By 1950, 20% of Pasco’s approximately 10,000 residents were Black, almost all living in slum conditions. Few lived in the new atomic community of Richland and none in “lily-white” Kennewick -- a fact of which Kennewick city leaders and police at the time were proud. Not only was housing segregated, but Black residents were forced to endure broad discrimination in Read More
The Kennewick Irrigation District, or KID, wants to flood 400 acres of land for a new reservoir. It’d take at least eight to 10 years to design, permit and build. A project on this scale hasn’t been built in the Yakima Basin since the 1930’s. And this 65-acre pumpkin farm is in the way. Read More
Some Washington counties hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are now looking toward the possibility of reopening schools for in-person classes. It’s thanks to metrics like hospital bed capacity and the virus incidence rate that continue to improve in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties. Read More
Hear from candidates that are looking to represent the Benton and Franklin Counties. Four nights of debates, we cover 11 different races that matter to our community. Continue Reading NWPB Vote 2020 Debate Series: Benton & Franklin CountiesRead More
NWPB is proud to present this year's Vote 2020 Debate Series. We'll hear from candidates vying for a spot for state offices along with those running for positions in our cities. Join us to learn more about the candidates. Continue Reading NWPB Vote 2020 Debate Series: How To Read More
ICYMI: Stream the Washington state Treasurer's debate. Join the conversation using #NWPBVote2020 Continue Reading ICYMI: Washington State Treasurer’s DebateRead More
To qualify as an AVA, a wine grape-growing region must set itself apart with climate, soil, elevation and physical features. A new one doesn’t come around very often. The Royal Slope AVA is just over 156,000 acres, and is north of the Tri-Cities. Read More
Effective Thursday, churches and restaurants in Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Chelan and Douglas counties can open their doors to let guests inside — though just to 25% capacity. Outdoors, groups of up to five people from different households can meet up or attend fitness classes. Read More
Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties have been approved for more business and recreational activities beginning this Saturday. The approval means additional operations within the counties’ current modified Phase 1 – not moving to a full Phase 2. Read More
Correspondent Anna King is usually out and about in the region covering agriculture, Hanford, fires and more. But you haven’t heard from her since early June. Why? COVID-19. Here she shares her personal struggle and diary recording her ordeal.
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ICYMI: Stream night number two of NWPB's Benton and Franklin Counties candidate forum. Races include: 4th Congressional District, WA State Senate, 16th District and Superior Court Judge, Position 1. Continue Reading ICYMI: Benton & Franklin Read More
Wineries and breweries in Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties must keep their doors closed for now, unless they serve food out of their own kitchens. That’s the updated guidance for the three counties, which are seeing some of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases in Washington. Read More
Over the past two weeks, Inslee said infection rates have increased six-fold in Franklin County and nearly five-fold in Benton County. The main thing that could help, he said: masks. “Yes, there’s controversy, as there is in any great, noble endeavor, but the vast majority of people in (the Tri-Cities region) want to beat this pandemic,” Inslee said. Read More
Cases of COVID-19 are rising dramatically in Washington’s Yakima County and the Tri-Cities region of Benton and Franklin counties. That’s driving local health officials to urge residents to wear masks in public. Read More
This moment of protest for racial justice is perhaps more poignant in Pasco, where five years ago the city reeled from its most high profile police shooting. The killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes and the fallout after have marked this city, in murals and memorials, in police interactions and protests. Read More
Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, who resigned as President Trump's defense secretary nearly a year-and-a-half ago over policy differences, has issued an extraordinary critique of the White House's handling of nationwide unrest, saying Trump has sought to divide Americans, and warning against "militarizing our response" to the protests. Read More
For the last six weeks, if you followed a winding road past the Port of Pasco and the start of a recreational trail, you’d come to a closed gate. A large orange “Emergency Closure” sign tacked to its front. Today, the sign came down, and the gate opened. Read More
A couple from the Tri Cities shares their experience with self-quarantine and offer advice. Continue Reading Tri-Cities Couple Share Their Experience With Self-QuarantineRead More
Find out what's on the ballot for this election, where to drop off ballots and more. Continue Reading Benton & Franklin Counties Special Election InformationRead More
Daniela Medina is a first-grade teacher in the Kennewick School District — at the same school she found herself in at age six when she and her family immigrated to Washington from Mexico in 2001. The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are holding concerts January 10, 11 and 12 of music by immigrant composers to tell the stories behind the politics. Read More
"In the 20 years that I have worked here, I have never seen it as bad as this," says Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Thorson. "I've never seen six to eight cars, including a semi-truck, actually stopped and trapped on a highway because of tumbleweeds." Read More
The demonstrations, including those in the Tri-Cities and Yakima, were part of a global effort coordinated largely by students and young adults to draw attention to climate change and the need for elected officials, business leaders and individuals to take action. Read More
PHOTO: Anna King interviewing Jane Hedges, the now-retired head of Washington Ecology’s Hanford office. Hedges grew up swimming off the docks in Richland, but only understood the massive scope of the cleanup needed at Hanford later in life. CREDIT: Kai-Huei Yau / Daughters of Hanford You’ve heard Tri-Cities correspondent Anna King on the radio for years,… Read More
Anthony Akers, who was wanted for failure to comply with the terms of his probation, became an Internet sensation after exchanging a series of Facebook posts with police in Washington state. Continue Reading A Read More
After nearly 20 years, a troubled landfill-turned Superfund site outside Pasco may soon have a final cleanup plan. Washington State Department of Ecology managers presented options Wednesday at a public meeting in the Tri-Cities. Read More
Last week, the state of Washington, a Hanford union and a Hanford watchdog organization said they have tentatively settled a three-year old lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy over workers being made sick from toxic vapors from Hanford’s underground tanks. Read More
The Islamic Center of Tri-Cities hosted around 400 people for Eid-al Fitr June 15, marking the end of Ramadan. To celebrate, the Center hosted an event complete with food, bounce houses for kids, and even pony rides. Continue Reading Marking End Of Ramadan Read More
The Northwest’s only commercial nuclear reactor went offline Friday morning in an unplanned event. The Columbia Generating Station went offline around 7 a.m. when its main power transformers automatically disconnected from the grid. Read More
Journalism skills can be taught at any age. And for teens age 16-18, there are outstanding opportunities in the Northwest to learn and refine skills for becoming the next generation of storytellers. That’s why KUOW Seattle’s RadioActive program is teaming up with NWPB and WSU Tri-Cities to bring a quality and in-depth (and free!) radio… Read More
Insitu uses engines built by Orbital Corporation to power its ScanEagle UAV. INSITU Listen Originally published Nov. 30, 2017 The unmanned aircraft industry cluster in the Columbia River Gorge is growing yet again. An Australian company that specializes in drone engines plans to open a factory in Hood River, Oregon, early next year. Orbital Corporation announced… Read More
Sue Olson, 94, was a Manhattan Project era secretary at Hanford during World War II. She locked her filing drawer anytime she left her office. CREDIT KAI-HUEI YAU Listen In World War Two, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was brand new. Sue Olson was there as a young secretary. She took shorthand, pumped out calculations… Read More
Listen Originally published on October 1, 2015 In southeast Washington state, a group of farms has been frozen in time. It’s at Hanford, the area the federal government took over to make plutonium during World War II. “It’s amazing that it’s been preserved in a way by the Manhattan Project,” said archaeologist Ellen Prendergast Kennedy.… Read More
Shirley Olinger, left, her daughter Sarah McCormick and mother Kazuko [Ozaki] Nishimoto have strong connections with Hanford. KAI-HUEI YAU Listen Wherever she was, she stood out for being half white, or half Japanese. Shirley Olinger will only whisper the racist names she was called as a girl. She was born in Japan to a Japanese… Read More