Customers should see a small drop in monthly bills beginning this month, and the PUD says the average customer’s electricity bill will go down by about $6-$8.

The credit will continue through May.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Benton PUD Giving Money Back to Customers

• Sweet Treat is now open at 1936 N. Louisiana St. The store offers ice cream, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, coffee, and tea.
• Inspired Solutions, a medical supply store, has moved to a new location at 6821 W. Clearwater Ave.
• Tri-Cities Laboratory has opened a new building at 7131 W. Grandridge Blvd.
• Amaris Skin Rejuvenation & Spa recently moved to 920 W. Canal Drive in Kennewick. The spa offers facials, tanning, waxing, and more.
• AmericanWest Bank will close its branch office on Edison Street on January 30, 2009. Account holders at this location will be transferred to the Clearwater branch.

Did we miss something? Please let us know about it!

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick Business News Recap

I spent all day Friday at a small business marketing seminar at the Tri-Cities Convention Center. At some point during the day, my good friend David Mihm, who had driven in from Portland for the event, said something along the lines of, “This is a really nice convention center.”

And he’s absolutely right. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that Friday was my first time inside the convention center, even though it’s been open since 2004. As you can see from the photo above, the exterior is very striking; inside the facility is equally impressive. It’s clean and spacious — a comfortable location for the seminar we attended with close to 100 people.

The Three Rivers Convention Center (its formal name) made $680,000 last year, which is good in and of itself. But there’s also the additional economic impact of the events it hosts. Just from the seminar I attended, consider this:

• At least five speakers who came in from Seattle, Reno, Ohio, and Alabama, needed hotel rooms and ate in local restaurants (PF Chang’s, Tagaris Winery, IHOP).
• My friend David (above) needed a hotel room, and ate meals at 3 Margaritas, Olive Garden, and the Cafe at Queensgate.
• Cari and one of our friends from Ohio are out visiting 3-5 local wineries as I write this.
• Two of the speakers mentioned above are at Carmike Cinemas to see a movie.
• We’ll all be going out (or ordering in) for dinner tonight.
• There’ll be meals all day tomorrow and a trip to the Tri-City Americans game tomorrow night.

That’s a lot of “bonus” economic impact from a one-day marketing seminar at the Tri-Cities Convention Center.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Tri-Cities Convention Center Making a Good Impression

Little Cooper Larson, 4, passed away on Sunday, and his memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday the 17th.  A friend of mine is very close to Cooper’s mom, and my friend sent out an e-mail last night a little after 11p.  It is her job to collect 500 rolls for the post-funeral reception tomorrow, and she called upon friends and loved ones to help her gather that many rolls in that short of a period of time.

This morning, one of the people on her e-mail list responded with this  -

I called Oro-Wheat Bakery in downtown Kennewick. She said the could gather 500 potato rolls, ready now, and the cost will be 51.89 after donating some of them and reducing the price on others…please next time you need baked good, check with Oro Wheat as she pulled together all 500 rolls in a matter of 10 minutes for this cause.

How cool is that??  I am sure there are other companies and organizations that do this kind of stuff all across the Tri-Cities, but this is the only one I know about.  And I think it’s great!

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick -Land of Mild Winter AND Really Cool People

Where: Kennewick Health District, 7102 W. Okanogan Place
When: Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm

For more information, call the BFHD Flu hotline at 460-4358 or visit their web site.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Flu shots in Kennewick this week

But that wasn’t the only thing on the commissioners’ wish list:

• Alternative ways to pay for planning reviews
• Move electrical and other wired utilities underground
• Develop standards to protect Kennewick’s ridgetops and shorelines
• Encourage non-motorized modes of transportationby creating bike trails and walking paths away from busy streets
• Raise money to fund public art in the city

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick Planning Commission: Focus on Downtown Kennewick

• Hollister, a hip clothing store for folks younger than me, is planning to open a store early next year at the Columbia Center Mall. Hollister is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, so that kinda tells you what to expect to some degree.
• Mid-Columbia Ear, Nose and Throat is now open at 7105 W. Hood Place. It’s owned by Dr. Randall Fong, who’s been in practice here in the Tri-Cities for 13 years.
• Barrel House Cafe and Wine Bar opened this summer in the Cynergy Building at 27th Avenue and Union Street. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and feature local wines … presumably only during lunch and dinner! Prices seem reasonable — lunches are in the $6 - $8 range, and dinners run about twice that.

If you have any Kennewick business news to share, please do contact us with details.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick Business News Roundup

If the bond passes, the District will build its 14th elementary school in the Badger Canyon area. Also planned would be improvements to four elementary schools: Southgate, Sunset View, Canyon View, and Cascade. If matching money comes in from the state, KSD will also remodel Lincoln Elementary and complete some other improvement projects.

The bond measure vote will happen on March 10, 2009.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick School District to push vote on bond projects

• If you’re looking for a job, or some extra $$ this holiday season, this might be right up your alley: Amazon.com is holding a “hiring event” tomorrow at their facility in Kennewick. There will be two sessions: 9 am to Noon and 4-7 pm. Amazon is located at 7011 W. Canal Drive, Suite G. They expect to hire about 250 new customer service reps to help with the holiday shopping season.
• Spoken 2, a new fashion boutique is now open inside Roxy Theater Antiques in downtown Kennewick. The store will offer clothes for both men and women.
• Earlier this week, the Social Security Administration office opened at its new location: 8131 W. Klamath Court. They’re open from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays.

That’s all for now — please contact us if you have any Kennewick news to share.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Kennewick Business News Recap

She and challenger Randy Dorn will be discussing the WASL, and other topics, at the Kennewick Red Lion next week. The TC Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting, and it happens from Noon to 1:30 pm on September 30. The $15 cost includes lunch, and you’ll need to RSVP to 736-0510.

Dorn, for the record, opposes the WASL:

We need to replace the WASL with a better, fairer system of standards and tests.

Here’s his full statement on the WASL.

This is a post from the Kennewick Real Estate Blog.

Bergeson, Dorn to Speak in Kennewick