Legal Battle Erupts Over the Grand Canyon Skywalk

Seattle Times: Think of a Caribbean glass-bottomed boat hung out over the edge of the Grand Canyon and you have the idea behind the Skywalk, a modern, vertigo-inducing moneymaker that draws hundreds of thousands of people annually onto the Hualapai Indians' reservation to stare down beneath their feet at the distant canyon floor.

That the views are spectacular, no one would dispute. But a fierce legal battle has erupted over whether these are million-dollar views or are considerably more valuable than that.

The controversy threatens to slow the parade of tour buses, helicopters and planes that arrive daily and have put the Hualapai (pronounced WALL-uh-pie) reservation on the map.

To improve its gambit to lure more visitors from Las Vegas, the Hualapai teamed up with tour operator David Jin in 2003 to create the Skywalk, which extends 70 feet beyond the canyon rim and provides unmatched views of the floor thousands of feet below. Success, though, has brought controversy.

Canyon-side commercialism now abounds on Hualapai land. Helicopter tours begin at $129. At the fully stocked gift shop, arrows cost $20 and full-length Indian headdresses $2,000. A 90-minute horseback ride along the canyon rim costs $75. Revenues are in the millions of dollars, although exactly how much money is in dispute.

In exchange for the $30 million that Jin, who is Chinese-born and based in Las Vegas, spent to build the Skywalk, he was to get a portion of its profits over 25 years and a cut-rate price for the tourists he brings to the site from all over Asia. He accuses the Hualapai of shortchanging him and has gone to court — both the tribal court in the tribal capital of Peach Springs, Ariz., and U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

The Hualapai accuse him of not fulfilling his end of the bargain by leaving ancillary parts of the project unfinished.

In court documents, Jin says tribal "infighting and irregularities" have complicated his dealings with the Hualapai, who he says have not paid him any profits since 2008. He said the tribal tourism enterprise had gone through six chief executives since signing a deal in 2003.

Jin has gone to tribal court to try to force the Hualapai into arbitration over the sharing of profits, and he sought a temporary restraining order in federal court to prevent the Tribal Council from seizing his share of the Skywalk by using a recently passed eminent-domain ordinance.

Jin failed to win the order, but a federal judge is now overseeing the dispute. Jin has hired Troy Eid, a former U.S. attorney in Colorado, to press his interests. Hualapai leaders have Paul Charlton, a former U.S. attorney in Arizona, on their side.

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Iowa Firm Uses Dog to Sniff Out Hotel Bedbugs

Chicago Tribune: A Waterloo pest control business is hoping to sniff out bedbugs by a nose.

Aable Pest Control now has Charlie, a 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier, to help in the fight against bedbugs. The company spent $7,000 to buy Charlie from a dog training school in Kansas City, Mo., which usually trains dogs for police departments but in the past few years has trained them to detect bugs, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.

Mike Price, who founded the company in 1981, said it was worth the investment as the bedbug problem continues to grow. "We pretty much eliminated the bedbug population back in the '50s and '60s when we had more potent insecticides available," he said.

Price said Charlie helps make it easier to find bedbugs. "If you lift the mattress and see bugs, of course you don't need a dog," he said.

He said the bugs sometimes bunch together like cockroaches but sometimes they don't. "I found one on the head of a Phillips screwdriver, and I've found one on a clothes hanger," Price said. "They can hide just about everywhere."

Charlie is particularly helpful on bigger jobs, like inspecting hotels, said Price, who also runs Terminex franchises in Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

"Let's say it's a 90-room hotel, we'll take a dog in a third of the rooms every month," he said. "You've got to turn over mattresses and box springs and turn night stands upside down to look in cracks and things. A dog can inspect a hotel room in probably five minutes."

Since Price got Charlie, the dog has only been on a few calls and Price cautions that "it's not 100 percent." But using dogs to sniff out bedbugs is becoming more common across the country, he said.

"Dogs are becoming a big part of bedbug detection," Price said. "I had to wait three months on a waiting list to get the dog."

Gas Prices Impacting Travel Plans

Holiday Inn's Classic 'Kitchen Table' Commercial

Report: Atlantic City Smoking Ban Has Little Effect

Press of Atlantic City: Anyone hoping to gamble in a nonsmoking section at one of the Trump casinos earlier this month might have had to climb on top of a slot machine or sit in the center of a blackjack table.

Floor maps posted on the walls of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort showed smoking was prohibited in the physical space occupied by gaming tables and slot machines, but allowed in the area immediately around them, including the seats.

Within a day of a Press of Atlantic City reporter questioning a Trump executive about the smoking sections and pressure applied by the city and state, the casinos reverted to old floor plans that had larger nonsmoking areas.

The city’s partial smoking ban for casinos — applauded by some but viewed as a handicap to doing business by others — turned 4 years old this month. But enforcement of the rules since 2007 has been virtually non-existent. A Press review of city records and observation of floor activity in all 11 casinos show there is virtually no enforcement of the ban by city officials and that casino nonsmoking section boundaries are often ignored. The Press observed patrons smoking in nonsmoking sections in all but three gaming halls: Borgata, Bally’s and Hilton.

In four years, only one smoking ordinance violation on a casino floor has been issued by the city’s Department of Health and Human Services.

“It’s a nightmare for the Health Department,” Ron Cash, the department’s director, said of enforcing the city law. “We’re not surprised by the minimal number of violations. The reality is we don’t have enough inspectors. ... We don’t have the staffing or the resources.”

“The only way we can really do this is to rely on the casino industry to enforce it themselves.”

City code requires casinos to prohibit smoking “on all employee-staffed portions of the casino floor; however, casino licensee operators are permitted to construct nonstaffed, separately exhausted, enclosed smoking lounges on no more than 25 percent of the gaming floor,” the law reads.

There is strong incentive for Atlantic City casinos to allow smoking. The local industry faces growing competition in neighboring states and other locales across the nation. Smoking is allowed on casino floors in Nevada and Mississippi, and Pennsylvania allows it in half a casino’s gaming space. Smoking is prohibited in all parts of casino properties in Delaware, New York and Maryland, according to the American Gaming Association.

A smoking ban can be bad for business: When Colorado and Illinois completely banned smoking in casinos in 2008, gaming revenue fell by double-digit percentages.

The city’s Department of Health and Human Services continues to endorse a full ban and has suggested other changes to the law to make it more threatening. Cash said he would like to increase smoking violation fines. City officials can charge a smoker or an establishment with fines ranging from $25 to $250. Cash said he hopes to see them boosted to the fines outlined in state law, which range from $250 to $1,000.

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Manufacturing Defect May Have Caused Southwest Incident

ABC News is reporting that a 1996 manufacturing defect may have caused or contributed to a 5 foot hole opening up in the ceiling of a Southwest jet during a flight last month. Investigators say rivets holding the airplane's skin together were not as tight as they should have been.

Lehigh Valley, PA, Flush With Tourists

The Morning Call: The SteelStacks arts and cultural campus may be the envy of civic leaders across the Lehigh Valley. But aside from the venue's music, movies, art and festivals, what might really impress everyday folk are the toilets. The place is flush with them.

Inside the four-story ArtsQuest Center, there are 46 toilets and 16 urinals. And the nearby Bethlehem Landing, the visitors center to open next year, will feature another 41 toilets and 12 urinals.

They're not smelly portable potties but flushing, clean commodes in a heated or air-conditioned building. And they really are public. No gates. No purchase required. No reason to leave the area. Toilets may not draw visitors to downtowns, but they keep them there longer, community leaders say. And until now, the Valley hasn't been a bladder's best friend.

"What visitors are telling us time and time again is that when they come to town, it is extremely difficult to find a restroom in the downtowns throughout the Lehigh Valley," said Mike Stershic, executive director of Discover Lehigh Valley.

The Lehigh Valley's three cities used to have public restrooms, or comfort stations, underground. Allentown engineer Harry F. Bascom came up with the idea in 1919 and, with contractor George H. Hardner, built one at Seventh and Hamilton streets. Easton and Bethlehem quickly followed suit.

By the 1960s, the subterranean rooms became magnets for homeless people and drug dealers. Allentown closed its underground restrooms in 1983. Bethlehem and Easton closed theirs as well.

Since then, shoppers have had to rely on the hospitality of merchants or just cut their trips short when nature calls. Welcome centers have some toilets, but it can be a long wait when busloads of tourists are dropped off.

When competing for the masses with suburban malls and their spiffy restrooms, the absence of such facilities could be just as devastating as no parking, said Roger Brooks, tourism expert and author of the book "Your Town: A Destination. On average, visitors will cut their trips short by about two hours if they can't find a suitable restroom, he said. That's two hours less browsing boutiques, sipping coffee and spending cash.

And there is a growing need for restrooms as Americans shift from the malls to town centers, Brooks said.

"There is a very huge trend taking place across the country. We're gravitating toward the European standard, getting back to central plaza areas," he said. "We're eating later and shopping later at night. But that also means an increased demand for public restrooms. If you're going to hang out, you're going to need a place where you can get some relief. That's good business. That's something Starbucks has down."

And McDonald's, Wawa and hundreds of other pit stops along the highway that use their restrooms as a lure.

SteelStacks is using its bathrooms more to keep people than to attract them. "We're going to have 2,500 people at Levitt Pavilion for a concert. Imagine the need for bathrooms," said ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks, whose group stages Musikfest and built the ArtsQuest Center. "We're going to have weekly farmers markets. Bathrooms are very important to the functioning of this site.

Like Parks, Brooks believes a relieved tourist is a happy tourist. If you don't believe it, look at Disney World – the happiest place on earth has more than 70 restrooms.

The Most Expensive U.S. Cities for Tourists

ABC News: If you vacationed in New York or Honolulu in 2010, chances are you got a pretty good deal on a hotel room. Room rates in North America's priciest cities declined for a second straight year in 2010. The bad news for tourists (or good news for the industry): Price declines slowed markedly last year from the freefall of 2009, and they're swinging back up in many spots this year.

Hotel prices in most of North America's most expensive cities--New York, Honolulu, Boston, and Chicago, among others--declined by an average of 2% in 2010, according to the latest Hotel Price Index from hotels.com. A soft year, but a big improvement from 2009, when prices in most of the same cities fell 10% or more from 2008. New York, which had to absorb the added capacity of about 4,000 new rooms in 2009 while dealing with the recession, saw its average room rate drop more than 20%, to $199. Big Apple prices dipped again in 2010, but only 2.4%, to $194 a night, making it the most expensive city to spend a night in the U.S.

Prices ended 2010 at roughly 2004 levels, says Hotels.com Vice President Victor Owens, the net result of a two-year slump cancelling out the four years of growth that preceded it. "There is still value (for consumers) in the marketplace, but we seem to be slowly climbing out of the ditch," says Owens. Prices outside the major markets rose a bit, he notes, especially in high-income niche areas. California tells the tale: Two pricey spots, Monterey and Santa Barbara, replaced San Diego and San Francisco in the top 10. "The first wave of leisure travelers that comes back is the affluent one," says Owens.

Others making the top 10 for 2010: Washington, D.C., ($140 a night, down a few dollars from 2009) and Miami ($139.58, virtually unchanged). Both are perennial placeholders on the list--Washington thanks to its trove of landmarks and drivable distance from many population centers, Miami thanks to its status as an international hub that attracts travelers from south of the border.

A peek at 2011 shows an early surge in demand and prices. According to Expedia.com, average prices during January, February and early March were up from last year, as much as 20% or so in Honolulu, Boston, Miami and Washington, D.C.

And what might be the story of the year in the hotel business: the recovery of New Orleans some five years after Hurricane Katrina. Hotel prices in the Big Easy rose to an average of $132.27 in 2010, from $118 in 2009, according to Hotels.com data. And Expedia's numbers show they've shot up even further in early 2011, to about $150 a night.

Both leisure travelers and conventions are making their way back to New Orleans. The Saints' Super Bowl win last year didn't hurt. What better advertisement for your city than thousands partying in the French Quarter in front of millions on national television? City officials took that ball and parlayed it into a strong promotional message, according to Owens. "It's a good growth story; they're just doing a very good job of getting out there and promoting themselves," he says.

Lady Gaga Gears Up for Theme Park

The Daily Mirror: She's scared a fair few punters in her time – and now Lady Gaga wants to create her own “Monster Island” theme park.

The 25-year-old has begun brainstorming names for the rides including “little monsters”, “paparazzi”, “roller doll” and “freak mobile”. Sounds very Gaga.

She wants her pet project to be a main attraction in New York and a source said: “Think yellow snakes, aliens and zombies. The plans are still new as she’s just drawn up the ideas and discussed it with a few pals.

“But she wants the theme park to be rock ’n’ roll and bad ass so she is talking to Alice Cooper and wants him to get involved.”

That could be a theme park marriage made in hell because I’m told: “Alice loves theme parks, he’s a big kid at heart. He’ll do anything for Gaga, who dotes on him. They’ll both be in Blighty in mid-May so no doubt they’ll find time for brainstorming.

“Alton Towers approached Alice to do a horror ride so he has plenty of ideas. ” In fact, Alice will be appearing as a hologram for a Jägermeister event there on May 11.

St. Louis Airport Damaged by Strong Storms, Tornado

St. Louis' main airport remained closed for business Saturday after an apparent tornado tore through a terminal, causing several injuries and sending people scurrying for shelter.

Most of the damage at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was to the main terminal where about half of the windows were blown out. Trees were blown over and power lines downed. Passengers from at least two planes were stranded briefly on the tarmac because of debris.

Unconfirmed tornadoes were reported in several counties in the St. Louis area, and at one point utility company Ameren Missouri reported more than 47,000 power outages, with another 7,000 reported in Illinois.

Egypt Tourism Remains in Disarray

Sunset on the Nile

Reuters: Hotel worker Meena George rejoiced when a popular revolt ousted Egypt's autocratic president, but since the tourists have stopped coming, his joy has given way to fear and desperation.

George was made redundant by his employers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and has resorted to borrowing more and more money from his friends to survive. "The revolution is good, but painful," said George, 33. "Many of my friends have fallen on hard times as we get laid off, because business is slow."

From the Pyramids of Giza to the Red Sea resorts, tourist numbers have plummeted to just a trickle, dealing a devastating blow to the millions of Egyptians whose livelihoods depend on the 14 million or so visitors who once thronged to the country.

At the height of the 18-day uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak, embassies issued travel warnings and many tour groups canceled their trips, throwing an industry that is a major source of foreign currency into crisis. Two months later, the chaos has largely subsided, the police who deserted their posts during protests are mostly back on the job and the travel warnings have been eased. But the tourists have yet to return, and Egypt's tourism minister has forecast the industry's 2011 revenue will be 25 percent lower than the previous year.

At the Giza Pyramids, the country's most popular attraction and a must-see destination for visitors to Cairo, not one Western tourist could be seen as the sun set on a weekday in April, one of the prime months of the year for holidaymakers.

With fewer potential customers, the street vendors and rogue guides that typically hover near Egypt's famous landmarks seem to be preying more aggressively on tourist wallets. A party of German and French tourists visiting the Pyramids recently said tourist police looked on as a gaggle of touts followed them around the site competing for their attention. "One thrust an opened can of drink into my hand and demanded I pay for it," said German tourist Alex.

Despite an increasingly grim picture, Hala el-Khatib, secretary general of the Egyptian Hotels Association, said nationwide, hotel occupancy was only down by 15 percent in April compared to the same month a year ago. She said hotel occupancy in Sharm had recovered to 32 percent by mid-April from an abysmal 11 percent after the protests erupted on January 25. But it was still a far cry from the 75 percent rate hotels in the resort are accustomed to at this time of year.

Still, Khatib remains optimistic, and says landmarks of the revolution such as Cairo's Tahrir Square, which became internationally renowned as the gathering place of the protests, are featuring on some tourist itineraries. "Security is getting better day by day. People have a different view of Egypt, they have a more positive view. They want to include Tahrir in their program," she said.

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British Tourist Hailed As a Hero

Helen Beard and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demmings

Daily Mail: She went to the U.S. as a holidaymaker but will return to Britain as a hero after catching a baby girl who was plummeting from a fourth-floor hotel balcony.

And (on Friday) Helen Beard, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, was honoured for her actions by being awarded the Orange County Sheriff Office's Medal of Merit.

The 44-year-old was on holiday with her husband and two children in Orlando, Florida, when 16-month-old Jah-Nea Myles fell through the railings. Miss Beard rushed to save the infant when she spotted her dangling from the balcony railings at the hotel. Despite the heroic act Miss Beard said she didn’t consider herself a hero.

'It feels a bit daunting to be here for something that was instinctive,' she said as she accepted her award from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demming. 'It felt like it was something anyone would have done and I feel honoured to be recognised in this way.'

The little girl hit the third-floor railing on the way down, but miraculously survived without so much as a bruise. She was even described as 'playful' afterwards. 'It was a very surreal event,' Miss Beard said. 'Luckily I had my flat shoes on and I managed to run over and catch her as she lost her grip.

'It all happened so quickly. And I just sat with her and tried to calm her down. Everyone was panicking around me because it was very hectic.'

The baby's 20-year-old mother, Helena, said: 'I'm thanking the Lord above right now for saving my child's life. I'm also thanking that lady because she was an angel sent from Heaven.'

Eye witness Kristell Friesen said: 'We heard everybody screaming and just thought they were having a good time at the pool, and they all started running toward the first floor on the ground. This woman was right under the balcony, held out her arms and caught her. Everyone was just happy.'

A spokesman for Orange County Sheriff's Office described it simply as 'a miracle.'

Miss Beard, 44, told deputies she was by the pool at around 11pm when she looked up and saw a child hanging from the fourth-floor railing. She ran underneath the child in the hope of saving her and watched as Jah-Nea fell, hitting the third-floor railing on the way down. As other tourists screamed, Miss Beard held out her arms and caught the little girl.

Meanwhile the child's mother heard screaming and rushed out to the balcony. She looked down to see her daughter in Miss Beard's arms.

Miss Beard was very modest about her life saving heroics and was grateful the girl did not suffer any injuries. 'She really did not like all the attention with so many people congratulating her,' said a hotel worker. 'To be honest, she seemed a little embarrassed by it all.'

The child's mother said: 'She's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her body.' Jah-Nea and her mother live in Longwood, Florida, but they were staying at the hotel on holiday. They were joined by Miss Holt, a friend from North Carolina, who was staying in the room next door with a friend.

The Florida Department of Children and Families are investigating, but no criminal charges were pending in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

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Major Construction Finished on Disney Hawaii Resort

eTurboNews: (On Friday) in a ceremony on the lagoon fronting the site of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawai'i, local crew members from Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc. joined with Disney cast members (employees) to celebrate the completion of major structural work on the Disney resort and the beginning of Disney's "time to add the magic."

The event was a symbolic representation of the shared efforts of Disney and Hawaiian Dredging in building the new resort, which will welcome its first guests on Aug. 29, 2011. The construction crew and Aulani Disney team met on the beach to exchange gifts – lei from the construction workers to the Disney cast, and Mickey Mouse ears from the Disney cast to the construction workers. As part of the milestone moment, Hawaiian Dredging "handed over the keys" to the people who will add final detailing, theming, landscaping and all the other magical touches guests expect to find at a Disney resort.

Djuan Rivers, vice president of Disney Vacation Club and Resort, Hawai'i, joined with Eric Hashizume, vice president of Hawaiian Dredging and Elliot Mills, managing director of Aulani, to bring the construction workers and Disney team members together to begin "adding the magic" to Aulani. They gathered on the sand to form the image of the trademark Aulani arch and then transformed it into the familiar silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Mickey, Minnie and their Disney character pals joined in the celebration.

As Walt Disney Imagineers continue adding the magic to Aulani, they are weaving Hawaiian stories into the buildings, interiors, art and gardens of the resort with the help of local architects, artisans and historians. The celebrated Disney magic, storytelling and service will create wonderful family vacation memories at the resort, drawing on the beauty, fun, enchantment and traditions of the islands.

The Real Cash Cab

New York Post: Fare from La Guardia to LA: $5,000. Cross-country road trip in a yellow cab: priceless.

Whatever it costs, you can't buy this," said investment banker John Belitsky, 31, who's picking up the tab for the cab ride of a lifetime with pal Dan Wuebben, 32, and intrepid driver Mohammed Alam, 41. The trio was in Las Vegas last night -- and headed for California this morning, six days after crossing the George Washington Bridge.

"I'm very hardworking," Pakistani-born Alam said. "I don't care about the money. I came because it's a new thing. Driving is always hard, but I know how to drive. And this beats Manhattan."

It was Wuebben's birthday -- and spring fever -- that set things in motion. "Dan was staying at my place after we celebrated his birthday," Belitsky said. "It seemed like everybody was away. And I said, 'Let's do something great and fun and serious and magical and bigger than us.' " Then Wuebben remembered a tale about estimating the cost of a cross-country cab ride.

"That's the ticket," Belitsky said he replied, telling his friend, "Dan, you're the only guy you know who'd do this -- and I'm the only guy you know who would pay for it."

The pair hopped in a cab to Dan's Astoria apartment and floated the idea to their driver, who was game -- though his dispatcher wasn't. "We needed a guy who had his own cab," Wuebben said. "We went to La Guardia, and John brokered the deal."

Alam said his wife cried when he broke the news of his epic plans. "First, she was mad," he said. "Now it's OK."

They set out at 11 p.m. Saturday from La Guardia and reached Chicago Sunday afternoon. They got to Omaha on Monday, Denver on Tuesday, New Mexico on Wednesday, and the Grand Canyon and then Las Vegas, Nev., yesterday.

Wuebben's mom, Colleen, was floored when her son called from the driveway of their Omaha home. "He's been a traveler since he was in high school, and I don't think any of his four sisters were very surprised," she said. "But John has never been this far west, and Alam has never been out of New York."

The trio's plans for the return trip are still in flux. Alam, who lives in Queens, said a friend will meet him in LA and help him make the drive back home. But Wuebben, who also lives in Queens, and Belitsky, who's from Leonia, NJ, haven't decided how they'll make the return trip.

And there's the question of the tip. "Typically, the Belitskys are known for being good tippers," Belitsky said, but added, "I don't know if it applies here."

Preview: SeaWorld's 'One Ocean' Show

SeaWorld’s newest killer whale attraction "One Ocean" opens today. One Ocean replaces the popular “Believe" show more than one year after trainer Dawn Brancheau drowned after being pulled into the water by Tilikum the killer whale.

Tilikum grabbed Dawn by her ponytail and dragged her underwater, killing her in February 2010. SeaWorld decided to end "Believe" after Brancheau’s death. Ever since the incident, SeaWorld trainers can't swim with the whales and new safety bars are in place near performing pools. Trainers will have to keep their hair in buns during the “One Ocean” performance.

“The show is going to be highlighting killer whales in ways we've never seen before,” said Kelly Flaherty Clark, director of animal training.