Washington
Five new maps proposed for Central Washington redistricting
Wider impact
In a court brief, Secretary of State Steven Hobbs outlined the impact redrawing the maps will have on the 14th District and its neighboring districts, whose boundaries will change as a result. The brief was based on an analysis by Nick Pharris, who works in the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
In the document, they outline the countries impacted by each proposal. In all five proposals, Yakima, Benton and Klickitat Counties are impacted. Franklin, Adams, and Grant are impacted by four proposals, as are Clark, King, Pierce, and Thurston counties, namely due to redrawn lines that cross the Cascades into Western Washington.
Among the incumbents in the Legislature who would be displaced is State Sen. Nikki Torres, a Latina who was elected in the redrawn 15th Legislative District in 2022. Torres’ attorneys have asked the court to allow Torres to intervene in the case. In a court filing, Torres’ attorney said implementing any of the proposals would make her reelection in 2026 “more difficult — if not impossible.” Attorneys say four of the proposed maps would move her out of the 15th. One proposal does allow her to remain in the 15th District, which would no longer be a Latino voter-majority district.
In filing for appeals in both the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth District and the U.S. Supreme Court, conservative Latino voters contend that the case is a veiled attempt to get more Democrats elected in Central Washington. They point to the election of Torres, a Latina Republican, as an indicator that the minority-majority district is already performing.
They also point to the districts displacing several Republican incumbents in Central Washington as showing the Democrats’ intent. In a court filing, the Republican filing also noted that 10 Republicans, including all three legislators in both the 14th and 15th districts, would be moved into new districts by at least one of the proposed new maps.
However, the Palmer plaintiffs’ analysis shows that even with the changes, the overall partisan flavor of Central Washington would remain Republican. In addition, they say Torres will be able to finish out her term until it expires in 2026.
“Since nearly every legislator surrounding [the 14th and 15th districts] is Republican, Republican districts are necessarily impacted,” attorneys for the Palmer plaintiffs wrote in a court filing. “But all the partisan efforts outside [the districts] are marginal and inconsequential.”
The attorneys also point out that Lasnik did not buy into conservative arguments that Torres’ election meant the 15th District was compliant with voting rights laws. In his ruling, Lasnik said the progress in Latino representation in the state Legislature doesn’t negate roadblocks voters continue to experience in the 15th district.
What’s next
Lasnik, with the help of Mac Donald, the voting expert, will now evaluate the proposal maps — and the rebuttals and responses to those proposals. The court aims to adopt a new redistricting map and transmit it to the Secretary of State’s office by March 25, so the new map can be used for 2024 elections.
The Republican intervenors continue to pursue an appeal of Lasnik’s ruling; however, with the remedial map process underway, that group filed a motion to put the appeals process on hold temporarily while the U.S. District Court completes its process.
The intervenors said they plan to appeal the Court’s decision on a new redistricting plan and then consolidate it with their appeal of the original ruling on the Palmer case.
Intervenors also have an appeal of Palmer before the U.S. Supreme Court. A separate request for a related case, Garcia vs. Hobbs, which was deemed moot by the ruling on Palmer, was also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices are expected to discuss both requests during its conference — when they decide which cases to review — this Friday.
Jordan Selesnick won the Regional Championship at SCG CON Washington DC with Azorius Momo on Sunday.
Creatures (25)
Lands (21)
In a field packed with Izzet Prowess and Mono-Green Landfall, Selesnick put the power of Azorius Momo on display — proving the power of strong metagaming and mulligan decisions. Selesnick regularly dug for better opening hands in tight matchups, allowing his deck to have starts similar to those in Modern as opposed to Standard. After an 8-1 start on Day 1, Selesnick cruised to the No. 1 seed in the Top 8 with a record of 12-1-2.
Once in the Top 8, Selesnick only dropped a single game in route to a dominant performance. He defeated Stephen Snelson, on Izzet Spellementals, 2-1 in the quarters before clean 2-0 wins against Alexander Kans, on Selesnya Aggro, and Matt Xu, on Mono-Green Landfall.
Selesnick showed off both types of powerful draws the Momo deck can have in the finals, blinking a Quantum Riddler into play on Turn 2 in Game 1, and landing a copied Sage of the Skies on Turn 2 in Game 2. With the fast starts and utility offered from Starfield Shepherd, Selesnick had no problem navigating the mid-games for fast wins facing down strong starts from Xu.
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Selesnick took home $20,000 and the title of champion, while Xu earned $10,000. The Top 32 finishers earned invites to the upcoming Pro Tour in Amsterdam, though Selesnick and Xu also punched their tickets to the Magic World Championship.
Izzet Prowess made up almost 25 percent of the 1,198 players on Day 1, followed by Four-Color Control at 10 percent, thanks to its strong showing in the most recent Regional Championships. Mono-Green Landfall was next at just under nine percent, while Mardu Discard and Dimir Excruciator rounded out the Top 5 decks.
Day 2 consisted of 285 players that reached 18 match points on Day 1. See how the archetypes converted below.
View the Top 8 decklists from the Regional Championship. For all the decklists from the event and final standings check out the Melee page for the tournament.
SCG CON will be back in action next in Las Vegas on June 26-28.
LONGVIEW, Wash. (KPTV/Gray News) – Officials say they have found the remains and identified all of the missing workers following a chemical vat implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill on Tuesday.
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office released the names of those killed, bringing the death toll to 11:
- 52-year-old Gilbert Bernal of Kelso, Oregon.
- 29-year-old Tyler Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 27-year-old Brad Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 48-year-old Robert Wilson of Clatskanie, Oregon.
- 54-year-old Dale Miller of Portland, Oregon.
- 35-year-old Jared Ammons of Longview, Washington.
- 38-year-old Braydon Finkas of Cathlamet, Washington.
- 26-year-old Clinton Doran of Kelso, Oregon.
- 51-year-old John Forsberg of Longview, Washington.
- 58-year-old Norman Barlow of Vancouver, Washington.
- Dillon Miller, taken to a Portland hospital; coroner has no other information.
Officials say a 900,000-gallon tank containing a highly destructive chemical called white liquor imploded at the facility just after 7:15 a.m.
Roughly 600,000 gallons of the substance rushed through work areas at the plant on Tuesday when the tank ruptured.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson called it “the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.”
Multiple people, including a firefighter, were injured and taken to area hospitals for treatment following the implosion. Some of those injured were also brought to the Oregon Burn Center.
Investigators were looking into what caused the tank to implode in the first place and whether there’s a risk of it happening again.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said it would begin an investigation into the implosion after the recovery efforts are concluded.
Officials said some of the chemical had made its way into the Columbia River and they have received reports of dead fish near the site’s spillways.
The Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were monitoring air and water quality and working to assess any other environmental impacts.
Copyright 2026 KPTV via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
-
Louisiana3 minutes agoLouisiana agencies urge hurricane preparation ahead of season start
-
Maine6 minutes agoMaine veterans find closure, connection on Honor Flight to D.C.
-
Maryland11 minutes agoMaryland Lt. Gov. responds to ballot error saying ‘It happens almost in every election’
-
Michigan18 minutes agoMichigan Football loses commitment from 2027 safety recruit
-
Massachusetts21 minutes agoMarkey wins Mass. Dems’ endorsement as Moulton clears ballot hurdle in Senate race
-
Minnesota26 minutes agoMN fraud: Medicaid providers face removal as validation deadline passes
-
Mississippi33 minutes agoMississippi State advances to Super Regionals with 7-homer rout of Louisiana
-
Missouri36 minutes ago11 Best Golf Courses in Missouri
