Cruise Ship Diversions From Mexico Adding Dollars to Alternate Ports

May 3, 2009 5:25 p.m. EST

On Friday, 3,000 passengers came down the gangway of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor. But they didn't set foot on Mexican soil, which was where they were supposed to be. Rather, fears of catching the swine flu had forced the ship to change course and head back across the border to San Francisco.

Cruise lines around the United States are yanking their              advertised stops to Mexican ports, penciling alternative ports of call as precautions against a disease for which 787 cases have now been reported around the globe. Of those cases, 506 have been reported in Mexico.

On April 29, Carnival announced that it had cancelled all stops in Mexican ports until Monday. The company was searching for alternative stops and was offering the option of rescheduling cruises for a future date.

On Saturday, Royal Caribbean cruise line said it had suspended trips departing from South Florida to Cozumel by four of its ships and would instead spend additional time in Key West, the Bahamas, or Jamaica and add another day at sea. Cruises leaving from Los Angeles have a "fully revised itinerary," according to a company statement, which includes stops along the West Coast and Canada.

The revised itinerary includes a notice to passengers that "the weather on the revised itinerary is considerably colder. Guests should remember to pack clothing that is appropriate for this new itinerary."

While these changes may be disappointing to cruise travelers, they can be a boon to local merchants not accustomed to the heavier tourist traffic. In San Francisco, each cruise ship accounts for about $1 million spent at shops and businesses, notes television station KGO. And the number of cruise ships scheduled to stop there has doubled, from nine to 18.

Feature: Swine Flu A Boon To Key West Cruise Tourism

May 3, 2009 3:36 p.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - Key West is seeing a silver lining in the swine flu scare.

The Southernmost City is reaping about $400,000 in extra disembarkation fees from cruise ships that were destined for ports of call in Mexico, but changed destinations because of the H1N1 virus.

"There is an increase in ships being rerouted to Key West," said Alyson Crean, a spokeswoman for the city. "We're receiving about 19 extra calls this month."

The amount of money the city charges ships to dock in Key West varies depending upon the size of the vessel, but Crean said an average of about $20,000 goes into the city's coffers from each ship. City business will also likely see a bump in income in May from all the passengers that disembark from the extra ships.

Carnival Cruise Lines, which has ships that stop off in Key West, has modified all trips that began April 30 through May 11 that include stops in Mexico, Joyce Oliva, a spokeswoman with the company said.

"Guests who do not wish to sail on a modified itinerary may opt to receive a refund in the form of a future cruise credit equal to the full amount paid for the voyage," Carnival said in a statement.

The credit is good for any trip departing through 2010, Oliva said.

Five Carnival ships destined for Mexico will stop off in Key West instead of the original port of call, Cozumel.

More ships could be on their way if the situation stays dire for Mexico, where the virus has claimed the lives of at least 19 people. Oliva said that for passengers on ships scheduled to leave after May 11, an update will be provided soon.

Being prepared

But being a tourist destination also carries with it risks when dealing with an infectious illness like the swine flu. Any one of the thousands of tourists who visit the Keys, could be introducing the virus to the popuuulaaatiooon. There have been no confirmed cases of H1N1 in the Keys, but local county and school district officials are on guard.

"It is our belief that prevention will be the best defense against this illness," Sunny Booker, the Monroe County School District's safe schools coordinator said in a statement.

The district announced a list of procedures it is taking to try to prevent the virus from impacting students and teachers. Chief among the efforts is to encourage hand washing.

Each teacher will receive a supply of hand soap for their classrooms. Elementary and middle school students will be encouraged t0o build in hand-washing breaks throughout the school day.

Posters will be hung throughout the schools reminding students and staff the importance of good hygiene. Custodians are being instructed to "vigorously wipe down all door handles and desks and other surfaces each night with specialized cleansers."

The school district is also telling its students that if they feel sick, they should stay home. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of typical flu viruses, but the district does not want to take chances.

Radio personality Shannon Burke accused of shooting wife, dog

By Gary Taylor | Sentinel Staff Writer 3:45 PM EDT, May 1, 2009

Radio personality Shannon Burke makes his first appearance in Seminole circuit court, Friday, May 1, 2009, in Sanford. He was arrested Thursday and charged with shooting his wife and dog. Bail was set at $10,000. Burke works for Orlando station 104.1 FM. (Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel)

 

Link to 911 tape and full story

 

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-bk-radio-personality-jailed-050109,0,6410001.story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8029917.stm

The Herald SunA BURGLAR has been rescued by police and fire crews after becoming stuck on the roof of a Sydney factory.March 3, 2009

Police were called to a three-storey factory in Leichhardt, in Sydney's inner-west, about 1.50am (AEST) last night to find the 53-year-old on the roof.

Officers believe the man was trying to break into the factory but wet weather and the steep colourbond roof caused him to get stuck.

Numerous attempts were made to rescue the man, eventually requiring a fire truck with a large ladder and a Polair helicopter to illuminate the rooftop. The man was finally retrieved at 4.50am.

He allegedly had numerous items on him, including a helmet with a light, bolt cutters, tin snips, a small ladder, backpack, tarpaulin, ropes and harnesses.

The man was arrested and taken to Newtown police station where he is being questioned.

Child's report of dad shooting mother turns out to be false

Link to Everything you wanted to know about Swine Flu:

http://www.app.com/article/99999999/SPECIAL/90427114&template=recurring

Swine flu deaths ebb, but could come back strong

MEXICO CITY – Mexico reported no new deaths from swine flu overnight — more reason to be optimistic that the worst is over at the epicenter of the outbreak. But the virus keeps spreading around the world, with new cases confirmed in Europe and Asia, and governments banning flights and preparing quarantines.

The World Health Organization said it has sent 2.4 million treatments of anti-flu drug Tamiflu to 72 developing countries, taking the drugs from a stockpile donated by Roche Holding AG.

"At this point it's important that all countries have access to antivirals," said Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's global alert and response director.

The WHO has decided not to raise its alert to a full pandemic, since the virus has yet to cause sustained transmission outside North America. But Ryan warned against complacency.

"These viruses mutate, these viruses changes, these viruses can further reassort with other genetic material, with other viruses. So it would be imprudent at this point to take too much reassurance" from signs the virus is weaker than feared.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said it's too early to declare victory.

"We have seen times where things appear to be getting better and then get worse again," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the U.S. agency's interim science and public health deputy director. "I think in Mexico we may be holding our breath for sometime

China worked aggressively to track down people who may have been near a sick Mexican tourist, sealing 305 people inside a Hong Kong hotel where he stayed and hospitalizing 15 fellow passengers. The man developed a fever after arriving in the Chinese territory and was isolated in stable condition Saturday.

South Korea reported Asia's second confirmed case — a woman just back from Mexico — and other governments also prepared to quarantine passengers, eager to show how they have learned from the deadly SARS epidemic in 2003, when Hong Kong was criticized for imposing quarantines too slowly.

The U.S. is taking "all necessary precautions" now to be prepared if the swine flu develops into "something worse" President Barack Obama said Saturday.

"This is a new strain of the flu virus, and because we haven't developed an immunity to it, it has more potential to cause us harm," Obama said. "Unlike the various strains of animal flu that have emerged in the past, it's a flu that is spreading from human to human. This creates the potential for a pandemic, which is why we are acting quickly and aggressively."

The global caseload was 717 and growing — the vast majority in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Swine flu cases also were confirmed in 13 other countries — in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific — and experts believe the actual spread is much wider than the numbers suggest.

Mexico has taken extraordinary measures to combat the epidemic, ordering all nonessential government and private businesses to shut down for five days, at a tremendous cost to its economy. In the wide valley where traffic and crowds can be stifling even on a Saturday, Mexico City streets were strangely quiet, its usually crowded markets shuttered and even parks locked down.

"I'm going crazy in my house with this confinement," retiree Rocio Lara said in Mexico City. "There is nowhere to go, nowhere to spend your time."

Mexico City's mayor Marcelo Ebrard said they had expected exponential growth in the number of persons complaining of swine flu symptoms, and that the outbreak seems to be slowing instead.

It should soon become clear whether the epidemic is really stabilizing in Mexico, but many questions remain about how the disease kills, said the leader of an international team of flu-fighters now operating in the capital.

"That is the big question: Is it stabilizing or not? And it is too early to say, but I think we are getting systems in place where we are going to be able to get a handle on this soon," said Dr. Steve Waterman of the CDC.

Waterman also warned against taking false comfort from the fact that only one person has died outside Mexico, saying more deaths are likely as the epidemic evolves.

The U.S. government said schools with confirmed cases should close for at least 14 days because children can be contagious for seven to 10 days from when they get sick. More than 430 U.S. schools had closed, affecting about 245,000 children in 18 states.

With the disease on its doorstep, mainland China suspended all direct flights from Mexico, and sealed off the Metropark Hotel, where the 25-year-old Mexican stayed before he became Asia's first confirmed case late Friday. Health workers in white bodysuits patrolled the lobby, and mask-wearing police enforced a seven-day quarantine. One guest, Olivier Dolige of Paris, said they were taking Tamiflu as a precaution — and trying to make the best of it.

Speaking with The Associated Press using his computer's video-conferencing program, Dolige said he will turn 43 on Tuesday in quarantine. "I think about having my birthday with water and bad cake," he wrote. "No champagne."

Scientists trying to determine the mortality rate said this virus does not appear to match the ferocity of past killers.

"Most people think it is unlikely this is going to be as virulent as the 1918 epidemic. From what we know so far, it doesn't seem like it is as virulent," Waterman said.

"The virus has been circulating for over a month in a city of 20 million of high population density. It could have been much worse," agreed CDC epidemiologist Marc-Alain Widdowson.

The two CDC doctors spoke during a tour of Mexico's Intelligence Unit for Health Emergencies, where teams of doctors and scientists monitor the outbreak in real time and plasma screens enable frequent video conference calls with leaders from the Atlanta-based CDC, the World Health Organization and other institutions.

Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova cited other indications that the disease is not very contagious: Mexican investigators who visited 280 relatives of victims found only 4 had contracted the disease, and that the number of people hospitalized with suspected cases is declining. But he stressed that it's too early for the government to declare the epidemic is subsiding.

Getting fast and effective care is important, said Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez, deputy director general of epidemiology at the center. Among the 16 confirmed swine flu deaths in Mexico, the average time victims waited before going to a doctor was seven days. For those who were sickened but recovered, the average wait was three days.

Lopez-Gatell said that even before the swine flu outbreak, Mexican authorities had been monitoring a higher-than-usual number of flu cases and an unusual phenomenon in which otherwise healthy young adults were falling ill with pneumonia in greater numbers. There had been 15 flu outbreaks in this year's flu season, as opposed to the 5 or 6 that Mexico normally sees.

He said that put Mexico on guard and led to a fast reaction when unexplained illnesses began in March. Despite some international criticism of the Mexican response, Lopez-Gatell said no mistakes were made.

"We would have done everything the same if we had it to do over again," he said.

Link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090502/ap_on_he_me/med_swine_flu

May 1, 2009 5:25 pm US/Eastern

Swine Scare Making Churches Rethink Mass Rituals

Conn. Diocese Recommends Against Touching Hands During Sign Of Peace, Taking Communion On Tongue

Archbishop Dolan: N.Y. Not Going To That Extreme ... Yet

Reporting
John Slattery

NEW YORK (CBS)

 

Girl Fights Off Muggers With Marching Band Baton

QUARTZ HILL, Calif. (AP)

Don't mess with a marching band girl, especially one armed with a baton.

A 17-year-old high school marching band student beat up two assailants who tried to mug her as she walked to school in this high desert community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, sheriff's officials said Tuesday.

The girl punched one of the men in the nose, kicked the other in the groin and beat both with her large baton before she ran away on Friday morning, officials said.

"The moral to this story is don't mess with the marching band girls, or you just might get what you deserve," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Michael Rust.

He said two men approached the girl from behind, grabbed her coat and demanded money. Deputies searched near Quartz Hill High School for the muggers, looking for a man who was holding his bloodied nose and the other limping.

No arrests have been made, but Rust said it appears the girl made her point to her assailants.

Man put marijuana pipe in security tray at St. Lucie courthouse, deputies say

Will Greenlee
Thursday, April 30, 2009

Clinton J. Gordon

FORT PIERCE — A 39-year-old man was arrested after a security officer determined he had something unusual among the items to be checked at a security checkpoint at the downtown courthouse.

“As the items were checked (the security officer) determined that one item was a marijuana smoking pipe,” an arrest report states.

A deputy checked out the pipe and concluded that, indeed, it was a pot smoking pipe by the smell and residue, the report states.

Clinton J. Gordon, of the 2700 block of Wildwood Lane, faces a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charge in connection with the 10:30 a.m. Tuesday incident.

The private security officer had reported to a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office deputy that Gordon came in the courthouse and “surrendered his items at the security checkpoint.”

Gordon was released Tuesday from the St. Lucie County jail on $500 bail, a jail official said.