Beginning December 14, 2020, Ben Franklin Transit (BFT) will resume three regular bus routes which will replace one temporary route in West Pasco. This set of changes is the first step toward restoring regular bus services in Pasco after scaling back earlier in the year in response to pandemic impacts. The agency is continuously working to adjust services in alignment with maximizing connectivity for our community and responding to evolving pandemic guidance and operating conditions.
Pasco Bus Route Changes Effective Monday, December 14 The following bus route will be DISCONTINUED:
For the most up-to-date bus schedules, we recommend that riders download and use the Transit app, or go to https://www.bft.org/services/route-maps-and-schedules/. Phone support is also available Mon-Fri 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sat 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 509.735.5100. BFT will continue to provide regular service on all other bus routes at this time and will notify customers via Facebook and Twitter, on its website at www.bft.org and by other means as appropriate of any further changes in service.
0 Comments
People For People Transportation will not be running the following Fixed Route Services on Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24) or New Year’s Eve (Thursday, December 31st):
Para-Transit / Demand Response Services will not operate after 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve ******************************** People For People Transportation will be closed on Friday, December 25th & December 31st in observance of both the Christmas Day & New Year’s Day Holiday. If you have any questions, please call the People For People Scheduling Department at (509) 765-9249 ext. 555 The City of Richland and HAPO Community Credit Union partner once again to bring joy to our community this holiday season. The 2020 Winter Wonderland Festival of Lights in John Dam Plaza and on the HAPO Community Stage features thousands of dancing lights set to holiday music. In addition, seasonal displays will line the sidewalks to bring joy, excitement, and happiness to all who visit the park.
“HAPO is proud to partner with the City of Richland this holiday season and we hope these bright lights will help bring some holiday cheer,” said Crystal Contreras, Community Relations Director for HAPO Community Credit Union. Seasonal displays include:
In addition to the Winter Wonderland Festival of Lights, the Richland Parks and Recreation team will be spreading more holiday cheer by distributing holiday gift bags full of treats and Richland souvenirs. To reserve your household’s “Holiday in a Bag”, register online starting Friday, December 4th. Supplies are limited to one gift bag per household in order to spread as much joy and kindness as possible. The goal is to promote family togetherness and gratitude during this holiday season. The Richland Parks & Recreation team will be sharing additional winter and holiday-themed activities and stories on their website and through social media. Go to www.ci.richland.wa.us/winterwonderland and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/richlandparksandrec for the most up to date information Benton County, Franklin County and the Cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Prosser, Richland, and West Richland collaborated with Visit Tri-Cities to have a video message to the Governor produced. This video message is a follow-up to joint letters sent by both the cities and counties in recent weeks expressing strong disagreement with the added restrictions and closures of business announced by the Governor on November 15.
As stated in the letters, our local business community has been very successful in implementing high-level safety protocols. The information from local and state health officials, and from the Governor himself, is that the surge in infections is primarily attributed to social gatherings where individuals are not adhering to masking and social distancing protocols – not from controlled businesses environments where safety protocols are followed. Many of our local business are on the brink of closing permanently due to previous and prolonged mandates. Unlike most areas in the State, some of our businesses were only allowed to reopen or expand their activities in October, just 1 month prior to the Governor’s new restrictions. Business closures mean lost jobs. The impact on employees and their families can be devastating, both financially and on mental health during the holidays. As demonstrated in the video message, the Cities and Counties support a continued partnership with the State in promoting safety protocols in our community. The request is for the safe re-opening of our businesses at the previous Phase II level. Please visit the following websites for additional information:
In the spirit of “people helping people”, HAPO, Gesa, and Numerica credit unions came together to donate $20,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties during their “Dinner with Friends” event last Friday, December 4. Proceeds from the virtual event were dedicated to supporting the 4,400+ local youth members served annually at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.
As part of the collaborative gift, a Seattle Seahawks-themed tree will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club to display each year, along with all gifts under the tree, which will soon brighten the holidays for the club kid who shares why they are the biggest Seahawk fan. “HAPO is proud to partner with Numerica and Gesa to support Boys & Girls Club and to make this holiday season especially bright for one lucky club member, ”said Crystal Contreras, Community Relations Director for HAPO Community Credit Union. On a typical day, the Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties serves over 4,000 children and teens at 27 different Clubs throughout our region. Throughout this pandemic, Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the Tri-Cities and Prosser have remained open to serve the support community. The organization continues to provide full day childcare to the children of essential workers, free study halls and academic support for children and teens, and critical resources to low-income families. “At Gesa we are always excited to partner in the credit union sprit of people helping people,” said Richard Waddle, Executive Vice President/CFO of Gesa Credit Union. “The Boys and Girls Club is an incredible organization that continues to inspire and support the youth in our community.” The “Dinner with Friends” event takes place annually and the funds raised from the event go toward strengthening youth programs at the Boys and Girls Club of Benton and Franklin County. "The holiday season is all about coming together to brighten the spirits of others," said Andy Stirling, senior vice president of Numerica Credit Union. “We are thrilled to team up and embody our ‘inner Santa Claus’ alongside two of our favorite credit union partners.” Gesa, Numerica and HAPO Community Credit Union have been an integral part of our communities for over 60 years. While the credit unions’ services have expanded, their commitment to supporting their over 586,000 collective members and the community remains strong. Students in Pasco, Kennewick, Finley, Othello, and West Richland schools now have easier access to Mid-Columbia Libraries’ eBook and eAudiobook collection using the student reading app, Sora. No library card is needed; students are automatically authenticated when logging in from their school device.
This school-library partnership provides safe access to age-appropriate titles for students’ use inside the classroom, at home, and anywhere 24/7. Through Sora, which was created by OverDrive, students can borrow from their school’s digital collection—if applicable—while also accessing thousands of Mid-Columbia Libraries’ juvenile and young adult digital titles. In addition, Sora supports teachers by offering education-specific tools like achievements, exportable notes, and reading progress that encourage individualized learning. “We’re thrilled to partner with local schools to support digital access for students, educators, and families, especially during these times of remote learning,” says Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) Executive Director and Chief Librarian Kyle Cox. “We know technology has become increasingly valuable in supporting new generations of lifelong learners and readers.” MCL has also been working with school districts to collect recommended titles and to add multiple copies of them to its collection to better serve students and educators. Readers can always suggest a title for purchase on the MCL website at midcolumbialibraries.org/services/suggest-a-purchase, or contact Advocacy & Development Manager Sara Schwan at [email protected] for more information. Readers can visit midcolumbialibraries.org/ebooks to search the entire MCL digital collection. What is the role of COVID-19 testing in helping businesses operate during the pandemic?
This virtual event will explore questions about the role of COVID-19 testing as one tool to help local businesses operate safely and successfully during the pandemic.
The dialogue will be moderated by Howard Frumkin, former Dean of the UW School of Public Health. Confirmed panelists include Kristin Omberg (PNNL), David Hansen (Western Washington University), Amy Person (Benton-Franklin Health District), Karl Dye (TriDEC), Eric Pearson (Community First Bank), Frank Harrill (Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories), and LoAnn Ayers (United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties). Community partners that helped to inform and advertise this event include: TriDEC, Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Basin Badger Club, Benton-Franklin Community Health Alliance, Coalition for a Healthy Benton City, KEY Connection, and Pasco Discovery Coalition. This event is co-hosted by the Washington State Academy of Sciences and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL Announces Next Seminar as Part of its Community Science and Technology Seminar Series11/25/2020 The next seminar in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Community Science and Technology Seminar Series, “Engaging the Future STEM Workforce through their Teachers,” presented by Alison Colotelo, a project manager at PNNL, will take place on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 5:00 p.m., via Zoom.
On this webinar, you will learn more about PNNL’s Teacher-Scientist Partnership, which aims to develop the future STEM workforce through the professional development of teachers. In partnership with PNNL researchers, we design a real-life, STEM problem-based immersion experience for the teachers. Teachers embrace the role of “learner” and engage in hands-on activities that show them how science is done at a national laboratory – in teams and across disciplines. Throughout the experience, PNNL’s Office of STEM Education works with teachers to connect the activities to their classroom and state learning standards. Teachers leave the experience with tools to integrate problem-based learning into their classrooms, in turn inspiring their students to pursue careers in STEM fields. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Community Science and Technology Seminar Series was launched to help the general public better understand and explore how science transforms our world. Those who are interested can register here. The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia (CRFMC) raised over $100,000 on Friday September 11th 2020 at their fundraiser Books and Vines, held as a virtual live auction.
The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia’s 13th annual fundraiser, Books and Vines, was held virtually this year due to COVID restrictions. With over 300 people participating from across the country through Facebook Live, $107,580 was raised Friday night. All proceeds from this event will go to fund and support the mission of the foundation by providing books, tools, and resources to our most vulnerable children and families across Benton and Franklin Counties. “With schools and libraries closed, our mission is more important now than it has ever been.” Said Elizabeth Barnes, Executive Director. The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia has distributed thousands of books into the community since the onset of COVID through partnerships with local community groups and schools. CRFMC would like to thank all of their sponsors and donors who helped raise these funds. Especially our event sponsors that include Numerica Credit Union, Bechtel, Amentum, Gesa Credit Union, Sun Pacific Energy, Focal Point Marketing, Copiers Northwest, and Bookwalter Winery. “This event is only made possible through the commitment and dedication that our sponsors and donors have to our mission” said Leanne Purcell, committee chair and board member. CRFMC has already set the date for the 14th annual fundraiser Books and Vines for September 10th, 2021 to be held at Bookwalter winery. To become a sponsor for next year’s event contact [email protected]. As part of an overall strategy plan to both meet social distancing requirements during the covid-19 pandemic and to improve overall traffic flow around the lodge area for years to come, two new structures are being built at Bluewood Ski Resort.
The largest of the two is a 1,956-square-foot Sprung building, which is being constructed at the upper corner of the parking lot and to the left of the lodge. Engineered to withstand extreme weather and shed heavy snow loads, “The Hub” will house both the Rentals and SnowSports departments. “The Hub will give guests a designated spot with more space to pick up rental gear and sign up for lessons, while also eliminating long waiting lines in the lower level of the lodge,” says Kim Clark, general manager of Bluewood. The second structure underway is a 450-square-foot yurt, which will be located at the base area near where the ski racks have typically stood. Similar in design to the yurt at the summit, the new structure will be where guests go to pick up reserved and prepurchased tickets, and will help alleviate long lines at the lodge ticket windows. With Rentals, SnowSports and ticket pickup areas moving to the new outbuildings, the vacated space leaves roughly 1,200 square feet available in the lodge. That space, near the Pub, is being converted to another dining area, with tables, chairs and a snack station where the SnowSports desk has been. |
Have News?Email your press release and a photo to Austin Regimbal, Marketing & Communications Director. Press releases are posted in their entirety. This is a free benefit for members of the Tri-City Regional Chamber at the Connect level and above. Archives
July 2024
|