Espresso Tax Issue Settled; Pot Vote Hailed
- Share via
With 97% of the vote counted, 68% of Seattle voters said no to the proposed tax on every cup of espresso or espresso-based coffee sold in the hometown of Starbucks Corp. In a vote on another issue, Seattle voters also approved a law that tells police to give enforcement of drug laws against marijuana possession the lowest priority so that they can spend more time protecting homes, streets and neighborhoods.
In a vote hailed by marijuana advocates as the most progressive in the United States, more than 58% of voters endorsed a bill that explicitly requires authorities to “make cases involving marijuana offenses, in which the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.”
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
The latest effort is coming from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. They just announced a $3 million program in conjunction with some nonprofits groups to test and clean the soil at homes still standing in the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.
California once bet big on offshore wind to help power its clean-energy future, but the Trump administration is now paying developers billions to walk away from their projects. As California’s remaining offshore-wind leases hang in the balance, the state is fighting back in court.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
