Guests sue Vegas casino over Norwalk virus
Guests sue Vegas casino over Norwalk virus — Two Honolulu residents filed a federal lawsuit yesterday contending that they contracted the Norwalk virus during their stay at the California Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas in December 2003. William Wood and Thomas Gabrowski are asking for an unspecified amount of money. (Advertiser)
Canton, Ohio, sees windfall from hotel tax — The city’s coffer is $60,000 richer than a year ago. Last September, City Council narrowly approved a 3 percent city hotel tax, lopped on top of the existing 3 percent county lodging tax. The move has paid off, generating roughly $63,000 since mid-October, when the tax took effect, according to the city treasurer’s office. (Repository)
Three Miami baggage handlers nabbed in sting — Miami-Dade police and U.S. postal inspectors arrested three American Airlines employees Wednesday on charges they stole mail headed to Haiti. In the mail bags, the men found cash, possibly being sent from local residents to their relatives in that impoverished country, where many people rely on money sent to them from Miami. (Herald)
Travel to Canada dwindles this summer — Blame America. Travel to Canada hit its lowest level in almost a year in June, as fewer Americans made same-day car trips north of the border, Statistics Canada said Thursday. (Globe and Mail)
Politicians wary of intervening in Northwest strike — The possible strike between Northwest Airlines Inc. and its mechanics union came up “briefly” when U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg visited Detroit Metro Airport this week, said a staffer. The House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee chair and Bloomfield Township Republican issued a statement expressing concern for passengers. (Free Press)
BA meals are back, but union dispute still simmers — Most of British Airways’ Heathrow passengers will get in-flight hot meals from Monday, the airline has said. Hot meals are to resume on long-haul flights from the airport, but a reduced food service will remain on short-haul. (BBC)
Death Valley is one hot destination, literally — A few miles down the desolate strip that leads into California’s Death Valley National Park, visitors can drive up to an automated kiosk, dash from the car and buy a $10 park pass to display on the dashboard. But recently, when the words “Excessive Heat Warning!” headlined the park’s daily report, displaying anything on a dashboard proves folly. (Washington Post)
Is flying still the safest way to travel? — Three fatal plane crashes in just over a week in Greece and Venezuela and near Sicily have claimed the lives of hundreds of people. Despite grim reports of few if any survivors in these disasters, flying is often said to be one of the safest ways to travel. But just how safe is it? (BBC)
Japan Travel firm to help sell moon trips — Japan Travel Bureau said it will handle Japanese bookings for visits to the International Space Station and flights around the moon for Space Adventures, a U.S.-based company that first pioneered commercial space travel by sending “tourists” into space atop Russian rockets. (Associated Press)
Miami Airport customs computers shut down — A U.S. Customs computer ystem used to process passengers arriving on international flights shut down Thursday evening, leaving long lines of impatient travelers, officials said. (Associated Press)
Greek investigators run into black box problems — Greek investigators struggling to determine the cause of this week’s deadly airplane crash have encountered an unexpected setback: One of the black boxes with vital flight data has not been recovered, and the other may be damaged. (The New York Times)
Bird flu sweeps Eastern Europe — The domestic poultry industry is keeping its cool as a lethal strain of bird flu sweeps across the country toward European Russia. Even as health officials scramble to contain the disease amid reports that it has crossed the Urals, market players say that Russia’s centralized, highly regulated meat industry will be able to withstand the outbreak without any serious economic damage. (Moscow Times)
Agents warned about new ticket scam — ARC issued another fraud alert, saying some agents are reporting calls from unknown customers claiming to need last-minute airline tickets to visit a newborn grandchild. (Travel Weekly)
Skip Bowman, Carrie Charney, Leslie Friedman, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.