News
Social
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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
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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
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“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