Roche Celebrates 125 Years; Same Sex Marriage Rights Sails To Victory; Basel Stadt Rejects Reduced Parking Fees

News For 28 September 2021

Starting tonight, and continuing through Friday, Roche will be celebrating its 125th anniversary since inception.  As part of the celebrations, the towers will be illuminated in a special light show starting each evening at 9:00 PM.  Roche solicited photographs and received close to 1000 contributions highlighting how medicines produced by the company have helped peoples' lives. The photos will be projected onto the 178 meter tall tower each night of the anniversary event.

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A law granting full marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples has been accepted by almost two-thirds of Swiss voters. The result on Sunday makes Switzerland the 30th country worldwide – and one of the last in Western Europe – to extend civil marital status to same sex couples. Some 64.1% of voters accepted the reform, and none of the 26 Swiss cantons came out against it. The government welcomed the result on Sunday. Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter told journalists in Bern that it meant the end of “current inequalities of treatment”, and that the state “would not impose on citizens how they should lead their lives”. Olga Baranova, director of the campaign in favour of marriage for all, said "that the result was a signal that the Swiss population views same-sex couples as equally valid, both as partners and as parents". Since the 2007 introduction of a civil partnership act, such couples have had many of the same rights as their heterosexual peers. Now however, they will be able to jointly adopt children – rather than only children parented by one of them – while lesbian couples can access sperm donations and medically assisted procreation. Same-sex couples will also be able to apply for the facilitated citizenship process already available to foreign spouses of Swiss citizens.

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Last weekend, voters considered an initiative to reduce annual street parking fees.  The current fee is 284 francs per year for a certificate which can be displayed on your dashboard and allows you to park in designated parking zones on Basel's streets.  Proponents of the initiative had argued that reducing the fee to 140 francs would make it more affordable for people that rely on private transportation for their livelihood.  Voters turned down the initiative by a margin of 55 to 45, sending a message that the limits on private vehicle parking on the streets are an acceptable alternative to more cars.