In brief: Measles concerns prompt quarantine

Health officials have put two people with the measles and three other unvaccinated residents in close contact with the sick under a mandatory quarantine, the first such action in Spokane County since a mandatory tuberculosis quarantine about 10 years ago.

Another 20 people have been put under a “voluntary quarantine,” and 30 more are under passive monitoring, according to the Spokane Regional Health District.

It’s all part of a sweeping effort to corral the county’s first measles scare in 21 years and urge people to get vaccinated. The second case was announced on Wednesday.

Breaking the mandatory quarantine is not a crime, however, officials can require the person be hospitalized as a public safety measure.

Another 250 people whom health officials believed may have come into contact with a measles patient have been cleared as vaccinated against the contagious disease, said SRHD epidemiologist Dorothy MacEachern.

She said the source of the measles cases has not been found.

Wage protesters’ trial underway

SEATAC, Wash. – A Seattle city councilwoman and two other activists went on trial in the city of SeaTac on Thursday for disorderly conduct charges connected with a November minimum wage protest outside Alaska Airlines headquarters.

Kshama Sawant and three others were arrested Nov. 19 during a demonstration that called for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport workers to be paid at least $15 an hour. The city attorney’s office says one of the people arrested has entered a plea agreement so only three are on trial.

Residents of the city surrounding the airport have approved a $15 minimum wage, but the airline has argued in separate court actions that the law should not affect airport workers. The Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, has said it has the authority to increase the minimum wage for some airport workers.

The Seattle Times reported Sawant and her co-defendants, a Methodist pastor and a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport worker, spoke to a crowd of supporters outside SeaTac’s City Hall before the trial began.

Oregon House OKs self-serve gas bill

SALEM – Motorists traveling along rural roads in Oregon are one step closer to being able to pump their own gas.

Oregon drivers haven’t been able to pump gas since 1951. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states that don’t offer self-service gasoline.

But, under a bill passed unanimously by the House this week, gas station operators in remote sections of the state could choose to keep their stations open when no owner, operator or employee is around to pump gas for customers.

Supporters said this would allow drivers to still get fuel, even when there’s no one around.

The law would be limited to counties where there are fewer than 40,000 residents.

The bill now heads to the Senate.