The Far South Coast Writers group now meets at the Merimbula RSL Club. Meeting times are unchanged 10am to 12noon for poetry and manuscript groups, followed by the general meeting at 1pm. Meetings will be held every third Saturday. Visitors are always ...

SEATTLE -- A hard-to-treat strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been found in four gay men in King County, and authorities fear it could spread to more. There is no evidence that the troublesome strain of HIV is spreading rapidly, but its appearance underscores the need for renewed emphasis on safe sex practices, officials in the Seattle-King County public health department said Thursday. "There may be more cases we don't know about," said Dr. Bob Wood, the agency's HIV-AIDS program director. The same genetic strain of HIV was found over a 15-month period in all four men, methamphetamine users who each had multiple partners, but none is known to have had sex with any of other three, officials said. "That's highly unusual," said Dr. Peter Shalit, who treats HIV-AIDS patients and directs HIV-AIDS research at Swedish Medical Center.