WASHINGTON, N.C. (WITN) -A significant advancement in emergency response capabilities in the City of Washington is made possible through a state grant.

Washington has received cutting-edge water rescue equipment, thanks to a $155,000 state grant secured by Representative Keith Kidwell.

The funding has enabled the purchase of two Zodiac inflatable boats with motors for swift water rescues, along with trailers for transportation.

Additionally, existing rescue assets have been upgraded with new motors, firefighting capabilities, and advanced technology.

Representative Kidwell emphasized the importance of modernizing services, stating, “This investment ensures our community’s safety.”

With these enhancements, the fire department is better equipped to respond to water-related emergencies promptly and effectively.

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The Washington Commanders drafted offensive tackle Brandon Coleman out of TCU in this year’s NFL Draft in hopes he’ll become the team’s starting left tackle sooner or later.

In the meantime, Commanders general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn have both spoken words of confidence about veteran Cornelius Lucas holding down the position if needed.

READ MORE: Who is the Commanders’ X-Factor in 2024

And while Washington continues hunting down a longterm starter at left tackle, the one it had in-house for nine seasons continues to be among the best – if not the best – in the business, five seasons after he was traded away.

“The future Hall of Famer remains the gold standard at the position, as he put together another elite season in 2023 despite struggling with an ankle injury,” Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus wrote in his preseason offensive tackle rankings where Williams came in No. 1. “His 92.5 PFF grade ranked second among offensive tackles last year, and he was the only player at the position to earn run-blocking and pass-blocking grades above 84.0.”

“The future Hall of Famer remains the gold standard at the position,”

– Zoltán Buday, Pro Football Focus

Williams was named to the Pro Bowl seven times in his nine seasons with the team after being the No. 4 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft after a successful college career with the Oklahoma Sooners.

He was coming off his seventh-straight Pro Bowl season when the wheel fell off between Williams and the franchise. According to the player’s side at the time the relationship disintegrated due to lack of appropriate medical treatment – which seems to fit the franchise’s reputation at this point – while the team tied the dispute to contract desires.

Regardless, Washington got a 2020 5th Round pick (OC Keith Ismael) and 2021 3rd Round pick (CB Benjamin St-Juste) while the team also drafted OL Saahdiq Charles the same year it traded Williams.

READ MORE: Jayden Daniels Started Strong and Continues to Impress in Early Practices

Only St-Juste remains with the Commanders to date as he enters a contract year crucial to the future of his status with the team.

Meanwhile, Williams’ Pro Bowl season streak stands at 11 (not counting the 2019 season he did not play while holding out for a trade) and he’s added three-straight First-Team All-Pro selections as well.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

A new interactive map shows how parts of Washington state could be submerged underwater as sea levels rise due to climate change.

Washington’s extensive coastal regions, which stretch around 157 miles along the Pacific Ocean, would be particularly at risk, according to the map.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that by the year 2100, global sea levels could rise by up to 3.6 feet if global greenhouse gas emissions are not mitigated. However, it says that a rise of around 6.6 feet “cannot be ruled out.”

The map by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) allows users to see how different parts of the United States would be affected if sea levels rose by different amounts.

If sea levels were to rise by 3 feet, parts of Skagit County around the town of La Conner would be completely submerged in water.

The affected areas include those along the coast of the Swinomish Channel, which connects to Skagit Bay, Port Susan, and Livingston Bay. In the north, areas bordering Padilla Bay and Samish Bay would also be badly affected by the rising sea levels.

If sea levels were to rise by 6 feet, in line with the IPCC’s more severe projections, water would encroach further inland in these areas, and other coastal regions would also be affected.

Seattle would mostly be spared, except for the Terminal 18 container facility and some small areas along the coast, which would be submerged if sea levels rose by six feet.

Sea level rise is primarily caused by the melting of ice caps into the ocean due to warming temperatures. The level at which sea levels will rise will be impacted by whether global action is taken to slow climate change.

“Sea level rise will create a profound shift in coastal flooding over the next 30 years by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland. By 2050, ‘moderate’ (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today, and can be intensified by local factors,” NOAA said in its 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report.

Assessing the state of Washington’s risks from sea level rise is made complicated by the fact that the land movement along its coast is highly variable, with some areas experiencing uplift while others are subsiding.

These variations are caused by movements of the Earth’s tectonic plates.

The state has been taking action to prepare for the potential impacts of rising sea levels, including through the three-year-long Washington Coastal Resilience Project. The project worked to identify at-risk areas and provide guidance to coastal communities, including several rural and tribal communities along the state’s coast.

The project also outlined the primary strategies for dealing with coastal hazards, including building hard defensive structures, using soft shore stabilization methods, using accommodation techniques to reduce flooding impacts, and avoiding development in risky areas.