Court Street overpass on Highway SR 395 is dangerous, inhibits local economy.  A trio of 16th District lawmakers are making a push for partial state funding of a pedestrian bridge in Pasco that they believe will lead to better safety and more economic vitality for the area. "People are crossing Highway 395 at Court Street and it's a really dangerous situation," said Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla. "Not only do we want to ensure public safety, we believe this pedestrian bridge will enhance the local economy by connecting more people to the entertainment and shopping in the area."  The City of Pasco is willing to commit $500,000 to the estimated $900,000 project, and 16th District lawmakers would like the state to pitch in the rest.  "The City of Pasco…

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Tri-Cities, Wash. – The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau announced today that with the support of the Tri-Cities lodging industry and the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, the Bureau will contribute $60,000 to the Tri-City Water Follies organization to help retain the 2007 Hydroplane Races. Kathy Balcom, president of Tri-City Water Follies stated, "This grant is a very generous contribution that will allow us to continue the legacy of Water Follies and its significant economic impact to our community." The Tri-City Water Follies organization made presentations to both the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau Board of Directors and the Tri-City Area Hotel-Motel Commission in February outlining potential ramifications if adequate…

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Tri-Cities, Wash.--The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau has developed two television commercials designed to create top-of-the-mind awareness of the Tri-Cities as a water, weather, wine, and golf destination. The commercials are playing on KOMO (ABC) and KING (NBC) and KIRO (CBS) stations in the Puget Sound metropolitan market as well on Northwest Cable News Network, reaching households across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and parts of Alaska.   According to Bureau staff, one commercial highlights the area between Yakima and the Tri-Cities as Washington Wine Country; and was done in partnership with the Yakima Valley Convention & Visitor Bureau. Each CVB invested $10,000 which was matched by a $20,000 grant from KOMO TV.  The second…

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Question Buyer failed to bring earnest money to escrow until the day of closing - believing that was when it was due. The escrow agent took the earnest money check and changed the purchase agreement to indicate that there had been no earnest money. Both parties initialled. The listing agent is very upset and said that this should not have been handled this way. How should it have been handled differently? Answer In a perfect world, either the listing agent, the seller, the buyer's agent or the escrow agent would have determined that the earnest money had not been paid in a timely manner and would have done something about it long before the transaction reached closing. Failing that, however, it appears that the escrow agent's approach was reasonable. This…

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Still Spaces Available!! SPECIAL MANAGER & BROKER CLASS - Maintain Your Leadership Edge - Earn the ABRM Designation - The ABRM class will be held on March 9th in Kirkland. This 8.0 clock hour class is designed specifically for managers, brokers and owners who wish to incorporate buyer representation into their companies' service offerings. Topics include: Creating a New Company Vision; Company & Technology Policies; Disseminating Policy Changes; Training & Marketing Systems; Risk Management; and Marketing & Evaluating. Take the course developed in partnership with the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (CRB). SPECIAL DEAL FOR MONTH OF MARCH!!! Register during the month of March for the Mandatory Core Curriculum course and receive the special price…

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There was the usual suspense, but the recipients were more surprised than the audience when the Kennewick man and woman of the year were announced Monday night. Two fine, generous community leaders were chosen this year - Craig Eerkes as Man of the Year and Sandi Strawn as Woman of the Year. Generosity and leadership mark both of these outstanding citizens. Eerkes, head of Sun Pacific Energy and chairman of AmericanWest Bank, has led many community fundraising endeavors. He's generous with his time, talents and personal resources. Strawn, who owns Dependable Janitor Service with her husband, Dean, is a former Benton County commissioner known equally for her charitable works, leadership and her musical gifts. Leadership and generosity are two main…

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West Richland will accept public comment through Tuesday on a proposed residential and commercial project near Van Giesen Street and Ruppert Road as the city reviews a preliminary plat for the project. The proposed Red Mountain Center project includes single and multi-family housing, retail and light industrial development on more than 300 acres of land owned by real estate developers MacKay & MacDonald, of Vancouver. The plan is to develop 470 lots for single-family homes and 22 lots for apartments, public and commercial use, said Todd Stowell, West Richland's senior planner. A school and public park is also included in the plans. "It is good for the community," he said. The Port of Kennewick leased 12 acres of land in the area a few months ago to…

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The owner of California's famous and quirky Bonny Doon Vineyards plans to break ground this week on a $5.7 million winery in West Richland. Pacific Rim Wine Co. would be the largest winery in the U.S. dedicated solely to producing riesling wines if the owners produce their planned 300,000 cases yearly. Washington's Chateau Ste. Michelle is the single largest riesling producer in the world, making 600,000 cases last year. The 30,000-square-foot Pacific Rim winery will be built in the Port of Kennewick's industrial park in West Richland and is to be completed in time for this year's crush. Randall Grahm -- owner of Bonny Doon -- started Pacific Rim in 1984. The winery produces about 100,000 cases of three styles of riesling -- sweet, dry and dessert. The…

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RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Taking a page from archaeologists looking for dinosaur bones, workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation are testing a technology to map the path of radioactive and chemical leaks from underground tanks. In a demonstration project, CH2M Hill Hanford Group is using electricity in a process called high-resolution resistivity to map contamination at the federal nuclear reservation's tank farms. "If we can get a picture of where it may or may not be, we can go out and take a physical sample," said John Kristofzski, a CH2M Hill program director. According to a story published in the Tri-City Herald, the technology has been used to scan for outlines of dinosaurs in rock, but the Hanford project will use it to chart contamination as it…

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March 31-April Used Cell Phone Collection at Mid-Columbia Libraries and Richland Public Library March – April Reuse-A-Shoe Contest with area schools, 372-7201 March 31 10 a.m. -12 Volunteer Clean up and Planting, Highlands Grange Park, Kennewick, 735-3551 March 31 12-4 p.m. Earth Month Kick-0ff & Celebration, Highlands Grange Park, Kennewick, 531-5677 March 31 Gently Used Art, Allied Art Gallery, 84 Lee Blvd, Richland, 943-9815 March 31 All-day free bus fare, Ben Franklin Transit, fixed routes only, 735-5100 April 1 10 a.m. CORKIE the Robot children's Earth Month kick-off, Richland Public Lib., 942-7452 April 2-8 Richland Neighborhood Yard Debris Collection, Leslie Groves Park area, 942-7490 April 2 2 p.m. Family Science Program, CREHST Museum, 95 Lee Blvd…

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