Proud to be a (native) Virginian
Virginia going Democrat for president is big election day news. The former capital of the Confederacy relinquishes its ghosts to cast a vote for social change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110404110.html
Maryland, of course went overwhelmingly for Obama, and approved slot machine gambling and early-voting. Those were hot issues while I was at The Baltimore Sun.
And in Oregon, Obama surely won but the Gordon Smith-Jeff Merkley Senate race was too close to call. This seat is essential for the Democrats to gain the coveted 60 seats, so much so that Obama taped a TV endorsement for Merkley. This Democratic activist Steve Novick had an aggressive plan to take on the incumbent Republican Smith. The WW launched his campaign, his policy proposals got favorable coverage from the mainstream media and popular bloggers, but then he lost to Merkley in the primary. I heard him speak on political reporting at a recent journalism conference.
BaltimOregon to Maine 
It’s awesome, in so many ways, that Virginia went for Obama. The excitement has been palpable around here. Everyone’s been using the word “transformational” to describe this election — and I can’t think of a better one!
m-i-l
November 5, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Thanks! How did the kids react at school today?
baltimoregon
November 5, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Recycling is always an interesting issue and experience. Things were very different in NJ and Virginia than they are here in NY. We have a separate bin for regular trash, bottles (glass and plastic, although some bottles have a deposit on them and those with a deposit can be either glass or plastic and then there are cans that have deposits). For yard waste, you have to purchase large paper sacks and then fill those and leave them in a different place than the trash and recycling! Yikes. It took us awhile to figure this all out and it involved the trash guy stopping at our house to talk to us. Plus, once we made a mistake and we got a large very bright yellow sticker slapped on the trash. Of course, newspapers and magazines and catalogues either have to be put into paper sacks or tied up with twine. I think that with recycling policy it should be an all or nothing proposition: make everything with a deposit or nothing. It is very confusing – at least at first until you get used to the system. I also think that all new community residents should be given a list of the rules.
Judy
November 10, 2008 at 10:01 am
Yep I think single stream recycling where paper, plastic and glass goes in one bin gives people less of an excuse not to recycle. They’re talking about expanding raw food scrap recycling here, for compost. But they worry about contamination from cooked, spoiled food.
baltimoregon
November 10, 2008 at 11:58 am