Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Tonight March 8th at 6:30 pm in the Richland Public Library gallery room will be a meeting for Richland residents and business representatives to meet and discuss potential ideas for the Master Plan being developed for future changes to John Dam Plaza, located along George Washington wya and Jadwin Avenue. The Richland Parks and Recreation Department will be sponsoring the meeting.

Venture capitalism has gone through some rough patches over the last few years, needing to change the types of businesses to invest in, and with that change from software and biotechnology comes the shift into the fields of clean energy technology. That shift feeds right into the hands of many wonderful companies here in the Tri Cities, which is quickly becoming a nexus for this field, and that in itself is potentially attracting new business to the area.  Pacific Northwest National Labs has involved itself in the field of virtualization and visualization as a type of search technology, which can “Capture, analyze and understand data at volumes and rates that push the frontiers of current technologies.”  According to PNNL leaders, the sky’s the limit with this technology which makes it very attractive to investors, and that bodes well for continuing growth of the Tri Cities.

Imagine yourself in another space in time, dressed in your best bib and tucker, stepping onto the gangplank of a sternwheeler as she gets ready to push away from the dock and chug down the river for a scenic view of the Columbia River. Ah yes, those were the days. …..

 Well that opportunity awaits you in this time space in time, in April as a matter of fact! The Portland Spirit sternwheeler will be docking in the Tri Cities on April 16th through the 25th at the Clover Island Inn. This replica 1800s ship carries 499 passengers and will be offering various lunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises, including a special cruise up to Ice Harbor Dam on the 21st.

See www.portlandspirit.com for more information.

The Tri Cities is full of outstanding volunteers in many different fields of endeavor, and last week 18 of those individuals were honored by the Soroptomist International for their community service and education. The women honored, including a mother and daughter, were recognized at a ceremony where the Live Your Dream campaign was emphazied, which was developed to encourage women and girls to work towards the culmination of their dreams and in turn, “pay it forward” to others.

Many congratulations to all the women honored, and to the thousands of selfless volunteers in the Tri Cities and Mid-Columbia region.

Kennewick was the location for a Culinary and Agritourism Workshop with local farmers, chefs and state workers on Thursday. It is the intent of these individuals to boast tourism in Washington State , and specifically here in the Tri Cities, which will additionally bring recognition to speciality crops grown in our region.  Leaders of the workshop hope that more cooperation can highlight the Tri Cities as an ag/tourism destination.

The Ben Franklin Transit company indicates that the Tri Cities will be getting some new routes in the next few months. During the work week riders will see some routes merged, and that can mean longer wait times and rides.  Public meetings will be held on on Monday March 8th, at 10 am and 5 pm, so that residents can hear the proposed changes. The meetings will be held at the transit office across from the Benton County Justice Center.