Celebrating 40 Years!
Issue 27 Volume 41
FRIDAY July 5, 2013 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Two more men cured of HIV Stem-cell transplants succeed in removing all traces of virus Doctors in Boston are reporting that two men have been cured of their HIV infections after receiving stem-cell transplants for unrelated cancers. The cures apparently replicate that of Timothy Ray Brown, the “Berlin Patient,” who was cured after a similar procedure in 2007. Speaking to the International AIDS Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dr. Timothy Henrich of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said that the two patients are no longer taking HIV medications. One patient has been off his meds for 15 weeks, and the other for seven weeks, Henrich said. The two are said to have lived with HIV for some 30 years. DOCTORS ARE CAUTIOUS “We have not demonstrated cure – we’re going to need longer follow-up,” Henrich told BBC News. “What we can say is if the virus
does stay away for a year or even two years after we stopped the treatment, that the chances of the virus rebounding are going to be extremely low. It’s much too early at this point to use the C-word [cure].” Henrich cautioned that the virus could be still be hiding inside brain tissue or the gastrointestinal tract. “If [the] virus does return, it would suggest that these other sites are an important reservoir of infectious virus and new approaches to measuring the reservoir at relevant sites will be needed to guide the development of HIV curative strategies,” he said. The stem cells the two received were apparently ordinary and did not have the genetic resistance to HIV that the cells used on Brown had. Brown’s doctor used stem cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation, known as CCR5 delta 32, which renders people virtually resistant to HIV, but the two Boston patients received cells without this mutation. see hiv page 20
Food fight
associated press
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Dr. Timothy Henrich speaks at the International AIDS Society Conference 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The (Interim) Chief
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
see picket page 24
see chief page 8
Tom Geiger / UFC 21
The workers were joined by State Sen. Ed Murray and City Council member Bruce Harrell – both candidates for mayor of Seattle – as well as community activist Rev. Harriett Walden and members of Pride At Work, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, the National Organization
Last month I met with Interim Police Chief Jim Pugel at the Seattle Police Department’s downtown headquarters. Pugel, a veteran officer and native Washingtonian, agreed to an interview with Seattle Gay News promising to answer any and all questions on the record, with no subject off-limits or taboo. As we sat in his office, with a view of the Sound in the distance, Pugel honored the terms of the interview – and then some. He was forthcoming with information and detailed his answers to questions with personal opinion whenever appropriate. The biggest takeaway I got from our June 14 meeting is that he has no intention of operating in secret or out of the public eye. Seattle is home to Pugel – always has been and always will be, he says, and due to this fact, he is dedicated to improving its police department so that it can be ranked among the best in the nation. He is a man dedicated to the basic principles of policing and asks that Seattleites “get to know
Grocery workers picket QFC at Broadway and Pike.
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer At least 60 grocery workers and supporters picketed the Harvard Market QFC at Broadway and Pike Street during lunch hour on July 3. Chants of “Stand! Together! Union! Power!” echoed at the busy intersection.
Interim Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel
courtesy seattle police department
Seattle’s newest top cop brings a Grocery workers picket fresh perspective on multiple issues Harvard Market QFC