• Get the fuck vaccinated, and that means you, not just your kids, the Washington State Department of Health warned after the number of reported whooping cough cases hit 1,008 last week—more than the statewide total for all of 2011. DOH advises that adults should get a Tdap booster (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) every 10 years to maintain full immunity. Whooping cough can be fatal in infants, who rely on herd immunity (that means you! You are part of the herd on this one!) for protection.
• What’s Rob McKenna running for? State’s angriest troll? Asked by a young woman for his stance on the Reproductive Parity Act—which would’ve guaranteed women equal access to abortion and maternity insurance coverage—the Republican gubernatorial wannabe snapped, “Go get a job!” Sources say McKenna’s now-famous April 24 response should definitely earn him the title of angriest troll, if not the governor’s mansion.
• Bar owners and parched patrons who were holding their breath for this week’s state ruling on whether liquor service hours could be extended on a city-by-city basis need to sit back and take another deep breath: On April 27, the state announced it would be putting off the decision until May 30. “We’re still concerned about how some public safety impacts would be addressed,” says a state source.
• Speaking of booze, Washington bar owners are complaining that the prices for certain liquors are “significantly higher” now that they’re ordering from private companies rather than through the state. How much will that affect bar tabs? It’s hard to tell until June 1, when the liquor privatization process is finally complete. “Some things have gone up—the higher-end liquors like single-malt Scotches,” confirms Pete Hanning, owner of the Red Door in Fremont. “But others have gone down, like Jäger.” Jägermeister fans, now may be your time to shine.
• Feminists from local pro-choice groups plan on showing up en masse at the May 3 talk “Do Women Have Too Many Rights?“—scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at UW’s Kane Hall—to politely answer anti-choice activist Abby Johnson’s stupid, stupid question. Join the fun!
• In what’s hard to characterize as a lateral move, the Seattle Times has transferred Joni Balter from her cushy 16-year gig on the editorial board into the less lofty position of “Assistant Deputy Metro Editor – Politics, Science, Environment.” The good news is she’ll no longer be writing editorials. The bad news is the person who wrote those editorials will now be editing the news.