The desert surrounding Burke and Heidi Jensen's home in south Kennewick will soon have an army of workers installing an irrigation system and landscaping while he's on military assignment in Kuwait.

When Rick Foreman looks out the bay window of his dining room in south Richland, he sees a grassy hillside dusted in the oranges, reds and yellows of fall.

Rabbi Joseph Lukinsky headed to the basement of Congregation Beth Sholom in Richland just in time for Sunday night's study session.

PROSSER -- Petitions carrying 18,500 signatures supporting an effort to move the Benton County seat to Kennewick were returned to Fred Staples on Monday, just three weeks after he submitted them.

Reducing the role of Hanford's workers in handling radioactive wastes would violate organized labor agreements and squander taxpayer money, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council contends.

Cost increases and project delays continue to mount at the Department of Energy's 10 largest projects at nuclear weapons sites, five of them at Hanford, according to a Government Accountability Office report to Congress.

Moses Lake police are investigating a drive-by shooting late Sunday that left three men injured from shotgun blasts.

Pasco police arrested nine people in an undercover sting operation downtown.

GRANDVIEW -- Grandview High School was put on lockdown Monday after police received a report of a juvenile gang member with a gun in the area.

The driver of a white SUV is being sought after a hit-and-run accident involving a woman in a motorized wheelchair, police said.

Two reports of gunshots being heard were investigated by Kennewick police within about three hours of each other this weekend.

A two-day college fair is offered today and Wednesday at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

PROSSER -- A Benton County Superior Court judge has issued a split decision in a lawsuit against the city by self-proclaimed Prosser watchdog Larry Loges.

Dozens of people have offered to help a Kennewick resident get his new home landscaped while he is away on military duty in Kuwait.

Franklin County officials are trying to figure out how to squeeze more than $58 million in expenses into $55 million in revenue.

A new discipline program at Chief Joseph Middle School in Richland has irked some parents and they want it replaced.

Hanford workers have burned over a cap placed above a former disposal site for radioactive waste in the name of research.

Breast-feeding rights weren't at the top of Chris Yourdan's mind last week.

WALLA WALLA -- When Gus and Sonia Calzaretta's parents proposed riding across the country on tandem bikes, the kids thought they were crazy.

BOARDMAN -- Boardman voters will decide a ballot measure Nov. 4 that would issue $11 million in general obligation bonds to build a new fire station.

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels has received a $1,000 grant from the Meals on Wheels Association of America.

RICHLAND -- Anyone who doesn't think one person can make a difference should meet Alissa Watkins.

Burke Jensen moved to Kennewick about a year ago, bought a nice house in the country south of the city and began to settle into a new job at Energy Northwest.

BENTON CITY -- When Douglas Vawter got a letter saying his rent was increasing from $450 to $700 a month, his first thought was, "I can't pay that."

A Richland man was booked into Benton County jail on Saturday after he allegedly robbed a restaurant with a black air pistol and later injured himself trying to escape police, authorities said.

The state House race between Rep. Larry Haler and challenger Rob Welch has all the elements of a personal grudge match.

Temperatures should be near normal or a little below in the Tri-Cities this month, predicts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

PASCO -- Kindergartners at Longfellow Elementary School in Pasco had no trouble Friday coming up with professions they'd like to try when they grow up.

It's time to start anticipating that dreaded event that comes every year: Flu season.

Three months after blocking the release of 39 public records of Franklin County jail employees, a judge Friday changed his order and agreed to review the documents at the request of a convicted arsonist.

The Department of Energy is giving Battelle Memorial Institute a four-year extension on the management and operations contract for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Christian Okemgbo quietly wove his way Friday through a maze of crowded tables at Columbia Basin College's Byron Gjerde Center with three small, bouncing children in tow.

WASHINGTON -- In the end, none of them flipped.

Five more birds in the Tri-Cities have tested positive for West Nile virus, the Benton-Franklin Health District said Friday.

A child molester deported after his conviction allegedly returned to set up home in the Tri-Cities and buy at least five vehicles, all with a fake name.

Leslie Jantz, 54, of Yakima, was arrested Friday after he allegedly led law enforcement officials on a high speed chase on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Two Pasco schools were locked down briefly Friday afternoon while police searched a nearby home and arrested an assault suspect.

A 32-year-old Kennewick man landed behind bars after reportedly stealing from his roommate while the roommate was in jail

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Kennewick are putting on a spaghetti feed Friday to raise money for a trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the school, 1409 S. Garfield St.

A luncheon featuring the vice president of church relations for World Vision is planned Thursday in Richland to lead up to a December event aimed at uniting the community against AIDS.

The Rachel's Challenge program will continue at Carmichael Middle School this year because of a $3,500 grant from the Richland Education Foundation.

The Hermiston Public Library will show a series of four video conferences entitled A Sense of Place from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

PENDLETON -- A 37-year-old Umatilla man died in a fire while working for a rural Pendleton trucking company, the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office reported Friday.

The Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District will begin shutting off summer irrigation flows Oct. 18.

An 18-year-old Kamiakin High School student was arrested Thursday after he reportedly told a female student he would "shank her" and pulled out a knife, police said.

It took just two hours Friday for a Walla Walla Superior Court jury to acquit an optometrist accused of sexually harassing two of his assistants.

A bilingual voter education candidate forum is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. October 12 in Volunteer Park, across from the Franklin County Courthouse on Fourth Avenue in Pasco.

Hanford High School's jazz bands are offering a free concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the school auditorium. The public is invited. The school is at 450 Hanford St., Richland.

Flags will be lowered to half-mast Sunday in honor of firefighters killed in the line of duty.

The Richland School District will play host to the Washington Art Education Association fall conference Oct. 10-11.

TRI-CITIES -- Arbitrary and capricious actions by the Department of Labor have led to claims by ill workers at Hanford and other nuclear sites being improperly denied or decisions delayed, a former claims examiner with the Department of Labor said Thursday.

The names of three more Pasco men arrested as part of a multi-agency drug raid in the Tri-Cities were released Thursday.

RICHLAND -- Proceeds from a new vintage and secondhand store that has opened in Richland will help support the Academy of Children's Theatre.

HANFORD -- The Department of Energy is preparing to build Hanford's largest water treatment system to clean up one of Hanford's most problematic underground plumes of contaminated water.

WASHINGTON -- Just days after they voted against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, four Washington state lawmakers faced mounting pressure Thursday to change their minds as the House prepared to take up the rescue package again.

KENNEWICK -- Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday that negotiations for a revised Tri-Party Agreement on Hanford cleanup are at their most important phase since she's been involved, but she reserved the state's option to sue the federal government if an agreement isn't reached.

State Attorney General Rob McKenna is throwing his support behind Bruce Spanner as the next Superior Court judge.

A Kennewick man was sentenced to six months on jail work release for stabbing a co-worker as they took a break during their overnight shift.

A 24-year-old man pleaded innocent Thursday to allegations he robbed two Kennewick check-cashing stores while carrying a sawed-off shotgun.

PROSSER -- Three men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Prosser home burglary where about $15,000 of coins, stamps and other collectibles were stolen, Prosser police report.

The Richland School District and Educational Service District 123 want community members to take a look at the K-8 math instructional materials that were reviewed by the state superintendent's office this summer.

Pasco police are looking for three people who robbed a downtown clothing store at gunpoint Thursday afternoon.

Dr. Fred Mettler, a renowned scientist in the fields of radiological science and nuclear medicine, is scheduled to share his wisdom at a lecture Tuesday in north Richland.

Beverly Weber wants the community to go beyond the meaning behind the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."

The Kennewick Irrigation District will shut off its irrigation water for the season at 8 a.m. Oct. 16.

Pasco police and Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers are looking for a Pasco man wanted in a custody dispute.

A 21-year-old man was sentenced to 20 days in jail for trying to break through the glass door of a convenience store when the clerk locked him in for shoplifting.

Walla Walla police detectives are sorting through "stacks and stacks" of financial records for a Washington State Penitentiary guard accused of delivering drugs to a prisoner last week.

Court hearings have been delayed again for two suspects charged in the disappearance of a 19-year Pasco woman, angering friends and family members.

The public is welcome to join a bird walk at 8 a.m. Saturday at Bateman Island, sponsored by the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society.

The Franklin County Commission on Wednesday decided not to partner with Pasco in studying traffic management issues near the courthouse, city hall and Lourdes Medical Center.

Ten people were arrested and a suspected methamphetamine distribution ring was taken down in early-morning raids Wednesday in the Tri-Cities and Spokane.

KENNEWICK -- A public hearing is likely on Kennewick General Hospital's proposed $95 million hospital in the Southridge area.

A Benton City man sentenced Wednesday to nearly 10 years in prison for the death of an acquaintance was told it was "a cheap price to pay for a life."

DAYTON -- Filmmaker Colin Stryker was so intrigued by the complexities in the debate over the removal of the Snake River dams he had to make a movie about it.

Hanford's two newest major contractors officially took over work Wednesday, equipped with plans they believe will make cleanup of the nuclear reservation safer and more efficient.

A Kennewick woman admitted she helped her daughter devise a scheme to steal people's identities with information her daughter had access to as a bank vice president.

A former examiner with the Department of Labor program to compensate ill Hanford workers plans to bring her concerns to the Tri-Cities today.

Tri-Citians for Gerry Pollet?

A 37-year-old Richland man died after shooting himself in front of his Strawberry Lane home, the Benton County Coroner said.

GRANDVIEW -- A 20-year-old Grandview man with suspected gang affiliations is being sought by police for reportedly firing several shots at another man, police said.

Two weeks after Fred Staples submitted about 18,500 signatures to move the Benton County seat, county commissioners aren't sure what to do with them.

Wannabe voters have until Saturday to register by mail or online in order to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

Community members are invited to join Superintendent Jean Lane of the Richland School District on a tour of Carmichael Middle School and Richland High School on Oct. 16.

COLLEGE PLACE -- The Walla Walla and College Place school boards are having a joint meeting at 6 p.m. today.

David Webster's trial on allegations he raped his cellmate five years ago has again been postponed because his lawyer of nine months needs more time to prepare.

WASHINGTON -- Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell opposed a $700 billion Wall Street bailout package Wednesday night, saying she was not "turning the keys of the U.S. Treasury over to the private sector."

Employees of Apollo will have a yard sale fundraiser Saturday to benefit the Benton Franklin Volunteer Center.

West Richland residents are invited to an open house Saturday for Benton Fire District 4.

KENNEWICK -- Washington's top school official and her challenger in the November election painted contrasting pictures of progress in the state education system during stops Tuesday in Kennewick.

RICHLAND -- Chris Merkling, a cancer survivor, never imagined she would stand on Kadlec Medical Center's roof.

PASCO -- A 23-year-old man who's said he doesn't know why he repeatedly molested three boys in Pasco will spend at least 18 years behind bars.

A new rule going into effect today will allow about 23,000 more Washington families to apply for the state's food stamp program.

Pageant officials say they're backing Miss Tri-Cities Kyna Harris even though she reportedly had a relationship with a married man that ended before she won the title.

RICHLAND -- Another $25 million for building replacement research facilities for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is expected this week when President Bush signs a bill that includes money requested by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

PROSSER -- The Prosser City Council quietly digested its 2009 budget proposal Tuesday that calls for raising taxes and cutting vacant city positions.

A Pasco man stabbed with a screwdriver over the weekend has been released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday.

WALLA WALLA -- The trial of a Walla Walla optometrist accused of sexually harassing his assistants is expected to last through the week in Walla Walla Superior Court.

Creating a unique downtown area in Kennewick between the blue and cable bridges and incorporating Clover Island and Columbia Drive should be the city's top priority, say planning commissioners.

A Tri-City woman was in serious condition Tuesday at a Seattle hospital after she was thrown from her motorcycle.

PROSSER -- Another new winery has popped up in Prosser, but there is no tasting room and wine lovers won't be able to even steal a sip.

Not enough is known about chemical vapors at Hanford's tank farm to be certain that safety standards are fully protecting workers' health, according to a new report by an independent panel of experts.

Two Pasco teens arrested after starting several small fires at a building under construction reportedly were told not to skateboard on the property a few days earlier.

Tri-Citians expressed mixed reactions Monday to the defeated $700 billion financial bailout package that failed to pass the U.S House of Representatives.

PROSSER -- After years of talk about animal problems in rural Benton County, county commissioners have agreed to set a public hearing on an ordinance controlling stray dogs.

Perma-Fix Northwest Richland will pay a penalty of $304,500 after the Environmental Protection Agency found waste treatment problems stemming from the previous ownership of the Richland plant.

A Lower Valley woman accused of embezzling nearly $450,000 from a Sunnyside orchard will be behind bars for more than four years, officials said.

Ninth-graders will get a one-time chance to sign up for the College Bound Scholarship program during the 2008-09 school year.

Brad Klippert, a candidate for the state House of Representatives in the 8th District, and Benton County Commission candidate Fred Staples are scheduled to be the guest speakers at Wednesday's meeting of the Benton-Franklin Mainstream Republicans. Also scheduled to speak are Patrick McBurney, chairman of the Benton County Republicans, and Tony Benegas, chairman of the Washington State Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

Columbia Basin College will celebrate Constitution Day on Wednesday with a lecture by Gary Bullert on "The Constitution and Presidential Power."

A 21-year-old Pasco man apparently stabbed with a screwdriver at a weekend party is recovering in a Seattle hospital.

IRRIGON -- The Morrow County Historic Society will hold its annual meeting starting at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Stokes Landing Center, 190 Opal Place, Irrigon. Admission is free.

Catholic Family & Child Service will have an open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to mark one year of providing counseling services to Medicaid-eligible clients.

A continuing resolution that would pay for Hanford cleanup until March 6 has been sent to President Bush for approval.

GRANDVIEW -- Faced with budget shortfalls, officials from three Lower Yakima Valley cities tried to turn their spirit of cooperation into something more concrete Monday.

Benton County Emergency Management will do a monthly test of the tone alert radios and warning sirens in southern Benton County at noon today.

MOSES LAKE -- The Benton-Franklin Council of Governments will sponsor a meeting on the importance of a statewide all-weather county road system Oct. 9.

The Morrow County teacher who reportedly admitted to selling school-owned textbooks on eBay will remain on paid administrative leave while police investigate, school officials said Monday.

KENNEWICK -- Ruckus was as regal as a Great Dane could be -- standing at full attention with his long, pointed ears reaching straight up.

It appears Pasco will spend another $15,000 to support kids' MySpace habits and other computer activities in east Pasco.

The building covering Hanford's K East Basin has been leveled, clearing the way for excavation of the basin itself.

You might think after providing aid after many hurricanes, fires and floods over nearly the last decade, Jim and Ellie Opitz of Kennewick are used to seeing hunger and destruction.

GRANDVIEW -- The city and Yakima Valley Community College took a big step toward replacing Grandview's overtaxed library this week when the federal government announced a $600,000 grant for the project.

Howard Rickard's work in architecture, engineering and construction management has taken him around the world.

HERMISTON -- The Hermiston post office is accepting passport applications.

People who need to return borrowed books, CDs and other materials to a branch of the Mid-Columbia Libraries now can take advantage of a drive-up book drop station in west Pasco.

Car wash water is a no-no in city drains.

IRRIGON, Ore. -- The Morrow County Historical Society Dinner and 2008 annual meeting is Sunday at Stokes Landing Center, 190 Opal Place, Irrigon.

Public high school students in Washington are invited to sound off on the state of education in an essay contest put on by the nonprofit Network for Excellence in Washington Schools.

TOUCHET -- Touchet Community Library's new program, "Read to Rover," starts Oct. 6 and continues on the first Monday of each month at 3:30 p.m.

PROSSER -- Stroll through downtown Prosser any Friday night this fall and you'll see most storefronts displaying a "Closed" sign.

OLYMPIA -- The agency that regulates the state's lawyers has come out in favor of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

RICHLAND -- Eugene DeBattista Sr. pulled his boat out of the marina at Columbia Point on a recent morning and spotted something he doesn't often see -- a coyote running along the shoreline a few feet below a path where people were jogging and walking dogs.

RICHLAND -- It could be said that in the beginning there was a Ford. Chevrolets and Dodges came later.

KENNEWICK -- There soon may be more going into the street drains in Kennewick than runoff from watering the lawn, washing the family car and the occasion rainstorm.

RICHLAND -- The family of Lt. Col. William G. Hall shared their grief with a hundred kindred others Saturday.

Chocolate the dog hasn't run out of people wanting to help him.

The Pasco Police Department is looking for Tri-Citians who want to be volunteer police officers.

Paterson farmer Pat Tucker is waging an upstart campaign to unseat Benton PUD Commissioner Jeff Hall in a tussle filled with specific criticisms of the utility.

There soon may be more going into the street drains in Kennewick than runoff from watering the lawn, washing the family car and the occasion rainstorm.

Windows in at least 10 vehicles and one home in Kennewick were damaged overnight Saturday by someone who apparently fired a BB gun, police said.

The U.S. Forest Service has started its fall prescribed burning program on the Umatilla National Forest and will continue until the end of November.

WALLA WALLA -- Whitman College will be showing 18 in '08, a non-partisan documentary aimed at young adults ages 17-24 encouraging them to participate in the upcoming election.

Rarely much of a draw, the race for state treasu