Richland Real Estate Blog

Just updating the blog post from last week about Hanford’s B-Reactor…. the National Park Service advisory board voted unanimously this week to recommend that the site be declared a National Historic Landmark. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne will make the final decision.

Local officials say the NHL status would give the Tri-Cities more exposure on the national level as a tourist attraction, and that would pump some more money into the local economy as people visit Richland to see a major piece of the country’s nuclear history.

The City of Richland is working on Van Giesen Avenue and if you drive along the road frequently, you may want to find a detour from now through mid-August. Here are the details from the city’s news release:

PROJECT WILL RESTRICT VAN GIESEN TRAFFIC

Traffic will be disrupted through July as the city contractor work on the Van Giesen Avenue overlay project.

Lane restrictions are in place on Van Giesen from Jadwin Avenue to George Washington Way. Contract crews are repairing curbs, gutters and driveway entrances and installing intersection warning strips, designed for the visually impaired.

From July 28 through August 15, the same section of Van Giesen will be closed as crews complete repairs to drainage structures, install new grates and repave the surface.

Temporary traffic controls are in place at various locations. The City of Richland and its general contractor, Inland Paving Inc., are making every effort to keep businesses within the project construction accessible.

Van Giesen’s intersections with Jadwin Avenue and George Washington Way will remain open.

Project questions may be addressed to the City’s Project Engineer, Jack Arnold, at 942-7791.

That’s what Sen. Patty Murray is asking the National Park System to consider. In a letter to the NPS advisory board considering the designation, Murray said, “The B Reactor and the people who made it a reality have played an indelible role in our nation’s history.”

It’s the first full-size reactor in the world, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The B-reactor is where they made the plutonium that was used in the Nagasaki atomic bomb.

The National Park System’s advisory board will meet next week to consider making the B-reactor a National Historic Landmark.

More info. about the B-reactor:

Hanford.gov
Atomic Archive (source of the photo above)
B-Reactor Museum Association

One of the first things I remember learning after we moved to the Tri-Cities is that Richland has the highest percentage of brainiacs in the state of Washington. I think “brainiacs” is measured in terms of PHD’s per capita or something like that. Obviously, that’s due to all the scientists and engineers working at Hanford and living in Richland.

I was just reminded of all this while reading some news online tonight. According to a new study, we have enough off-peak electrical power in the country to replace 70% of our gas-powered cars with electric-powered hybrids.

Batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could store enough energy to meet the nation’s 33-mile average commute, researchers said. If drivers charged vehicles overnight when demand for electricity is low, most regions of the country would have plenty of off-peak generation, transmission and distribution capacity to handle that region’s hybrid vehicles.

And where did this study originate? At the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, of course.

Are you doing your part to help improve the Richland environment? If you said “yes,” the City of Richland wants to hear from you. They’re taking applications for the 2008 Green Recognition Program awards. The awards program is open to Richland businesses, groups, organizations, schools, and residents. You can download the application on the city’s web site, but hurry up — it’s due back to the city by July 18.

Meanwhile, some other Richland news to pass along:

• Paw’s Natural Pet Emporium is now open for business at 1420 Jadwin Avenue. It’s an organic pet food store, which may sound strange, but let me tell you: We’re feeding our puppy organic dog food and he loves it. It’s also not much more expensive than the regular stuff.
• HAPO Community Credit Union will open a new branch office in North Richland later this year. It’ll be located in the Port of Benton Technology and Business Campus on George Washington Way.

If you have Richland news that we can share on the Richland Real Estate Blog, please contact us today!

How cool is this: Richland High School will be represented at the Summer Olympics next month in Beijing? It’s true! Former Bomber Hope Solo has been named to the U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team. She’s going to be the starting goalie when the team crushes all foes goes for the gold.

You may remember that Solo was kicked off the team temporarily during the World Cup tournament last summer after she blasted the coach who benched her for a game that the U.S. lost, 4-0. There’s a new coach now, and Solo has been playing with the team again for several months.

No doubt she’ll represent Richland High and all of the Tri-Cities well in Beijing!