Chester County Passport Office Simplifies Applications and Renewals

If you are planning a trip abroad this summer, the Chester County’s Passport Office, under the direction of the Prothonotary’s Office, is offering a simplified way to either apply for, or renew your passport. The office is located on the first floor of the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W. Market Street in West Chester, and is open to applicants from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.

QVC and NBC’s TODAY Team Up for Second “Mompreneurs”

After a successful first run, QVC and NBC’s TODAY will renew their collaboration to find the next big product for the world’s leading video and ecommerce retailer. Over the next week, nine budding mom entrepreneurs, or “mompreneurs,” will present their creative inventions to NBC TODAY‘s panel of experts during TODAY’s Next Big Thing 2, with the overall winner given the opportunity to sell their product live on QVC, on April 23rd.

Unionville Grad Gets a Shot at the Olympics

Courtney Smith, a Unionville High School graduate, has successfully qualified for the Olympic trials after achieving the fastest 10K NCAA time in the country at Stanford University at the beginning of the month. The trials will be held in Eugene, Oregon, in July, with the top three finishers getting the chance to represent the U.S. in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

CRISPR Mushroom Receives Non-Regulated Status

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled that a non-browning mushroom developed by Yinong Yang, a Pennsylvania State University professor, using gene-editing technology called CRISPR, will not be regulated by the agency as a transgenic crop. Following the ruling, Patty Foss-Bennie, Executive Director of Avondale’s American Mushroom Institute, said that the group is not taking a position on the CRISPR mushroom.

Chester County Chamber Hosts This Year’s State of the County Luncheon

During the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry’s 2016 State of the County Luncheon hosted by the Chester County Chamber on Tuesday, County Commissioners Kathi Cozzone, Terence Farrell, and Michelle Kichline talked in front of hundreds of business and community leaders about the issues and successes of Chester County over the last year, and gave their outlook on future opportunities. We’ll have more on this by the afternoon.