Always wanting to be a step ahead of other states and currently in the middle of a terrible budget deficit to the tune of $16 billion due to the recession, California may become the first state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for recreational use and therefore make a killing off of taxes on the drug.

The Snitch, the San Francisco Weekly’s blog, broke the news yesterday that Assemblyman Tom Ammiano will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in all forms, removing “all penalties in California law on cultivation, transportation, sale, purchase, possession, or use of marijuana, natural THC, or paraphernalia for persons over the age of 21,” according to Ammiano’s press secretary Quintin Mecke.

In addition, the bill would prohibit local and state police from enforcing federal marijuana laws and would place a tax on the sale of the substance in an amount of $50 per ounce. It’s estimated that this will bring in over $1 billion per year to the struggling California state government.

The question now becomes if a bill like this will make it though the legislature. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to comment on the bill, but he has come out and said that the state really needs all the help that it can get right now. He famously thanked President Obama for the stimulus bill despite other Republicans’ opposition to it, and also criticized other Republican governors like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford for saying they may refuse the money.

“I’ll take it. I’m more than happy to take his money or any other governor in this country that doesn’t want to take this money,” Schwarzenegger said on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

Perhaps if California does pass this bill other states will follow. It’s estimated that marijuana is the #1 U.S. cash crop, and recent polls show that the public opinion for legalization is approaching 50%. Perhaps the day is finally here and the government can stop wasting money and crowding our prisons with nonviolent pot smokers. A national pot tax wouldn’t completely solve this financial crisis, but it would be a great way to make up some of our lost revenue.

Western Washington will be dropping its football program in order to save its other athletic programs.

As Seattle U continues to forge its way through Division I non-conference play, an old Division II rival is dropping its football program because of budget restrictions.

Western Washington University announced Thursday it will be dropping its football program in order to keep funding its 15 other D-II teams.  The football team, which has a strong history, consists of 100 athletes and five full-time coaches. Unlike major D-I football programs, the Vikings football team was bleeding red and cutting it will save the university $480,000 right away.

WWU President Bruce Shepard said this in a statement:

“I have made this decision with a heavy heart, as I am well aware of the profound consequences it has on the student-athletes on the football team, their dedicated and hardworking coaches and on our passionate supporters on campus, in the community and region and on our alumni.”

Maybe the saddest headline I've seen in the P-I to date.

It’s a sad day for the people of Puget Sound because the news will soon no longer be in the P-I.

The newspaper announced today that it will be up for sale for 60 days, and in the absence of a buyer, will either close the doors for good or continue with a very minimal online-only staff producing for the Web. Under no circumstances, the P-I reports, will it continue in print.

For those who haven’t been following the current state of the newspaper industry, finding a buyer for the P-I would be similar to winning the lottery. The chances are just that bad.

The outlook for the quality of journalism in Seattle is even worse.

Even if the Seattle Times manages to work out its financial woes–mind you, while reducing it’s coverage–then its quality will be hurt by the lack of competition. And this, in addition to the non-existent or reduced online P-I, will only mean local government officials and other organizations will be held less accountable.

The sale also means plenty of very talented journalists will be out of jobs, with not many prospects for new ones in journalism.

Which bodes horribly for me, a junior journalism and photography student myself. I’ve done very little in my free time since hearing the news last night from a colleague. In fact, I’ve been staring(ironically) at seattlepi.com for hours; I think I’ve read nearly every story featured on the front page.

I’ve also read (unfortunately) many of the comments posted on the Seattle P-I’s coverage of its own demise. Here are my responses to what I’ve seen:

1) For all of you “I get the news online” people, this will hurt you. Even if the P-I keeps its Web edition alive, it will not be able to offer the same comprehensive coverage. To make matters worse, the death of the P-I means the Associated Press will lose not only a subscriber who pays fees that support its operations but a content provider as well. The AP is responsible for so much of the news you see, including coverage on major networks or local broadcast news.

2) For all of you “I read my news on blogs” people, you don’t actually read much news that was originally generated by the blog. You read news reported by professionals at news organizations like the P-I, which bloggers typically rehash (just like I’m doing now) and maybe provide a link to. Another newspaper gone is another source lost for bloggers. And for those bloggers who do generate news content, how much of it is investigative? How many of them have connections at major employers in the area? How many file records requests or even know how? How many listen to the emergency scanner? How many can drop their day job to go cover what is happening in their neighborhood? How many can cover all the beats that a large newsroom can? And how many know how to write well? How many can make powerful images that tell a story and are beautiful? (By the way, the Seattle P-I leads the way in the Puget Sound area with the most informative collection of staff and reader blogs.)

3) To all of you “Good, the Seattle P-I was so liberal” people: And your alternatives aren’t liberal, either? Childish comebacks aside, a newspaper is not defined by the leanings of its editorial pages. It’s defined by its truth, accountability and professionalism in reporting. The P-I offered this at a level you will not see in most other local media outlets.

4) To all of you who have taken this as a chance to degrade the P-I and the good people who work there: These are real people losing real livelihoods, and that is no laughing matter.  

As Michele Murray, assistant vice president for Student Development, said to me this morning, now is not the time to lose our professional journalists and our outstanding newspapers. Not in the beginning of a recession. Not in year with upcoming local elections. Not with a crucial legislative session opening soon. Not with budget shortfalls in all levels of government. Not now.

But sadly, I think 2009 will prove itself to be the year of the death of newspapers.

This one (cross my fingers), however, is not going anywhere.

A video of President of Hearst Newspaper Division Steven Swartz’s speech to the P-I newsroom, courtesy the Seattle P-I:

UPDATE: The Seattle Times is now reporting that this information may be pure rumor. The managing editor of the P-I reportedly knows of no plans to sell the paper and said “If this is going on — and I don’t know that it is — it’s going on at a level that’s far above me, and nobody has seen fit to clue me in. I think it’s a bunch of rumor.”

So the future of the paper is uncertain, but we will keep you updated as the events unfold. See the original post below the fold:

KING 5 reported in their 5 p.m. newscast today that the Seattle P-I is up for sale and may close.

According to the report, an anonymous “source close to the deal” disclosed the information, which hasn’t been confirmed by Hearst (the P-I’s owner). According to the joint operating agreement between the Times and the P-I, the paper must put itself up for sale 30 days before they plan on closing.

The news could be officially announced as early as tomorrow.