Space Mountain Permanently Closing At Tokyo Disney Park As Tomorrowland Is Fully Transformed

In a move that is sure to both excite and devastate Disney fans, The Oriental Land Company has announced that Tokyo Disney Resort’s Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland is to receive a major investment project which will see the area totally transformed and the beloved Space Mountain permanently closed.

The Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba opened as Tokyo Disneyland in 1983 as the first official Disney theme park outside of the United States. Eventually, the Disney Resort grew with the addition of a second gate, Tokyo DisneySea featuring the American Waterfront, and the retail complex Ikspiari. Tokyo Disney Resort is unique in the way it is wholly owned by The Oriental Land Company under license from The Walt Disney Company.

Featuring a plethora of fan-favorite Disney attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain at Adventureland, Westernland, and Tomorrowland, respectively, Tokyo Disneyland brings Disney magic to Guests from all over the world. Other lands include the World Bazaar and Critter Country.

A staple of the Disney Parks portfolio, an iteration of the Space Mountain attraction is present at most Disney Parks worldwide. At Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris, the dark-ride coaster is branded as Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain — with something similar returning to Disneyland Resort very soon — and at the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida, Guests can experience Disney’s first-ever Space Mountain.

Now, in a bold move, The Oriental Land Company has announced a major transformation to both Space Mountain and Tomorrowland with the popular Disney ride being completely rebuilt.

In line with this new project, The Oriental Land Company has announced that Space Mountain as fans know it will close in 2024 with the completed new attraction and Tomorrowland plaza slated to open in 2027. According to the report, the major renovation will cost a projected 56 billion Japanese Yen (approx. $438 million). So far, there has only been one concept art image shared of the vision thus far.

It is not clear when in 2024 the attraction will close but all eyes are sure to be on the progress of this project at Tokyo Disneyland. It will be interesting to see if any other Disney Parks announce updates to any of their versions of Space Mountain in the future.

Source: https://insidethemagic.net/

Munich To Stage 1st Oktoberfest After 2-Year Hiatus

BERLIN (AP) — The annual Oktoberfest festival is on again for this fall, the city of Munich said Friday, following a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dieter Reiter, the mayor of the Bavarian capital, said the popular beer festival will be held without restrictions from Sept. 17 to Oct. 3 - Germany’s national day.

The Oktoberfest, first held in 1810 in honor of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese, has been canceled dozens of times during its more than 200-year history due to wars and pandemics.

The announcement was welcomed by the Bavarian hotel and restaurant association.

Atlas Ocean Voyages Expands Atlas Assurance To Include Covid Insurance, First Among Cruise Lines.

In another industry first, Atlas Ocean Voyages announced today that the luxe-adventure cruise line will include Covid trip interruption and isolation insurance for all guests on all future voyages. The new Covid insurance coverage for all guests augments Atlas’ expansive list of inclusions, among which are emergency medical evacuation insurance, repatriation insurance, and emergency medical and travel assistance, known as Atlas Assurance. Atlas Assurance provides guests greater peace-of-mind when they are aboard a once-in-a-lifetime, luxe-adventure journey with Atlas Ocean Voyages. For more information about Atlas Ocean Voyages, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com

“Covid is an unfortunate fact of life, and our precautions and strict health protocols minimize risk and help assure our guests and crew,” said Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. “The health and safety of our guests and crew continues to be our top priority, and Atlas’ new Covid-related, trip interruption-insurance inclusion in Atlas Assurance will provide guests an array of protections should the unforeseeable happen.”

Atlas Ocean Voyages is a luxe-adventure, expedition cruise line designed for discerning, fun-seeking travelers to immerse in unique and awe-inspiring moments in remote and captivating destinations. World Navigator, launched in August 2021, and World Traveller, launching October 2022, both feature 98 suites, solo suites with no single supplements, and staterooms, and is the line’s first two small expedition ship, bringing travelers to smaller, authentic and exclusive locales.

World Navigator will cruise England, Holland, France, the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, Greenland, and The Arctic in summer 2022; Central and South America in the autumn; and return to Antarctica for her winter 2022-23 season. In winter 2023, World Traveller will sail her inaugural season in Antarctica. Three additional sister ships, World Seeker, World Adventurer and World Discoverer, will join the fleet through 2024.

For more information, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com.

The Barnes Foundation Presents Isaac Julian: Once Again (Statues Never Die), June 19 – September 4, 2022

Philadelphia, PA —This summer, in celebration of its Centennial, the Barnes Foundation will debut a newly commissioned film installation by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, CBE RA (b. London, 1960). On view in the Roberts Gallery from June 19 through September 4, Once Again (Statues Never Die), a five-screen installation, explores the close relationship of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, Barnes Foundation founder who was an early US collector and exhibitor of African material culture, and Alain Locke, a cultural theorist known as the Father of the Harlem Renaissance.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative, Comcast NBCUniversal, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is made possible by Agnes Gund, Emily and Mike Cavanagh, Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker, Brenda A. and Larry D. Thompson, Darrell and Melenese Ford, and Ronald Blaylock.

Once Again (Statues Never Die) stars actor André Holland (Moonlight and Passing) as Alain Locke, Danny Huston (Succession and Marlowe) as Dr. Barnes, rising star Devon Terrell as sculptor Richmond Barthé, and Sharlene Whyte (Small Axe and Lessons of the Hour) as the curator. It also features a special appearance by singer and songwriter Alice Smith.

“This project explores Dr. Barnes’s and Alain Locke’s storied relationship, its mutually formative critical dialogue, and its significant impact on their work as cultural critics, educators, organizers, and activists on behalf of various African American causes,” says Julien.

Once Again (Statues Never Die) examines the significant and often neglected place of African objects in numerous collections of western art museums. Utilizing poetic reparation and historical archives—drawing on Julien’s extensive research in the archives of the Barnes Foundation—the film explores the impact of Locke’s political philosophy and cultural organizing activities on Dr. Barnes’s pioneering art collecting and his democratic, inclusive educational enterprise. Additionally, it looks at contemporary debates around statues with recourse to the 1953 film by Chris Marker and Alain Resnais, Les statues meurent aussi (Statues Also Die). Combining the original script written by Isaac Julien and Martina Klich with recently discovered archival footage from the 1970 film You Hide Me by Nii Kwate Owoo about the African sculptures in the British Museum, the film engages with the current critical debates on African art collecting and repatriation of the sculptures.

Exploring Locke’s engagement with the Barnes collection, Isaac Julien aims both to honor Locke’s important contribution to the arts and to open critical conversations regarding the African art works that influenced the Black cultural movement. The installation spotlights Dr. Barnes’s subsequent writings on the meaning and value of African material culture and its import to the African diaspora, which were reproduced in such Harlem Renaissance periodicals as Opportunity. In the film, Julien revisits some of the themes he approached in his landmark 1989 film Looking for Langston and continues his exploration of the queer subculture of the Harlem Renaissance by exploring the relationship between Locke and sculptor Richmond Barthé with a staging of Barthé’s sculptures at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). A selection of Barthé’s sculptures will also be presented in the Barnes exhibition.

“A visionary collector and pioneering educator, Dr. Barnes was also an advocate for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and the economically marginalized,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President and exhibition curator. “Committed to racial equality and social justice decades before the advent of the civil rights movement, he established a scholarship program to support young Black artists, musicians, and writers—including Locke’s associates such as poet Gwendolyn Bennett and artist Aaron Douglas—who sought to further their education at the Foundation and beyond. It is this important and lesser-known chapter of the Barnes Foundation’s history that Isaac Julien—with his distinguished career as a maker of deeply compelling and thoughtful video installations, his sustained commitment to investigating African diasporic politics and culture, and his abiding interest in the Harlem Renaissance—is bringing to light.”

Following its debut at the Barnes, Once Again (Statues Never Die) will be presented during the Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present in the United Arab Emirates in March 2023.

The Barnes has engaged cultural partners across Philadelphia, including The Fabric Workshop and Museum; Institute for Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania; and BlackStar Projects to present other works by Isaac Julien during the run of Isaac Julien: Once Again (Statues Never Die) and beyond. Related programming is listed below. Visit the website for more details.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum In Focus: Isaac Julien August 16, 2022–April 2023 On view in the First Floor Gallery, In Focus: Isaac Julien presents a selection of works from the museum's permanent collection displayed in conversation with Julien’s Paradise (Omeros) #2, a photographic multiple created for The Fabric Workshop and Museum in 2002.

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania Poetic Cinema: Isaac Julien and the Sankofa Film and Video Collective Curated by Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center, and BlackStar Projects. A programmatic series of three works, developed in concert with artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, from the Sankofa Film and Video Collective screened in-person at Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center and the Prince Theater. Each screening will be accompanied by a conversation between a scholar and artist or filmmaker providing context and building on the works presented.

Looking for Langston (1989, 45 min) June 13, 2022 Prince Theater Guest speakers in conversation: Isaac Julien, artist and filmmaker; Kaja Silverman, Katherine Stein Sachs CW'69 and Keith L. Sachs W'67 Professor Emerita of Art History at the University of Pennsylvania; and Ja'Tovia Gary, artist and filmmaker.

Territories (1984, 25 min) and Who Killed Colin Roach (1983, 35 min) July 11, 2022 Prince Theater Guest speakers in conversation: Maori Karmael Holmes, CEO & Artistic Director of BlackStar Projects & Thomas Allen Harris, Senior Lecturer, African American Studies & Film and Media Studies, Yale University.

The Passion of Remembrance (1986, 80 min), newly restored and premiering as a 4K version August 3, 2022 In conjunction with the BlackStar Film Festival. Zellerbach Theater, Penn Live Arts, Annenberg Center Guest speakers in conversation: Karen Alexander, writer, educator and freelance curator & Louis Massiah, documentary filmmaker and Founder/Director of Scribe Video Center.

BARNES RELATD PROGRAMMING:
Barnes on the Block Sunday, June 19, 4–8:30 pm Presented by PNC Arts Alive, and in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, Barnes on the Block returns for another round of outdoor fun for the entire family. This year’s event coincides with Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and the opening of Isaac Julien: Once Again (Statues Never Die). Meet us on the Parkway for visual art displays, live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, and more.

First Friday! Friday, July 1, 6–9 pm

PECO Free First Sunday Family Day Sunday, July 3, 10am–5 pm

Exhibition Tours Thursday–Monday, beginning in June 1 pm

Education Initiatives
Online Class: Understanding Video Art Instructor: Matthew C. Feliz, Lecturer, Bryn Mawr College July (dates will be listed on website) Explore key works of video art and learn about the theories behind them. This is a four-week class that takes place online.

Workshop: Isaac Julien In Focus Instructor: TK Smith, curator and writer Tuesday, August 2, 10 am–4 pm This one-day workshop, at the Barnes, explores key works in Julien’s oeuvre leading up to Once Again (Statues Never Die). Students will have access to the exhibition.

Community Engagement
Barnes West Barnes Presents! Harlem Renaissance in Review August 18, 5:30 pm Jazz performance at Saunders Park in West Philadelphia featuring classic Harlem Renaissance standards.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION
Created and directed by Isaac Julien, and co-written with Martina Klich, Once Again (Statues Never Die) is commissioned by the Barnes Foundation and the Ford Foundation, with additional support from the Sharjah Art Foundation, Linda Pace Foundation, Carol Weinbaum & The University of California, Santa Cruz. This exhibition is presented at the Barnes Foundation and curated by Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President. Advisors to the project are Dan Hicks, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford and Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum; Jeffrey C. Stewart, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke and MacArthur Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara; curator, filmmaker, and writer Mark Nash; and Chika Okeke-Agulu, a Nigerian-born artist and scholar based in Princeton, New Jersey. The work is executive produced by Mark Nash and produced by Andrew Fierberg.

ABOUT ISAAC JULIEN
Isaac Julien, CBE RA (b. London, 1960), is a filmmaker and installation artist who currently lives and works between London and California. His multi-screen film installations and photographs incorporate different artistic disciplines to create a poetic and unique visual language. His 1989 documentary-drama exploring author Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance titled Looking for Langston garnered Julien a cult following, while his 1991 debut feature Young Soul Rebels won the Semaine de la Critique prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Julien has participated in the Venice Biennale; the Gwangju Biennial, South Korea; Prospect 1, New Orleans; Performa 07, New York; and documenta 11, Kassel. His work is held in significant collections around the world. Julien has taught extensively, holding posts such as Chair of Global Art at University of the Arts London (2014–2016) and Professor of Media Art at Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe, Germany (2008–2016). He is the recipient of the James Robert Brudner ’83 Memorial Prize and Lectures at Yale University (2016). Most recently he received the Charles Wollaston Award (2017), for most distinguished work at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and in 2018 he was made a Royal Academician. Julien was awarded the title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s birthday honors, 2017. In 2022, he was awarded the prestigious Goslarer Kaiserring Award.

Isaac Julien is Distinguished Professor of the Arts at the University of California Santa Cruz, where he leads the Isaac Julien Lab together with critic and curator, Mark Nash. The Isaac Julien Lab was designed to mirror the Isaac Julien Studio in London and is a platform where students learn about the strategies behind the production of moving images, photographic works, exhibitions and publications. The Lab aims to create innovative pedagogical methodologies, visual and sonic languages for production, exhibition and installation while examining the various aspects that concern contemporary artists and curators working in the field of media art and moving image, in relationship to current modes of research, development, exhibition, production and scenography of moving image artworks.

Egypt: Ruins Of Ancient Temple For Zeus Unearthed In Sinai

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian archaeologists unearthed the ruins of a temple for the ancient Greek god Zeus in the Sinai Peninsula, antiquities authorities said Monday.

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said in a statement the temple ruins were found in the Tell el-Farma archaeological site in northwestern Sinai.

Tell el-Farma, also known by its ancient name Pelusium, dates back to the late Pharaonic period and was also used during Greco-Roman and Byzantine times. There are also remains dating to the Christian and early Islamic periods.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said archaeologists excavated the temple ruins through its entrance gate, where two huge fallen granite columns were visible. The gate was destroyed in a powerful earthquake in ancient times, he said.

Waziri said the ruins were found between the Pelusium Fort and a memorial church at the site. Archaeologists found a set of granite blocks probably used to build a staircase for worshipers to reach the temple.

Excavations at the area date back to early 1900 when French Egyptologist Jean Clédat found ancient Greek inscriptions that showed the existence of the Zeus-Kasios temple but he didn’t unearth it, according to the ministry.

Zeus-Kasios is a conflation of Zeus, the God of the sky in ancient Greek mythology, and Mount Kasios in Syria, where Zeus once worshipped.

Hisham Hussein, the director of Sinai archaeological sites, said inscriptions found in the area show that Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138) renovated the temple.

He said experts will study the unearthed blocks and do a photogrammetry survey to help determine the architectural design of the temple.

The temple ruins are the latest in a series of ancient discoveries Egypt has touted in the past couple of years in the hope of attracting more tourists.

The tourism industry has been reeling from the political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The sector was also dealt further blows by the coronavirus pandemic and most recently Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Canada Eases Virus Travel Measures For Kids Aged 5 To 11

Unvaccinated children aged five to 11 traveling with a fully vaccinated adult will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada beginning April 25, the federal government said.

Pre-entry tests will still be needed for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travelers over the age of 12 who are eligible to travel to Canada.

Children under five years of age don’t currently require a COVID-19 test to enter Canada.

Government officials announced several other small changes to ease restrictions for international travelers taking effect on Monday, April 25.

Fully vaccinated travelers, and children under 12 accompanying them, will no longer need to provide their quarantine plans when they enter the country.

Vaccinated people arriving in Canada won’t need to wear a mask for 14 days, keep a list of contacts or report COVID-19 symptoms.

Travelers will also no longer need to quarantine if someone in their group develops COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive.

All travelers are still required to use the ArriveCAN app to upload travel and vaccination information within 72 hours of their arrival to Canada and/or before boarding a plane or cruise ship destined for Canada.

“All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, must also continue to wear a mask throughout their entire travel journey,” the government said in a news release.

Rio’s Carnival Parade Returns After Long Pandemic Hiatus

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Colorful floats and flamboyant dancers are delighting tens of thousands jammed into Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sambadrome, putting on a delayed Carnival celebration after the pandemic halted the dazzling displays.

Rio de Janeiro’s top samba schools began strutting their stuff late Friday, which was the first evening of the two-night spectacle.
Ketula Melo, 38, a muse in the Imperatriz Leopoldinense school dressed as the Iemanja deity of Afro-Brazilian religions, was thrilled to be back at the Sambadrome.

“These two years were horrible. Now we can be happy again,” Melo said as she was about to enter Friday night wearing a black and white costume made of shells that barely covered her body.

Rio’s Sambadrome has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil’s Carnival festivities. During the pandemic, it was a shelter for more than 400 homeless people and also served as a vaccination station.

Brazil confirmed its first cases of the coronavirus in mid-March 2020, just after that year’s Carnival festivities came to an end. The 2021 edition was swiftly cancelled due to the rise of the delta variant. More than 663,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, the second highest of any country in the world, according to Our World in Data, an online research site.

Entire communities rally around the competing samba schools, whose shows are not only a source of pride but also employment since preparations require countless seamstresses, welders, costume designers and more. There are months of rehearsals for dancers and drummers, so participants can learn the tune and the lyrics for their school’s song. The pandemic upended these samba schools’ way of life for two years.

Sao Paulo also kicked off its Carnival parade Friday evening. Both cities’ parades usually take place in February or March, but their mayors in January jointly announced they were postponing Carnival by two months due to concerns about the proliferation of the omicron variant.

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths has plunged since then, and more than three-quarters of Brazilians are fully vaccinated, according to the country’s health ministry. Local authorities have allowed soccer matches with full attendance since March.

Rio authorities said earlier this week those attending the parade would have to show proof of vaccination, but media reports showed that attendees had no trouble getting tickets or entering the Sambadrome without showing the required documents.

A seat in the bleachers cost about $50, and the most expensive seats can cost more than $1,260. Going out in one of the samba schools costs a lot for tourists, but it is often free for people who are involved with the parade all year round, like 66-year-old Juciara do Nascimento Santos. She was among the revelers starting this year’s parade with the Imperatriz Leopoldinense samba school.

“We had to take care of ourselves during this time so we could be here today celebrating life,” said Santos, who has paraded with Imperatriz Leopoldinense since 1984. This time she was in the section of the baianas, often reserved for the oldest women of each samba school. Many of these samba schools reported they lost many of their baianas to the virus.

For those unwilling to shell out for the price of admission, there were street parties across Rio — despite City Hall denying authorization for them to take place, citing insufficient time to prepare. Some organizers couldn’t care less, arguing that celebrating Carnival wasn’t contingent on authorities’ consent, and partiers hit the streets in force.

Why Are Disney And DeSantis Feuding In Florida?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill to dissolve a private government controlled by Disney that provides municipal-like services for its 27,000 acres (nearly 11,000 hectares) in the Sunshine State.

The new law is largely seen as retribution for Disney’s criticism of a new state law that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” which bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

The entertainment giant has not commented publicly on the proposal to dissolve its government, which has been in operation for 55 years.

WHAT DOES THE LAW DO?

The bill, which the Legislature passed on Thursday and DeSantis signed into law on Friday, would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023.

The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue for Disney and lawmakers to renegotiate their deal between now and June 2023.

“By doing it this early, we have until next June or July to this put together, so we’re actually giving ourselves more time to be thoughtful,” said Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson. “I don’t know how the end will come, but I know that this is a very worthy process that we’re taking and I think whatever comes out of it will be better than what we have today.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Although details are far from clear, the proposal could have huge tax implications for Disney. Democratic state lawmakers who oppose the bill also have warned that it could result in homeowners getting hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb costs the company used to pay.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, whose county is partially home to Disney World, said it would be “catastrophic for our budget” if the county had to assume the costs for public safety at the theme park resort. Reedy Creek currently reimburses the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for public safety costs.

“If that district goes away, and they no longer pay for those public safety costs, and it then has to fall to the county’s other budgets, that is a net sum loss to the rest of the taxpayers of Orange County,” Demings said.

WHY DOES DISNEY HAVE ITS OWN GOVERNMENT IN FLORIDA?

The company sold the idea to Florida lawmakers in 1967 as part of its plans to build an expansive East Coast theme park that would include a futuristic city.

The city never materialized, but Walt Disney World nevertheless became an entertainment juggernaut in Orlando, while still retaining governmental powers that have allowed it to decide what and how to build and to issue bonds and provide services such as zoning, fire protection and utilities.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known, has been allowed to build its own roads, run its own wastewater treatment plants, operate its own fire department, set its own building codes and inspect Disney buildings for safety.

The district had $169 million in revenues and $178 million in expenditures in the current budget year.

Disney is a major political player in Florida, as well as the rest of the country. The Walt Disney Co. and its affiliates made more than $20 million in political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats in the 2020 campaign cycle, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks such spending.

That same year, Disney-related entities funneled $10.5 million to the America First Action committee, which supports Republican former President Donald Trump. Disney also contributed $1.2 million to support President Joe Biden’s campaign.

In response to the gender instruction law, Disney announced it was suspending political donations in the state and would support organizations that oppose it.

WHY ELIMINATE THE GOVERNMENT NOW?

DeSantis has railed against Disney after the company’s public opposition to the gender instruction law.

This week, as lawmakers were returning to the Capitol for a special legislative session focused on congressional redistricting, DeSantis issued a proclamation allowing them to also take up legislation eliminating the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

For the governor, the attack on Disney is his latest salvo in a culture war waged over policies involving race, gender and the coronavirus, battles that have made him one of the most popular GOP politicians in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate.

“If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy” the governor wrote in a fundraising email. “As Governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state.”

Republican Rep. Randy Fine, sponsor of the bill to scrap the district, said it is time for a change.

“You kick the hornet’s nest, things come up. And I will say this: You got me on one thing — this bill does target one company. It targets the Walt Disney Co.,” Fine said. “You want to know why? Because they are the only company in the state that has ever been granted the right to govern themselves.”

The Iconic Famolare Shoe Line Has Returned!

In the 1970’s, Famolare shoes reflected a new attitude of footwear - that a shoe should be comfortable aid to natural movement, not merely a fashion accessory. Joe Famolare’s vision went beyond the notion of fashion for fashion sake. With the invention of the Get There shoe, he achieved a new aesthetic in casual fashion. The Get There also proved to be a radical innovation in functional footwear. It’s resilient four-wave sole acted as an extension of the foot, transferring the body’s weight from heel to arch and from the ball to the toes. The Get There absorbed the shock to the foot and rolled you forward with each step. The anatomically contoured inner-sole cradled the foot and provided hours of comfort even when walking at a brisk clip.

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Disney World: Face Masks Optional For All Areas Of Resort

Walt Disney World has lifted the last of its mask requirements, meaning face coverings will be optional for visitors at all locations on the central Florida Disney property.

The rule change was posted Tuesday on Disney’s website. Masks are still recommended, though not required, for guests who are not fully vaccinated in indoor locations and enclosed transportation.

In February, the park made face coverings optional for fully vaccinated visitors in all indoor and outdoor locations, with the exception of enclosed transportation, such as the resort’s monorail, buses and the resort’s sky gondola. The new rule change removes the transportation exception, as well as the requirement to be vaccinated.

The change comes a day after a federal judge in Florida threw out a national mask mandate for public transportation. The ruling gives airports, mass transit systems, airlines and ride-hailing services the option to keep mask rules or ditch them entirely.

Major airlines were some of the first to update their rules after the court decision. United, Southwest, American, Alaska, Delta and JetBlue announced that effective immediately, masks would no longer be required on domestic flights. The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving.

Majority Of Americans Want Masks For Travelers: AP-NORC Poll

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A majority of Americans continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation, a new poll finds. A ruling by a federal judge has put the government’s transportation mask mandate on hold.

The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that despite opposition to that requirement that included verbal abuse and physical violence against flight attendants, 56% of Americans favor requiring people on planes, trains and public transportation to wear masks, compared with 24% opposed and 20% who say they’re neither in favor nor opposed.

Interviews for the poll were conducted Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. Airlines and airports immediately scrapped their requirements that passengers wear face coverings.

More than half in US support mask mandate on planes, public transit A new AP-NORC poll finds Americans are somewhat more likely to support a mask mandate for people traveling on planes and public transit than for those at crowded events or for workers interacting with the public.

Do you favor or oppose a mask mandate for ____ ? FavorNeitherOppose People traveling on airplanes, trains and public transit 56% 20% 24% Workers who interact with the public, such as at restaurants 49% 24% 27% People attending crowded public events 49% 23% 28% Results based on interviews with 1,085 U.S. adults conducted April 14–18. The margin of error is ±3.9 percentage points for the full sample. Source: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

Spain Says Masks No Longer Totally Obligatory Indoors

Spain took another step Wednesday toward a sense of normality amid the pandemic by partially ending the near two-year-long obligatory use of masks indoors.

The government decree, passed Tuesday, keeps masks mandatory for visitors and staff in medical centers and nursing homes, although patients won’t always be obliged to wear them.

Masks will also be mandatory on all forms of public transportation, but not in stations or airports.

It remains unclear what impact the decree will have on workplaces such as public and private company offices, banks, factories and stores as the government is letting employers decide to keep them in use if they deem there is a health risk.

In turn, they are recommended, but not obligatory, in multitudinous gatherings, in packed areas or in the presence of vulnerable people. Schools are also exempted from having to use them.

Masks became obligatory indoors and outdoors shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain early 2020. The restriction for outdoor use was lifted in mid-2021, but reimposed between December and February amid a major surge of infections of the highly contagious omicron variant.

“The mask without doubt has been one of the most identifiable measures over the past two years and it will no longer be obligatory,” Health Minister Carolina Darias said Tuesday. “They will continue to be with us as an element of protection, particularly for the most vulnerable.”

With more than 92% of Spaniards over 12 years old having received at least two vaccine doses and the number of coronavirus infections and deaths dropping sharply in recent months, Spain has also eliminated mandatory home isolation for people infected with the virus who experience no symptoms or mild ones.

The ebbing of the pandemic comes as Spanish prosecutors turn their attention to possible illegalities in the purchasing of masks and other medical products by authorities in the critical first few months of the outbreak.

Two of the most prominent cases involve the Madrid region and the capital city’s town hall.

State prosecutors are investigating two men who they say pocketed more than 6 million euros ($6.5 million) in commission by selling masks and other products to Madrid city hall at exorbitantly inflated prices. Prosecutors say the two bought luxury cars, watches and even a yacht with the money.

Meanwhile, Spanish and European prosecutors have also been looking into the purchase of masks by the the Madrid regional government in a deal brokered by the brother of regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso for a substantial commission.

In both cases, authorities say they acted in good faith during a national emergency and that it was extremely difficult to obtain these products at the beginning of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, analyzing the books of Spain’s major cities and some major institutions during the first three months of the pandemic, Spain’s Court of Auditors has found that there were often major exorbitant differences in the prices paid for masks and other products.

Florida Judge Voids US Mask Mandate For Planes, Other Travel

A Trump appointed federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit Monday, and airlines and airports swiftly began repealing their requirements that passengers wear face coverings. UBER has also discontinued their masking requirements for drivers and pasengers.

The judge’s decision freed airlines, airports and mass transit systems to make their own decisions about mask requirements, resulting in a mix of responses.

The major airlines switched to a mask optional policy, with some eliciting cheers from passengers when the changes were announced over loudspeakers. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday night that it would it will no longer enforce the mask requirement, and airports in Houston and Dallas almost immediately did away with their mandates after the TSA announcement.

Los Angeles International Airport, the world’s fifth-largest by passenger volume, also dropped its mandate but the Centers for Disease Control continued to recommend masking on transportation “and I think that’s good advice,” LAX spokesman Heath Montgomery said.

Sleepy passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight between Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain, cheered and applauded when a flight attendant announced the news mid-flight over the ocean.

“No one’s any happier than we are,” the attendant says in a video posted by Dillon Thomas, a CBS Denver reporter, who was on the flight. She added that people who wanted to keep on their masks were encouraged to do so.

“But we’re ready to give ém up,” she added. “So thank you and happy unmasking day!”

New York City’s public transit system planned to keep its mask requirement in place. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said it would make masks optional for riders on its buses and trains.

The Association of Flight Attendants, the nation’s largest union of cabin crews, has recently taken a neutral position on the mask rule because its members are divided about the issue. On Monday, the union’s president appealed for calm on planes and in airports.

“The last thing we need for workers on the frontlines or passengers traveling today is confusion and chaos,” union leader Sara Nelson said.

Nelson said it takes airlines 24 to 48 hours to put new procedures in place and tell employees about them. She said passengers should check with airlines for updates about travel requirements.

The mask requirement covered airlines, airports, mass transit and taxis, and was the biggest vestige of pandemic restrictions that were once the norm across the country.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking procedures that left it fatally flawed.

In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely across the country because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected in the lawsuit.

The judge said “a limited remedy would be no remedy at all” and courts have full authority to make a decision such as this — even if the CDC’s goals in fighting the virus are laudable.

The Justice Department declined to comment when asked if it would seek an emergency stay to block the judge’s order. The CDC also declined to comment.

The White House said the court ruling means that for now the mask order “is not in effect at this time.”

“This is obviously a disappointing decision,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “The CDC is recommending wearing a mask on public transit.”

The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.

In New York, Metropolitan Transportation Authority communications director Tim Minton said the system was “continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will review the Florida court order.”

The MTA operates New York City buses and subway trains as well as two commuter rail lines. Face coverings have been mandatory on all trains and buses since early in the pandemic.

United Airlines said in a statement that, effective immediately, masks would no longer be required on domestic flights or certain international flights.

“While this means that our employees are no longer required to wear a mask – and no longer have to enforce a mask requirement for most of the flying public – they will be able to wear masks if they choose to do so, as the CDC continues to strongly recommend wearing a mask on public transit,” United said.

Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines also made similar announcements.

The federal mask requirement for travelers was the target of months of lobbying from the airlines, which sought to kill it. The carriers argued that effective air filters on modern planes make transmission of the virus during a flight highly unlikely. Republicans in Congress also fought to kill the mandate.

Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.

There have been a series of violent incidents on aircraft that have mainly been attributed to disputes over the mask-wearing requirements.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2021 by two plaintiffs and the Health Freedom Defense Fund, described in the judge’s order as a nonprofit group that “opposes laws and regulations that force individuals to submit to the administration of medical products, procedures and devices against their will.”

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was not directly involved in the case but has battled against many government coronavirus requirements, praised the ruling in a statement on Twitter.

“Great to see a federal judge in Florida follow the law and reject the Biden transportation mask mandate. Both airline employees and passengers deserve to have this misery end,” DeSantis tweeted.

Editorial note: Our concern is for the health and safety of all of the people with compromised immune systems and the bad legal precedent when dealing with future pandemics that this ruling appears to not take into consideration.

Travelore Breaking News: CDC Mask Mandate For Travelers Struck Down By Federal Judge

(CNN)A federal judge in Florida struck down on Monday the Biden administration's mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods.

US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the mandate was unlawful because it exceeded the statutory authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and because its implementation violated administrative law.

Alabama Space Museum Marking 50th Anniversary Of Apollo 16

Alabama’s space museum is both marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 16 lunar mission and looking ahead to the next U.S. spaceflight to the moon.

A member of the Apollo 16 crew, former astronaut Charlie Duke, will be on hand in Huntsville on Wednesday as the U.S. Space and Rocket Center looks back on the April 1972 mission. The Apollo 16 capsule, nicknamed “Casper,” is housed at the museum, which cleaned up the spaceship earlier this year ahead of the celebration.

Duke and NASA officials are among those who will participate in an event that also will focus on the space agency’s upcoming test of its new, 30-story Space Launch System rocket. NASA is targeting June for a test flight to send the rocket to the moon without a crew.

The administrator of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Jody Singer, and James Free, NASA’s associate administrator for exploration development, will discuss the space agency’s work to return to the moon.

After the first launch in NASA’s Artemis program, NASA plans to send astronauts around the moon in 2024. A lunar landing attempt is planned for as early as 2025.

People last walked on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

Arrival Of Cruise Ships Could Boost Tourism Figures In Maine

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — The arrival of the first large cruise ship in two-and-a-half years in Maine is another signal that tourism is getting closer to pre-pandemic normalcy.

Last year, more than 15.6 million visitors came to Maine in 2021, a third more than made the trip the year before, at the start of the pandemic, officials said.

But there were no large cruise ships until the arrival of the Norwegian Pearl in the waters off Bar Harbor. The ship dropped anchor in Frenchman Bay, and visitors were ferried to shore on tenders.

“It’s exciting to see these ships and their passengers coming back to Maine,” said Sarah Flink, executive director of CruiseMaine.

Cruise ships could restore some visitation. The number of visitors last year remained about a million below 2019, before the pandemic. Cruise ships made 409 port calls and brought 450,000 passengers in 2019.

One positive sign from the 2021 tourism numbers is that spending soared. Spending grew 63.7% from 2020 and 20.3% from 2019.

Dutch Horticultural Expo Opens Near Amsterdam

Tulips herald the advent of spring — and the Dutch believe they can also highlight ways to fight climate change.

Thousands of tulips are in bloom this week to welcome visitors to the opening of the once-in-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade, which seeks to showcase horticultural innovations that can make urban areas more sustainable and healthier as people around the world increasingly shift to cities.

A new university building on the 60-hectare ( 148-acre) site on the edge of this modern city close to Amsterdam has plants growing from one of its walls, while an apartment block is decked out in huge prints of flowers. It towers over a newly-built cable car and a Corten steel sculpture of two human figures made up of tens of thousands of bees.

Sculptor Florentijn Hofman says he is sending a message about protecting biodiversity.

“The work is about the relationship between bees and humanity, about connection. It’s about equilibrium and a respectful relationship between humans and animals and our complex interrelationship with nature,” he said.

Even the site itself highlights Dutch technical knowhow — it is built on land reclaimed from the sea decades ago. And amid a Dutch affordable housing crisis, the Floriade terrain is envisaged to become a new urban area of 3,000 homes after the expo ends on Oct. 9.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander was opening the event Wednesday. It expects to welcome 2 million visitors as the displays shift through the seasons, from springtime to summer and autumn.

The legacy will be “a very, very green living area, a living arboretum,” said Annemarie Jorritsma, a senior Dutch representative at the show. “People are going to live within the nature. And I think it will be a wonderful experience to be able to live here.”

Previous Floriades have been about building parks while this edition is about building a city, says architect Winy Maas, who designed the layout.

“For the first time, this is a Floriade that can become a neighborhood,” he said.

More than 25 nations are presenting sustainable ideas during this year’s show under the theme “Growing Green Cities.” The Netherlands, a world leader in horticulture, has a one-hectare greenhouse where farmers are showing off their newest innovations.

Other countries are blending old and new in their national pavilions — from Qatar’s 3D-printed buildings shaped like age-old pigeon towers to China showcasing new uses for bamboo, a traditional building material.

“What I like very much is that China has taken the trouble to do not something traditional, but to use a traditional material — bamboo — for a very modern developments,” said Jorritsma.

“So you also can see that ... in China, people are now thinking about what are we doing? How can we change our use of the materials we already have and use them in a very modern way?” she added.

Connecticut Museum Promised Works From Picasso, Homer, Wyeth

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut museum says it’s been promised an “unprecedented” private collection of European and American art, including works from such well-known painters as Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth and sculptors Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti.

An anonymous Greenwich couple is making the bequest of 70 works, including paintings, sculpture, watercolors, drawings, prints and photographs, according to the Bruce Museum. It marks the largest gift of art in the 112-year history of the museum, which was originally built as a private home.

The bequest coincides with the museum’s planned $60 million renovation and expansion project, which will double the size of the building. The New Bruce is scheduled to open in March 2023.

“This gift is unprecedented in its scale and quality, and these works will further define the New Bruce as a museum that explores global stories of Modern and Contemporary art,” said Robert Wolterstorff, the Bruce Museum’s Susan E. Lynch Executive Director and CEO, in a written statement.

The collection includes Hopper’s Two Comedians, the artist’s last work. It depicts the painter and his wife Josephine dressed as clowns on stage.

Hong Kong To Ease COVID-19 Restrictions As Infections Fall

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will ease some social distancing measures later this month, allowing people to dine in at restaurants in the evening and lifting restrictions on private gatherings, as the number of COVID-19 infections declined in recent weeks.

From April 21, restaurants will be able to operate until 10 p.m. with a maximum of four people per table, officials said Thursday.

Other businesses that were ordered to temporarily close due to Hong Kong’s fifth wave of infections, such as beauty parlors, gyms, theme parks and cinemas, will also be allowed to re-open, although capacity will be limited to 50%. Bars and pubs will remain closed.

Restrictions that currently only allow two households to gather will also be lifted.

“To relax these measures, to allow some degree of normal activities in society, with more interactions among citizens, inevitably they will come with some transmission risks,” Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said during a news conference Thursday.

Lam appealed to the public to comply with the social distancing measures that remain in place and to get vaccinated.

“While the number of positive cases reported every day has dropped to a relatively low level, in absolute terms they are still rather high,” she said.

The city reported 1,260 cases in the community on Wednesday, down more than 95% from the peak of the outbreak in March, when over 30,000 daily infections were reported.

Lam said the city is now “much, much better prepared” to handle another wave if it hits, due to increased levels of vaccination and more facilities to handle patients, such as community isolation and treatment centers.

Lam also said the government has not given up on mass testing for the city, but that timing was important.

Other restrictions will be also lifted later this month. Local tours will be allowed to resume and public gatherings of four people instead of two will also be permitted.

Sean Scully: The Shape Of Ideas Now Open At The Philadelphia Museum Of Art, Through July 31st.

Encounter the poetic sensibility and technical virtuosity of one of the leading abstract artists of our time. Sean Scully’s arresting paintings and works on paper, presented here in a comprehensive fifty-year retrospective, explore his signature stripes and reflect the artist’s bold experimentation with scale and composition. From the intimate to the monumental, the works on view stir the spirit and reveal Scully’s tireless dedication to the expressive power of painting.

About the Artist

Sean Scully (born Dublin, Ireland, 1945) works in the mediums of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and photography. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Prize, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Harkness Fellowship. He has been nominated twice for the Turner Prize.

Scully’s works are in a number of private and public collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among others.

In 2015 Scully participated in the Venice Biennale with his solo exhibition Land Sea at the Palazzo Falier. For the 2019 Biennale, the artist presented Human, a solo exhibition at the historic Basilica of San Giorgio. He currently splits his time living and working in New York and the Bavarian countryside of Munich.

2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19130 215-763-8100

https://philamuseum.org/

Guangzhou Closes To Most Arrivals As China’s Outbreak Grows

BEIJING (AP) — The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities.

Shanghai has taken the brunt of the rise, with another 26,087 cases announced on Monday, only 914 of which showed symptoms. The city of 26 million is under a tight lockdown, with many residents confined to their homes for up to three weeks and concerns growing over the effect on the economy of China’s largest city.

The financial hub has seen international events canceled because of the crackdown, and local football club Shanghai Port has been forced to withdraw from the Asian Champions League because travel restrictions prevented it from attending games in Thailand.

No such lockdown has yet been announced for Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million northwest of Hong Kong that is home to many top companies and China’s busiest airport. Just 27 cases were reported in the city on Monday.

However, primary and middle schools have been switched to online after an initial 23 local infections were detected last week. An exhibition center was being converted into a makeshift hospital after authorities said earlier they would begin citywide mass testing.

Only citizens with a “definite need” to leave Guangzhou can do so, and only if they test negative for the virus within 48 hours of departure, city spokesperson Chen Bin said in a social media announcement.

China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing, despite complaints in Shanghai over shortages of food and medical services.

China’s government and the entirely state-controlled media are growing increasingly defensive about complaints over the COVID-19 prevention measures, censoring content online and rebuking foreign critics.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Sunday said China had “lodged solemn representations with the U.S.” after the State Department advised Americans to reconsider traveling to China due to “arbitrary enforcement” of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in Hong Kong, Jilin province and Shanghai. U.S. officials cited a risk of “parents and children being separated.”

China was “strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the U.S. side’s groundless accusation against China’s epidemic response,” Zhao said.

Despite that, and indications the hardline policy is being dictated by head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping, China has rejected any notion that its response is political in nature. Xi has demanded social stability above all else in the runup to a key party congress later this year at which he is expected to bestow on himself an unprecedented third-term as party leader.

The English-language China Daily acknowledged that Shanghai’s measures are “far from perfect,” and pointed to the firing last week of three local officials for failing in their duties. But it said that shouldn’t become an “excuse to politicize the event and blame China.”

Zhao issued a further defense of China’s virus controls on Monday, saying they have “proven to be effective and in line with its national conditions and needs, and have made an important contribution to the global fight against the epidemic.”

Shanghai has brought in thousands of additional health workers from other cities, provinces and the military. Despite the large number of cases, no new deaths have been reported in the Shanghai wave, possibly because the omicron variant is less deadly than older variants.

City authorities also say they have secured daily supplies for residents, following complaints about deliveries of food and other necessities.

Residents have resorted to group buying of groceries because they are not allowed to leave their buildings, with only partial success in obtaining needed items.

Officials say they will begin relaxing restrictions beginning with areas where no new infections have been detected for two weeks. Residents will be allowed to move around their districts while remaining socially distanced.

A second category will be allowed to move around their neighborhoods, while others will remain isolated in their homes.

Chinese club Shanghai Port has been forced by the city’s COVID-19 lockdown to withdraw from the Asian Champions League, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said Monday.

Due to travel restrictions in the city, Port was unable to make the trip to Thailand for six Group J games.

Its first game was scheduled on Saturday against Vissel Kobe of Japan.

“The AFC acknowledged the travel restrictions faced by Shanghai Port FC as a result of the recent lockdown measures enforced in Shanghai,” the AFC said in a statement.

The capital, Beijing, has seen relatively few restrictions, although the Erjiefang neighborhood including the famed 798 art district has been cordoned off and classified as high risk after eight infections were reported there over the past two weeks.

China is facing one of its worst local outbreaks since the pandemic began. China is still mostly closed to international travel, even as most of the world has sought ways to live with the virus.

The FAA Is Proposing Record Fines Of $81,950 And $77,272 To Passengers Who It Says Tried To Open Cabin Doors And Bite Fellow Passengers

The US Federal Aviation Administration is proposing its highest-ever fines against two passengers, as Congress considers legislation that would create a national "no fly" list.

The two record-breaking fines are $81,950 and $77,272, which brings the year's total fines to $2 million, the FAA said in a Friday press release. The passengers have 30 days to respond.

The $81,950 fine related to an incident in which the FAA said a passenger threatened to harm a flight attendant who had offered to help them after they fell down in the aisle. Then, the passenger attempted to open the cabin door, and when flight attendants tried to stop her, she hit them, the release said.

"After the passenger was restrained in flex cuffs, she spit at, headbutted, bit and tried to kick the crew and other passengers," the FAA added.

In the second case, a passenger tried to "hug and kiss the passenger seated next to her; walked to the front of the aircraft to try to exit during flight; refused to return to her seat; and bit another passenger multiple times," the FAA said.

As of April 4, 2022, there have been 1,081 unruly passenger reports, and 707 related to facemasks, per FAA data.

"If you are on an airplane, don't be a jerk and don't endanger the flight crews and fellow passengers. If you do, you will be fined by the FAA," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told The View Friday.

85% of flight attendants reported dealing with "unruly passengers," in a survey last summer from the Association of Flight Attendants, with 17% saying that they had dealt with a "physical incident."

In response to the chaos and violence on planes, the FAA started a public awareness campaign and a no-tolerance policy, the release added. It claimed those two efforts reduced unruly passenger rates by 60%.

In January 2021, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson changed the agency's policy. Instead of getting warnings or counseling first, "the agency will pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members."

Delta Air Lines and Buttigieg have pushed for a no-fly list, but creating one could be complex. There is also pushback from Republican legislators.

Representative Eric Swalwell introduced a bill Wednesday to make a TSA no-fly list.

"Unfortunately, too many of our pilots, flight attendants and crew members are dealing with unacceptable abuse from passengers — everything from kicking to spitting to biting. This behavior is not only inappropriate, but it also puts other crew and passengers at risk," Swalwell said, per the Washington Post.

Source:Gabrielle Bienasz, https://www.businessinsider.com/

Mexico’s Navy Will Manage Tourism In Converted Island Prison

A small archipelago off Mexico’s Pacific coast that had been home to an island prison colony is finalizing preparations to receive tourists.

Getting to Islas Marias, however, is currently a challenge for even the sturdiest tourist: a 4-hour boat ride in often choppy waters. But Mexico’s government plans to make things easier, putting the country’s navy in charge of tours in the latest new function assigned to Mexico’s armed forces under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Some people, like Beatriz Maldonado, are already imagining the voyage. When Maldonado was imprisoned between those “walls of water” — as a Mexican writer also confined there described it — she thought she would never see her mother again.

Maldonado only spent one year of her six-year sentence there for drug and weapons possession, but it was the most painful. “I lost my smile, my happiness,” she said. Now at age 55, a laundry worker and an activist advocating for other imprisoned women, she wants to return to close wounds.

The Islas Marias prison colony was founded in 1905 on Mother María Island, the largest of the four islands and the only inhabited one more than 60 miles off the coast of Nayarit state. Frequently buffeted by hurricanes scraping along Mexico’s coast, the government closed the prison in 2019.

López Obrador had it converted into an environmental education center, though which some 150 youths have passed. Now the government wants to make it an ecotourism destination where visitors can watch sea birds and enjoy the beaches and local history.

On Saturday, Mexico’s president announced that the navy will be in charge managing tours, the island’s airport will expanded and two ferries will be added that can make the trip in 2.5 hours.

Visitors will stay in the old houses - of prisoners or workers - that are being rebuilt to avoid having to construct new buildings that could damage the archipelago’s nature reserve.

Everything could be ready in three months, López Obrador said. But it is unclear when tours will start because hurricane season begins in June. Many wonder whether Islas Marías will become a tourist draw like Alcatraz, the infamous prison accessed from San Francisco, or a place like the Panamanian island prison colony Coiba, closed in 2004, which became a natural paradise that is being reclaimed by the jungle.

Although the government has been criticized for giving many functions to the military, from construction works or plant nurseries to controlling Mexico City’s new airport, Maldonado sees nothing wrong with the navy taking charge of tourism.

“I hope there is no nepotism and we all have the opportunity to visit it,” she said in a message after the announcement.

The island now is nothing like the dirt-floored warehouse-like prison dorms with five bathrooms for 500 women that Maldonado remembers. “We lived in a chicken coop,” she said.

Now a colorful mural of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, himself held for years on an island prison, welcomes visitors to remodeled buildings, a whitewashed church and a museum with the Mexican writer José Revueltas, imprisoned there during the 1930s for his work in the Communist Party, as main character.

“What was a hell is becoming a paradise,” López Obrador said.

There was a time when it was considered the “tomb of the Pacific.” Revueltas said the prison was much more terrible than he could describe in his book “Walls of Water.” The worst couldn’t be described, he said, because of modesty or because you don’t know how to show that it’s really true.

Island prison colonies were common around the world to make escapes nearly impossible or to rehabilitate through forced labor. Most tried to be self-sufficient.

Prisoners on Mother María Island harvested salt and farmed shrimp. They tried to make a little money brewing their own alcohol from fermented fruits, illegally trading exotic birds or killing boa constrictors to make belts.

In later years, it was known as a “prison without walls” where some prisoners lived with their families in semi-freedom and relatively good conditions.

That changed when President Felipe Calderon launched the war against the drug cartels in 2006 and hundreds of new prisoners were sent there. In 2013, the inmate population reached 8,000.

Maldonado served her time during that era. She said the women, who were the minority, were the worst treated. Unlike the men, they weren’t allowed outside the fences even though they had skills and barely received enough food. Maldonado’s weight dropped to about 45 pounds. “They didn’t pay attention to us when someone got sick,” she said. “My friend’s gallbladder ruptured.”

The extreme isolation was the most punishing part, broken only on the 15th of every month when they were allowed a 10-minute phone call with a relative. Some who tried to escape drowned. Occasionally the Navy rescued others who set out on improvised crafts.

“The boats came on Thursdays to bring us supplies and letters, and I saw the tears of my mother on the stained pages,” Maldonado said. “The worst was thinking that I would never see her again.”

Infrequently some relatives made visits that then involved 12 hours at sea.

Maldonado’s one colorful memory was of a tube of red lipstick, the only personal item she took. When it ran out she solemnly buried it because she felt like it gave her life.

A year after Maldonado was transferred to a prison in Mexico City, six people died on the island in a riot sparked by a lack of food.

It was closed in 2019 because of the high operating costs, some $150 a day per prisoner, which was much higher than on the mainland. Prison reform had also significantly reduced its inmate population.

Devil’s Island in French Guiana, immortalized in the film “Papillon,” closed in 1946. Alcatraz closed in 1963. Later, others in Chile, Costa Rica and Brazil were shuttered. The most abrupt was Peru’s El Fronton in 1986 when the government used gun boats to put down a riot, killing more than 100 inmates.

Maldonado applauded the Islas Marias closure and supports the idea of inviting visitors. She said the proceeds should go to re-insertion programs for inmates.

She has already written to former cellmates to see if they’d like to go with her to the place she thought she’d never see again.

The TSA Is Under Fire For This Major Change At Airports

Even though being able to jet off on a much-needed vacation is always an exciting prospect, the process of getting through the airport to your flight is usually not quite as enticing. From long lines and potential delays to expensive food and looming health risks, most would probably prefer to limit their time in the terminal as is. But because of a recent update, your next trip might see even more pre-flight pain points. Read on to find out why the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is coming under fire from travelers for a major change it's instituting in airports.

New luggage scanners are causing delays at security checkpoints in airports.

Thanks to everything from severe weather to staffing issues, delayed or canceled flights have become more common as the travel industry still struggles to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But travelers are now reporting experiencing delays before they even reach their flights because of an update to the security screening process being rolled out at airports across the U.S. by the TSA, according to travel news outlet The Points Guy.

The latest issue is caused by the implementation of new computed tomography (CT) scanning machines that are now being used to check all carry-on luggage at checkpoints. According to the agency, the updated scanners should allow travelers to pass through security more quickly by allowing them to leave certain items in their bags. But unfortunately, the process appears to be turning what can already feel like a long and drawn-out process into an even slower experience.

"I think it took about ten minutes to screen ten people…If not longer," traveler Joelle Erickson wrote in a post to a Facebook group hosted by The Points Guy. "The people in front of me were trying to contact their family further back in line to warn them of how slow the machine was."

The TSA says the machines should eventually make the security process easier.

The new machines are part of a project launched by the TSA to update and modernize technology at security checkpoints across the U.S., The Points Guy reports. After initially spending $200 million on an order of new scanners in 2021, the agency announced in March that it had authorized a $781.2 million contract for nearly 1,000 machines that airports will likely install by this summer.

According to the TSA, the new machines allow agents to scan luggage without the typical hassle of removing certain items. "CT technology provides enhanced detection of threat items. Like existing CT technology used for checked baggage, the machines create such a clear picture of a bag's contents that computers can automatically detect explosives, including liquids," the agency explains on its website. "In the future, the goal is to keep laptops and 3-1-1 liquids inside of the bag during checkpoint screening. Under current screening procedures for this technology, laptops are allowed to remain inside the bag for screening."

Put more simply, the scanners will provide 3D imagery to security personnel and ideally cut down on the need for bag checks. "It's much like the CT scan machines you see at the hospital," TSA southeast spokesperson Mark Howell told The Points Guy earlier this year. "And the difference in security is really [like] the difference between a map and a globe."

The TSA admits that training issues are causing security check delays at some airports.

Unfortunately, while officials hope the new technology will eventually smooth out and expedite the security screening process, the rollout is creating some issues for travelers as the current advanced technology (AT) machines are replaced. Staff from The Points Guy have reported delays at airports across the U.S., including San Diego International Airport, Denver International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Boston Logan Airport.

"As with any new technology, there is a learning curve for officers; as their proficiency increases, there is an expectation throughput will meet and exceed existing AT systems," a spokesperson for the TSA told The Points Guy in an email.

Here's how you can still get through airport security quickly and easily.

Because of the potential for delays, some experts warn that travelers should try to arrive at the airport a little earlier than usual as agents get used to the new process. Travelers can also opt for an expedited experience by signing up for TSA PreCheck, which allows passengers to use a dedicated lane, keep liquids and laptops in their bags, and leave their shoes on their feet during the screening process, Travel + Leisure reports.

But even though the new machines may be making some travelers frustrated, others still see the slow-down as a fair trade-off for simplifying the security process. "As a parent traveling with iPad, snacks, and wet wipes, I loved the new machine," traveler Matt Teichmann posted in The Point Guy Facebook group. "I'd rather it take a little longer and not have to do all that unpacking!"

Source: ZACHARY MACK

UK Airport Warns COVID-Related Delays Could Last Months

A major British airport warned passengers on Friday to expect the delays plaguing travel to continue for months, as the U.K. aviation regulator told the country’s air industry to shape up after weeks of canceled flights and long airport queues.

The head of Manchester Airport in northwest England said passengers could face waits of up to 90 minutes to get through security “over the next few months.”

Travelers in Britain have suffered days of delays during the current Easter school holiday break, with British Airways and easyJet canceling hundreds of flights because of coronavirus-related staff absences, and long lines building at airport check-in, security and baggage points.

Manchester, Heathrow and Birmingham airports have all experienced problems, stemming from a mix of staff off sick with COVID-19 and from trouble replacing workers laid off during the pandemic, when international travel ground to a halt.

The managing director of Manchester Airport resigned this week. Charlie Cornish, chief executive of owner Manchester Airports Group, acknowledged that the airport does not have “the number of staff we need to provide the level of service that our passengers deserve.”

“Despite our efforts since last autumn, the tight labor market around the airport has meant we have just not been able to hire people quickly enough to establish a full-strength team,” he said.

He said departing passengers should arrive three hours before their flights to be sure of having enough time.

Civil Aviation Authority Chief Executive Richard Moriarty told airlines they must set “deliverable” schedules and “have the necessary level” of staff.

In a letter, he said the delays and cancelations were “not just distressing for affected consumers but have the potential to impact confidence levels across the industry.”

EasyJet said earlier this week that the number of crew illnesses was more than double normal levels because of high COVID-19 infection rates across Europe.

British Airways said many of its cancellations include flights that were cut when it decided last month to shorten its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability amid rising COVID-19 cases.

Infections across the U.K. have soared again with the rapid spread of the more transmissible omicron BA.2 variant, reaching record levels last week when official figures showed about 1 in 13 people had the virus.

The Easter school holidays are the first time many families in Britain have booked trips abroad after two years of pandemic restrictions. All remaining virus measures, including mandatory self-isolation for those infected and testing requirements for international travel, were scrapped in February and March.

Traffic also has been snarled at the English Channel port of Dover after P&O Ferries suspended sailings to France after firing almost 800 crew members without notice to replace them with cheaper contract staff. The move sparked a standoff with the British government, which is demanding P&O reverse the sackings.

The company is refusing to budge. It said it was ready to resume trips on the Dover-Calais route by next week, “subject to regulatory sign-off.”

Other ferry operators say their boats are full, and miles-long queues of thousands of trucks have built up over the past week outside Dover, one of the U.K.’s busiest ports for both passengers and freight.