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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2014)
News Social continued from page 1 Murray responded with a lengthy public letter on his Facebook page. “My commitments during the campaign, including on the minimum wage issue, were just that — sincere commitments — not just rhetoric, as your quote implies,” he wrote. On Monday, though, the mood was celebratory and resolute. “I wear the badge of socialist with honor,” she exclaimed. Seattle City Council staff estimate she’s the first socialist to be elected to office in 100 years. Murray, who led the efforts to legalized gay mar- riage in Washington state over two decades, was also ceremonially sworn in Monday. The veteran state lawmaker defeated incum- bent Mike McGinn. I will do my utmost to represent the disenfranchised and the excluded, the poor and the oppressed, by fighting for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, affordable housing, and taxing the super-rich for a massive expansion of public transit and education — Kshama Sawant Kshama Sawant may be the first socialist to be elected to office in Seattle in 100 years. Flu continued from page 1 deaths and hospitalizations. As of Tuesday morning, nine deaths are confirmed in Washington State, and one in Oregon, but officials warned that their sta- tistics are not “real time,” and that the num- bers will be updated at the end of the week. The Associated Press reported Monday that Portland-area hospitals have identified seven H1N1 flu deaths so far this season, with nearly 180 hospitalizations; state health officials say they could not confirm the number of adult deaths in Oregon because they do not track adult fatalities, only pediatric ones. “It’s easy to get complacent about the flu, since we see it every year, but it brings real hardship and dangers,” said Jeff Duchin, MD, chief of Communicable Disease Epi- demiology & Immunization for Public Health in Seattle & King County. “Catching the flu can not only disrupt your life, it can be severe enough to send you to the hospital.” Jonathan Modie, spokesman for the Oregon Public Health Division, says the most important thing to know about the situation is that the vaccine is effective for most people. “The thing to keep in mind is that during the pandemic we didn’t have a flu vaccine for H1N1 and when we did it was in short supply,” he said. “We now have a vaccine that we and the CDC believe is very affective against H1N1 and the other strains of flu that are current- ly circulating out there.” It takes two weeks for the vaccine to take effect, but the season has not peaked yet, so officials say it’s not too late to get it. Experts say the key things to know this season include: Younger adults face a greater risk of severe illness than usual. That’s because the dominant flu strain this year is similar to the 2009 flu virus. Compared to other flu strains, it causes higher rates of illness and death among young and middle-age adults, including those with no underlying health conditions. Pregnant women should get vaccinated at any stage of pregnancy. Vaccinating during pregnancy protects not only the mother but the fetus and child as well, experts say. much you can do about it, Quinlan says. “If you buy from a scalper and it turns out to be a bogus ticket, by the time you reach the gate that guy’s gone.” The Better Business Bureau has a short — Go with star players. Use reliable and verifiable ticket sellers and resellers that hold vendors responsible for ticket authen- ticity. — Avoid the sack. Never wire funds to That’s especially important because newborn infants can’t be vaccinated until they’re six months old. Anyone who lives with or cares for an infant younger than six months should also get vaccinated to protect the infant from getting flu. Other members of the community at increased risk for severe influenza include the elderly and people who have long-term health problems, like diabetes, asthma, and heart or lung prob- lems. “Anyone six months and older who has not yet been vaccinated this season should get an influenza vaccine now to reduce their risk of illness,” said Duchin. Flu vaccine is your best protection, but antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, can help reduce symptoms. Anyone who lives with or cares for an infant younger than six months should get vaccinated Tickets continued from page 1 “If it’s flimsy, if it looks any bit suspi- cious, don’t spend any money on that and just walk away.” Tickets sold out within minutes for this weekend’s playoff game – and that was before fans knew they would face the New Orleans Saints; the last time the two teams squared off the crowd caused earthquakes. “Fans are going to want a ticket to that game and they are going to be trying to find any deal possible. So it never fails, year in, year out, it doesn’t matter what city you’re in, if your team is playing, those resellers are going to be out there,” Quinlan said. “Some sell legitimate tickets; others will be trying to sell bogus tickets, Xerox copies even.” Game tickets lack any special watermark or hologram, making them easier to coun- terfeit. And if you do buy bad tickets there isn’t Game tickets lack any special watermark or hologram, making them easier to counterfeit list of guidelines for football fans heading to a Seahawks game: — Spot the fakes. Learn how real tickets look and feel; watch for flimsy paper, smeared ink and uneven margins. When in doubt, walk away. make purchases. Use credit cards online and dispute the charges if tickets don’t arrive or turn out to be fakes. — Call a timeout. Avoid sellers that fail to provide contact information or prefer to conduct transactions privately. When buy- ing tickets from local sellers, meet them in well-lit public places and bring a friend. “Bottom line, if people plan to go to the game this weekend, they’re going to spend a fortune,” he said. “It’s crazy to think that anybody isn’t going to spend a lot of money and they’re going to find a great deal on Craigslist.” Quinlan says there are reputable ticket sellers to be found on the organization’s website, www.bbb.org. Find them by going to the site, plugging in keywords for the kind of business services you are looking for – in this case good search terms include “ticket sellers,” “game day events,” and even simply “resellers,” and your area code. “Be prepared to spend a lot of money,” he said. January 8, 2014 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
