Kennewick WA News

June 2nd, 2011

South Hills neighborhood in Kennewick and many others to see some big road construction projects. Federal money will assist in repaving and chip sealing many roads in the Tri-Cities this Summer. Of the three cities, Kennewick may be the busiest with work currently under way on 19th Ave. from Washington to Vancouver St. The city says it will save on costs by chip sealing the majority of streets rather than repaving them. The project should cost approximately 1 million by chip sealing whereas the same project repaving would have cost nearly 16 million. For a full roadwork preview and list of all streets and neighborhoods to be affected click here.

May 25th, 2011

Over the past year KID has been working with a financial consulting firm to look at possible water rate changes and on Monday, May 23^rd KID leaders gave a public presentation on the findings from the special study, called the “Cost Of Service Study”. It was primarily done to look in to some policy questions, not look at increasing revenues, according to Chuck Freeman, KID’s district manager. The public presentation was an opportunity for the public to hear about the study and for the KID leaders to get public input and recommendations based on the study’s findings. For further information on this meeting and the specifics click here.

February 21st, 2011

Have you been wondering how those school bonds have been put to use? Well, here’s your chance to join the Kennewick School District’s Superintendent, Dave Bond, on an interactive tour of the newly built Cottonwood Elementary and the refurbished Canyon View Elementary. All community members are encouraged to attend. The tour is free and runs on Friday February 25^th from 8:00am to 12:00pm.  A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. Click here for more information or call (509) 222-5001 or e-mail Ellen.love@ksd.org by February 22 to register.

February 7th, 2011

Here is some great news for Tri-Citians, Yahoo says, “if you live in a city like Kennewick and own your own home, you can probably count on a rise in its value this year.”

Yahoo! reports that according to Vero Real Estate’s VeroForecast, there is a light at the end of the tunnel — at least for some. Using what it calls “advanced analytics and micro-market data,” the Santa Ana, California-based company says that smaller cities seem to be faring best with housing prices right now, a trend that should continue for the rest of 2011.

Citing data from December 2010 and projecting through December 2011, the report notes that “smaller metro markets with populations less than 250,000 make up the majority of the better appreciating markets.” 

5 Strongest U.S. Housing Markets: Dec. 2010-Dec. 2011 are:

San Diego, Calif. +3.5%
Kennewick, Wash. +3.4%
Pittsburgh, Pa. +2.7%
Fargo, N.D. +2.6%
Washington, D.C. +2.5%

This is great news for Kennewick real estate! If you don’t own your piece of Kennewick real estate yet, click here to find the new home of your dreams!

December 2nd, 2010

As the snow comes and hopefully stays for a bit, may I suggest a sledding hill besides Carmichael in Richland?  There is a “bowl” in Fountain Hills off of Pittsburg behind Costco that is so much fun!  You will find an age range from toddlers to adults bombing down the hill and even over jumps.  Tubes, sleds, garbage can lids and even cardboard boxes are used as sledding devices.  A few even take a turn at snowboarding!

What I love is the fact you don’t get completely worn out from hiking up a huge hill just to enjoy a 15 second ride down.  The kiddos can easily walk up the hill on their own which leaves the parents some energy to hop on a sled as well and scream as they fly over the jump! 

So pack up your snow gear, some hot cocoa and a few snacks.  Grab a sled or something that might resemble one, and come on down to “The Bowl”!  It’s a great way to get the kids to burn some energy outside, even once its dark out.