Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

How long has this issue about the antique carousel and where it should be located been discussed? It seems like forever and a day.  Although the horses have all been restored and are currently being housed in city storage in Kennewick, $860,000 has been spent thus far in studies etc., and to no avail. It appears the issue could be rising again out of the ashes…..maybe.  Kennewick Council members held a day long retreat recently to cover the pressing questions facing the city of Kennewick’s future development, when the carousel issue was again addressed, this time with new members to the council asking pointed questions as to its viability and cost.

The city council members of Kennewick recently held a retreat to discuss subjects that spanned being involved with the Regional Oversight Committee, potential building of regional facilities and how best to fund them,  the extension of Steptoe Street, development at Southridge and the Bridge-to-Bridge, River-to-Railroad project, and of course, the future of Vista Field.

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.