Swine Flu Update: Mexico Cruise Ships Diverted to SF

With the swine flu almost reaching pandemic levels, cruise ships that were scheduled to head down south to Mexico will instead dock at the Port of San Francisco, as well as Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle. According to SF Chron, "there were nine ship calls scheduled in May before the flu kept the ships out of Mexico. Now 18 are scheduled" to make appearances on the waterfront. San Francisco, it seems, sees "50 to 60 cruise ship calls a year"; this year, however, we'll have 70. What does this mean? An extra $500,000 in city revenue. "It's excellent," squealed Port of San Francisco marketing director Michael Nerney. Also, in related mixed-message news, SF health officials would like you to stop overreacting to the pig sniffles, please.