If I had to pick one word to define 2018, it would be “momentum”. Not only are we sustaining growth and prosperity throughout our city, we also are continuing to build upon that momentum.
West Richland is a community that not only offers a unique lifestyle but also has economic offerings. With the booming growth of the nearby Red Mountain American Viticultural Area, the wine business is proving to provide West Richland an opportunity to capitalize on a multimillion dollar industry.
Pasco continues to experience growth and a correspondingly positive economic climate. At nearly 72,000 people, Pasco is Washington State’s fastest-growing large city, edging out Bellevue and Seattle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey.
Benton County elected officials and employees continue to work diligently to provide the public the best service possible. As we transition into 2018, our goals are to continue improving our public facilities to make our buildings safer and more efficient for staff and the public, enhance our public outreach and communications, and continue growing our community partnerships.
Franklin County, nestled between the banks of the Columbia and Snake rivers, was formed out of Whitman County in November of 1883 and named for Benjamin Franklin. Pasco is the county seat, with an estimated population of 78,500.
2017 was a remarkable year for the REACH. In April, I was hired as its new executive director to cultivate healthy relationships with our stakeholders, design engaging programs, and build a sound plan for sustainability.
The mission of an organization can often become stagnant and mechanical rather than the driving force behind its work. We strive keep ours relevant and central in our daily efforts and long-term goals. The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to empower all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens. Our mission has a critical clause “especially those who need us most.”
It’s 1958. Gas is 25 cents a gallon and a house is less than $15,000. The average wage is $1.98. Racial discord swells nationwide. Fear abounds as our country focuses on the rising, global nuclear threat.
Our shared vision is a community where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live. Low-income families in the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla are in need of housing. For every 100 families in need, there are only 50 affordable housing units available in this area.
I am honored to serve as Columbia Basin College’s sixth president in its 62-year history. Whether it’s helping students complete a baccalaureate degree or the first two years of a transfer degree, finding a fit into a workforce career, or helping with basic skills to achieve a GED or high school diploma, CBC is helping our neighbors achieve their goals.
Washington State University Tri-Cities realized an average enrollment growth of 12 percent annually throughout the last four years. As that upward trend continues, so does our expansion of on-campus housing, program development, world-class faculty and specialization in research.
Student safety and campus security are top priorities of the Richland School District. From the time students step on the morning bus until they walk out of a drama practice in the late afternoon, district staff are watching out to ensure that students arrive home safe and sound.
Growth remains a consistent theme in the Kennewick School District. District enrollment is approaching 19,000 students, and we have more than 2,600 staff members working hard to prepare our students for their futures with the support of our Kennewick community.
The mission of Mid-Columbia Libraries is to enhance quality of life by providing excellence in books and services for our residents and communities. With more than 400,000 items in our collection, it’s no surprise we check out more than 2.4 million items annually.
The past year has been one for the books at Trios Health. It brought a deluge of serious challenges and the often painful and perpetual cycle of change that necessarily comes with facing them.
2017 was another incredible year for your Tri-Cities Cancer Center and for our community, which relies on us. Through great partnerships and region-wide support, we launched new programs, achieved a new accreditation, earned national recognition and engaged our community in cancer prevention and early detection initiatives to a greater extent than ever.
It’s been more than 35 years since a small group of dedicated women came together to open a clinic because they saw the need to serve Latino farmworkers who were unable to obtain or pay for healthcare.
The world of healthcare has changed dramatically over the past few years. And, as we embark on a new calendar year, the healthcare landscape in our own community has not been an exception.
Kadlec has more than 3,700 dedicated caregivers providing around-the-clock health service to patients of the Tri-Cities and surrounding region. The comment above from one of our nurses embodies what it’s been like at Kadlec in recent months to meet the unprecedented demands for care.
Sixteen years ago, two Tri-City physicians began working on the establishment of a free clinic. Soon afterward, Grace Clinic began seeing patients for four hours each Saturday in June 2002. Much has changed since then.
Mid-Columbia Ballet (MCB) is best known in the Tri-Cities for our annual performance of “The Nutcracker”. Our December 2017 production of this beloved holiday tradition featured a cast of 185, was enjoyed by 5,736 patrons, and reached an additional 4,344 people through special outreach performances.
For 70 years, Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre (formerly Richland Light Opera Company) has been producing exciting and entertaining stage shows for audiences across the Tri-Cities and beyond.
The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are proud to bring our love of music to our Tri-City neighbors, and as part of our mission to transform lives through the power of choral music, we are pleased to share information about research that confirms what we know: Participation in choir has numerous benefits for individuals and the entire community.
I believe we are all aware the arts are constantly evolving. Yet, one constant is our CBC Arts Center students; they are in our courses, our plays, our concerts, our gallery events and our debate tournaments.
When Gilbert Boyer sat down at the piano in the Battelle auditorium in September 1969 for the first Camerata Musica concert, neither he nor the organizers had any idea that they were ushering in a series that still would be going strong 49 years later. Within a year, the current format of eight concerts, including one focused on local students, was established.
It’s surprising how often people ask, We have live theater here in the Tri-Cities? Yes we do! The Richland Players are one of the longest, continuously running community theaters on the West Coast.
The Port of Benton is planning for another busy year. 2018 will bring construction of two and possibly three buildings across our Port’s district, which encompasses two-thirds of Benton County.
People love to live within the Port of Pasco district. It is a vibrant place with strong schools, expanding residential areas, a wonderful public safety system and so much more.
This year will be one of the most memorable in the Port of Kennewick’s history. Several Port projects will reach tipping points in 2018, helping foster jobs, build infrastructure and enhance the quality of life for this community.
The Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) continues to secure a more reliable and stable water supply in times of drought for its customers. Electrification of the Chandler Power and Pumping Plant, first conceived in the late 1970s and then authorized by federal law in 1994, is in the process to full design. Current estimated cost to complete the project is $23.1 million; earlier estimates ranged from $30–$90 million.
The Washington apple industry is complex, subject to influences outside grower control, and is contracting. Growers must have expertise in horticulture, finance, human resources, government policy and marketing to make the best decisions possible.
Our agency’s primary purpose is to support Washington’s agricultural and food sectors while working to foster sound consumer protections and natural resource policies. I’m pleased to discuss some of our accomplishments and to look forward.
From driving a hybrid car to recycling trash, no matter how big or small, we all have a role when it comes to protecting Washington’s natural resources.
Washington state is on the cutting edge of viticulture and enology research. Now in its third year, the Washington State Wine Commission’s dedicated research program is one of a handful in the nation that represents the state’s wine industry as a whole.
Farmers have been growing food for as long as there has been family, friends and neighbors to eat it. But now, as our population shifts to our cities, food consumers are farther away from their farmers than ever. At the same time, consumers have lots of questions about how their food is grown and produced.
I joined the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) as the new project director in time to lead some of the most exciting developments we will have achieved in recent years. 2018 marks a significant shift from engineering and construction to startup and commissioning of our facilities.
The Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center has achieved world-class status and is recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) for best practices in site-wide safety standards, subject matter expertise, worker-trainer programs, partnerships, safety culture, and as a best-in-class facility.
As I sit down to write about the tremendous progress made by Hanford’s highly skilled workforce this past year, the safety of our workforce is at the top of my mind.
CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Co. (CHPRC) is committed to safe, efficient and compliant performance. This year, we will learn from our challenges, build on our past successes, and demonstrate our ability to safely reduce risk on the Hanford Site on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The Mission Support Contract, led by Mission Support Alliance (MSA), is a first-of-a-kind contract structure created by the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office (DOE). The purpose: focus on cleanup priorities while ensuring the reliability of essential systems such as water, power and transportation, through integrating site services, resulting in reduced taxpayer costs.
Right here in our own backyard the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) continues to produce technological advancements and discovery in a variety of scientific fields.
Even more than usual, 2017 was a year of change for cleanup operations on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. A new federal administration and new leadership at two of the four major on-site players both promise new opportunities to improve working relationships critical to making meaningful progress on safe and effective cleanup.
It has been a very busy few months since I joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) as manager in November 2017, and I’m very excited to be leading this team during such a critical and important time.
What makes me most proud as president and project manager of Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) is the opportunity to be part of a team that demonstrates a steadfast commitment to safety while tackling one of the most challenging projects in the environmental cleanup industry.
It’s easy to have a vision — to imagine a brighter future and how you might contribute. But it takes hard work, constant focus and informed decisions to achieve it.
The year 2017 was marked with many transitions, changes and challenges for the Hanford Advisory Board (HAB), which consists of three Tri-Party Agencies: the Department of Energy (DOE); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology).
If you are used to seeing the big ‘A’ as you cruise down Stevens toward the Hanford site, or past our facility at 2101 Horn Rapids Road, you might have noticed a change recently.
The Washington State STEM Education Foundation (STEM Foundation) was established in the Mid-Columbia nearly a decade ago, long before many knew STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The new year is a great time to reflect on the past and formulate plans for the future. Decisions at the Franklin Public Utility District are not made lightly. The Board of Commissioners and staff carefully review events, forecasts, and past decisions when setting future goals on behalf of Franklin PUD.
Traditionally, Benton PUD’s responsibility as a utility was to keep the lights on and the rates low. While providing reliable and affordable electric service may have been enough in the past, today’s utility customers want more.
We’ve seen the performance of our state’s nuclear power facility near Richland get better and better throughout the past eight years. In addition to remaining the best-cost option over any other electric resource in our region, Columbia Generating Station achieved annual generation records in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
2017 was a year of change as we completed our rebranding as an NV5 Company. We are very proud to be part of NV5, a multi-faceted engineering firm delivering infrastructure and energy solutions to customers around the world.
The mission of the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) is to facilitate job creation and capital investment (tax base) in Benton and Franklin counties. As the Associate Development Organization (ADO) for Benton and Franklin Counties, we are responsible for marketing the region to business and industry as well as developing a Tri-Cities response to development opportunities coming through the Washington State Department of Commerce.
As residents, we’re so accustomed to the Tri-Cities’ great weather, riverside trails, minimal traffic, relaxed atmosphere and unique attractions that we occasionally take these community features for granted — at least until we realize they are the very reasons our community is selected for conventions, sports tournaments and leisure travel.
This year, we are proud to have the leadership of Dennis Gisi of John L. Scott as the 2017-18 Pasco Chamber of Commerce board president. He has a long history and experience in the region volunteering in area business, development and community organizations.
Leaders of local tech companies and organized labor are collaborating through the Tri-Cities Local Business Association (TCLBA) to advocate for the interests and goals of business and our regional commerce.
It will be an exciting year for the Tri-Cities Research District (TCRD). The District board and several community partners have been busy identifying new opportunities and ways to connect and engage entrepreneurship within our community.
Year after year, we continue to be one of the fasting growing regions in the Pacific Northwest. Our area is now home to more than 280,000 people. Commercial and industrial developments are in progress across all of our cities.
The Tri-Cities as a whole continues to sparkle when it comes to new single-family homes being built. Families are offered some of the most energy-efficient homes in the country as Washington State has one of the most stringent energy codes in the U.S.
