The Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) is pleased to announce that passenger numbers at PSC increased by 82% in 2021, when compared to 2020. A total of 690,549 people traveled through the airport last year, approximately 312,000 more than the previous year.
The growth can be partly attributed to the three new routes that PSC added to the following locations: Hollywood Burbank Airport with Avelo Airlines, San Diego International Airport with Allegiant Air and Reno-Tahoe International Airport with aha! Airlines. “While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the entire aviation industry, it is encouraging to see our passenger numbers trend toward pre-pandemic levels,” said Buck Taft, Tri-Cities Airport Director. “We are grateful for the opportunity we had to add new routes for the residents of Southeastern Washington and will continue to safely serve our passengers as they return to air travel.” Airlines count their passengers in terms of enplanements, or the number of people who board an aircraft at an airport. The number of people arriving are considered deplanements; the sum of both numbers is an airport’s total passenger number. In 2021, the airport saw 346,503 enplanements, an 83% increase over the 188,959 enplanements recorded for 2020. PSC’s cargo operation has remained strong throughout the pandemic. Enplaned cargo, or the goods shipped from Tri-Cities elsewhere in the world, increased 12% over 2021. Alaska Airlines, FedEx and UPS all contributed to the increase. In total, 3,350, 996 pounds of goods were processed through the airport during 2021. Additional statistics can be found here on the Tri-Cities Airport’s website.
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As of January 17th, HAPO Community Credit Union became one of only 1,333 financial institutions certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. HAPO is one of only 15 CDFI-certified credit unions in Washington State.
A CDFI certification can be earned by a financial institution that offers fair and affordable financial services and continually works to transform the lives of the underserved populations in its community. CDFIs invest in their local communities by providing important funding resources. “We’re honored that we’ve earned the CDFI certification” said Dolores Broeske, President and CEO of HAPO Community Credit Union “This recognition makes it clear how dedicated we are to tailoring our services to the needs of our members. We will continue building partnerships that enhance and allow us to serve members in all areas that we reside in.” With this new certification, HAPO will be able to apply for the CDFI’s annual grant. Through this competitively-awarded benefit and other CDFI programs, HAPO will be able to build our capacity to better serve lower-income individuals and families. “Every time we can help a member get into a safer car, a first home, or provide resources to enhance the lives of those around us, we’re thrilled,” said Broeske. “With CDFI resources, we’ll be able to grow those opportunities and keep reaching more of our community. HAPO Community Credit Union serves over 170,000 members and has 19 locations throughout Washington, and Umatilla, Morrow, and Clackamas Counties in Oregon. Communities in Schools (CIS) announced today that philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has made a transformative $133.5 million gift to the Communities In Schools network, the largest, unrestricted gift in CIS history. This unprecedented gift includes $5.85 million given specifically to Communities In Schools of Washington and three Washington state CIS affiliates: CIS of Benton-Franklin, CIS Peninsula, and CIS Renton-Tukwila.
“We are honored and humbled to receive this generous gift that will strengthen our capacity to surround students with the support they need to succeed in school and life. Our priority will remain on amplifying the voices of those who have been disproportionately impacted by generations of educational and systemic inequities while, simultaneously, working towards a future where one’s success is not predicated on race, ethnicity, identity, or socioeconomic status. We believe this gift speaks to our proven success and creates an incredible opportunity for our local business, nonprofit, educational and community leaders to come alongside us to sustain this transformational work.” -Lupe Mares, MSW, Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Benton-Franklin Working directly inside schools, and in partnership with teachers and parents, CIS is uniquely positioned to address the challenges standing between students and their academic success. Our evidence-based, student-centered approach is designed to support the educational and social-emotional development of youth that allows them to succeed in the classroom and beyond. We accomplish this by coordinating with schools and local service providers to address the barriers facing students and families, as well as to create access to critical resources, like food, housing, transportation, mental health support, healthcare, remote technology, and more. “This is an amazing and generous gift that will support youth throughout our bi-county region by increasing access to the life-changing supports provided by Communities In Schools of Benton-Franklin. The work of CISBF in schools is essential and we hope this gift inspires partners in our community to join us as we empower our youth to achieve in school and life. I could not be more proud of Lupe and the incredible team of Site Coordinators serving students at CISBF.” -Elizabeth Burtner, Board Chair of Communities In Schools of Benton-Franklin In the 2020-2021 school year, CIS of Benton-Franklin served nearly 19,000 students through whole school supports and 780 students via individualized case management. Ninety-seven percent of case managed students were economically disadvantaged, and 93 percent had been exposed to some form of trauma, yet we still saw a 100 percent improvement in Behavior, 94 percent improvement in Academics, and 75 percent improvement in Attendance. In addition, 99 percent of students in grades 9-12 stayed in school and 98 percent were promoted or graduated. While both the footprint and impact of CISBF has grown significantly over the past seven years, there remains much work to do and over 30,000 youth yet to be served. “Today is an important day for students who are underserved, under-resourced, and in need of support to build a brighter future,” said Rey Saldaña, President and CEO of Communities In Schools nationally. “This unrestricted gift allows us to combat the inequities in public education and reimagine the way schools operate and show up for all students. Our National goal is to bring our model inside of every one of the 70,000 Title I-eligible schools in the country; currently, we operate in 3,000 schools – so we still have a long way to go, and we will need ongoing support to get there.” Locally, CISBF currently serves 48% of our Title-I eligible schools with the generous support of our donors and partnering school districts. While this transformative gift will allow CISBF to begin closing that gap, ongoing support at the state and local level will be critical in ensuring students have access to the tools and resources they need to overcome what is certain to be a generational impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced workers have begun the first large-scale treatment of radioactive and chemical waste from large underground tanks at the Hanford Site. This marks completion of the first of an ambitious slate of 2022 priorities set by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM).
In a message of congratulations to the Hanford workforce, Senior Advisor for EM William “Ike” White called the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) System a “cornerstone of the Direct Feed Low Activity Waste program”. “It’s a capability that will transform the Hanford Site and benefit the entirety of the EM program,” White said. “I’m optimistic about what Hanford will achieve this year as we work toward around-the-clock operations to treat tank waste.” The newly operational TSCR System removes radioactive cesium and solids from tank waste. The treated waste will be fed directly to the nearby Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant for vitrification, or immobilization in glass, when the plant comes online next year. The cesium removal system is a key part of the Site’s Direct Feed Low Activity Waste (DFLAW) program, an assembly of several highly interdependent projects and infrastructure that will operate together to vitrify and safely dispose of millions of gallons of low-activity tank waste once operational. “This is an exciting new era in our Hanford cleanup mission,” said Brian Vance, manager of EM’s (DOE’s) Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office. “For the first time in Hanford Site history, we are treating a significant amount of tank waste on an industrial scale.” Hanford tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), working with EM staff, other site contractors and regulatory agencies, built, installed and tested the cesium removal system next to large underground storage tanks. Those tanks, called the AP tank farm, are located near the center of the Hanford Site, which is less than a quarter mile from the vitrification plant. The cesium removal technology is nearly identical to a system operating at DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. John Eschenberg, WRPS president and CEO, said the launch of the TSCR system operations was nearly three years in the making. “I’m extremely proud of our team, the dedicated workforce who delivered this project on time and on budget during some challenging times over the last 18 months,” Eschenberg said. The Hanford Site is home to approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive tank waste stored in 177 underground tanks, representing one of DOE’s largest environmental risks and most complex challenges. The tank waste is a result of nearly five decades of plutonium production that supported national security missions and helped end World War II. Twin sisters Aditha and Ashitha Chintapatla will be presented with Scouting’s highest honor in West Richland, WA on February 5th, the Blue Mountain Council, BSA has announced. Aditha and Ashitha are two of the council’s four first female Eagle Scouts.
They are the daughters of Rangaswamy and Sucharitha Chintapatla of West Richland, WA and both girls are members of Troop 219, chartered by Hillspring Church. Their Scout leader is Wendy Cicotte. In order to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, Aditha and Ashitha each had to earn 21 merit badges and show leadership by planning, developing, and completing a community service project. For their projects, the sisters each made improvements to the temple and surrounding property for the Hindu Society of Eastern Washington in West Richland. Aditha’s project consisted of remodeling the temple’s stage flooring, while Ashitha’s project focused on improving the temple’s outdoor garden and trees. Between the two Scouts, they raised $10,000 to fund the projects. Leftover funds were set aside for other Scouts to complete projects for the temple. Both girls are Juniors at Richland High School and are active as officers in Key Club, DECA, and National Honor Society, both carrying a cumulative 4.0 GPA. They are also active youth leaders in Balagokulam, which is a Hindu school for youth age 5-18. They are responsible for organizing youth activities for High School age youth. Aditha has aspirations to continue her studies and become a physician, while continuing to expand her interest and hobby with interior design. Ashitha would like to pursue a career in an engineering field, while continuing to further her skills and interest in photography. The rank of Eagle is earned by less than four percent of all youth who join Scouting. In 2021, 49 boys and girls in the Blue Mountain Council earned the Eagle Scout Award, providing through their Eagle projects alone more than 8,000 hours of service for our communities. At Port of Kennewick’s regular business meeting yesterday, port President Skip Novakovich announced Don Britain as “Friend of the Port” for 2021. The port presented the annual award to recognize outstanding service to the port and the community. The commission recognized that Don Britain personally worked to foster and a partnership with Port of Kennewick that led to renovations of the port’s Oak Street Industrial Park buildings, creation and development of the Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village, restoration of the Clover Island’s shoreline, and redevelopment of Vista Field from a general aviation airfield into a master-planned urban town center. In presenting the award, port commission President Skip Novakovich stated, “Over the years we would often meet to discuss how the City and the Port could work together. This helped forge a relationship between the entities we represented to clean up the east end of Kennewick, to “bring back the magic of the river,” and to establish the beginning of a new regional town center right in the middle of Kennewick at Vista Field.” Continued Novakovich, “Don has been an outstanding advocate for Clover Island and Columbia Drive and has worked tirelessly to help connect the Historic Waterfront District with Kennewick’s downtown business district. His involvement with the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund Advisory Committee (HAEIFAC) led to critical investments in port facilities. His work on the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership Board helped foster the city’s investment in the Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village and led to the recent Washington Street corridor improvements. And his leadership as mayor of the Kennewick City Council was instrumental in helping the port move forward in restoring Clover Island’s shoreline and in transforming Vista Field. Don has a tremendous heart for service and this community. And it is for those reasons, that I am truly honored to announce Don Britain as our ‘Friend of the Port’ for 2021.” A plaque presented to Britain reads: “Presented to Don Britain in recognition of your stalwart support of port endeavors; efforts to foster vibrancy within Kennewick’s Historic Waterfront District; and outstanding leadership in helping transform Vista Field into an urban town center.” A second plaque is to be placed within the Port of Kennewick’s offices on Clover Island. Richland Police Chief, John Bruce, submitted his letter of resignation today to City Manager, Jon Amundson. Bruce’s last day at the City of Richland, WA, will be Friday, January 28, 2022.
Bruce was hired as Richland’s Police Chief in June of 2019. He came to Richland from Frisco, Texas, where he worked his way through the ranks for over 33 years. He was named Police Chief of Frisco in January 2013. Bruce was hired at Richland by former City Manager, Cindy Reents after an extensive nationwide recruitment effort. Bruce played an integral role in helping the City navigate through the community’s COVID-19 response efforts. He also implemented key organizational structure changes among command staff and assisted with updating departmental policies stemming from recent legislative amendments. “We thank Chief Bruce for the leadership and goodwill he brought to our community. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. We have appreciated his commitment to national public safety standards,” states Richland Mayor Michael Alvarez. Amundson has appointed Richland Deputy Police Chief, Brigit Clary, to immediately assume the duties of Interim Police Chief effective January 28, 2022. Plans to launch a recruitment effort will be messaged in the coming months. Amundson states, “I am grateful for Chief Bruce’s service to our organization and am especially appreciative of the role he has played in helping us respond to COVID-19. I am confident in Deputy Chief, Clary’s ability to guide the department through the next chapter. The Richland Police Department is committed to trying new approaches to law enforcement. I know our staff looks forward to identifying strategies to not only maintain the safety of our community but increase engagement with citizens.” No further details will be released at this time. More information regarding the City of Richland can be found at www.ci.richland.wa.us. For the first time in 27 years Port of Kennewick has received a management letter from the Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO) following an accountability audit to ensure compliance with applicable requirements and safeguarding of public resources.
The SAO Audit noted concerns in a letter dated January 19, 2022. That audit letter indicated reimbursing former Commissioner Barnes’ legal fees was not an allowable expense and that State law was not followed as the Commissioner seeking reimbursement should not have voted on a matter from which he directly benefitted. As part of the management letter the SAO is recommending the Port follow its own policy and state law; and further recommends additional legal review to determine if any further actions, such as repayment, are necessary or required by law. The Port of Kennewick strives for a high standard of accountability and transparency and will follow the SAO’s recommendation for additional legal review. At the time that Commissioner Barnes requested reimbursement of his legal fees, the port sought legal review by Port Special Counsel, Steve DiJulio of Foster Garvey. He advised the port regarding this matter and prepared a resolution (#2021-08 dated May 25, 2021) which acknowledged responsibility for the reimbursement decision as resting with Commissioners. In 2021 the port commission was comprised of former-Commissioner (President), Don Barnes—who sought compensation and voted in favor of his own reimbursement request; Commissioner (Secretary), Thomas Moak—who made the motion for repayment; and Commissioner (Vice President), Skip Novakovich—who abstained from voting after indicating he was concerned that such a vote would likely bring both legal and audit issues. Commissioner Ken Hohenberg was not yet seated to office as his term did not begin until January 11, 2022. The SAO Report and Management Letter will be brought to the Port of Kennewick Board of Commissioners for discussion at its next commission meeting, Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. Port of Kennewick commission meetings are held virtually; with information and agendas available at: https://www.portofkennewick.org/commission-meetings/. Lourdes Health is pleased to announce that its Lourdes Pediatrics clinic has received a 2021 Immunize WA award from the State of Washington for child and adolescent immunizations.
Lourdes Pediatrics earned a Bronze Status Award, recognizing a vaccination rate of 70 percent or higher. “Protecting children and ensuring that they receive their necessary childhood immunizations is one of our top priorities,” said Martha Varnado, Lourdes Pediatrics Clinic Manager. “I would like to commend the department for all their hard work to achieve this, especially with the challenges presented by COVID-19 with patient care in 2021.” At Lourdes Pediatrics, the doctors engage in active conversations with their patients’ families regarding immunizations, address vaccines at all clinic visits, including sick visits, send messages and letters to families to remind them when their children are due for immunizations, and encourage questions about immunizations from families. Additionally, nurses review patient charts and work with the providers to stay up to date on patients’ vaccine status. “We’re grateful to be making communities healthier through childhood immunizations,” said Lourdes Medical Director Kevin Taylor, MD. “We provide each of our patients’ families with important education about childhood immunizations and their role in protecting kids and families from preventable diseases.” Immunize WA is in its seventh year of its provider recognition program, and Lourdes Pediatrics has been recognized in each of those years. Immunize WA is hosted by the Washington Health Plan Partnership, comprised of the Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Health Care Authority, the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington, and all major health plans in Washington. In addition to required and recommend childhood vaccinations, Lourdes Pediatrics has the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine available for children 5 and older. Lourdes Pediatrics is located at Lourdes West Pasco clinic at 7425 Wrigley Drive, Ste 101. Patients and their families can make an appointment with pediatricians Paolo Antonio deVera, MD; Geraldine Dizon, MD; or Dianna Lang, MD, by calling 509.546.8399 or scheduling online at YourLourdes.com. Yakima Federal Savings and Loan Association is pleased to announce the promotion of three valued employees that have demonstrated outstanding performance. Laurel Bishop has been promoted to Assistant Vice President. Laurel is Manager of the Kennewick-Gage Branch Office. She has 31 years of experience having been originally hired as a teller in Prosser and working her way up over the years to Assistant Prosser Branch Manager. Her most recent position was that of Manager at the Kennewick Branch. Tina Naasz has been promoted to Assistant Vice President. Tina is the Manager of the Yakima-Stadium Branch Office. She has 22 years of service at the branch and has served Yakima Federal in the roles of Teller, Vault Teller, Savings Counselor and Savings Supervisor prior to her promotion to Branch Manager in May 2021. Tony Mayorga has been promoted to Assistant Secretary. Tony was hired as a Management Trainee in October of 2020. Tony brings previous sales and banking experience to his new role as Kennewick Branch Manager. Yakima Federal Savings and Loan is headquartered in Yakima, WA. and has been in business since 1905. With over 2 billion dollars in assets, the association is the 11th largest Washington-based FDIC insured financial institution. |
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July 2024
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