EXTRA...

Voters keep state income tax, pass pot question, ban dog racing, back health care, Cape Wind wins; A bunch of cranberry recipes

TODAY's quote: "If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." - Aristole

Cape Wind victory
Randolph voters in favored a non-binding question supporting the construction of wind farm on Cape Cod, 1,080 to 251.

Question 1:
Income tax overwhelmingly preserved

Massachusetts voters Tuesday resoundingly defeated a ballot question that would have abolished the state income tax, apparently swayed by arguments that it would lead to higher property taxes and drastic cuts in government services.

Question 1 was going down, 69 percent to 31 percent, with 56 percent of precincts reporting.

A cheer went up around 8 p.m. when it was projected Question 1 was going down to defeat on a giant TV screen in a Fairmont Copley Plaza ballroom, where Democrats had gathered to celebrate Sen. John Kerry's re-election.

"I think people understood what this would do, and that it was, in fact, a reckless proposal," said Peter Meade, chairman of the opposition group Coalition for Our Communities.

Eliminating the state's 5.3 percent income tax would have taken away $12.5 billion, or nearly 40 percent of the $28.2 billion state budget. Critics said such a large cut would be devastating to municipal aid and services for the poor... Standard-Times.
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Question 2:
Voters approve marijuana law change

Voters yesterday overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by a civil fine of $100. The change in the law means someone found carrying dozens of joints will no longer be reported to the state's criminal history board.

To paraphrase the
Ogden Nash doggerel;
Candy is Dandy
But liquor is quicker
Pot is HOT !

With about 90 percent of the state's precincts reporting last night, voters favored the Question 2 proposition 65 percent to 35 percent.

"The people were ahead of the politicians on this issue; they recognize and want a more sensible approach to our marijuana policy," said Whitney Taylor, chairwoman of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which campaigned for the ballot initiative. "They want to focus our limited law enforcement resources on serious and violent crimes. They recognize under the new law that the punishment will fit the offense."

The proposition will become law 30 days after it is reported to the Governor's Council, which usually meets in late November or early December. But the Legislature could amend or repeal the new law, as they have done with prior initiatives passed by the voters, said Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley... Globe.
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Question 3:
Bid to ban dog racing succeeds on second try

Massachusetts voters yesterday embraced a ballot question to end greyhound racing in the state, rejecting track owners' arguments that the ban would cost jobs at a time of economic hardship in favor of protecting dogs from harm.  The contentious ballot question passed amid emotional ad campaigns by both sides. Proponents used images of sad-eyed greyhounds that they say are caged inhumanely and raced to injury, while opponents put the spotlight on the employees who would be out of work if the ballot passed. A similar ballot question was narrowly defeated in 2000.

The ban, which takes effect in 2010, passed by a vote of about 56 percent to 44 percent, with more than two-thirds of the precincts reporting.

"We did it. We did it for the dogs," a victorious Carey Thiel, executive director of Grey2K SA, said at a postelection party of some 60 supporters at Jillian's Billiards Club.

"For 75 years, greyhounds in our state have endured terrible confinement and suffered serious injuries," Thiel added. "We're better than that"... Globe.
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Question 4:
Cape Cod shows support for Singe-Payer Health Insurance

Early results show voters on Cape Cod supporting a non-binding resolution calling for a forerunner of single-payer health insurance in Massachusetts, similar measures were also on the ballot in other municipalities around the state.

Although more people have health insurance now that Massachusetts has a system requiring residents purchase health insurance or pay fines, the system is viewed by many as not working... The Cape Care initiative is similar to the broader Mass Care Single Payer Bill being put forward as the The Massachusetts Health Care Trust Bill (S.703). It would establish a statewide single payer health care system in the state offering high quality universal health care to every resident in the state.

Proponents of the bill state on the Mass Care website that along with offering first-rate care to everyone, that the system would be a money saver for everyone: state and local government, businesses and residents... AHN.
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A whole bunch of cranberry recipes
Just in time for Thanksgiving

If your main exposure to cranberries is as they come sliding, all jelled together, out of a can at Thanksgiving time, you're not alone. Americans eat 10.8 billion cranberries during the holiday season. Beyond that, though, cranberries come in a variety of forms - fresh, frozen, canned and dried - and have numerous culinary uses outside the sauce we enjoy with our turkey, as well as some decorative applications for the coming holiday season.

North Americans have been consuming cranberries for centuries. The word cranberry comes from the Pilgrims' name for the fruit, "craneberry," because the pink blossoms on the plant in spring look like the head and bill of a sandhill crane. American Indians used them in a variety of dishes before the Pilgrims, the most popular of which was pemmican, a concoction of crushed cranberries, dried deer meat and melted fat that was high in protein. This dish was often made and stored away for emergencies when food was scarce...

Cranberries are available fresh from mid-September through December. They last up to four weeks in the refrigerator. If you'd like to squirrel away some for the rest of the winter, double wrap them without washing and freeze them. When you use them in recipes, they do not need to be defrosted first, said Dawn Allen, a fourth-generation cranberry grower and communications manager for the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association in East Wareham... Daily Gazette.