Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are trainyard workers — a vet and a rookie, respectively — called into unexpected duty to stop a runaway train that’s careening through the central Pennsylvania landscape, an area dotted with small towns and a mid-sized city where the track becomes a dangerous, raised S-curve. The train has several cars loaded with hazardous materials and all involved quickly realize they could be looking at a disaster of epic proportions. After a few unsuccessful attempts to slow the train down, Washington and Pine make a terrifically-filmed and realized heroic rescue. The movie is based on an actual train emergency that happened in 2001 in Ohio.

Unstoppable actually starts a bit slowly (not unlike the runaway train itself, now that I think about it) and I wish they had spent a little more time introducing us to Washington’s and Pine’s characters. There are several typical action-movie cliches — the bumbling employee who causes the emergency, the short-sighted train company executives who make several poor decisions, the over-zealous media, etc. But once the emergency takes center stage, the rest of the movie just sings and you don’t mind any of that whatsoever. On more than one occasion, I had to take a deep breath and tell myself to relax.

Washington is really good in this movie (as he in every movie, pretty much); I think I’d pay to watch him tie his shoes.

Overall, a big thumbs up from me for Unstoppable. Check it out first chance you get!

Movie Review: Unstoppable Delivers is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

“The Steering Committee felt it was important to give the public one more opportunity to learn about the study and provide input before we move on to the future project phases, including environmental analyses,” said Mark Kushner, Benton-Franklin Council of Governments Transportation Director.

There are currently four options under consideration. The steering committee is tasked with narrowing that down to a final three, and then present them to the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments for action.

October 13: Columbia River Bridge Study Public Meeting is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

All of this is documented in the airport’s master plan, which was recently updated thanks in large part to federal funding. It’s a long series of PDF documents that I found quite interesting, but if you don’t have time to read through it all, here’s my summary:

Recommended Upgrades/Changes (not a complete list)

• Extend the two primary runways from their current 7,700 feet length to 9,170 feet
• Increase runway pavement strength
• Acquire property at the ends of existing primary runways
• Expand terminal building to allow space for a fifth airline ticket counter
• Redesign the ticket counter and baggage handling area
• Add additional car rental counter space
• Add another walk-through metal detector at the security checkpoint
• Add another jet bridge boarding gate (where you walk up the ramp directly onto the plane)
• Add concessions in main/secure terminal (already planned)
• Add more bathrooms in main/secure terminal
• Expand parking space availability (already in progress)

The plan doesn’t suggest expanding the check-in lobby because more travelers are doing check-in from home via the Internet, and more are flying with carry-on luggage that doesn’t require airline handling. It also doesn’t suggest an expansion of the baggage claim area or capabilities.

You can download the full report here (again: recommended), or just wait until this winter when airport officials are planning a public workshop to talk about the master plan.

Consultant Suggests Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) Expansion is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

During his time as an astronaut, Musgrave went on six spaceflights — including one stint as the lead spacewalker on the Hubble Telescope repair mission. He was also the first astronaut to perform a shuttle spacewalk.

In its announcement, CBC explains the three reasons why it’s bringing Musgrave to campus:

The College wants to promote its Astronomy program, increase awareness of math and science as a career, and generate financial support to build a planetarium on campus.

There’s no info online about how much tickets will cost for the fundraising dinner, but you can learn more on the CBC web site.

Story Musgrave Coming to CBC is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

We divided up into two teams — blue and gold, and a pair of Dust Devils players was assigned to coach each team. We started out doing some stretching on the outfield grass with the Dust Devils leading the routine. Then it was infield practice and shagging fly balls. When that ended, we moved to the batting cage and took some practice swings. Then it was time for baseball! They did the whole routine with us — a ceremonial first pitch, player introductions, national anthem, and everything. Too fun! The whole thing lasted a little less than three hours, and even though I haven’t been that sore in years, it was super fun. I’d do it again tomorrow in a heartbeat!

I played pretty well, too: 1-1 at the plate with a walk and a run scored. No errors in the field at 3B, with a couple successful grounders and fly balls fielded, and one hot line drive that would’ve killed me if I didn’t catch it. Whew! Our team lost, 6-5, but we all had a good time.

Huge thanks to Gesa and the Dust Devils for putting on such a fun event. If they do it again next year, I’m so there. Here are some of my pictures. Yes, I was taking photos and tweeting right on the field during the game!

Fun Day at Gesa Stadium! is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

The Port of Pasco is basicallt relocating the drainage basin which nows sits right in the middle of the parking area. It’ll be filled in and leveled and turned into new parking spots. Of course, to do that, some of the parking spaces immediately surrounding it have to be blocked off while the work is ongoing. Here’s a map showing the affected area, including some of the spaces in both the short-term and long-term lots that will be blocked.

The shaded area above will be closed to parking during the project, which should run from today (August 23) until November 1st. You can download the full news release in PDF format.

Related to this project is a plan to build a new snack bar/concession area inside the secure area of the airport terminal. The new food area will be built at the far end of the terminal and should measure about 500 square feet. Cindy Goulet, who runs the existing snack bar, gift shop, and Florentyna’s Restaurant inside the airport, will also run the new food area as part of her agreement with the Port.

That project is also expected to be done by November 1st.

Pasco Airport Construction Underway is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

After the first survey earlier this year, the initial set of 10 options was narrowed down to these four options:

1. A new span from the North Richland area to Franklin County using Sagemoor Road.
2. A new span between Richland/Kennewick and Pasco using Columbia Center Boulevard and Road 100.
3. A new span between Kennewick and Pasco using Edison Street and Road 68.
4. Widening the existing US 395 �Blue Bridge� between Kennewick and Pasco.

You can see them in red on this map:

(click for larger version)

There’s no guarantee a new bridge will ever be built; it’ll take a lot of government funding to make that happen. But the organizers are in the process of gathering the info they need to show why the area needs additional traffic options over the Columbia River. You can help out by taking the survey. It’s only 3 questions.

New Columbia River Bridge Survey Ready is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

Tickets are $17 for adults, or $15 for students and seniors. They’re available at the door, or at Shelby’s Floral (Kennewick), Adventures Underground (Richland), and the CBC Performing Arts Office.

See “Rent” at CBC is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

So, if you’re like me, you’re always interested in finding cheap airfare from Pasco to … anywhere. I think I have a suggestion that will help:

Airfare Watchdog

Airfare Watchdog is a cool site that tracks price changes on airlines and airports all across the country. They have a page of Pasco-specific airfare discounts that gets updated every day. Some of the specials are advertised and some aren’t.

But the coolest thing of all is that you don’t even need to visit the web site. Right at the top (and in several other places on the page) there’s a link that invites you to subscribe to PSC airfare deals by email. I highly recommend those emails! Here’s the one that came in today:

Some days the email has fewer discounts than that, but that’s the nature of things. It’s a once-a-day email and it always has at least a couple cheap airfares from Pasco airport.

There’s a lot of other good stuff on the Airfare watchdog site, too, so be sure to poke around.

How to Find Discount Airfare from Pasco (PSC) Airport is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

June 22-23-24, 2010: Curious George (G), Aliens in the Attic (PG)
June 29-30, July 1 2010: Planet 51 (PG), Astro Boy (PG)
July 6-7-8, 2010: Alvin & The Chipmunks – Squeakquel (PG), Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)
July 13-14-15, 2010: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (PG), Madagascar 2 (PG)
July 20-21-22, 2010: Night at the Museum: Nattle of the Smithsonian (PG), Monsters vs. Aliens (PG)
July 27-28-29, 2010: The Tooth Fairy (PG), Hotel for Dogs (PG)
August 3-4-5, 2010: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (G), Furry Vengeance (PG)
August 10-11-12, 2010: Shorts (PG), The Spy Next Door (PG)
August 17-18-19, 2010: Surprise final film

Doors open at 9:00 am, and the movies will begin at 10:00 am. You can’t bring outside food or drink in to the theater, and strollers/carseats are also not allowed. In past years, the theater has offered a special $4 “Kid’s Tray” food option, but I don’t know if that’s the case this summer.

If you’re new to the area, the theater is located at 5020 Convention Drive, right across from TRAC.

Fairchild Cinemas: 2010 Free Summer Movie Schedule is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.