The to-do list
Find your Hawks poster and more
Treasure: Search for glass sea floats on Whidbey Island at 11 a.m. today at Langley’s Seawall Park, off First Street. For more info, call 360-221-1242 or go to www.callahansfirehouse.com.
Sports
Walk: Join Friends of Camano Island Parks members on a guided community walk through Cama Beach State Park beginning at 9:50 a.m. today. Rain or shine. Wear appropriate clothes. Meet at the junction of Ivy Road and Dry Lake Road. Hurry: It’s the last weekend for the Seattle Center’s Winterfest ice rink, open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Sunday. $2, $7.
SATURDAY, 01.03.2015
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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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WWW.HERALDNET.COM
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75¢ (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)
2 die in Highway 9 crash Legal
pot, a year later
Two others were hospitalized after the accident near Marysville
The legalization of recreational marijuana has brought unexpected problems: competition, high taxes and black market sales. By Gene Johnson Associated Press
SEATTLE — A year into the nation’s experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference Everett is many feared, likely to but with comtighten rules on petition from legal pot, A3 medical marijuana or even The lessons outright black Washington and market sales. Colorado have to In Washingshare, A10 ton, the black market has exploded since voters legalized marijuana in 2012, with scores of legally dubious medical dispensaries opening and some pot delivery services brazenly advertising that they sell outside the legal system. Licensed shops say taxes are so onerous that they can’t compete. Colorado, which launched legal pot sales last New Year’s Day, is facing a lawsuit from Nebraska and Oklahoma alleging that they’re being overrun with
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KEVIN CLARK / THE HERALD
State troopers examine the scene of the head-on collision Friday on Highway 9 near Marysville that left two dead and two in critical condition.
By Eric Stevick Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Two people were killed and two others taken to a hospital after a head-on collision early Friday afternoon on a stretch of Highway 9 near Marysville. A Marysville man and woman in a Saturn were pronounced dead shortly after the 12:15 p.m. crash. They were headed south when their car was struck by a northbound Ford pickup truck that apparently had crossed the center line, said Washington State Patrol trooper Mark Francis. The crash occurred north of 84th
Street NE on a span of Highway 9 that goes over the Centennial Trail. A man and woman, 62 and 61, both of Lake Stevens, were in the pickup. They were taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. His injuries initially were described as life threatening. She suffered broken bones. The pickup’s driver voluntarily submitted to a blood test. He told emergency crews he didn’t remember what happened, Francis said. Alcohol is not believed to be involved.
See POT, back page, this section
See CRASH, Page A2
Stolen heavy equipment challenges task force By Eric Stevick Herald Writer
the buzz
EVERETT — Big rigs worth big bucks often leave few clues when they’re stolen. That’s the challenge the Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force is facing these days.
In recent months, nine pieces of heavy equipment belonging to Snohomish County companies have been reported stolen. All told, they’re worth about $275,000. In the last week of December, three of those machines were recovered in Pierce County.
Supersize it Would you like your chicken nuggets “fresh” or “real”? The nation’s fast food chains are trying to shed their reputation for serving junk food loaded with chemicals. “This demand for fresh and real is on the rise,” said Greg Creed, CEO of the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. (Page A6).
In fact, “fresh” and “real” have risen all the way to No. 6 and 7 on the list of customer demands behind “fat,” “salt,” “carbs,” “sugar” and “cheap.” Backlash: Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was hospitalized after he injured himself while exercising at his home in Nevada. An exercise band broke, striking him in the face and causing
Heavy equipment doesn’t require a title transfer, as other vehicles typically do. In the past, heavy equipment thefts have occurred most often in good weather months, but that hasn’t held true this winter. “It really hasn’t slowed down much since summer,” said Terry Haldeman, a detective with the county’s Auto Theft Task Force, which works closely with other law enforcement agencies across
a fall that broke several ribs (Page A5). Along with the Senate gavel that Reid will pass to new Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, Reid said he planned to give McConnell some exercise equipment as a goodwill gesture. Decisions, decisions: You’re going to have to choose between the season premieres of “Downton
the Puget Sound region. “Construction is very active,” he said. “We’re having a very mild winter and construction has continued on.” During a three-month period over the summer, there were 89 reports of heavy equipment being stolen across Washington and Oregon. Typically, the value of stolen heavy equipment across the country reaches $400 million each year. Loaders and tractors
Abbey” on PBS and “Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC, both airing at 9 p.m. Sunday (The Clicker, Page D4). Although considering the C-list celebrities on “Apprentice,” (Gilbert Gottfried?) we’d prefer to see the upstairs-downstairs cast of “Downton” in the boardroom with The Donald. Our money would be on the Dowager Countess.
—Jon Bauer, Herald staff
are particularly popular with thieves. One excavator, belonging to a Monroe contractor, has been stolen twice during the past two years. More than a year ago, it was taken from a Bellingham construction site and recovered near Clearview. A week ago, it was stolen again, this time from a Pierce County See STOLEN, Page A2
INSIDE Business . . . . .A6 Classified . . . . B1 Comics . . . . . .D2 Crossword . . .D2 Dear Abby. . . .D3 Good Life . . . .D1
Horoscope . . .D5 Lottery . . . . . .A2 Obituaries. . . .A4 Opinion. . . . . .A9 Short Takes . . .D4 Sports . . . . . . . C1
Oppressive 41/35, C6 VOL. 114, NO. 327 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
DAILY
The nine pieces that recently have gone missing are hard to track because it they don’t require a title transfer.
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