TSA investigator has butterfingers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Loose lips sink ships, right?

A TSA that has been reactive since the beginning of December – thanks to leaks of both its operating manual and a sensitive security memo – is now sporting another black eye. It seems that one of the investigators who delivered a subpoena to the home of travel blogger Steven Frischling couldn’t keep track of his notebook. According to a post by blogger Mary Kirby on Flightglobal.com, this federal employee accidentally left his notebook in a public place.

Is it any wonder the TSA is plagued with leaks?

The TSA didn’t respond to Kirby’s request for comment, and she cites an anonymous source as providing her the info, so there’s obviously more waiting to be told.

New website helps Seattle visitors share a taxi

by Katie Hammel on

Now that visitors to Seattle can hop on the light rail from Sea-Tac Airport into downtown (or take the 45-minute bus), fewer may be likely to take an expensive cab. But for those who don’t want to hassle with lugging baggage onto public transportation or who are arriving at odd hours, there is a new way to get from the airport into the city without spending the usual $40 on cab fare.

RidePenguin.com, which was just launched last week and is still in beta, promises to connect passengers looking for a cab with others who want to share. If you are interested in sharing a cab to defer costs, just log on and either search for a posted ride (rides are posted by time, origin, and destination) or post your own and invite people to share with you.

Sharing a cab would save you quite a bit of money (though not as much as taking public transportation). If you share with one other person, your fare would drop to about $20 from the airport into the city. Share with two people and it’s less than $15. Obviously, the more people who use the service, the better your odds of finding a taxi to share. When I searched recently, I only found one posted ride for the day, and it wasn’t even going into the city center.

It’s a good idea in theory…of course, you could just get in the taxi line and ask around to see if anyone is heading your way and willing to share their cab.

[via The Seattle Times]

Hilton headquarters leaves Beverly Hills for Capitol Hill

by Melanie Nayer on

Hilton Hotels is trading in its tony 90210 zip code for something a little less flashy (but equally as exciting). The hotel conglomerate is leaving its Beverly Hills digs and moving its corporate headquarters to Washington, DC.

The announcement shocked many, including Marriott International, whose headquarters are also based in the DC-area. According to The Washington Post, the Hilton company will move “several hundred jobs” to DC, which will make the Washington-region the epi-center of the hospitality industry. Marriott International and its affiliates have been headquartered out of Bethesda since 1979.

The Hilton hotels, including its famous family, have lived in Beverly Hills for decades. With the move to Washington, many hotel analysts are speculating some steep competition between the Marriott and Hilton brands. In the meantime, Capitol Hill should start prepping for the arrival of Paris.

U.S. lifts ban on travelers with HIV or AIDS

by Sean McLachlan on

For the past 22 years, if you had HIV or AIDS and weren’t American, you couldn’t enter the U.S.

That changed today as President Obama lifted the ban. Since the Obama administration is planning to host the 2012 World Aids Conference, the change in policy was necessary.

The biannual conference naturally includes many people living with HIV and AIDS, and barring their entry would have been bad PR for an administration that wants to be seen as a global leader in the fight against the disease

There are only ten countries that now ban people with HIV/AIDS from entering. They are: Brunei, China. Equatorial Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

According to the website hivtravel.org, some of these countries allow people to enter under “special circumstances”. Some other countries not on the list put restrictions on people living with HIV/AIDS but not full bans.%Gallery-13474%

GPS almost kills five people in Oregon

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The invention of the dashboard-mounted GPS unit has been a lifesaver for many of the navigationally-challenged among us. But it’s also, well, almost killed people who rely on it blindly.

About a week ago, a Nevada couple got stuck for three days when their GPS device led them down a snowy, remote road in eastern Oregon. John Rhoads and his wife were trying to drive from Portland to Reno when their GPS told them to turn onto Forest Service Road 28 in Oregon. They followed it for 35 miles before their vehicle became lodged in the snow.

About 2 1/2 days later, their cell phone acquired a weak signal and they were able to call for rescue.

The lone bit of comic relief in the story, as Mike Munger points out, is the name of the driver’s wife: Starry Bush-Rhoads. “No, really,” Munger writes. “They got lost for three nights in the mountains on bush roads, and her name is….well, you see my point.”

The day before the Rhoads became stranded, another couple and their child were also driving in Oregon when their GPS led them astray. According to Yahoo News, “They had no cell phone service and ran short on formula for their 11-month-old daughter. After taking exploratory hikes, trying to dig out and spending the night in their car, the distraught couple filmed a goodbye video.”

Yikes!

Thankfully the couple was rescued after two days.

People, do not follow your GPS blindly! Always keep a paper map in your car. And don’t forget this important advice from Marie Dodds, a AAA spokesperson: “If you are following your GPS and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of nowhere with snow all around, don’t go there. Turn around.”

More from Gadling’s Kraig Becker on the limits of GPS here.