Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL), together with Columbia Basin College, welcomes New York Times bestselling novelist Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 pm at the Columbia Basin College Gjerde Center in Pasco.

Moreno-Garcia is the featured author of MCL’s annual Mid-Columbia Reads literary festival, which takes place today through Oct. 13. The public is invited to stop by their local MCL branch to take home a free copy of one of several of Moreno-Garcia's books, while supplies last.

Her latest title, "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau," was released in July 2022 and is a dreamy reimagining of "The Island of Doctor Moreau" set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico. Her 2020 novel, "Mexican Gothic," is a New York Times bestseller and multiple award-winner. All of her books are also available to borrow from the MCL collection; there are no holds or waitlist for her eBooks.

The author will speak, answer audience questions, and sign books; her books will be for sale at the event. The presentation is free and open to the public; doors open at 6 pm. American Sign Language (ASL) and Spanish interpretation will be provided.
Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination, Moreno-Garcia has written a number of other critically acclaimed novels, including “Gods of Jade and Shadow,” “Velvet Was the Night,” and “The Beautiful Ones.”

Mid-Columbia Reads is a program of MCL with this year’s partners, Columbia Basin College and Friends of Mid-Columbia Libraries. Learn more at midcolumbialibraries.org.

Lourdes Health is pleased to announce that Chelsea Beveridge, MD, has accepted a position as a Family Medicine provider at Lourdes Family Medicine and will begin seeing patients September 12, 2022.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Beveridge and growing our family medicine provider base even more,” said Kevin Taylor, Medical Director Physician. “She will be a great addition to our team, for our patients, and for our community.”

Dr. Beveridge received her medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine and completed her Family Medicine residency at University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL.
​
Dr. Beveridge practices at Lourdes Family Medicine, located at 7425 W. Wrigley Dr., Suite 100, Pasco. Patients can schedule an appointment by calling 509.416.8888.

Join us to welcome Gordon Estate and Muret-Gaston wineries and six food trucks to Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village on Thursday, September 15, from 2 to 5 p.m. at 313 Columbia Gardens Way in Kennewick.
 
The winemakers will be on hand, and all four wineries will offer featured wines and specials:
 
Muret-Gaston Winery: Muret-Gaston Blanc 2020 white Rhone blend and Muret-Gaston Red Blend Red Mountain blend. The full menu will also be available for purchase.
 
Gordon Estate Winery: Reserve Chardonnay on sale for $18.00 a bottle. Glass pours will be $7.00.

Monarcha Winery: 20% "Wine Club Member for a Day" discount on bottle purchases and a taste of the 2021 Palencia Albariño and a Monarcha red wine. Plus, wine by the glass specials.
 
Bartholomew Winery: Wine tasting specials.

The Food Truck Plaza at Columbia Gardens vendors will offer sample tastings, including:
 
Ann's Best Creole & Soul Food: Crawfish Étouffée
 
Bobablastic: Nacho Cheese/Chili Chips
 
Culture Shock Bistro: Asada Street Tacos with Salsa Verde
 
Swampy's BBQ: Smoked Pulled Pork Sliders and Smoked Jalapeño Popper Mac & Cheese
 
Taste of Wok: Teriyaki Chicken with Steamed Rice
 
Rollin' Ice Cream: Blackberry Lavender, Cookie Monster, Butterscotch Rum Brownie and Apple Crumble Pie

​Benton PUD offices in Kennewick will be closed from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, September 12 for an all-employee meeting.  Offices will reopen to the public at 2:00 p.m.

Benton PUD offices in Prosser will be closed all-day on Monday, September 12.  

Crews are available if you experience an outage.  To report an outage, please give our outage line a call at 1-888-582-2176 or report through SmartHub.

Benton PUD has office locations at 2721 W. 10th in Kennewick and 250 N. Gap Road in Prosser.

Great Grocery Gifting events will pop up throughout the region Sept. 8 in an effort to raise $40,000 for Second Harvest. Community members are invited to make a $50 donation to the hunger relief nonprofit. In return, donors will receive a $50 gift card to Yokes Fresh Market or Grocery Outlet from Numerica Credit Union.

Second Harvest and Numerica volunteers will be set up from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 8 across the region accepting $50 donations and passing out the $50 grocery gift cards.

In the Inland Northwest, one in nine people struggle with hunger according to Feeding America’s 2022 Map the Meal Gap data. Second Harvest is able to turn each $50 donation into food for 250 meals. If Numerica is able to give away all 830 gift cards across the region, Second Harvest can provide food for more than 207,000 meals for those in need.

“Numerica is committed to giving back to organizations that support vulnerable families in our community,” said Amanda Swan, Numerica’s assistant vice president of community development and impact. “We wanted to find a fun way to reward people for their generosity, raise awareness for the work of Second Harvest, and make an impact in our neighborhoods.”

Credit card or cash donations must be made in person to receive the grocery gift card. Gift cards will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last.

Numerica and Second Harvest will be accepting donations at simultaneous events in four locations:

• Spokane: Numerica SkyRide
• Coeur d’Alene: McEuen Park
• Tri-Cities: Numerica Pavilion at Southridge Sports & Events Center
• Wenatchee: Town Toyota Center (gift cards to Grocery Outlet at this location)

“We’re incredibly hopeful and excited to see the community show up to support each other,” said Jason Clark, president and CEO of Second Harvest Inland Northwest. “We’re grateful that Numerica has been a partner with Second Harvest for more than a decade and are committed to building healthier communities together.”

To learn more about the Great Grocery Gifting event, visit numericacu.com/grocerygift/.

Yakima’s 61st annual Sunfair Parade is back and better than ever! The much-loved parade is scheduled to return to Yakima Avenue on September 24th, 2022. The parade is sponsored by Yakima Federal Savings and Loan.

This year’s parade will begin at 10 a.m. and follow the same route as previous years, starting at the corner of 16th and Yakima Ave and winding its way down Yakima Ave to Naches Ave. Judging will take place in the parade staging area from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Paul Crawford, organizer of this year’s parade, encourages community entries. “We really love to see local businesses, clubs, schools and everyone one else come on out and join us in the parade. It’s a lot of fun and you don’t have to be very fancy, just a little creative. Just apply and come on out and have fun”.

Area businesses, schools or organizations wishing to participate may pick up an application at any Yakima Federal Savings and Loan, Ron’s Coins & Collectables, the Yakima Chamber of Commerce or on the parade’s webpage www.yakimaparades.com
Deadline for entry is Midnight, Friday September 16, 2022. Those with questions about the parade may e-mail them to: yakimaparades@gmail.com
​
Yakima Federal Savings and Loan is headquartered in Yakima, WA. and has been in business since 1905. With 2 billion dollars in assets, the association is the 10th largest Washington-based FDIC insured financial institution.

​Gesa, a community-focused credit union, announced today it will donate $50,000 as part of its continued partnership with Food Lifeline and Second Harvest in honor of Hunger Action Month. During the month of September, the three organizations will work together to raise awareness about food insecurity and mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger in the Northwest.
 
Gesa is the presenting sponsor for this statewide effort and will donate $25,000 to each organization for a total of $50,000 in monetary contributions. Gesa will also host food drives at each of their branch locations and offer its team members various volunteer opportunities. This is the third year Gesa has partnered with both organizations.
 
“Gesa is proud to support Food Lifeline and Second Harvest this Hunger Action Month. They are doing incredibly important work to feed people in need and to raise awareness about hunger,” said Angie Brotherton, Assistant Vice President of Community Relations and Impact. “Through our team’s involvement, we’re honored to come along side these two great organizations and help to make a difference in the lives of those experiencing food insecurity across the state.”
 
Food Lifeline is a non-profit organization that provides food to more than 350 food banks, shelters, and meal programs across Western Washington, which equates to providing 282,000 meals every day.
 
“Hunger Action Month is an important time for us, and we are so grateful for Gesa’s leadership.  We know recovery from the pandemic will be slow, and Gesa’s willingness to stand with our communities speaks volumes,” said Ryan Scott, Chief Development Officer of Food Lifeline. “We are pleased to continue this important partnership as we work together to solve hunger.”
 
Similarly, Second Harvest is a non-profit organization that provides 280 food pantries and meal sites, providing food for almost 80,000 meals every day across the 26 counties it serves in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
 
"Gesa's motto is 'People helping people,' and whether it's volunteering at our warehouse or sponsoring our Bite2Go weekend food kits for schoolchildren, the credit union is true to that maxim," said Jason Clark, president and CEO of Second Harvest. "Gesa's generous matching gift offer for Hunger Action Month will amplify the impact of donations. Their invitation to employees and community members alike also will activate hands and hearts as volunteers during the month of September."
 
For more information about Food Lifeline, visit their website https://foodlifeline.org/. To learn more about Second Harvest, visit https://2-harvest.org/. For more information about Gesa Credit Union’s involvement in the community, visit https://www.gesa.com/community. 

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) is the 22nd largest employee-owned company in the United States, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). This week, the NCEO released its 2022 Employee Ownership 100, a list of the nation’s largest companies that are at least 50 percent employee-owned.
​
SEL has steadily moved up the NCEO’s annual list, rising 27 spots since 2011. The ranking is based on the number of full- and part-time employees in the U.S. and worldwide. The list also highlights companies that are 100 percent employee-owned. SEL ranks 17th in this category.
 
SEL first transitioned to employee ownership through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1994 and became 100 percent employee-owned in 2009 as part of the company’s long-term strategy for sustained growth, stability and customer focus.
 
“Employee ownership has become part of SEL’s DNA and has been key to our success,” said Chief Business and Financial Officer Joey Nestegard. “It creates an environment where employees own, run and grow the company and have a personal stake in the outcome. This is a business model that results in long-term employment, high levels of employee engagement and exceptional relationships with customers. It’s not one driven by quarterly earnings or other short-term concerns.”
 
According to NCEO research, employees at ESOP companies have an average of $67,000 more in retirement savings than employees in non-ESOP companies, and ESOP companies are associated with 33% higher median income from wages and 53% longer median job tenure. For more information, visit ownershipeconomy.org.
 
The companies on the list employ more than 645,000 people worldwide.
 
The National Center for Employee Ownership is a nonprofit organization that conducts original research and shares information about employee ownership.
 
To learn more and to view the 2022 Employee Ownership 100, visit The Employee Ownership 100: America's Largest Majority Employee-Owned Companies | NCEO. 

Trios Health is pleased to announce that Jozef Pavnica, MD, has joined Trios as a General Surgeon. Dr. Pavnica will be working in the Trios Care Center at Southridge- 5th Floor, located at 3730 Plaza Way in Kennewick. 

Dr. Pavnica completed his undergraduate education at Creighton University and obtained his M.D. degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he also completed general surgery residency.  

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Pavnica to Trios Southridge Hospital,” said Emilia Keener, Market Senior Director of Physician Services. “His experience and knowledge are of great value to our patients and our community.”

STARS Technology Corporation (“STARS”), a Tri-Cities startup, announced an investment round from local investors to assist with deploying its first protype hydrogen generator for commercial operation.  STARS was founded in 2017 to commercialize a portfolio of cutting-edge hydrogen production technologies licensed from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).  Fuse fund, a made up of local community minded investors based in Richland, Washington, led the financing round at $150K and is the first institutional investor in STARS.  Fuse worked with other local investors to raise over $500K in total. 

The market for hydrogen is expected to grow exponentially over the next few decades driven by the wide adoption of fuel cells in a new class of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).  Fuel cells produce electricity via a hydrogen based chemical reaction and are an ideal alternative to batteries where the weight and/or recharging time of batteries are problematic, given a fuel cell weighs a fraction of an equivalent battery pack and can be refueled in minutes, akin to gasoline powered vehicles.  As the nation transforms to electric propulsion, it is expected that at least 30% of the transportation sector will utilize fuel cells for electricity.  Applications include cars routinely driven long distances, constantly on the go delivery vehicles, long haul trucking, mass transit and even ships and aircraft.  

The advanced STARS hydrogen generator unit operates on a combination of natural gas, water and electricity, incorporating additively-manufactured, microchannel reactors and heat exchangers for highly efficient operation. The units are compact, occupying a small footprint, and modular, enabling their placement on the natural gas grid to deliver affordable hydrogen – at costs below the equivalent use of gasoline – at filling stations and elsewhere wherever hydrogen is needed.

STARS’ first hydrogen generator will be deployed next month by Southern California Gas Company, the nation’s largest natural gas utility, at the SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, CA .  Fed with renewable natural gas, this first commercial demonstration will produce clean hydrogen – meeting the new Federal Clean Hydrogen Standard – for Sunline’s fuel cell buses.  SoCalGas also announced a partnership last week with Ford Motor Company earlier this month to demonstrate a fleet of Ford F550 SuperDuty Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Trucks.   

Director of Commercialization at PNNL, Christina Lomasney commented “We applaud the work by Bob Wegeng and his team at STARS in translating cutting-edge, taxpayer-funded, PNNL research into economic impact.  The STARS team are pioneers in the realization of a viable clean hydrogen economy.  It is gratifying to see the local venture ecosystem – led by Fuse fund – bringing support to our home-grown entrepreneurs and their visions for a better future.” 
​
Hydrogen has been recognized by many as the most viable solution to large scale decarbonization of the heavy lift transportation industry .  The momentum is growing for hydrogen fuel cell deployments, with the Federal Government recently passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that included $8 billion for regional Hydrogen Hubs and the Inflation Reduction Act which carried about $370 billion in subsidies and credits for clean energy investment in the United States.   STARS is uniquely poised to deliver a scalable and cost-competitive technology solution to US and global markets.