LAS VEGAS – Speakeasies, bootleggers, gun-wielding crime bosses and tough-guy accents pay homage to Las Vegas' mob roots in a pair of new attractions showcasing Sin City's criminal history. An interactive attraction featuring gangster memorabilia and commentary from film mobsters James Caan, Mickey Rourke and Frank Vincent opens Wednesday on the Las Vegas Strip. And Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a former mob defense lawyer, plans to launch his Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and … [Read more...]
Hawaii eyes gay ceremonies after civil unions pass
HONOLULU – For years, the Rev. Fay Hovey has held romantic ceremonies on the sand for gay partners who want to pledge their love in Hawaii. The couples take photos and memories with them, but they lack a legal and binding recognition of their relationship. That will change when same-sex civil unions soon become law in the Rainbow State. "They have that fantasy just like any other couple, to come and have a wedding and a honeymoon," said Hovey, of Aloha Maui Gay Weddings, who hopes for an … [Read more...]
How African-Americans can travel on a budget
I'm always surprised to run across someone who has never ventured outside the U.S., the borders of their own state or worse, the five-mile radius of their neighborhood. There are several theories as to why Black Americans don't travel as much as their White counterparts but sitting comfortably on theories simply turns them into excuses. It is a big fat myth that only rich people can travel. As someone who comes from humble beginnings yet has traveled all over the globe, I can tell you it … [Read more...]
Southwest Airlines to revamp loyalty program
DALLAS – Southwest Airlines is revamping its frequent-flier program with changes designed to nudge customers into buying higher-priced tickets by letting them earn bonus flights faster. Southwest says passengers will be able to redeem points for any flight without blackout dates. Southwest credit card holders will be able to redeem points for international flights on other airlines. CEO Gary Kelly says the overhaul will bring in "several hundred" millions of dollars in extra annual … [Read more...]
Cuban-Americans haul goods home on holiday visits
HAVANA – In Cuba, Santa's sleigh is a Boeing 737. Thousands of Cuban-Americans are heading to Havana this holiday season carrying everything from electronics and medicine to clothing and toiletries to help relatives back home supplement monthly salaries averaging about $20. Not only are Cuban-Americans visiting the island in far greater numbers since President Barack Obama lifted travel restrictions last year, they are bringing more stuff. One carrier says the average bag weight per … [Read more...]
Vegas hotel gives off a “death ray”
And here you thought bedbugs were the biggest source of anxiety for hotel guests. Yes, guests at Vdara hotel in Las Vegas now have something else to worry about: being burned alive by the glare of the building's "death ray." What the heck's a "death ray," you ask? Well, first off, it's not as deadly as it sounds, since no one has actually died from it -- at least not yet. But according to the U.K. Daily Mail, the powerful beams of Nevada sunlight reflecting off the glass hotel onto … [Read more...]
Stonehenge II in the Texas Hill Country
HUNT, Texas – The narrow road, lush greenery and low gray skies reminded Michelle Rechka of home. She traced a sharp curve of Farm Road 1340 through a dip where it crosses the Guadalupe River and followed the road up the river bank to reveal a broad pasture marked with a strange but for her, familiar-looking, sight: A collection of huge concrete rectangles standing on end, topped with horizontal pieces of concrete and all arranged in a circle. "For a split second, I thought I was driving in … [Read more...]
Mexico City markets to same-sex honeymooners
As more governments approve same-sex marriage laws, officials here are hoping to attract a growing part of the tourism market: gay honeymoons. The first couple to wed under Argentina's recent law allowing same-sex marriages nationwide arrives in Mexico this week on an all-expenses-paid trip -- part of a new push by the government in Mexico City, Mexico to woo gay travelers. "We hope that many same-sex couples who get married around the world spend their honeymoons here," says Alejandro … [Read more...]
Cuba eases property laws, could open door to golf
HAVANA – Cuba has begun allowing foreign investors to lease government land for up to 99 years, a step toward a future that could be filled with golf courses ringed by luxury villas, beachfront timeshares and vacation homes for well-heeled tourists. But while overseas developers are cheering, some caution that the communist island has been down this road before, embracing foreign ownership with an eye toward bolstering tourism revenues — only to scrap those reforms when the economy … [Read more...]
