Journal of Business - May 2021

CELEBRATING

May 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 5

YEARS

Homegrown delivery service a force to be reckoned with

By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

Environment

Broetje Family Trust brings a green touch to its east Pasco quarters Page A13

Transportation

RV demand surges and Covid-19 is only part of the reason Page A25

Real Estate & Construction

Construction starts in June on luxe project in downtown Kennewick Page B1

NOTEWORTHY “There’s no reason,

honestly, we can’t go

anywhere in the state.”

-Shannon Aiello,

audiologist and owner of Columbia Basin Hearing Center

Page A23

Tracy LaMarr sketched out the plan to launch a restaurant delivery service on a plane homebound from a business conference in March 2020, as restaurants and other companies were shutting down to stem coronavirus infections.

The Tri-City restaurant owner knew she’d face fierce competition from bigger, well-known companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub, but she wasn’t daunted.

She cringed each time she paid the monthly fees to the delivery services and knew to weather the pandemic she would need to reduce expenses like these.

“I couldn’t survive with them taking 30% of all my sales,” she said, explaining she was paying up to $10,000 a month for their services.

So she and her husband, Steve, owners of Chicken Shack restaurants in West Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, decided to start their own delivery service.

After all, why not add a third business to their mix?

Tracy is an entrepreneur who launched her own construction firm with partners at age 25.

The couple also own StoneCrest Builders, a custom homebuilding company, which marks its 22nd year in business this year.

From Dudes to Force The food-delivery business began as Tri-Cities Food Dudes but had to change its name when a business in the Midwest alerted the LaMarrs that the name was trademarked.

“We loved the Dudes, but in hindsight it worked out better. We initially did this for the Chicken Shack but we saw how much local restaurants needed us and how much we could help.

It became more like a mission. We’re fighting for our locals and hopefully we would be a force to be reckoned with,” Tracy said.

And so Tri-Cities Food Force launched in March 2021, just in time to celebrate the first anniversary of the food-delivery business in April.

More than 50 Tri-City restaurants have joined the Force to date.

Niki Young, co-owner of Pacific Pasta & Grill in Richland, has been using the delivery service uFOOD FORCE, Page A27

Photo by Wendy Culverwell Carmen Villarma stands at the site she and her husband, Dennis Pavlina, are developing, The Resort at Hansen Park, a $50 million mixed-use development that will bring three types of rental homes and new commercial space to the Columbia Center Boulevard corridor. Site work began in early 2021. The first homes will be available for rent by late 2021.

Vancouver developer raises its local profile with $50M project at Hansen Park

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A Vancouver developer with a history of building apartments in the Tri-Cities is raising its profile with an ambitious project in the Columbia Center Boulevard corridor.

Carmen Villarma and her husband, Dennis Pavlina, have begun work on The Resort at Hansen Park, a $50 million mixeduse development that will offer three different types of rental homes plus 21,000 square feet of office space on a nine-acre parcel at the corner of West 10th Avenue and Columbia Center in Kennewick.

Pavlina is the general contractor.

The couple, who have been active in

the Tri-Cities for years, secured the nineacre site in December, according to county property records, though they have been working on the development plan for longer than that.

They’ve built and managed apartments, including the complex north of the Hansen Park project, and have a new office building in construction off Clearwater Avenue.

They’re wrapping up a two-story office at 30 S. Louisiana St., off West Clearwater Avenue, to house Tri-City branch offices for Villarma’s two property management businesses, The Management Group and Association Management Services. The building will debut in July.

uHANSEN PARK, Page A4

Local companies work to make national impact on hiring process

By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

Two Tri-City-based organizations have teamed up with a westside nonprofit to spearhead an effort to upend the job search process on a nationwide scale – and for a chance to win up to $2 million.

On the line isn’t just the pot of prize money but also what leaders of the companies hope will be a framework that connects workers to family-wage jobs through a training model that can be replicated across the country.

The team, called Dignity of Work, is made up of Career Path Services, a workforce development and human services nonprofit with offices in Kennewick; WholeStory, a

technology platform that provides insight into diverse life experiences to power better hiring, based in the Tri-Cities; and ANEW, an apprenticeship-focused nonprofit working to improve access and advancement of women in nontraditional careers, based in Renton.

The team already has advanced in the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition.

The 30-month contest is designed to incentivize teams to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of rapid training and reskilling solutions for those most vulnerable to employment loss in the United States.

The Dignity of Work team already won a $100,000 purse after beating 117 other uXPRIZE, Page A33

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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PBS puts spotlight on Richland’s global miracle worker

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A Richland nonprofit that works medical magic in the world’s most remote, undeveloped and dangerous corners is enjoying a moment in the spotlight, courtesy public television.

SIGN Fracture Care International, helmed by founder Dr. Lewis Zirkle and CEO Jeanne Dillner, is featured in “Trauma Healers,” a documentary that explores the need for trauma care in developing countries to prevent routine injuries from turning deadly or disabling.

It was distributed to more than 170 PBS stations May 4. Local viewers can tune into Northwest Public Broadcasting or NWPB at 2 p.m. May 23; 7 p.m. May 24; and 10 p.m. May 27.

Producers Patricia Fraley of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Robert Parish, of Portland, Oregon, made the documentary to draw attention to the “silent epidemic” of life-altering broken legs and other traumatic orthopedic injuries in “low resource countries.”

It’s more important now than ever with the world’s attention focused on fighting Covid-19.

The program promises to highlight what many Tri-Citians already know: SIGN Fracture Care International is a local feel-good story for its work to bring equipment and training to orthopedic surgeons in developing countries.

Zirkle, a well-known orthopedic surgeon, is fond of sharing the SIGN story with his neighbors. But its impact has drawn wide attention. In 2018, he was honored by a fellow Richlander, thenSecretary of Defense James Mattis, with the department’s Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Zirkle, Mattis noted at the time, was spending his retirement traveling to developing countries and war zones – places that had been dealt a rough hand.

The mission Zirkle established SIGN in 1999 with a singular mission to return injured people to healthy, productive lives, regardless of where they live. A broken leg is a painful nuisance in First World countries but can be a disabling, even life-ending, catastrophe in a developing one.

The mission is straightforward but carrying it out is more complicated. SIGN marries training, manufacturing and a vast global network of surgeons, all linked by a common database, to bring modern surgical techniques to doctors who often operate in primitive conditions.

SIGN designs and manufactures the implants and tools so surgeons can operate in places where electricity is unavailable or unreliable. X-ray equipment, for example, may not be available to guide doctors to injuries.

When he learned that First World tech didn’t work in Third World settings, Zirkle created devices that would in his garage shop.

SIGN’s work is funded chiefly by donations and some cost reimbursements.

Its annual budget is about $6.7 million, with support from Kiwanis Clubs, Bat-

Courtesy SIGN Fracture Care International Martha, center in red skirt, was an 11-year-old orphan when her leg was broken in Tanzania. She was treated by surgeons trained by SIGN Fracture Care International, allowing her to continue her schooling. She graduated from high school in December and dreams of becoming a doctor, or maybe an engineer.

telle, Kadlec Regional Medical Center and its longstanding partnership with the Seattle Foundation.

SIGN and its expanding network of surgeons operate in 54 – going on 55 – countries and have treated 350,000 patients injured in accidents and war. Its surgeons must report cases to SIGN’s database to get resupplied with implants.

Zirkle reads and comments on them.

The database offers Dillner and Zirkle insights into procedures and into the growing number of surgeons and even nurses who are being trained in SIGN procedures by the people SIGN trained.

“I see new names in there all the time,” Zirkle said.

Pre-pandemic, the duo traveled three to four times a year, stopping in three countries per trip. It was a grueling schedule that’s now on hold. Unable to visit their sites in person, SIGN watches its impact spread through training from afar.

They embrace the process.

“To be a successful leader, you have to back off,” Zirkle said. “That’s what we’re doing.”

Changing lives Naturally, Dillner and Zirkle have their favorite tales, which they shared via a recent Zoom interview.

For Dillner, who serves as SIGN’s chief executive officer, it is the pair of Marthas, one young and one old, whose lives could have been upended or even ended when they broke their legs in separate incidents.

The young Martha was 11 and an orphan living with her grandmother in Tanzania when her leg was broken when she was overrun in a street. In the normal course of events, she might have been taken to a local clinic and put in traction.

It was unlikely she would have ever returned to school.

But young Martha had the good fortune to be taken to a SIGN pediatric hospital, where the surgeon successfully operated on her the next day.

Dillner befriended the girl, sponsoring her through boarding school. She graduated from high school in December, the first in her family. She’s alternating be-

tween becoming a doctor or an engineer.

The other Martha was over 60. She had been crawling around her farm attempting to maintain animals after a leg injury went untreated for years. The local SIGNtrained surgeon went to her village.

“Both Marthas were doing well – elderly Martha in her hut and little Martha in school getting straight A’s,” Dillner said.

Zirkle’s favorite stories tend to focus on the successes of “his” surgeons, like one operating in Myanmar, roiled now by revolution. Zirkle encouraged him to avoid politics and keep operating.

His favorite photo is a young man who broke his leg in a motorcycle crash there.

He was the sole support for an extended family, including grandparents. He fully healed with SIGN’s implant, and Zirkle has his smiling photo to prove it.

He is proud too of the goodwill SIGN engenders. He recalls visiting a SIGN hospital in Afghanistan for a training session. The whole room was filled with surgeons who had traveled through battle zones to get there.

Men sitting on a fence at the entrance stared as the team walked in.

“Afghan men can really glare at you.

They would glare at us.”

The nurse introduced them to an old man who had broken both legs falling in a well. Zirkle thought surgeons could help and insisted he be treated. The procedure was a success.

The next time they walked past the row of waiting men, they smiled.

“It’s a big way to win friends for the United States and personally,” he said.

Returning the injured to good health benefits not just the individual but the people who depend on them. Dillner and Zirkle estimate the people treated by SIGN and its network of surgeons translates to 2 million people who were not left destitute because their provider was disabled.

“We’re helping real people who deserve an equal opportunity for healing.

We’re providing these surgeons the tools they need to stay in their country and provide these services,” Dillner said.

SIGN is known for its “long bone” work, but it has expanded its mission into pediatric injuries, pelvic injuries and spinal injuries.

Pelvic and spinal injuries are more difficult to treat than broken legs. But the consequences of going without treatment are even more dire. A badly healed pelvic injury can leave the patient permanently unable to walk and bed-ridden.

It has launched a fellowship program to train surgeons in pelvic fractures. It pays a stipend so participants are not forced to go into private practice. The program in

uSIGN, Page A10

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– UPCOMING – JUNE Manufacturing Focus magazine: Agriculture + Viticulture JULY Banking & Investments | Tourism

– CORRECTIONS – • We mistakenly copied the first several paragraphs of the story about the new airline coming to Pasco into the story about the new development at Osprey Pointe on page A1 in our April issue. The stories are correct online and at issuu.com/tricomp. We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused.

• Ben Matson, co-owner of Matson Development, was misidentified in an April story on page A27 about a new ministorage project being built by his company, Matson Development.

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, a publication of TriComp Inc., is published monthly and delivered at no charge to identifiable businesses in Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Kennewick, Prosser and Benton City. Subscriptions are $27.10 per year, including tax, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of TriComp Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed in guest columns and by advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, other columnists or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by staff, columnists or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

The Resort at Hansen Park is their largest project and is one of the largest private mixed-used developments in the TriCities at the start of the 2021 construction season.

The first phase began earlier this year with site work. That included leveling the property, installing utilities and fire hydrants and roads.

When the “horizontal” construction work wraps up, they’ll begin with vertical.

The first buildings will begin this summer along the northern border with Hansen Park, the city-owned park that fronts Columbia Center Boulevard.

Villarma and Pavlina bought the right to develop a second phase on a neighboring property.

The second phase will add more residential units, a clubhouse and retail space along Columbia Center Boulevard, between West 10th Avenue and the existing Hansen Park. The site plan is under review by the city.

In the current first phase, Villarma and Pavlina plan to build 225 units of rental housing in three distinct sections all clustered around a communal clubhouse and office buildings.

A series of triplexes will line the outer edge, a traditional garden-style complex will occupy the center and an urban-style block apartment building will border the existing retail center at the nearby intersection.

Trilogy, the triplexes, will be built first, starting at the farthest property line and working south to 10th Avenue. It will have nine three-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom ones with rents ranging from $1,725 to $2,100 per month.

The larger units are townhouses with lofts. It should be ready for renters by the end of the year, weather permitting.

Park Avenue Apartments, a five-building garden-style project will offer 108 units in three-story walk-up buildings. It

uBUSINESS BRIEFS HAAP awards $79K to Hispanic achievers

HAPO Credit Union awarded $79,000 in scholarships to 18 local high school seniors through its Hispanic Academic Achievers Program.

will be at the center of the site, near the clubhouse.

The layout is traditional, but with oversized decks in a nod to the desire for more outdoor space during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Club 10 is the final piece of the residential picture.

The four-story building will be built around a center courtyard, with 60 units on three floors above a secured garage, all served by an elevator. The site slopes downward to the north, so the top floors promise to offer views toward the Columbia River.

The couple will own Photo by Wendy Culverwell the property and manage The first buildings at Resort at Hansen Park will it through Villarma’s busi- be along the northern border with Hansen Park, nesses. the city-owned park that fronts Columbia Center “Dennis and I never sell Boulevard in Kennewick. anything,” she said.

Nevertheless, each of the projects is on ing jurisdictions process building requests a distinct plot to ease future sales if condi- efficiently, she said. And the long building season means construction workers tions change.

The last piece of The Resort puzzle is can get more done in two months in the office space, currently offered for sale Tri-Cities than two months in wet, cold western Washington. through SVN | Retter & Co. Real Estate.

The first phase of The Resort at HanVillarma said she’s been tracking the Tri-City market since she first built apart- sen Park is funded with a combination of ments in the west Kennewick neighbor- equity and convertible construction loans. hood in 2006. There have been economic Villarma and Pavlina don’t take on outbumps, but nothing like the wild swings side investors, but they do turn to comthat buffet western Washington and the mercial lenders to finance construction.

HAPO Credit Union is the lender for Portland area where she is based. the Trilogy housing, a first for Villarma The Tri-City economy tends to escape and Pavlina, who wanted a local partner the big swings thanks to the stabilizing on the project. influence of federal spending at the HanWashington Federal is the lender for ford site and Pacific Northwest National the Park Avenue Apartments and clubLaboratory, as well as the expansive inhouse. fluence of agriculture and food processBoth loans convert to traditional morting. gages once the project is complete and “It’s pretty darned stable,” she said.

She’s a fan too of the favorable build- leased to renters.

Go to ResortHP.com for more informaing climate, both municipal and physical.

The city of Kennewick and neighbor- tion.

The program recognized 5,553 students in grades 4-12 who earned 3.0 or higher grade-point averages.

Tri-Cities Cancer Center plants community garden

The Tri-Cities Cancer Center is seeking donations and volunteers to tend to its community garden, part of

its cancer-crushing mission to treat and feed local patients.

The new garden, planted May 12, is filled with herbs, vegetables and wildflowers for patients.

Volunteer by emailing aracellyg@ tccancer.org.

Donate at http://bit.ly/TCCCGardenDonations.

We rock.

Shop the full line of Haworth FERN chairs in store or online at www.brutzmans.com

We roll.

2501 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Richland, Washington

509-735-0300 www.brutzmans.com

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Columbia Generating Station begins 25th refueling

More than 1,400 skilled, temporary workers were hired locally and from across the country to support refueling and maintenance projects during Columbia Generating Station’s refueling outage.

The added workers join Energy Northwest’s regular workforce of about 1,000 employees.

In all, regular and temporary employees will complete more than 10,000 work tasks.

Energy Northwest operators disconnected the station from the Northwest power grid to begin its 25th refueling outage on May 8.

The biennial refueling is an opportunity to add fresh nuclear fuel to Columbia’s reactor core, as well as perform maintenance projects that can be accomplished only when the reactor is offline.

The Northwest’s only nuclear power plant, which produced nearly 18 million megawatt-hours of electricity during the last two years, is scheduled to be offline for no more than 40 days.

Energy Northwest and the Bonneville Power Administration time the plant’s biennial refueling to coincide with spring snowmelt and runoff that maximizes power output from the region’s hydroelectric dams and minimizes the impact of taking Columbia offline.

During the refueling, crews will replace 260 of the 764 nuclear fuel assemblies in Columbia’s reactor core.

Every two years, fuel that has been in the reactor core for six years is removed and placed in Columbia’s used fuel pool, which removes residual heat.

Columbia, located 10 miles north of Richland, will restart and reconnect to the Northwest power grid in mid-June.

Art in the Park is on, Water Follies, River of Fire are canceled

Tri-Citians will have one consolation after officials canceled the two staples of the summer calendar: Water Follies and July 4th River of Fire Fireworks.

Art in the Park will mark its 70th year with an in-person outdoor event July 23-24 at Richland’s Howard Amon Park.

The event, canceled in 2020 because of Covid-19, will follow safety protocols.

Concessions will be offered by local Scouts, Pet Over Population Prevention, Columbia Basin Veterans Center, The Arc of Tri-Cities and the Richland Rod and Gun Club.

STCU is the premier sponsor.

While Art in the Park proceeds, TriCities Water Follies, which features the Columbia Cup hydroplane races and HAPO Air Show, as well as the July 4th River of Fire fireworks display, were canceled over concerns about managing safety concerns in large gatherings.

JA Business Hall of Fame virtual event is set for May 26 Junior Achievement of Washington honors its 2021 Business Hall of Fame Laureates with a virtual event May 26.

Tickets are $50 and include programs as well as discussion sessions based on JA’s emphasis on financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship.

Go to jawashington.org/bhoftickets.

Benton PUD offers Covid-19 relief

Benton PUD is offering a one-time credit of up to $200 for residential customers whose bills are past due because of Covid-19 hardships.

To qualify, owners must demonstrate a loss of income due to the pandemic or increased expenses and have a total annual income at or below 225% of the federal poverty level.

The program is open to residential and

non-residential customers who had pastdue balances on April 30.

A credit is also available for lowincome customers who had no past due balance. The program ends July 31 or when funding is depleted.

Credits are calculated at up to 50% of the past-due balance.

Go to BentonPUD.org.

Senate confirms new Washington health secretary

Dr. Umair A. Shah was confirmed as Washington state Secretary of Health by the state senate following a March 10 hearing.

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Shah to lead the department and the state’s Covid-19

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response in December. He has led the statewide vaccination strategy with a focus on equitable access at the mass vaccination sites, including one at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Kennewick.

Shah earned a bachelor’s in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and his medical degree from the University of Toledo Health Science Center. He completed his internal medicine residency, primary care/general medicine fellowship and master’s in public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

He also completed an international health policy internship at World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland, according to his online biography.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

DATEBOOK MAY 18

• Mid-Columbia Public Relations Society of America, “Covid’s Impact on Higher Education,” a virtual seminar: Noon-1 p.m. Details at prsamidcolumbia.org/events-news.

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php.

• Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx.

MAY 18-20

• PNNL, Actinide Separations Conference: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Details at pnnl.gov/events.

MAY 19

• Junior Achievement, “Lunch with Leaders,” featuring Cynethia Sims, Bechtel controller manager, Hanford vitrification plant: 1-1:30 p.m. Details at jawashington.org/ lunch-with-leaders.

• Humanities Washington, “What’s age got to do with it?”: 11 a.m., virtual meeting. Details at humanities.org/event.

MAY 20

• PNNL, “Energy Storage as an Equity Asset Roundtable” virtual webinar: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Details at pnnl.gov/events.

• Columbia Basin Badger Club, “Lessons from the pandemic”: Noon-1:15 p.m. via Zoom. Details at: cbbc.clubexpress.com.

• Washington Policy Center, “Addressing Climate Change: Governments or Markets”: 6-7:30 p.m. virtual event. Details at washingtonpolicy.org/events.

• Fourth annual Communities in Schools of Benton-Franklin Spring Into Action Virtual Fundraiser: 8 p.m. Register at app.mobilecause.com/form/ rTElrA?vid=in0d5.

• Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx.

MAY 26

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest.

Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

• Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, “State of Health Care Virtual Luncheon”: 1 p.m. Details at web.tricityregionalchamber.com/ events.

• Junior Achievement, “Lunch with Leaders,” featuring Felice Presti, Bechtel deputy project manager, Hanford vitrification plant: 1-1:30 p.m. Details at jawashington.org/lunch-withleaders.

• Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame virtual event: 12:30-7 p.m. Tickets available at jawashington.org/bhoftickets.

• Humanities Washington, “Heating Up: The Ethics of Climate Change”: 7 p.m., virtual event. Details at humanities.org/ event.

MAY 25

MAY 27

MAY 21

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php.

• Port of Pasco Commission: 10:30 a.m. Details at portofpasco. org/about-us/port-commission.

• Port of Kennewick Commission: 2 p.m. Details at portofkennewick.org/commissionmeetings.

MAY 28

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest.

Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

JUNE 1

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php.

• Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx.

JUNE 4

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest.

Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

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

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

OPINION

Let’s rethink natural gas bans

OUR VIEW Top Property list aims to keep pace with swelling home prices, sales

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Sharp readers may have noticed that our Top Properties listing in the Records section in our April issue started off at a higher threshold – $700,000 and up.

Our baseline for inclusion used to be properties selling for $500,000 and up, but we noticed this list kept getting longer each month in tandem with houses quickly selling and prices on the rise in Benton and Franklin counties.

The availability of homes at affordable price points has been a problem locally for the past several years, and it’s apparent in Tri-City Association of Realtors’ monthly home sales data.

The average home sold price in March 2021 was $376,600, according to TCAR’s most recent housing report. A year ago in March, the average sold price was $333,900.

In 2020, the annual average sold price was $346,000.

In 2019, the annual average was $321,000.

Homebuyers seeking affordable homes know how tight the real estate market is around the Tri-Cities, with houses on the market an average of 29 days in March.

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The National Association of Realtors recently highlighted a report analyzing 40.1 million home sales from 2011-20. Home sellers, on average, saw a 13.4% above estimated market value when selling in May, the highest of any other month. May, June and July typically garner the best prices for homes. And with high demand continuing, this trend is sure to continue.

Our Top Property section regularly includes a handful of multimilliondollar commercial property sales, with large swaths of Franklin County agricultural land frequently landing on the list.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, recently noted that considerable capital is being pumped into the economy in second quarter, with consumers eager to tap into a year’s worth of savings and unspent stimulus funds.

“Economic expansion and the jobs recovery will lead to rises in occupancy across all commercial real estate property types,” he said.

This spring marks the first time we’ve adjusted our Top Properties threshold, but it’s anyone guess if it’ll be our last.

Sometimes being first isn’t good.

Such is the case with legislation making Washington the only state to ban natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings.

Thankfully, the legislators ended their session in Olympia and left that bad idea on the table. However, it is destined to come back next year.

The issue is complicated and expensive. Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled it as part of a package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It included a phase out of natural gas for space and water heating by forbidding the use of fossil fuels for heating and hot water in new buildings by 2030.

The ban trickled down from Seattle.

Last month, the city adopted a partial gas ban with an update to its building code that says all new commercial and multifamily buildings four stories or taller must use electricity for heating.

Among the questions not answered is new construction in smaller buildings and in houses, although it didn’t restrict the use of gas for cooking.

The natural gas ban was initiated by Berkeley city leaders in 2019. The idea spread to other California cities and more recently to Seattle. But opponents also were at work, and they helped to pass laws in four states — Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee — that restrict the ability of cities to ban gas hookups, Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News, reported.

Switching from natural gas to electricity is complicated and will impact everyone. Natural gas dependency is

widespread.

With reference to Washington, Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomroy, told KIRO’s Dori Monson: “It’s a big industry beDon C. Brunell cause it provides Business analyst warmth for GUEST COLUMN about 1.2 million residences, there’s 107,000 commercial buildings and 3,500 industrial buildings that are working under clean, efficient, reliable natural gas. Plus, it fires about 11% of our electricity grid. So you’re talking a very large labor force.”

For example, a third of Clark Public Utilities electricity is generated at the River Road natural gas-fired generating plant. Clark PUD provides power to more than 203,000 customers in Vancouver and throughout Clark County.

Puget Sound Energy is our state’s largest energy utility providing electric power to more than one million customers. PSE also generates one-third of its electricity at nine natural gas-fired power plants.

Nationally, natural gas produced the most electricity in 2020 – more than 40%. Renewables, including hydro, wind and solar, accounted for 20%.

At present, electricity is affordable in Washington but adding new generating capacity is expensive and will drive power rates higher.

uBRUNELL, Page A8

Badger Club takes on the tough issues to drive civil discourse

U.S. leads in emissions reduction, clean energy innovation

Was there really a federal internment camp in Benton County during the second World War? (No, but there was a federal prison camp near Horn Rapids. It housed federal prisoners who were sent to harvest the orchards and other crops left when residents were ordered out to make room for the Manhattan Project.)

Would a state carbon tax system help pay for post-pandemic recovery and cut Washington’s carbon footprint? (The Columbia Basin Badgers Club tackled this topic. Our speakers agreed that cutting carbon emissions is a worthy goal but disagree about how to get there.)

Should we pass a constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court?

(This Badger on this topic included a great civics lesson from a researcher who studies democracies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.)

The Biden Administration’s approach to energy is the last thing America needs – especially when the United States is already leading the world in emissions reductions.

President Biden is forcing our nation to adopt global standards the rest of the world is already failing to meet while eliminating opportunities for hard-working Americans.

Sadly, his proposals come at a time when we are still reeling from the economic, societal and psychological impacts of the global pandemic.

Burdening our energy sector with federal regulations that inhibit private investment and tying the hands of industries already working toward clean energy development allows China, India and other countries to advance while hindering our economy.

Rather than holding us to inflex-

Can we just learn to get along? (If you like data, you would love the presentation by Seth Masket, director of the Center on AmerKirk Williamson ican Politics at Columbia Basin the University of Badger Club Denver.)

In early May, GUEST COLUMN the Badger forum asked if the Tri-Cities area is “growing as if the future matters?” (Our speakers agreed on one point, “we could do better.”)

Every month, the Columbia Basin Badgers Club tackles the topics that drive civic discourse. uWILLIAMSON, Page A11

SHARE-SQUARE Submit a letter to the editor at tcjournal.biz.com

ible standards or undermining American energy security by replacing Canadian energy destined for refineries along the Gulf Coast Dan Newhouse with imports Congressman from unreliable GUEST COLUMN OPEC countries, the U.S. should continue to promote economic development and environmental benefits that come along with American energy generation.

There is a better way to expand jobs, reduce emissions and keep the United States competitive in the world marketuNEWHOUSE, Page A8

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NEWHOUSE, From page A7 place.

In Central Washington, we are blessed to have a diverse mix of renewable energy sources in the region – from hydropower and nuclear energy to natural gas, biomass, wind, and solar power – making our district a great example of a sustainable, “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.

Together, these sources power the homes and businesses of Washingtonians and contribute to our nation’s overall energy independence.

Additionally, much of the research and innovation happening right here is leading the way for the rest of the country and even the world.

Not only are the scientists and

researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland working to advance grid storage capabilities to ensure we can harness the power of renewable energy resources, they are also utilizing the Lower Snake River dams to improve energy efficiency and – importantly – fish passage rates for future and existing dam infrastructure.

I have always strongly supported responsible efforts to promote clean energy, energy infrastructure, and research to strengthen our electric grid and energy storage capabilities.

To that end, I’ve led efforts in the House to prohibit any federal funds from being used to remove federal dams – a vital component of water infrastructure in the west – and directed the Environmental Protection Agency to recognize

hydropower as a renewable, carbonneutral energy source.

I introduced the Pacific Northwest Pumped Storage Hydropower Development Act to improve permitting for pumped storage hydroelectric projects, create jobs in Central Washington, and protect tribal interests. The bill aims to increase renewable energy production and storage in the Pacific Northwest while paving the way for a pumped storage project in the 4th Congressional District.

I believe that it is important to build upon our country’s leadership in reducing carbon emissions. We must do so in a way that supports American families and workers. We should continue to promote an all-of-the-above energy solution that provides reliable, affordable power for

businesses and households throughout the country.

Congress has bipartisan, responsible solutions to protect our environment and conserve our resources.

It’s baffling that the Biden Administration would ignore these efforts and continue to pursue a partisan route that will expand the reach of the government, burden families and businesses that are working to recover from a global pandemic, threaten American energy security and give even more power to hostile regimes like China and Russia.

To maintain access to affordable energy for families, homes and businesses in the Pacific Northwest, it is essential that the U.S. continue to develop a safe, domestic, all-of-the-above energy strategy.

Renewable energy is a critical part of that strategy, and I will continue to work to support clean energy development. I have no doubt that the United States will continue to lead the world in energy innovation. I am proud to represent Central Washington where we do just that. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, represents Washington’s Fourth Congressional District in Congress.

BRUNELL, From page A7 In 2019, Washington had the fourthlowest average electricity retail prices in the nation, while 56% of the state's households used electricity as their primary home heating fuel. Getting to total electricity dependency is difficult especially if the Lower Snake River dams are breached.

While natural gas electrical generation is important, natural gas availability is vital to some smaller communities. For example, the cities of Enumclaw and Ellensburg are the natural gas providers to nearly 9,000 customers.

Renewable natural gas from farms, garbage landfills and waste conversion systems feed gas into the current pipeline system. That gas would otherwise dissipate in the atmosphere.

Finally, switching to cleaner burning natural gas has improved our air quality.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its new Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. It shows that annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the natural gas distribution system declined 69% from 1990 to 2019. During this same period natural gas utility companies added more than 788,000 miles of pipeline to serve 21 million more customers.

Thankfully, lawmakers acted wisely and set the issue aside. There is just too much at stake to act hastily. Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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SIGN, From page A3 Ethiopia trains a local surgeon and one from another country, with the expectation they will go home and train their peers.

It is also getting involved in spinal surgery.

“It’s going to be a big step for us. We tend to think big,” he said.

How does SIGN do it?

To understand how Zirkle and Dillner built a global network of orthopedic expertise, start at the start: Vietnam.

Zirkle, who studied medicine at Duke University, was drafted and sent to Vietnam shortly after he completed the first year of his orthopedic residency.

He was part of a team that rescued American and Vietnamese soldiers and

Vietnamese civilians. The American casualties were sent to Japan or the U.S. for treatment. The civilians went to an ill-equipped local hospital.

“It wasn’t any good,” Zirkle recalled.

Opportunity knocked when a top commander was injured and treated in Zirkle’s hospital. The generals – William Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams Jr. – visited daily.

“I had to stand there each day like an idiot with a smile,” Zirkle said. He decided to get something out of the situation and asked the pair for permission to treat civilians in his own hospital. Zirkle got his “yes” within the week.

The work was popular with his medical colleagues. Implants and equipment were sent through back channels. Nurses and anesthesiologists gave their time.

“That was so rewarding to do that,” he recalled.

Zirkle returned home and set up a thriving medical practice in Richland, where he was the go-to doctor for routine broken bones and orthopedic injuries.

But he was drawn by the horrors he had seen in the war. He established SIGN in 1999 in Richland.

Today, it employs 44 where its team develops instruments that can be used in unsophisticated settings. He’s never regretted making Richland the center of the global network instead of a community with direct overseas flights.

“We have Alaska Airlines here. That’s enough,” he said.

Dillner said Richland is a good fit for recruiting employees. Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

and Washington State University have helped out.

Students in WSU’s new medical school have signed on to assist with research in the engineering department.

“We never have problems finding people who have a commitment to the mission,” she said.

And they never run out of people who need help.

“There are so many patients in developing countries that need help,” Zirkle said.

Go to traumahealers.org for more information about the documentary and the producers’ work to highlight the need to prevent and heal orthopedic injuries in “low resource” countries.

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Longtime leader steers Chaplaincy through transition to new executive director

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A well-known Tri-City business leader is at the helm of Chaplaincy Health Care while the hospice agency seeks a leader to succeed Gary Castillo.

Bob Rosselli, who retired from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2002 and from the Columbia Basin College Foundation Board in 2014, stepped in as interim executive director after Castillo resigned effective June 1 after 13 years with the nonprofit.

Castillo is credited with expanding Chaplaincy’s role in supporting patients and families facing terminal illnesses. He launched the behavioral health initiative, its Repeat Boutique thrift stores and palliative care for ill patients who are not eligible for hospice services.

“He has a tremendous amount of heart for the mission of the organization,” Rosselli said of Castillo. “He brought us our behavioral health mission. He brought us our thrift store mission.”

Castillo’s resignation came four months after financial pressures forced Chaplaincy to close its palliative care program, which he had started seven years earlier.

The Covid-19 pandemic affected its feepaying services that helped support palWILLIAMSON, From page A7 Coming up next, at noon on May 20, the Badger Club will explore “Lessons from the Pandemic” with a vaccine researcher from Fred Hutch and a public health expert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. April Kaur Randhawa is a staff scientist in the Fred Hutchison Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division and the associate director of lab science for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and Coronavirus Prevention Network Statistical Centers.

Her research focuses on vaccine evaluation and the immune response to globally

liative care, which unlike hospice care is not covered

by Medicare.

As an organization, Chaplaincy Health served 1,131 hospice patients and their Bob Rosselli families in 2020, 437 palliative care patients and 279 children and teens through its Cork’s Place grief program.

Chaplaincy depends on Medicare reimbursements, thrift store sales and donations to support its roughly $12 million budget, based on 2018 financial reports posted to Guidestar.com.

It serves an average of 160 hospice patients at a time, providing physical, social and spiritual support to people facing the end of their lives. It operates a hospice facility and serves patients in their homes.

Rosselli said the pandemic has curtailed many activities, including its reliance on volunteers. For safety reasons, volunteers are sidelined, though he hopes to bring them back when the pandemic eventually passes.

Too, it is more difficult to serve patients

in their homes. Many are unwilling to admit nonrelatives, leading to a decline in the number of people it services. Rosselli expects the fear to drop as more people are vaccinated.

“We still take the precautions. But with people getting vaccinated, they’re opening up the doors,” he said.

Rosselli joined the Chaplaincy board about six years ago. He had previously volunteered as a youth coach and on numerous boards, even serving as interim president of Columbia Industries, which serves people with development disabilities and barriers to housing and employment.

Hospice, he said, offered an opportunity to learn about an aspect of the community he did not know.

He brings a deep well of management expertise and a familiarity with the organization to the interim role.

Chaplaincy has advertised the executive director position. As of April 24, it had received seven applications – one local and six from out of state. The board will make the final decision. No time frame has been set.

In the interim, Rosselli is doing what he has done in his prior management roles: He is managing.

He doesn’t have specific marching orders beyond maintaining the organization until a permanent director comes on.

“But I’m looking for areas to make organizational improvements to make our services more effective,” he said. He’s evaluating staffing levels to ensure it can comfortably support its mission and reviewing the training procedures to ensure newly hired staff are properly prepared for the role.

Rosselli came to the Tri-Cities in the 1980s with an master’s in business administration from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business.

He worked as an administrator for DOE’s Richland Operations office, rising to deputy manager for business services by 1999.

He enjoyed retirement for six years before rejoining the workforce in 2008 to lead the Columbia Basin College Foundation.

He said he is learned to enjoy retirement pursuits, including spending time with his wife, cooking, reading, hiking and bicycling.

He’s enjoying the interim position but said he’s eager to turn the reins over to the next director.

important infectious diseases such as HIV, Ebola, TB, and more recently, Covid-19.

Her counterpart from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is Mary Huynh, senior public health advisor assigned to the Washington State Department of Health, Office of Immunization and Child Profile, since 2015. She serves as an office deputy director supporting Covid-19 vaccine distribution and response in Washington.

Since the Columbia Basin Badger Club was founded in 2008, the club has presented more than 150 civil public conversations about nearly every possible issue, from the Lower Snake River dams

to Kennewick’s Vista Field airport, and from the Middle East to the impeachment of a president.

The pandemic forced a switch to virtual forums presented on Zoom but the work continues.

There is much more to come. Go to columbiabasinbadgers.com to find out. Kirk Williamson was a founding member of the Badger Club and currently serves as its president.

Borrell singles out Townsquare as a top digital performer.

“Townsquare’s digital ventures are fast-growing and impressive.”

- Gordon Borrell CEO, Borrell Associates

“Townsquare should no longer be thought of as [only a] radio company..”

Read entire article at bit.ly/townsquare-borrell Let Townsquare perform for you to expand your brand and market share!

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

ENVIRONMENT

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Broetje Family Trust brings a green touch to its east Pasco quarters

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

The Broetje Family Trust is turning to solar power and water recycling to help fulfill its stewardship mission as it builds a new home for its three nonprofits in east Pasco.

The $4.2 million, 30,000-square-foot building will house the trust’s three nonprofits, including a leadership academy with room for up to 60 students when it opens this summer.

The trust, established by orchardists Cheryl and Ralph Broetje to carry out the philanthropic work of their sprawling fruit empire, is building its new headquarters at 3713 E. A St. at Tierra Vida, the mixed-used community Broetje initiated in 2006 on a barren, vacant lot.

Chervenell Construction of Kennewick is the general contractor for the office project, which began in 2019.

Today, the Tierra Vida neighborhood is a lively mix of single- and multi-family homes with about 1,500 residents and a thriving community focus.

It has become the focus of the Broetjes’ nonprofit arm since the couple sold their fruit business, one of the largest apple producers in Washington, in late 2018 to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

The sale included Broetje orchards and its housing and marketing arms, but not Tierra Vida or the family trust.

The office will house about 32 employees of the three ministries – The Center for Sharing, Jubilee Foundation and the Vista Hermosa Foundation.

The Center for Sharing hosts a daily devotional service in its chapel. Vista Hermosa Foundation runs a leadership academy serving 10 students. It will have room to expand to 60 in the coming years, thanks to the classrooms, counseling areas and other education-friendly amenities.

Roger Bairstow, executive director, said the Broetje Family Trust’s longtime architect is accustomed to adapting to

AT A GLANCE The Broetje Family Trust's 93.6-kilowatt solar panels can produce 110,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to offset 40% of its power usage, equal to removing eight cars from the road, or growing 23,000 tree seedlings for a decade. meet its unique needs. The headquarters project, which is called the Jubilee Foundation headquarters on official documents, is designed by DLC Architecture, based in Vancouver, Washington.

The design balances the need to secure the building to protect students and staff and the trust’s mission to present a welcoming face to the community.

The green touches include a large system of solar panels that will offset 40% of its power use as well as a rainwater reclamation system and native plantings.

The trust is not pursuing formal certification through the U.S. Green Building Council or other ratings program. It viewed the investment as good for business and good for its core mission.

The Broetjes have long infused their faith in their business and philanthropic efforts. That includes thoughtful stewardship of people and places, Bairstow said. It is captured in the trust’s mission statement, “Bearing fruit that will last” through the three foundations.

“This is very much rooted in our legacy. Ralph is a farmer. The strength of an orchard is in the soil,” Bairstow said.

“We’re trying to do our best.”

The stewardship ethos will inform the way the occupants use the building in the future.

Bairstow said it will be deliberative about influencing the behavior of the building’s users. It is evaluating recycling and composting programs.

The solar system was installed by Hot

BRIGHTEN someone’s day with FLOWERS! 509.582.5123 604 W. Kennewick Ave.

Photo by Wendy Culverwell The Broetje Family Trust is employing solar power and water recycling to fulfill its stewardship mission as it builds a new office and school building at Tierra Vida in east Pasco. Chervenell Construction is the general contractor for the project, which opens this summer.

Solar Solutions, a Burbank company led

by Troy Woody. It consists of 240 panels in six groupings on the building’s six angular roofs. It is the largest commercial project to date for Hot Solar Solutions and a sign of growing local interest in solar

energy.

“Commercial is really starting to kick in,” he said.

Woody energized the system on May 3, which means solar energy will uBROETJE FAMILY, Page A14

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BROETJE TRUST, From page A13 help power construction through the end of the project.

The 93.6-kilowatt system can produce 110,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to offset 40% of its power usage, equal to removing eight cars from the road, or growing 23,000 tree seedlings for a decade.

The building will scrimp on water too, thanks to low-flow plumbing fixtures and by capturing rainwater in underground tanks to irrigate the waterfriendly landscape, which will feature native plants accustomed to the parched desert climate.

Jubilee Foundation ran a residential Leadership Academy that served 2,500 boys from 1995-2018. Jubilee estab-

lished Tierra Viada in 2005, eventually expanding to include 250 single-family homes and 130 apartments.

Bairstow notes the east Pasco site was tangled and overlooked. That is why it was chosen, he said.

The Center for Sharing carries out the Broetje’s faith initiatives by running what it calls a “third” space at Tierra Vida, space outside of work or home for people to gather and connect.

Vista Hermosa Foundation provides education and support to children in underserved communities.

The original Vista Hermosa community transferred to the new owners when Broetjes sold the orchard business and the foundation moved to Pasco to carry on its mission.

ENVIRONMENT uBUSINESS BRIEFS DOE boosts solar deployment in underserved areas

The U.S. Department of Energy is refocusing its efforts to support solar deployment in low- and moderate-income communities while fostering a solar workforce.

The effort includes $15.5 million in new funding to bolster the efforts of existing programs such as SolSmart and the Solar Energy Innovation Network to tackle challenges associated with the cost to design, site, permit, install and finance solar systems.

“Solar energy is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest paths to President Biden’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 – and now, it’s time to double down on our efforts to make those benefits avail-

able to communities in every pocket of the country,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Want to learn more about Hanford cleanup?

Hanford cleanup managers will report on the progress made at the nuclear cleanup site during an online Hanford Live 2021 program from 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 16.

Hanford Live features representatives from the key Hanford players – the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology as well as the Hanford Advisory Board.

The program is free and open to all.

Email questions to HanfordLive@rl.gov.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

ENVIRONMENT

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Air pollution improves but region still has highest levels in state Ben Franklin Transit working to promote rideshare options in post-pandemic world

By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

The Tri-Cities’ ozone levels, the highest in the state, have landed the region on national and state watch lists for the past five years.

Since then, levels have improved but officials can’t pinpoint why. Concerns remain about them increasing again, which could prompt sanctions from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We’ve definitely been keeping an eye on it. It is one of the biggest areas at risk in Washington state. We do continue to monitor it. I don’t think the reasons for why ozone is there are going to go away any time soon – or ever,” said Kari Johnson, air quality outreach specialist for the state Department of Ecology.

Ozone – also called smog and air pollution – is a chemical reaction that forms a toxic gas when certain conditions are right, and the Tri-Cities has them in spades, Johnson said.

She ticked off the list: • It’s hot here. Ozone forms in temperatures over 88 degrees F. • The Tri-Cities has the “perfect topography” for ozone, with air flows damming up against the Horse Heaven Hills, keeping bad air hanging around and allowing ozone to cook, she said.

• A high amount of emissions from gaspowered engines fuels the problem. “Our studies have shown that traffic congestion in the Tri-Cities is a big contributor,” she said.

High ozone levels also aren’t good for your health.

“It’s like a sunburn to the lungs. It can be felt. It’s an irritant to the eyes and the nose and the throat. Even healthy people,

like outdoor workers and athletes, can be affected by it, and especially those who are sensitive, like asthmatics, the elderly, or children,” Johnson said.

BFT involvement As the state continues to monitor the region’s ozone levels, Ben Franklin Transit is winding down a two-year $100,000 grant program aimed at reducing ozone levels.

Sure, the area’s ozone levels already have been decreasing since the 2016 study landed the Tri-Cities on the hazardous air list.

“It’s a little tricky because our monitors have not picked up on any exceedances in ozone for the past couple of years and that’s a good thing, but at the same time we don’t know why,” Johnson said.

“We’d like to see those levels stay low but to promote individual actions that do keep them low.”

That’s where BFT comes in.

The grant funds a full-time employee within the transit agency to work on ways to reduce traffic congestion and promote ridesharing. The state Legislature approved the money for the work, earmarking $406,000 for a dozen or so air quality projects around the state, including ozone reduction and dust mitigation in the Tri-Cities.

For the 2021-23 biennium, legislators approved $2 million to expand the work statewide. BFT has agreed to keep the grant-funded position to promote ridesharing after the current grant runs out on June 30.

In addition to this money, Ecology has been distributing $141 million in grants and other funding to reduce air pollution around the state to support zero emission transportation, including electric transit buses in the Tri-Cities, Johnson said. The

Courtesy Ben Franklin Transit As more workers become vaccinated and return to the office, state and local rideshare proponents hope they’ll consider rideshare options, like Ben Franklin Transit’s vanpool program, to reduce ground-level ozone levels.

money comes from the 2017-18 settlement with Volkswagen for violating state and federal Clean Air Acts.

The success of the recent two-year BFT grant is hard to measure since much of 2020 saw more people working from home than ever before.

“It really put a big hold on Ecology’s and BFT’s launch of the project,” Johnson said.

Matt Ragsdale joined BFT as a travel demand reduction specialist in July 2020 – the position funded by the grant.

“I basically walked into situation where ozone wasn’t being generated at all. Everyone was working remotely, and I was working remotely,” he said.

Johnson is a champion of this remoteworking strategy to reduce emissions: “Telecommuting improves air quality – tell your boss.”

Ragsdale’s assignment includes outreach at community events, which have been largely canceled since he started, mar-

keting research and tracking performance metrics to ensure the grant makes a difference, Johnson said.

Since the lockdowns did play a part in reducing factors contributing to ozone levels, Ragsdale said the goal now is to “sustain this behavior change.”

“We don’t want to see ozone with increased activity,” he said.

He’s trying to encourage commuters to consider other options to get to work now that more people are returning to the office.

One incentive has been to offer Dutch Bros gift cards for those logging trips in BFT’s RidePro app, which manages the vanpools – groups who commute in a passenger van provided by BFT. Ragsdale also surveyed vanpoolers about how their commuting patterns had changed and if they’d return to a vanpool in the post-pandemic world.

He said he was pleasantly surprised that uBFT, Page A18

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ENVIRONMENT

Courtesy Energy Northwest Royal Anda, Zane Arntzen, Marcus Thomé and Elias Thomé of the Sagebrush Montessori School’s Roots & Shoots Ecology Club, assist Jane LePage of Energy Northwest with annual maintenance and debris clearing on constructed owl burrows located near Columbia Generating Station north of Richland.

Burrowing owls get help with their spring cleaning at Energy Northwest

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Burrowing owls that make their home in the shrub steppe habitat around Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station in Richland got a hand with spring cleaning, courtesy members of Sagebrush Montessori School’s Roots & Shoots Ecology Club.

The Richland students joined Energy Northwest’s environmental services department in February to clean and repair the 18 artificial burrows that act as a home for the small, migratory owls, which are listed as a species of greatest conservation need in Washington.

The two-room burrows were installed in 2012 to provide habitat for the small owls, which typically make homes in holes left by ground squirrels, prairie dogs, foxes, badgers and coyotes. Energy

Northwest teamed with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to create buried habitat for the birds.

Each set of burrows includes a room for nesting and another to store their food supplies, as well as a low perch where the owls can watch for predators. The burrows are fashioned from 55-gallon drums, with five-gallon buckets serving as a maintenance hatch.

The owls access the burrows through a six-inch tube.

Energy Northwest said the artificial burrows have been a success, with at least two used by owls that have returned to the site each year.

The cleanout project gave the Montessori students a chance to explore shrub steppe habitat and see wildlife that inhabits the areas north of Richland.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

ENVIRONMENT

Q&A

What is Friends of Badger Mountain?

We are a board of volunteers, with approximately 12 active members. Friends of Badger Mountain (FOBM) is a group of professionals interested in trail building and the preservation of open space in the Tri-Cities. I have been a board member of FOBM for eight years and have served as president and vice president.

What are some of its successes?

FOBM has created a trail and park system on both Badger Mountain and Candy Mountain for the enjoyment of all visitors.

What are you working on now?

FOBM is currently fundraising to buy land for the last portion of our newest trail connecting the east side of the Badger Mountain Preserve to the Amon Basin. This trail will span the highest point in the city of Richland and the views are spectacular. We currently are short approximately $550,000 for our final land purchase.

What is your professional background and how does it relate to FOBM? I am a financial advisor with Waypoint Wealth Management. My chosen profession brings discipline, financial understanding and patience to my volun-

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MARC SPINNER

Friends of Badger Mountain Vice President and Board Member, Former President

teer position.

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

I believe every successful leader employs the use of many characteristics in his or her management style. One of my top characteristics is patience.

What is the biggest challenge facing groups trying to preserve recreation access to the outdoors today?

I would say financing. We have our vision and plan accordingly, but it is often financing that distracts us from our goals.

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about this work?

I have never been good at the magic wand question because I do not like to delve into fantasy. If you want something changed, evaluate the time and energy required to consummate that change and see if it is worth pursuing.

Always choose your battles wisely.

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

Try to plan everything you do and try to lead by example. Don’t ever regret a decision made after doing your home-

work. Use the best available knowledge at the time and stick to your guns.

Who are your role models or mentors?

My close friends are my role models and mentors. I try to surround myself with individuals I respect and admire who overachieve in some aspect of their life.

How do you keep your team members motivated?

When volunteering for a nonprofit organization full of professionals, recognition and praise for a job well done are key motivators.

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

I have always felt that most financial

Marc Spinner

information could use a better ambassador of explanation so I have found a comfortable role of teacher and mentor.

uSPINNER, Page A18

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BFT, From page A15 more than half those surveyed said they would be interested in ridesharing again.

“People wanted to get back into vanpooling and riding the bus,” he said. “That bodes well for us going forward.”

BFT’s vanpool program took a hit when state-mandated lockdowns came in March 2020.

In February 2020, BFT recorded 51,370 vanpool segments. Ragsdale defines a segment as one leg of a trip. From home to work, for example.

A year later, the numbers plummeted to 11,719 segments.

Ragsdale continues to promote alternative ways to get to work and school.

“The need for concern for ozone in the Tri-Cities is still a real thing. ... I anticipate in the next year we will see a real SPINNER, From page A17 How do you measure success in your workplace?

Success can be measured many different ways. I measure success by the slow and steady growth of my client’s contentment and overall happiness.

What do you consider your leadership style to be?

Give everyone enough space to feel comfortable doing what they are doing without micromanaging. Professionals know what to do and managing too tightly stifles their creativity.

ENVIRONMENT

spike in ozone levels,” he said, especially after those who have been vaccinated start traveling more during ozone season, which runs from May to September.

Scientists at Ecology have been studying the effects of the initial stay-at-home period on traffic emissions, primarily looking at near-road sites in Seattle and Tacoma since these were established specifically to measure traffic pollution.

Ecology found significant declines in carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen pollution during the late spring 2020. However, that effect had virtually disappeared

by October. Nationally, studies have indicated that the pandemic will have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 10% in 2020.

pliance likely will follow – rules that could negatively affect the economy, making it more difficult for businesses to secure permits to expand.

“It could create economic hardships for the area,” Johnson said.

Additional regulations also could be a deterrent for new businesses to open and could require expensive solutions to mitigate ozone problems.

The region has to meet a certain threshold for a certain number of years to be considered out of the woods. “The Tri-Cities has not met that yet. Granted, there have been a good couple of years and that has helped,” Johnson said.

The Environmental Protection Agency also looks favorably on community efforts to reduce ozone, so even if the Tri-Cities is above standards, “EPA could give us a pass if we’re working on efforts to reduce

How do you balance work and family life?

I don’t.

What is your best time management strategy?

I spend time in the office on Sunday afternoons, organizing my upcoming week, reviewing events and scheduling appointments without any distractions.

This is the day of my peak efficiency, and it sets the tone for the upcoming week.

Next review?

If the Tri-Cities’ air quality isn’t improved, stricter regulations to get into com-

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

I am an avid tennis player and enjoy time on the court with friends. I hike often and use the trails that FOBM has constructed quite frequently. I am committed to my Rotary Club and look forward to meetings again when Covid has subsided. I collect and sell rocks and minerals and enjoy my time spent with others who are interested in the hobby.

Best tip to relieve stress?

Exercise with a change of scenery, like an afternoon hike up Candy Mountain.

ozone,” she said.

The EPA’s next review of Tri-City ozone levels is set for fall 2022.

What can I do?

Ozone is not inevitable and can be prevented from forming, Johnson said.

“Individual actions go a long way in helping that. On those days when it’s just so hot, I like to say you get a pass to relax.

You can put off running those errands that require your car,” she said.

Wait until it cools down to mow the yard. Walk, bike or let someone else drive, like BFT, to run your errand.

“The Tri-Cities is growing and traffic could increase so all of these actions, even little ones, add up in a big way for preventing ozone,” Johnson said.

To sign up for ozone air quality alerts, go to lar.wsu.edu/tricitiesozone.html.

What is most-used app?

Favorite book?

My most used apps are probably Seeking Alpha and iTunes. I read many books, mostly novels, and some that stand out are, “The Green Mile” (movie was great too), “The Horse Whisperer,” anything by Jeff Shaara, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Bill Watterson or John Grisham.

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

I believe in “Do unto others as they would do unto you.” I also believe that everything you do, good or bad, will always come back to you in time.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

ENVIRONMENT

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More trees or fewer? The balancing act of the Trillion Trees Act Every year on Arbor Day school children across the United States are told about the many benefits trees provide to people and the environment.

To drive the point home, schoolchildren are given saplings to plant, so they can watch them grow and feel a connection to the environment. Invariably there are cute pictures of kids standing proudly in front of a small sapling that will someday become a mighty tree.

More trees. Cute kids. Who could be against that?

Well, me, for one.

While working at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, I oversaw the agency’s environmental education program.

For years, the saplings that teachers handed out at schools came from the same state nursery used to replant trees after a timber harvest. I decided we should stop handing out trees to kids. The saplings were more likely to be used as toy swords, with children whacking each other in a frenzied display of arboreal battle, than to be planted.

This experience came to mind when I saw the Trillion Trees Act recently introduced in Congress and co-sponsored

by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse, both Eastern Washington Republicans.

While promoting more tree planting, it also recognizes there are tradeoffs and that in some places, like Eastern Washington, the problem is not too few trees, but too

many and a lack of stewardship of federal forests.

Planting more trees can be good, but we have to be smart about it.

The act has many elements Todd Myers but two stand out.

Washington The first is Policy Center a provision to GUEST COLUMN encourage the planting of billions of new trees across the United States as part of an effort to plant a trillion new trees worldwide. Second, the bill would expand management tools used to care for unhealthy federal forests, including “Good Neighbor Authority” which allows states and tribes to reduce the risk of fire in forest that neighbor their lands.

This balance of more trees and healthier forests has great potential to improve wildlife habitat, reduce destructive forest fires, and begin to rebuild the forestry economy.

One key goal of the Trillion Trees Act is to use trees to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing the risk of increased global temperatures. No matter your view of climate change, planting trees is a no-regrets policy that provides other environmental and economic benefits.

The cycle of planting trees, letting them absorb CO2, and then harvesting and replating can be an extremely effective strat-

egy for reducing greenhouse gases. Using harvested wood in construction stores the absorbed carbon for decades, allowing new trees to grow and absorb more CO2.

In a study released in May 2021, researchers at the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials found that, “Planting trees, then utilizing the harvested wood for construction, and replanting is a ‘carbon removal technology’ that perpetually removes CO2 from the atmosphere.”

The environmental benefits become even greater when wood is used instead of more energy-intensive materials like concrete and steel.

However, simply planting more trees would ignore a major problem with our forests. Across the country, and especially in the West, there are millions of acres of fire-prone and unhealthy forests. That problem was on display last year as fires ripped through diseased and dying forests, especially in Oregon and California. The amount of dying forests is dramatically outstripping our ability to care for them. A recent study from the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) found that “tree mortality in national forests exceeds the amount of material removed from them through harvests.” Bureaucracy and lack of funding are undermining our ability to take the actions forestry scientists agree are necessary.

Fortunately, the Trillion Trees Act would expand the tools available to care for unhealthy forests. “Good Neighbor Authority” allows states to engage in forest-

health projects on U.S. Forest Service land that would not otherwise receive treatment. The proposed legislation expands that authority to neighboring American Indian tribes that have an excellent record of reducing the risk of wildfire in forests.

In Washington state, both the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have made significant progress in restoring the health of forests on tribal land. They still face the risk of catastrophic fire from neighboring forests, however. Cody Desautel, the president of the Intertribal Timber Council, argues that Good Neighbor Authority would help address that threat, noting that “tribes look forward to enjoying the same success demonstrated by states.”

The solution to unhealthy forests requires an “all hands, all lands” approach that crosses jurisdiction boundaries. The Trillion Trees Act expands our ability to do just that.

As schoolchildren learn every year, planting trees is good for the environment.

How we plant and then care for forests is a critical part of ensuring that those trees provide the promised environmental and economic benefits. The planting, managing and harvesting found in the Trillion Trees Act are all critical to smart stewardship. Todd Myers is the director of the Center for the Environment at Washington Policy Center.

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TRANSPORTATION

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Hearing clinic adds house calls to its menu of services

By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

George Perkins doesn’t have to worry about navigating his wheelchair into the offices of Columbia Basin Hearing Center to see his audiologist.

Since February, the 83-year-old meets with Neil Aiello from the comfort of his Kennewick home.

“Dr. Neil has been here every month checking on the quality – and he just left here by the way,” Perkins said in late April.

“We enjoy his visits so much. It’s a social and technical visit,” he said.

Aiello and his audiologist wife, Shannon Aiello, own Columbia Basin Hearing Center, which has offices in Kennewick and Walla Walla.

They recently launched a clinic within their clinic called Hear For You, offering hearing aid delivery services, telehearing appointments, mobile hearing care and curbside service.

Hitting the road The pandemic got the husband-andwife team thinking about how best to serve their homebound patients.

The idea bounced around Shannon’s mind the year prior because of the longterm relationships their clinic nurtures with patients, she said.

“From the happy retiree to the golden years, to having caregivers involved, to kids taking over to help with dementia, to hospice and end-of-life care, we see a lot of history with patients,” she said.

Shannon said they wanted a way to continue serving patients throughout the

Courtesy Columbia Basin Hearing Center George Perkins, left, chats with his audiologist, Neil Aiello, at his Kennewick home. The 83-year-old was the first patient to use Columbia Basin Hearing Center’s new mobile clinic, called Hear For You.

changes in their lives and thought a mobile clinic would be a great option, but at the time couldn’t think of a sustainable model to make it happen.

Then Covid-19 hit and it reprogrammed how people approached health care. The clinic closed for a couple of weeks, and when it did reopen, the Aiellos decided to go to their patients.

“It’s a privilege to be in their home.

They treat me like family. It’s an awesome experience,” Neil said.

Soon the couple were exploring how

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to make home visits a permanent part of their practice. They launched the mobile clinic in February, repurposing a 2013 family sedan.

Neil uses a couple of handheld bags to carry in his laptop, an audiometer and other equipment to do in-home assessments and adjustments.

“Hearing aids are so much more than a widget,” Shannon said. “They have to be fine-tuned, they need adjustments, to be cleaned, they need follow-up care. For remote communities and seniors with no access, it is beyond exciting for possibilities of this clinic.”

Shannon said home-based visits also can benefit busy professionals. Instead of taking a half day off work, “we can work to take care of them with a remote adjustment or meet them where they prefer,” she said.

Senior patients don’t have to worry about coordinating a ride to the clinic with their family or Dial-A-Ride.

“We wanted to perfect it and offer the same level of service and care to our patients, not just during Covid, but into the future,” Shannon said.

Tech-savvy patients can hop on a Zoom call with the Aiellos and get real-time adjustments made to their hearing aids, thanks to Bluetooth technology, which connects their device to the internet. uHEARING CENTER, Page A24

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

HEARING CENTER, From page A23

Expanding boundaries Since launching the mobile clinic, Neil spends about two days a week making house calls.

“In the past month, I’ve been to Pendelton, Weston, Athena, Walla Walla, Milton-Freewater, Kirkland, Mill Creek and the Tri-Cities of course,” he said.

The service is complimentary for patients who have hearing aids under warranty. After their warranty ends, there’s a $182 annual subscription for the mobile service.

“There’s no reason, honestly, we can’t go anywhere in the state,” Shannon said.

“It’s exciting to remove the geographic barrier where you can help.”

Roy Waugh of Snohomish chose to get his hearing aid from Columbia Basin Hearing Center instead of a closer westside clinic.

Waugh, 71, knew Neil’s father before he took over the family practice.

“I don’t like driving into Seattle and the other hearing aid people are nice enough, but they seem more about the sale and not the service,” said Waugh, who’s been wearing hearing aids for seven years.

Good customer service is Waugh’s love language.

“Large box stores – the prices might be a little better, but they have no service. I know a lot of people who get hearing aids and get frustrated and stop using them.

I’m a service-oriented person and am willing to pay for that service,” he said.

After delivering and fitting Waugh’s new hearing aid, Neil called the next day

to check on how he was doing. He made a few adjustments over the internet.

“I now have another appointment. He wants to tweak it in person and see how they’re doing. You can’t get service like that. It’s pretty special,” Waugh said.

His new device also is pretty special.

In addition to its ability to be adjusted remotely, the device tracks brain and body activity, detects falls and can deliver reminders.

“It’s an amazing electronic device,” he said. “When you’ve got technology like this you do need a service provider to take care of it.”

Best of all, he can hear better.

“I’m hearing things I haven’t heard in years. I’m listening to the wind in the trees. I have been missing this for the last six years,” he said.

On a recent April afternoon, Neil traveled to Weston, Oregon, to visit a 104-year-old patient who is blind, immobile and has significant hearing loss.

She’s been a patient for six years.

An important social sense “Hearing is your most important social sense. … Our social abilities are limited when you cannot hear. We now know, and not just from Covid, but from longitudinal studies, that not hearing well means the brain doesn’t function as well, and it can affect cognition, dementia, Alzheimer’s, you name it. If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Neil said.

The mobile clinic also had an unexpected benefit for Neil, who has been practicing for 29 years. He’s enjoyed getting out of the office and seeing patients in their homes.

TRANSPORTATION “He thrives on people and relationships. Put him in their environment and it’s a great combination,” Shannon said.

Perkins was the Aiellos’ first patient to use the mobile clinic.

He said having properly working and fitting hearing aids has made a huge difference in his life.

He got his first hearing aids in 2004 but left them at a Los Angeles hotel.

He replaced them with aids from another source and “wore them until I couldn’t stand them anymore,” he said.

He’s happier with his new pair from Columbia Basin Hearing Center.

“I use them all the time. I’m in love with the darn things for Audible.

The tonal quality is so Courtesy Columbia Basin Hearing Center good. The battery life is Audiologists Neil and Shannon Aiello own Columbia so good. I use them ex- Basin Hearing Center, which has offices in Kennewick tensively for Audible, and Walla Walla. use it for music and, of Wearing masks has really amplified how course, for hearing durimportant hearing is and how difficult it is ing the day.”

Taking care of hearing health is as im- for people with normal hearing and mild portant as taking care of your teeth and hearing loss to hear,” Neil said.

Search Columbia Basin Hearing Center: the rest of your body, the Aiellos said.

“Hearing loss is usually a very slow 4015 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick; onset and usually people don’t notice. 509-736-4005; columbiabasinhearing.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRANSPORTATION

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RV demand surges and Covid is only part of the reason

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

In the topsy-turvy pandemic economy, RV demand is at a record high, with manufacturers set to ship upwards of 543,000 units in 2021, easily besting the previous record of 504,600 units shipped to dealers in 2017.

For dealers and customers alike, record demand means waiting lists for the most popular models.

“The pandemic is part of the story, but it’s not the whole story,” said Monika Geraci, spokeswoman for the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA).

The Reston, Virginia, association repre-

sents nearly all manufacturers and suppliers of RVs in the U.S. Manufacturers were coming off a fiveyear growth streak when the pandemic hit, fueled by population growth, low interest rates and the fact that the U.S. tax code treats RVs as second homes, meaning owners can deduct the interest on purchase loans.

“We were looking for a great 2020.

And then of course, the pandemic hit and we didn’t know what to expect,” she said.

Customers cite a love of road trips, the comfort of having their own space and controlling their own environment as reasons to buy. Demographics factor in too with more retirees.

“It’s the same reasons people always bought RVs, but there’s a greater awareness that it’s not your grandparents’ RV,” she said.

Covid-19 has played a role by offering families a self-contained way to travel that skirts engaging with restaurants and hotels face-to-face.

RV rentals soared. In a December 2020 survey of RV renters by Thor Industries, 46% said they hadn’t rented RVs prior to the pandemic. And in a sign of demand to come, three quarters of the renters who completed the survey said they are considering buying an RV. That gives manufactures confidence to expand their ability to build RVs, which

is chiefly centered in the Midwest, said Geraci.

“We don’t see this as a short-term pandemic-only influx,” she said.

For prospective buyers hoping that the uptick in demand will lead to a downturn and discounts, Geraci said it’s unlikely.

“That’s not what we’re seeing,” she said.

A recent study looked at the demographics of RV buyers and it is skewing young. About one in five owners are under age 35, with 84% saying they plant to buy new in the next five years.

“That alone speaks to the future of the industry when you have that many younger owners as buyers,” she said.

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Be conscious of your investment environment

CARSON WILLINGHAM

(509) 735-1497 On April 22, we observe Earth Day, an occasion that has inspired millions of people over the decades to take steps to clean up our world. Of course, your physical surroundings are important, but you also operate in other “ecosystems” – social, cultural and political.

And you’ll need to consider your investment environment, too. How can you improve it?

Here are a few suggestions: • Avoid “toxic” investment strategies. The dangers of pollution helped drive the creation of Earth Day. As an investor, you also need to watch out for “toxins” – particularly in the form of unhealthy investment techniques.

For example, chasing after “hot”

stocks can burn you. In the first place, by the time you’ve heard of them, they may already be cooling off. Second, and probably more important, these hot stocks just may be wrong for the investment mix that’s appropriate for your needs. Another toxic investment strategy: trying to “time” the market by “buying low and selling high.”

No one can really predict when market highs and lows will occur, and if you’re always jumping in and out of the investment world, you’ll likely waste time and effort – not to mention money. Instead of looking for today’s hottest stocks or guessing where the market is heading, try to create and follow a long-term investment strategy based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.

• Reduce waste. From an environmental standpoint, the less waste and garbage we produce, the better it is for our planet. As an investor, can you find “wasteful” elements in your portfolio? It’s possible that you own some investments that may be redundant – that is, they are virtually indistinguishable from others you may have. Also, some investments, due to their risk profile or performance, no longer may be suitable for your needs. In either case – redundancy or unsuitability – you might be better off selling the investments and using the proceeds to purchase others that

can be more helpful.

• Recycle wisely. Recycling is a major part of the environmental movement. At first, though, you might not think the concept of recycling could apply to investing.

But consider this: If you own stocks or mutual funds, you may receive dividends, and, like many people, you may choose to automatically reinvest those dividends back into the stocks or funds. So, in a sense, you are indeed “recycling” your dividend payments to boost your ownership stakes – without expending additional resources.

And, in fact, this can be quite an effective and efficient way to increase your wealth over time.

• Plant some “trees.” Planting trees has always been a key activity among boosters of the environment – with the recognition that their efforts will take years, or even decades, to reach fruition. When you invest, you must sometimes start small. By purchasing a limited amount of an investment and nurturing it over the years by adding more shares, you may one day have achieved significant growth. (Keep in mind, though, that there are no guarantees – variable investments such as stocks can lose principal.)

By making these and other moves, you can create a healthy investment environment – one that can help you achieve your long-term goals.

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

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Teens can cause car wrecks but it’s parents who pay From time to time, it is important to take stock of our own personal liability exposure and find ways to mitigate it.

Liability exBeau Ruff posure can creep Cornerstone into our lives in Wealth Strategies subtle ways that GUEST COLUMN can have profound effects on our financial security. One such way that a person can expose himself or herself to additional liability is through the “family car doctrine,” which rests on the broader legal liability concept of “respondeat superior.”

Let’s break it down.

What is the potential liability? Let’s set the scene.

A parent has a teenager who is a licensed driver living at home.

First, we have to assume that the teen causes a car crash through the teen's negligence. In other words, the teen is in a car crash and the fault for the accident lies with the teen.

How can a parent become liable for a teen’s liability?

The Latin phrase “respondeat superior” roughly translates to “the master answers for the servant.”

It is a legal relationship more fully explored in the broader legal concept of “agency.” But, basically, where a person (the teen) is acting for the benefit of a boss or master (the parent), the liability of the teen becomes the liability of the parent.

In Washington, to apply the family car doctrine and hold the parents potentially liable for the acts of the teen the following factors must be met: (1) The car is owned, provided or maintained by the parent (2) for the customary conveyance of family members and other family business (3) and at the time of the crash the car is being driven by a member of the family for whom the car is maintained, (4) with the express or implied consent of the parent.

Legal eagles can reference Kaynor v.

Farline, 117 Wn.App. 575, 72 P.3d 262 (2003).

In a sense, this result can be unsurprising.

If a parent provides a car for a minor child and provides the insurance for the family, then the teen’s negligence (and resulting liability) should be covered by the family’s insurance policy.

The doctrine is more pernicious than that; it provides that the parent is actually liable – not just that the insurance is liable to pay the claim. This means, that to the extent insurance coverage is insufficient, the parents are personally liable for the injury caused by the teen.

This extends beyond just minor children living at home. If you have an

uRUFF, Page A28

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRANSPORTATION FOOD FORCE, From page A1 since August and she’s been impressed.

“They were local. We like to support the local businesses. They charged a lower fee,” she said.

“I want to see Food Force get more customers so they can grow,” she added.

Chicken Shack hatched The LaMarrs opened the West Richland Chicken Shack in December 2015 as a licensee. It’s not a franchise, Tracy pointed out. They have the rights to use the recipes, Fred the chicken mascot and logos. They also must agree to use fresh chicken. Other than that, they’re free to run the restaurants as they please.

They opened additional restaurants at 8921 Sandifur Parkway in Pasco in January 2019 and at 3320 W. Kennewick Ave. in Kennewick in March 2021.

“We have great fan base and they have continued to thrive. We pivoted really well on online stuff. We tried to make it really, really easy for people to order,” Tracy said.

The West Richland Shack is popular for its live music and patio seating. Shows returned in April after a yearlong hiatus.

Tracy said the shows have been selling out.

“We’re getting a good 21-and-older section in Kennewick, too, and getting a good beer following there,” she said.

The three restaurants employ nearly 30 people.

Food Force employs three full-time food dispatchers along with about a dozen independent contracted drivers. One operational manager works across Food Force, Chicken Shack and StoneCrest.

Between the three companies, they have about 45 employees on the payroll.

Using the Force Customers ordering food can harness the Force via its app or website to see which restaurants are in their delivery area.

Dispatchers help to make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.

Young, of Pacific Pasta & Grill, appreciates Food Force drivers being prepared with insulated food bags and dressing nicely.

After all, she said, they’re representing her establishment, even though they’re not her employees.

Young said she’s never had a call complaining about an incorrect delivery order from a Food Force driver either.

“Whereas Uber and Grubhub I get bad calls,” she said, explaining she has had complaints about customers not receiving drinks or some of the items they ordered.

“I end up having to eat that because I’m trying to make that right with customers,” she said.

Force dispatchers can make real-time adjustments. If an order isn’t seen by the restaurant, they call to alert them. If a hungry customer wants extra meat, they make a note and charge the appropriate amount to cover the cost.

“We work through those problems live, which I appreciate as a restaurant owner. …

It enables us to manage that experience,” Tracy said. “We take that burden off restaurants to let us handle it.”

Some restaurants aren’t promoting the homegrown delivery service because they’re too busy running their own kitchens. It’s getting Tracy to rethink how to better market the business to both restaurants and customers.

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“Our biggest competition is not each other. Our biggest competition is the other third party. We have to break the habit of everyone going to them and to recognize these restaurants need our service,” she said.

Food Force charges 12% of restaurants’ meal sales, versus the 30% fee assessed by the national third-party vendors, Tracy said.

There’s no fee to sign up for the service.

Turning them off Tracy said she decided to commit to her own delivery service completely and turned off the national vendors in February. She said it took more than a month for delivery sales to build back up as customers figured out about Food Force.

“I had my heart in throat for a month, or my stomach, or however you say it. I just knew that our customers were awesome and going to support us. I hope to be an example and tell the other restaurants: I have the same amount of sales and profitability and the bottom line is bigger.

“We need to get that across to the TriCities. We need to use Food Force not for us, but for the restaurants. It’s going to help them greatly. But I know it’s hard to break a habit,” she said.

Photo by Kristina Lord Bradyn Nelson holds up the Tri-Cities Food Force app in front of the Chicken Shack at 4390 W. Van Giesen Ave. in West Richland.

Download the Food Force app on Google Play or the app store or order online at tcfoodforce.com.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

RUFF, From page A26 adult child driving a car provided by a parent, that parent risks personal liability for the injuries caused by the adult child’s driving.

Perhaps a parent has a child away at college.

The parent owns the car but allows the child to use it. The parent might insist that the child both obtains and pays his or her own insurance. A child might comply, only insure the car based on state mandatory minimums, potentially leaving them without enough coverage in an incident.

Under this scenario, if the college student causes a crash, there is the

potential for parental liability without any coverage by the parent’s insurance.

And, given the low insurance coverage under the student’s insurance policy, the parents might then face real financial liability.

Let’s say that you can show evidence to rebut the application of the family car doctrine and avoid liability.

Do you even want to be put in the situation where you are required to do so? In other words, isn’t it better to err on the side of caution and to take affirmative steps to mitigate liability through action?

What might that action look like?

The parent could decide it’s better to simply gift the vehicle to the child to

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TRANSPORTATION take the parents’ names off the car. The more the parent can divest himself or herself from ownership, the better to thwart the application of the doctrine.

The parent should perhaps provide no rules for the use of the car (no control over the use of the car). The parent might make it clear that the child need not ask permission to use the car or how to use the car.

Some parents might be put off by these rules for minor children but consider them appropriate for adult children.

Looking to your insurance coverage also can help to mitigate liability exposure. One way the parent can mitigate risk is by increasing liability limits or

adding an umbrella insurance policy.

Talk to your insurance agent about potential coverage options.

Note: the family car doctrine does not apply to bicycles. Accordingly, this presents parents with a safe form of transportation to avoid liability through agency laws. Safer for liability exposure…but perhaps less satisfying to the child. Beau Ruff, a licensed attorney, is the director of planning at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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a small geographical area.

Another dimension of this workflow lies in the geographical footprint of the Tri-Cities.

The combined D. Patrick Jones area taken up Eastern

by Kennewick, Washington Pasco and RichUniversity land is 92 square GUEST COLUMN miles.

Contrast that to the recently expanded city of Spokane at 60 square miles.

As Benton Franklin Trends data reveals, the 2019 population densities of the three cities are 3,161, 2,155 and 1,426 people per square mile, respectively. In 2019, the same metric registered 3,168 for the city of Spokane. And Seattle? Close to 9,000.

Uncovering how and why the urban footprints in this region are so large is beyond the scope of this column. Relatively cheap land, a willingness to annex and a desire for spacious yards likely have been some of the factors. In any case, the development pattern here calls out for travel.

As the graph illustrates, most of that mobility is answered by private auto, at least for commuting purposes. Trends

Share of Commuters

Let’s face it – the Tri-Cities is a car town, or set of car towns.

The number of miles Tri-Citians travel daily owes its origins to the settlement of not one, but three cities, or four, counting West Richland, in an area that has some distance between the communities. There are other reasons, too, which we’ll touch on.

We get in cars for many reasons, but the most common reason is to go to work.

For several years, the Census has published a tool that tracks flows in and out of a city for work purposes. (Search for “On the Map.”) It probably won’t surprise too many readers to learn that there’s a lot of commuter movement going on here.

For example, the latest data show nearly 25,000 residents leaving Kennewick daily, while nearly 24,500 residents enter the city for work.

In Richland, about 29,600 residents from elsewhere go to work daily in the northernmost of the cities, while about 14,600 Richland residents leave town for work.

Similarly, for Pasco, about 23,000 residents leave daily for jobs elsewhere, while 16,500 from other communities arrive for jobs.

In all three cities, the smallest hometo-work flow consists of residents staying within their city for their work. That’s a lot of going and coming! Suffice to say, the Tri-Cities is not (yet) a metro area where live, work and play happen within

Courtesy Benton-Franklin Trends

data reveals that “alternative” commuting recently amounted to 18.5% of all work travel in the Tri-Cities. Contrast that to the Washington average share: 28%.

In other words, Tri-Citians depend on the privately-owned vehicle for more than 80% of all commutes.

What has been the favored alternative commute here?

At 13% in 2019, the most recent year of Census estimates, it is carpooling.

The Washington top alternative is also carpooling but at a lower share, 10%.

And the second-place alternative in the Tri-Cities? Working from home, at an estimated 3.6% in 2019.

This arrangement grew by a bit over the decade covered by the data, but it still substantially lagged behind the overall Washington rate.

The remaining options amount to a small overall share in the Tri-Cities’ alternative travel-to-work modes. Walking, biking and public transit amounted to less than 2%, a much lower profile than the uJONES, Page A30

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Newhouse submits resource projects for relief funding

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, submitted 10 Central Washington projects, including resource development efforts, for consideration for funding through the American Recovery Act. The projects will be scrutinized by the House Committee on Appropriations for consideration. They are: • Columbia Basin Project, $2 million to begin the design process on additional distribution systems.

• Three Rivers Behavioral Health Recovery, Benton County, $2.5 million to build a 50-bed comprehensive be-

havioral health center to serve people facing crises due to mental health or substance use disorders.

• Colville Reservation Park Development Projects, $1 million to build and update two parks on the reservation in Okanogan and Ferry counties.

• Reimann Industrial Center, The Port of Pasco, $1.3 million to design, engineer and built a road and railroad spur at the future Reimann Industrial Center.

• Port of Quincy Rail infrastructure expansion, $2.5 million to expand rail service.

• Wenatchee Valley College North Health Science Building, $2.5 million

to house nursing and related programs, including tribal business and American Indian indigenous studies programs.

• Walla Walla E911 Emergency Telecom, $2.75 million to move the county’s emergency facility out of a building collapse zone.

• Yakama Nation Water Canal Maintenance, $1 million to pipe an open canal near Harrah Grade School.

• Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister Field, $2.5 million to design utilities and roadway infrastructure needed for a new terminal building.

• Yakima Valley College/Long-Term Care Training, $1 million to support training.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Travel writers conference shifts to October

Visit Tri-Cities has landed the 2021 TBEX North America conference, a gathering influential travel writers that promised to elevate the region’s profile as a tourism destination.

The event will occur, but it has been rescheduled to Oct. 12-14 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

It was originally set for August but was delayed due to uncertainty related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

TBEX announced the Tri-Cities would host its 2021 convention in mid-2020.

The event is the largest conference and networking event for travel writers and is expected to draw up to 400 travel bloggers with a combined reach of more than 300 million to the Mid-Columbia.

The event offers three days of educational and networking programs as well as tours of local visitor destinations.

Go to tbexcon.com.

JONES, From page A29 state average.

This September we’ll receive the Census estimates for 2020. The pandemic has undoubtedly upset mobility patterns here and elsewhere. We know that public transportation systems have been severely challenged by transmission worries of Covid-19. We also know that more people have embraced bicycling than ever before – just ask anyone who has recently tried to buy a bike.

The biggest change, however, has undoubtedly been the switch from a commute by car to one by foot to the home office.

How large a shift has this been?

Nationally, this will depend on the mix of jobs. As we know, many jobs cannot be done remotely (aka from home).

For the Tri-Cities, this share is likely higher than the state and national averages.

In particular, agriculture and agricultural manufacturing, both essential industries, loom large here. Trends data tracking the five largest sectors by headcount shows production agriculture locally claiming 10% of the workforce, versus 3% statewide. Manufacturing employment here, while not in the top five sectors, is concentrated in agricultural processing.

So it’s this observer’s guess that the work-from-home share of all commuting patterns in 2020 will be a multiple of the 2019 share. It won’t be as large as Washington’s average. But it should be easily three to four times as large.

A big unknown for transportation planners and for those who seek alternatives to the car commute is whether the mobility changes of 2020 will stick – not only into 2021 but into the years beyond. My sense is yes, although not at the same crisis-driven levels of the past few months. D. Patrick Jones is the executive director for Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis. Benton-Franklin Trends, the institute’s project, uses local, state and federal data to measure the local economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

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Q&A

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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MICHELLE HOLT

Executive Director Benton-Franklin Council of Governments

Number of employees you oversee: 9 What is the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments: The Benton-Franklin Council of Governments (BFCG) was established in 1966 as a voluntary association of the units of government in Benton and Franklin counties. The organization is structured as a regional planning commission, a council of governments and a regional transportation planning organization under state law and as a metropolitan planning organization and an economic development district under federal laws. BFCG’s focus is on economic development, community development and transportation planning by providing a regional forum for multijurisdictional decision-making and provision of multijurisdictional programs.

How did you land your current role?

How long have you been in it? What attracted you to the Tri-Cities?

I have been an executive director/ CEO running nonprofit organizations in economic development fields for over 20 years, including rural economic development, chamber of commerce, tourism, workforce development and entrepreneurship. I had the opportunity to visit to the Tri-Cities in 2019, and my

husband and I immediately fell in love with the community. We are both from eastern Idaho and the Tri-Cities is very similar in many respects, including a desert-type climate and being home to a national laboratory with energy and nuclear cleanup focuses. I began to keep an eye out for career opportunities in the Tri-Cities, which led me to BFCG. We moved to Tri-Cities in February 2021 for the position with BFCG. Why should the Tri-Cities care about the BFCG? BFCG is an organization that provides services behind the scenes impacting the lives of every citizen of the region. Individuals move fluidly between multiple cities and counties and utilize services that cross jurisdictional boundaries every day. BFCG provides a framework for those jurisdictions to collaborate on planning for interconnected infrastructure like transportation and community development. It also provides access to important federal funding through the Federal Highway Administration for transportation planning, and the Economic Development Administration for economic development capital projects, as well as state funding through WSDOT. BFCG also manages several revolving loan fund programs that provide funding

to businesses in the region which has helped several small businesses to get their start.

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

Heart. The backbone of every organization is its people. When it comes to getting the most out of your employees, you need heart to value the human side of the human resource. All the planning, strategy, supply chain and equipment are only as valuable as the people who execute them.

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

I think it is the speed at which technology is changing the world. Technological advancement provides unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and growth, but the cost, logistics of implementation and employee development necessary

Michelle Holt

to take advantage of those opportunities can be intimidating. The pandemic was a shock for many companies in that regard.

They were forced to leap into the virtual world to continue operations. It shined light on the many tools that exist and the need for businesses to evolve operations to survive.

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your field?

When it comes to economic and uHOLT, Page A32

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

HOLT, From page A31 community development, I would simplify the processes. There are so many resources available to support the growth of businesses and communities, and yet often people do not know where to begin or how to access support. When it comes to state and federal programs, there are so many hoops to jump through that accessing the resources is often much more complicated than it should be.

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

Find a mentor. Someone who will share their experience – good and bad.

Someone you can share your frustrations with. Someone you can ask the “dumb” questions of without fear of judgement.

Someone who will encourage you to excel and grow. Be teachable. You won’t know everything so don’t pretend that you do.

Who are your role models or mentors?

I have had so many role models and mentors I cannot begin to list them. I try to surround myself with people who encourage me, inspire me and from whom I can learn.

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

I asked my staff this question and what they told me is my positive attitude is motivating and the way I ask questions helps them to consider other ideas rather than dictating what I want to see.

I try to celebrate even small changes as successes. It is motivating to look back and see transformation taking shape. I try to incorporate lighthearted fun because when people are happy and enjoying themselves, they are more productive.

I try to express gratitude often. It is amazing what happens when you share genuine praise.

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

It wasn’t so much a choice as the destination my experiences led me. I have been so blessed throughout my career to have employers who saw potential and were willing to give me opportunities to prove myself and grow. My first nonprofit executive position happened by chance. I was put in a position of interim leadership during an executive search when the executive director abruptly left the organization I was working for.

The national search was a slow process, allowing me time to realize I liked the work, so I asked to be considered. That board ultimately hired me and groomed me as an executive director. Through future roles, I realized I have a passion for helping communities grow and thrive. I also found that I have a talent for revitalizing organizations, enabling them to better fulfill their missions. Each role brought more skills and more opportunities, leading to where I am today.

How do you measure success in your workplace?

I am always evaluating how we are meeting the expectations of our members

TRANSPORTATION and if we are fulfilling the organization mission. I am very outcomes oriented.

Having clear accountabilities and measurables makes it easy to measure success. I love the concept that if more than one person is accountable, no one is accountable.

What do you consider your leadership style to be?

I consider myself a collaborative enabler. I am usually trying to effect change so bringing people into the process through collaboration creates buy-in and ultimately produces better outcomes.

“Enabler” often has a negative connotation, but for me it means hiring skilled people and then removing barriers to enable them to do their best work. I ask questions that allow them to solve problems or challenge them to look at things from a different perspective. I encourage innovation.

How do you balance work and family life?

This is one of the things my husband and I are really focused on with our move to Tri-Cities is discovering new hobbies outside of work. Having been a working mother for most of my career, when my kids were young, I was much better about the balance because I had to be. As my children grew up and became more independent, the balance shifted to where I was focused more on career.

The pandemic actually helped me reset a better work-life balance. Breaking the rut by having to be at home made me look at how much time I was spending away

from home working. It forced better time management, organization and communication. It also helped me realize that people often work more productively when given the flexibility to work at the times that fit better into their lives.

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

In moving to Tri-Cities my husband I are looking to cultivate a more active, outdoor lifestyle. We love walking along the Columbia River walking trails. When not at work, I love to read, watch movies and spend time with friends and family. I read nearly 100 books a year, and if I am honest, mostly trash – the mental escape they provide is their only redeeming value. I especially love natural disaster movies – “Volcano,” “Dante’s Peak,” “2012,” “Twister.” I will watch them over and over.

What’s your best time management strategy?

I wish I had a good one to share. The truth is that has always been a struggle for me. I am a natural procrastinator, thriving in the drive that comes from the last minute. It’s not a time management strategy I recommend!

Best tip to relieve stress?

Self-care. I keep a poster in my office that says, “Fill your cup first, then nourish others from the overflow.” For me that is little things like eucalyptus aromatherapy lotion. Taking a computer break to walk around the block in the sun. Pampering myself with a massage or manicure. Enjoying a cup of peppermint tea and going to bed early.

What’s your favorite Ted Talk? Mostused app or website? Favorite book?

My favorite Ted Talk is “Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator.” His “instant gratification monkey” may be my spirit animal. Through the pandemic, I have grown to love Microsoft Teams. It allows for efficiency but also personal connection in ways I haven’t experienced in other tools. My favorite business book is “Traction, Get a Grip on Your Business,” by Gino Wickman. I have been using its strategies for the last two years with my teams with great success.

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

Because my career is all about convening communities for the purpose of growth and change, my favorite quote, credited to Lao Tzu: “Go to the people.

Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build on what they have. But the best leaders, when the work is done and the task accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.’ ” My personal mantra is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Get.” You can’t be afraid to ask.

The worst that happens is you are no worse off than when you began. But if you get what you asked for – that is always a win!

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 XPRIZE, From page A1 teams from 20 countries to advance with a program that combines skills training with better hiring strategies.

To win the contest, the teams must reduce training time by at least 50% for occupations with a living wage. The training must be provided at no cost to the job seeker. Teams must ensure job retention of at least 60 days.

And they have to show it works with real people in real jobs.

Training will be offered to 3,500 displaced workers early in the competition and then be expanded to help at least 25,000 others in the final round. The best strategies, if adopted on a nationwide scale, have the potential to transform the way workers train for more than 12 million jobs, according to XPRIZE. XPRIZE is usually focused on scienceheavy problems like space travel and climate change, so having a prize focused on workforce development is a major recognition of the importance of this challenge that our country faces at this crucial moment, said John Roach, cofounder and chief executive officer of WholeStory.

An added benefit is being able to highlight the needs and opportunities related to the workforce and the labor market in “our own community, as we emerge from the pandemic,” Roach said.

It’s become more important than ever, given the state of the country’s job market in the wake of Covid-19 shutdowns in early 2020, when the U.S. unemployment rate reached a high of 14.7% in April 2020.

Washington’s unemployment rate was 5.4% in March 2021, with Benton County’s rate at 5.9% and Franklin County, 7%.

“This isn’t about training people to be able to go make $7.25 an hour in the 30-plus states where that’s still minimum wage. This is about, ‘How do we provide solutions that get people to where they can actually support a family,’ ” Roach said.

He gets animated talking about this topic.

“This is about how we can recognize we need to upskill and reskill tens of millions of workers in the next decade and do it in a way that is considered and has intentionality attached to it. That’s a real key piece of this competition,” he said.

Though the jobs Roach and his team focus on in the competition won’t be in the Tri-Cities, the Washington-based team hopes to spin the program out of the competition, whether it wins or not.

“It’s this big stage that’s being built for innovation in the labor market right at the time when it’s most needed – at the time of Covid, and the racial equity conversation we’re in midst of, and recognition of all of the embedded inequities that have been easy to ignore for a long time.

“If this works, it’s something that can be applied broadly across multiple industries,” Roach said.

Unique advantage The Dignity of Work team has a unique advantage, Roach said.

“We are the only team anchored with an established workforce development operator like (Career Path Services),” he said.

Career Path Services is a 50-year-old nonprofit that has provided workforce services in the Tri-Cities since 2003. It’s based out of the WorkSource Columbia

Basin office in Kennewick.

Each team in the XPRIZE contest is paired with one of six workforce development councils across the nation to implement their workforce training plan.

“We are not doing any coordinating of our solution in Washington state. We’re hopeful of being able to bring it here regardless of XPRIZE. We thought it made sense to use XPRIZE as our test and make real-time adjustments before we brought it back to our colleagues around the state,” said Kayci Loftus, director of workforce development for Career Path Services.

The Washington team is paired with Hampton Roads Workforce Council in Norfolk, Virginia.

How it works The team began recruiting job seekers in Virginia in early May. If the team advances through the process, they’ll expand from 350 job seekers to 5,000 job seekers.

“We’re focused on construction right now as the sole industry for the first round.

If we’re one of five teams that move into the next round, it will be across three industries,” Roach said.

Loftus said the main industries in need of workers are technology, health care, manufacturing and construction.

Once job seekers are identified, they’ll begin a two-part training with Dignity of Work.

They’ll go through a virtual construction boot camp to learn construction basics and jobs available in the industry. ANEW will provide the online training curriculum.

Job seekers complete the training with an Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-hour certification. They’ll also participate in a small hands-on building project.

After boot camp After the training, the team will prepare participants for job interviews.

“We do a really good job of getting them prepared for the workforce but there’s always that missing element and that’s really incorporating the human side of a human being and that lived experience. That’s really important to be able to tell as part of job applicant’s story,” Loftus said.

That’s where WholeStory comes in.

“We knew we needed a solution that met the needs of the whole person,” Loftus said. “WholeStory is the culmination and preparation and packaging to get that customer well suited to go in front of those employers for those interviews.”

WholeStory will teach employees how to be the expert on themselves and communicate who they are as people, Roach said.

WholeStory, a Tri-City startup in operation since 2006, was profiled by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business in November 2016.

“WholeStory is very focused on identifying and empowering employees to see these character strengths and soft skills that employers are desperate to find but don’t even know how to ask about in the interview, because there’s so much entrenched bias, process, HR language and legal misunderstandings of things that have all combined together to make the job interview a very staged kind of thing in most companies,” Roach said.

Roach said the process gives job seekers more confidence to talk about their soft

skills.

“Of course as a company, we also work with employers – they’re also our primary revenue stream as a matter of fact – and so we have a whole host of tools to help employers understand how to interpret that information, how to ask good questions, how to actually create a setting where an authentic interview like that can take place.

“We’re also making those tools available to the employers who are participating in this XPRIZE as well,” Roach said.

End goals The team’s virtual training program can be empowering for all kinds of people, Roach said.

“Like for stay-at-home moms who have schedule constraints that don’t allow them to go to a traditional school schedule,” he said. “I really believe this is going to have

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impacts and potential to go beyond just the XPRIZE.” Loftus said changing up the job training model is imperative right now, “with the way that our workforce is aging, automizing, Covid – there are so many factors playing against our workforce, it’s time that workforce professionals like ourselves are creating solutions that can meet the needs of the consumer without stretching them so thin that they’re having to pick and choose between going to school and educating themselves and getting positions for meaningful work and taking care of their family.”

XPRIZE winners will be announced in January 2023.

For more information, go to https://DignityofWork.us.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Hanford execs headline JA lunch series

Two Bechtel officials working on Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, known as the vit plant, are featured in Junior Achievement of Washington’s free Lunch with Leaders sessions, taking place through May. Speakers will share their stores and discuss what skills and qualities are needed to succeed in their field. They will answer questions from students as well.

Cynethia Sims, Bechtel’s controller manager, speaks May 19. Felice Presti, Bechtel’s deputy project manager, speaks May 26.

Go to jawashington.org/lunch-withleaders.

Communities in Schools holds virtual breakfast

Communities in Schools will hold its annual Spring into Action breakfast as a virtual event at 8 a.m. May 20.

Rey Saldaña, president and chief executive officer of Communities in Schools National, will address the gathering.

Go to bit.ly/CISBreakfast2021.

Enrollment period ending for prepaid college plan

14th Annual

May 31 is the deadline to enroll in Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) prepaid college savings

Young Professionals

In the August issue of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, we will highlight the 2021 Young Professional winners in a specialty publication that will be inserted into the Journal. These business savvy individuals are local, rising stars who distinguish themselves in their careers and make a difference through charity work, leadership and community involvement.

Sponsorship opportunities available For more information and pricing, call 509-737-8778.

Tiffany ext. 2 or Chad ext. 1.

Deadline: Thursday, July 8, 2021

plan for 2020-21.

The GET plan is a qualified 529 savings plan that guarantees savings will keep pace with in-state tuition and state-mandated fee. While the values are pegged to in-state costs, students can tap the funds to attend nearly any public or private university, community college or technical school in the U.S. Apprenticeships and some student loan payments are eligible as well.

The GET program is one of two savings options offered through Washington College Savings Plans.

The DreamAhead College Investment Plan launched in 2018.

Go to wastate529.wa.gov to learn more. Accounts can be opened online.

Call 800-955-2318 or email GETInfo@ wsac.wa.gov for details.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

BUSINESS PROFILE

New owners reboot longtime downtown Kennewick shoe store

By Robin Wojtanik

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A fashion enthusiast followed her dream of owning not just one – but two – businesses, now located under one roof in downtown Kennewick.

Jamie and Loren Wikstrand bought the 68-year-old David’s Shoes store earlier this year. The longtime business is located in a historic brick corner building outfitted with green awnings at 201 W. Kennewick Ave. Jamie, who launched an online-only clothing shop, White Bluffs Boutique, last fall, moved her products inside the 68-yearold store – a happy mashup of longtime business meets e-commerce.

“We weren’t looking to purchase a shoe store,” Jamie said, but the former owner reached out to her husband over social media after seeing the launch of White Bluffs Boutique and thought the couple might be interested.

The Wikstrands became the third owners of the shoe store, which first opened in 1953. David’s Shoes once had additional locations in Richland and Pasco but those are long closed and only the Kennewick store remains, at the corner of West Kennewick and North Benton avenues.

“A lot of the people who have come in have been coming here for 50 years,” Jamie said. “Their parents first brought them in, and they’re still regulars today.”

Jamie said the store is named for its original owner, and the second owner used to be one of David’s employees, operating it once he retired in the 1990s.

Photo by Robin Wojtanik Jamie and Loren Wikstrand stand behind a newly remodeled checkout counter inside David’s Shoes, 201 W. Kennewick Ave., the store they recently bought and updated with a modern look with new shoe lines and clothes from White Bluffs Boutique, an online-only clothing store.

Since taking over, the Wikstrands started remodeling the interior and bringing in new offerings, including shoes at a lower price point to serve all budgets.

David’s Shoes carries mostly women’s shoes focused on fashion and comfort, with an average price of $50, but the Wikstrands are expanding their men’s lines and have a small selection of kids’ shoes.

Popular brands include Birkenstocks, OTBT, Naked Feet, Spring Step, Rieker and Corkys.

David’s Shoes expects to also start carrying Californians, a higher end line of san-

dals and flip-flops.

A new shipment of Birkenstocks is what brought Dawn Shepherd in on a busy weekend before the popular sandals flew out the door.

“I was born and raised here and had never been in, and then I started seeing all the cute stuff on Facebook,” Shepherd said.

“So I came in and they said they were new owners, and I was like, ‘Oh I haven’t been missing out this whole time!’”

Jamie is excited to put her stamp on the decades-old shop.

“I have always had a passion for clothes

and shoes, and I tend to shop at boutiques versus big box stores,” she said. “I had been doing a lot of online shopping during the pandemic. And Loren said, ‘If you don’t ever take a risk in life, you will never be successful.’ ” So Jamie debuted the online boutique featuring contemporary and trendy items, “putting the ‘fun’ in functional,” often with a western flair.

“My customers can be 18-25 years old, but my 71-year-old mother also shops from here,” Jamie said.

All her tees are American made, with clothing ranging from $25-$55.

Quite a few of the pieces available are displayed at David’s Shoes, taking advantage of the chance to show customers the clothes in person.

Shepherd also bought her second shirt while selecting shoes. Online sales are still available from White Bluffs Boutique, and clothes may be delivered or shipped.

Working full time with the two shops every day for the last few months, Jamie has grown the business enough to warrant the need for a part-time sales associate. She’s currently looking to hire someone to work 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends.

Search David’s Shoes & White Bluffs Boutique: 201 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. White Bluffs Boutique is always open for online sales at whitebluffsboutique.com. Both shops are on Facebook @davids-shoes-kennewick and @whitebluffsboutique.

BUSINESS PROFILE

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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Pasco produce store opens amid shutdown, nears first anniversary

By Andrew Kirk

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

As a teenager Veronica Delgado worked in the Pasco Specialty Kitchen with a woman who made her own jams and sold them at the farmers market.

After graduating, she worked in a grocery store selling produce.

Later she began selling produce from her uncle’s Pasco farm off Road 100 at the Pasco Farmers Market.

Delgado, 27, said she loved seeing food go from farm-to-table in the same community. Soon she began making products herself to sell at the farmers market.

“We have 250 beehives… we sold honey at two to five different farmers markets before the shutdown. We had chickens. I make handmade soaps … my aunt taught me to make soap,” she said.

When the state-mandated lockdowns closed farmers markets, Delgado knew people still had to eat and wanted to support local producers, so she looked around for a storefront so she could stay open as a grocery store.

After examining several places, she settled on the 1,200-square-foot Clark Street storefront because it’s close to her home and the farmers market, where she also operates a stand now that it has reopened.

It was hard to get the word out about her new store at first.

“We’ve been doing a lot of Facebook.

The people who come spread the word.

They say we have great produce, great honey and a lot of people like fresh stuff, grown local or handmade,” she said.

Gustavo Gutierrez-Gomez, executive director of the Downtown Pasco Development Authority, said he loves all the different products offered there that other businesses don’t offer.

“I love the honey; she has coconuts, mangos… very fresh, very unique things, some of which are culturally-specific with tropical flavors. She has organic products, some beauty and even some health products too,” he said.

In addition to keeping her family’s produce and products moving to customers, Delgado said it’s also been a blessing to sell food and other items from other local businesses.

She sells ice cream made by a friend, cider pressed from local orchards, asparagus from the Mid-Columbia, jarred pickles from a local kitchen and more.

“We’re helping the community,” she said.

The Downtown Pasco Development Authority’s 501(c)3 arm has been able to funnel grants, donations and government funding from the federal coronavirus relief packages, state Department of Commerce and city of Pasco to help businesses open and/or stay open during the pandemic, including Veronica’s Fresh Produce, he said.

A few downtown Pasco businesses did choose to close during the 2020 shutdowns, but $240,000 was available to help startups like Delgado’s cover rent during the worst months. She received $7,000.

Delgado said she opened her doors in

July after daily deliveries and foot traffic to her home for pickup orders got to be too much.

She found refrigerators and produce display tables and received help from family in running the store seven days a week, including staffing the farmers market.

Delgado is a longtime entrepreneur, selling cotton candy, popcorn and water at the Pasco Flea Market when she was in high school.

“That’s when I knew I liked selling products, mostly because I like talking to people,” she said.

The Pasco High graduate started the part-time honey business in 2012 as a senior in high school.

She earned her associate degree from Columbia Basin College and bachelor’s in social work from Heritage University.

Gutierrez-Gomez said it’s been gratifying to see Veronica’s Fresh Produce and other downtown businesses weather the pandemic.

The development authority coordinates a variety of programs to help support these entrepreneurs, he said, such as business classes offered in Spanish with the help of Wenatchee Community College. Grants from the Seattle Foundation and other groups are keeping doors open and people working, he added.

Currently grant money is being used to produce a Spanish-language podcast and digital radio content to promote downtown businesses. In addition to the busi-

Courtesy Veronica’s Fresh Produce Veronica Delgado of Pasco shows off a bunch of fresh-picked organic cilantro that she sells at her storefront, 528 W. Clark St. in Pasco. She opened the store in July 2020.

ness classes, the development authority also is helping with Spanish-language online marketing.

Delgado says she’s lived in Pasco 15 years and enjoys seeing the local support for her store and knowing she’s support-

ing others: “We help a lot of local farmers and local businesses.”

Search Veronica’s Fresh Produce: 528 W. Clark St., Pasco; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; Facebook; 509-851-2739.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Explore Puget Sound without getting wet

Anyone curious about life in and under Puget Sound can log onto the internet to view the changing conditions of Washington’s largest body of water.

The state Department of Ecology’s Marine Sediment Monitoring Team released its first collection of GIS-based story maps that provide updated descriptions of their work assessing conditions and change over time in Puget Sound.

The work tracks both sediment and the marine life that inhabits the sound.

Go to bit.ly/PugetSoundStoryMaps.

Snake River listed as most endangered in nation

The Snake River has been listed as the country’s most endangered in a report from the conservation group American Rivers.

The river, which flows through the Tri-Cities and three states, landed at No. 1 spot on American Rivers’ 2021 list of most endangered rivers in the U.S. report.

The report points to salmon runs, native rights and culture, and prosperity being at risk. The report says removing four dams on the lower river in Eastern Washington is essential, along with increasing flow over downstream dams, noting that a comprehensive salmon recovery plan is needed.

In February 2021, Congressman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, proposed a $33.5

billion plan that includes river restoration measures regionwide, including the removal of the four dams.

Other rivers included on the mostendangered list were the Lower Missouri River in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska; Boundary Waters in Minnesota; South River in Georgia; Pecos River in New Mexico; Tar Creek in Oklahoma; McCloud River in California; Ipswich River in Massachusetts; Raccoon River in Iowa; and Turkey Creek in Mississippi.

Upper Columbia River ready for salmon

The spawning beds of a 47-mile stretch of the Upper Columbia River above Grand Coulee Dam is suitable for fall and summer Chinook salmon if they can reach it, according to a new study from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Upper Columbia United Tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The study explored the stretch of river between Kettle Falls and the Canadian border and concluded the water and riverbed conditions could provide nesting space for between 5,800 and 33,000 spawning adult salmon.

The study adds that hundreds of miles of streams are available to support both adults and juveniles.

Chinook spend their adult years at sea before returning to spawn in rivers. The challenge is that Grand Coulee blocks upstream passage. Neither Grand Coulee Dam nor the downstream Chief Joseph Dam offer juvenile fish bypass facilities.

Fish passage discussions are underway, with researchers considering transporting fish upstream via truck, or through the “Whooshh system,” which transports fish past barriers through pressurized tubes.

Go to bit.ly/UpperColumbiaFishHabitat.

Columbia Center owner says in-person returns are greener

Returning goods in person is greener than sending items back in the mail, according to Simon, the Indianapolis-based owner of Kennewick’s Columbia Center mall.

Simon asserts that research shows returning purchases to the store reduces

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carbon emissions by up to 40% compared to returning them by U.S. mail or other courier. Simon cited a company report for its research, “Leveraging InStore Returns to Enhance Profitability and Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

Go to simon-malls.cld.bz/SimonLeveraging-In-Store-Returns.

Online returns doubled in 2020 to $102 billion, with 40% of apparel items sent back, according to Simon.

“Online returns are a growing problem that adversely and materially impacts the environment. Returning online purchases to the store offers consumers and retailers the opportunity to lessen that impact,” said Aharon Kestenbaum, Simon’s head of sustainability.

Go to investors.simon.com/sustainability.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

CELEBRATING

Senior-focused agency breaks ground on $1.6M building

Page B3

YEARS

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Downtown group to use grant to transform Flag Plaza

Page B10

May 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 5 | B1

Construction starts in June on luxe project in downtown Kennewick

By Wendy Culverwell

Courtesy The Nineteen Construction begins in June on The Nineteen, a $13 million luxury officeand-apartment project at 19 S. Auburn St., the first new private development in downtown Kennewick in recent memory.

editor@tcjournal.biz

The Nineteen, a luxury office-andapartment project planned for downtown Kennewick, will break ground in June.

The project, first announced in 2019, was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic as the developers pursued construction loans.

Andrew Klein and Brian Griffith, who formed Klein Griffith Properties Group LLC to pursue the project, secured the final piece of the financial puzzle in April, when the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund (HAEIF) board approved a $1.1 million loan to support the $13 million project.

They previously secured a $9.7 million agreement with New York-based ICON Realty Capital.

The five-story brick-and-steel building will have 40 apartment units above

Firehouse Subs brand expands to the west

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Sun Pacific Energy, which operates a string of Firehouse Subs-anchored Sun Market convenience stores and gas stations in the Mid-Columbia and western Washington, breaks ground this spring in West Richland.

Not all Sun Markets feature the Firehouse brand, but the new one at 6255 Keene Road at Belmont Boulevard, across from the new West Richland city services center, will. It will be the fifth version of the Jacksonville, Florida-based sandwich brand in the Tri-Cities.

Jarrod Franson, Sun Pacific’s operations

uFIREHOUSE SUBS, Page B2

ground-floor office space at 19 S. Auburn St. The Nineteen will be the first new

private construction in the heart of old Kennewick in recent memory and the neighborhood’s first commercial live-

work building.

HAEIF first reviewed The Nineteen project about two years ago but rejected the application because it was too expensive. The board spent the past 18 months working with Klein and Griffith to refine the vision into a plan it could finance.

The duo shaved $4 million from the original project budget by choosing lower-cost approaches to the building’s infrastructure, such as how the roof is fixed to the structure. The changes will not affect the living spaces, said Klein, uTHE NINETEEN, Page B5

Iconic Brewery to bring beer, wine to Horn Rapids

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

The Tri-Cities’ fledgling craft brewery community is about to gain a new member.

Iconic Brewery will open in late June at Horn Rapids, bringing craft brew, wine and a family-friendly outdoor gathering spot to Richland’s Horn Rapids Industrial Park.

Iconic Brewery is the brainchild of Debbie and Matt Driscoll, veteran dairy farmers and vineyard owners, and their son Todd, a brewer and winemaker.

The Driscolls secured the final piece of startup funding in April when the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund approved a $400,000 loan to buy equipment, including a 10-barrel brewing system.

Iconic Brewery will serve as a craft brewery as well as tasting room for Southern Cross Wines, which the Driscolls produce through their vineyard, Sunset View

Photo by Wendy Culverwell Iconic Brewery will join the lineup of breweries and other dining venues at Richland’s Horn Rapids Industrial Park. Owners Matt and Debbie Driscoll secured a $400,000 equipment loan from the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund to equip the brewery, which is being built by Total Site Services.

Vineyards, in Pasco. Ample outdoor space will serve as a gathering space and event venue.

Debbie and Matt Driscoll were longtime

dairy farmers in Prosser who attempted to retire but found new careers instead. He worked as a feedlot manager for Simplot. uICONIC BREWERY, Page B6

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

FIREHOUSE SUBS, From page B1 manager, said it will be a twin to the Sun Market at Horn Rapids and is expected to open in February 2022. Explosive residential growth drew it to the area, along with the presence of employers such as the city and the Richland School District’s administrative offices.

“This will put us right in front of City Hall,” he said.

LCR Construction of Richland is building the 4,000-square-foot building, which features a drive-thru. It will employ 30 full- and part-time workers.

The latest version of the Firehouse/ Shell business hints at Sun Pacific’s expansion west up the Yakima Valley.

Sun Pacific is building a Sun Market/ Shell station at Benton City on the south side of Interstate 82 in an area freshly opened for development. It is the first commercial project in the area and will open in June. It won’t have a Firehouse to start.

Franson said the company concluded Benton City, population 3,560, does not yet have enough residents to support the food franchise, but it could install one in the future. But in the interim, the Belmont location will serve that side of the Tri-City metro area.

Sun Pacific first brought Firehouse Subs to the Mid-Columbia in 2017 as it reentered the convenience store business after selling its previous similarly-named Sunmart business. Sunmarts were anchored by Subway shops.

The sale included a no-compete period that kept Sun Pacific from reentering the retail side of the fuel business for several

uBUSINESS BRIEFS State budget includes $7.5M for Pasco development

Photo by Kristina Lord Sun Pacific Energy of Kennewick will install its fifth edition of Firehouse Subs at its next Sun Market convenience store and gas station, at West Richland’s Belmont district at 6255 Keene Road. Construction begins this spring.

years.

When that ended and the business shifted to Chris Eerkes, now president, it decided to rebuild its gas station retail business. It liked including sandwich shops in its model but wanted a premium brand.

Firehouse, with its focus on serving the first responders who serve the public, seemed like a good fit. It went after the regional franchise. Another business owned the area rights but had not developed it in the Mid-Columbia.

Unsure what would happen, Sun Pacific built its Sun Market off Highway 12 in Burbank in late 2017 expecting to open a

Subway inside. It even built the restaurant space to Subway specifications.

Before it could open, it managed to secure the franchise rights for Firehouse.

It had to tear out the never-opened Subway in Burbank and rebuild it as a Firehouse.

“It was painful in my pocketbook,” Franson joked.

It has since replicated the business at Horn Rapids in Richland, Badger Canyon in Kennewick and Road 100 in Pasco. The goal is one or two stores per city.

“We’re going to be in higher-traffic areas,” he said.

The Port of Pasco was awarded $7.5 million in the state capital budget to develop roads and other infrastructure for its next project, the Reimann Industrial Center.

The funding is contingent on a new large food processor committing to building a facility at Reimann, which is currently undeveloped.

The 300-acre center is on the east side of Railroad Avenue between Foster Wells Road and Vineyard Avenue.

The state funds will be combined with port money to prepare the site for future industrial development. Reimann is intended to host food processing, cold storage and distribution facilities.

Monitor vit plant melter heatup online

Bechtel National Inc. has launched a website to track the process of starting up Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, better known as the vit plant, which will encapsulate nuclear waste in glass logs for long-term storage.

Bechtel, the U.S. Department of Energy contractor for the project, will begin heating up the first melter later this year.

Two 300-ton waste melters inside the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Facility will heat waste from Hanford’s tanks to 2,100 degrees F together with glassforming materials to create glass logs.

Track the progress at melterheatup. hanfordvitplant.com.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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Senior-focused agency breaks ground on $1.6M building

By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

Senior Life Resources Northwest is adding a new building to its Richland campus.

The $1.6 million, 6,100-square-foot building will be a replica of the existing administration building and should be move-in ready in about six months, said Grant Baynes, executive director of the senior-focused nonprofit best known for operating Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels.

Senior Life Resources Northwest broke ground in mid-April after securing a low-interest, 20-year fixed loan with Bank of the West. The agency’s finance and human resources teams will be moving into the new building.

Baynes said the addition has been part of the agency’s long-range plan.

Covid-19 made it clear the new building needed to come sooner rather than later.

Before the pandemic, workers shared offices but with social distancing requirements, this practice had to stop. The staff are now spread throughout the building, which gobbled up all available space.

Baynes said they’ve also hired more staff over the years. The agency recently remodeled its Yakima facility, adding five offices, and remodeled its Sunnyside building in 2019.

Senior Life Resources Northwest moved into its existing building in 2016 in Richland. “It was tight when we moved in but it was all we could afford,” Baynes said.

“In a million years I would never have guessed we would outgrow this building,” said Kristi Thien, nutrition services director.

The agency, which operates in eight counties, runs Home Care Services, providing in-home assistance to seniors; Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels, which offers home-delivered meals and wellchecks for homebound clients; and dining center meals for mobile clients.

The dining centers are closed due to pandemic restrictions but drive-thru hot lunches are offered during the week.

The team overseeing construction includes two key people who earned Baynes’ trust because they worked on the original building project. Dale Perry is the construction project manager for Pratt & Co. Nick Castorini serves as the construction liaison for Senior Life Resources Northwest.

“We got the old team of Dale and Nick back together,” he said. “It’s the only reason I agreed to do (this construction) now.”

The building project includes security upgrades.

“We’ll have better control over building access and a chance to improve that here (in the existing building). This area has quite a few people drifting through,” Baynes said, referring to incidents of people camping, poking through the Dumpster and stealing a Meals on Wheels van in fall 2019.

The integrated security system with cameras also will include freezer alarms

Photo by Kristina Lord Construction is underway on a new $1.6 million office building at Senior Life Resources Northwest at 1824 Fowler St. in Richland.

to protect meals destined for senior citizens from dangerous thaws. If there’s a rise in temperatures, an alarm will sound.

“To lose one would be disastrous,” Baynes said.

The Senior Life Resources Northwest teams are back to working in the office, using a hybrid schedule with split shifts but Baynes yearns to have the whole crew back together.

“I really miss everybody here because an integral part of how we operate and feed off each other and keep our energy

going on through this is face to face,” he said.

Baynes, who likes to see his staff walking around and talking to each other, is already worrying about the new building splitting up the team, but he’s confident they’ll remain connected across the small parking lot between them.

“We’ll have some rebuilding to do and different dynamics in offices but we’re a human services business and human-tohuman connection is integral to that,” he said.

As the pandemic and shutdowns took hold last year, Baynes secured a hefty supply of personal protective equipment for his staff, thanks to his quick reaction time, a result of more than 35 years in fire service.

The Senior Life Resources Northwest board of directors also is offering a $50 thank-you incentive to staff who get vaccinated.

Keeping senior clients and staff safe while coronavirus spreads through the community has been Baynes’s priority from the start.

He expressed concern about the loss of congregant dining for seniors being “a huge loss socially for a lot of people.”

“We are trying to work out now how to open hours at our café safely,” he said.

More people are receiving meals at home than ever before, he said.

“If we learned nothing else, we learned how incredible this community is,” he said, explaining that community members donated money when the agency’s annual fundraisers were canceled.

“A good company does pretty well in good times but it takes a great company to be great in bad times,” Baynes said. “It’s too late to start building relationships and a culture when times get bad. You’ve got to have that ahead of time.

“It’s helped us excel,” he said.

To learn more about Senior Life Resources Northwest, go to seniorliferesources.org or call 509-735-1911.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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Courtesy Kathy Peoples Kathy Peoples opened Peoples Fitness Journey at 1221 Columbia Park Trail in Richland, fulfilling her dream of opening a gym when she retired from UPS Inc.

Retired UPS exec opens small gym at Richland Wye

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Kathy Peoples has opened Peoples Fitness Journey at the Richland Wye, fulfilling a dream of opening a health-related business when she retired.

Peoples Fitness opened in a 2,500-square-foot space at 1221 Columbia Park Trail, near Fowler Street, in a spot formerly occupied by a rental business.

Peoples graduated from Pasco High School but spent most of her career living and working elsewhere. She spent a decade in the military, then joined the Boeing Company and ultimately landed at UPS Inc., where she rose through the management ranks.

When she retired in 2019 after a 30-year career, she made a beeline home from Ontario, California.

“I moved back because my family is here,” she said.

Throughout her career, she said she always knew she wanted to open a gym and

help people meet their fitness goals.

She collected equipment and developed her own format rather than joining an existing franchise. She holds certificates in bodybuilding, training and sports nutrition.

“It’s always been a lifelong interest,” she said. “I just think fitness is very important. It’s a perpetual journey.”

She spent her first year building her retirement home in the walkout basement of her sister’s house. She began working on the gym in August, at the height of the pandemic.

“Now I finally get to open,” she said.

Peoples provides personal training for men and women.

She is working by herself to start but hopes to add trainers as the business develops.

She caters to 18-and-over clients.

Search Hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Contact Peoples at training@pfitnessjourney.com for information.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION THE NINETEEN, From page B1 an engineer.

Skip Novakovich, spokesman for the HAEIF board, praised the developers for their vision for downtown and for working through cost concerns.

“They did it. They became competitive with the rates they’re going to charge,” he said. He also applauded the addition of a live-work project to downtown, saying it will be good for business and for public safety.

Klein and Griffith said they’re grateful for the loan. The pandemic slowed them down but gave them time to rethink how residents will occupy apartments in the era of working from home.

They removed interior walls to open up the living areas. Daytime work areas can covert to personal spaces where residents can live and entertain, Griffith said.

“There’s lots of open space. It blends from the kitchen into entertaining space into views out to the (Columbia) river and the mountains. That intentional planning is where we spent our time,” he said.

Klein and Griffith intend to hold The Nineteen as a long-term investment.

Klein, principal of AS Klein Engineering, will retain his business. Griffith, a marketing executive, will be the onsite property manager.

The city of Kennewick is reviewing the building permit application, which was submitted in January. Yost Gallagher Construction of Spokane is the contractor. The final budget will depend on locking in construction materials in a climate marked by rising prices for wood, steel and other supplies.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Benton, Franklin nonprofits can apply for grants

The Three Rivers Community Foundation is inviting nonprofits in Benton and Franklin counties to apply for $415,000 in grants to support efforts to improve housing, food insecurity and mental health.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. May 15.

The funding is available through the Greater Columbia Accountable Community of Health Fund in collaboration with the Benton Franklin Community Health Alliance and the community foundation.

The awards prioritize supportive housing for those living with addiction or mental health issues, sheltering homeless middle and high school aged youth, expanding school-based food programs, providing free or low-cost healthy foods at places where youth gather, suicide prevention and adding mental health counselors.

Some of the investments supported by prior grants include a clinical social worker at Chaplaincy Health Care, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Grace Clinic and social skills training for TriCities Residential services residents.

Apply for grants at 3rcf.org/nonprofits/how-to-apply-for-a-grant.

Donate at 3rcf.org/donations.

If the schedule holds, apartments will be available in late 2022 or early 2023, with rents starting at $1,635 to $2,085 for one- and two-bedroom units.

There is reason to be optimistic The Nineteen will succeed in attracting tenants for its apartments as well as the office space.

Klein and Griffith began soliciting rental applications in late 2020 with a website that touts its pet-friendly amenities – waste stations and a private outdoor space for Fido.

Hundreds signed up for notifications about the project. No leases have been signed, which they attribute to pandemic jitters.

“People were not signing their names on any dotted lines,” Griffith said.

Vacant apartments are rare in the TriCities, where the vacancy rates for oneand two-bedroom units was 1% and 1.3%, respectively, in the fall survey conducted by the University of Washington’s Center for Real Estate Studies. The spring survey is pending but the supply-demand gap is not expected to close.

Jenny Benson, an independent appraiser with Value Logic, scrutinized The Nineteen’s appeal to tenants and investors and concluded the shortage of housing bodes well for leasing, according to her report, which was included in the loan application submitted to HAEIF. Citing Costar research, Benson noted that local rents were rising at an annual rate of 4.7% in the first quarter of 2021, with asking rents of $1,252 a month for top tier properties.

“Housing continues to be in short sup-

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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Photo by Wendy Culverwell The Nineteen, a $13 million project, will add offices and apartments at 19 S. Auburn St. in downtown Kennewick.

ply and continual price increases (in the for-sale market) correlate with the shortage of supply and will continue until increased supply releases some of this pressure,” Benson said in the appraisal.

Tri-Citians are showing a willingness to pay for amenity-rich apartments.

Park Place, at the entrance to Howard Amon Park in Richland, charges $1,375 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit.

Columbia River Walk, newly open on the Pasco waterfront, charges $1,699 for a three-bedroom.

The ground floor office space has already drawn interest. BlockChyp Inc., a Kennewick firm that created an integrated payment platform for merchants, signed a nonbinding letter of intent to lease 6,560 square feet, which is about half of what is

available, in February.

The Nineteen will have a market value of $15 million when it is fully leased, Benson predicted.

HAEIF is a public entity created by the state Legislature to invest money from fees paid to deposit toxic waste at the Hanford site into projects that build the local economy. To date, it has issued 48 loans totaling about $25 million.

The fund is almost fully invested after a recent round of commitments that also put money into the future Crumbl Cookies in Kennewick and Iconic Brewery in Richland. A reserve fund is available to support unexpected opportunities.

Go to the-nineteen.com for updates.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION ICONIC BREWERY, From page B1 She was a manager for Total Site Services.

They started a vineyard at their Pasco home and then added the winery to process their own grapes. But establishing a family business was always in the cards, Matt said.

Between their agriculture and business experience and Todd’s brewing background, a craft brewery was the natural outlet.

“We said, ‘Dammit, let’s do it,’ ” he recalled.

After scouting for a relaxed setting, they bought two acres at Horn Rapids from the city of Richland in 2019. They own the property as M&D Property Holdings LLC and lease it to Iconic.

They were attracted by the open atmosphere and the chance to be part of a cluster of consumer-facing businesses that includes Bombing Range Brewing Co., White Bluffs Brewing, The Dive and At Michele’s event venue.

Todd studied viticulture and enology at Washington State University and works in the wine and beer industries in Washington and Oregon. He is currently working at Chateau Ste. Michelle. His wife, Ashley Stevens Driscoll, is head winemaker for Mercer Wines Estates and will serve as assistant brewer. The family border collie, Sam, rounds out the startup crew.

Opening a craft brewery fulfills Todd’s dream of working for himself.

“It’s in my blood to want to do something for myself rather than be underneath somebody,” he said. “I’m ready.”

Todd brings a passion for the science be-

hind brewing to Iconic and said he particularly loves working on barrel-aged brews.

Iconic will serve a fixed menu of IPAs, pilsners, lagers and a rotating list of specialty brews such as hefeweizens.

“I’m real big on yeasts and how it affects the beer,” he said. “I love talking to people about beer, what they like, what they’ve been doing.”

Iconic is inviting food trucks to operate at the property and plans to serve pub-style food when the trucks are not available. Its 5,000-square-foot building includes ample brewery space, a 510-square-foot wine tasting room but no commercial kitchen to start.

Iconic Brewing will sell through its Horn Rapids brewery and tap room and by selfdistribution to Tri-City area restaurants.

The family already distributes its wines to the four local Yoke’s Fresh Markets groceries.

HAEIF, a public agency established by the state to promote economic diversification around the Hanford site, sees a potential winner in Iconic Brewery, said Skip Novakovich, a board member who serves as its spokesman.

The board was impressed with the Driscolls’ significant personal investment and in the potential to expand the number of craft breweries in the community.

“It’s going to be another good project for the Tri-City region,” he said.

Iconic applied for a microbrewery license from the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Control Board last fall and will finalize the paperwork when the building is complete.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION Paid Advertising

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

Zintel Creek Golf Club 19th Hole Event Center & The Legends Room 314 N. Underwood St., Kennewick

Zintel Creek Golf Club, formerly the TriCities Country Club, has debuted two new facilities to serve guests at 314 N. Underwood St. in Kennewick.

The 10th Hole Event Center can host up to 150 people for tournaments, receptions and parties.

The Legends Room is a smaller space serving meetings and private dinner parties.

The $130,000 project was completed on March 1.

Clint Ables, general manager for Zintel Creek, oversaw the work.

For information, go to ZintelCreek.com or contact Ables at 509-783-6131 or Clint@ ZintelCreek.com.

Congratulations Zintel Creek!

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

uBUSINESS BRIEFS At Home going private in $2.8B deal

At Home Group Inc., which opened a massive home décor store in Kennewick shortly before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, is being taken private.

The Dallas, Texas-based company announced it has entered a deal to sell itself to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash deal valued at $2.8 billion.

At Home stockholders will get $36 per share, representing a premium of about 17% over the May 4 closing stock price of $30.67.

At Home operates 226 locations in Paid Advertising

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

40 states. It entered the Tri-City market in 2019 when Shopko vacated its 106,000-square-foot store on Columbia Center Boulevard. At Home opened in September 2019 following a $2.5 million remodel.

contractors raise the price and demand payment for shoddy work with substandard materials.

Go to protectmyhome.net for tips on avoiding getting scammed and how to hire contractors.

’Tis the season for paving scams

Houston partnership to build PNNL ‘Launchpad’

It’s spring, which means it’s time for unscrupulous contractors to hit the streets.

The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries warns residents of the common paving scam. “Contractors” show up, offering to pave a driveway, typically with asphalt purportedly left over from a nearby job.

When the project is done. Shady

A pair of Houston- based partners will build the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s $75 million Grid Storage Launchpad.

Harvey | Harvey-Cleary and Kirksey Architecture were selected to design and construct the project by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, which announced the ambitious clean energy development center earlier

this spring.

The partners also are the designbuild team for the $90 million Energy Sciences Center being constructed on the PNNL campus in north Richland. In 2008-09, Harvey | Harvey-Cleary was the general contractor for a biological and computational sciences research center.

The Grid Storage Laboratory will provide validation and testing of grid storage technologies. The 85,000-square-foot building will include 30 research laboratories and other amenities to serve scientists and researchers.

The state of Washington is supporting with project with an $8.3 million grant to pay for equipment and instruments.

Miramar Health Center 6351 W. Rio Grande Ave., Kennewick

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic has completed Miramar Health Center, a $20 million, 40,000-square-foot medical and dental clinic adjacent to Vista Field at 6351 W. Rio Grande Ave. in Kennewick.

The project was designed and built by the nonprofit’s construction partner, Colorado-based Neenan Construction, to echo the future design of the Vista Field development.

The clinic, which opened May 10, has 36 exam rooms, three procedure rooms, 10 dental suites and room for group exams and consultations. The health center provides medical, dental and pharmacy services and is designed to improve access to health care for 36,000 uninsured and lowincome patients in the Tri-Cities.

The new clinic joins a regional chain of clinics.

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic has more than 40 clinics in 18 communities in Washington and Oregon.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION uBUSINESS BRIEFS HFG Trust expands to Oregon, California

HFG Trust, a Tri-City wealth management firm, is expanding to Oregon and California with the acquisition of Prime Wealth Management of Berkeley, California.

With the acquisition, HFG Trust manages nearly $1.1 billion in client assets.

HFG Trust, led by William Wang, is a locally owned and privately held financial services organization with headquarters in Kennewick.

It employs 124 and provides comprehensive wealth management services, including portfolio management,

401(k) services and private banking in partnership with its parent, Community First Bank.

Physician leases space in Pasco

Dr. Sergio Flores signed a lease for 890 square feet in Captain Gray Plaza, 115 W. Court St., Pasco, for a family medicine practice.

Jason Goffard of Kiemle Hagood represented the landlord, Lakeshore Investment Corp.

Restaurants eligible for millions in grants

The U.S. Small Business Administration will provide up to $10 million to hard-hit restaurants and other

gathering spots to compensate for the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The money does not have to be repaid.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was established with $28.6 billion from the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The program opened on May 3 and recorded 186,200 applications in its first two days. About a third of the applications were from businesses with less than $500,000 in pre-pandemic revenue, representing some of the smallest businesses in the country.

The program is open to restaurants, food stands/trucks/carts, caterers, bars/ saloons/lounges/taverns, snack and beverage bars, bakeries, brewpubs,

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wineries and other facilities where the public may taste, sample or purchase products.

Businesses can apply for up to $10 million to compensate for actual losses, up to $5 million per site.

Go to sba.gov/restaurants.

Pasco wine shop offers free local delivery

CD Wine Ventures, an online wine shop, has opened in downtown Pasco.

Owners Emily and Craig Maloney and Damien Davis created the business to offer monthly club shipments and online purchases of unique wines for pickup or delivery in the Tri-Cities.

Go to cdwineventures.com.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Downtown group to use grant to transform Flag Plaza

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A grant designed to transform downtown Kennewick’s Flag Plaza could help to expand its farmers market, host more frequent and diverse events and create space for public gatherings and food truck dining.

The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership (HDKP) received one of four Washington Main Street Communities grants to improve the area.

“We have been dreaming about the potential of Flag Plaza as a public gathering space for a long time and the timing of this grant opportunity matches the momentum we have downtown for developing public spaces and investing in our public amenities,” said Stephanie Button, executive di-

rector of HDKP. Work planning the $12,000 project will begin over the next 90 days.

HDKP and its downtown Kennewick partners will receive technical assistance from Samantha Lorenz of Terra Soma LLC, as it develops a plan to pilot how Flag Plaza could be redeveloped into a space that delivers economic value in ways that benefit neighbors and local businesses.

Terra Soma, with offices in Washington state, offers community planning, public engagement, strategic communications and planning, and research services.

HDKP will receive $1,500 in technical assistance from Terra Soma. The grant totaled $2,000, which HDKP matched.

“We are hoping to raise an additional

$5,000 to allow us to fully build out our vision,” Button said.

HDKP also secured $45,000 in the state’s capital budget to improve nonresidential community and social service centers.

Button said it will be used to upgrade the electrical infrastructure at the plaza for future projects like EV charging stations, power to food trucks and more lighting.

“The partners and vision that HDKP brought to the table for their Flag Plaza proposal really inspired us,” said Breanne Durham, director of Washington Main Street. “The planning team is clear-headed, creative and collaborative – it’s a pilot with lots of potential for long-term impact.”

In 2020, HDKP piloted a street closure program downtown called Alfresco

Downtown Kennewick, where it created a boardwalk-style environment that enabled restaurants and stores to expand into the streets. It also involved inviting food trucks and entrepreneurs to set up pop-up locations.

This Covid-19-relief program dramatically increased the vitality of downtown, and businesses in the district reported 30%60% increase in sales during the life of the program, Button said.

“We learned that opening up temporary public spaces for people, social exchanges and expanded commerce and dining opportunities was a successful experiment,” she said.

For updates, go to historickennewick. org/flag-plaza.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

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Can you opt out of state’s new Long Term Care Act and tax? Should you?

Washington state has adopted a firstof-its-kind law that both provides a new long-term care benefit and pays for the new benefit with a new tax collected by employers.

Its formal name is the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program.

Many employers and employees are scrambling to understand the implications of this new law. This column aims to summarize the new law and provide thoughts on who might want to seek to opt-out of the law – and associated tax.

What’s the tax?

Starting Jan. 1, 2022, employers will begin withholding a new payroll tax from employee paychecks as a premium payment for the new long-term care benefit.

The initial premium rate is fifty-eight hundredths of 1% of the individual’s wages, or 0.58% (RCW 50B.04.070). This amounts to $580 annually for a W2 income of $100,000. But, unlike other payroll tax deductions, there is no cap on the amount of wages that are taxed.

So, if you are making a W2 wage of $300,000, the payroll tax would amount to $1,740 a year.

What’s the benefit?

Under current law, the benefit is approximately $100 a day for up to 365 days, or about $36,500.

This amount is based on the following findings embedded in the applicable law: The average Medicaid consumer uses 96 hours of care per month. The language is embedded in RCW 50B.04.900.

Importantly, the benefit requires work minimums for vesting.

In other words, it is only available to those individuals working for wages and paying Matt Riesenweber the tax for the Cornerstone prescribed time.

Wealth Strategies The benefit is not GUEST COLUMN provided if the individual beneficiary moves out of the state of Washington.

Can I opt out?

Employees who can demonstrate they already have long-term care insurance may apply to be exempted from paying the premium, under RCW 50B.04.085.

The application for the exemption is only valid from Oct. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022, but an employee seeking an exemption must have alternative qualifying long-term care insurance in place before Nov. 1, 2021.

Individuals interested in applying for an exemption should be prepared to act given the short window of opportunity. If you do not have long-term care insurance and choose to acquire it before the deadline, the application process and underwriting might take some time.

The exact form of the application for exemption has not yet been provided by the Employment Security Department.

Importantly, if an individual is granted an

Who may want to seek an exemption by acquiring an individual long-term care policy

Who may not need to worry about it (i.e., pay the tax)

10 or more years from retirement

10 years or less from retirement

Likely moving out of Washington at retirement (benefit is only good in Washington)

Likely staying in Washington

Interested in or want an individualized long-term care policy

Can self-insure; not interested in individualized long-term care policy

Income more than $150,000 (W2 income only)

Income under $150,000 (W2 income only)

exemption (opts out) then that individual can never later qualify for the benefit.

Should I opt out?

This is a more difficult question and is highly individualized.

For most people, we think the answer is that you should not choose to opt out.

Based on the rules as we understand them, we have put together considerations to help in making your determination.

The longer you plan to work and the higher your income, the more impactful the tax will be on your income. Conversely, the shorter you plan to work or the lower your income, the smaller the impact. If you already have a long-term care policy that is satisfactory to you, then you probably should opt out.

For others, take a look at the following factors in the accompanying chart.

If multiple factors in a column apply to

you, it may help determine if purchasing long-term care insurance and opting out is right for you.

This law will impact the vast majority of employees and also the vast majority of employers.

Not only should employees determine if opting out is in their best interest, but the employer also should be prepared to begin payroll deductions in accordance with the new law.

Employers also should provide notification of the impacts of this law to employees as soon as possible so the employee can evaluate his or her options. Matt Riesenweber, a certified financial planner, works for Cornerstone Wealth Strategies Inc., a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

uAWARDS & HONORS • Randy Taylor of Basin Pacific Insurance and Benefits in Kennewick, has earned the agribusiness and farm insurance specialist certification from International Risk Management Institute Inc., which offers risk management and insurance continuing education. By earning this certification, he has joined a group of insurance professionals who have gone beyond being a “generalist” to focusing on the specific needs of the agribusiness and farm community.

• Financial services firm Edward Jones, which has several offices in the Tri-Cities, ranks highest in investor satisfaction with full-service brokerage firms, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study.

The study measures overall investor satisfaction with 24 full-service investment firms based on seven factors including product offerings; problem resolution; convenience; digital experience; financial advisors; value; and trust.

• The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership (HDKP) announced the winners of this year’s Downtown Awards in a special broadcast held over Zoom and YouTube on April 28. At this year’s ceremony, the partnership debuted a new award category, Downtown Revitalization of the Year, and dedicated the Kennewick Downtowner of the Year Award to the memory of Ken Silliman, who was the first winner of this award in 1989. The awards broadcast can be viewed on HDKP’s YouTube page.

Winners are:

- Discount Vac & Sew for Downtown Kennewick Business of the Year.

- Layered Cake Artistry for Downtown Kennewick Revitalization of the Year.

- Ken Hohenberg for Ken Silliman Kennewick Downtowner of the Year Award.

• Chase Wharton of Visit Tri-Cities has been named one of Destinations International’s 2021 30 Under 30 recipients. He has been a part of the Visit Tri-Cities team for two years, initially joining as part of the Convention Sales Department before transitioning to the business development manager role within the Marketing Department.

Destinations International is committed to investing and preparing the leaders of tomorrow and developing future indus-

try leaders that represent a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives. Each year, 30 individuals under the age of 30, are selected to gain industry networking opportunities and leadership throughout the year. The honorees originate from a variety of destination organizations of all sizes and countries.

• Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco received a 5-star overall hospital quality star rating from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, putting Lourdes in the top 14% of all hospitals nationwide. The rating is determined through a variety of measures across five areas of quality, including mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care.

An average of the five scores is taken to calculate a single hospital summary score.

uACCREDITATION • The Franklin County Coroner’s Office has received accreditation from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office went through the process to ensure its operating policies, procedures and practices are within international guidelines. The office was subjected to review of 288 standards, including administrative, forensic, investigative and facility review. The IACME requires 100% compliance of mandatory standards and 90% of all applicable standards.

uDONATIONS • The American Red Cross is working with Hanford Mission Integration Solutions and other partners to make homes safer from the threat of a home fire during the annual Sound the Alarm campaign. HMIS leadership presented the local Red Cross chapter with a $10,000 gift. Funds will directly assist the Red Cross in helping people prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires. Since Jan. 1, local Red Cross volunteers have helped almost 700 people with urgent needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance and recovery planning, following more than 160 home fires throughout the Northwest region.

In central and southeast Washington, the Red Cross has responded to 28 home fires and provided aid to 125 individuals.

NEWS TIPS? We want to hear from you Email tips to info@tcjournal.biz.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 uNEW HIRES • Austin Ebner, a physician’s assistant, has joined Miramar Health Center in Pasco. He earned his master’s of science in physician assistant Austin Ebner studies at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California.

He did his undergraduate studies at Walla Walla University.

• Haley Scellick, a board-certified family nurse practitioner with experience in neurosurgery and orthopedics, has joined Empowered Health Institute in Richland. She completed her master’s of science in nursing at Gonzaga University and bachelor’s of arts in biology from Central Washington University.

• The Children’s Developmental Center’s Board of the Directors has hired Zahra Roach as executive director. In her position, she will be responZahra Roach sible for leading the organization and staff to fulfilling its mission of providing services to families and children birth to 3 and older with developmental disabilities and delays throughout the greater Mid-Columbia

region. Roach is a graduate of Washington State University Tri-Cities and received her master’s degree in teaching from Simmons University. A longtime Tri-City resident, she brings a strong commitment to the position through her community and educational work with the Pasco School District, serving on several local boards, as a volunteer on the Pasco Planning Commission and most recently, her election to Pasco City Council. She has worked with special education and life skills classrooms and at New Horizon School and Pasco High School.

• Chaplaincy Health Care has hired Virginia “Ginny” Hartup as its new volunteer coordinator. She and her husband moved to the Tri-Cities in August 2018 Virginia Hartup from Littleton, Colorado. They have two grown children, a son who stayed in Colorado and daughter who recently moved to Alaska.

In summer 2019 she worked for the TriCities Dust Devils as a section leader.

She studied early childhood education at San Joaquin Delta College. After college, she moved to Colorado where she started her professional career working for the YMCA as a child care site director. She also worked as a preschool teacher, ESL paraprofessional and substitute kindergarten teacher. While working with children, she also held several positions

at Costco. Once her children reached school age, she began a new career in the insurance industry, retiring as an agency owner. She is a member of the Soroptimist International of Pasco-Kennewick.

uGRANTS • Three Rivers Community Foundation is distributing about $45,300 in grants to nonprofits in Benton and Franklin counties to support critical nonprofit services. Recipients are: - Columbia Industries – Columbia Industries has adapted their Opportunity Kitchen program to use students in their job training program to provide meals for families in need. This grant supports food and supplies.

- Heartlinks Hospice and Palliative Care – Provides funds for Personal Protective Equipment Supplies for hospice and palliative care workers.

- Prosser Boys & Girls Club – Supports costs of adapting program to provide emergency care for children of essential workers.

- Communities in Schools of BentonFranklin – Supports food and supplies for care boxes for families.

- Support, Advocacy, & Resource Center – Supports temporary housing costs for survivors transitioning to restorative care or needing to safely quarantine.

- Chaplaincy Health Care – Provides hospice medical supplies and personal protective equipment for Hospice House.

- Senior Life Resources – Meals on Wheels has seen a large increase in demand and has had to adapt meals and

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delivery schedule. This grant supports food and supplies.

- Kennewick Police Foundation – Supports KPD’s Community Care Program, giving officers access to funds to assist community members with urgent needs.

- Safe Harbor Support Center – Supports one month of supplies for the Family Assistance Program, providing hygiene and household supplies.

- Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association 11-6 – Supports food cards for veterans in need.

- Family Resource Center – Supports the delivery of food boxes to families without transportation as well as mask distribution.

- KC Help – Supports the supplies and equipment to adapt medical supply lending program to meet Centers for Disease Control Covid-19 disinfecting standards.

- ARC of Tri-Cities – Supports purchase of “no-touch” thermometers and other supplies to be used throughout their facility and transportation program upon reopening.

- Academy of Children’s Theater – Supports purchase of equipment and training to adapt programing to a virtual format.

- Partners for Early Learning – Supports operating costs so programs can be ready to resume upon reopening.

- Blue Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America – Supports food and supplies for the troops’ Islamic and refugee projects.

Newly remodeled event space for people looking to host meetings and banquets.

• The dining room can accommodate 130 people.

• The newly remodeled 19th Hole Event Center has 130 person capacity.

• Heritage room can host up to 25 guests.

• Legends room can accommodate 12 people.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

PUBLIC RECORD uBANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings: Chapter 7 — Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is discharged.

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 Troy August & Alexis Raelynn Lilienthal, 4008 Bismarck Lane, Pasco.

Saleena Culton, 1903 Luther Place, Richland.

Roberto Soto & Rosa E. De la Mora, 1209 W. Entiat Ave., Kennewick.

Bruce & Tracy Spiller, 4309 W. Metaline Ave., Kennewick.

Matthew McGetrick, 4570 Rosecrans Drive, #C-110, West Richland.

Kimberly R. Samcoff, 5019 Mariola Lane, Pasco.

Quinn Ruth Wood, 401 Cullum Ave., Richland.

Casimira Valencia, 603 S. Harrison St., Kennewick.

Leticia Hernandez, PO Box 675, Connell.

Melia Briana Kessler, 451 Westcliffe Blvd., #G150, Richland.

Oscar Tobon, 1724 W. 45th Ave. B30, Kennewick.

Roberta Lyn Anglin, 5414 W. Court St., Pasco.

Lorena Martinez, 1223 W. Jan St., Pasco.

Luis Miguel Lucatero & Patricia Elaine Zuniga Romero, 120 N. Owen Ave., Pasco.

Geraldine Blanchard, 1950 Bellerive Drive, Unit 204, Richland.

Jennine Lyne Roberts, 6209 W. Albany

Court, Apt. 4, Kennewick.

Shauna Krystina Rockwell, PO Box 326, Benton City.

Christopher A. Koenig, P.O. Box 7005, Kent.

Abdul Johnson, 2204 W. 13th Ave, Unit B, Kennewick.

Maria Guadalupe Sanchez, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd., A210, Kennewick.

James Derek & Kimberly Lynn Nelson, 402 E. 10th Avenue, Lot 4, Kennewick.

Efrain & Marta Montes, 124 N. Owen Ave., Pasco.

Amber Nims, 4218 N. Stearman, Pasco.

Maria E. Pina de Vaca, 5307 Texada Lane, Pasco.

CHAPTER 13 Steven Richard DeGraaf, 602 W. Albany Ave., Kennewick.

Jacob Donald & Brandi Rose Abken, 208 N. Elm St., Kennewick.

uTOP PROPERTIES BENTON COUNTY 2547, 2577, 2583, 2589, 2595, 2601, 2602, 2596, 2590, 2584, 2548 Rinas Road, 2609, 2613, 2617, 2608, 2604, 2600, 2596 Morris Ave., Richland, 17 homes sites of less than an acre each.

Price: $1.6 million. Buyer: New Tradition Homes Inc. Seller: not listed.

2258 Wine Country Road, Prosser, two commercial buildings, including hotel, restaurant, retail, light manufacturing area, totaling 16,380 square feet on 4.5 acres.

Price: $2.4 million. Buyer: Desert Wind Land LLC. Seller: Desert Wind Winery LLC. 6024 W. Deschutes Ave., Kennewick, warehouse, general retail space and shed totaling 8,875 square feet on 0.59 acres of industrial land. Price: $895,000. Buyer: Irod Properties LLC. Seller: PIK Properties LLC.

1496 Badger Mountain Loop, Richland, 2,518-square-foot home. Price: $849,000.

Buyer: Larry & Adrian Horning. Seller: Kip & Megan Landon.

2353 Legacy Lane, Richland, 3,385-square-foot home. Price: $704,265.

Buyer: Sean R. Linquist & Rachel M. Smith. Seller: Pahlisch Homes at Westcliffe Heights LLC. 1662 Meadow Hills Drive, Richland, 2,664-square-foot home. Price: $705,000.

Buyer: Jarrod & Marissa Miller. Seller: Jayson R. & Christy H. Evans.

11639 Steeplechase Drive, Kennewick, 1-acre home site. Price: $758,600. Buyer: Juan C. Becerra. Seller: Jackson Ventures LLP. 1232 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick, 8,960-square-foot retail building.

Price: $1.9 million. Buyer: Argo Kennewick LLC. Seller: ACV Pier Kennewick LLC. 102102 Tatum Blvd., Kennewick, 2,784-square-foot home. Buyer: Corey & Ashley Meehan. Price: $825,000. Buyer: Dream Builders LLC. 2556 Falconcrest Loop, Richland, 2,727-square-foot home. Price: $758,000.

Buyer: Steven Mitzel & Dana Klepper.

Seller: Prodigy Homes Inc. 11105 S. 1518 PR, Prosser, 2,539-square-foot home on 1.8 acres.

Price: $730,000. Buyer: Michael Grant & Sarah Alyse Glover. Seller: Rod Bogart.

5321 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick, 3,542-square-foot home. Price: $930,000.

Buyer: Anides Guerena & Leonor G. Pan-

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duro. Seller: Gary Beyer.

37118 S. Hawks Tree PR SE, Kennewick, 3,388-square-foot home on 6.25 acres. Price: $785,000. Buyer: David & Shannon M. Brown. Seller: Sandra L. Paris.

77609 N. Yakima River Road, West Richland, 1,404-square-foot home with two pole buildings on 4.5 acres. Price: $730,000. Buyer: Morgan A. Alford. Seller: Gregg A. & Deborah J. Couch.

Property on Van Giesen Street, 4 acres of primary commercial/industrial land.

Price: $852,000. Buyer: Eastern Washington Construction Inc. Seller: Hada A. Ochoa.

901 Aaron Drive, Richland, 8,400-square-foot commercial building on 1.5 acres. Price: $1.9 million. Buyer: Deter Investments LLC. Seller: Zenitram Properties II. 12323 Steeplechase Drive, Kennewick, 1-acre home site. Price: $746,300. Buyer: Trustee John L. Ball. Seller: Hammerstrom Construction Inc.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Property off Road 68, 18.7 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $4.5 million.

Buyer: Columbia Basin Health Association. Seller: Lee A. Eickmeyer (et al).

457 S. Columbia Ave., Connell, 1,920-square-foot commercial building.

Price: $900,000. Buyer: Suraj Invest-

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B16

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

ments Inc. Seller: SJ Dhillon Enterprises LLC. 1724 W. Clark St., Pasco, 5,276-squarefoot commercial building. Price: $1.1 million. Buyer: SHKJ Lee LLC. Seller: Nasser A. Awad.

4605 Road 68, 8,558-square-foot restaurant. Price: $2.3 million. Buyer: Road 68 Properties LLC. Seller: Cousins Tri-Cities Investment LLC. Property south of Interstate 182 and north of St. Thomas Drive, Pasco, 9 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $3 million. Buyer: Mountain Men LLC. Seller: Tapteal II LLC.

uBUILDING PERMITS BENTON COUNTY Travis Hendricks, 230804 E. PR 397, $348,500 for new commercial. Contractor: W

McKay Construction LLC. American Tower, 165735 S. 812 PR SE, $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Qualtek.

Farmland Reserve, 152806 Plymouth Road, $593,000 for new commercial. Contractor: MH Construction Inc. Summit Storage, 9501 W. 10th Ave., $20,500 for sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Fellman, Tyson & Tif, 7208 W. Argent Road, $714,000 for new commercial. Contractor: G2 Commercial Construction Inc.

KENNEWICK Roundup Co., 2811 W. 10th Ave., $1.6 million for commercial remodel, heat pump/HVAC, plumbing. Contractors: Western Construction Co., Protemp Associates Inc., Riggle Plumbing.

Sun Pacific Energy, 501 W. Canal Drive, $90,000 for new commercial. Contractor: LCR

Construction LLC. Auburn Development, 921 S. Auburn St., $40,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Columbia Construction Servicing.

Hogback Development, 1659 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $96,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Stephens & Sons Construction.

El Dorado Properties, 4421 W. Hood Ave., $189,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Siefken & Sons Construction.

Target C/O Elmohan, 1106 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $39,300 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Horizon Retail Construction.

Bruce Co. LLC, 6215 W. Brinkley Road, $400,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Conner Construction Co. LAIC Inc., 6515 W. Clearwater Ave., $1.1 million for commercial remodel. Contractors: Banlin Construction Co. LLC, Total Energy Management.

Cedarview LLC, 8122 W. Grandridge Blvd., $30,000 for sign. Contractor: Cascade Sign & Fabrication.

Plan B Properties, 7014 W. Okanogan Place,

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$51,300 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Hot Solar Solutions LLC. Sage Creek Apartments, 4302 W. Hood Ave., $120,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing.

Sozo Church, 1350 S. Rainier St., $40,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Palmer Roofing Co. Tri-Cities Food Bank, 424 W. Deschutes Ave., $100,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction.

On the Boulevard, 9202 W. Gage Blvd., $19,000 for commercial. Contractor: owner.

City of Kennewick, 2201 S. Olympia St., $40,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: A&M Communications Inc. Calvary Chapel of Tri-Cities, 10611 W. Clearwater Ave., $227,000 for commercial remodel, heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Kapitula Homes, Air-Tech Services.

CHS SunBasin Growers, 901 E. Columbia Drive, $599,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Haskins Company.

Bond & Cannon Investments, 2615 W. Kennewick Ave., $25,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: MH Construction Inc. Bauder Young Properties, 8026 Bob Olson Parkway, $85,000 for commercial. Contractor: Rock Placing Co. Argonaut Investments, 6705 W. Canal Drive, $22,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Columbia Property Maintenance.

Raymond, Kenneth, 2006 S. Washington St., $28,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Mid-Columbia Integrity Roofing.

PASCO Professional Development Group, 9720 Sandifur Parkway, $1 million for new commercial. Contractor: G2 Commercial Construction Inc. Equipmentshare.com Inc., 1125 E. Spokane St., $531,800 for new commercial. Contractor: to be determined.

Phillips Pasco LLC, 1804 W. Court St., $22,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Royal Roofing Inc. Empire Bros. Construction, Parcel 113 883 014, $55,000 for grading. Contractor: Empire Bros. Construction.

Guerena, Anides, 1500 W. Court St., $78,800 for tenant improvement. Contractor: North Point General Construction.

St. Andrews Loop LLC, 2713 N. 20th Ave., $3 million for new commercial. Contractor: Chervenell Construction.

Rigoberto Hernandez, 1712 E. Superior St., $782,300 for new commercial. Contractor: Royal Roofing Inc. Equipmentshare.com Inc., 1125 E. Spokane St., $85,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Agriland FS Inc. UPI Property LLC, 904 S. Oregon Ave., $339,000 for new commercial. Contractor: CRF Metal Works LLC. Virk Associates LLC, 2100 E. Hillsboro Road, $515,500 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Rapid Service Inc. Hogback Sandifur LLC, 7505 Sandifur Parkway 101, $84,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: CI Construction & Consulting LLC. Frank Tiegs LLC, 1505 E. Foster Wells Road, $75,000 for new commercial. Contractor: TTAP Construction Services.

Tri-Cities Communities, 515 W. Court St., $109,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Royal Roofing.

Tejeda Hernandez, 1220 E. Clark St., $9,000 for demolition. Contractor: owner.

LAD Irrigation Co., 4225 N. Capitol Ave., $342,900 for commercial addition. Contractor: Suberizer Inc. Meridian Group LLC, 1525 N. 16th Ave., $20,100 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner.

Ann-Erica Whitemarsh, 2305 Road 57, $9,800 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Aarnies Construction.

The Vine Church, 9915 W. Argent Road, $16,500 for sign. Contractor: Yesco LLC. City of Pasco, 401 W. Lewis St., $43,100 for tenant improvement. Contractor: to be determined.

RICHLAND Weyerhauser Apartments, 230 Battelle Blvd., $4 million for multifamily construction. Contractor: Cedar & Sage Homes LLC.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B17

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 1307 Jadwin Richland, 1305 Jadwin Ave., $10,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Carniceria La Cabana #3.

Jarrett, Donald C., 2746 Kingsgate Way, $11,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: JSC Agricultural Supply.

Richland Ace Hardware, 1415 George Washington Way, $20,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Suburban Propane LP. Dennis Sawby Construction, 612 Skyline Drive, $27,200 for grading. Contractor: D&D Tri Rivers Excavating Inc. Senior Life Resources Northwest, 1844 Fowler St., $1.5 million for new commercial.

Contractor: Pratt & Co. Vandervert Development, 1086 George Washington Way, $200,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Hummel Construction & Development.

1 Baron LLC, 458 Stevens Drive, $35,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: 1 Baron LLC. WSU Tri-Cities, 2770 Crimson Way, $36,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: WSU Tri-Cities.

Kadlec Medical, 888 Swift Blvd., $175,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Apollo Mechanical Contractors.

Port of Benton, 2705 Fermi Drive, Bldgs. A, B, C, C, $6.6 million for new commercial. Contractor: Consolidated Construction Co. DSHS Lands & Bldgs., 605 McMurray St., $240,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Banlin Construction. Co. LLC. Davidson, Michael, 2525 Columbia Center Blvd., $14,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction.

Community First Bank, 1007 Jadwin Ave., $1 million for tenant improvement. Contractor: MH Construction Inc. Matson Development, 1333 Tapteal Drive, $19,200 for grading. Contractor: D&D Tri Rivers Excavating.

Riverside Professional Group, 750 George Washington Way, $500,000 for tenant improvement. Contractor: Hummel Construction & Development.

Port of Benton, 2260 Airport Way, $340,800 for new commercial. Contractor: Berkey Engineering.

City of Richland, 2905 Kingsgate Way,

$131,300 for grading. Contractor: Culbert Construction Inc.

WEST RICHLAND Perez, Santiago, 5413 W. Van Giesen St., $15,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: owner.

uBUSINESS LICENSES RICHLAND Diakont Advanced Technologies Inc., 3193 Lionshead Ave., Carlsbad, California.

Sandessee Electric, 6081 W. 41st Ave., Kennewick.

Puppy Hut Salon and Spa, 69404 N. Foxhill Drive, Benton City.

Tranquil Waters Massage Therapy Clinic, 300 Torbett St. Intermech Inc., 654 Truman Ave. Matvey Construction Inc., 421 SW 152nd St., Burien.

Coast To Coast Turf, 3303 37th Ave. W., Seattle.

Brett & Son Inc., 1350 Walnut St., Wenatchee.

Barghausen Consulting Engineers, 18215 72nd Ave. S., Kent.

Perfection Lawn Care, 1201 Willard Ave. Columbia Property Maintenance, 2424 W. Lewis St., Pasco.

Kleist Consulting, 2461 Woods Drive.

Rainbow House Cleaning, 1444 SE Central Ave., College Place.

Rock Shop, 1965 Fowler St. Mas Construction LLC, 1901 Mint Loop.

Dermmetics, 640 Jadwin Ave. Ayb Drafting, LLC, 723 The Parkway.

Stellar Homes LLC, 99803 162 PR SE, Kennewick.

Leaf Holdings LLC, 723 The Parkway.

Sevigny Investments LLC, 7314 Scenic Drive, Yakima.

Tri-City Dermatology PLLC, 112 Columbia Point Drive.

Rethink Beauty Microblading Studio, 123 Gage Blvd.

Mint Proxies LLC, 723 The Parkway.

Cody Elijah, 2011 Penny Royal Ave. City-State-Edgewater LLC, 3100 George Washington Way. 601 W. Kennewick LLC, 503 Knight St. Charcuterie By Bree, 172 Andrea Lane.

Ertl, Verna Mae, 1362 Jadwin Ave. Pupuseria Salvadorena Restaurant, 127 Gage Blvd.

Tri Power Inc., 22304 S. Spruce St., Kennewick.

Velocity General Construction and Demo LLC, 107 Casey Ave. Ellison Earthworks LLC, 2273 Legacy Lane.

Shadow Mtn Septic and Plumbing, 61509 N. SR 225, Benton City.

Musser Maintenance LLC, 1752 Buckskin Lane.

Drd Exteriors LLC, 2021 Mahan Ave. Bonafide Landscaping, 1830 Terminal Drive.

Leo’s Masonry & Construction LLC, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick.

Mobius Corporation, 1615 Lamb Ave. D. A. Pratt Contractor LLC, 2904 Woodland Place.

Central Plateau Cleanup Company LLC, 825 Jadwin Ave. Alpha Renovations, 1212 W. Ainsworth Ave., Pasco.

Le Barron, 932 McPherson Ave. Dtgn Surgery LLC, 4752 Cowlitz Blvd.

J-Dawgz Hot Dogs & Catering, 103 Keene Road.

Silver Pointe Construction LLC, 613 S. Huntington Place, Kennewick.

Dtgn Ortho LLC, 4752 Cowlitz Blvd.

Mid-Columbia Arts Fundraisers, 1177

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Jadwin Ave. Kind Cleaning Solutions LLC, 1775 Columbia Park Trail.

Grid Intelligence LLC, 614 Sherwood St. Bolder Brows, 1311 Mansfield St. Pyrobros Discount Fireworks, 6013 Elizabeth Ave. SE, Auburn.

Atlas Integral Solutions LLC, 6512 W. Umatilla Ave., Kennewick.

Anchored Down Memories, 1317 Tunis Ave. Elite Athletics Physical Therapy, 191 Reata Road, Kennewick.

Epiphany Design Company, 224 Cottonwood Drive.

Cotton Cloudz Massage, 4804 W. Octave St., Pasco.

Jane A. Hedges Consultant, 2543 Houston Court.

Eclectic Approach LLC, 2212 Rosewood Court.

Stachofsky Home Staging, 1527 Mahan Ave. Eden’s Lawn Care, 732 W. Leola St., Pasco.

Comprehensive Safety Services II, 305 Greentree Court.

M&R Quality Cleaning Services LLC, 218812 E. 59th Ave., Kennewick.

Wired Adventures, 133 Bremmer St. Mander, Baljinder Singh, 2975 Bruce Lee Lane.

Ground Support Coffee Company LLC, 9910 Gamay Drive, Pasco.

ICS, 39704 S. Lincoln St., Kennewick.

RLR Cultural Resources LLC, 115 E. Fourth Ave., Ellensburg.

Kano & Co. LLC, 1688 Lucca Lane.

R&S Inspired, 1253 Riesling St. Teressa Arteaga, PT ,Atomic Athletics Powered by Arteaga, 801 N. Fisher St., Kennewick.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B18

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021

Black Rock Store Operations LLC, 1215 Aaron Drive.

Fernandez, David, 2959 Woodland Place.

Nana’s House Cleaning LLC, 9315 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

Jcase Medical PLLC, 160 Terrace Park Drive, Yakima.

Rish Tackle, 606 Sanford Ave. Urban Rooster Greenworks, 1155 Englewood Drive.

Brii Davis Photo LLC, 1302 Winslow Ave. Black Rock Store Operations LLC, 496 George Washington Way. Medic First Aid International Inc., 2345 Stevens Drive.

Fat Goat Farm, 372 S. Reynolds Road, Othello.

Jm Graphic Design, 3137 Deserthawk Loop.

Black Rock Store Operations LLC, 9025 Center Parkway.

Paragon Energetics, 2301 Coppermist Court.

Yawning Dragon, 250 Gage Blvd.

M&R Enterprises, 1633 Molly Marie Ave. Mankind Barbershop, 1011 Wright Ave. Claws And Paws, 2513 Duportail St. Healing Play, 750 Swift Blvd.

610 The Parkway LLC, 2348 Harris Ave. Mountain Reign, 1787 Silver Ct. P&S Cleaning Services, 3407 W. Hood Ave., Kennewick.

BecknCall Service, 1405 Short St.

PASCO PR Systems LLC, 8351 30th Ave., NE Lacey.

Kirit Mistry, 2634 N. Fourth Ave. Jose Esquivel Trucking LLC, 4408 Parley Drive.

Superior Transport Services LLC, 4309

Desert St. Sunrise Daycare, 1108 W. Margaret St. Baker Produce Inc., 1505 E. Foster Wells Road.

Midnight Pop Shop, 1813 W. Octave St. Advancing Eco Agriculture LLC, Parks West Road, Middlefield, Ohio.

Mr. Browns Consulting, 4701 Phoenix Lane.

Black Rock Store Operation LLC, 7204 Burden Blvd.

Amigo Cell Phone Repair, 6403 Burden Blvd. B. Teos Sweets LLC, 6600 Burden Blvd.

AOP The Barber, 316 N. 20th Ave., Suite B. Black Rock Store Operations LLC, 2525 N. 20th Ave. High Voltage Hot Dogs & Catering, 3103 Mt. Granite Court, West Richland.

Omg Kitchen Cleaning LLC, 403 N. Hugo Ave. 5th & A St. Plants, 22 W. A St. Quirino Maria Trinidad, 1609 W. Marie St. Toro Roofing LLC, 643 Adams Road S., Quincy.

Bloktek LLC, 2316 Road 56.

Stone Age Granite LLC, 4608 Laredo Drive.

Samuel Schlachter, 3919 Peppertree Court.

Leo’s Masonry & Construction LLC, 2105 N. Stepoe St., #39, Kennewick.

Proficient Perez Construction LLC, 2906 W. Seventh Ave., #44, Kennewick.

Nena Janitorial Services, 1309 N. Dawes St., Apt. 20, Kennewick.

DRD Exteriors LLC, 2021 Mahan Ave., #K12, Richland.

BMI Const LLC, 1248 Riesling St., Richland.

RPM Mobile Mechanic LLC, 6004 Robert Wayne Drive.

Innovative Custom Structures, 39704 S. Lincoln St., Kennewick.

Mojica Construction, 223 S. Etiwanda Court, Kennewick.

Bagley Landscape Construction Inc., 1418 E. St Helens St. BKAS Finance and Equipment LLC, 1917 W. A St. P & S Cleaning Services, 3407 W. Hood Ave., #10, Kennewick.

Veritiv Operation Company, 15909 E. Marietta Ave., Spokane Valley.

Claws And Paws, 2513 Duportail St., Apt. B211, Richland.

B H Inc., 826 S 1500 E., Vernal, Utah.

Body By Steen, 3400 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

Salon Casa De Belleza, 1207 S. 10th Ave. The Inspection Guy LLC, 3121 W. Hood Ave., Apt. I201, Kennewick.

Veritiv Operation Company, 7016 AC Skinner Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida.

Tri-Cities General Construction, 1731 N. 18th Drive.

Tri Power Inc., 22304 S. Spruce St., Kennewick.

Ellison Earthworks LLC, 2273 Legacy Lane, Richland.

A1 Call Windows Gutter and Pressure Washing, 1003 Della Ave., Benton City.

Manny’s Taping, 3004 Wilcox Drive.

Nana’s House Cleaning LLC, 2608 E. George St. Contreras Trucking, 408 N. Hugo Ave. Cotton Cloudz Massage, 4804 W. Octave St. Nvst LLC, 530 S. Beech Ave. M&MH Transport, 6212 Road 68, #33B. Desert Management Services, 801 W. Clark St. Servicios Pineda, 8010 Salmon Drive.

Burckhard Jeff Allen, 6411 Alpine Lakes Drive.

Columbia Basin Shroomery, 10209 W. Court St. MCTIM It & Media Services LLC, 3610 Ariana Lane.

Villarreal Auto Repair, 824 N. 18th Ave. Pink Desert Crystals, 5804 Larrabee Lane.

Idlers Carpet, 8804 W. Clearwater Place, Kennewick.

Bennett Salon, 8708 Tottenham Court.

Isela’s Janitorial & Maintenance LLC, 1912 W. Ruby St. Newfield Logistics LLC, 6418 Glacier Peak Drive.

King Builder Company LLC, 2420 W. Court St. 3JM Enterprises LLC, 2903 N. Commercial Ave. Avelo Airlines, 3601 N. 20th Ave. Wright Surgical Arts LLC, 5908 Bedford St., Suite C. LFRE Development LLC, 6119 Burden Blvd. C. Axiom - Division 7 Inc., 1841 Front St., Suite A, Lynden.

Home Depot USA Inc., 2455 Paces Ferry Road SE, Atlanta, Georgia.

Obsidian Creations LLC, 4821 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick.

Misstehbazile, 69 Jadwin Ave., Apt 29, Richland.

Envian Construction, 306 S. Quillan St, Kennewick.

Agriland FS Inc., 421 N. 10th St., Winterset, Iowa.

Better Basements, 3406 Power Line Road, Walla Walla.

The Black Woodpecker Inc., 719 Jadwin Ave., Ofc. 11, Richland.

Cutthroat Barber Company, 524 W. Clark St. Eddie U Enterprise LLC, 1030 N. Center Pkwy, Ste 194, Kennewick.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B19

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021 Brush Hour LLC, 4719 Ne 72nd Ave., Apt. 217, Vancouver.

Still Waters Boutique, 4208 Sinai Court.

Viper Homes General Contractors LLC, 4912 Matia Lane.

Pinetree Painting LLC, 5013 W. Richardson Road.

Maricela Ambriz Anguiano, 1212 N. 20th Ave. Confetti Designs Tri-Cities, 4008 Kechika Lane.

Cheryl Edwards, 9 Ivy Lane.

Sapphire Brook, 4814 Lucena Drive.

Alighthouse Studios, 4402 Desert Place.

A&A Roofing Services, 2904 W. 43rd Court, Kennewick.

Joyeria Marrero, 108 N. Fourth Ave., #10.

Kraft Kellie Nicole, 3165 Hanson Loop, Burbank.

Pasco Luxe Salon, 118 N. Fourth Ave. Danfoss Flomatic Corp., 15 Pruyns Island Drive, Glen Falls, New York.

Product HVAC LLC, 214 E. Albany Ave., Suite C, Kennewick.

Jimco Sales & Manufacturing, 3113 Saint Louis Ave., Fort Worth, Texas.

Denise Sommer - Via, 1672 Brittlebush Lane, Richland.

Lake Liquidation LLC, 6327 Myers St., West Richland.

Turf Pros LLC, 1090 Wandling Road, Mabton.

Lisa J Braaten - Via, 3209 Semilla Court.

WEST RICHLAND Co3 Remodeling LLC, 439 E. 15th Place, Kennewick.

L&M Construction, 3512 Estrella Drive, Pasco.

Raptor Concrete Coatings LLC, 4004 W. 47th Court, Kennewick.

Sprinkler Plus LLC, 1711 W. 51st Ave., Kennewick.

Honest Air, 3620 W. Leola St., Pasco.

Bjorn Johnson Construction LLC, 410 Expressway, Missoula, Montana.

Dust Bunny, 6945 Sully Lane.

Tri-Cities Roofing LLC, 518 1/2 W. Columbia Drive, Kennewick.

Gutters & More Construction LLC, 4219 Kitimat Lane, Pasco.

Conn-air LLC, 3401 Northlake Drive.

The Domestic Alternative, 2704 S. Highlands Blvd.

Northwest Striping & Sealing LLC, 839 N. Corriedale Road, Yakima.

Aces HVAC LLC, 250 W. Beebe Ave., Hermiston, Oregon.

Compass Painting, 4214 Anza Borrego Court, Pasco.

Yawh Development & Construction LLC, 1030 N. Center Parkway, Kennewick.

Sort & Style, 2853 Mackenzie Court, Richland.

Gale Electric LLC, 2641 Torrey Pines Way, Richland.

Philip Snider, MBA | Realtor, 3523 Polo Greens Ave. Arrow Point Roofing LLC, 4326 N. Maringo Drive, Spokane.

Bruce Mechanical Inc., 5115 W. Brinkley Road, Suite C, Kennewick.

DPC Quality Construction LLC, 2319 W. 20th Ave. Kennewick.

Cannon Construction Inc., 406 Porter Way, Milton.

Precision Fiber Inc., 15405 SE 94th Ave., Clackamas, Oregon.

Nobis Technology LLC, 108 E. Tanglebriar Court, Bastrop, Texas.

Consurco Inc., 621 E. King St., Meridian, Idaho.

Bruce Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., 5115 W. Brinkley Road, Suite C, Kennewick.

Artistic Landscape Services LLC, 5512 Taft Drive, Pasco.

United Fence Co. LLC, 4120 Melody Lane, Pasco.

Rogue Soul Project, 4033 W. Van Giesen St. Bair Curbing & Landscape LLC, 51 Richview Drive, Pasco.

Family Home Projects LLC, 81 S. 42nd Place.

Essential Mobile RR Repair LLC, 321 S. Highland Drive, Kennewick.

uJUDGMENTS The state can file lawsuits against people or businesses that do not pay taxes and then get a judgment against property that person or business owns. Judgments are filed in Benton-Franklin Superior Court. The following is from the Franklin County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.

Mel’s Plumbing Services, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed April 2.

HGS, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed April 6.

JRC Masonry Inc., unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed April 6.

Ivan’s Construction, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed April 6.

Ferbell Construction LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed April 13.

uLIQUOR LICENSES BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Danny’s Kegs to Go, 335 Wine Country Road, Suite 3, Prosser. License type: direct shipment receiver-in/out WA; beer/ wine specialty shop; beer/wine specialty growlers; keg sales. Application type: new application.

The Pacific Clinic, 1350 N. Grant St., Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only; spirits/beer/ wine restaurant. Application type: new application.

Lucky Seven Food Mart, 22 Goethals Drive, Richland. License type: grocery store – beer/wine. Application type: assumption.

Soi 705 Thai Restaurant, 705 The Parkway, Richland. License type: spirits/beer/ wine restaurant lounge+. Application type: new application.

Poutine Eh!, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 120, Kennewick. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer. Application type: new application.

Gravity Hill Cider, 590 Merlot Drive, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters; beer/wine on premises endorsement. Application type: new application.

Horn Rapids Golf Course, 2800 Club House Lane, Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only; spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge+.

Application type: added/change of class/ in lieu.

APPROVED Farmhand Winery, 8101 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: added/change of class/in lieu.

Rocco’s Pizza, 7911 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. License type: beer/ wine restaurant-beer/wine. Application type: new application.

Dollar General Store #21945, 210 S. Second St., Benton City. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: new application.

Horn Rapids Golf Course, 2800 Club House Lane, Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: in lieu.

Domanico Cellars, 236 Port Ave., Suite D, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000, additional location. Application type: new application.

V-5 Market, 1009 Dale Ave., Suite C, Benton City. License type: grocery store – beer/wine. Application type: assumption.

Pupuseria Salvadorena Restaurant, 126 Gage Blvd., Richland. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: new.

The Draw at Coyote Canyon, 1121 Meade Ave., Prosser. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: in lieu.

DISCONTINUED Pupuseria Salvadorena Restaurant, 126 Gage Blvd., Richland. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: discontinued.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

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Eagle Bowling, 641 S. Columbia Ave., Connell. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer w/taproom. Application type: new application.

Remix Nightclub, 101 W. Columbia St., Pasco. License type: nightclub. Application type: new application.

Mercy’s Pizza Taco LLC, 524 N. Third Ave., Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: new application.

APPROVED Rocco’s Pizza, 6415 Burden Blvd., Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant-beer/wine. Application type: change of corporate officer.

La Cantina Kitchen & Bar, 2735 W. Court St., Suite C, D & E, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only.

Application type: new application.

Connell Gas & Foodmart, 457 S. Columbia Ave., Connell. License type: License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: assumption.

uMARIJUANA LICENSES

NEW APPLICATIONS Rancho Meat Market #2, 8425 Chapel Hill Blvd., Suite C101, Pasco. License type: grocery store-beer/wine.

Tortilleria Y Carniceria Monarca, 1108 W. Sylvester St., Pasco. License type: grocery store-beer/wine. Application type: new application.

Claar Cellars, 1081 Glenwood Road, Pasco. License type: domestic winery <250,000, additional location. Application type: assumption.

A Street Station, 2805 E. A St., Pasco.

License type: grocery store – beer/wine.

Application type: new application.

BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Three G Farms, 15505 N. Webber Canyon Road, Suite D, Benton City.

License type: marijuana producer tier 3; marijuana processor. Application type: assumption.

The Cannasseur Reserve, 15505 N. Webber Canyon Road, Suite H, Benton City. License type: marijuana producer tier 3; marijuana processor. Application type: change of location.

More than a Senior Living Community, it’s a thriving community.

What some of our residents are saying:

“I came to Parkview, looked out the window of the room they were offering and thought this is a place I want to go.”

“I am really just glad to be here!”

Comfortable living spaces • Delicious meals • Engaging social activities

Call today to schedule a tour!

(509) 734-9773 7820 W. 6th Avenue • Kennewick, WA • www.Parkviewslc.com

Independent/Assisted Living and Respite Care

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MAY 2021