Las Vegas Celebrates Earth Hour

On Saturday March 28th, Southern Nevada's signature neon glow will be dim for an hour in an effort to raise awareness about climate change.

The exterior of Las Vegas' MGM Mirage's New York New York Casino will go dark at 8:30pm, signifying the start of Earth Hour 2009. For the first time, the roller coaster will go dark and all riders will get neon necklaces. The Brooklyn Bridge will be entirely lit by soy based candles.

The brightest beam in the World at the Luxor and the Coca - Cola bottle on the strip will go out as well for Earth Hour as well.

From 8:30pm - 9:45pm the Acoustic Band Alternative Energy will perform on the Brooklyn Bridge at New York New York.

http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10085867&nav=menu498_8_16

Everyone should travel the world

By Natalie Veissalov

I remember the first time I went somewhere really adventurous, besides the usual trip to my uncle’s house in Memphis, Tenn., or up north to San Francisco. I did not really know anything about traveling the world or what places to go to, until I was twelve years old and my parents booked a trip to my father’s homeland: Turkey. From the minute I arrived, I fell in love with the city.

I must admit though I did experience some culture shock and anxiety. As I began to get used to my unfamiliar surroundings, I began to fall in love with the country, and the notion of traveling itself.

The next day as I toured the famous and historical city of Istanbul, I was in awe of how much one city could have so much to tell and offer.

As I toured mosques and ancient ruins left by the Romans, I even gained a love for world religions and history.

After exploring this one part of Eastern Europe, I moved on to Turkey’s neighboring country: Greece.

I was immediately captivated by its beautiful white homes and glistening blue water. It was like it came out of an oil painting; it just seemed so surreal.

The people there had an inner glow of happiness and serenity that you just do not see back home in the United States.

The people of Greece appreciate life and take time to enjoy life. This is something we need to learn back in the states. We need to focus less on the stressful demands of our hectic lives and focus more on what is really important.

Experiencing this different lifestyle, religion and culture helped open my eyes to another part of the world I did not know existed.

I felt ignorant and immature. I was in a tiny bubble for the first twelve years of my life. When it was time to leave to go back to my usual boring routine at home, I began to feel depressed.

However, on the plane ride back home all I could think of was where I wanted to go next. I was excited to see what other place God wanted me to see next.

The following summer, it was time to plan our next trip. And my parents chose Cancun, Mexico. I had always heard people talk about their beautiful beaches. However, this city had more to offer than its turquoise beaches.

When I arrived, I experienced a drastic change from what I was used to in California: the hot and humid weather. It took some getting used to. However, I got used to it pretty quick when we arrived to our hotel and could see the turquoise color of the water.

The scenery of this country was just unbelievable and breathtaking. It is nothing compared to the rugged and dirty streets of the Tijuana, a stereotype of what some people believe the entire Mexico looks like.

The amount of activities to do there are overwhelming. I was unable to do everything. However, I was able to go snorkeling and see Cancun’s beautiful marine life. It was a pretty amazing experience.

Not only was I able to experience the aquatic life Cancun had to offer, I also learned a lot about its history.

I also traveled to old city in the Yucatan peninsula known as Merida. It is famous for its history, its European architecture, and its production of henequen, which is a plant used to make rope.

I am truly grateful for being able to travel to these places. These are just some places I have been to, and there are so many other places where I want to travel.

However, time and the cost of traveling are two of the reasons that have stopped me from seeing the entire world. I encourage everyone to travel even if it is only to one country.

Although financial obstacles prevent many to travel the world, it is well worth the cost.

Traveling is something everyone should do because it allows the person to learn more about the world, become less ignorant about our world and open minded about other cultures and human beings whom we share this world with.

http://www.ulv.edu/campustimes/columns_archives/spring2009/natalie_veissalov_archives/veissalov032709.htm

Report: Las Vegas tourism tumbles 11.9 percent in January

By Richard N. Velotta

Visitor volume took another header in January with fewer than 3 million tourists visiting Southern Nevada for the third straight month.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today that 2.8 million people visited in January, an 11.9 percent decline from January 2008.

Worse, average daily room rates plunged 19.9 percent from the previous year, the steepest decline since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and citywide occupancy fell 13 points to 71.9 percent for the month. For area motels, occupancy fell 16.6 points to dip below half full for the first time in recent memory, calculated at 42.7 percent.

The statistics came on the same day that LVCVA board members voted unanimously to postpone its $890 million Las Vegas Convention Center enhancement project. The LVCVA board also received a report saying that since the fourth quarter of 2008, 340 groups have canceled meetings in Las Vegas, 236,700 room nights have been lost, 111,800 visitors stayed away and the local economy suffered a $131.6 million hit.

Terry Jicinsky, the LVCVA’s senior vice president of marketing, said those figures were based on a survey of Las Vegas properties. He said some organizations blamed the cancellations on the weak economy, but some said it was due to the public perception of conducting meetings in Las Vegas.

Several LVCVA officials left for Washington this afternoon to meet with government leaders about perceptions of Las Vegas.

Convention attendance in January showed continued erosion of the meetings industry, which Las Vegas has dominated for years.

The LVCVA statistical report said in January there were 1,368 meetings, 19.5 percent fewer than in January 2008, and attendance at those shows was 538,415, 20.6 percent off from the previous year.

But the lower average daily room rate and the reduced citywide resort occupancy were even more troubling for industry observers. Weekend occupancy was down 3.2 points to 79.7 percent and midweek occupancy was down 18.1 points to 67.6 percent. Just two years ago, Las Vegas enjoyed occupancy rates in the high 80s and low 90s.

The average daily room rate hit $104.89, creeping toward $100, a level that hasn’t been seen in Las Vegas ADR since December 2005.

Lower room rates translate into lower room tax receipts, a key factor in the LVCVA board’s decision to postpone the Convention Center project until at least the second quarter of 2010.

Brenda Siddall, the LVCVA’s vice president of finance, told board members that the LVCVA is facing a $53 million shortfall in room tax revenue in the next fiscal year as a result of the slumping economy. Although the LVCVA plans to cut operating expenses by 3 percent, it still wouldn’t be enough to offset the additional capital expenses and debt. Rather than risk default, board members reluctantly decided to suspend the project.

The LVCVA already has spent 15.7 percent of the project budget – $140 million – on the program to date. Workers already have completed a Metro substation, the refurbishing of one meeting room established as a prototype for the rest of the project, the paving of a parking lot and the design of the first two phases of renovations. The design of the third phase of renovations is about 90 percent complete, Terry Miller of HNTB Architects, which is coordinating the project, told the board.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/10/tourism-las-vegas-falls-119-percent-january/

Cubans applaud U.S. bill easing trade, travel

By Rosa Tania Valdes

HAVANA, March 10 (Reuters) - Cubans applauded on Tuesday the passage of a bill by the U.S. Congress that would ease some travel and trade restrictions against the communist island, but said they hope for more changes under President Barack Obama.

The bill, which appropriates $410 billion to fund the U.S. government, includes provisions allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families in Cuba more frequently and makes it easier to sell agricultural and medical goods to Cuba.

It undoes some Bush administration rules that toughened the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, a Cold War policy which Havana blames for the perennial economic woes afflicting the island just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.

"I'm happy they are easing the rules so the Cubans can come. Families should not have to suffer because of political disputes between governments," teacher Hugo Alfonso told Reuters in Havana.

"Cubans have suffered the embargo for many years and (President George W.) Bush tightened the rope. Now is the time to improve relations between the two countries," he said.

In Miami, there were mixed reactions from the Cuban exile community, which is split between those who favor greater contact and opening between Washington and Havana and some anti-communist hard-liners who oppose any easing of U.S. sanctions on Cuba under the rule of Fidel and Raul Castro.

The bill, which Obama still must sign into law, would allow Cuban-Americans to visit the island annually instead of once every three years as the Bush government mandated. They could also stay longer than the current two weeks.

"People-to-people contact is the number one factor of change in a closed society like the one in Cuba. It's also the right of a Cuban to be able to return to his country," Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, said in Miami.

But he urged President Obama to use his authority to completely lift restrictions on travel. "He can do it with the stroke of a pen," he said.

RAISED HOPES

The bill also would permit marketers and sellers of agricultural and medical products, which are exempted from the embargo, to travel more easily to Cuba.

"It will be something good that will improve commerce with the United States," 19-year-old Arnier Negrin said in Havana. "I hope they change other things, but I'm not too optimistic."

But in Miami, anti-Castro Cuban exile TV and radio commentator Ninoska Perez criticized the steps contained in the bill as "rewarding a 50-year-old dictatorship".

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1043162820090311

AirTran Airways launches new service between Baltimore and Cancun

Mar 09, 2009 (AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION via COMTEX) -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc (NYSE: AAI), has announced that it has launched non-stop service between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, and Cancun Airport International in Cancun, Mexico.

The service, which will operate on Saturdays and Sundays, was launched by AirTran Airways on 7 March, but did not operate on 8 March.

Flight 84 will depart Baltimore at 11:35 on Saturdays and Sundays and arrive in Cancun at 14:00, while return flight 85 will depart Cancun at 14:25 on Saturdays and Sundays and arrive in Baltimore at 19:10.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2212661/

Arenas Blanca Hotel in Varadero, Cuba

The Arenas Blancas hotel is an All Inclusive Resort with an attractive collection of buildings and gardens featuring the purest blue of the Caribbean and white sands of Varadero. This resort is a gift to enjoy your stay in Cuba. 434 rooms, 358 in the hotel (4 of them are suites and other 4 have been specially designed for disable guests) and 76 in the bungalows ( with 2 junior suites and 4 double standard superior). Arenas Blancas Solymar is close to the sea and scattered among green gardens and provides comfortable accommodations, good services and a variety of nautical sports.

Travel Varadero

Families get a break: New resort packages can make this spring a season to remember

By Michael Nassar

Spring break may be a cherished tradition for schoolchildren of all ages, but it’s also synonymous with the annual migration to the sun by hordes of hormonally charged college students going wild at the usual hot spots — Cancun; Panama City Beach, Fla., and South Padre Island, Tex.

Yet there’s an upside to the madness — especially if you have younger kids underfoot for a week: The rest of the country gets pretty quiet. (Even onetime spring-break fave Fort Lauderdale famously gave revelers the boot recently in an effort to change its image.)

So if you’re looking for a spring vacation to satisfy kids large and small, take heart — here are some alternatives that don’t involve wet T-shirts or Jell-O shots. And with the discounts and deals being offered to attract wary travelers, spring break doesn’t have to mean spring broke.

Bargains for living la vida Boca

Boca Raton Resort & Club has long been one of Florida’s favorite resort destinations, but now you can take advantage of a Winter Escape package starting at just $299 per night through April. Guests also can earn $50 in resort credit for every second night of their stay, along with discounted golf, spa treatments and free breakfast for kids 10 and under.

Built in 1926 with Mediterranean-style architecture, the resort features a half-mile private beach, 30 tennis courts and seven pools — including an infinity-edge Atlantic pool and a zero-entry family pool ideal for younger children.

Feel at ease stretching out at Spa Palazzo, secure in the fact that the kids are enjoying an enriching and educational day in Camp Boca. This day camp focuses on fun and safety, offering numerous activities (a booking for the Winter Escape earns a free day session). All parents receive a beeper with a 60-mile radius to ensure constant communication.

Afterward, the family can reunite for movie screenings, frozen hot chocolate tastings or family bingo.
Or, eco-conscious families can tour the Everglades on an airboat, experiencing Florida the way it used to be (www.cypressairboats.com).

Better yet, send the little nippers to bed early and take advantage of the resort’s dance lessons, or an organized evening of drinks and card games. For information, go to www.bocabeachclub.com.

Southern comforts

The weather outside might still be frightful, but in Charleston, S.C., life can be really delightful. One of America’s favorite Southern cities, Charleston has a cure for spring fever with its warm climate and affordable accommodations.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/travel/2009/03/08/2009-03-08_families_get_a_break_new_resort_packages.html