West Richland News

Parade today November 7th starting at 9:30 in West Richland. Grand Marshal Steve Prince.

Former West Richland resident Jason Alves will be joining other military veterans from the Northwest in Washington, D.C., on Veterans Day to share their experiences.

They call it the Bulb Eater, and it's hungry for your spent fluorescent lamps. Benton Rural Electric Association bought one of the contraptions for its Prosser office about six months ago and recently added another to its West Richland branch.

Donna Noski ahead by almost 15% as of Nov. 4.

West Richland appears to have a new mayor along with possibly two new faces on its city council, based on the results of the initial vote count Tuesday night.

Monday had a happy ending for a West Richland mom, but not before her 5-year-old daughter spent an hour "lost" on a tardy school bus.

During a recent TV interview, the West Richland chief of police reported that our city has budget problems and staff layoffs are possible.

Budget shortfalls of 5 percent are not limited to Franklin County.West Richland also is facing a 5 percent ($200K/$4 M) shortfall for a second year in a row. Reserve fund balances are intended to provide some cushion from unexpected shortfalls, but reserves are not always maintained at adequate levels. West Richland addressed the $200,000 budget shortfall in 2009 by drawing from reserves and may have to do the same this year.

Ballots are due today in a general election that includes two ballot measures, as well as nonpartisan races for city councils, school boards, port commissions and other local agencies.

The mail-in ballot takes some of the fun out of election day. Going to your polling place, chatting with poll workers and neighbors, and, best of all, getting the "I voted" sticker to proudly wear for the rest of the day -- the mail-in ballot just doesn't give you any of that. The tradeoff, we've been told, is that more people actually participate in mail-in elections, and those who are homebound have an easier time with the whole process. We grudgingly support the new way of voting -- but still miss getting our sticker. The biggest drawback to the vote-by-mail system is that would-be voters sometimes leave their ballot in their in-basket too long. We typically encourage voters not to vote too soon -- in case some last-minute development changes the equation -- but we most definitely advise against voting too late. So if you're one of the many still holding onto your ballot, get that thing in the mail or drive it to the drop-off box at your county auditor's office. Election day is Tuesday and you have to drop your ballot off by 8 p.m. or have it postmarked that day. And no, the post office will NOT be open until 11:59 p.m. for procrastinators.

Benton County voters can drop their ballots off at:

-- Benton County Auditor's office, Courthouse, 620 Market St., Prosser

-- Benton County Auditor's office, 5600 W. Canal Place, Kennewick

-- Benton County Auditor's office, 101 Wellsian Way, Suite E, Richland

-http://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinions/story/776221.html

Ballots are due Tuesday in a general election that includes two ballot measures, as well as nonpartisan races for city councils, school boards, port commissions and other local bodies.

He claims it started with Sears catalogs as a youth, then escalated as he discovered the rampant pornography on the internet.

I would like to encourage residents of West Richland to vote for Richard Bloom for city council.

In some well-managed civil organizations, fire code interpretations are made by fire department personnel trained and experienced in interpreting fire codes.

Donna Noski has the passion, experience and knowledge to run and lead the city of West Richland.

West Richland voters have a golden opportunity to have a mayor who will work full time and also save more than a half-million taxpayer dollars during her first term of office .

The Richland Housing Authority may drop to two part-time employees to save money after giving up management of two federal housing programs.

In West Richland, two incumbents are defending their seats, and a third seat will be decided between two newcomers.

The West Richland Area Chamber candidate forum presented a diverse array of residents willing to take on thankless, but important, public servant positions.

Nearly 300 people rode from West Richland to Kennewick as part of Desert Thunder Motorcycle Club of Tri-Cities' 16th annual Children's Toy Run.