Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Washington State University has diverse campuses throughout the state, however the Tri Cities branch campus is leading the group as the fastest growing, with the health and science fields seeing the most growth. Steadily rising enrollment numbers at the Richland campus have been seen with 1,507 student currently attending classes. Nursing programs are specifically up 30 percent over last fall and engineering programs are up 25 percent.  Officials at the university are envisioning a Wine Science Center with labs, a teaching vineyard and greenhouse.  Student government leaders also are hoping to find a way to bring together the diverse ages of students attenting the Tri Cities facility.  To read more information about upcoming plans – http://bit.ly/bpBW46

Washington State University Tri Cities is $500,000 richer after an award from Hanford contractor, Mission Support Alliance. It is MSA’s intent to assist in strenghening the number of under-represented students who will be studying engineering, technology, math and science. It is MSA’s hope the invest in students and create a STEM-trained work force in the Tri Cities. The funding will be disbursed over 10 years with the majority of it will be for scholarships that will assist students studying STEM curriculum.

In spite of the ongoing recession, the Tri-Cities is faring much better that the rest of the state and nation. There was a gain in August of 2,400 nonfarm jobs, which is more than a 2.5 percent growth. Our strengths of food processing, health care, higher education and the Hanford area jobs made for a stable environment in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland.

This isn’t a “boom” period for the Tri-Cities, nor is it a “bust”. The wonderful work that has been done in the way of diversifying this area over the last 20 years, has made a marked improvement in our communities being able to weather the ups and downs of the economy.

Green jobs are a hot topic in Olympia today. Tri-City business leaders are on the bandwagon, spending a couple of days on the Capital campus promoting our region as a hotbed of green jobs.

Our strongest foray into the realm of greenness is the energy produced here: We’ve got hydro-electric, wind, solar and nuclear. We’re at the forefront of bio fuel technology, thanks to the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University Tri-Cities.

We can talk — and make — energy all day long. And good jobs come along with creating and transmitting energy, from construction to distribution. But when you’re really talking green, that’s about all we’ve got, not to minimize the impact and importance of our ability to harness wind, water and sun, but the image of the “green” utopia hardly pops to mind when thinking of the Tri-Cities.

We’ve got decades of work ahead as we continue to clean up Hanford, and nuclear wastes are what too many people outside the region envision when the Tri-Cities are mentioned. But we have a long way to go to develop a green reputation.

It’s great that community leaders are working to promote our area as a hotbed for green jobs.

We’ve got the industry and resources to create green jobs, and the Legislature, govenor’s office and state economic officials all need to be on board to ensure we take full advantage of that potential.

But we all need to walk the walk if we’re going to talk the talk. The time is right to brand the Tri-Cities as green-friendly. To that end, we need to make our area more marketable to the green industry.

Companies looking to locate a green business in a new city have to care about the environment in which they work and their employees reside. It’s part of the job.

Now we need to do ours and put programs into place that put a greener light on our region.

Tri-City Herald “Our Voice” opinion