Need a reason to visit the historic, hip city of San Francisco (other than a desire for delicious eats and blustery weather)?
Join the 75th anniversary celebration of Joseph Strauss' 1.2 mile-long suspension bridge in San Francisco on 26-27 May, 2012. (Be sure to be prepared to pay the bridge's $6 cash fare on your trip to San Francisco!)
The bridge was opened in 1937 and has remained an engineering masterpiece ever since.
To learn more about the celebration (and to find ways to get involved), visit: http://www.goldengatebridge75.org/Picture from: http://thebesttraveldestinations.com/golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco-usa/
Lori Dorn, a breast cancer patient who underwent a bilateral mastectomy operation (tissue connectors for reconstruction at a later date) in April was refused her plea to retrieve her medical documentation of this from her purse and was forced to undergo "humiliating" breast exam by a TSA agent in front of the other travelers and employees in the area during her movement through airport security. TSA claims it will use this unfortunate occurrence as a learning experience and provide further training to agents, but TSA seems to be having a particularly difficult time with treating cancer patients respectfully (see article at bottom). In more detail, from Yahoo/ Associated Press: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/breast-cancer-patient-tsa-pat-down-humiliating-174918023.html95-year-old cancer patient's airport security ordeal- From Yahoo's The Lookout: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/tsa-defends-search-elderly-cancer-stricken-woman-florida-133354742.html
The article from the Associated Press is pretty lengthy, so here are a few key paragraphs:"FAA officials have predicted the agency's NextGen modernization program will be as revolutionary for civil aviation as was the advent of radar six decades ago. It's actually a collection of new programs aimed at moving planes faster and more efficiently that will markedly change almost every major aspect of today's air traffic system. Those changes are considered critical to enabling the system to absorb substantial predicted increases in air traffic without becoming paralyzed by congestion.""The troubled $2.1 billion software program is the main tool air traffic controllers will use to identify and track aircraft, except when planes are immediately approaching and departing airports. It was supposed to have been completed by the end of last year, but the FAA now doesn't expect to be finished until 2014, at a cost overrun of $330 million, Scovel said.""Some of ERAM's problems have previously been made public, including glitches that incorrectly identify planes and interfere with the ability of controllers to pass along responsibility for tracking a plane from one control center to another.""But the problem may be more extensive than the FAA has previously acknowledged. Scovel said his office has found similar problems in another critical FAA computer system that shares the same aircraft tracking software. That system is used by controllers to track planes as they approach and depart airports."'"ERAM's persistent problems have raised concerns about the overall design of the system," he said in his testimony.'"The FAA has focused much of its initial NextGen efforts on improving the flow of air traffic at congested airports in 21 major metropolitan areas. However, the agency has been slow in developing the flight procedures that will allow airlines to save fuel and time by flying shorter, more direct routes, Scovel said. The FAA did a study that identified ways to streamline the process for deploying new procedures, but agency officials estimate it would take five years just to put the streamlining initiatives in place, he said."By Joan Lowy of the Associated Press:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44785250/ns/travel-news/
Innovatio IP Ventures has already sued department stores, restaurants and coffee shop chains and is now suing hotel chains including Marriott, Hyatt, Wyndham and Best Western for using/ providing Wi-Fi (individuals have not been included in the suit as of yet). Find the article here from Techland (TIME), by Jared Newman: http://techland.time.com/2011/10/04/wi-fi-patent-troll/
Delta has added some considerable checked luggage fees. Here are a couple examples of the fees:Flights leaving the United States/ Canada or Mexico, the Caribbean, South America (excluding Brazil), or Central America to Europe are subject to a $60 online/ $75 at the airport fee for a second checked bag (no fee for the first). Flights departing from and staying within the United States and Canada are subject to a fee of $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second bag.
Find the complete set of details on their Baggage Allowances page: http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
"TSA PreCheck" will be unveiled for select passengers- those departing Atlanta and Detroit as Delta passengers and travelers departing from Miami and Dallas on American Airlines- starting today. According to CNN, in addition to those passengers, the "program will be open to participants in Custom and Border Protection's Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS" (at those same airports). The program is only available to U.S. citizens and is completely voluntary.The program will not save everyone in it from the possibility of being randomly screened in order to maintain a sense of unpredictability in the security process (and will not eliminate other forms of airport security such as "intelligence gathering and analysis, explosive-detection canine teams, federal air marshals, closed-circuit television monitoring and behavior detection officers"), but should still significantly shorten security-line wait times.The program is slated to expand in July 2012 to include United, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines (and will include additional U.S. airports, once they are operational). Here is the full article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/04/travel/trusted-traveler-program/index.html?hpt=tr_c2
Here is a list from CNN/ Lonely Planet that offers sound tips for anyone going (or considering going) to China.
1.) Before your trip, prepare for the language barrier by taking some courses in Mandarin or at least taking some time to learn key phrases. Also, don't leave without having a quality English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary for when you are in a pinch or need to make sure you know what is going on (also consider utilizing your smart phone and downloading a language translator app like Google Translate). Another tip- carry business cards in Chinese for places you want to go (like your hotel) in case you need to ask for directions or take a cab.
2.) Don't try to see all of China in one trip. It's impossible (unless your trip lasts several years). Pick a region or providence and stay there to really get a chance to experience it.
3.) Plan your trip according to the weather in that particular area. China is a massive country, so the weather varies throughout season to season uniquely in each corner of the country.
4.) Use public transportation. China is a great place to utilize public transport and doing so allows you to experience life as the locals do.
5.) Eat! Lots! China is filled with interesting and delicious cuisine just waiting to be slurped up (you might want to dedicate some time to practicing with chopsticks while you are learning how to say hello, goodbye, and thank you in Mandarin).
For the original post, see here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/03/travel/china-first-timers-lp/index.html?hpt=tr_c2
