These 10 stories are 2017’s biggest — to us. And to some of you

For the second time in as many years, the biggest story in the Mid-Columbia is all about science.

The LIGO observatory’s first-of-a-kind detection of gravitational waves from a different type of cosmic event dominated the list of top stories as chosen by Herald newsroom staffers.

High up the list also is Hanford’s radioactive tunnel collapses, famous locals making good (and bad), and a year of weather that was crazy right up to the end.

While we believe these stories were the biggest of the year, they don’t all rest on a single article. But where readers did agree with us online — according to page views — we note it in the item’s headline.

There were also stories that didn’t quite make the list, but are worthy of mention: Longtime president Richard Cummins leaving Pasco’s Columbia Basin College for a new job; CBC then hiring its first woman president in Rebekah Woods; and the kidnapping and killing of Sandra Harris.

1. LIGO does it again

The LIGO observatory near Richland made scientific history, detecting gravitational waves from the fiery crash of two neutron stars for the first time.

The gravitational waves, or ripples through time and space, were detected Aug. 17 at the Hanford Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, along with its twin observatory in Louisiana and a third gravitational wave observatory in Italy.

The LIGO observatories also have detected gravitational waves from the merger of black holes six times since September 2015, confirming Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Those detections already had opened a new window to the universe, earning the three physicists key to development of the Hanford and Louisiana observatories the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Unlike the black hole mergers, the neutron star collision that occurred at the end of the Jurassic period on Earth gave off light that could be detected by more conventional telescopes in addition to gravitational waves.

The Aug. 17 detection marked the start of what scientists call multi-messenger astronomy, a new way to learn about the universe by observing both gravitational waves and light.

2. Hanford radioactive waste tunnel collapses (No. 1 online)

An emergency was declared at Hanford May 9 when a tunnel storing railroad cars loaded with highly radioactively contaminated equipment was discovered partially collapsed.

More than 3,000 workers were ordered to take shelter indoors with ventilation shut off, some of them for hours.

No airborne contamination was detected, but many people in the nearby Tri-Cities kept an anxious eye on news updates about the tunnel, which is 19 miles northwest of Richland. Benton and Franklin counties activated their emergency operations center.

The tunnel has been filled with a concrete-like grout to stabilize it until plans are made for cleanup of the waste it holds. A second and longer tunnel holding 28 loaded railroad cars also will be filled with grout.

No one was hurt in the partial collapse of the first tunnel. But it called attention to the deteriorating and highly contaminated facilities at Hanford, some dating back to World War II. Hanford cleanup is expected to continue for more than 40 years and cost more than $100 billion.

3. Trios bankruptcy

The Tri-Cities’ only public hospital system filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in late June.

Trios Health, based in Kennewick, took the step after several years of financial struggle.

At the time of the filing, the system had about $221 million in debt and only about five days’ cash on hand, far below the standard.

The bankruptcy filing was part of a plan to get Trios back on solid financial footing. The plan also included workforce restructuring and exploring a partnership with other health care systems.

In September, Trios announced it was talking with RCCH Healthcare Partners and UW Medicine.

Trios Health officials have said the bankruptcy represents a new start for the system, which includes two hospitals and a network of clinics and services.

“Relieving our leadership and staff of the daily pressure of our finances — through Chapter 9 — gives us some breathing room while our attorneys work a debt restructuring plan through the court system,” CEO Craig Cudworth said at the time of the filing. “This is a beginning.”

4. Secretary of Defense James Mattis

James Mattis, a retired Marine general and Richland native, became the top official for the world’s most potent military agency with the election of President Trump.

But he hasn’t forgotten his roots while at the helm of the Department of Defense. Far from it.

Mattis, who graduated from Columbia High School, regularly returns home to see family in the Tri-Cities.

He’s also not shy about stopping in for a treat when he’s in town.

Mattis’ legend as “Mad Dog”, “the Warrior Monk” and a “Marine’s Marine”, comes from his philosophical approach to war and uncommon concern for the welfare of men and women in the ranks.

Analysts saw that concern in the Department of Defense not immediately embracing the tweeted transgender troop ban Trump put out July 26. A court ruling struck the ban later in the year.

Mattis also was made famous for his many statements, called “Mattisisms,” that continue to color his speech with a plain-spoken, forthright manner.

Mattis has continued that trend as defense secretary, saying Friday that he believes tasks previously taken on by special forces will be completed more and more by conventional troops.

5. Weather

The year just past was marked by dramatic weather from what will be remembered as a snowpocalypse winter to a late summer with smoke turning the skies gray for days on end.

The year started with biting cold as lows dipped dipped to below freezing and highs barely made it into the teens in the Tri-Cities.

Snow shovels saw plenty of use. Kennewick had more than 15 inches of snow in January, after a December with about nine inches. The Hanford Meteorological Station reported 29 inches of snow through the winter, close to double the normal.

School children had nearly two weeks of snow days through the winter, causing graduations to be delayed to make up the time.

August started with the Tri-Cities smothered under a blanket of smoke from fires burning across the Northwest and in in Canada.

Smoke would continue to foul the air off and on through mid September.

Sunsets were spectacular. But at times the air quality was so bad that it was rated as “very unhealthy” and people with chronic illnesses were advised to check with their doctors to see if they should leave the area.

6. City council turnover

In Pasco, a federal judge ruled earlier in the year to change the district system so Latino candidates had a better chance at winning. That led to the unseating of three longtime council incumbents in the historic election. A fourth council member lost the seat he’d held for one year, and another retired after serving 16 years.

Candidates were selected by the voters in their district, instead of citywide. Mayor Matt Watkins, who ran for the only at-large position, and Councilman Saul Martinez are the two returning incumbents.

They will be joined by newcomers Blanche Barajas, Ruben Alvarado, Pete Serrano, David Milne and Craig Maloney at the council’s first meeting of the new year on Jan. 8

In Richland, the city council’s move to impose a $20 fee on vehicle registrations to fund bridge construction and pavement maintenance inflamed residents and triggered a contention election. Four of seven council seats were up for election in 2017, including three with incumbents.

The $20 car tab fee, viewed by many as a sign the council doesn’t listen to its residents, drove much of the conversation.

On Nov. 7, voters returned Bob Thompson and Sandra Kent to office but chose a newcomer, Michael Alvarez, to replace Dori Luzzo Gilmour. Ryan Lukson, an attorney for Benton County, defeated Ginger Wireman to succeed David Rose, who retired.

In Kennewick, competition was fierce for the at-large seat formerly held by Bob Parks, who retired. Bill McKay, a Kennewick business owner, defeated Christy Watts, a retired transit executive, to bring one of two new entrepreneurial voices to Kennewick.

The other belongs to Steve Lee, the marijuana entrepreneur who owns Green2Go stores hein Finley and Tokio with his wife, Jesse.

Lee defeated incumbent Greg Jones, CFO of Hanford, after running a self-funded campaign that was teh most expensive city council race in Washington outside of urban areas. Jones did not run a visible campaign.

7. Pasco school bond

In one of the closest local elections in recent memory, Pasco School District’s $99.5 million bond to address overcrowding triumphed by seven votes.

It was a roller coaster from election night on Nov. 7 to the final ballot count and certification on Nov. 28.

At first, the measure was failing. Then it pulled ahead as more ballots were counted. Then it fell behind again before ultimately gaining enough ground to pass.

“We’re extremely grateful to our community,” Superintendent Michelle Whitney said after the win.

The bond is “the first step in the district’s multilayered approach to alleviate overcrowding and reduce the number of portables at our schools,” she said.

The district has seen explosive enrollment growth during the past decade, stretching capacity and stressing facilities. The bond will help by paying for two new elementary schools, a new middle school and rebuilding Stevens Middle school, plus some other projects. It will cost property owners an estimated 59 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $118 annually for a $200,000 home.

8. Ancient bones of Kennewick Man reburied

The ancient bones of Kennewick Man were returned to the ground more than 20 years after they were found on the bank of the Columbia River.

Two college students stumbled across the skeleton during the 1996 Water Follies festival, setting off two decades of scientific, legal and political wrangling amid efforts by area tribes to claim the skeleton.

The skeleton of a man who lived about 8,400 years ago is one of the oldest and most complete sets of ancient human bones found in North America.

A federal judge, over the objections of Native Americans, ruled that the skeleton could not be linked to Native Americans and allowed scientists to study the bones.

It was scientific study, aided by advances in DNA analysis, that determined the bones likely are those of an ancestor of today’s Native Americans.

In February, more than 200 members of five Columbia Plateau tribes and bands gathered at an undisclosed location to lay the remains of the man they call the Ancient One to rest.

9. Child sex predators can’t hide on internet (No. 2 online)

The arrest of a former Kennewick school superintendent in April for allegedly arranging to have sex with a teen girl highlighted the role a special task force plays in targeting would-be predators online.

The Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children program, established out of Benton County’s public safety sales tax, was busy in 2017 combating child pornography and online predators looking to meet up with kids and teens through social media and sites like Craigslist.

The task force, run through the Richland Police Department, includes officers from Richland, Kennewick and Homeland Security Investigations.

Retired educator Paul W. Rosier, who now lives in Olympia, was caught after showing up at a Richland hotel with the agreed amount of money for a 16-year-old girl and her 13-year-old friend, according to court documents. He wasn’t aware that the older teen he’d been chatting with online actually was an undercover detective.

Rosier has a trial date next March in federal court for attempted child sex trafficking.

Then over a five-day period in July, ICAC detectives worked with the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force to arrest 26 men who posted or responded to online ads and went to a Richland apartment allegedly intending to have sex with young girls and boys.

Authorities have said their postings, in which officers pose as kids or parents offering up their kids, are no different than the thousands of real advertisements that already are on the internet.

10. Guilt-ridden driver in Richland fatal takes own life (No. 3 online)

Paul Quintana was returning to work from his lunch break April 6 when his stopped motorcycle was hit from behind by a small sedan on George Washington Way. Quintana, 34 and a married father of three, died in the wreck.

The car’s driver, Andrew Luttrell, told police he was adjusting a malfunctioning in-dash CD player and took his eyes off the road.

Two weeks later, a devastated Luttrell killed himself by jumping off a bridge near Selah. The 31-year-old musician played in several Tri-City bands over the years.

The back-to-back tragedies inspired fundraising efforts, a widely read letter to the editor and discussion about distracted driving and suicide prevention.

This story was originally published December 30, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "These 10 stories are 2017’s biggest — to us. And to some of you."