Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 3:15 am
By Helen Thompson
Credit Mladen Antonov / AFP/ Getty Images
Supporters of President Obama partied outside the White House on Wednesday morning, chanting "Four More Years!" and "U-S-A!" — and singing off-tune renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner.
"I knew I'd be coming here. I just didn't know whether I'd be coming to protest or to celebrate," said AnaLysa Sawyers, 38, a teacher from Maryland.
Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 8:49 am
Credit H. Lee
"You're driving up from redwood country, in the most beautiful park in America ... and when it's not on your radar, you have no idea it exists," says photographer H. Lee — referring to the marijuana industry that has proliferated, though unofficially, in that region of Northern California.
"I just phoned our son up in Bellingham and said, get ready for the wedding."
Washington United for Marriage has declared victory in the same-sex marriage referendum. Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote last night.
“This is a clear win,” the group's campaign manager Zach Silk said in a press release.
“We have run the numbers every which way, and we can now confidently say that we have won. This is an historic day for Washington, an historic day for our country and, most of all, for families across the state who have dreamed of this day and the wedding celebrations to come.”
So far, official “Yes” votes have a slight advantage of 52 to 48 percent. Counties were expected to post additional vote results Wednesday afternoon.
However the group said in the press release:
With 60 percent of the vote counted, R74 already has the support of 65 percent of King County and is performing well in key Eastern Washington counties. Simply put, it’s now impossible for opponents to overcome the 52-48 percent spread for R74.
Video: KPLU videographer David Kellogg captured the hopes and tensions of election night as one same-sex couple waited for elections results:
Washington joined Colorado in voting to become the first states to legalize and tax the sale of marijuana for recreational use, but people shouldn't expect to be able to buy a bag of legitimate weed any time soon.
Nor should they expect the law to go into effect with out a fight with federal law agencies, said Sam Kamin, professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
“My gut feeling is that the federal government won’t currently tolerate the commercial recreational sale of marijuana, that is they will not allow it to be regulated like alcohol. That just seems a bridge too far,” he said.
Seattle voters have approved a $290 million, 30-year bond measure to rebuild the seawall along the downtown waterfront on Elliott Bay.
And King County voters have approved a $119 million, six-year renewal of a levy to pay for fingerprint processing system for law enforcement. The Seattle Times reports (http://is.gd/RPHYiZ ) the two measures will increase property taxes on a $360,000 home in Seattle by $68 a year. The seawall is a necessary part of the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel and renovated Seattle waterfront.
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