Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

HAPO Community Credit Union will be sponsoring this years Annual River of Fire Festival in Columbia Park, according to the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. The event takes place on July 4th and is billed as the largest fireworks presentation in Southeastern Washington. A Tidewater barge anchored on the Columbia River will be the platform for the fireworks setup and spectators can watch the $20,000 fireworks display from any spot in Columbia Park, along with from most higher elevations in both Kennewick & Pasco.

The day long event begins at 10 am with cardboard Boat Races, the Kid’s Area opens at 11 and at noon, the Opening Ceremonies will take place. Stage entertainment will cxommence at 12;15pm and continue until 10pm. The finale of the day will be the 25 minute firework display.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or a volunteer for this family-friendly event, connect with the wonderful folks at the Tri-City Regional Chamber office by calling 736-0510.

Anyone who has lived here in the Tri Cities over the past 1o years or more has seen the expansion that has become West Pasco and in fact, has made Pasco the 2nd largest of the Tri-Cities. According to recent US Census figures, that growth has landed Franklin County, Washington in the record books as the 18-fastest growing county in our country, and that is a distinction that no other Washington county can claim.  Last summer the county’s population sat at 77,355 which was a 56.8% increase since the year 2000. Housing in that part of Pasco has generated some welcome revenue for the city, however the cost of services has risen to accomodate the growth. Schools in Pasco grew to address the needs of 5,600 new students with the addition of 3 new elementary schools, one middle school and a new high school.  This part of our Tri-Cities is filled with affordable housing, family-friendly neighborhoods, easy access to the freeway and wonderful goods and services along the Road 68 corridor.  These attributes combined with economic stability and its proximity to the Columbia River make west Pasco and Franklin County a most desirable area in which to live.

After many years of petition pushing by former judge Fred Staples, the petition signatures have finally been verified and now the issue of moving the county seat from Prosser to Kennewick can be placed before the voters this November.  At this point, Benton County commissioners have a conundrum before them – what is all this gonna cost and what all is involved in relocating a county seat?  Tough questions to answer and the end result may require hiring a consultant to research answers regarding state law and to explore the actual process of moving offices from Prosser to Kennewick.

Its doubtful that anyone really misses the year 2009. From purely an economic standpoint, it was as unforgiving a year as most of us have ever seen. With that being said, it did have some highlights.

Business-wise, the most satisfying moment came at the end when we realized that inspite of this year’s challenge’s and “tests”, the agents of Distinctive Properties, Inc., fought back with all their skills, knowledge and ambition to made it a much better year than 2008. The company’s sales volume — in what will surely enter the recond books as one fo the worst years ever for real estate — had actually surpassed its 2008 sales volume by 15%.

This is especially gratifying to us because it means we were able to satisfy more buyers and sellers in a year when every closed transaction was a small triumph for everyone involved.

Meanwhile, if you are buying in 2010, please know that our agents skillfully negotiated more transactions in 2009 than in 2008! If you are contemplating selling in the New Year, it’s worth knowing that our agents routinely bring buyers to the closing table nearly twice as often as our next closet competitor . The combination of these has kept Distinctive Properties, Inc., in sales volume across every price range and corner of our Tri Cities, Washington real estate market.

With the new renovated Business Building at CBC in Pasco, Washington, the construction was a mix of new environmentally friendly with a look into the past, which included keeping a portion of a brick wall from the original structure built back in the 1950′s.

In CBC’s new Business Building, you can see some new flat-screened monitors which will show about the building project. Fall classes will start on September 21st at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.

For more information, view this story at: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/716031.html

The Tri-Cities can thank federal stimulus money and highway construction work for helping the community weather the recession better than many other Washington communities, a state economist says.

Federal stimulus money for Hanford cleanup and ongoing road work helped the Tri-Cities buck the state trend and show an increase in jobs last month, said Dean Schau, regional labor economist.

The latest data released Tuesday by the State Employment Security Department shows Tri-City nonfarm jobs in June grew 1.36 percent over the year, and were up about 1.57 percent since May.

The tally showed 97,200 non-agricultural jobs for the month, an increase of 1,300 jobs over the year.

Gains were reported largely in professional and business services, and administrative and support services. Although construction was down 600 jobs over the year, the sector added 200 jobs in June compared with May, Schau said.

Public sector employment was up 800 since June 2008 and 100 since May. About 60 percent of the increase was at local school districts, which suggests continued economic and population growth, Schau said.

The unemployment rate in the Tri-Cities dropped from 7 percent in May to 6.8 percent in June despite an increase of 5,950 workers in the total labor force of 134,000. There were 9,130 people looking for work in the Tri-Cities last month.

In contrast, the state’s unemployment rate climbed from 9.1 percent in May to 9.3 percent in June. The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June.

Employment Security reported the state also lost an estimated 10,500 nonfarm jobs last month. In all, Washington had 117,800 fewer jobs in June, compared with June 2008, a decline of 4 percent.

The Tri-Cities managed to do OK thanks largely to federal support for Hanford cleanup, Schau said. Agriculture, food processing and power generation provide an additional cushion for the area economy with both seasonal and permanent jobs, he added.

That doesn’t mean some people aren’t hurting, Schau said. “Ask anyone who’s been laid off or is looking for a job and they’ll tell you there’s a lot of pain out there,” he said.

People also aren’t spending money, particularly on big-ticket items, which explains why the retail sector saw a loss of 600 jobs over the year, Schau said. The decline also likely was caused by the recent closure of national chain stores like Circuit City in Richland and Joe’s Sports in Kennewick.

The silver lining is that at least some consumers still are eating out or sipping wine locally, Schau said. He said that perhaps helps account for an increase of 100 jobs in the food service industry in June. Together with leisure and hospitality, the food services sector provided more than 16,000 jobs last month.

That trend was mirrored stateside, where the leisure and hospitality sector added 500 jobs last month and the retail industry lost 2,100 jobs.

Laurin Rogers, who was laid off in October from his $20 an hour job as an aviation technician in Pasco, said the Tri-Cities offers jobs opportunities even during these tough times. Government contract work at Hanford and potential jobs it will create elsewhere will help the community get through the recession, Rogers said.

Instead of choosing a lower-paying job in a different field, Rogers, 49, said he decided to go to Columbia Basin College to pursue a business degree. He said he wants to get into project management and is working to improve his leadership skills.

Candice Bluechel, business services outreach manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin, said she hopes the community can build on the momentum provided by the federal dollars. Lockheed Martin and Washington URS, which recently got non-stimulus federal money, are still looking for skilled workers for local projects, Bluechel said. Most of those jobs are technical, she said.

Hiring for seasonal agricultural jobs also is in full swing, she said. And some restaurants and hotels are trying to hire. Other sectors of the economy aren’t offering many job opportunities, she said. “Nobody is hiring in a big way.”

Bluechel said retailers may start to hire again for the back-to-school season. For example, Amazon.com recently inquired about holding a local job fair, she said. Those looking for jobs can check out the WorkSource website www.go2worksource.com for more than than 1,200 current openings.

Source: Tri-City Herald