Best of the Northwest

And the winner is … Rossi … by 261 votes out of 2.8 million cast in Washington state. Mebbe. There’ll be a recount here . And The Seattle Times notes that suburbs that haven’t gone Republican in two decades helped put Dino over the top here . And David Horsey/P-I doodles about the cuh-razy Washington voting system here .

AP Photo/ Ralph Radford (above): Dino Rossi is joined by his wife, Terry Rossi, and son Joseph Rossi during a news conference Wednesday in Bellevue, Wash.

1. UI cartoonist Noah Kroese provides a clever ‘toon to gauge your voter awareness here .

2. Gonzaga new McCarthey Athletic Center is winning rave reviews as the Zags prepare to open the basketball season here .

3. The S-R editorial board has taken the position that the Hagadone Gardens proposal needs a thorough public review but not an advisory vote here .

4. Army 1st Lt. Luke C. Wullenwaber , 24, a former Lewiston High football player, was killed in Iraq while conducting a security mission here .

5. Washington poll: Sixty percent prefer the traditional definition of marriage here .

6. IMHO-NW: Seattle Times ( Close election ), Lon Woodbury /RuralNorthwest ( Idaho’s anti-smoking law ), James J. Na /Discovery Institute ( Survival guide for red-leaning blue-staters ), Jake Dorsey /Daily Evergreen ( Be classy at Apple Cup ), and Seattle P-I ( On to the recount ).

7. Howie Stalwick /Inlander, a former S-R colleague, tells you everything you wanted to know about Gonzaga star Ronny Turiaf but were afraid to ask here .

8. Leonard Perry is 0-6 as coach of the Idaho Vandals against Boy-C State, but he isn’t obsessed with defeating the Broncos. He’ll get another chance to do that this weekend with three games at the Taco Bell Arena here .