Seth and Dave Portteus for several years have watched wine tasters chew gum while swilling merlot and cleanse their palates with beer in their father's tasting room at the Portteus Vineyards & Winery in Zillah.

Roger Slack thought he'd found an economical way to get around by converting a golf cart into a buggy.

Nothing lures visitors to Paradise like the transitory displays of wildflowers that populate Mount Rainier's high mountain meadows.

Washington State University students may get a leg up on careers in renewable energy engineering by taking the school's first class on the topic starting in the spring.

A sign sporting two cactuses and a bit of Spanish in a familiar font has popped up amid the hustle and bustle of the Road 68 corridor in Pasco.

KENNEWICK -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi rallied his Tri-City supporters Saturday, saying "I can't turn this state around by myself."

Teresa Payne wants everyone to know how important The Arc of Tri-Cities has been to her, and how vital it is for others in the community with disabilities.

Suzanne Sullivan was in the market for a new car, but she didn't think it would cost only $20 for a shiny red 2009 Toyota Camry LE.

The apartment rental market in the Tri-Cities appears to be going strong as mortgage lending standards remain tight and the area continues to absorb the addition of several complexes built a few years ago.

Every Hanford cleanup project seems to have its surprises, and that's the case with even a seemingly straightforward project like cleaning up the old pistol range used by the Hanford Patrol.

PASCO -- The fall political scene just got a little more interesting, and scarier, as The Maize & Pumpkin Patch has opened at Haywire Farms in Pasco.

Hydroelectric power in the Northwest and the potential to develop more across the nation could help reduce the effects of global warming, according to two Washington state members of Congress.

RICHLAND -- A group of south Richland residents has won the first round in their battle against a proposed commercial development in their neighborhood near Keene Road.

The Department of Energy plans to spend less money in coming months at its environmental cleanup sites including Hanford than was approved by Congress in a continuing budget resolution for spending through early March.

As candidates for the Franklin County Commission, Neva Corkrum and Brad Peck naturally don't see eye to eye on everything.

KENNEWICK -- A public hearing about Kennewick General Hospital's proposed $95 million hospital in the Southridge area has been scheduled for Nov. 5, state officials said.

KENNEWICK -- A whirlwind of effort Thursday at the Kennewick home of a military reservist who's being sent to Iraq kicked off a volunteer makeover that's expected to give the family a fully landscaped yard by the end of next week.

A 37-year-old man is being held on $100,000 bail on charges he flashed a pellet gun to employees at a Richland restaurant, then made off with three bank bags from the safe.

The Benton Public Utilities District is throwing $11 million into wind power.

KENNEWICK -- Kennewick is giving away $631,100 to build a better community in 2009.

RICHLAND -- Leaders of a proposed public high school focused on science and math have just over a month to find nearly $1 million if they hope to open next fall.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The Franklin County Commission's decision not to redistrict last spring is among the top issues the District 2 candidates have sparred over leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

A half-day forum on the challenges of protecting the Columbia-Snake river system is planned this morning in Kennewick.

The Benton Franklin Volunteer Center will have an ice cream social at 1:15 p.m. Thursday to recognize retired and senior volunteers.

STANFIELD -- A Stanfield church has been tagged for the second time in a month.

UMATILLA -- The Umatilla Rural Fire District is asking residents to approve a $1.055 million bond next month to replace aging equipment.

A 21-year-old Prosser man was ordered held Thursday on $10,000 bail on allegations he helped steal $15,000 in collectibles and a handgun from a home.

A Kennewick woman is behind bars after she was allowed to leave a car dealership with an SUV but never returned to pay for it.

A convicted child molester faces a Dec. 8 trial on allegations he moved back to the Tri-Cities but never registered his address with law enforcement per court orders.

Prescott residents will be asked in November to pay $180,000 for maintenance and operation expenses for Prescott Parks and Recreation facilities.

A 45-year-old Pasco man with a lengthy criminal history faces a Dec. 8 trial on charges he gave a state trooper a fake name because he was driving without a valid license.

Two Walla Walla County natives with agricultural backgrounds are vying to represent District 2 on the Walla Walla County Commission.

A 22-year-old man suspected of stealing a rental car so he and some friends could skip town after the disappearance of a Pasco woman agreed to delay his trial.

The Hermiston Public Library will have a video conference Tuesday with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry to introduce people of all ages to its new display, "Mindbender Mansion."

If you have an event planned for Halloween and it's open to the pubic, send your information to the Herald to be included in a roundup of spooky (or not) happenings.

West Richland residents are going to the polls to decide if they want to pay more property taxes for faster ambulance service.

A Port Orchard woman wanted for a theft scheme at Fred Meyer's that extended from Seattle to Grants Pass, Ore., was picked up in the Richland store where she allegedly swapped price tags to pay less for some fishing poles.

A cool spring worried Columbia Valley winemakers and vineyard managers, but grapes are ripe for the picking and the state's wine industry is looking at another record harvest.

RICHLAND - Officials at Washington State University Tri-Cities are sweating over a mandate to cut expenses at a time they're already pinched by swelling enrollments.

RICHLAND - Rep. Larry Haler and challenger Rob Welch took their rivalry to a new level Wednesday night by quoting Greek philosophers to describe their differences, one involving envy and the other dealing with intelligence in politics.

TRI-CITIES - Drinking and driving is the leading cause of two-thirds of the fatal crashes in the Tri-Cities this year.

KENNEWICK - Lauren Luvaas wasn't supposed to know about the assembly at Highlands Middle School to send him off to service in Iraq.

KENNEWICK - The Kennewick School District plans to ask voters in March to spend $68 million to build a new elementary school and remodel a handful of other schools.

The Grandview SWAT team searched a home looking for a 20-year-old man suspected of being involved in a gang-related drive-by shooting last week.

The murder trial of a Benton City teen accused of helping kill his mother likely will be delayed again.

Pasco police are conducting extra patrols around the construction work being completed on Road 68 and I-182.

Kennewick police and Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers are searching for a Richland man wanted on a drug charge.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the final stretch of the Finley intertie made official what county officials have wanted for 40 years: a direct route between Finley and Interstate 82.

Mabton and Grandview area voters will decide in November if they should tax themselves to pay for rural ambulance service.

Elementary school kids are invited this weekend to make crafts at the Safeway store in Kennewick to raise money to fight breast cancer.

Washington State Patrol officials say the statewide commercial vehicle safety emphasis two weeks ago made highways safer and got people to pay attention.

A statewide essay contest sponsored by the nonprofit Network for Excellence in Washington Schools wants Washington public high school students to share their opinions about the quality of their education.

The Salvation Army will distribute coats for kids from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at its Richland Community Center, 1219 Thayer Drive.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) will hold its monthly tour from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The fingers of the national credit crisis don't appear to be squeezing too tightly around local businesses, as many owners say their daily operations are moving forward as usual.

RICHLAND -- While many Richland homeowners will see their property values go up this year in an annual assessment by the Benton County Auditor, their levy rates should go down because of new construction.

Franklin and Benton counties could have more registered voters than ever before come Nov 4.

PASCO -- The next middle school in Pasco will be built on the northern edge of town, about a mile east of Road 68.

KENNEWICK -- Veterans who attended a Kennewick City Council workshop Tuesday thought they had won permission to use the Regional Veterans Memorial in Columbia Park for future events.

A new study of Hanford and other nuclear defense site workers found exposure to low levels of radiation slightly increased the risk that workers would die of leukemia.

WALLA WALLA -- A former Walla Walla prison guard accused of delivering a package of drugs to a prisoner faces a Nov. 18 trial.

PROSSER -- Prosser may need to raise water rates in the next year or two to help keep afloat the city's water fund.

A 35-year-old Moses Lake man died at a Spokane hospital, a day after he was shot with a shotgun while standing outside a house, police said.

Hanford High School earned two honors at the 27th annual Southeastern Washington Cavalcade of Bands in Pasco last weekend.

Richland police officers frequently respond to situations involving someone with a mental illness and need to know the best way to calm them down.

All it takes is a split second for a thief to drive off in a running, unattended car.

West Richland residents will be able to buy and set off a variety of fireworks -- including some mortars -- next Fourth of July without the confusion that has affected some buyers and sellers in the past.

PENDLETON -- Nearly 1,100 exotic pet turtles are being euthanized this week by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife after they tested positive for salmonella.

Kennewick police detectives say they have broken up an identity theft operation involving gift cards and stolen credit card numbers.

The desert surrounding Burke and Heidi Jensen's home in south Kennewick will soon have an army of workers installing an irrigation system and landscaping while he's on military assignment in Kuwait.

When Rick Foreman looks out the bay window of his dining room in south Richland, he sees a grassy hillside dusted in the oranges, reds and yellows of fall.

Rabbi Joseph Lukinsky headed to the basement of Congregation Beth Sholom in Richland just in time for Sunday night's study session.

PROSSER -- Petitions carrying 18,500 signatures supporting an effort to move the Benton County seat to Kennewick were returned to Fred Staples on Monday, just three weeks after he submitted them.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The Franklin County Commission's decision not to redistrict last spring is among the top issues the District 2 candidates have sparred over leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

Reducing the role of Hanford's workers in handling radioactive wastes would violate organized labor agreements and squander taxpayer money, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council contends.

Cost increases and project delays continue to mount at the Department of Energy's 10 largest projects at nuclear weapons sites, five of them at Hanford, according to a Government Accountability Office report to Congress.

Two reports of gunshots being heard were investigated by Kennewick police within about three hours of each other this weekend.

A two-day college fair is offered today and Wednesday at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

PROSSER -- A Benton County Superior Court judge has issued a split decision in a lawsuit against the city by self-proclaimed Prosser watchdog Larry Loges.

Moses Lake police are investigating a drive-by shooting late Sunday that left three men injured from shotgun blasts.

Pasco police arrested nine people in an undercover sting operation downtown.

GRANDVIEW -- Grandview High School was put on lockdown Monday after police received a report of a juvenile gang member with a gun in the area.

The driver of a white SUV is being sought after a hit-and-run accident involving a woman in a motorized wheelchair, police said.

Dozens of people have offered to help a Kennewick resident get his new home landscaped while he is away on military duty in Kuwait.

Franklin County officials are trying to figure out how to squeeze more than $58 million in expenses into $55 million in revenue.

A new discipline program at Chief Joseph Middle School in Richland has irked some parents and they want it replaced.

Hanford workers have burned over a cap placed above a former disposal site for radioactive waste in the name of research.

Breast-feeding rights weren't at the top of Chris Yourdan's mind last week.

WALLA WALLA -- When Gus and Sonia Calzaretta's parents proposed riding across the country on tandem bikes, the kids thought they were crazy.

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels has received a $1,000 grant from the Meals on Wheels Association of America.

BOARDMAN -- Boardman voters will decide a ballot measure Nov. 4 that would issue $11 million in general obligation bonds to build a new fire station.

RICHLAND -- Anyone who doesn't think one person can make a difference should meet Alissa Watkins.

Burke Jensen moved to Kennewick about a year ago, bought a nice house in the country south of the city and began to settle into a new job at Energy Northwest.

BENTON CITY -- When Douglas Vawter got a letter saying his rent was increasing from $450 to $700 a month, his first thought was, "I can't pay that."

A Richland man was booked into Benton County jail on Saturday after he allegedly robbed a restaurant with a black air pistol and later injured himself trying to escape police, authorities said.

The state House race between Rep. Larry Haler and challenger Rob Welch has all the elements of a personal grudge match.

Temperatures should be near normal or a little below in the Tri-Cities this month, predicts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

PASCO -- Kindergartners at Longfellow Elementary School in Pasco had no trouble Friday coming up with professions they'd like to try when they grow up.

It's time to start anticipating that dreaded event that comes every year: Flu season.

Three months after blocking the release of 39 public records of Franklin County jail employees, a judge Friday changed his order and agreed to review the documents at the request of a convicted arsonist.

The Department of Energy is giving Battelle Memorial Institute a four-year extension on the management and operations contract for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Christian Okemgbo quietly wove his way Friday through a maze of crowded tables at Columbia Basin College's Byron Gjerde Center with three small, bouncing children in tow.

WASHINGTON -- In the end, none of them flipped.

A bilingual voter education candidate forum is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. October 12 in Volunteer Park, across from the Franklin County Courthouse on Fourth Avenue in Pasco.

Hanford High School's jazz bands are offering a free concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the school auditorium. The public is invited. The school is at 450 Hanford St., Richland.

Flags will be lowered to half-mast Sunday in honor of firefighters killed in the line of duty.

The Richland School District will play host to the Washington Art Education Association fall conference Oct. 10-11.

Five more birds in the Tri-Cities have tested positive for West Nile virus, the Benton-Franklin Health District said Friday.

A child molester deported after his conviction allegedly returned to set up home in the Tri-Cities and buy at least five vehicles, all with a fake name.

Leslie Jantz, 54, of Yakima, was arrested Friday after he allegedly led law enforcement officials on a high speed chase on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Two Pasco schools were locked down briefly Friday afternoon while police searched a nearby home and arrested an assault suspect.

A 32-year-old Kennewick man landed behind bars after reportedly stealing from his roommate while the roommate was in jail

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Kennewick are putting on a spaghetti feed Friday to raise money for a trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the school, 1409 S. Garfield St.

A luncheon featuring the vice president of church relations for World Vision is planned Thursday in Richland to lead up to a December event aimed at uniting the community against AIDS.

The Rachel's Challenge program will continue at Carmichael Middle School this year because of a $3,500 grant from the Richland Education Foundation.

The Hermiston Public Library will show a series of four video conferences entitled A Sense of Place from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

PENDLETON -- A 37-year-old Umatilla man died in a fire while working for a rural Pendleton trucking company, the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office reported Friday.

The Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District will begin shutting off summer irrigation flows Oct. 18.

An 18-year-old Kamiakin High School student was arrested Thursday after he reportedly told a female student he would "shank her" and pulled out a knife, police said.

It took just two hours Friday for a Walla Walla Superior Court jury to acquit an optometrist accused of sexually harassing two of his assistants.

TRI-CITIES -- Arbitrary and capricious actions by the Department of Labor have led to claims by ill workers at Hanford and other nuclear sites being improperly denied or decisions delayed, a former claims examiner with the Department of Labor said Thursday.

The names of three more Pasco men arrested as part of a multi-agency drug raid in the Tri-Cities were released Thursday.

RICHLAND -- Proceeds from a new vintage and secondhand store that has opened in Richland will help support the Academy of Children's Theatre.

HANFORD -- The Department of Energy is preparing to build Hanford's largest water treatment system to clean up one of Hanford's most problematic underground plumes of contaminated water.

WASHINGTON -- Just days after they voted against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, four Washington state lawmakers faced mounting pressure Thursday to change their minds as the House prepared to take up the rescue package again.

KENNEWICK -- Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday that negotiations for a revised Tri-Party Agreement on Hanford cleanup are at their most important phase since she's been involved, but she reserved the state's option to sue the federal government if an agreement isn't reached.

The Kennewick Irrigation District will shut off its irrigation water for the season at 8 a.m. Oct. 16.

Pasco police and Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers are looking for a Pasco man wanted in a custody dispute.

A 21-year-old man was sentenced to 20 days in jail for trying to break through the glass door of a convenience store when the clerk locked him in for shoplifting.

Walla Walla police detectives are sorting through "stacks and stacks" of financial records for a Washington State Penitentiary guard accused of delivering drugs to a prisoner last week.

Court hearings have been delayed again for two suspects charged in the disappearance of a 19-year Pasco woman, angering friends and family members.

The public is welcome to join a bird walk at 8 a.m. Saturday at Bateman Island, sponsored by the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society.

The Franklin County Commission on Wednesday decided not to partner with Pasco in studying traffic management issues near the courthouse, city hall and Lourdes Medical Center.

State Attorney General Rob McKenna is throwing his support behind Bruce Spanner as the next Superior Court judge.

A Kennewick man was sentenced to six months on jail work release for stabbing a co-worker as they took a break during their overnight shift.

A 24-year-old man pleaded innocent Thursday to allegations he robbed two Kennewick check-cashing stores while carrying a sawed-off shotgun.

PROSSER -- Three men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Prosser home burglary where about $15,000 of coins, stamps and other collectibles were stolen, Prosser police report.

The Richland School District and Educational Service District 123 want community members to take a look at the K-8 math instructional materials that were reviewed by the state superintendent's office this summer.

Pasco police are looking for three people who robbed a downtown clothing store at gunpoint Thursday afternoon.

Dr. Fred Mettler, a renowned scientist in the fields of radiological science and nuclear medicine, is scheduled to share his wisdom at a lecture Tuesday in north Richland.

Beverly Weber wants the community to go beyond the meaning behind the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."

Ten people were arrested and a suspected methamphetamine distribution ring was taken down in early-morning raids Wednesday in the Tri-Cities and Spokane.

A Kennewick woman admitted she helped her daughter devise a scheme to steal people's identities with information her daughter had access to as a bank vice president.

KENNEWICK -- A public hearing is likely on Kennewick General Hospital's proposed $95 million hospital in the Southridge area.

A Benton City man sentenced Wednesday to nearly 10 years in prison for the death of an acquaintance was told it was "a cheap price to pay for a life."

DAYTON -- Filmmaker Colin Stryker was so intrigued by the complexities in the debate over the removal of the Snake River dams he had to make a movie about it.

Hanford's two newest major contractors officially took over work Wednesday, equipped with plans they believe will make cleanup of the nuclear reservation safer and more efficient.

David Webster's trial on allegations he raped his cellmate five years ago has again been postponed because his lawyer of nine months needs more time to prepare.

WASHINGTON -- Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell opposed a $700 billion Wall Street bailout package Wednesday night, saying she was not "turning the keys of the U.S. Treasury over to the private sector."

Employees of Apollo will have a yard sale fundraiser Saturday to benefit the Benton Franklin Volunteer Center.

West Richland residents are invited to an open house Saturday for Benton Fire District 4.

A former examiner with the Department of Labor program to compensate ill Hanford workers plans to bring her concerns to the Tri-Cities today.

Tri-Citians for Gerry Pollet?

A 37-year-old Richland man died after shooting himself in front of his Strawberry Lane home, the Benton County Coroner said.

GRANDVIEW -- A 20-year-old Grandview man with suspected gang affiliations is being sought by police for reportedly firing several shots at another man, police said.

Two weeks after Fred Staples submitted about 18,500 signatures to move the Benton County seat, county commissioners aren't sure what to do with them.

Wannabe voters have until Saturday to register by mail or online in order to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

Community members are invited to join Superintendent Jean Lane of the Richland School District on a tour of Carmichael Middle School and Richland High School on Oct. 16.

COLLEGE PLACE -- The Walla Walla and College Place school boards are having a joint meeting at 6 p.m. today.

KENNEWICK -- Washington's top school official and her challenger in the November election painted contrasting pictures of progress in the state education system during stops Tuesday in Kennewick.

RICHLAND -- Chris Merkling, a cancer survivor, never imagined she would stand on Kadlec Medical Center's roof.

PASCO -- A 23-year-old man who's said he doesn't know why he repeatedly molested three boys in Pasco will spend at least 18 years behind bars.

A new rule going into effect today will allow about 23,000 more Washington families to apply for the state's food stamp program.

Pageant officials say they're backing Miss Tri-Cities Kyna Harris even though she reportedly had a relationship with a married man that ended before she won the title.

RICHLAND -- Another $25 million for building replacement research facilities for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is expected this week when President Bush signs a bill that includes money requested by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

A Tri-City woman was in serious condition Tuesday at a Seattle hospital after she was thrown from her motorcycle.

PROSSER -- The Prosser City Council quietly digested its 2009 budget proposal Tuesday that calls for raising taxes and cutting vacant city positions.