The Week by the Numbers: November 10-16, 2013
By Matt Phifer
15 – Hawaii became the 15th State to Legalize Gay Marriage
A bill legalizing gay marriage passed Hawaii’s senate on November 12th by a vote of 19-4. Governor Neil Abercrombie called the special session in order to pass the bill, which he quickly signed into law a day later, making Hawaii the 15th state to legalize gay marriage.
1,776 Feet – The Height of One World Trade Center, Officially Denoted as the Tallest Building in America
The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially designated One World Trade Center, at 1,776 feet, as America’s tallest building. One World Trade Center’s official height includes the spire on top of the building, which was a source of controversy. Spires are allowed to be used in the measurement of a building’s height, but antennas are not. The council determined that the top of One World Trade Center is a spire, not an antenna. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel disagreed with the decision, saying that the spire is an antenna, which he believes should keep it from being ranked as taller than Chicago’s Willis Tower (Formerly known as the Sears Tower.).
About 106,000 People – Signed Up for Health Insurance Through the Federal and State Marketplaces Created by the Affordable Care Act in the First Month
The first statistics of the number of Americans who enrolled in health insurance through the federal and state marketplaces were released by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and the numbers were very low. Only about 106,000 people had signed up for health insurance in the first month. Of that, only 26,794 signed up using Healthcare.gov, the problematic federal exchange website. That number is far short of the administration’s projections in an internal memo from September that said the administration expected 464,920 people would sign up in the first month.