Noting the increase in new driver activity, the Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) reminds all Uber, Lyft, and other transportation-network company drivers that they must obtain a For-Hire Business License from the City of Pasco in order to operate in the city. This includes picking up or dropping off passengers at the airport.
 
All for-hire drivers must submit a copy of a current For-Hire Business License to the airport administration office and also be able to produce that business license when requested by PSC staff. The city’s licensing program ensures that drivers operate a vehicle that has passed inspection, carries the proper levels of insurance, and is affiliated with a licensed company. Applications for Pasco’s For-Hire Business Licenses can be found at www.pasco-wa.gov/192/Business-Licenses.
 
The City of Pasco is also a licensing partner with the State of Washington Business License Service’s (BLS) combined licensing program. This city-state partnership saves time by combining renewals and applications into one easy process with one yearly payment. With BLS, drivers can apply for or renew a Pasco license along with hundreds of other state and city licenses online through the Washington State Department of Revenue, at dor.wa.gov or (360) 705-6741.
 
For more information, visit www.pasco-wa.gov. 

Port of Benton is hosting a community block party and triple ribbon-cutting event to welcome two tasting rooms and a boutique with a bakery that opened during the COVID-19 pandemic at Vintners Village.

The celebration will be Thursday, September 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. at 236 Port Avenue in Prosser.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests are invited to visit the new and established Vintners Village businesses and enjoy an onsite food truck, live music and face painting.

The new businesses include:

• Corks and Taps, owned by Jason Domanico, offers Domanico Cellars Wines, a selection of local beers, foods and events
• Sister to Sister on the Ave., owned by M’Liss Bierlink and Bierlink’s second Prosser boutique, with the ultimate shopping experience featuring a collection of gifts, home accents, jewelry, clothing, candles, gourmet foods and baked goods
• Wautoma Springs, a collaboration between Winemaker Jessica Munnell, Vineyard Owner Tom Merkle and Tasting Room Manager Rachel Mercer, offers a selection of Wautoma wines, food, gift baskets, chocolates, and events

“We are thrilled to recognize these locally-owned businesses that opened during the pandemic and are thriving,” said Diahann Howard, Port executive director. “The new tasting rooms and gift shop are vital to the community’s economy and attract visitors from around the region.”

The Port constructed phase two of Vintners Village in 2018. The new tasting rooms and gift shop join the Prosser Economic Development Association and 12 other local businesses found throughout the walkable wine village.

Vintners Village is in the heart of Washington wine country, learn more at vintnersvillage.com.

Wildhorse Resort & Casino announced that it will host the Epson Tour at Wildhorse Golf Course, September 2-4, 2022. Known as the “Road to the LPGA,” the Epson Tour is the official qualifying tour of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

The Wildhorse Ladies Classic is the 17th stop on the Epson Tour’s 2022 schedule, welcoming professional female golfers from across the nation and over 30 countries around the world. The public is invited to come watch world class golfers compete. Tickets are on sale at wildhorseresort.com.

The Epson Tour enters its 42nd competitive season in 2022 and annually awards the top ten players on the season-long “Race for the Card” money list with LPGA Tour membership for the following season. Recent Epson Tour graduates include Olympic Gold Medalist and top-ranked American, Nelly Korda, as well as fellow Major Champions, Hannah Green and Patty Tavatanakit. The Epson Tour’s 2022 schedule features record-setting total purses and average purse size, as well as the largest single-event prize in Tour history.

The purse for the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic is $200,000.

“Wildhorse Resort & Casino and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are excited to showcase and welcome some of the most talented young professional golfers from around the world to our Tribal and local communities,” CEO Gary George announced.

Wildhorse has committed to host the tournament for at least two years, bringing around 2000 visitors to the area for each yearly event. Epson and LPGA staff, volunteers, sponsors, spectators, and professional and amateur players will begin pouring into Pendleton a week before the tournament finals. 

The Wildhorse Ladies golf classic begins with two youth clinics and two Pro-Am tournaments that include participation by professional golfers from the Epson Tour. 

The first and second rounds for the professional women are played September 2-3 with the final round taking place on Sunday, September 4. 

When asked why Wildhorse joined the Epson Tour, George explained, “This event aligns with the Tribes’ efforts to provide meaningful opportunities for Tribal youth and to grow the game of golf in our region.”

The Epson Tour is hosted by other Tribal venues throughout the season including Circling Raven Golf Club in Idaho and Morongo Golf Club in California. The tournaments often feature events for young golfers who are interested in pursuing the game and many of the LPGA’s best players have come up through the LPGA USGA Girls Golf program.

The Wildhorse Ladies Classic will be seeking about 125 volunteers to help with a multitude of tasks during the event. Volunteers will assist with live scoring, help with parking and ticket distribution, act as marshals and spotters, help VIPs and vendors, provide housing for Epson Tour competitors, and much more. Interested volunteers can visit https://www.wildhorseresort.com/resort/golf/tournaments/ for information and to register.

The Epson Tour Championship to conclude the 2022 season takes place in Daytona Beach, Florida in October.

Port of Benton will begin construction on the Van Giesen/State Route 224 railroad crossing on Thursday, August 18, 2022 at Noon (12 p.m.)  This project will fully replace the railroad crossing, rail, ties, concrete crossing panels, and the road on both sides of the crossing will be repaved.

The railroad crossing replacement project will require full closure of Van Giesen Street for the duration of the project, with the crossing reopening for traffic no later than Monday, August 22, 2022 at 6 a.m. The roadway will be opened earlier if construction is completed ahead of schedule. Detour signs will be in place and electronic highway notification will be displayed directing traffic around the detour, generally Van Giesen Street, to Bombing Range Road and Keene Road, and then via Duportail Street back to State Route 240.

The Port has contracted with Railworks Track Systems for replacement of the Van Giesen/State Route 224 crossing project.  Plans are in place to also replace the Swift Blvd./Cemetery crossing in September 2022.  Both rail crossing projects are 100% Port-funded.

For additional information, please visit portofbenton.com/projects, or call 509-375-3060.

Benton County election officials have a little more work to do before they can wrap up the 2022 Primary Election. After the Canvassing Board completed their work on Tuesday, August 16, one office remains in machine recount territory. Candidates William “Bill” Jenkin and Barry Bush are 33 votes apart for the second spot on the ballot.

Following initial certification of the results for the office of Benton County Commissioner District #2, a machine recount was required by law, and election officials anticipate one day to complete. The recount process will begin Monday, August 22 at 9:00 am at the Benton County Voting Center located at 2618 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland.

The Canvassing Board is tentatively scheduled to review these items and certify the recount results on Tuesday, August 23 immediately following the Board of County Commissioners meeting.

Observers are welcome to attend the recount and certification processes. For more information, contact the Election Department at (509) 736-3085.

Gesa, a community-focused credit union, is proud to announce the total 2021-2022 school year earnings of its Affinity Debit Card Program exceeded $300,000 for partner school districts across Washington state. The program supports local schools by earning funds for partner districts to use toward academic programs, technology needs, extracurricular programs, and athletics. The announcement was made at the annual Affinity Card celebration, in Richland. 

“Gesa is a proud supporter of education across the state, and we’re especially passionate about supporting our local school districts and the remarkable educators in our community,” said Don Miller, President and CEO of Gesa Credit Union. “We’re thankful to our members who continue to embrace and support this program, as it allows us to award these funds that truly make a positive difference in the lives of local students and local educators.” 

Since the program began in 2015, Gesa has raised more than $1 million for the 30 schools it partners with.

“Pasco School District has seen firsthand how impactful the funds from Gesa’s Affinity Debit Card Program can be for local schools,” said Michelle Whitney, Superintendent. “This year, we plan to use the funds to provide additional career-connected learning experiences including industry tours, job shadows and special events in addition to supporting student participation in our Career and Technical Student organizations. These career exploration and leadership experiences help shape the future leaders of our community.”

With every swipe of a Co-Branded Affinity Debit Card, Gesa makes a donation to that particular school district. Co-Branded Affinity Debit Cards are available exclusively at Gesa Credit Union and are free to Gesa members with a checking account. There is no fee for members to switch their card to any of the school designs. 

For more information about Gesa Credit Union and the Affinity Debit Card Program, visit www.gesa.com. 

Join us to commemorate the continued transformation of the East Columbia Drive waterfront at a public ribbon-cutting event on September 15 at 2 p.m.
 
Who:                Everyone is welcome!
What:               Columbia Gardens Phase Two Ribbon Cutting Event
Where:             313 E. Columbia Gardens Way, Kennewick, WA 99336
                        (near the Cable Bridge, across from Zip’s on East Columbia Drive)
When:              Thursday, September 15, 2022, at 2 p.m.
RSVP:              ColumbiaGardens@PortofKennewick.org
 
The ceremony will recognize the completion of Columbia Gardens Phase Two and welcome Gordon Estate Winery and Muret-Gaston Winery.
 
The event will also recognize Columbia Gardens’ founding wineries: Bartholomew and Monarcha and celebrate the Food Truck Plaza’s regular vendors: Culture Shock Bistro, Ann’s Best Creole & Soul Food, Taste of Wok, Only Tacos, Bobablastic, and Swampy’s BBQ; along with Rollin Ice Cream.
 
The winemakers will be in attendance, all four wineries will be open, and the food trucks will offer sample tastings immediately following the festivities.
 
Phase Two was funded by Port of Kennewick in partnership with City of Kennewick, Benton County’s Rural County Capital Fund program and a HAEIFAC grant; with support from Benton PUD, Ben Franklin Transit, Columbia Center Rotary, Kennewick Arts Commission, Kennewick Community Development Block Grant Committee and STCU.
 
This phase involved constructing additional parking, a loop roadway, utilities, landscaping, new artwork, signage and a signalized pedestrian crossing. A Food Truck Plaza was established, and six shovel-ready parcels were readied for sale to encourage private-sector investment in the historic waterfront district. Columbia Gardens is unique because it is zoned as “Urban Mixed-Use” and federally designated as an “Opportunity Zone.” 

Prosser Memorial Health introduces vNotes to its list of services, with Dr. Brian Sollers performing this new procedure. Dr. Sollers is a board-certified OB/GYN at the Prosser Memorial Women’s Health Center in Prosser and is currently the only doctor in Eastern Washington performing this minimally invasive gynecological surgery.

Vaginal Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (vNotes) is an advanced procedure that combines the benefits of the laparoscopic and vaginal approaches to gynecological surgery. vNotes allows for a hysterectomy, and other procedures, to be performed vaginally with laparoscopic instruments. This method is proven to have a low rate of complications and a faster recovery time, which means less pain, less medication, and a shorter hospital stay for the patient. And with initial incisions being made vaginally, this also means the patient will not be left with any visible scarring. vNotes can be performed to treat a variety of gynecological conditions, such as ovarian cysts, fibroids, adenomyosis, and abnormal uterine bleeding.

Prosser Memorial Health is proud to offer this new innovative procedure to women in the communities we serve. For more information on the vNotes procedure and Dr. Sollers, or to schedule an appointment, please call the Prosser Women’s Health Center at 509.786.0031 or visit our website www.prosserhealth.org.

Petersen Hastings, a nationally recognized, fee-only wealth management firm, is pleased to announce that it is once again included in the listing of Financial Advisor (FA) Magazine’s 2022 RIA Ranking. Financial Advisor Magazine, a leading financial trade publication, annually reports an exclusive list of the nation’s leading independent financial advisory firms based on their total discretionary and nondiscretionary assets under management (AUM), as reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Petersen Hastings is the only firm in Eastern Washington to be recognized in the survey.

“It is an honor for Petersen Hastings to be continually ranked among the Top RIAs in the country,” said Scott Sarber, CEO. “This accomplishment is the result of an incredible team effort. I am truly humbled by our team’s commitment to our firm and our clients.  Our firm’s success is very much attributed to our clients who place their trust in us every day.”

For the full list, please click here to view the original report.

Business leaders from the Tri-Cities region are encouraged to attend conflict resolution training on Aug. 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at RBC Wealth Management on Deschutes in Kennewick, hosted by Growing Forward Services (GFS). A recent study by Forbes states 62% of employees leave a job due to toxic company culture and 56% leave due to poor management. Properly managing conflict is essential in employee retention. The seminar is titled Getting to Win-Win in Conflict.  Early bird pricing is currently still available; space is limited. 

“Often, conflict resolution can feel like a win-lose, or even lose-lose scenario within our organizations. The goal of effective leadership is to draw each participant in, so a true win-win outcome is achieved,” said Paul Casey, founder of Growing Forward Services, LLC. “Mastering those not-so-soft-skills necessary to get to this outcome can be achieved. With so many available positions in the marketplace, and Millennials changing jobs every two to three years, creating a winning conflict resolution strategy is so important.” 

During the three-hour seminar, attendees will explore their default styles to approaching conflict, learn why it is important to have difficult conversations, and discover best practices that can be applied immediately towards interpersonal conflict. Tickets are available for purchase at www.growingforwardservices.net for $79; early-bird pricing ends on August 10th. Materials and refreshments are included in the ticket price. RBC Wealth Management is located at 7139 W Deschutes Ave Suite 101, Kennewick, WA 99336.