Voters OK Recreational Pot, Doom Astrodome

Portland, Maine—the Amsterdam of the East Coast? A measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the city has won in a landslide, reports the Portland Press Herald. The measure, which allows people over 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, is a win for legalization advocates but may not make life any easier for the city's tokers: State law allows marijuana for medical use only and Portland's police chief says he plans to keep enforcing state law. In other ballot measures:

• New York state will be getting seven new casinos, including one in New York City, after voters approved a constitutional amendment. The measure was helped by ballot wording that strongly emphasized the potential for job creation and didn't mention the downsides of gambling, the New York Times notes.

• Michigan voters in Ferndale, Jackson, and Lansing legalized the possession of small amounts of pot, while Colorado voters voted to slap a 25% tax on the state's already-legal marijuana to fund school construction. The Denver Post rounds up local marijuana tax measures across the state.
• In New Jersey, where Chris Christie easily won a second term, voters decided to raise the minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 and join 10 other states in adding automatic cost-of-living increases, the AP reports.
• In Houston, meanwhile, the iconic but long-closed Astrodome was the night's big loser. Voters rejected a plan to turn the 48-year-old stadium into a convention center and it will probably now be demolished.

(More marijuana stories.)