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Mid-Columbia Ballet prepares for 50th anniversary of "The Nutcracker"
RICHLAND, WA. — For 50 years, the Mid-Columbia Ballet has brought the holiday classic The Nutcracker to audiences in the Tri-Cities. This year, the organization is celebrating that milestone with 144 dancers, new costumes and months of preparation to bring the beloved production to life. The annual performance is a major undertaking for the dancers, instructors and volunteers who work behind the scenes to make the show possible. Rehearsals span 13 weeks, with dancers practicing four days a week for multiple hours at a time.This year’s production will feature new costumes for the Waltz of the Flowers, including a sequence with as many as 25 dancers on stage at once. The show also brings together performers across generations, including adults who have been part of the production for more than 20 years. For Artistic Director Debra Rogo, the preparation begins long before the curtains open.Rogo has been involved with the Mid-Columbia Ballet for 40 years and says planning for The Nutcracker takes place throughout the year. While organizing a production of this size requires significant time and effort, she says watching young dancers grow and develop a passion for ballet makes it all worthwhile. “It’s why I do this,” Rogo said. “It is overwhelming ina good way. To be able to share into their lives and watch them develop a love of this art form and the hard work … it makes me very proud.”Rogo’s decades of involvement reflect the lasting impact the production has had on the local dance community. For many performers, The Nutcracker is more than a seasonal performance. It is an opportunity to build skills, create relationships and become part of a tradition that continues year after year.While the dancers spend weeks rehearsing their routines, a large team of volunteers works behind the scenes to support the production.More than 100 volunteers are involved this year, helping make the performance possible. Their contributions reflect the range of people who come together to support the arts in the Tri-Cities.Randy Haven, a longtime volunteer, says the sense of community is one of the things that makes the experience so special.“The people that you hear volunteering, it’s incredible,” Haven said. He described seeing people from different backgrounds working together backstage, from employees at Hanford to parents raising large families.Haven says that shared commitment creates a family-like atmosphere among the people involved in the production. For Rebecca and Torrie, the Mid-Columbia Ballet has been part of their lives since childhood. Both began dancing with the organization at age seven and have since returned as teachers, helping introduce the next generation to the art form.Their connection to the ballet has continued into their adult lives, creating an opportunity to share their love of dance with younger performers.Torrie now has three daughters performing in The Nutcracker, giving her the chance to watch them experience a tradition that was also part of her own childhood.Being able to see her daughters participate in the production has made the experience especially meaningful, she said.Although audiences can see productions of The Nutcracker in major cities such as New York and Seattle, those involved with the Mid-Columbia Ballet say the local performance offers something distinctive.The community atmosphere allows audiences to experience the production while supporting local performers and the people who dedicate their time to the arts.Rebecca says experiencing a live performance alongside other people is particularly meaningful in a world where so much time is spent looking at screens.She believes live art gives people an opportunity to connect with one another through a shared experience.The ballet’s production also gives local dancers the chance to perform for their community while continuing a tradition that has been part of the Tri-Cities for five decades. When to see ‘The Nutcracker’ in RichlandThe Mid-Columbia Ballet will present its 50th-anniversary production of The Nutcracker Dec. 10 through Dec. 13 in Richland.Tickets go on sale Nov. 1. Audiences can look forward to seeing 144 dancers, new costumes and the work of more than 100 volunteers come together for the holiday production.COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
New Richland Lab Could Transform How Scientists Study Microbes and Boost Regional Jobs
The BriefGroundbreaking held Tuesday: PNNL officially began construction on the M2PC lab, a 30,800-square-foot facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science that will study soil microbes to improve crop productivity and develop new biotechnology applications. The facility will be open to researchers from around the nation and the world.Research timelines could shrink dramatically: The facility's automation and AI capabilities could reduce experiments that currently take six months to just 72 hours, allowing scientists to explore more possibilities faster than ever before.New jobs coming to the Tri-Cities: The project is expected to create positions for automation engineers, AI experts, roboticists, technicians, and skilled craftspeople, with the facility opening in 2029.RICHLAND, Wash. — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory broke ground Tuesday on a first-of-its-kind facility that could accelerate scientific discoveries about the microscopic organisms living in soil—organisms that may hold the key to growing more food and developing new energy technologies.The Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability, or M2PC, represents a significant investment in automation and artificial intelligence to speed up research that traditionally takes years to complete. The 30,800-square-foot facility will house more than 100 connected automated instruments designed to study microbes at a pace and scale never before possible.Reshaping Agriculture's FutureThe M2PC facility will not put a new tool directly into a farmer's hands tomorrow morning, but it is actively reshaping the commercial pipeline to solve agriculture's biggest headache with biologicals: inconsistent field performance. For years, PNNL researchers have explored how microbes work and how they might help produce useful materials, advance energy technologies, and address challenges involving critical materials and minerals. But those experiments have been limited by what researchers could accomplish by hand."They can be used to provide nutrients to a plant so that the plant would grow more. So, like increasing your crop productivity, for example," said Douglas Mans, PNNL's Associate Laboratory Director for Integrated Discovery Sciences.PNNL's own research shows soil microbes can help plants access nutrients and withstand drought—benefits that could prove crucial as farmers face growing environmental pressures. The M2PC facility will allow scientists to identify and optimize useful microbes faster than ever before, accelerating the development of biological solutions that actually work consistently in the field.What Makes M2PC UniqueThe Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability differs from traditional research labs because it operates as a first-of-its-kind, AI-enabled autonomous laboratory designed to shrink experimental timelines from years down to months or weeks. The M2PC lab will connect more than 100 automated instruments to grow microbes, prepare samples, measure their behavior, and link observations to the molecular processes behind them. Artificial intelligence will help analyze results and guide the next experiments, allowing scientists to explore more questions faster.Deb Gracio, PNNL Director, emphasized the transformative potential during Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony: "Research that has taken years will become possible in months and hopefully in weeks."That acceleration is already being demonstrated. PNNL's smaller automated lab, called the Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform or AMP2, completed three experimental cycles in just 72 hours—a process that normally would have taken about six months."That normally would have taken us about six months … and we were able to do that in 72 hours," Mans said.The AMP2 laboratory is not being closed or replaced. Instead, the current 1,800-square-foot laboratory serves as an active prototype and precursor for the much larger M2PC facility. AMP2 will continue operating as a separate lab designed to run anaerobic experiments—those conducted in the absence of oxygen—while M2PC will focus on aerobic research.Broader Applications Beyond AgricultureWhile improving crop productivity is one important application, the M2PC facility is designed to support research into multiple areas critical to national priorities. The lab will advance research into biofuels, manufacturing materials, and energy technologies. It will also help researchers understand how microbes respond to environmental changes and how to design biological systems for biotechnology applications.As a flagship component of the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, M2PC represents a significant investment in using artificial intelligence and automation to accelerate U.S. scientific discovery. Dorothy Koch, Associate Director of the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program, highlighted the facility's importance during the groundbreaking."M2PC will accelerate biological discovery and design," Koch said, noting that the facility is expected to conduct a minimum of 500 strain experiments per week, 100 microbiome experiments per week, and take a million measurements per month.Economic Opportunity for the RegionBeyond the scientific breakthroughs, the M2PC project represents significant economic opportunity for the Tri-Cities region. The facility will require hiring automation engineers, AI experts, technicians skilled in operating robotics, and specialized craftspeople to build and maintain the sophisticated equipment."We're anticipating that type of hiring," Mans said when asked about job creation.PNNL has already begun recruiting talent nationally and internationally for positions related to the smaller AMP2 lab, bringing automation engineers from cities like Boston and San Francisco to work in the region. The M2PC facility is expected to accelerate that trend."This capability won't really exist anywhere else in the world," Mans said, suggesting the facility could become a draw for scientific talent seeking to work on cutting-edge biotechnology research.Timeline and Next StepsThe M2PC facility is expected to open in 2029. Between now and then, construction crews will level and prepare the ground, while the building takes shape. Simultaneously, Ginkgo Bio Works, the automation contractor, will build the facility's automation components off-site so they can be installed as the building is completed.In the interim, PNNL researchers and the broader scientific community will begin planning the first experiments to be conducted in the facility, ensuring research is lined up and ready to begin as soon as the doors open.The groundbreaking ceremony included representatives from the Department of Energy, PNNL leadership, and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, underscoring the project's significance to the region and the nation's biotechnology future. News The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary tours Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News Beyond DNA: Scientists Explore New Frontiers in Biology Research Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News TRIDEC optimistic that Hanford, PNNL will see funding in national budget Robert Desaulniers News Big picture science: monitoring the Yakima River Basin News PNNL research could shape the future of fighting fentanyl COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Toppenish School District receives $7.5 million federal grant to expand mental health services for students
The BriefThe Toppenish School District has been awarded up to $7.5 million through Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education), a federal grant administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).The grant will provide up to $1.5 million annually over five years to expand mental health services, strengthen substance use prevention and intervention, and improve access to support for students.District officials say the funding will help address identified gaps in services, particularly drug and alcohol counseling at the high school level, and will allow the district to build capacity for long-term mental health support.TOPPENISH, WASHINGTON — The Toppenish School District has been awarded up to $7.5 million through Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education), a federal grant administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to expand mental health services and substance use prevention for students.District officials said access to mental health resources has been limited, making it difficult for some students and families to get the support they need. The federal Project AWARE grant will help address those challenges by bringing schools and local healthcare providers together to better support students.The grant will provide up to $1.5 million annually over five years to expand mental health services, strengthen substance use prevention and intervention, and improve access to support for Toppenish students. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jeff Camero said the district is focused on coordinating with service providers in the area to work as a unified team."We made the awareness with the grant. But looking at all the service providers in the area and how can we all together work as a team?" Camero said.Camero said the district wants to use those resources to reach students earlier and provide more support for those struggling with their mental health. The district plans to address a range of mental health challenges, from anxiety and depression to youth suicide risk. Camero emphasized the importance of supporting students in grades eight through twelve, where suicide rates are a particular concern."Making sure from anxiety to depression, making sure that we can help support our students at those levels, but also the youth suicide risk, looking at that as a top in this area, in our grades, you know, eight, for example, eight through 12, looking at suicide rate and looking at how whether we look at the ACES or whatever program we're looking at, that's federal, how that connects and how we can better serve our students with this extra funding," Camero said.The funding will allow the district to bring in additional staff, including mental health and substance use specialists, to work directly with students and connect families with community resources. The district is already posting positions, including a director role, with additional positions expected to follow.District officials are also thinking beyond the grant's five-year timeline. Brittany Kaple, Director of Public Relations for the Toppenish School District, said the intent is to build capacity and establish connections that will sustain mental health services even after the grant funding ends."We do have the director position already posted, with some of our other positions following really close behind that. But the intent is to, you know, it's a five-year grant, so those positions would be funded for that five years. But there's also the intent to build capacity and make those connections so that at the end of the grant, when that money, you know, if that money is not renewed," Kaple said.As student mental health needs continue to evolve, access to drug and alcohol counseling has become an important priority for the district. Kaple said teachers and staff have been raising concerns about the need for more support, especially at the high school level."And that was something that was also an identified need by our high school staff when the superintendent met with them last school year. They said that that was a really great need, something that they felt was a gap in services that we were providing for our students. And so this is going to be one way to help support that need," Kaple said.The Toppenish School District says its goal is to ensure students and families have access to the support they need, both now and in the years ahead. Additional positions, including drug and alcohol counselors and family engagement specialists, are expected to be posted in the coming weeks. News Sunnyside City Council navigates 2027 budget planning Monique Garcia News "Dancing with the Stars" champion J.R. Martinez shares message of resilience during Central Washington visit Tyler Wargo News Toppenish, Mattawa educators honored at state Educator of the Year Awards Erin Wencl News Kennewick educator named 2027 Washington Teacher of the Year Erin Wencl News Voters to decide the next Yakima County Sheriff Monique Garcia COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Trump Expected to Award Science Medal to SpaceX's Elon Musk, Fox News Reports
By Courtney Rozen WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump is expected to award the National Medal of Science to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Fox News reported. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Nia Williams) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.
Firefighters battle early morning fire at Richland business
RICHLAND, Wash. - The 7-11 convenience store off Duportail and Wright Avenue in Richland is closed after it was damaged in an early morning fire Wednesday.The call for help came in just before a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from the building attached to the 7-11 and could see flames inside.Several fire crews responded to the area and a ladder truck was used to attack the fire from above. Richland police also arrived on scene to shut down streets so fire crews could work in the tight space. They also helped with people living close to the fire get out safely.Firefighters were able to get the fire under control but it continued to flare up and crews were finally released from the scene just before 6 a.m. A crew remained on the scene to continue checking the area. Fire investigators are also at the scene.The 7-11 remains closed until further notice after the building was heavily damaged by smoke and water. The building attached to it was destroyed.The cause of the fire has not yet been released. Injuries are also unknown. We are gathering more information at this time.COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Port of Grandview works to attract new businesses with active marketing and land development
The BriefThe Port of Grandview is actively marketing the community to attract new business development, with efforts including attendance at trade shows and conventions like Food Northwest in Portland.The Port reports strong demand for business property, with several prospective clients currently seeking space to build in Grandview.The Port recently acquired 45 acres for its new Woodworth Road Business Park, with planning underway to support the community's continued growth.GRANDVIEW — The Port of Grandview is capitalizing on strong interest in the community by actively marketing Grandview to businesses seeking locations for expansion and growth. The Port's efforts are paying off, with increased development activity and growing demand for available business property.Grandview's appeal stems from multiple factors. The community's available land and central location between the Tri-Cities and Yakima make it an attractive option for businesses looking to establish or expand operations. The Port has recognized these advantages and is taking a proactive approach to market the community directly to potential clients.Port Executive Director Randy Tucker says the Port has been actively attending trade shows and conventions to promote Grandview as a business destination. These events, including Food Northwest in Portland, provide opportunities to connect with companies actively seeking new locations."Say, hey, locate your business here and bring your customers here. And it's worked out pretty good for us," Tucker said.The Port's marketing strategy is generating results. The Port reports strong demand for business property, with several prospective clients currently looking for space to build in Grandview. This interest reflects the effectiveness of the Port's outreach efforts and the community's appeal to businesses in various industries.To support this growth, the Port recently acquired 45 acres for its new Woodworth Road Business Park. Planning is underway to determine how the property can best support Grandview's continued development and attract additional businesses to the area.The combination of available land, strategic location, and active marketing positions Grandview as an increasingly attractive option for businesses seeking to relocate or expand. As the Port continues its efforts to promote the community, Grandview appears poised for continued economic growth and development. News Three Queens Fire approaching 10,000 acres, now 11% contained Robert Desaulniers, Josh Culbreth News Two injured after rear-end crash leads to rollover near Grandview Robert Desaulniers News Grandview High School temporarily enters secure and teach for possible altercation between students Robert Desaulniers News Port of Grandview pursues economic growth with new business park development William Albert, Apple Valley News Now News Driver dies in fiery crash in Columbia Park Friday Erin Wencl COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
US Medicare Agency Proposes Regulation to Reduce Fraud Across Health Insurance Programs
Feb 9 (Reuters) - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Monday proposed regulations to crack down on fraud and misleading practices by health insurance agents and brokers to lower health care costs. (Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona) Copyright 2026 ...