The next seminar in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Community Science and Technology Seminar Series, “Improving Environmental Monitoring, Reduce Stressors, and Get Marine Renewable Energy Devices into the Water,” presented by Alicia Amerson, a marine biologist at PNNL, will take place on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 5:00 p.m., via Zoom.
The Triton Initiative is researching various environmental monitoring technology and methods to understand how different types of stressors caused by marine renewable energy devices can be tested. The research focuses on the known environmental stressors identified in the State of the Science Report produced by PNNL’s OES-E team. The stressors include collision risk, underwater noise, electromagnetic fields, or changes in habitat. The information gleamed from this research will produce a set of recommendations to inform regulators on how to safely permit marine renewable energy devices bringing the nation closer to meeting climate change goals and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Community Science and Technology Seminar Series was launched to help the general public better understand and explore how science transforms our world. Those who are interested can register here.
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Beginning May 1, 2021, qualified past due customers who certify they have been impacted by COVID-19 will receive a one-time bill credit for their past due bill amount as of April 30, 2021, up to $200. Past due is defined as 30 days in arrears. Qualified low-income customers that are not past due, who certify they have been financially impacted by COVID-19 will receive a one-time bill credit of $200.
To help customers pay down higher past due balances, Benton PUD will also match payments made by qualified past due customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The payment match is available for up to half of the April 30, 2021 past due amount, after the initial bill credit is applied. Payments made between May 1, 2021 and July 31, 2021 are eligible for this match. The program will end on July 31, 2021. Applications are available at BentonPUD.org Since 1946, Benton PUD’s customers have enjoyed the benefits of a community-owned not-for-profit electric service provider. “Customer needs have been our number one priority for 75 years” said General Manager Rick Dunn. “As our community continues to deal with the impacts of the pandemic, it is clear some customers need more assistance with their power bills than has been provided through State or Federal funding.” At the beginning of the pandemic Benton PUD suspended the practice of disconnecting power for nonpayment which was followed by Governor Inslee’s Proclamations prohibiting disconnections and eliminating our ability to work with customers to enter into meaningful long-term payment arrangements. While good intentioned, the state mandated override of Benton PUD’s business practices, which is set to expire July 31, 2021, resulted in many customers accumulating significant past due balances with no plan to bring accounts current. Consistent with our longstanding mission and purpose which aim to bring value to the people we serve, and in the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor, Benton PUD’s COVID-19 Customer Assistance Program will provide needed financial relief to our most vulnerable customers. When the Governor’s prohibition on disconnections ends, Benton PUD will continue to assist customers in their recovery from the pandemic by using long-term payment arrangements and the Pay As You Go program to help customers maintain continuity of their electric service while paying back any remaining past-due balances. Lourdes Health is pleased to announce that The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently awarded Lourdes Medical Center a 5-star Overall Hospital Quality Star rating.
Lourdes is one of only seven hospitals in Washington State to earn five stars and 455 throughout the country, putting Lourdes in the top 14 percent of all hospitals. “We are extremely proud of the service our healthcare providers do every day and for the difference they are making in the lives of people in our community,” said Jon Deming, Director of Risk & Quality Management at Lourdes. “We could not have achieved this accomplishment without our Lourdes family. We are grateful for every member of our team.” According to the CMS website, the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating is determined through a variety of measures across five areas of quality, including mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. An average of the five scores is taken to calculate a single hospital summary score. More information about the rating process can be found on the CMS website. CMS, which launched its star rating system in 2016, last updated its star ratings in January 2020. At that time, Lourdes achieved a 4-star rating. “For more than 100 years, Lourdes has been a trusted, quality healthcare provider in our community and we are extremely proud to be providing high-quality, safe care, close to home for our community and to see that recognized,” Deming said. “We hope our community knows how invested we are in their health and that their wellbeing matters to us. We strive every day to work hard and fulfill our mission of Making Communities Healthier.” Join Visit Tri-Cities in celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week, May 3-9, 2021. This year’s event themed the “The Power of Travel,” highlights the tourism industry’s role in bringing back a more vibrant community, restoring the U.S. economy, rebuilding the tourism workforce and reconnecting America.
“Prior to the pandemic, tourism generated $490 million in visitor spending and supported more than 5,600 jobs in the Tri-Cities. These dollars help fund police and fire, teachers and schools, the maintenance of roadways and the beautification of our parks,” said Michael Novakovich, President & CEO of Visit Tri-Cities. “While the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the tourism industry, there are signs that we’re moving toward recovery. And with the spirit of recovery in mind, we invite the entire Tri-Cities community in joining us as we support local tourism-based businesses.” We look forward to hosting our second (and hopefully last!) virtual National Travel & Tourism Week via Visit Tri-Cities' Facebook page. Each day at 1 p.m. Visit Tri-Cities will celebrate our tourism partners via Facebook Live: Hospitality (Monday, May 3), Delicious Dishes (Tuesday, May 4), History & Heritage (Wednesday, May 5), Outdoor & Adventure Recreation (Thursday, May 6) and Happy Hour Hangouts (Friday, May 7). It’s not truly a celebration without a contest and outstanding prizes! Visitors and residents are invited to share their photos of their favorite Tri-Cities experience on Facebook and Instagram using hashtag #TCTourismMatters. Daily prizes include some of Tri-Cities favorites: Moonshot Brewing, Bayou Some Cajun, Greenies and AXE KPR. The Grand Prize features a two-night stay at the Holiday Inn Richland Riverfront and evening with Picnic Deluxe. Trios Health is pleased to announce that LifeCenter Northwest has recognized Trios Southridge Hospital with its Collaboration Achievement Award.
This award recognizes Trios’ support of life-saving organ donation and honors LifeCenter’s hospital partners that excel in the area of planning a collaborative family conversation with LifeCenter Northwest. Trios is one of only 28 hospitals across LifeCenter Northwest’s entire four-state, 230+ hospital Donation Service Area (DSA) that reached or exceeded a 90 percent collaborative request rate in 2020. “We are honored and grateful for this recognition and to be able to work with LifeCenter Northwest to collaborate with families and make organ donation possible,” said John Solheim, Trios Health CEO. “We are also tremendously grateful for our care providers and the compassionate care they deliver to these families and their loved ones.” In 2020, LifeCenter Northwest transplanted 861 total organs from 298 total donors across its service area, saving 813 lives. “It is an honor to work with outstanding hospital partners like Trios Health Southridge Hospital,” said LifeCenter Northwest President and CEO, Kevin O’Connor. “We greatly appreciate the contributions they make to help save and heal lives through organ donation.” As the Vit Plant team moves closer to starting up the first of two melters inside the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility, Bechtel National, Inc. today launches a new website that explains the commissioning process, including critical activities such as the loss of power test and melter heatup process.
"We want our key stakeholders and local community to understand the steps being taken to ensure a safe, quality, and effective heatup of the first melter," said Mat Irwin, Department of Energy Office of River Protection deputy assistant manager for the plant. "We are approaching a 24/7 operational situation at a pace not seen at the Hanford Site in many years. We're excited to deliver on this commitment to our community." The two 300-ton waste melters inside the LAW Facility will heat Hanford's low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and transform, or vitrify, it for safe disposal. Vitrify means immobilizing the waste and materials within a glass form. The loss of power test will demonstrate the team is able to protect the melter by putting the LAW Facility into safe condition and restoring power before any damage to the melter occurs. The Journey to Melter Heatup website includes information such as:
Melter heatup will culminate 2021's progress toward starting Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) treatment by the end of 2023. DFLAW is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together to vitrify low-activity waste. The Capital Budget, approved late last week by the Washington State Legislature, will deliver $7.5 million in funding to construct infrastructure to serve the Port of Pasco’s new Reimann Industrial Center. A large allocation for infrastructure, the funding will make it possible for the Port and its community partners to begin Phase 1 of development. When complete, the Reimann Industrial Center is expected to create more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs and inject over $10 million in new property taxes into Franklin County. The state Capital Budget funding is contingent upon a new large ag processor officially committing to locate at the Reimann Industrial Center. “Port of Pasco’s Commissioners are pleased and grateful for the Washington Legislature’s funding of the Reimann Industrial Center project,” said Commission President Jim Klindworth. “We appreciate their vote of confidence in the Port, and its ability to create successful economic development projects.” The port district received support from all local legislators in the 8th, 9th, and 16th Districts. Klindworth also acknowledged the support of the Senate and House Capital Budget Committees and leaders of those committees. The 300-acre Reimann Industrial Center is the Port’s newest development area. Currently undeveloped, the Reimann is on the East side of Railroad Avenue between Foster Wells Road and Vineyard Avenue. State funds will be combined with the Port’s own investment from its Economic Development Opportunity Fund as well as support from other local partners. The Phase 1 project will cost an estimated $15.8 million. The funds will install a water main, sewer main, railroad crossing and rail spur, broadband, and improvements to a portion of Railroad Avenue to include left-hand turn lanes into the Reimann. “This has been a coordinated team effort over several months,” said Executive Director Randy Hayden. “The Port appreciates all the hard work and effort by our state legislators, the City of Pasco, Franklin County, Franklin PUD, TRIDEC and many others.” Developing the Reimann will continue the Port’s successful tradition of establishing industrial development projects that have historically attracted food processing, cold storage, and distribution facilities.
TBEX North America 2021 will take place October 12-14, 2021 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in in Kennewick. The event was rescheduled from August due to the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic.
“We are excited to bring this event to Tri-Cities and the decision to postpone was not made lightly,” said Rick Calvert, CEO of TBEX. “We believe rescheduling the event allows more time for traveler confidence to grow, more people to get vaccinated and for additional restrictions to be lifted, resulting in a more successful event and better experience for attendees and sponsors.” In July 2020, it was announced the Tri-Cities was selected as the host destination for TBEX North America 2021, the largest conference and networking event for influential travel content creators from throughout North America and beyond. TBEX is expected to attract approximately 350-400 travel bloggers, online journalists, content creators and industry professionals with an online reach of more than 300 million. “We are looking forward to welcoming TBEX to Tri-Cities in October,” said Michael Novakovich, President & CEO of Visit Tri-Cities. “Partnering with TBEX provides a great opportunity to highlight the amazing tourism assets and attractions available in our community and will aid in our region’s economic recovery by creating additional interest and future visitation to our destination. October is a fantastic month to experience the Tri-Cities. Fall festivals and activities will be underway and the weather is ideal to take advantage of the numerous outdoor recreation activities available.” The conference program features three days of educational and networking opportunities as well as familiarization tours throughout the Tri-Cities highlighting the region’s exciting and unique attractions, from STEM activities and outdoor recreation to wineries and farm-to-table. The Tri-Cities can look forward to immediate and exponential exposure as attendees share their Tri-Cities experience via social channels. To learn more about TBEX, visit https://tbexcon.com/. Dr. Rachel Fidino, CEO and owner of New U Women’s Clinic and Aesthetics, and founder of the Healing Hands Project has been contacted by Wellspring Living in Atlanta Georgia for help with young girls rescued from sex trafficking. The girls receive transformative care through therapeutic services, education, life skills and personal and professional development. The Healing Hands Project has sent 1500 free menstrual hygiene supply kits and educational information to assist them during their 90 day stay in the program. “We are so grateful for this help”, Dr. Heather Quaile, Medical Administrator for the Wellspring Living Receiving Hope Center noted.
HHP was also contacted by a middle school in Brooklyn New York for kits as well. “Our non-profit started as a way to provide free hygiene kits to homeless women throughout the Pacific Northwest. The need is nationwide. We are able to do this with the help of generous donors” Dr. Fidino explains. New U Women’s Clinic & Aesthetics offers a unique experience for women with specialized services that are not offered anywhere else in the Tri-Cities region. The Clinic is a one-stop solution to handle virtually every aspect of a female’s life. The mission of The Healing Hands Project is to empower women with dignity, knowledge, and basic human rights by improving menstrual health, access to necessities and quality of life. For more information go to www.thehealinghandsproject.org. The Prosser Memorial Health Foundation Board has approved awarding (1) $2,000.00 scholarship for each of the three high schools in the Prosser Memorial Health services area including: Prosser, Grandview, and Kiona-Benton. This scholarship is available to seniors pursuing a higher education degree in the healthcare industry.
“The Prosser Memorial Health Foundation Board and its Auxiliary Volunteers are excited to offer this scholarship opportunity to seniors in our community. We want to encourage and support students who are interested in a career in the healthcare industry whether that be as a doctor, nurse, or healthcare administrator – all play an important role in Prosser Memorial Health’s ability to deliver high quality, affordable healthcare to the communities we serve,” said Shannon Hitchcock, Executive Director. Applications must be received by May 5, 2021 and are available now on the Foundation website at prosserhealth.foundation. Completed applications may be emailed to [email protected]. |
Have News?Email your press release and a photo to Austin Regimbal, Marketing & Communications Director. Press releases are posted in their entirety. This is a free benefit for members of the Tri-City Regional Chamber at the Connect level and above. Archives
July 2024
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