400 fin nail cases to glean information, Moen said. But Metabase was able to narrow it down to 200 cases.

Moen said he also has been using Metabase to analyze the average lifespan of SIGN’s insertion instruments: “How many surgeries can it go through before it breaks? We can increase production and (decrease) surgery time if (surgeons) always have a steady flow of parts.

“We’re looking at info from the past so that we can shape the future,” Moen said.

As SIGN communications specialist Ryan Smith explained, “It’s a great way to verify what we think is happening with our business … with what is actually happening. (Metabase) gives us more confidence as we move forward to make changes.”

The new Metabase-based search tool also will be beneficial to SIGN’s surgeons around the world. Smith said it enables SIGN to “do their own research.

This helps us get diverse opinions and approaches, which keeps us learning new things and improving our tools and processes.”

“The data the surgeons can get (from Metabase) can help them better serve the people,” Smith said.

“The goal is to help the people and if the surgeons help us help them, there’s a return and receive that increases the help that we can give,” Moen said.

Smith said the SIGN team hopes that future case database analyses might reveal trends in the data to help them to build predictive models of the types of surgery more likely to be successful under certain conditions. “Tools to help surgeons improve workflow,” he said.

“There’s always something new you can get from the Metabase,” Short said.

SIGN will be announcing the findings of its fin nail study to the 150 surgeons planning to attend the company’s annual conference later this month.

“What we’re learning here gives them practical and applicable things to take back … new techniques to try, or figure out better efficacy, which helps them help more people,” Smith said.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Q&A

Number of employees you oversee: Three, although we plan to grow our staff this year.

Brief background of your business.

The STEM Foundation serves as a catalyst in ensuring all area young people are aware of, and prepared to participate in, our vibrant STEM economy. We have a special focus on reaching those students who are typically under-represented in STEM careers. Last year alone, a local investment of $100,000 to foundation operations helped support a return of more than $5.2 million in STEM education investments in the Mid-Columbia, from businesses and government sources across the state.

How did you land your current role?

How long have you been in it?

I was recruited by several board members whom I had worked with on prior projects. I only agreed to stay long enough to support the development of a new strategic plan with secured funding.

However, after seeing firsthand the profound impact this organization has on young lives, I discovered this was my next passion. That was nearly five years ago.

Why should the Tri-Cities care about STEM education?

A community that offers outstanding STEM education options drives its local work force and economic development and attracts top talent to our region. We support a view that STEM literacy is a foundational skill that matters for all

35

DEB BOWEN

Executive Director, Washington State Stem Foundation careers. STEM builds critical thinking abilities, creativity and collaboration skills. These skills build flexibility to adapt quickly to frequent changes in the labor market.

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

Integrity. In the case of nonprofits, our donors expect us to be wise stewards of their investments and our clients deserve our highest commitment.

What is the biggest challenge facing business owners/managers today?

Talent acquisition. We are facing a “silver-tsunami” of retirements, with not enough skilled work force to fill the projected gap.

What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Read the classic: “Servant Leadership, A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness” by Robert Greenleaf.

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Who are your role models or mentors?

I am inspired every day by teachers and volunteers who serve passionately and without fanfare or recognition. And one of the greatest benefits of working for a board is the opportunity to learn from top executives.

I also had the good fortune of working with Lynn Fielding early in my career. He taught me, by example, an important lesson: It is astounding what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit. Lynn had a vision and unwavering determination to create the Reading Foundation. Yet in all the years he has volunteered tirelessly as the organization’s guiding force, he has never stood up and taken any credit. By shining the spotlight on others, he multiplied the impact of his efforts. His satisfaction has always been derived from the results and the impact on children’s lives, not the recognition.

How do you keep your employees (or team members) motivated?

We highly value each other and the notion that being part of a team that strives for service above self is an intrin-

Deb Bowen

sically rewarding and rare opportunity.

Motivation is never an issue. Life-work balance, yes. Motivation, no.

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

While I was teaching at Washington State University Tri-Cities and working as a marketing consultant, I picked up a part-time nonprofit consulting contract.

From that point on, I was hooked on nonprofit leadership.

What do you consider your leadership style to be?

I strive to subscribe to a servant leadership style. As much as I have enjoyed seeing students succeed, creating an environment where staff and volunteers grow and reach their potential is a treasured career accomplishment. uQ&A, Page 40

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Pasco powers up electric vehicle charging station at Starbucks

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Officials cut the ribbon during a ceremony celebrating the opening of the new electric vehicle fast-charging station at the Pasco Starbucks at 2411 W. Court St. on Aug. 29.

Pasco celebrated the installation of a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at the Court Street Starbucks on Aug. 29 The fast-charging station at 2411 W. Court St. is part of a $1 million, ninestation network along Washington state highway corridors designed to enhance interstate and intrastate electric vehicle travel.

“Project partners strategically chose the Starbucks on Court Street just off Highway 395 in Pasco because of the high traffic volume and available ame-

nities,” said Tom Logan, owner of the Starbucks building, in a news release.

This is the first privately-owned charging station by an individual in the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Transportation Alliance, or EVITA, project build-out.

“It was important to me to have a presence in Eastern Washington and to help bridge the divide between eastern and western Washington with this EV fast charging station. The unique aspect of this station is that it’s solar-powered,” Logan said.

Each station can bring most electric vehicles from zero to full charge in close to 30 minutes and is capable of serving plug-in electric and plug-in hybrid cars. In addition, each station has a medium-speed charger for use by plug-in hybrid vehicles with smaller battery capacities.

EVITA recently installed stations in Kennewick, Yakima and Ellensburg, with future stations planned for Connell, Richland, Prosser, Cle Elum and George.

Energy Northwest received a $405,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation that is being used to install EV stations on Highway 395 and along interstates 82, 182 and 90.

Remaining installation costs are funded through EVITA, a collaboration between public and private entities comprised of public utilities, municipalities, EV equipment suppliers, Greenlots, EV4 and private property owners.

Energy Northwest, the Tri-Cities Development Council and local utilities formed EVITA in 2016 to bridge the electric vehicle range gap between the two sides of the state.

uBUSINESS BRIEF State of American journalism topic of Oct. 10 panel

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Humanities Washington has assembled a panel featuring Tri-City journalists to discuss “Breaking News: the State of American Journalism.”

The free event is at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at Tagaris Winery, 844 Tulip Lane, Richland.

The talk will examine the state of the news and features Tri-City Herald Executive Editor Laurie Williams; NW News Network’s Anna King; and TriCities Area Journal of Business Editor Kristina Lord.

The event is free and open to the public. Participants are asked to register at brownpapertickets.com/ event/3606998.

This event is part of Humanties Washington’s fall statewide series called, “Moment of Truth: Journalism and Democracy in an Age of Misinformation.”

Science & Technology

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

37

Higher education in Tri-Cities isn’t keeping pace with local market’s needs

BY D. PATRICK JONES

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Tri-Cities sport an enviable concentration of talent in science and technology. In economic statistics, most of these professionals show up in the sector called “professional and technical services.”

The other sectors with tech workers include information and manufacturing.

While firms of lawyers and accountants make up part of the first sector, the largest statewide components are engineers and computer programming businesses. Data is not available for the Tri-Cities to know whether the composition here mirrors the state, but we do know that the industry classified as “other biological and physical research” is also a part of the sector.

Average employment data for 2017 show professional and technical services to be the sixth large sector in the metro area. In contrast, the information sector is small, with the traditional industries of print media and telecommunications dominating. While there are a few area firms engaged in advanced manufacturing, the bulk of local manufacturing jobs rest in agricultural processing.

Firms, of course, are made up of different occupations. Another route to understand science and technology in the area is through the lens of STEM occupations, or jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math field. A relevant question for both business and education leaders is where local STEM workers come from.

We don’t know to what degree the seats

filled by STEM professionals carry a “made in the Tri-Cities” label, but it is this writer’s guess that local leaders — and parents — would like to see more of the label.

One way to fill STEM occupations with home-grown talent is for local high school graduates to attend Washington State University D. Patrick Jones Tri-Cities, earn Eastern one of several Washington degree options in University engineering and computer science, then find a local job.

Another is for high school graduates to leave the area for their university education, then return. In both cases, success in acquiring the necessary degree will be greatly enhanced by a good start in grades K-12. Let’s delve a little a bit into what the Benton-Franklin Trends data says about that experience.

First, let’s applaud our school districts for helping more students complete high school. As the Trends data reveals, the last seven years has shown a jump in the fiveyear completion rate, from 75 percent to 82 percent for the two counties. Yet, this rate just equals the Washington average.

And a graduation rate in the low 80-percent range implies that nearly one-fifth of kids in the public education system are not

(Courtesy Benton-Franklin Trends)

graduating.

Beyond graduating, how are area students performing on the math and science assessments? While this aspect of Washington’s public K-12 system is in flux, students are still taking the tests, now known as the Smarter Balanced Assessments, or SBA. For the most recently available year, 2016-17, 44 percent and 21 percent of fourth- and 11thgraders, respectively, met standards in the math assessment. As the Trends data shows, those results are below the

Washington average and mark no improvement in the three years that the test has been given.

Considerably higher scores hold for the biology assessment of fifth-graders and high school students. The average, however, for the school districts in the two counties also is below the state average. It raises the question whether there are enough qualified students leaving local high schools to pursue higher ed STEM degrees before returning to local STEM jobs. uTRENDS, Page 40

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Science & Technology

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BLOCKCHYP, From page 31 Basically, the business is forced to pay the cardholder’s rewards benefits.

And no matter what, a portion of the money the customer thought was going to support a local business is actually funneled to their credit card company and other middlemen.

“That’s how it kills small business,” Jake said.

BlockChyp seeks to improve the process.

Rather than rely on hardware and software to do the heavy lifting, routine firmware updates will enable businesses to keep up with industry evolution, without the burden of buying new or additional equipment.

“One device for cryptocurrencies, for gift cards, for loyalty programs, for credit card transactions. The only thing it doesn’t do is cash,” Payne said. “Our goal is to keep it really, really simple.”

BlockChyp also takes a new approach to the decades-old security issues of current, outdated encryption technologies.

BlockChyp is built on a type of advanced blockchain developed by RaiBlocks, commonly referred to as a “block lattice,” which circumvents the big issues facing blockchain technology.

Instead of single ledger on which all transactions are recorded, each merchant and customer has his or her own blockchain, which comprise a system of multiple, parallel blockchains between which transactions occur.

This eliminates the bottleneck created by the energy-intensive, competitive proof of work data mining that plagues single blockchain systems and which led to a recent power moratorium on new data mining operations in Franklin County.

Meanwhile, customer experience at the register remains the same.

When customers insert their cards, a “send” request is sent from the merchant’s blockchain to the customers’.

The BlockChyp gateway directly accesses the Electronic Payment Exchange to check the buyers’ available funds through the bank guarantor associated with the customers’ cards.

Once a customer confirms the amount to be charged, an acknowledgement, or ack, is sent to the merchant’s blockchain. Even if the internet connection or link to the exchange is lost temporarily, the transaction can still be completed. It will be recorded and processed later.

BlockChyp’s founders created the “clock chain” and corresponding “tick” blocks to provide a tamper-proof universal time reference for all transactions recorded in the block lattice.

As Payne explained, if you “break the future, you break the past and vice versa, and that’s what makes it tamperproof,” since only an individual blockchain’s owner can add onto it.

Blockchains have been lauded for their security, while the level of encryption in fraud-prone credit card magnetic strips and chips often falls below modern standards of electronic encryption, according to BlockChyp officials.

They also said “a carefully designed blockchain protocol can leverage modern cryptography to eliminate centralized control from the consumer credit networks and allow card issuing lenders and merchants to interact directly with zero interchange costs.”

BlockChyp does deduct a small fee for processing transactions.

“But no matter how we broke it down, (BlockChyp’s) fee always ends up saving us,” Jake said.

“It will actually make checkouts faster,” Jessra added.

A portion of the fee is given to the POS system provider to encourage more widespread adoption of BlockChyp.

As Payne explained, the more POS providers they can get on board, the more merchants they can reach. “There are 15 million card terminals in the U.S. right now,” Payne said. “Once you (inte-

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 grate) over a million, the pure blockchain system becomes viable.”

As BlockChyp officials explained, “(A pure) blockchain means credit card associations and their gatekeepers don’t really need to exist. Once we have a large enough critical mass of merchants, we can easily roll out new tech that bypasses the acquirers and card associations entirely, including a pure blockchain consumer credit network.”

Payne said the company could have a million terminals in place within four to five years.

Payne and his partner plan to officially launch the company this December with the help of Martin Olsen, a POS industry veteran and founder of Napa Valley Point of Sale.

“When the BlockChyp team approached me with their vision of streamlining client sign-ups, lower rates, and removing the barriers for PCI compliance, I was very intrigued because it had all the components to help other vendors solve issues which in turn increases their bottom line and improve their customer service,” Olsen said.

This fall, BlockChyp plans to integrate its first POS systems, with the goal of being able to accept Bitcoin currency sometime during second quarter 2019.

Children’s Attic hopes to be one of the company’s pilots.

BlockChyp closed its first funding round with a Series AA transaction valuing it at $3.4 million. It used some of the money to open a new Payment Technology Lab in the 1,100-square-

39

foot former offices of FDM Development, next door to Blankspace in Kennewick’s Southridge area.

The new facility will support firmware and gateway development. It also will serve as a pilot terminal fulfillment facility.

“We don’t need it as a workspace necessarily … (but we) have to go through PCI auditing security, and you can’t do that out of your garage,” Payne said.

The company’s chief financial officer lives in the Tri-Cities, and a partner engineer in Dallas, Texas, will be moving soon to work on site. Payne said BlockChyp will be looking to hire more talent in the future.

The sales and marketing arm of the business will remain in Dallas to be managed by other company partners.

“The biggest threat to our long-term goal is the sellout,” Payne said. “We’ve already been approached by a major financial institution about acquisition and we’re not even launched yet.”

He said it is tempting, since he and his business partner’s personal stake in creating the company is to generate enough revenue to support their dream of writing novels. He said their team’s commitment to the long-term vision of the company is what keeps them going.

BlockChyp: 5453 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 160, in Kennewick; 509-5901945; blockchyp.com.

40

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

TRENDS, From page 37 We should recognize that STEM jobs will not all be filled by those with fouryear (or higher) degrees. Many will require, instead, an associate degree.

How has the area fared on that score?

One measure is the number of STEM associate degrees granted by Columbia Basin College in Pasco. As Trends data shows, the number peaked in school year 2011-12. Importantly, the STEM share of these degrees of all associate degrees granted by CBC has consistently been lower than the average of all community colleges in the state. (Note that this includes nursing degrees.)

Is higher ed “degree production” here or nearby for local job seekers high enough to satisfy market needs?

One answer comes from a monthly report from the state Department of Employment Security. For the most recent available month, the occupation in highest demand in Benton County was registered nurses. In the top 25 were several STEM occupations.

Ranked from highest to lowest, they were: industrial engineers, medical scientists, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and computer support specialists. Many others were in the health care sector, sometimes included in STEM definitions. In Franklin County, no STEM occupations were listed, other than registered nurses, ranked second.

Aligning education “output” with local market needs is always difficult,

Science & Technology for many reasons. It starts with the K-12 system. The offerings of higher ed then become paramount. Yet even under the best of circumstances, it is unlikely that the higher education in Tri-Cities will be able to produce enough relevant STEM degrees.

Thankfully, other institutions educating STEM students aren’t too far away and should be able to help.

Patrick Jones is 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 economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

Q&A, From page 35 How do you measure success in your workplace?

We measure quantitative goals but also highly value the quality of relationships and the trusted collaborations with partners. All of our work is accomplished through a collective impact strategy. That is, we bring together leaders from business, government, K-12 and higher education to work together to accomplish goals not attainable by any one single entity working independently. Large-scale social change, like working to improve outcomes for students and build our future work force, is best accomplished by working together.

How do you balance work and family life?

I have read so much on this topic I could quote countless tips and strategies, but the truth is this is an area that I am still attempting to master.

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

Ride my horse, hike, kayak our beautiful waterways, read and spend time with family.

What’s your best time management strategy?

I am fascinated by those rare times when I fall asleep thinking about a challenge or opportunity and wake up in the morning with a unique, creative solution.

That is the ultimate multi-tasking accomplishment.

From a more traditional time management perspective, I work hard to keep organizational focus on the important goals and priorities set by our board and avoid the constant tension to redirect to those issues which are “urgent but not important.”

Best tip to relieve stress?

Connect with nature.

uBUSINESS BRIEF You Medical Walk for Life is Oct. 6 at Columbia Point

You Medical is holding its annual Walk for Life and 5K Fun Run on Oct. 6 at the Columbia Point Marina in Richland.

Check in is at 9 a.m. for the 10 a.m. two-mile walk and a 10:15 a.m. start for the 5K run. Participants can walk or run for a donation of any amount or money raised through sponsorships. With a suggested donation of $30, a T-shirt is included.

Food will be available at 10:30 a.m. and Liberty Christian School’s marimba band will perform at 11 a.m.

For more information and to register, go to walkforlifetc.org.

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

41

Lampson International beating odds for family-owned businesses

BY DON C. BRUNELL

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

It is impossible to ignore Lampson International’s monstrous cranes in its Pasco assembly yard. Those gantries stand out like the Space Needle in Seattle and reach over 560 feet into the sky.

Like the Space Needle, Lampson is built on a solid footing. Last month, Construction Review Online, or CRO, ranked Lampson as the world’s third largest crane company.

“Lampson International has been a world leader in the Heavy Lift and Transport industry for over 65 years.

Initially started as a small drayage company, they have quickly grown into one of the most innovative and respected providers of equipment and full-service rigging services in the United States and abroad,” CRO stated.

It is a very innovative family-owned manufacturer which has defied the survivability odds. According to The Family Firm Institute, only about 30 percent of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation and fewer than 12 percent are still viable into the third generation.

As the third generations move into leadership, the company is well positioned for growth and success. Today, it has a fleet of hoists capable of lifts from 350 to 3,000 tons.

It was started in 1946 by a hard-working, creative couple, Neil and Billie Jane Lampson. They began as a small crane

and drayage company in the Tri-Cities. Today, it is still family owned, with offices in Canada and Australia and about 300 employees worldwide.

Don C. Brunell Lampson’s drayage business was built around hauling and hoisting heavy loads on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

In 1978, Lampson engineered, manufactured, assembled and tested the first Transi-Lift for use at nuclear construction sites in the United States. It was to become the company’s signature product just like Boeing’s heavy lifters, the 747 and 777.

The Transi-Lift is a crawler (tracked) transporter on a mobile foundation and equipped with multi-drum hoists. It exceeded all expectations and could be described as a giant crane sitting on an Army tank platform.

By the time, the Lampson’s son, Bill, was named president and CEO in 1990, the company was building “megacranes” for large construction projects worldwide.

One of those projects is Seattle’s 45-story Hyatt Regency hotel completed last year. The new hotel, featuring more than 1,200 guest rooms and 105,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, takes up three-quarters of a block.

Lampson Transi-Lift LTL-1200 crane performing a gate replacement on a dam in Washington. (Courtesy Lampson International)

Another is in the south Australian mining city of Port Pirie. Nyrstar, which mines and refines lead, zinc and other metals, rebuilt its 120-year-old smelter to reduce lead and other metal emissions. It was a $514 million project which required Lampson to lift mammoth components from ships onto wheeled ground crawlers and then hoist them into permanent positions.

Lampson is successful because it hires (and retains) dependable skilled workers — some of whom are second and third generation. It is innovative and the cab of today’s company cranes looks like a fighter cockpit complete with joysticks and modern high-tech panels.

Bill Lampson brought his son, Peter, and daughter, Kate, into the business — a smart move considering only about three percent of all family businesses operate into the fourth generation.

Family-owned businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They account for 64 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, generate 62 percent of the country’s employment, and account for 78 percent of all new job creation.

Texas A&M University took a look at the S&P 500 for a full business cycle, and found that family-owned businesses beat other firms in revenue and employment growth. Other researchers found they are less likely to lay off employees regardless of financial performance.

Family-owned businesses are vital to America and their contributions should not be ignored.

Don Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He is retired from the Association of Washington Business. He can be contacted at TheBrunells@msn. com.

42

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Tri-Cities Food Bank closes West Richland branch

The Tri-Cities Food Bank shuttered the doors to the West Richland Branch on Sept. 8.

Food bank officials said the number of clients served at 321 Wellsian Way didn’t justify continued operations.

It had been open for 32 months.

West Richland food bank clients will continue to be served at the Richland branch.

The West Richland Branch was opened in January 2017 following analysis of the number of city residents who were potential clients and community interest.

Food bank board Chairwoman V.J. Meadows said it was a hard but necessary decision.

“We would have liked to continue with a convenient location for our West Richland clients but, as a nonprofit organization, our operating costs need to be managed carefully,” she said. “We will continue welcoming our West Richland neighbors to the Wellsian Way branch.”

CAC offering listening session in Pasco

Community Action Connections is collaborating with the Statewide Poverty Action Network to offer a Pasco listening session from 5 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 20.

CAC is a nonprofit based in Pasco whose mission is to improve the quality of life for Benton and Franklin county residents through greater self-sufficiency.

Those living on a low income or relying on public assistance may share their experience to create social change.

Participants will be provided a free dinner, child care and $35 as an incentive to voice their opinions.

The session is free but RSVPs are

required by contacting Omar Cuevas Vega at 206-694-6867 or omar@ povertyaction.org.

The event will be at the CAC agency at 710 W. Court St. in Pasco.

Tax collection laws changing for out-of-state companies Oct. 1

Tax collection laws are changing for companies who do business in Washington starting Oct. 1.

Businesses operating out of state without a physical presence in the state and making sales to Washington consumers must register, collect and submit retail sales and use tax on those sales if their sales exceed $100,000, or 200 transactions. The tax must be collected according to the delivery location.

Businesses can be categorized as a marketplace facilitator, remote seller, marketplace seller, referer or any combination of those.

Already in January, remote sellers and marketplace facilitators making more than $10,000 in retail sales either had to start registering their business and collecting and submitting sales/use tax on Washington sales or follow the use tax notice and reporting requirements.

Immigrant coalition seeks artists for October exhibit

The Tri-Cities Immigrant Coalition is calling for submissions from artists from all cultures and backgrounds who work in a variety of mediums to participate in a Kennewick exhibit.

Chosen artists will display their pieces at Monarcha Winery at Columbia Gardens in Kennewick beginning Oct. 20, with an opening free to the public, and running through Oct. 28.

The exhibit will consist of portraits of immigrants and their stories, videos

of immigrants’ stories and original art by immigrants.

There is no charge for artists to be a part of the exhibit. Artists may sell their art.

To apply for consideration, send three digital photos of original art and a brief biography to Tricitieswaimmigrantcoalition@gmail. com. Selection will be done by a panel of art professionals and community representatives.

Deadline for submissions is Sept. 30.

For more information, contact Marsha Stipe, co-chair coalition at marshastipe@gmail.com, or Philippa Sonnichsen, co-chair coalition at philippasonnichsen@gmail.com.

Seahawk party to raise money for mental health

Lourdes Health is holding a Seahawks Tailgate Party starting at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 14 at 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco.

During the Seahawks vs. Raiders game, food, beverages, auctions and giveaways and more will be featured to raise money to support the mental health needs of the Tri-City community.

Tickets for those 21 and older are $50, or $350 for a table seating eight.

To buy tickets, call Wendee Bodnar at 509-546-2282.

Tri-City film festival to celebrate 10th anniversary

The Tri-Cities International Film Festival kicks off its tenth anniversary

43

festival with the feature film, “Iron Brothers.”

Created by a trio of filmmaker brothers from Eastern Idaho, the movie has already garnered cinematography and best of festival awards from independent film festivals.

The Oct. 12 opening will be the Washington state premier of “Iron Brothers” and will feature the Smith brothers for an after-the-film question and answer period. Filmed on location in Eastern Idaho, “Iron Brothers” is the story of two fur traders on the run from Shoshone Indians, forced to test the bonds of brotherhood.

The festival has screened more than 1,200 independent short and feature films from around the world over the past 10 years. This year’s festival garnered more than 200 film submissions from 34 countries.

The festival runs from Oct. 12-14 in Richland’s Uptown Theater at 1300 Jadwin Ave., and Confluent Space, 285 Williams Blvd.

Films to be shown include independent award-winning feature films, documentaries and shorts in the sci-fi, animation, horror, documentary, comedy and fan film genres.

A presentation of awards to festival category winners will take place Oct. 13.

Tickets for this year’s Tri-Cities International Film Festival are $10 for a single day pass, or $30 for an all-fest pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door or on the web at, trifi.org.

Visit trifi.org for the full schedule and to buy tickets.

44

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

BUSINESS PROFILE

Former Disney World artist launches face-painting business

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Dee Pridemore wants people to know that face painting can be more than a hobby.

She has made it her business to change the perception and has turned it into a professional career.

By all accounts, it’s been successful as she’s recently landed work with an Oregon amusement park.

“I love making people happy,” she said recently while painting children’s faces at the Gesa Carousel of Dreams in Kennewick.

“A kid can be having the worst day. You give them that one moment, and that experience makes their day. You touch their heart. And my office is different every day.”

Pridemore’s business is called Vivid Imaginations Professional Face & Body Artistry.

“I fell into this,” she said. “I’ve always been an artist since I picked up crayons.”

When she was younger, she moved to Orlando to pursue acting and dance.

“But I needed a job. My cousin said, ‘You’re an artist. Come audition for a facepainting job,’ ” she said. “The first day, I did swirls and teardrops for eight hours straight.”

She worked at Animal Kingdom and Toon Town within the Walt Disney World theme parks.

Working at Disney required a brief education on proper cultural etiquette, taught by the Disney University of Guest Services.

Pridemore has instilled what she learned in her employees.

The training follows the philosophy that employees are cast members and everything is a stage. She said finger pointing isn’t allowed because in some cultures, it is considered rude and her team should never answer a question with, “I don’t know.”

“It’s about what it means to be on stage and always making sure everyone is having a good time,” said Pridemore, who has been painting faces for 13 years.

Vivid Imaginations was born out of necessity in 2016.

“I suddenly became a single mother in October of 2016,” Pridemore said. “I was a stay-at-home mother, and I genuinely love working with kids. I tried to find full-time work, but it just didn’t happen.”

Pridemore thought about her face-painting experience.

“My daughter is 3,” she said. “My goal is to be with my daughter as much as possible while exemplifying high expectations and an exciting career opportunity. And I’ve done that. I decided to start my own company. This is how I pay the bills.”

Vivid Imaginations specializes in face painting and body art services.

Pridemore, who owns the company and is the creative director, has three employees and calls them her creative team.

“They are my artists,” she said.

She trains each to deliver the same theme park service and designs without the theme park prices.

How fast they are trained “depends on how skilled they are. It depends on how

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Dee Pridemore, left, owner of Vivid Imaginations Professional Face & Body Artistry, shows off her face-painting talent on reporter Jeff Morrow at the Gesa Carousel of Dreams in Kennewick.

fast they can pick it up.”

Pridemore herself is very fast.

She says she’s done 30 children’s faces in an hour.

The company’s focus is a three-minutesor-under design, and the average face painting clocks in at 1 minute and 49 seconds.

“Some designs take as little as 90 seconds,” she said.

Prices vary, but the average cost is $10 a design.

Right now, the most popular face painting is Wonder Woman.

“It depends on what movie is coming out,” Pridemore said. “Super heroes are big. Paw Patrol. Freehand face paintings are the most popular form of artistry.”

She has between 300 to 400 designs in her repertoire.

As one would think, she is busy at Halloween.

But anymore, all of October is busy with pumpkin patch gigs. And she’s finding things to keep her busy all year long, with annual events and with community partners like the Carousel of Dreams.

She has worked with the carousel on events such as First Night since 2016.

She’s begun to develop a following.

“I have punch cards,” Pridemore said. “I have families who follow me around. I advertise everywhere I’m going to be.”

And she works with all children. “(Autism) spectrum, deaf children,

Spanish-speaking children and sign language,” Pridemore said. “I want to be able to talk to everybody.”

All kids seem to enjoy having their face painted, she said.

“Face painting has changed,” she said.

“It’s now safe for little faces. Face-painting artists used grease paint or actual acrylic paint in the past. Our company uses hypoallergenic makeup, compatible for every skin type and easily removable with soap and water.”

But it’s not just children who like getting their faces painted.

Even though kids make up about 70 percent to 80 percent of her clientele, Pridemore has seen an uptick in painting adults’ faces.

“I’ve done grand openings, customer appreciations. The police department has used me,” she said.

And she’s painted writers, including this one, who sat with his eyes closed for almost three minutes before realizing he had been transformed into a tiger.

Pridemore is driven, looking for more opportunities.

“Some companies I have pursued,” she said. “I am always pursuing new clients, from State Farm to Silverwood. Face painting is an attraction for any business looking to gain attention.” uFACE-PAINTING, Page 47

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Business Profile

45

Kennewick Inca Mexican Restaurant to move to Marineland Village

Brothers, partners own seven Mexican restaurants in two states

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

One of the longest-standing restaurants in the Tri-Cities is moving, although not very far.

Inca Mexican Restaurant in Kennewick, at 3600 W. Clearwater Ave., will relocate up the road to Marineland Village.

Owners Javier Rodriguez and Antonio Mendoza expect the new Inca to be ready at 201 N. Edison sometime in November.

The current building is getting older and showing more problems.

“But mainly, the parking lot has been an issue for years,” Rodriguez said.

Space is tight and the lot is shared with at least four other businesses in the adjacent strip mall.

Rodriguez said he thought about closing the Kennewick Inca, but there are too many loyal customers.

And since the restaurant opened in 1989, he and Mendoza wanted to keep it going.

“We’ve been in business 30 years,” Rodriguez said. “We’re planning a 30th anniversary celebration. The new Kennewick location will be able to seat 75 people. The Clearwater location can actually seat 120 right now. The biggest mistake in the Tri-Cities is opening too big of a restaurant at a location.”

Mendoza said they’ll try some new things at the new location.

“We’ll have a tortilla show, with six or seven sauces,” Mendoza said.

If that sounds familiar, it might be that you’ve seen it done at Fuego on 27th Aveune in Kennewick; or at Hacienda del Sol on Road 68 in Pasco.

That’s because Rodriguez and Mendoza also own those restaurants.

Rodriguez, his brother Jose Rodriguez and Mendoza are partners in seven Mexican restaurants. They also have business partners in some, but not all, of those restaurants.

The roster includes Inca Kennewick, Inca Richland (which they opened in 2004), Inca in Moses Lake (which Jose Rodriguez runs), Inca in Fort Collins, Colorado, Fuego in Kennewick, Hacienda del Sol in Pasco, and Hacienda del Sol in Benton City.

Mendoza estimates they employ 150 people.

“Each restaurant averages 20 employees, except the Pasco restaurant,” Mendoza said. “It’s bigger, so it’s closer to 30 employees.”

The key to their success is their recipe book.

“We’ve developed our own recipes over the years,” Mendoza said. “Each place we have, you do your own twist on some of the menu items.”

Because the food at every restaurant doesn’t need to taste the same, Rodriguez added.

“The salsa tastes different at each place,” he said. “The carne asada is different, for example, too.”

The highest form of flattery sometimes is imitation.

“Some of our employees who have left us over the years, moved on and started their own restaurants around the country.

They serve the same recipes we put together,” Mendoza said.

Over the years, both Rodriguez and Mendoza realized they might be excited about opening a new place.

“Over the years, we keep proving to ourselves that we’re still in good shape,”

Inca Mexican Restaurant owners Javier Rodriguez, left, and Antonio Mendoza are planning to move their Kennewick restaurant from its current location at 3600 W. Clearwater Ave. to Marineland Village by November.

said Rodriguez, who is 53. “We ask ourselves, ‘Do you still have the drive to keep going?’ We do. We put our touch on it with how we decorate it, paint it. We smell the new paint, the new carpet. When we open the place, see that the place is busy, I still get excited.”

And after almost 30 years together, they know what they are doing.

“The keys are good food, good service and good prices. And we brand our business,” said Mendoza, who is 50.

Rodriguez came to the United States from a little village in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

“I was looking for a better life,” he said.

“The first job I had was to pick up cigarette butts out of the bark outside a restaurant in Seattle. I did it for two months before I found a job as a dishwasher working at Las Margaritas in Kirkland.”

Over the next five years, he worked in various Mexican restaurants – including his aunt’s – in the Seattle area, laboring long hours while taking the bus on a daily basis.

He worked in the kitchen, he bused tables, he worked the bar, he worked as a waiter. He learned every aspect of the business, all the time keeping his dream of owning his own place alive.

“For five years I saved money to open a restaurant when I was 23,” Rodriguez said.

“All the time, I kept this dream to be an owner.”

So he asked his brother Jose to leave the Seattle area to start their own restaurant in Kennewick in the late 1980s.

That’s when they found the spot for Inca, where a previous Mexican restaurant had been but eventually shuttered.

“People didn’t think we’d be there in six months,” Rodriguez said. “They were expecting us to fail. So we wanted to prove to people by showing them what we could do it. We had a vision.”

One year into the business, Mendoza was hired to cook in the kitchen.

Rodriguez took notice of him quickly.

Maybe it was because he saw a lot of himself in Mendoza. uINCA, Page 47

46

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 uHONORS • Auctioneer Scott Musser, CEO of Musser Bros. Inc., was inducted into the National Auctioneers Hall of Fame. The second-generation Kennewick auctioneer operates estate and equipment auctions throughout the Northwest Scott Musser and has offices in Pasco, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

He became a full-time auctioneer in 1982. He began serving on the auctioneers association board in 2001 and became chairman in 2010. Musser was also named the International Auctioneer Champion in 2001. The induction ceremony was held during the auctioneer association’s annual conference, which was held in Jacksonville, Florida, in July.

uAWARDS • Badger Mountain Elementary in Richland has earned a Partnership School Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools, or NNPS, at Johns Hopkins University. The award recognizes the work of Badger Mountain’s Action Team for Partnerships, a group of staff and community members. The school is the first in Richland School District to receive the award from NNPS, which advocates for strong partnerships between

schools and communities to increase student success. The ATP’s activity focused on providing parents tools for developing fine motor skills in their children before kindergarten will be included in NNPS’s annual publication, Promising Partnership Practices 2018. NNPS also praised a cultural fair and summer reading program the ATP organized.

• CEO of Solarity Credit Union, Mina Worthington, received the YWCA of Yakima’s Dorothy and Fred Plath Award.

Recipients are committed to improving the life for those in the community.

Mina Worthington Worthington was selected for her support to the organization and living values of its mission that empower women and work to eliminate racism. Solarity has a Tri-City loan production office in Richland.

uCERTIFICATIONS • Fitch Ratings affirmed its A+ rating with a stable outlook on Benton PUD’s electric revenue bonds. Fitch Ratings attributed the rating to Benton PUD’s competitive rates, favorable power supply, low debt levels, growing economy, and history of maintaining solid financial metrics.

Benton PUD serves more than 53,000 customers electricity and wholesale

FACE-PAINTING, From page 44 She spent Labor Day weekend working at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, which opened in 1903. She said work on a 2019 contract with Oaks is in motion. She is looking to hire 15 to 20 artists in the Portland area.

“I have current conversations going with Silverwood and Triple Play, and next on the list is Six Flags,” she said. “They have face painters, but not the way I do it.

Typically face painting is thought of as a hobby.”

And if things work out, she’ll be looking for more help. But bring a good attitude.

“I look at wrists, not résumés,” she said.

“I want to know if they’re kind and patient.

Where do they want to be in the future and do they want to come with me somewhere fun?”

The main requirement? They know how to make kids happy.

“Maybe kids didn’t get to experience a theme park,” she said. “That makes me sad. If I can help give them some of the park experience, that makes me happy.”

Vivid Imaginations: 509-579-1220; vividfacepainter.com; Facebook; Instagram; Twitter.

INCA, From page 45 Rodriguez saw how Mendoza took care of Inca as if it was his own.

“So I asked him to come aboard as a partner,” he said. “That was 29 years ago.

And every move we make (with a new restaurant), Antonio owns a percentage.”

Not only is Mendoza an owner, he loves being part of the team.

“It’s a great feeling to come in, even on a day off, and the staff is short handed, to come in and help,” Mendoza said. “A partnership is like a marriage. I admire Javier as a person. How he carries himself in life.

Both of us don’t have problems getting in there and washing dishes.”

Or slapping an apron on and cooking if someone needs help.

“The secret is working hard,” Rodriguez said. “We put in 13-, 14-hour days.”

Rarely do they take time off. Rodriguez might take Tuesdays off. Mendoza? Maybe

a half-day on Mondays. And they both have wives and children.

But they do what they do because they love it.

“When I see a lot of people enjoying our food, I love it,” Rodriguez said. “The business can be sensational. But it’s not about the money. We’re still doing something.

It’s a passion to do this.”

Mendoza agreed: “It’s about trying to create a connection. It’s great to see people that started coming to our restaurants 20 years, they’re much older. They’re bringing their grandkids now. It’s a good feeling seeing that. It’s amazing.”

They’re excited to show off their new Inca Kennewick location in a few months.

And they’re excited about what they’ve accomplished – especially in their line of work, said Mendoza.

“Nothing is easy in the restaurant business.”

broadband in Kennewick, Prosser, Finley, Benton City and surrounding areas in Benton County.

uDONATIONS • Kadlec Foundation raised more than $91,000 for academic scholarships at its annual Golf Classic fundraiser in early August. Scholarships are distributed to area students pursuing degrees in the health care fields at Washington State University Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College.

• This year, the Richland Kiwanis Club — with help from the Saueressig family — collected school supplies for needy kids in support of the SHAKE, or Seniors Helping All Kids Education, project. The club bought 72 backpacks and filled 22 with school supplies.

Members also contributed five large boxes of loose supplies. SHAKE volunteers will sort and deliver the donated school supplies to schools in the TriCities.

uGRANTS • The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust gave the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties a $300,000 grant to help pay for a new clubhouse in Kennewick and to expand youth services. The nonprofit operates four clubhouses in Benton and Franklin counties and several operated at capacity with children on the waiting list during the past year. The Kennewick 23,000-squart-foot clubhouse will be

47

near Park Middle School and feature a full-size gym, game room and learning and technology centers. The group targeted the area to serve a population with a high density of children from low-income families, with lower academic performance, chronic absenteeism and increased housing insecurity.

• A grant from Numerica Credit Union will pay for the Children’s Reading Foundation of the MidColumbia to provide more than 8,000 high-quality books to the Union Gospel Mission families — enough materials for a year.

• Sarah Roley, assistant professor with Washington State University Tri-Cities School of the Environment, and two colleagues received a $483,000 National Science Sarah Roley Foundation grant to study how bacteria work with perennial grasses to fix nitrogen. Their focus will be switchgrass but may apply to other perennial grasses.

uBOARDS • John Oppenheimer has joined Anthony’s Restaurants’ Board of Directors. Oppenheimer is the founder and CEO of Columbia Hospitality.

Anthony’s operates a restaurant in Richland.

48

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION In This Section

49

M is for ‘makeover’ at longtime Richland hotel

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Real Estate & Construction

U.S. World Class Taekwondo expands to Kennewick Page 51

Construction News

New Audi dealership breaks ground in Richland Page 54

A Richland mainstay for more than 40 years, the M Hotel will soon offer guests refurbished rooms when its first phase of renovations are completed at the end of this month.

This stage of work includes the hotel’s original 120 rooms surrounding the large, indoor pool at the property on 1515 George Washington Way. Due to the age of the facility, the rooms required a complete overhaul rather than just a cosmetic update, including replacement of interior wiring within the walls. The M Hotel will debut entirely new furnishings and bathrooms, including carpeting, beds, tubs and TVs. Following this phase, work will begin on the 75 rooms which are part of an adjacent sixstory tower.

A stucco finish is already visible to passing drivers as crews rebuild the exterior of the restaurant and lounge. New access ramps, sidewalks, landscaping and a repaved parking lot also are on the way.

It’s a refreshing change following the unexpected shutdown of the property when it was seized by creditors five years ago.

“People were staying here and the bank came in and kicked everyone out,” said Cody Hoyle, assistant general manager for the M Hotel. “People were eating meals in the restaurant and forced to leave. When the new owners came through months later, the plates were still there with rotting food.”

The M Hotel was purchased by investors Sam Bath and Onkaar Dhaliwal, who operate

A massive remodel is underway at the M Hotel on George Washington Way, taking dozens of rooms down to the studs before re-opening them at the end of the month.

The hotel is poised to become a Best Western property after its remodel, which began in fall 2017. The hotel started as a Holiday Inn when it first opened in 1976.

under the name Richland Investment Group Inc. The businessmen own six hotels in all, three of which are in Kennewick: Super 8 by Wyndham at 626 N. Columbia Center Blvd.; GuestHouse Inn & Suites at 5616 W. Clearwater Ave.; and Kennewick Suites at 321 N. Johnson St. Hoyle said the M Hotel and Kennewick Suites were part of the same purchase and a remodel is also planned for the Kennewick Suites, an extended stay property just off Clearwater Avenue.

Building Tri-Cities

Trucks & Auto Auctions held inaugural auction Aug. 28 Page 62

The owners are on track to turn the M Hotel into a Best Western property. Hoyle said the hotel will eventually be renamed the Columbia River Best Western Plus.

The “Plus” designation is part of a number of brands under the Best Western name. Hoyle said this property will be “one step below the highest level,” which is a Best Western Premier. The recent purchase of the Shilo Inn in Richland will result in the property becoming a Best Western SureStay, which is part of the brand’s extended-stay economy class. uM HOTEL, Page 58

$8M flexible-space building coming to Southridge

BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

Around Town

RiverFest promotes benefits of area’s river systems Page 71

HE SAID IT “It’s going to be a beautiful addition to the G-Way corridor and Richland.”

- Zak O’Brien, vice president O’Brien Construction Co. Inc. Page 50

The success of a Pasco business park’s flexible design space off Road 90 is prompting a similar project in Kennewick.

A new 44,170-square-foot commercial building is planned for 4112 W. 24th Ave. on 3.43 acres. It will feature Class A office space up front and flex space in the back of the two-story building.

Tenants love this kind of flex space because it has multiple uses as it could be for classrooms, a gymnasium or a showroom, said Trini Garibay, president of Elite Construction and Development.

His Pasco-based company is the developer for the $8 million project.

“It’s a very popular design. When we did the project off Road 90, it leased up pretty quick. Tenants were excited about the flexibility it gave them,” Garibay said.

Tenants in the Road 90 Business Park Development include Tri-Cities Engineering; Terence L. Thornhill, Architect; AHBL; and CrossFit Unrestrained. Elite also moved its headquarters there.

“It’s really what the market is looking for.

The market is demanding it. It has a nice

Elite Construction and Development plans to build an $8-million commercial building at 4112 W. 24th Ave. in the Southridge area of Kennewick. It will include a 44,170-square-foot building and two separate 6,000-square-foot buildings.

(Courtesy Kenmore Team)

aesthetic. Spending a lot of time on the design really pays off. The tenants love the look,” said James Wade, realtor and commercial broker for the Kenmore Team of Kennewick. “They are consciously paying attention to the design and visual aesthetic.

It’s not just building a box covered in stucco.

It’s unique and each space has own space

and stands out.”

The design work was done in-house, Garibay said.

The building could include up to 14 suites, at 2,128 square feet on the first floor and 952 square feet on the second floor, but those suites can be customized by tenants. uSOUTHRIDGE, Page 58

50

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Real Estate & Construction

New riverside retail space under construction on George Washington Way

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A 11,062-square-foot retail strip mall is under construction at 1080 George Washington Way in Richland. Its design will be similar to its next door neighbor, Hilton Homewood Suites.

More coveted waterfront retail space will be available in early spring along Richland’s George Washington Way. The new 11,062-square-foot strip mall will cater to retailers and restauranteurs.

Ground was broken in mid-August, and general contractor on the project, O’Brien Construction Company Inc., estimates a six-month construction period, with completion planned for February or March.

Company Vice President Zak O’Brien said the multi-tenant retail space will be a “vanilla shell” at full build-out, or in other words, unfinished inside.

“Unless between now and then tenants approach us to build out their space, which we will build and do improvements for them,” O’Brien said.

The building could accommodate up to seven tenants, according to a building permit filed with the city of Richland.

Russell C. Page Architects of Spokane designed the concrete block building, which will be similar in aesthetic to its next door neighbor, Hilton Homewood Suites.

“The architectural look of the facility will resemble the Hilton,” O’Brien said.

“It will have a Tuscan-style look— tile roof, stucco-like wall appearance and natural rock.”

“I love that Tuscan design,” said property owner Dick Vandervert of Spokanebased Vandervert Developments. He said he has applied the style to other building projects throughout the region.

Hard costs for the project are valued at $1.5 million, though the total cost of the project, including soft costs, has yet to be estimated, Vandervert said.

O’Brien said the site has great eastside river frontage and the benefit of the “Hanford 500 coming through that corridor” daily, he said, referring to rush hour traffic coming to and from the Hanford Site.

An eight-story, high-end, condo complex with two stories of parking beneath were originally planned for the site at 1080 George Washington Way by Dick and his wife, Bonnie Vandervert.

The condos would have neighbored the former Waterford Condos, which were converted in 2015 to a Hilton Homewood Suites.

The construction of the condos had barely begun on the site when the economic recession hit in 2007-08, effectively bringing the project to a grinding halt. The site has seen no further activity until now.

O’Brien said the reason for the change of plans for the lot is that the Vanderverts stand to earn more of a return on investment with retail space.

“I think that retail is the best thing we can do,” agreed Vandervert, who went on to say the new shops will provide additional amenities for neighboring hotel guests. “We will have good services there for them. We only want tenants who will provide good services.”

So far, there are no confirmed tenants for the new building, but O’Brien did note there is active interest, including one Spokane-based business.

Vandervert said that leasing will be handled through Vandervert Developments and will be actively marketed once standing walls are erected.

O’Brien encourages prospective tenants to inquire, as other recent developments the company has worked on have filled up quickly prior to construction completion.

“I’m just really happy to do it for Dick and Bonnie. They’re great people. It’s going to be a beautiful addition to the G-Way corridor and Richland,” O’Brien said.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

U.S. World Class Taekwondo expands to Kennewick

51

Positive attitude reason business keeps growing, owner says

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

As a 5-year-old, Erik Roach knew what he wanted to do when he first saw “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” on television.

He wanted to be involved in martial arts.

Now 31, he’s still a fan of martial arts. He’s even earned a black belt.

But today, he’s more interested in what his students can do with their training.

Roach owns Erik Roach U.S. World Class Taekwondo Tri-Cities in Richland at 93 Keene Road, and opened a second one at 3001 W. 10th Ave. in Kennewick in August.

The new location is in a strip mall across the parking lot from Fred Meyer.

“We’ve always gotten pull from all over the Tri-City area,” Roach said.

“But we decided to add a second location for our clients in Kennewick. There was a demand for it.”

Born and raised in the Tri-Cities, Roach went to school at Eastern Washington University and Portland State, earning his master’s in business administration at EWU in 2012.

For the next few years, he helped manage and teach at U.S. World Class Taekwondo facilities in both Camas and Happy Valley, Oregon.

According to its website, the U.S. World Class Taekwondo Association is the largest group of professional taekwondo schools in the western United States since 1988, “providing quality instruction to over 100,000 students worldwide.”

In 2014, Roach wanted to come back to the Tri-Cities.

“I wanted to be close to family, and I realized the growth potential in the TriCities,” he said. “I saw a lot of martial

arts businesses in the Tri-Cities, but I knew I could run one that would have excellent service.”

So he opened a U.S. World Class Taekwondo in 2014 in West Richland.

“After about a year there, we needed to move somewhere bigger,” he said.

By 2015, he moved to the current location in Richland, although it was just one storefront.

Since then, he’s done two renovations and expansions, adding 2,000 more square feet in May 2018.

“Now, the Richland store is up to 4,400 square feet,” he said. “The first expansion was six months in. The second was two years later.”

The mats were getting crowded.

Throw in the parents who wanted to watch, and Roach knew he had to expand.

“In West Richland, we could put 15 students on the mat,” Roach said. “Now we could fit 35 on a mat. When you see there are so many kids in class, and you feel like every kid is getting enough attention, you feel good. If they’re not (getting enough instructor time), it’s time to expand.”

One expansion dealt with the parent viewing area.

“In the Tri-Cities, parents want to stay and watch their kids,” he said.

Roach used to be the lone instructor but he now has a full-time instructor and three part-time junior instructors, he said. He has five staff members.

The majority of his clients — 80 percent to 85 percent — are children ages 5 to 12. The remaining 15 percent consists of teenagers and adults.

There are six classes a day at each location. The first five are for kids, and there is one class for teens and adults.

Roach believes the growth is credited to his company’s attitude.

“The interest has always been the same in martial arts,” he said. “What makes us different is we have a bigger focus on the positivity. We want people to enjoy coming here, that it’s not just another activity.”

He and his instructors help their stu-

Now Open in Southridge Bringing health and healing to the Tri-Cities through specific neurologically based chiropractic care.

509-579-5992 • designedlifechiropractic.com 2909 S. Quillan St., Suite 158 • Kennewick

Erik Roach, owner of U.S. World Class Taekwondo, opened a second location at 3001 W. 10th Ave. in Kennewick in August. (Courtesy U.S. World Class Taekwondo Tri-Cities)

dents outside the usual instruction times when they can, whether it be helping the student at a school talent show, or working at anti-bullying school assemblies.

Roach would like to have a school in each of the Tri-Cities.

“I’d love to build a location in Pasco some day,” he said. “I want to service the Tri-Cities as a whole.”

He said it makes him happy to see what martial arts can do for kids because he knows what it did for him.

“I enjoy seeing the difference it

makes in people. For some of them it builds confidence,” he said. “In some cases, kids who aren’t students anymore tell me it gave them a leg up in football or baseball. That’s cool. I feel I’m making a positive impact.”

U.S. World Class Taekwondo: 3001 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick; 509-5794225; 93 Keene Road, Richland; 509627-5425; tkdtricities.com; Facebook.

52

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

CHUCK E. CHEESE 6340 W. RIO GRANDE AVE.• KENNEWICK

The Richland Chuck E. Cheese restaurant is reopening in Kennewick.

A soft opening for the 14,458-square-foot restaurant is scheduled for Sept. 15.

The new food and entertainment destination beloved by children of all ages is at 6340 W. Rio Grande Ave., about a block south of the McDonald’s that faces West Canal Drive.

Owners are John and Kathleen Corbin.

The new restaurant replaces the one at 2610 N.

Columbia Center Blvd. in Richland, which has been open since 1982.

The new building will be slightly larger than the former location, but will have a different configuration. There will be more floor space with a smaller, open kitchen, which will allow customers to see the pizzas being made.

The Chuck E. Cheese menu features pizzas, sandwiches, wings, appetizers, a salad bar and desserts.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Additionally, the new Kennewick restaurant will include updated games and equipment for the kids.

Chuck E. Cheese is known for its musical and comic robotic entertainment, games, rides and play areas.

A franchise of CEC Entertainment, the Richland location is one of 580 Chuck E. Cheese’s worldwide.

W McKay Construction of Kennewick was the general contractor.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

53

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Real Estate & Construction

Town & Country breaks ground on new $3.5M Audi center in Richland

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A Richland auto dealership is planning to build a new 10,000-square-foot Audi center.

Town & Country acquired the space for Audi Tri-Cities in April 2017 and plans for the new facility to be fully operational by summer 2019.

The new location will be right off of Interstate 182 at 1177 Aaron Drive.

The $3.5 million facility will feature floor-to-ceiling glass, aluminum and tile all enhanced by the latest in LED lighting.

Laid out in a very minimalist German style, it will pair beautifully with the cars Audi engineers, according to a news release from Town & Country.

This special-use facility has been a collaborative effort of Audi of America, Wave Design Group of Kennewick, and Town & Country’s design teams and will be a great example of form and function working together, according to the company.

MH Construction of Kennewick is the general contractor.

During construction, Audi Tri-Cities will continue to operate out of a temporary facility.

The Audi Tri-Cities store is familyowned and co-owner Christopher Martinez lives in the Tri-City area.

“This will be the first ground-up, brandnew facility in T&C’s 33-year history and I’m excited to watch it develop over time,” said Martinez in a news release. “We have always been very particular on the quality

of our facilities and we are proud to offer our clients a brand-new facility with the latest technology in the industry. Our clients will soon enjoy the same level of comfort with the latest design that Audi currently offers in their facilities with our T&C flavor that offers a transparent buying experience for all.”

In the U.S., Audi is one of the fastest growing brands and has achieved records sales for 91 consecutive months, according to the release.

Earlier this year in the Northwest, Audi assumed the No. 1 luxury brand status, selling more units than any of its luxury competitors in this market, the release said.

Town & Country has experienced substantial growth since opening the temporary Audi facility in Richland in 2017 and it expects additional growth after moving into the new space, the release said.

Since taking the helm of an under-producing Chrysler-Plymouth dealership on Portland’s McLoughlin Boulevard in 1985, Town & Country founder and CEO Ralph Martinez has focused on providing the industry’s best customer service and delivering top performance.

With its recent expansion into Washington, Town & Country continues to bring unmatched service and quality to a new market. Today, T&C is more determined than ever to serve its core market, streamline operations and enhance efficiencies. It continues to differentiate itself by achieving its mission of caring for its employees and customers, the release said.

Audi Tri-Cities officials broke ground Aug. 27 on their new Audi Center at 1177 Aaron Drive. Pictured, from left, are Bill Holstein Sr., project manager from MH Construction; George Stanley, general manager; Christopher Martinez, executive manager; and Kevin Fields, Audi brand manager. (Courtesy Town & Country)

Construction is expected to begin soon on this new 10,000-square-foot Audi Tri-Cities dealership on Aaron Drive in Richland. It’s expected to be completed by next summer. (Courtesy Town & Country)

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

55

Prosser Starbucks gets makeover, equipment to craft nitro brews

BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

After more than a decade of business, the Prosser Starbucks got a makeover and some new equipment to create drinks not previously available to customers.

The nine-week, $342,000 makeover started in the middle of the summer and included new interior walls, paint and fixtures at the coffeeshop at 10 Merlot Drive.

The Prosser Starbucks closed for a week during renovations, then remained opened to drive-thru patrons only for an additional eight weeks.

When the lobby re-opened in late August, customers were treated to a fresh design and open floor plan.

Improvements included eliminating the drop ceiling, redoing the floors, moving merchandise shelving and lowering the purchasing counter to enhance communication between the baristas and customers.

There were no changes made to the bathroom or backroom where inventory is kept.

The store also added a Nitro Cold Brew machine, which is fairly unique in Eastern Washington. Nitro is cold coffee on tap. It’s infused with nitrogen bubbles that give the coffee a frothy, foamy texture.

Baristas spent the last week of August training to use the nitro machine and customers were able to start buying cold brew nitrogen-infused coffee over Labor Day weekend.

uNEW HIRES • Diana Crane is the new digital marketing manager for Visit TriCities. She has a degree from Carleton College and most recently was the customer marketing manager for Diana Crane Minneapolisbased, Cameron’s Coffee.

• Mykaela Faulconer was hired at West Richland’s Cougar Digital Marketing & Designs as a graphic designer and photographer. She most recently worked as a financial advisor at Mykaela Faulconer Waddell & Reed.

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

In 2016, Nitro Cold Brew was available at 14 stores in Seattle and a handful of other stores in Oregon and California. Nitro Cold Brew is now also available at select stores in the TriCities and Yakima, along with Prosser.

GPD Group Professionals of Seattle was the contractor for the project.

The Prosser Starbucks building is owned by Gap Road Properties LLC, which is operated by Tom Denlea.

Gap Road Properties is also reviewing plans for a three-story, mixed-occupancy building in Prosser, valued at $3.5 million.

The 31,574-square-foot plans are in the initial stages and no exact location or construction date has been disclosed.

Prosser Starbucks store manager Jeff Couch shows off the new Nitro Cold Brew machine, which infuses coffee with nitrogen bubbles for a frothy, foamy texture. The store received $342,000 in improvements over nine weeks.

56

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

SELF-STORAGE AT CHAPEL HILL 6615 CHAPEL HILL BLVD.• PASCO

Spacious, state-of-the-art self-storage facilities are now available to rent on the south side of Pasco’s Road 68 exit off Interstate 182.

The 840,000-square-foot Self-Storage at Chapel Hill includes 599 storage units totaling 80,000 square feet of available storage unit space.

Unit sizes range from four-by-eight feet to 20-by-45 feet.

All units feature door alarms and coded access at entry gates.

Units are rented on a month-to-month basis, starting at $40 per month.

Ample, designated parking space for large RVs, trailers and boats is also available, as well as a retail strip mall with 8,000 square feet of tenant improvement space for lease.

An additional 2,000 square feet serves as the office for the self-storage business, as well as a residence for the on-site manager.

The project cost totaled $7.2 million, including the land, which was bought for $1.2 million by Dave and Sue Peachey, who have owned and operated several storage facilities in Tri-Cities during the past 33 years.

The Peachey family said it’s proud to use all local contractors for the project.

The new facility will help meet the storage needs of the growing Tri-Cities, as well as provide much sought-after retail space.

The self-storage facility and strip mall were designed by Brandon Wilm of Design West Architects of Kennewick.

G2 Construction of Kennewick was the general contractor.

For more information about renting storage space or leasing the available space, contact Sue Peachey at info@selfstorageatchapelhill.com, or visit 6615 Chapel Hill Blvd.; Facebook; SelfStorageatChapelHill.com.

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58

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

M HOTEL, From page 49 Miracle K. Management, or MKM Hotels, of Beaverton, Oregon, bought the Shilo and said it plans a full renovation of the hotel at 50 Comstock St. The company also bought the Shilo Inn at The Dalles at the same time and owns several other hotels in the region.

Hoyle expects rates for the Columbia River Best Western Plus to debut at $70 to $90 a night for a standard room, depending on the bed choice. Discounts will continue to be offered for government contractors.

Hoyle said the property must be completely finished before it receives the Best Western designation.

“A Best Western representative from Arizona comes up every two to three months to check on the progress. We can choose our own fixtures but they have to be

from a list of what Best Western offers. We ordered beige outlets and they had to be sent back because Best Western requires white,” he said.

This is the second time in the hotel’s lifespan that the property will have been part of the Best Western chain. After originally opening as a Holiday Inn, it was bought by Best Western, which built the tower addition. The hotel was sold to Clarion and then eventually became the M Hotel.

Construction began in fall 2017, when the first wings were shut down. The restaurant and lounge also were closed at that time to be used as a storage facility for the new furnishings.

“At one point, we had 100 bathtubs stacked in there,” Hoyle said.

Boasting a large indoor pool plus a

Real Estate & Construction water slide, the amenity will remain and receive a new liner and cement work. The pool’s liner was stained with chemicals during its bank-owned period and needs to be replaced. A cantina alongside the pool is also being remodeled for use as a kitchen to support on-site parties.

Owners also are looking into bringing back a former poolside game room currently used for wedding ceremonies. The room may be restocked with pool tables and arcade games. An outdoor venue will be added for weddings and parties that will sit right off the indoor pool.

Following the bank seizure and lengthy closure, the hotel fell away from its original prominence and made headlines in early 2017 when Richland police described a “heroin den” operating on the site.

“I’ve been working with Visit Tri-Cities

to show what the hotel used to look like (in 1976) and what we’re doing to re-introduce it now,” Hoyle said.

The hotel currently employs 18 people and is expected to triple that when it reopens.

A building permit for the current remodel of the windows and façade is valued at $62,000. The owners were unavailable to provide an estimated cost of interior upgrades, including furnishings. Work is expected to continue well into next year, with the final renovations targeted for completion at the end of 2019.

“It won’t be a Best Western until the whole facility is done,” Hoyle said.

M Hotel: 1515 George Washington Way; 509-946-4121; mhotelrichland.com.

SOUTHRIDGE, From page 49 “There’s nothing like this out there,” Garibay said.

Garibay expects the project to take nine months to complete and expects it to be done in late spring.

“We really like our timing for this project because of the location and because of all the positive things going on at Southridge: the Bob Olson Parkway, residential lots coming on line, Trios clearing bankruptcy. There’s lots of construction activity going on at and we’re right in heart of it,” Wade said.

The property’s site plan also includes two 6,000-square-foot building in front of the larger building.

Those two buildings could be potentially for sale, Wade said. “There’s been strong interest already,” he said.

“It’s great to have interest in a project before you even break ground,” Garibay said.

The lease space is listed at $15 a foot, plus triple net, or NNN, an agreement where the tenant agrees to pay all real estate taxes, building insurance and main-

tenance.

“It’s affordable. This will cater to established or start up business. It gives a starting business a huge leg up. It will give confidence to their clients. The building provides positive vibes and great synergy from that standpoint,” Garibay said.

Elite Construction and Development has been in business for 10 years and employs about 70.

Starting out, the company worked out of a 10-by-12 bedroom for three years and then in a warehouse for five years.

During all its construction projects along the way, the company took notes, Garibay said.

“We understand what it would be like to have an affordable space that instilled confidence when a customer walked in door.

Impressions matter. We always wanted to give the right impression.

“There’s a lot of thought that went into this. How it would be functional but aesthetically pleasing,” he said.

RDJ LLC, a partnership made up of Elite Construction and other partners, is the owner of the Southridge property.

uNEW HIRES • Dr. Fatima Saifuddin will provide outpatient primary care to adult patients at Trios Care Center at Vista Field, 521 N. Young St., Kennewick.

Saifuddin received a doctor of medicine and bachelor of surDr. Fatima gery from Sindh Saifuddin Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. She also has a master’s of public health from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She completed a threeyear internal medicine residency program at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida.

• MaryAnne Wuennecke has joined United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties as the marketing and communications manager. She has MaryAnne more than 25 Wuennecke years of experience as a communications professional in the Tri-Cities, including science communications at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, public involvement related to the state of Washington’s oversight of Hanford cleanup, and promoting tourism at Visit TriCities. She has a bachelor’s degree from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University.

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Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

Bright Now! Dental bringing two offices to the Tri-Cities

59

Kennewick clinic opening in October, Queensgate office in February

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Bright Now! Dental is bringing the first of its two Tri-City clinics to Kennewick by the end of October.

The practice is targeting an Oct. 29 opening date after representatives say they’ve fielded repeated requests to open in the region.

“We’ve been asked by a lot of our union clientele to go into the Tri-Cities for many, many years,” said Lindsay English, director of operations for Smile Brands Inc. A second Bright Now! office is planned in a leased space near Panera Bread in the Queensgate area of Richland.

It’s on track to open by February.

English said continued population growth and the Tri-Cities’ economic vibrancy attracted the company to the region.

Bright Now! Dental operates in 27 states, with 22 locations in Washington alone, the nearest in Spokane. It works with Smile Brands, which calls itself a “dental support organization,” to provide administrative support to dentists so that they can focus nearly exclusively on patient care.

Bright Now! is popular with union

members due to agreements already in place with many unions which allow patients to pay “very little or no out of pocket costs,” English said.

Much of the demand from potential patients has come from visitors to Bright Now! booths posted at union conventions, including one for members of the Service Employees International Union.

Patients of all ages may be treated at Bright Now!, including those with disabilities.

The company touts flexible hours for patients, including evening and Saturday appointments.

Bright Now! aims to be a full-service provider, without the need to refer out to other specialists. The office will bring in specialists, as needed, to treat patients.

English said Bright Now! is “very affordable and considered a preferred provider for most dental insurance companies.” A cash discount is available for those without insurance.

Six employees will be hired to start the Kennewick location, including one dentist and one hygienist. Additional workers may be added as the practice grows but it’s not expected to add an additional dentist for at least a few years, English said.

A similar start-up crew is expected for

Remodeling is underway at the Tri-Cities’ first Bright Now! Dental clinic next door to FedEx Office at 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite A-105 in Kennewick. The national dental chain intends to open a Richland clinic by February.

the Queensgate location.

Dr. Ashifa Nurani is the professional corporation owner of all Bright Now! locations in Washington. English said Nurani will help start up the Kennewick clinic while a permanent dentist is hired.

The dentist will be employed directly by Nurani.

The 3,000-square-foot space for Bright Now! Dental is being leased at 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite A-105, in Kennewick, just north of Target.

Bright Now! did not release the exact figure expected to remodel and equip either office, but Smile Brands Inc. chief

marketing officer Jody Martin said, “We’ve made significant investments to guarantee patient comfort and state-ofthe-art dentistry.”

Building permits filed with the city of Kennewick list commercial remodeling and other improvements for its new office at $470,000.

Bright Now! Dental in Kennewick has scheduled a soft opening for Oct. 26 and a ribbon-cutting is planned for Oct. 29.

Bright Now! Dental: 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite A-105, Kennewick; brightnow.com; 509-378-3530.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

VISTA 3A & 3B

6416 W. HOOD PLACE• KENNEWICK O’Brien Construction Co. completed two new warehouses this summer in the heart of the Vista Field Industrial Park at 6416 W.

Hood Place in Kennewick.

At 40,000 square feet and 38,500 square feet, the warehouses comprise the third phase of a warehousing project that Tom O’Brien of O’Brien Construction has been building in the industrial park.

The Kennewickbased company

designed the buildings and served as general contractor on the project in partnership with brothers, Bill and Jeff Dress, who co-own the Ranch & Home stores.

A couple of tenants who currently occupy warehouse space from phases one and two have moved to the new space, creating additional opportunities for new tenants throughout the facilities.

For leasing information, contact Tom O’Brien at 509-531-1845.

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Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

61

McDonald’s spending $126 million across state to improve restaurants

22 restaurants in Tri-City area included in work scope

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

McDonald’s and its franchisees recently announced plans to invest about $126 million in Washington state throughout 2018-19 on the construction and modernization of more than 170 restaurants.

Twenty-two restaurants in Benton and Franklin counties have been included in the work.

The improvements are aimed at transforming the customer experience inside and outside the restaurant.

In total, McDonald’s and franchisees are investing $6 billion to modernize most U.S. restaurants by 2020, including most restaurants in Washington state.

The improved restaurants will feature modernized dining rooms with globally and locally inspired décor, new furniture and refreshed exterior designs.

Customers will be greeted with digital self-order kiosks that make ordering and paying for a meal easier. Kiosks empower guests to browse the menu, find options and tailor their meal just the way they want. They can easily tap the screen to add or subtract salt, condiments and pickles on burgers or swap fries for a salad.

Remodeled counters will allow for new table service, offering guests a

uNEW HIRES • Edward S. Stock has joined Project Time and Cost in Richland as senior technical editor. Stock has 30 plus years in the nuclear energy field with a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering technoloEdward S. Stock gy. The privatelyheld firm is dedicated to increasing corporate value by conserving our clients’ time and money.

• Trios Health has hired two doctors who recently completed three-year medical resident programs.

Dr. Ivan Reyes-Rufo joined Trios Medical Group to work as a hospitalist at Trios Southridge Hospital at 3810 Plaza Way in Kennewick. He received his doctor of medicine from Touro Dr. Ivan Reyes-Rufo University of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo, California, and completed an internal medicine residency program at Trios Health.

He is board eligible to be certified in internal medicine.

Dr. Whitney Fix-Lanes will provide

chance to sit and relax while their food is being made.

Improvements also include bright and easy-to-read digital menu boards inside and at the drive-through.

The popularity of McDonald’s mobile ordering and pay options via its app mean the improvements include new designated parking spots for curbside pick-ups.

Look for expanded McCafé counters and larger display cases, too.

“This is an exciting time for McDonald’s and we’re proud to be investing nearly $126 million to provide a new experience, look and feel for guests at 170 McDonald’s locations across Washington state,” said Alan Finkelstein, a Washington state McDonald’s owneroperator. “We are also pleased that our modernization supports local architecture, engineering and construction jobs across the Evergreen State.”

In addition to the investments to modernize the restaurant, McDonald’s has also introduced McDelivery with Uber Eats at more than 5,000 U.S. restaurants.

McDonald’s USA LLC serves more than 25 million customers every day.

Recently the company committed $150 million over five years to extend benefits of its global Archways to Opportunity education program, announced goals to improve its packagoutpatient primary care at Trios Care Center at deBit at 320 W. 10th Ave., Suite 100, in Kennewick. She is the third graduating medical resident to be hired by Trios Health since the program’s inception in 2013.

She received a Dr. Whitney doctor of osteoFix-Lanes pathic medicine from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima. She completed undergraduate studies at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, receiving a bachelor of science in biology. She is board eligible to be certified in family medicine.

• Brant Baker has joined United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties as the director of finance.

He previously held the same position from 2001-06. He has also served as the chief financial officer for TriCities Chaplaincy and as the controlBrant Baker ler for Columbia Basin Health Association. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Washington State Society of CPAs. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pacific Lutheran University.

McDonald’s recently announced plans to invest $126 million in Washington state to modernize more than 170 restaurants, including 22 in Benton and Franklin counties. Improvements include new furniture, self-order kiosks and designated parking spots for curbside pick-ups.

ing and have recycling in all of its restaurants by 2025 and pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to McDonald’s restaurants and offices by 36 percent by 2030.

“McDonald’s has been a leader in Washington through its ongoing invest-

ment in restaurant construction, guest experience and its employees,” said Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington. “McDonald’s is helping Washingtonians reach their potential through flexible employment opportunities and access to tuition assistance.”

Planning a move?

If your company is planning a move, please let us know in advance so you don’t miss one issue.

Email information to info@tcjournal.biz.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TRUCKS & AUTO AUCTIONS 3135 RICKENBACKER DRIVE• PASCO

GENERAL CONTRACTOR Thank you subcontractors!

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The first public auto auction facility of its type in the Tri-Cities — Trucks & Auto Auctions — is now open at 3135 Rickenbacker Drive, off the Argent Road exit by Columbia Basin College and TriCities Airport in Pasco.

Its inaugural auction was Aug. 28.

Auctions will be held on the second and fourth Tuesday evening of every month, offering hundreds of cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and more.

The new auto auction facility comprises 8,000 square feet and is situated on four of Lic# CONCREW1065DW the 86 acres that make up the Port of Pasco’s Tri-Cities Airport Business Center.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 uNEW HIRES • N. Zach Ratkai is the new administrative and community services cirector for the city of Pasco. This position oversees information technology, facilities, recreation, municipal court and the city clerk.

Ratkai has been in local government for nearly 15 years, and N. Zach Ratkai most recently worked for the city of Richland as the economic development manager. Before that, he worked in a handful of communities in Colorado in land use planning, building inspection and disaster recovery management. He has a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Northern Colorado and a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado. He grew up in Denver, Colorado, and has lived in the Tri-Cities since 2016.

• The new executive director of the Tri-Cities Food Bank is Tim W. Sullivan. He replaces retiring Executive Director Bill Kitchen. Sullivan, 51, graduated from Pasco High School in 1985.

Prior to joining the food bank he had been serving as the Pasco School District’s director of Tim W. Sullivan employee services since 2013. He received his bachelor’s in African-American history and a master’s in education from Evergreen State College in Olympia. He has extensive management experience as a high school assistant principal in school districts in Washington and from 2000-13 as principal for several large high schools in Southern California. While in California, he worked to promote health and fitness among the youth of the Los Angeles School District.

The food bank, which serves more than 40,000 families a year, provides emergency food to the needy residents of Benton City, Kennewick, Finley, Richland and West Richland.

• Renée Adams has been hired as the first executive director of the Arts Center Task Force, whose mission is to build a performing arts center in the Tri-Cities.

Her career has spanned nearly Renée Adams every position in the performing arts, including arts manager, dance teacher and performer.

Adams is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the task force and serving as its spokesperson and ambassador. She also works with the board to develop and implement strategic plans as well as policies and proce-

dures. The Mid-Columbia Ballet brought Adams on staff in 2016 as director of programs and outreach. In 2017, she joined the arts task force as its administrator.

• Jason Plemons was hired as an associate wealth advisor for Petersen Hastings in Kennewick. He has a degree in Jason Plemons political science from Kansas State University and worked in Pullman for 16 years.

• Brandan Eckhardt has been hired as a marketing coordinator for Petersen Hastings in Kennewick. He is a Hermiston native and has a Brandon Eckhardt degree from Washington State University in strategic communication.

• Aubree Downing is Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels’ new community development specialist. She Aubree Downing most recently

worked for Snohomish County YMCA, and has a degree in nonprofit administration from Central Washington University.

• Chris Deeney joined the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as chief science and technology officer for the national security mission area. His responsibilities include providing senior leadership in strategy development for the national security Chris Deeney research portfolio and programs.

For the past five years, Deeney worked for National Security Technologies, or NSTec, as vice president for program integration and chief technology officer before moving to special assignment for NSTec’s parent organization. His responsibilities included three directorates — stockpile stewardship, global security and environmental management — and he executed his programs throughout five DOE nuclear facilities and multiple highlevel, hazardous waste facilities.

Previously, Deeney was the assistant deputy administrator for stockpile stewardship for the National Nuclear Security Administration. He managed the $1.7 billion nuclear stockpile stewardship program of three national laboratories and the Nevada National Security Site. He was also a senior manager responsible for numerous experiments related to nuclear weapons physics and pulse power technol-

ogies at Sandia National Laboratories. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He earned his doctorate in plasma physics from the Imperial College, United Kingdom.

• Tri-Cities Orthopaedics has hired Dr. Samuel J. Strebel as a general orthopedic and joint replacement specialist. He is fellowship-trained in adult joint reconstruction, or joint replacement, from Johns Hopkins University Medical Center.

He specializes in the treatment — Dr. Samuel J. surgical and nonStrebel surgical — of a variety of orthopaedic conditions and procedures, including general orthopaedics, anterior approach hip replacement, total and partial knee replacement, minimally invasive surgery and adult and pediatric fracture care.

He is bilingual in English and Spanish and sees patients in the Kennewick office at 6703 W. Rio Grande Ave. • Jessica Parnell joined Plateau Press Specialty Printing and Design with more than 20 years of graphic design experiJessica Parnell ence.

Real Estate is our business.

Relationships are our focus.

Commercial Real Estate Sales & Leasing • Professional Property Management

FOR LEASE

Gage Boulevard, Kennewick Professional office with extensive window line.

FOR SALE

Stevens Drive, Richland Multi-tenant office building investment.

Gayle Stack CCIM, CPM®

Designated Broker Commercial Realtor

509.308.7310

FOR SALE

Commercial Kitchen, Richland Fully licensed; includes walk-in cooler.

63

FOR LEASE

Burden Boulevard, Pasco Office convenient to Road 68 services.

1920 N. Pittsburgh St. Ste. A | Kennewick, WA 99336 | 509.735.4042 | www.EverStarRealty.com

64

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

KEENE/KENNEDY DEVELOPMENT 3220, 3310, 3320 KENNEDY ROAD• WEST RICHLAND

A former vacant lot at the intersection of Keene and Kennedy roads in West Richland is being transformed into a bustling corner for businesses.

The development across the street from the new Dutch Bros. Coffee will become the new home of

Budget Blinds (3310 Kennedy Road), Affordable RV Repair (3320 Kennedy Road), and later this spring, Bush Car Wash (3220 Kennedy Road).

Ground will be broken in October for Bush Car Wash, with a grand opening to coincide with the

opening of the new Duportail bridge.

The building in which Budget Blinds and Affordable RV Repair are housed comprise 8,400 square feet, with 3,000 square feet used by Budget Blinds.

Bush Car Wash’s new building will be about 5,000 square feet.

Budget Blinds’ space features an open-concept, one-story building that includes three offices, a storage bay, product showroom and drapery room.

Budget Blinds has been at 8318 W. Gage Blvd. for about 10 years.

Todd and Susan Schuermann own Budget Blinds and Jerry Myhres owns Affordable RV Repair.

Tim Bush of the Bush Car Wash chain bought the property, then split the lot into three pieces, one of which is designated for the car wash, the second he constructed the tenant spaces on, and the last is yet to be developed.

Some 25 new job opportunities are anticipated to come out of the multi-million dollar development.

Wave Design Group was the architect.

Knutzen Engineering provided civil engineering services for the project.

MH Construction of Kennewick was the general contractor for the building that’s home to Budget Blinds and Affordable RV.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR Thank you subcontractors!

We appreciate all of your commitment and hard work.

WA# MHCONCI907R7

Commercial Construction & Industrial

(509) 308-6489 www.mhconstructioninc.com Lic# CONCREW1065DW

We are proud to have supplied concrete foundation services for this project!

Congratulations on your new building! It was a pleasure

Thank you MH Construction and all the contractors for your hard work on our new building!

working with you. -Paul Civil • Structural

509.222.0959

509-735-8499

Kennewick, Washington Paid Advertising

5453 Ridgeline Dr., Ste. 120 • Kennewick, WA 99338

knutzenengineering.com

509-396-5151 • budgetblinds.com 3310 Kennedy Road • West Richland

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

65

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 Carlos O. and Silvia R. Garza, 3603 Verbena Court, Pasco.

Martin Villanueva, 167405 W. Apricot Road, Prosser.

RoMelle D. Stadley, 521 S. Irving Place, Kennewick.

Adrianna Garcia, 4202 Providence Ln, Pasco.

Miguel & Laura Castro, 720 W. Jan St., Pasco.

Melvin F. and Laurie D. Sherman, 513 S. Wilson St., Kennewick.

Sean and Leanne Brown, 9202 W. Gage Blvd., Kennewick.

Tanya M. Lowe, 62705 E. Grover PRNE, West Richland.

Timothy J. & Cindy L. Ford, 27208 E. Ruppert Road, Benton City.

Christiaan Ullom, 2513 Duportail St., Richland.

Ryan & Carissa Kriewald, 14907 S. Locust Lane, Kennewick.

Adan & Hilda Estrada, 936 W. Pearl St., Pasco.

Nicole Dixon, 2339 S. Buntin Loop, Kennewick.

Michelle A. Meza, 24 S. Morain St., Kennewick.

Dawn R. & Marvin J. Coleman, 21602 N. Missimer Road, Prosser.

Francisco Licon & Gabriela G. Murillo, 711 W.

Brown St., Pasco.

Douglas K. Bradshaw, 425 N. Columbia Drive, Kennewick.

Jesus M. Barragan Ayala, 3209 Luna Dr., Pasco.

Patrick & Kimberly Tyler, 205904 E. 13th Ave., Kennewick.

Heather Wallace, 1039 N. 59th Ave., West Richland.

Manuel A. Mendoza, 1513 W. Fifth Ave., Kennewick.

Lorna K. Davis, 955 W. Fifth Ave., Kennewick.

Nathan Pitts, 1507 McPherson Ave., Richland.

Gergis Okmnte & Sima Karam, 3131 W. Hood Ave., Kennewick.

Joshua D. & Hatti E. Longmeier, 4421 W. Nixon St., Pasco.

Valentin & Leticia Castillo, 1501 W. Fifth Ave., Kennewick.

Rachel Robinson, 9315 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

James W. Campbell, 3190 Lee Road, Prosser.

Oralea F. Abbott, 2513 Duportail St., Richland.

Adriel B. & Krystal J. O’Dell, 2372 Hood Ave., Richland.

Bobby D. & Oneda F. Watwood, 200802 E. Gamefarm Road, Kennewick.

Cory J. Raymen, 224005 E. Perkins Road, Kennewick.

Pedro & Maribel Vargas, 120 N. 10th Ave., Pasco.

Johanna S. Hoenig, 5719 Taft Drive, Pasco.

John A. Stock, 4608 Garfield St., Kennewick.

Jacy A. Roberts, 4244 Birch Road, Pasco.

Stacy M. Kastl, Po Box 4443, West Richland.

Javier & Adriana Cardenas, 5502 Johnson Drive, Pasco.

Ryan J. and Hollie A. Pawlak, 122 W. 14th Ave., Kennewick.

Justin L. & Jerica L. Jarrell, 807 Symons St., Richland.

Jason C. R. Austin, 1303 W. Court St., Pasco.

William F. & Kathleen M. Dennett, 3517 Road 84, Pasco.

Chad M. & Amanda T. Cullier, 3704 W. 19th Court, Kennewick.

Evangelene & Kimberly Pandelides, 8932 W. Quinault Ave., Kennewick.

Valerie A. & James A. Griffith, 7216 W. Yellowstone Ave., Kennewick.

Lurii Blackwell, 3121 W. Hood Ave., Kennewick.

Troy D. Lemerise, 6109 Dorchester Ct., Pasco.

Judy L. Bradley, 9211 Oliver Drive, Pasco.

James P. & Jessica E. Negron, 2409 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick.

CHAPTER 13 Beatrice A. Linder, 500 Jordan Lane, Richland.

Gerald D. & Jeannette S. Thomas, 702 W. Trinity PRNW, Benton City.

Christopher Volk, 530 Glenmoor, Moses Lake.

Ken Burkhardt, 1409 S. Date Place, Kennewick.

Guadalupe Zaragoza, 2555 Duportail St., Richland.

Maribel Sauceda, 5426 N. Road 68, Pasco.

Lindsey M. Burrus, 1739 S. Dayton Pl., Kennewick.

uTOP PROPERTIES

Top property values listed start at $500,000 and have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY 604 Williams, Richland, 6,047-square-foot, commercial building. Price: $550,000. Buyer: Go Cougs Properties. Seller: Gregory & Martha Oberg.

96303 E. Holly Road, Kennewick, 1.27 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $574,700. Buyer: Matthew MacDougall & Sierra Troxel. Seller: Matson Construction.

27504 E. Ruppert Road, Benton City, 2,062-square-foot, residential home on 2.38 acres.

Price: $550,000. Buyer: Jerry & Nicole Elliott.

Seller: Neil & Diane Smoot.

1320 Westgate Way, Richland, 3,398-square-foot, residential home. Price: $622,900. Buyer: Gregory & Rachelve Williams. Seller: Cartus Financial Corp.

6818 W. First Ave., Kennewick, 3,724-squarefoot, multi-unit apartment building. Price: $620,000.

Buyer: Nadia & Alexandre Nelson. Seller: Bruce Sorensen.

544 Ferrara Lane, Richland, 2,179-square-foot, residential home. Price: $626,200. Buyer: Courthland & Meegan Frauenkron. Seller: Prodigy Homes.

5298 S. Quincy Place, Kennewick, 3,101-square-foot, residential home. Price: $514,900. Buyer: Robyn Kelso & Gary Weatherly.

Seller: Douglas & Denise Christensen.

1384 Alla Vista St., Richland, 4,169-square-foot, residential home. Price: $767,000. Buyer: Christopher & Louise Herndobler Trustees. Seller: Sirva Relocation Credit.

490 Clermont Drive, Richland, 4,127-square-foot, residential home. Price: $585,000. Buyer: Andrew & Tammie Nicholas. Seller: Elizabeth Smith.

780 Troy Ave., West Richland, 1 lot of undeveloped land. Price: $554,700. Buyer: Robert & Lori Charvet. Seller: Alderbrook Investments.

Undetermined location, 20.79 acres of commercial land. Price: $2,725,000. Buyer: The United States of America. Seller: Battelle Memorial Institute.

2173 Sky Meadow Ave., Richland, 2,442-squarefoot, residential home. Price: $525,000. Buyer: Maamoon Tammaa & Ola Bawab. Seller: Don Pratt Construction.

8642 W. 12th Ave., Kennewick, 1 lot of undeveloped land. Price: $540,100. Buyer: Keith Mercer & Erin Murphy. Seller: Landmark Homes of Washington.

29905 S. 944 PRSE, Kennewick, 2,446-squarefoot, residential home on 2.49 acres. Price: $730,000. Buyer: Steve Culbert & Amber Roberts.

Seller: Marcus & Barbara Hall.

3368 Village Parkway, Richland, 1 lot of undeveloped land. Price: $512,700. Buyer: Lawrence & Leah Brown. Seller: P&R Construction.

8201 W. Fifth Ave., Kennewick, 2,988-squarefoot, residential home. Price: $515,000. Buyer: Shawn & Antoinette Fite. Seller: Elizabeth Lee. 2402 Lariat Lane, Richland, 1,874-square-foot, residential home on 0.69 acres. Price: $525,000.

Buyer: Michael & Aria Froehlich. Seller: Daniel & Candie Bruchman.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 66

66

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 65

$87,300 for commercial addition. Contractor: owner.

1231 Brentwood Ave., Richland, 5,356-squarefoot, residential home. Price: $650,000. Buyer: Sara Lary & Leonel Woolff. Seller: James & Debra Snyder.

456 Bradley Blvd., Unit 7, Richland, 3,380-square-foot, residential home. Price: $975,000. Buyer: Gary & Jeanette Adkins. Seller: Timothy & Kathryn Bush.

631 Big Sky Drive, Richland, 2,685-square-foot, residential home. Price: $520,000. Buyer: Robert & Molly King. Seller: Russ & Christine Cowen.

83306 E. Wallowa Road, Kennewick, 0.52 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $581,900. Buyer: Thomas & Julie O’Brien. Seller: Millenial Homes.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

FRANKLIN COUNTY

KENNEWICK

Nelson Court, Pasco, 7 lots of undeveloped land on 3.28 acres. Price: $630,000. Buyer: Story Family Five. Seller: Craig Nelson.

2138 N. Commercial Ave., Pasco, 7,300-squarefoot, commercial building on 1.49 acres. Price: $600,000. Buyer: Pasco Commercial Bugs. Seller: Whitten Family Investments.

1325 W. Court St., Pasco, 6,912-square-foot, commercial building on 0.8 acres. Price: $2,173,900. Buyer: Exchangeright Net Leased Portfolio 23. Seller: BTS Court AA. 4100 W. Riverhaven St., Pasco, 2,676-squarefoot, residential home. Price: $550,000. Buyer: Mark & Rachel Garrett. Seller: Wallace Pishel.

4612 Shoreline Court, Pasco, 1,082-square-foot, residential home. Price: $750,000. Buyer: Timothy & Kathryn Bush. Seller: Thomas & Salina Savage.

Edward Rose Millennials, 10251 Ridgeline Drive, $99,900 for commercial addition. Contractor: Carports of WA. Vista Field Industrial, 6416 W. Hood Place, $14,100 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Northwest Handling Systems.

Clearwater Professional Suites, 201 N. Edison St., $100,000 for commercial remodel, $8,900 for a heat pump/HVAC and $20,000 for plumbing.

Contractors: Cable Bridge Construction Services, Apollo Inc. and Sierra Plumbing.

Columbia Square Kennewick, 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $350,000 for commercial remodel, $60,000 for a heat pump/HVAC and $60,000 for plumbing. Contractors: Hardesty & Associates, Apollo Sheet Metal and Progressive Design Plumbing.

Clearwater Square Apts., 5031 W. Clearwater Ave., $31,500 for commercial remodel. Contractor: JK Brock.

Costco Wholesale, 8505 W. Gage Blvd., $40,000 for commercial remodel and $22,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Interstate Construction Group and Seattle Mechanical.

Robinson Enterprises, 7411 W. Clearwater Ave., $6,300 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Bruce Heating & Air. Clearwater Realty, 4207 W. Clearwater Ave., $15,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bath Builders.

Randall Scott, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., $26,000 for a sign. Contractor: Cascade Sign & Fabrication.

FC4, 2909 S. Quillan St., $122,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner.

The Living Room Community Church, 1409 S.

uBUILDING PERMITS

Building permit values have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON CITY Kent Parker, 1009 Dale Ave., Suite G, $10,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

BENTON COUNTY Finley School District, 37012 S. Finley Road, $13,500 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Fire Systems West.

Alexandria Nicole Cellars, 158422 Sonova Road,

BV AL Pasco 1, 5921 Road 60 #A, Pasco, $1,219,600 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Headwaters Construction Co. BV AL Pasco 1, 5921 Road 60 #B, Pasco, $1,219,600 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Headwaters Construction Co. Jay Petty, 4962 Selph Landing Road, $110,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: T&S Sales.

Franklin County Cemetery, 1221 Cemetery Road, $5,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: North Sky Communications.

Garfield St., $12,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: owner.

BMB Development, 3887 W. Seventh Ave., $1,300,000 for new multi-family construction, $80,000 for a heat pump/HVAC and $65,000 for plumbing. Contractors: BMB Development, Bruce Heating & Air and DDB. Kenmore Team, 9001 W. Tucannon Ave., $1,199,100 for new commercial construction, $60,000 for plumbing and $190,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Elite Construction & Development, Columbia Basin Plumbing and Total Energy Management.

Elite Investment Group, 9001 W. Tucannon Ave., $1,500,000 for new commercial construction, $500,000 for commercial addition, $41,900 for a heat pump/HVAC and $55,000 for plumbing.

Contractors: Elite Construction & Development, Total Energy Management and Columbia Basin Plumbing.

HAPO Community Credit Union, 7601 W. Clearwater Ave., $15,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

HAPO Community Credit Union, 4851 W. Hildebrand Blvd., $50,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Callaway Gardens, 5505 W. Skagit Court, $6,700 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

CIBB Properties, 5401 Ridgeline Drive, $127,000 for tenant improvements and $7,200 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Bagley Landscape Construction and Dayco Heating & Air. Brager Real Estate, 1013 N. Neel St., $40,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: All City Roofing.

Columbia Mall Partnership, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $123,600 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Peach Tree Roofing.

Dorsett Properties, 312 N. Delaware St., $7,300 for heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Maverik, 4306 W. Clearwater Ave., $1,100,000 for new commercial construction, $120,000 for a heat pump/HVAC and $80,000 for plumbing. Contractors: Utah Cameron Construction, Jacobs & Rhodes and B&M Plumbing & Heating.

Walmart, 2720 S. Quillan St., $8,500 for a sign.

Contractor: Ramsay Sign Co. Terry Moore, 4301 W. 27th Ave., $53,200 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Quality Structures.

Springview, 6340 W. Rio Grande Ave., $10,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: A-1 Illuminated.

Balraj Singh, 1001 N. Volland St., $12,500 for commercial construction. Contractor: Wine Country

Construction.

Grandridge Kennewick, 425 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $180,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Columbia River Plumbing & Mechanical.

Columbia Mall Partnership, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $92,000 for commercial remodel and $10,700 for mechanical. Contractor: Banlin Construction Co. and Edge Plumbing.

Eugene Arnberg, 5623 W. Clearwater Ave., $73,700 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Tri City Construction.

American National Red, 7202 W. Deschutes Ave., $8,600 for a Heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Bruce Heating & Air. Eldorado Properties, 4321 W. Hood Ave., $20,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: A&A Roofing Services.

NG Washington, 3014 W. Kennewick Ave., $7,300 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Welch Heating & A/C. Brager Real Estate, 1013 N. Neel St., $66,500 for commercial reroof. Contractor: All City Roofing.

Kennewick School District, 1011 W. 10th Ave., $75,000 for commercial construction. Contractor: Total Site Services.

FC4 LLC, 2909 S. Quillan St., $6,700,000 for new commercial construction, $135,000 for plumbing and $357,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: owner, Evergreen Plumbing and Bruce Heating & Air. Leslie Road Development, 12125 W. Clearwater Ave., $750,000 for new commercial construction, $40,000 for plumbing and $120,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Conner Construction Co., Evergreen Plumbing and Bruce Heating & Air. Community First Bank, 8131 W. Grandridge Blvd., $44,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: MH Construction.

Sandollar, 9 W. Kennewick Ave., $5,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Brothers Heating & Air. Key Bank of Washington, 23 W. Kennewick Ave., $63,500 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Palmer Roofing.

CV Apartments, 445 N. Volland St., $131,500 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing.

PASCO Port of Pasco, 3210 Swallow Ave., $71,400 for new commercial construction and $24,000 for a fire alarm system. Contractors: Wave Design Group and Cascade Fire Protection.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 67

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 66 Goodwill Industries, 3521 W. Court St., $12,100 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Moon Security.

Medprop, 3221 W. Court St., $6,500 for tenant improvements. Contractor: J and C Flooring.

Emanuel Baptist Church, 1116 N. 20th Ave., $10,000 for heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Pasco School District, 1616 W. Octave St., $7,500 for a fire alarm system. Contractor: Simplexgrinnell.

Port of Pasco, 1705 W. Argent Road, $63,000 for a fire alarm system. Contractor: Inland Fire Protection.

Wilbur-Ellis Co, 6221 Industrial Place, $67,500 for commercial construction. Contractor: WilburEllis Co. Quail Investments, 2325 W. Lewis St., $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: Cascade Sign & Fabrication.

Twin City Foods, 5405 Industrial Way, $13,200 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Franklin PUD, 3020 W. Ruby St., $10,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Jordan Mechanical Group.

St. Patrick Catholic School, 1016 N. 14th Ave., $6,300 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

KSU Investment, 3201 Travel Plaza Way, $558,600 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: to be determined.

Road 68 Retail, 4525 Road 68 C &D, $9,400 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Foreman Construction.

HAPO Community Credit Union, 2701 N. 20th Ave., $150,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Port of Pasco, 3125 Rickenbacker Drive, $20,000 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Ray Poland & Sons.

City of Pasco, 801 N. Commercial Ave., $2,548,600 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: to be deteremined.

Devin Oil Co, 2601 W. Court St., $13,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Raon, 6609 Burden Blvd., $15,000 for a sign.

Contractor: Quality Signs.

Maverik, 3501 Road 68, $62,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Urban Street Homes.

Marathon Building, 5024 Road 68, $17,100 for tenant improvements. Contractor: James Stapleton-French Development.

Quail Investments, 2325 W. Lewis St., $5,100 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Fire Protection Specialists.

Franklin PUD, 2103 N. Fourth Ave., $13,900 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Jordan Mechanical Group.

St. Patrick Catholic School, 1320 W. Henry St., $14,500 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Mark Vincent Construction.

Hogback Sandifur, 5710 Road 68, $11,000 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Total Property Services.

Walmart, 4820 Road 68, $5,000 for a sign.

Contractor: to be determined.

Lifequest Health, 4215 Convention Place, $32,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Haugen Consulting & Construction.

R&C 21, 2403 W. Court St., $5,000 for a sign.

Contractor: YESCO. Benton Franklin CAC, 720 W. Court St., $7,500 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Bruce Heating & Air. PROSSER Milne Fruit Production, 2200 SR 221, $55,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Puterbaugh Construction.

Love’s Travel Stop, 680 Wine Country Road, $45,000 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Hills Outdoor Specialist.

Gap Road Properties, 10 Merlot Drive, $2,768,500 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: unknown.

RICHLAND Richland Riverview, 1080 George Washington Way, $1,500,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: O’Brien Construction.

Matson Builders, 253 Reata Road, $1,592,900 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Maston Builders.

Port of Benton, 2261 Airport Way, $321,300 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner.

Richland Real Estate, 44 Goethals Drive, $7,900 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor:

Jacobs & Rhodes.

Richland Investments, 1515 George Washington Way, $50,000 for a heat pump/ HVAC. Contractor: Dayco Heating & Air. DBM Inc, 1838 Terminal Drive, $9,500 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center, 875 Swift Blvd., $48,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Bouten Construction Co. Richard & Amy Nall, 143 Reata Road, $536,900 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Quality Structures.

Washington Securities & Investments, 2290 Keene Road, $6,000 for grading. Contractor: Ttap Construction.

WSU Tri-Cities, 215 University Drive, $297,600 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Chervenell Construction.

Battelle Memorial Institute, 900 Battelle Blvd., $400,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Pahlisch Homes, 2101 Legacy Lane, $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: Pahlisch Homes.

Pahlisch Homes, 2102 Legacy Lane, $5,000 for a sign. Contractor: Pahlisch Homes.

Windsong Apartments, 850 Aaron Drive, $5,500 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: All Climate Services.

Fortunato, 1023 Badger Valley Way, $49,000 for mechanical. Contractor: Silverline Electric/ Plumbing.

CP Apartments, 1742 Jadwin Ave., $11,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

CP Apartments, 1762 Jadwin Ave., $11,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

CP Apartments, 1764 Jadwin Ave., $11,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

CP Apartments, 1766 Jadwin Ave., $11,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

In Slide Out, 3200 Duportail St., $3,000,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: W McKay Construction.

Richland School District, 1750 McMurray Ave., $41,800 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: Banlin Construction.

PKE, 3349 Kingsgate Way, $13,900 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Welch Heating & A/C. Dean Hill Family, 1950 Keene Road, Suite H, $6,500 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

Evergreen/Segal, 1981 Snyder St., $172,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bouten Construction.

Rieve Properties, 2524 Robertson Drive, $480,000 for new commercial construction.

Contractor: LCR Construction.

Ford Group, 1953 Fowler St., $5,600 for grading. Contractor: CRF Metal Works.

E6 L.P., 1895 Fowler St., $60,400 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Hanford House Hospitality, 802 George Washington Way, $370,000 for a heat pump/ HVAC. Contractor: Columbia River Plumbing & Mechanical.

WEST RICHLAND Berven Real Estate, 3880 W. Van Giesen St., $23,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

James Taylor Jr., 4397 Fallon Drive, $10,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner.

CB Group, 320 Belmont Blvd., $18,000 for a fire code permit. Contractor: Barnes.

uBUSINESS LICENSES KENNEWICK Spokane Security Systems, 1420 N. Pines Road, Spokane.

Bi-State Siding & Window, 1310 N. Road 36, Pasco.

SYSCO Food Service of Seattle, 22820 54th Ave. S., Kent.

Puget Sound Services, 244 Sydney Ave. N., North Bend.

Hardesty & Associates, 500 E. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach, California.

Inca Mexican Restaurant, 2301 N. Edison St. Seattle Mechanical, 899 W. Main St., Auburn.

JB Insulation, 445 Minnesota St., Suite 2500, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Refrigeration Unlimited, 6102 N. Ninth St., Suite 100, Tacoma.

Pilea Salon, 325 W. Kennewick Ave. Ace Electric, 1165 Columbia Park Trl, Richland.

Cameron Construction, 573 W. 3560th S., Salt Lake City, Utah.

Cannabiz Men’s Manicures & Pedicures, 501 Fern Court, West Richland.

Hatton Homes, 6119 W. Pearl St., Pasco.

Bliss, 3617 Plaza Way, Suite F. Off the Deep End, 509 W. Naches Ave., Selah.

Stanfield Homes, 225 Englewood Dr., Richland.

Stanley Enterprises, 6008 Washougal Lane, Pasco.

Jc De La Cruz Trucking, 2021 N. Road 33, Pasco.

Sigo Construction, 1788 Silver Court, Richland.

Titan Solutions, 3507 W. 36th Loop.

F.C. Concrete & Chico’s Construction, 223111 E. Bowles Road.

DTL Builders, 13077 S. 3600, Riverton, Utah.

Northwest Spine Center, 4309 W. 27th Ave. The Janson Industries, 1200 Garfield Ave. SW, Canton, Ohio.

Handicap Renovation Specialists, 308 First St., Benton City.

Club Demonstration Services, 8505-A W. Gage Blvd.

Justice Family Chiropractic, 7106 W. Hood Pl. JR Lawn Care, 1453 Carson St., Richland.

Edge Plumbing, 3403 E. Moody Road, Mead.

Columbia Basin Professional Cleaning, 406 S. Dennis Place.

Sunrise Midwifery, 2017 Benson Ave., Prosser.

Westfall Enterprizes, 2305 Franz Ct, Richland.

Impact! Tri-Cities, 5426 N. Road 68, Suite D250, Pasco.

Eastern Washington Metal Work, 4711 N. Dallas Road, West Richland.

Betancourt Law, 1901 George Washington Way, Richland.

Hutchbug Solutions, 7401 W. Hood Place.

Marco’s Landscaping, 824 S. Huntington St. River Country, 2112 S. Reed St. Republic Health Resources, 290 E. John Carpenter Fwy, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas.

Quality Auto Sales, 337 W. Columbia Drive.

Northwest Gift Baskets, 5404 Coolidge Court, Pasco.

Warm Beach Transport & Publishing, 403 N. Underwood St. Green2Go Pineapple Productions, 507 N. Everett St. J.E.T. General Contractors, 11201 Peter Anderson Road, Burlington.

67

Osborn Construction & Design, 6202 Wildcat Lane, Pasco.

Dogoson, 312 N. 20th Ave., Pasco.

Peace Within, 65 Paradise Drive, Burbank.

Coinstar Asset Holdings, 1800 114th Ave. SE, Bellevue.

Knockerball Tri-Cities, 4305 Juneau Ln, Pasco.

A&D Restorations, 921 N. Road 37, Pasco.

Delicious Crepes and Waffles, 5303 Hayes Lane, Pasco.

Provision-Capital, 1615 E. Chemical Drive.

A&D Fire Sprinklers, 10311 E. Montgomery Drive, Spokane Valley.

Neilsen Integrative Nutrition, 7106 W. Hood Pl. 2 Sons Plumbing, 28105 W. Clearwater Ave. Double J Construction, 1729 W. Octave St., Pasco.

Blackhawk Roofing and Construction, 4608 W. Hood Ave. Desert Springs Construction, 2008 S. Ione St. Groom Construction, 711 Capitol Way S., Olympia.

SMG – Tri-Cities, 4304 W. 24th Ave., Suite 200.

JP Construction, 5808 W. Marie St., Pasco.

Trust N Us, 140 Lakeside Ave., Seattle.

Doggy Style Hot Dogs, 11 S. Dayton St. Lockwood Mini Storage, 1703 S. Union St. Blueberry Bridal Boutique, 8901 W. Tucannon Ave. Concrete Tough, 800 E. Eighth Ave. The Doll House Salon and Spa, 1350 N. Louisiana St., Suite F. Prindle Floor Covering, 1899 Locust St., Umatilla, Oregon.

Team Car Care West, 2802 W. 10th Ave. Solgen Restoration, 5100 Elm Road, Pasco.

The Bearded Handyman, 4321 W. Hood Ave. Blue Pine Ventures, 2513 W. 35th Ave. Spectra Art Gallery, S Cascade St. S&J Flooring, 2204 N. Road 48, Pasco.

Peak Contractors, 270 Helm Drive, Pasco.

Built for This Athletics, 8382 W. Gage Blvd., Suite O. Purple Tree Insurance, 5502 S. Coulee Vista Drive.

Bel Air Construction, 4005 Desert Ct, Pasco.

Chuy’s Blue Sky Insulation, 15 S. Underwood St. RLS Custom Woodworking, 49205 S. Carrol PRSE.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 68

Big business amenities for your small business needs • Virtual office packages to fit a variety of needs • Seven conference rooms available to rent or for use by tenants • Executive office suites • Front desk receptionist to greet and direct clients • Phone/internet included • Janitorial/use of high-speed copier/scanner

(509) 222-2222 www.cches.com 1030 N. Center Parkway, Kennewick, Washington

68

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 67 King Metal Works, 7015 W. Eighth Ave. All Trucking, 202507 E. Bowles Road.

Antireliant, 1601 S. Lincoln St. Fairy Godmothers Grooming, 210 N. Perry St., Suite D. Netc Construction, 203106 E. Bowles Road.

Unique Pro Painting, 425 S. Olympia St. Scientific Specialties NW, 507 N. Everett St. Northwest Stucco & Stone, 1538 W. 33rd Ct. CR Solutions, 309 S. McKinley Place.

Dreadkarma, 4 N. Cascade St. Golden Skull Tattoo, 13 S. Cascade St. Ferbell Construction, 5014 Meadow View Drive, Pasco.

A Very Good Lawn Care, 504 Grader Court, Benton City.

Valhalla Construction, 2202 W. Seventh Ave. Boehler Cuts, 3311 W. Clearwater Ave., # D110.

Seattle Taps, 2307 W. 20th Ave. Complete Pest Prevention, 1837 SE Bliss Lane, College Place.

Allied Music Services, 508 E. 42nd Ave. Ramirez World Landscaping, 4008 Riverhill

Drive, Pasco.

Sign Dreamers of Tri-Cities, 76202 E. Reata Road.

Connections Consulting Ma, 164 Columbia Road, Burbank.

Bee Green Cleaning Service, 3703 W. Kennewick Ave. Solterra Massage, 7101 W. Hood Place.

Woody’s Bullpen Bar & Grill, 4128 W. Clearwater Ave. Gyro and Kabab Grill, 3600 W. Clearwater Ave. Coverstar of Utah, 476 E. 1750 N., Orem, Utah.

Sag Food International Market, 130 Vista Way. Five Element Care, 8033 W. Grandridge Blvd.

Jam Sealcoating, 1171 N. Maple St., Canby, Oregon.

Leon Trucking, 1811 W. 10th Ave. VSG Appliances Contractor, 2505 N. Commercial Ave., Suite C, Pasco.

Ado Products, 2905 NW Blvd., Plymouth, Minnesota.

Absolute Towing & Roadside, 12510 E. Sprague Ave., Suite 10, Spokane Valley.

Mid Columbia Martial Arts Academy, 932 Sirron Ave., Richland.

Bradshaw Sculpture, 517 N. Jean St. Netshieldplus, 100 N. Irving Place.

Adrian’s Pro Plumbing, 805 Catskill St., Richland.

PNW Construction Operations Development and Consulting, 1714 W. 39th Ave. PASCO Mexico Lindo, 1819 W. Court St. Red Lion Hotel Pasco, 2525 N. 20th Ave. Frank & Sons Auto Body, 1319 W. Ainsworth.

Broadway Truck Stop/Service, 2216 E. Hillsboro Road.

Crop Production Services, 1315 E. St Helens.

Valmont Northwest, 1619 E. Hillsboro Road.

Fat Boys Fleet Services, 210 S. Oregon Ave. Oak Harbor Freight Lines, 2300 E. Saint Helens St. Spring Green, 3305 King Ave. Mr. Car Auto Sales, 2304 W. Lewis St. Presentation Services, 2525 N. 20th Ave. Burden Park Professional Center, 6115 Burden Blvd.

SMK Tri-Cities, 1125 E. Hillsboro St.

Columbia Bank, 4725 N. Road 68.

Dollar and More, 917 W. Court St. Magills Place, 3214 Road 68.

PHA Hair Salon, 1832 W. Court St. R and R Trucking, 2525 W. Pearl ST. Russ Dean Family RV, 3201 W. Octave St. Angelica’s Daycare, 5405 Hayes Lane.

ECS Northwest, 4020 N. Swallow Ave. Andys North, 3321 W. Court St. Mendoza Auto Repair, 626 W. Lewis St. Another Brad Idea, 4803 Salvia Court.

Land Care Services, 715 N. Eighth Ave. Vecinos Business & Suites Park, 724 W. Lewis St. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, 4820 Road 68.

Mi Tiendita Mexicana 2, 106 N. 10th Ave. Alternative Living, 1707 N. 23rd Ave. Pick-A-Pop #1, 1949 N. Fourth Ave. Jack in the Box #8345, 3109 W. Court St. Creative Sayings, 4402 Providence Lane.

HRG Construction, 1921 N. Road 33.

Numerica Credit Union, 4820 N. Road 68.

Alma’s Daycare, 1211 N. Beech Ave. Northwest Spinal Rehab, 3825 W. Court St., Suite 4C. Jack of All Trades Master of None, 1330 W. Yakima St. Daily Cleaning, 1704 W. Marie St. New York Barber & Beauty Salon, 746 W. Court St., Suite B. Mattress Firm, 4502 Stearman Ave., Suite B. Julissa’s Meat Market, 1825 W. Court St. Rent A Center #04976, 2403 W. Court St. A Complete Janitorial Supply, 730 W. A St. The Chiki Baby, 518 W. Lewis St. Salon Monte Carlo, 411 W. Lewis St. The Kings Details, 1108 W. Sylvester St. Six States Distributors, 2251 N. Commercial Ave., Suite 107.

Professional Roofing, 908 W. Jan St. Blue Banner Truck Wash, 3604 N. Commercial.

Lawrence Enterprises, 8613 W. Richardson Road.

BDP Properties, 6303 Burden Blvd.

U Pull It Auto Parts, 802 S. Oregon Ave. Mobile Oil Change Services, 1924 N. Road 32.

Mackey Consultants, 3212 Sorento Court.

Fillmore Fitness, 5408 Dundas Lane.

The Shmeek Shop, 2730 W. Lewis St. Joint Associates Center for Training, 3330 W. Court St. LAC Auto Detailing, 1103 N. Cleveland St., Kennewick.

Solid Rock Custom Flooring, 412 N. Elm Ave. Weston Mountain Onions, 1801 N. Commercial Ave. Lupita’s Beauty and Barber School, 915 W. Court St. CJ Business Consulting, 6305 Chapel Hill Blvd.

Farm Express General Contractor, 106 N. 10th Ave. Rivers Edge Auto Repair, 821 S. 13th Lane.

Qwest Corporation, 723 N. Third.

L&M Cleaning Services, 6626 Chapel Hill Blvd.

Neelia Ice Cream, 481 Orchard Road.

Swadee Thai, 5109 N. Road 68, Suite B. Day Dreams Pottery Studio, 218 ½ N. Eighth Ave. Urban Doll Nails & Spa, 6311 Burden Blvd.

Extreme Landscaping, 1523 N. 17th Ave. Billares Plaza, 528-B W. Clark St. Agri-Service, 1620 E. James St. Premier Product Management, 3425 N. Capitol Ave. Prestige Painting, 425 N. Wehe Ave. Cup of Gold, 110 S. Fourth Ave. Healthly Modern Nutrition, 1212 N. 20th Ave. Vasa Investments, 5004 Monrovia Lane.

Fresh Fades Barber Shop, 203 N. Fourth Ave. Trinity Homes, 31 W. 19th Ave., Kennewick.

VL Flooring, 1743 S. Cascade St., Kennewick.

NW Transportation, 714 W. Bonnieville St. Tri-Cities Wu Ying Tao, 3330 W. Court St. Empire Construction, 913 W. Ag. Expressive Creations Art Studio, 3016 N. Road 56.

Sepp and Affiliates, 1525 N. 16th Ave. Quality Homes, 430 S. Sycamore Ave. Delarm Quality Construction, 2621 Road 56.

Sparkle Maids, 436 N. Hugo Ave. Fashion Shakira, 1011 W. Sylvester St. CTI Tri-Cities, 4308 Valencia Drive.

Ray’s Barbershop, 3330 W. Court St., Suite G. Hutchbug, 4705 Hilltop Drive.

DC 5 Star Trucking, 4013 W. Court St. Kelly’s Agape Family Care, 4806 Kalahari Dr. Rabideau-Hope Enterprises, 2316 N. Road 56.

Starmoney’z Taco City, 6600 Burden Blvd.

Zion Carpet, 4613 W. Court St.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 69

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 68 Tri-Cities Engineering, 7510 W. Deschutes Place, Kennewick.

Camacho Comix, 627 N. Sycamore Ave. Huver’s Mechanic, 301 W. Lewis St. Delicias on Wheels, 6403 Burden Blvd.

Reliable NW Painting Services, 5015 Catalonia Drive.

The Sushi House, 6617 Burden Blvd.

DR Services, 4015 Horizon Drive.

Westside Auto Works, 6413 W. Court St. Abbeauty, 419 Madrona Ave. Rock Solid Construction, 6626 Chapel Hill Blvd.

Pepper Preppers, 24104 E. Kennedy Road NE, Benton City.

RV There Yet, 6311 Enzian Falls Drive.

Superior Custom Concrete, 5620 W. Wernett Road.

Desert Ag Services, 5408 Koufax Lane.

Pelugueria las Chapartitas, 104 S. Oregon Ave. MMM Xpress, 832 N. Elm Ave. Dick Danger Productions, 6211 Mercedes Ct. Suarez Construction & Sons, 4816 Truman Ln. Flexible Happiness, 8414 Oliver Drive.

MJ’s Lawn Service, 808 N. 10th.

Rocio House Cleaning, 6108 Pimlico Drive.

Mommy Meltdown, 5913 Maryhill Lane.

O&E Concrete Services, 3612 W. Wernett Rd. Royal Homes, 4117 Dartmoor Lane.

T.N.C. Performance, 6015 Comiskey Drive.

All Stiles Contracting, 7803 Gallano Drive.

Apricot Construction and Design, 4106 W. Marie St. L&R Landscaping, 619 E. Ninth Place, Kennewick.

My Little House, 530 S. Cedar Ave. Real Property Management Tri-Cities, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave. Palm Bikinis, 7921 Sunset Lane.

JCJ Interiors, 517 Juniper St., Walla Walla.

Crete Brothers, 3719 W. 16th Pl, Kennewick.

365 Construction, 6503 Mission Ridge Drive.

Fitclub USP Vive Y Baila, 104 N. Fourth Ave. Naty’s Cleaning Service, 4814 Seville Drive.

Mobile Decals 509, 524 W. Clark St. SYSCO Food Service of Seattle, 22820 54th Ave. S., Kent.

Angel’s Toys, 3620 E. Lewis Place.

Transformative Touch, 1307 W. Court St. Jackson Contractor Group, 5800 Highway 93 S., Missoula, Montana.

Heppner Insurance Agency, 5120 Brandon Ct. Jeramy’s Lawn Care, 8315 Wenatchee Ct. RICHLAND Sight & Sound Services, 6201 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite D, Kennewick.

Associated Petroleum Products, 2551 Stevens Drive.

SYSCO Food Service of Seattle, 22820 54th Ave S., Kent.

Sefnco Communications, 4610 Tacoma Ave., Sumner.

Bishop Digital Design, 401 Ash Ave. Kcsherman, 2173 Van Giesen ST. Cannabiz Men’s Manicures & Pedicures, 501 Fern Court, West Richland.

Morris Custom Bicycles, 6127 Maureen Drive, Ferndale.

RV There Yet, 6311 Enzian Falls Drive, Pasco.

Skyline Security Management, 10642 Downey Ave., Suite 205, Downey, California.

Handicap Renovation Specialists, 308 First St., Benton City.

BCS Construction Services, 3905 Corral Creek PR, Benton City.

JR Lawn Care, 1453 Carson St. Business Events, 538 Meadow Hills Drive.

Cascade Sign and Apparel, 315 Wellsian Way. Burke Plumbing, 200 Sunset Vista Lane, Selah.

We Ice, 54 Applegate Lane, Burbank.

Painting Unlimited, 524 Fairfield Drive, Pasco.

Northwest Life & Equipment, 5075 SW River Road, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Bloom Energy, 1706 Lombard Ave., Everett.

Basin Video and Audio Services, 4718 Corvina St. Coinstar Asset Holdings, 1800 114th Ave. SE, Bellevue.

Taqueria Los Volcanes, 905 W. Court St., Pasco.

L&R Landscaping, 619 E. Ninth Place, Kennewick.

A&D Restorations, 921 N. Road 37, Pasco.

A&D Fire Sprinklers, 10311 E. Montgomery

Drive, Spokane Valley.

M&M Kettlecorn, 514 SW Newaukum Ave., Chehalis.

Scales NW, 5602 E. Desmet Ave., Spokane Valley.

2 Sons Plumbing, 28105 SE 449th St., Enumclaw.

Double J Construction, 1729 W. Octave St., Pasco.

Omega Sheet Metal HVAC, 4316 Campolina Lane, Pasco.

Three Flames Mongolian Grill, 1440 Jadwin Ave. Groom Construction, 711 Capitol Way S., Suite 204, Olympia.

Polliwogs, 246 Williams Blvd.

PFLAG Benton Franklin, 639 Cullum Ave. Flanagan Concessions, 500 Amon Park Drive.

The Original Pancake House, 424 Keene Rd. Above and Beyond Homes, 721 Redwood Ln. DS Concrete Construction, 3712 W. Wernett Road, Pasco.

McMurray Adult Family Home, 1924 McMurray Ave. Great Works Photography, 2985 Sawgrass Loop.

Jiffy Lube, 421 Williams Blvd.

Peak Contractors, 270 Helm Drive, Pasco.

Full Draw Film Tour, 1220 Birch Ave. Bel Air Construction, 4005 Desert Ct, Pasco.

Tri-City Sno-Balls, 6902 Third Ave., Kennewick.

Eastern Silk Massage, 1207 George Washington Way. RLS Custom Woodworking, 49205 S. Carrol PRSE, Kennewick.

NETC Construction, 203106 E. Bowles Road, Kennewick.

Stride Flooring, 5702 E. 449 PRNE, Benton City.

Surf-Haven, 470 Smoketree Place.

Preferred Industrial Electric, 8924 W. Bonnie Ave., Kennewick.

CR Solutions, 309 S. McKinley Place, Kennewick.

Noah’s Waffles, 402 Abbot St. JMFraming, 2021 Mahan Ave. Sign Dreamers of Tri-Cities, 76202 E. Reata Road, Kennewick.

VL Construction, 4612 W. Dradie St., Pasco.

ADO Products, 2905 NW Blvd., Plymouth, Minnesota.

Bradshaw Sculpture, 517 N. Jean St., Kennewick.

WEST RICHLAND Sunrise Quality Construction, 4210 Bond Lane, Pasco.

DMA Remodel & Construction, 1402 S. Gum St., Kennewick.

Dumac Business Systems, 19 Corporate Circle, East Syracuse, New York.

TL Services, 5500 Mulberry Ave. BN Cleaning, 1908 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick.

Track Utilities LLC of Delaware, 4809 N. Florida St., Spokane.

Eagle Utilities, 3713 W. Nixon St., Pasco.

SR1 Plastering and Stone, 9315 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

All Out Auto Mechanic, 43907 E. Red Mountain Road, Benton City.

Timken Motor & Crane Services, 4850 Moline St., Denver, Colorado.

Harris Excavation, 617 Riverside Drive.

At B and B Enterprises, 1003 Pattyton Lane, Richland.

First Pick Plumbing, 5213 Jackson Ln, Pasco.

CHG Youth Outreach, 2899 Crosswater Loop, Richland.

Lion Landscaping, 21230 S. 2021 PRSE, Kennewick.

Moles Painting, 35703 N. Flagstone Drive, Benton City.

Jump With Us, 2219 Carriage Ave., Richland.

West Best Construction, 202 Abbot St., Richland.

Apogee Construction, 6087 Beechwood St. Materials Testing & Inspection, 2791 S. Victory View Way, Boise, Idaho.

Affordable Auto and RV Repair, 3320 Kennedy Road, Building 1.

VS Custom, 2303 W. 49th Ave., Kennewick.

Continental Door Company, 8622 E. Rockwell Ave., Spokane.

Emerald Rainbow Lawncare, 1433 Florida Ave., Richland.

Stanley Enterprises, 6008 Washougal Lane, Pasco.

Northwest Concrete, 2313 W. Sylvester St., Pasco.

Sawby Construction, 12904 S. Grandview

Lane, Kennewick.

Anytime Aprons, 4107 E. Lattin Road.

The Beveled Angle, 6151 Teak Lane.

The Pampered Pooch, 612 Estes, Yakima.

Barnes Drilling, 4310 Hatwai Road, Lewiston, Idaho.

Full Measure VR, 3504 Emerald Downs Land, Pasco.

Blind Ambitions, 12 Ivy Lane, Pasco.

JPJ Flooring, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

Superior Construction, 33 Valleyview Circle, Richland.

DD&K Investment Group, 8511 Wembley Drive, Pasco.

Alder Holdings, 450 N. 1500 W., Orem, Utah.

Tri City Construction, 2917 W. 19th Ave., Kennewick.

Blind Systems, 109 S. Scott St., Spokane.

Jag Masonry, 3122 S. Caballo Rd, Kennewick.

Thundervolt Electrical Contractor, 1304 Rochefontaine Court, Richland.

Umbrella Construction, 2223 Carriage Ave., Richland.

Ekconstruction, 4012 S. Quincy Place, Kennewick.

Indulge, 219 Ontario Court, Richland.

Drywall Solutions, 615 N. Second Ave., Pasco.

V&R Construction, 6318 Thistledown Drive, Pasco.

Brother’s Property Management Services, 601 Bombing Range Road.

The Bag Lady, 11124 Valley Ave. E., Puyallup.

VNR Construction, 65505 NPR Solar Road, Benton City.

R-2 Construction of Eastern Washington, 18621 S. Haney Road, Kennewick.

Tony’s Carpet, 60 Jake Road, Pasco.

Pulido & Sons, 23404 N. 110 PRNE, Benton City.

VSG Appliances Contractor, 2505 N. Commercial Ave., Suite C, Pasco.

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.

Ronald W. Bradley, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 3.

Northwest Grinding Co., unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 3.

Ochoa LLC, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 3.

Paper Street Brewing Company, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Jose P. Contreras, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Hugo Garcia, unpaid Department of Labor and

69

Industries taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Alondra L. Larios Villalobos Sr., unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Zulay Cruz, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Rosario Martinez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Rachel J. Erickson, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Blanca Y Fuentes Guizar, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Victor I. Chavez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Troy D. Lemerise, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Scott W. Steckline, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Carlos H. Orantes, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Thomas J. Emery, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Cipriana C. Gutierrez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Saul D. Ortega, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Miguel A. Maldonado, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Grissel Aguirre, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 7.

Chivas Custom Homes, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 9.

D&S Concrete, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 9.

Proficiency Construction, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Aug. 9.

Vladimir I. Gadomskiy, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Aug. 9.

Carniceria Los Toreros #2, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 10.

Erica M. Garcia, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 13.

Fidel C. Valencia, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 13.

Atlas Carriers, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 13.

Vizcarra, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Aug. 14.

Advantage Evolution, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Aug. 14.

Jamie Valdez, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Aug. 20.

La Pinata Payaso, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 20.

Jose O. Rumbo, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Aug. 20.

Miguel C. Rojas, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 20.

D&S Concrete, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 24.

Subway #64737, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 27.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 70

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 69

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Alpha Auto Glass, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 27.

VR Automotive, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Carefree Meats, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Aug. 29.

American Legion Kenn-Pasco, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Oscar Manzo, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Erminio M. Avalos, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Esteban Torres, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Andrew J. Ralston, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Jose G. Lopez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Arianna I. Fuentes Lares, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Angela L. Olguin, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Gloria O. Jimenez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Alex A. Clara, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Saul Guzman, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Javier Maldonado, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Ramiro Jimenez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

David J. Wilson, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Aug. 29.

Jesus A. Rebolledo, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Aug. 30.

APPROVED

uLiquor Licenses

Information provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS R.F. McDougall’s, 1705 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. License type: spirits/beer/wine/restaurant lounge; catering; kegs to go. Application type: added/change of class.

Kendall Farms, 57705-B W. Old Inland Empire Highway, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of location.

Hampton Inn Kennewick at Southridge, 3715 Plaza Way, Kennewick. License type: beer/wine specialty shop. Application type: new.

Chukar Cherry Company, 320 Wine Country Road, Prosser. License type: grocery store beer/ wine; direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington; spirits retailer. Application type: added/change of class.

APPROVED Dagupan Grill, 3911 W. 27th Ave., Suite 109, Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: new.

Airfield Estates Winery, 560 Merlot Drive, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of corporate officer.

Three Flames Mongolian Grill, 1440 Jadwin Ave., Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: new.

Aquilini Brands USA, 23205 E. Limestone Road, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new.

Rocket Mart, 4105 Kennedy Road, West Richland. License type: grocery store beer/wine.

Application type: assumption.

Henry Earl Estates, 318 Wellhouse Loop, Suite D, Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of location.

The Lodge at Columbia Point, 530 Columbia Point Drive, Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: added/change of class.

DISCONTINUED Paper Street Alehouse, 701 The Parkway, Suite A, Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington.

Pasco Grocery Outlet, 5710 Road 68, Suite 103, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington. Application type: new.

Recusant Cellars, 2113 Cottonwood Drive, Pasco. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new.

uMARIJUANA Licenses

Information provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

BENTON COUNTY APPROVED Washington State Cannabis Company, 2415 Robertson Drive, Richland. License type: marijuana retailer. Application type: change of corporate officer.

Wamsterdam Farms, 43001 N. Griffin Road, Suite C, Grandview. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: added fees.

ubusiness UPDATES NEW BUSINESS Gyro and Kabab Grill has opened at 3600 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite C in Kennewick. The restaurant sells middle eastern cuisine including gyros, falafel, shawarma, shish kebabs and more. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Contact: 509-221-1859, Facebook.

Infuze Medical has opened at 2459 S. Union Place, Suite 130 in Kennewick. The clinic offers wellness therapy, weight management, age management and optimal health treatments.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Contact: 509-579-0031, infuzemedical.me, Facebook.

Heart & Soul Fitness Studio has opened at 3801 S. Zintel Way, Suite B110 in Kennewick.

The studio offers women’s only fitness classes, including yoga, Zumba, bootcamps, interval training and more. Hours vary by class times.

Contact: 509-460-1025, heartandsoulfitnessstudio.com, Facebook.

RE-OPENING The Mint Salon has re-opened at 303 Casey Ave., Suite C in Richland. The salon offers haircuts for men, women and children as well as color, hair treatments and waxing. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Contact: 509-539-9988, Facebook.

MOVED Gale-Rew Construction has moved to 1616 Terminal Drive in Richland. Contact: 509-9435171, galerew.com, Facebook.

Tri-Cities Phone & PC Repair has moved to 610 The Parkway in Richland. Contact: 509-3921881, tcphonerepair.com, Facebook.

ADDITIONAL LOCATION Dollar Tree has opened at 5710 Road 68, Suite 101 in Pasco. Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sunday. Contact: dollartree.com.

Grocery Outlet has opened at 5710 Road 68, Suite 103 in Pasco. Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Sunday. Contact: 509-4924564, groceryoutlet.com, Facebook.

Planet Fitness has opened a new location at 5710 Road 68, Suite 102 in Pasco. Contact: 509-545-5555, planetfitness.com, Facebook.

Subway has opened a new location at 515 Ninth St. in Benton City. Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Contact: 509-316-9940, subway. com.

CLOSED Shrub Steppe Smokehouse Brewery at 2000 Logston Blvd., Suite 122 in Richland has closed.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • September 2018

AROUND TOWN

The first-ever RiverFest on Sept. 8 featured more than 50 exhibits and activities for the whole family at the east end of Columbia Park in Kennewick. Regional and community organizations came together to provide interactive, informational, fun kid-friendly displays and activities promoting the benefits of the Columbia and Snake river system: power, navigation, irrigation, recreation and tourism. (Courtesy Charlie Reyes, Franklin PUD)

Gesa Credit Union presented the Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, College Place, Moses Lake and Finley school districts and Delta High School with a combined donation of $100,000 on Aug. 14. Gesa’s President and CEO Don Miller awarded the checks at a celebration at the Reach museum in Richland. For every purchase made with one of Gesa’s co-branded Visa debit cards, Gesa makes a donation to the school district associated with the card. The money raised is distributed by school district and is used to support student programs and activities. (Courtesy Gesa)

The Kennewick School District presented First Presbyterian Church with the 2018 Outstanding Community Partner Award in recognition of its longtime dedication and service to Westgate Elementary on Aug. 27. Volunteers from the church helped as homework helpers, at Math Nights and on field trips.

They have donated more than 1,000 books to students and, for four years, were able to give every student at Westgate a backpack filled with school supplies to start the school year. In addition, they organize a cereal drive every year to ensure students have breakfast during winter break. In 10 years, they’ve collected more than 10,000 boxes of cereal. (Courtesy Kennewick School District)

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The Richland branch of Ferguson Enterprises held a day of service to support the Tri-Cities Food Bank. Teams collected 15,000 pounds of food and placed it on 12 custom-made pallet crates for delivery. Each team decorated their crates and competed with each other. Unex Couriers delivered the food to the nonprofit’s storage facility. (Courtesy Tri-Cities Food Bank)

Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame’s 2013 inductee, Mike Hogue, and Auctioneer Alesha Russell speak during the 12th annual Legends Gala on Aug. 10 at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser. Dick and Wendy Shaw, prominent growers in the region, were inducted into the 2018 Hall of Fame. The event attracted nearly 250 Washington wine enthusiasts and industry guests and raised more than $104,000 from sponsors, donors and partners. The money will be used to support the center’s wine and culinary programs and services that promote and support the Washington wine and agriculture industry. (Photo courtesy Tyra Bleek Photography)

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Owner Dan Pelfrey delivered free barbecue food in August to teachers and staff at Kennewick High School to show appreciation for them as the school year started back up. The Kennewick Dickey’s restaurant delivered pulled pork sandwiches, chips and tea for every teacher and staff member at the school. Pictured from left are Kennewick High staffers Michael Betz, John Lakey, Kyla Goble and Eddie Ramirez. (Courtesy Dickey’s Barbecue Pit)

Email Around Town photo submissions with captions to editor@tcjournal.biz

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ September 2018