Cruise ship relocation plan on hold
Cruise ship relocation plan on hold — A plan by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to relocate storm victims from the Astrodome and other shelters to luxury cruise ships hit a snag yesterday: The residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina don’t want to move again. (Los Angeles Times)
Gas prices sting many, from cabbies to commuters — All over the New York metropolitan region, almost everyone who drives a car or truck flinches over high gas prices and wonders how to cope. Booming world demand for oil and Hurricane Katrina’s hobbling of Gulf Coast refineries have driven the price of a gallon of regular gasoline to more than $3 in the region and, in some areas, close to $4 for a gallon of premium. Drivers in New York State may pay an extra $600 million a month in fuel costs, based on $3.25 a gallon for unleaded regular gas, according to an estimate by Senator Charles E. Schumer. If such prices persist for a year, he said, it will cost residents $7.2 billion - $1 billion in New York City alone. (The New York Times)
The lure of coastal life outweighs the risks — The hurricane that flattened parts of this coastal city and drowned New Orleans, that tossed casino boats into apartment buildings and killed perhaps thousands of Americans, was a disaster long ago foretold. Scientists and environmentalists have cautioned for years that the nation’s coastline is dangerously overbuilt. But with Americans migrating in increasing numbers to coastal counties, construction only accelerated, and local officials increasingly relied on technology and luck to forestall catastrophe. As high-rise condominiums and sprawling beach homes have proliferated, warnings have been consistently ignored. (The Washington Post)
New Orleans bus station becomes temporary jail — Rapists, an attempted murder suspect and dozens of men who looted New Orleans after hurricane Katrina huddle in a temporary jail set up as police try to regain city streets which were lawless last week.The scrawled cardboard sign on the front door of the Greyhound Bus Station, now a makeshift jail reads simply, “We Are Taking New Orleans Back.”(Reuters)
Airport secure despite carriers’ financial problems — Opening a $438 million airport terminal as several U.S. airlines fight financial tailspins might seem risky. Southwest Florida International, however, is in a more secure position than many of the nation’s airports, say local and national aviation experts. (News Press)
Typhoon Nabi causes nine deaths — Typhoon Nabi has caused nine deaths and left about 90 people injured, as it blows north through Japan, leaving floods and landslides behind it. Now weakening and downgraded to a tropical storm, it is still expected to bring severe rain to the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday. (BBC News)
Indonesia buries plane crash dead — Indonesia has begun burying the victims of Monday’s plane crash as preliminary inquiries suggested a possible problem with one of the airliner’s engines. The crash, Indonesia’s worst in eight years, killed at least 148 people, including 47 who were on the ground. (BBC News)
Reward programs can be used for storm victims — Some airlines, hotels, credit cards match cash value of points converted by members for donations. If you have earned points as a member of an airline, hotel or credit card program, you may be able to convert your credits into cash donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. (Akron Beacon-Journal)
Mission Impossible completed — How I wound up in a rental car on a pitch-black street after curfew in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana on Labor Day is sort of complicated.But to give you a flavor of the moment, here’s what the cop said after he pulled us over when we were lost on a dead-end street in Metairie, La.. (Kansas City Star)
Poll: Most Americans believe New Orleans will never recover — A majority of Americans believe the city of New Orleans will never completely recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the resulting flooding, according to results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday. (CNN)
United bankruptcy exit delayed until January — United Airlines now has targeted mid-January for its exit from bankruptcy, meaning it will miss its goal to emerge in 2005 and pass a third anniversary operating under court protection.
European travel surge helps offset air fuel fears — European airlines reported higher passenger growth for August on Wednesday as strong demand for travel during the peak summer period cushioned some of the damage from soaring fuel costs. (Reuters)
Gas relief could be modest and brief — The pain of $3 at the pump could end soon for many Americans, but the respite in gasoline prices may be modest — and only temporary, energy experts said Wednesday. (CNN)
Marriott struggles to open hotels in New Orleans — Hotel operator Marriott International said Wednesday it is slowly restoring power to some of its 15 hotels in the New Orleans area, but that it expects the long recovery could disrupt convention and other hotel bookings in the city until next spring.
Passport applications stuck in New Orleans office — Ohioans who applied for passports before Hurricane Katrina hit could be in for a nasty surprise even if their travel plans don’t include the Gulf Coast. Ohio is one of 14 states that send all their passport applications for processing to a passport agency in New Orleans that has been shut since last week because of the hurricane. It will remain closed “for the foreseeable future,” State Department spokesman Noel Clay said Tuesday. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Skip Bowman, Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, Leslie Friedman, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.