Allegiant adds nonstop flight to San Diego

Allegiant Airlines launched a new nonstop flight to San Diego International Airport with a ribbon cutting and other festivities in May at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.

The low-cost carrier offers Monday and Friday flights oriented to leisure travelers. The airline is charging $59 each direction online. Allegiant is one of four carriers serving the Pasco airport, along with Delta, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.

Allegiant provides service to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona and seasonal service to Los Angeles.

Former employee buying Kennewick Barracuda Coffee

Barracuda Coffee is selling its Kennewick location to a former employee.

Zach Case and his wife, Katie, will rebrand the coffee shop at 320 N. Kellogg St. as Traveler Espresso, a business they founded as a mobile coffee unit. The new location will be their first brick-and-mortar coffee shop. Traveler will use Barracuda’s coffee beans but the menu will change to include the new owners’ signature drinks.

Barracuda owner Jake Shupe said the sale is expected to close in late June, with the Cases taking over July 1. The original Barracuda is at 2171 Van Giesen St. in Richland.

Conover Insurance joins HUB International

Conover Insurance has become part of HUB International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the world.

Conover, which has offices in Pasco and Prosser, will operate as Conover Insurance, a division of HUB International Northwest LLC.

HUB provides insurance coverage for property and casualty, health and life, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services.

Employing teens this summer? Know the law

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries reminds employers who hire teens for the summer that they must adhere to state law.

Employers must have permits and other documents to employ minors and provide meal and rest breaks.

Hours and duties may be limited based on the worker’s age as well as the work location. Go to lni.wa.gov.

July 2 is deadline to enter business grant drawing

Small businesses in the Tri-Cities can enter a drawing for grants offered by the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce and Washington River Protection Solutions through 5 p.m. July 2.

The partners committed $30,000 in grants to local small businesses through the Small Business Incentive Program.

Qualifying applications will be numbered and entered into a drawing, with 300 winners selected at random.

Go to tricityregionalchamber.com/small-business-incentive-program.html.

Fourth of July celebrations are back on

Fireworks are back on at Kennewick’s Columbia Park and Pasco’s Gesa Stadium.

Gesa Carousel of Dreams and the city of Kennewick restarted the annual River of Fireworks display after the announcement Washington would reopen fully on July 1 from pandemic-related closures and shutdowns.

The annual fireworks display is presented by Gesa Credit Union with support from Toyota of Tri-Cities, Retter & Company | Sotheby’s International Realty, Moon Security and Bruce Inc. It will be free to attend.

Fireworks are launched from the Columbia River shoreline in front of the Columbia Park Tri-Plex driving range starting around 10 p.m.

Pasco’s Grand Old 4th of July Celebration includes a family bike ride on July 3 and a host of events on the day itself, culminating with the fireworks display around 10 p.m. Go to pasco-wa.gov.

$800 billion later, SBA  shuts down PPP

The U.S. Small Business Administration has closed the Paycheck Protection Program to new loan guarantee applications after providing nearly $800 billion in economic relief to more than 8.5 million businesses and nonprofits.

The economic relief program aimed to keep employees on the job during the pandemic.

The program was one of eight disaster relief programs established by Congress during the Covid-19 pandemic. Go to sba.gov/relief.

Kennewick Farmers Market now open

The Downtown Kennewick Farmers Market began its season-long run June 3 and continues 4-7 p.m., Thursdays through October at 204 W. Kennewick Ave.

In related news, the market is seeking a manager. Go to historickennewick.org/work-with-us.

The weekly market is organized by the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership and is sponsored by Washington Trust Bank with Sit Means Sit Dog Training.

Golf tourney benefits Prosser Memorial

The Prosser Memorial Health Foundation holds its first-ever Wine Country Classic Charity Golf Tournament with a start time of 9 a.m. Sept. 10 at Black Rock Creek Golf Course in Sunnyside.

Proceeds benefit Prosser Memorial Health programs.

Golfers can register in teams of two or four with single players welcome as well.

The entry fee ($200 for singles, $250 for twosomes and $500 for foursomes) includes a day of golf, lunch and prizes. Sponsors are welcome as well.

Go to www.prosserhealth.foundation or email foundation@prosserhealth.org.

Cancer center tackles fear of recurrence June 25

The Kadlec Tri-Cities Cancer Center will address how cancer survivors can manage fears it will return with a virtual session from 3-4 p.m. June 25.

The Fear of Recurrence session features Robb Dye, a licensed clinical social worker at the Portneuf Cancer Center in Pocatello, Idaho, and is being held in conjunction with National Cancer Survivor Month in June.

The session will introduce four survivors who will share their unique experiences and the methods they used to manage the normal fears that follow treatment.

The program is free but registration is required. Call 509-737-3483 for more details.

Go to tinyurl.com/survivorsevent.

Therapeutic riding center opens

Happy Trails Sensory Course, a five-station motor sensory course for participants in Therapeutic Riding of Tri-Cities, opened with a dedication held in early June.

TROT is a nonprofit that provides specialized programs such as adaptive horseback riding for children and adults with mental and physical challenges.

The course, at 104 E. 41st Place, Kennewick, is a partnership between TROT and Leadership Tri-Cities.

Go to trot3cities.org.

Vit plant completes first commissioning test

Treating low-activity waste at Hanford is a step closer after the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, known as the vit plant, team completed the first commissioning test associated with the Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste Facility, or DFLAW.

The test involved one of the 37 remote-operated cranes inside the facility and was the first for any system. The test proved that a bridge crane can reach components and lifting points of the six vessels used in the process that will immobilize liquid tank waste in glass form, aka vitrification.

Follow the vitrification story at the Journey to Melter Heatup website, melterheatup.hanfordvitplant.com.

Future public market announces name, contest for logo

The developers of the Tri-Cities’ first year-round public market have announced its name – Osprey Pointe Marketplace – and a contest to design a logo for it.

The winner will receive $1,000 and bragging rights.

“We want the logo to truly encompass the area, so one requirement of the design will be to include a local landmark,” said James Sexton, president of JMS Construction/JMS Development.

Sexton has a development agreement with the Port of Pasco to launch the marketplace, along with the equivalent of a small city on port-owned waterfront in east Pasco.

The marketplace seeks a logo that will effective online, in print and on signs and versatile enough to be to be resized and work in color and black and white.

All entries must be submitted by July 15 via email to info@jmstricities.com or by mail to: Osprey Pointe Marketplace, 904 Ainsworth Avenue, Pasco, WA, 99301.

Entries may be submitted electronically or by hand. If sketch art is selected as the winning logo, a professional graphic designer will be chosen by Osprey Pointe Marketplace to recreate the design in electronic format.

Chaplaincy discontinues behavioral health services

Chaplaincy Health Care, a Richland-based nonprofit providing hospice care, grief support and spiritual comfort, discontinued its behavioral health program, effective May 31.

Chaplaincy Behavioral Health served the Tri-Cities community since 2013 and aimed to meet the mental health needs of the underserved Medicare and Medicaid populations.

The decision to close the program is a result of the inability to build and sustain a solid counseling foundation and business model that could effectively impact the needs in the community without overburdening the financial resources of the agency.

“We sincerely regret this decision but the growing needs in our hospice program require that we reprioritize and focus on hospice and hospice related services. The impact of this decision on staff, clients and providers is very real to us and we will do everything we can to make the transition as supportive as possible,” said Bob Rosselli, interim executive director.

 Clients in the behavioral health program were notified by mail the week of May 3 about the program closure. Current patients are encouraged to call Chaplaincy Health Care with any questions or concerns. They can be reached at 509-783-7416, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Juice bar opening at Southridge

Just Juice, a cold press juice bar, will open in June at the Cynergy Centre building, 4309 W. 27th Ave., Suite 101, in Kennewick’s Southridge neighborhood.

Just Juice leased 1,704 square feet from the owner, Hutton Settlements. Jason Goffard of Kiemle Hagood represented the landlord in the transaction.

Just Juice, an organic juice chain based in Houston, Texas, did not respond to a request for comment on its Kennewick plans.

West Richland to add another traffic signal

West Richland is getting its second traffic signal on Van Giesen Street – but it’s not clear when it will be complete.

The installation at South 38th Avenue and Van Giesen Street near Brick House Pizza is expected to begin in June. The work includes the traffic signal, moving overhead power underground and reconfiguring the sidewalk ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The work is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021.

Manufacturing delays of key traffic signal equipment associated with the Covid-19 pandemic could delay project competition until spring 2022, according to a recent city newsletter.

The city council awarded the $540,000 project to Sierra Electric in April.

The project is being funded from a $500,000 grant from Benton County’s Rural County Capital Fund and $40,000 from the city’s transportation impact fees collected from new development.

New paint fee to fund state recycling program

A new fee on paint purchases will pay for a statewide paint recycling program.

The new program, operated by PaintCare, a nonprofit, will allow households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, stain and varnish.

PaintCare is providing more than 200 drop-off sites across the state, including seven in the Tri-City area, which include paint retail stores and locally-managed government facilities.

Washington’s paint recycling program was made possible under the paint stewardship law (SHB 1652), passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019.

The fee on the sale of new paint funds paint collection, transportation, processing and public education.

The state fee is the same as in neighboring Oregon and varies by container size: no charge for a half pint or smaller; 45 cents for larger than half pint up to smaller than one gallon; 95 cents for one gallon up to two gallons; and $1.95 for larger than two gallons up to five gallons.

To find recycling locations, go to paintcare.org/drop-off-sites.

Go to paintcare.org/WA for more information about the program