Chinese Tourists Flock To Gambling Hub Macau For Labour Day Holiday

(Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese visitors have descended on the world's biggest gambling hub of Macau for the Labour Day holiday, packing tightly into its narrow cobblestone streets and placing bets in its glitzy casinos.

The surge in visitors comes after China and its special administrative region Macau lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in January, allowing visitors to stream into Macau for the first time in more than three years.

More than 100,000 visitors arrived in the former Portuguese city each day on Saturday and Sunday, local media reported, citing government statistics, up from 60,000 a day recorded in previous days.

On the pastel coloured streets surrounding the historical sites of Senado Square and the Ruins of St Paul's, hundreds of visitors thronged cheek by jowl to snap photographs and try Macanese delicacies including egg tarts and dried meat.

Macau is the top destination for Chinese travellers within Asia from April 17 to May 7, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys, with bookings up 11% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 versus a 32% fall in nearby Hong Kong.

Coco Li, a 42-year-old woman from Hubei province who was visiting with her husband, said they chose to come to Macau because travel rules had relaxed.

Li said she was planning to buy cosmetics, handbags and clothes and "definitely go to the casino and gamble for fun, as we still need to control ourselves."

Macau's government has promoted its cultural heritage, food and entertainment to mainland visitors over the past year.

Authorities are keen to diversify Macau, which depends on casinos for more than 80% of its government revenues and has imposed strict new regulations on its six casino operators.

The rush of visitors comes as the densely populated territory grapples with an acute labour shortage.

Hotel occupancy is expected to reach around 90%, with some fully booked for the holiday period, industry analysts said.

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd said its Raffles hotel would open in the second half of 2023, a delay from earlier plans to open in the first half.

"We've been actively working with the Macau government on our labour requirements," the company said. "For our existing resorts we're effectively fully staffed for the upcoming May holiday."

Sands China Ltd said staff constraints had impacted the number of available rooms in the first quarter, but the situation had improved somewhat in March.

"The company expects that to improve further during the current quarter, so the current outlook is optimistic," it said.

In the meantime, some travellers have been struggling to find accommodation.

Outside Sands' Venetian resort, a 40-year-old man surnamed Wang from Shanxi province who travelled to Macau frequently before the pandemic, was shocked by the crowds.

In the meantime, some travellers have been struggling to find accommodation.

Outside Sands' Venetian resort, a 40-year-old man surnamed Wang from Shanxi province who travelled to Macau frequently before the pandemic, was shocked by the crowds.

"I couldn't even book a room so I just have to wait and see if the casino can give me a room as a gift," he said.Outside Sands' Venetian resort, a 40-year-old man surnamed Wang from Shanxi province who travelled to Macau frequently before the pandemic, was shocked by the crowds.

"I couldn't even book a room so I just have to wait and see if the casino can give me a room as a gift," he said.

"I couldn't even book a room so I just have to wait and see if the casino can give me a room as a gift," he said.
Reporting by Joyce Zhou in Macau; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Jamie Freed

Japan To Lift COVID-19 Border Controls Before Holiday Week

Japan will lift most of its coronavirus border controls, including a requirement that entrants show proof of three vaccinations or a pre-departure negative test, beginning Saturday as the country’s Golden Week holiday season begins and a large influx of foreign tourists is expected.

All entrants with symptoms will still be required to take COVID-19 tests after arriving until May 8, and those who test positive will be placed in designated quarantine facilities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. After May 9, testing of those with symptoms will be voluntary.

Japan will also drop a special measure subjecting visitors from mainland China to random testing upon arrival that was implemented in late December when infections surged there, he said.

The government had originally planned to implement the changes on May 8, when it will downgrade the official status of the coronavirus to a common infectious disease like seasonal influenza, but decided to speed them up for the holiday season beginning Saturday.

Japan’s government dropped its requests for mask wearing in March, leaving it up to each person’s discretion. Most Japanese continue to wear them, although they are only recommended now in crowded trains, hospitals and other public spaces, and near elderly and other vulnerable people.

COVID-19 is currently categorized as a Class 2 disease along with SARS and tuberculosis, which allows restrictions on the movements of patients and their close contacts and the issuing of emergency measures by the government. Downgrading it to Class 5 will scrap those rules.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Four Seasons Continues Middle Eastern Expansion With Island Resort On Sindalah In NEOM, Saudi Arabia

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world's leading luxury hospitality company, and Hotel Development, the NEOM division that is responsible for building a future-centric hospitality ecosystem in the developing region, have announced plans for a new luxury resort as part of the NEOM master project, located on Sindalah Island.

Extending over an area of approximately 840,000 square metres (9,041,684 square feet), Sindalah is one of a group of islands in the Red Sea that will be developed in NEOM, each according to its unique vision and design. In addition to the upcoming Four Seasons resort, Sindalah will be home to a luxury marina and yacht club, 9-hole golf course with 18 pin experiences and a vast array of dining destinations. It will also host sophisticated cultural events, grand sporting spectacles and glamorous social celebrations throughout the year.

"Four Seasons upcoming resort in NEOM will be a one-of-a-kind project, blending the natural wonders of the Red Sea with the future-forward technologies on which this new, exciting destination is being built," says Bart Carnahan, President, Global Business Development and Portfolio Management, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "We are proud to be part of the ambitious vision that our partners at NEOM have for transforming the future of hospitality in the region and look forward to welcoming guests to discover a new part of the Kingdom."

The Resort will feature 225 guest rooms and suites with terraces overlooking the beaches of the Red Sea, as well as 52 villas with one to four-bedroom configurations with plunge pools and beach views, and with the Presidential and Royal Villas offering private swimming pools, gyms and access to private yacht docks. The Resort architecture is being led by LUCA DINI Design & Architecture, with interiors for guest rooms and public areas by RBTA and LW Design respectively.

"Sindalah follows NEOM's vision and purpose of mitigating the impact of unchecked urban development, while protecting and regenerating the rich natural capital of the region. In terms of hospitality, our goal is to shape a new frontier for the industry, and Four Seasons is the perfect partner to work alongside towards this," says Chris Newman, Executive Director, Hotel Development at NEOM. "While NEOM will have something for every kind of traveller, the Resort on Sindalah will be perfect for those looking to rest, relax and explore in the beautiful setting of the Red Sea, while enjoying the service that Four Seasons has built an incredible global reputation on."

While visiting the Resort, guests can choose from four unique culinary experiences, as well as several lounges, in addition to the other dining options on Sindalah. Four Seasons will also offer an expansive spa experience with varying treatment rooms, relaxation lounges, a hammam and vitality pool. For those looking for an active getaway, guests will have access to a fitness centre, multiple indoor and outdoor pools, and a variety of water activities such as water skiing, kite surfing, windsurfing and more. An onsite diving centre will allow guests to explore one of the world's most sought-after diving destinations and discover the abundant marine life and ecosystems that exist within the Red Sea.

For more details, please visit: https://www.fourseasons.com/ and https://www.neom.com/en-us

Chopin Museum Reopens In Warsaw With New Original Exhibits

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A baroque Warsaw mansion hosting a museum dedicated to one of Europe’s greatest 19th century musicians, Polish pianist and composer Frederic Chopin, is reopening with a new focus on original artifacts after months of pandemic-spurred renovations.

“The main reason of this refurbishing was to create a good atmosphere, good air conditions for the ... original objects,” Artur Szklener, director of the National Frederic Chopin Institute said Thursday.

“And at the same time we wanted to change some ideas of the exhibition itself showing more of the originals,“ he told The Associated Press.

The museum, which houses Chopin’s last piano, a Pleyel, and manuscripts of his music, will also display new items including letters he wrote to his companion, writer George Sand, and a satirical drawing she made of him, as well as an oil portrait of Chopin by his friend Teofil Kwiatkowski, a fellow Pole.

The focus of the renewed exhibition is on the original manuscripts, which take the place of previous copies, and on recreating the mood and style of the times they belong to, museum officials said.

“Especially after the pandemic we realized that people are overwhelmed, oversaturated with things that are not original, they have enough of it and they wanted more originals, they wanted to touch the real thing,” Chopin institute spokesman Aleksander Laskowski told the AP. “They cannot touch the letters, obviously, but they almost can.”

“That was the reason for change: be original. And we are,” Laskowski said.

Seeing the letters in Chopin’s handwriting, written in “beautiful Polish and in a very imaginative way” one cannot help feeling “transported to his age and into his drawing room,” Laskowski said.

A large part of the renovation was creating the right technical air and light conditions for exhibiting 19th century manuscripts and other objects, while respecting the architecture of the 17th century Ostrogski Castle.

Popular among Poles and foreign tourists, the museum saw an 85% drop in number of visitors during the pandemic. That turned out to be a spur — and an opportunity — for change. It closed in the fall of 2022 for renovation and rearrangement.

The global trauma of the deadly pandemic has also led to some exhibit changes or removals, especially in the room documenting Chopin’s death, according to curator Seweryn Kuter.

Space has also been made for more items that were owned or linked to the Romantic-era composer, who spent half of his life in Paris, museum officials said.

Chopin was born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw to a Polish mother and a French father. Seeking to develop his talent, he went to Vienna in 1830 and then to Paris, where he settled until his death in 1849.

He is buried at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, but his heart was brought to Poland and rests sealed in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. The museum reopens Saturday.

The American Museum Of Natural History Unveils New Gilder Center Ahead of May 4 Opening

Hailed internationally as a soaring architectural achievement, and housing world-class research facilities and scientific collections, next-generation classrooms, and innovative exhibitions, the American Museum of Natural History’s highly anticipated Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation will open to the public on May 4, catapulting the Museum into an exciting new era.

“We are thrilled to open this magnificent new resource and facility, especially as the City is more fully emerging from the pandemic period and people are eager for opportunities to learn, to be amazed, and to be inspired,” said Scott L. Bok, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation is the result of an exemplary public-private partnership, and, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I extend great thanks to the many supporters and partners who have brought this new facility to fruition.”

The Gilder Center embodies the Museum’s mission of science and education in every way—from sparking curiosity and wonder through new exhibits in strikingly designed spaces to providing new facilities where research collections, exhibitions, and learning are situated in close proximity, reinforcing the central role of natural history collections in scientific discovery and providing deeper experiences that connect visitors to the evidence and processes of science through engaging exhibits and programs. At the same time, the new building also enhances the visitor experience by establishing continuous pathways through its four-block campus, connecting buildings that were constructed over the course of nearly 150 years.

“The American Museum of Natural History is one of New York's greatest treasures, making science and technology accessible to learners of all ages," said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. "New York State was proud to play a role in the creation of the new Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation with funding through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. This transformative project will give New Yorkers and visitors from across the world an opportunity to experience the Museum’s vast, new windows into our natural world.”

“Congratulations to the American Museum of Natural History on their new state-of-the-art Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “AMNH has been a beacon in our city for decades, bringing a glimpse of the many wonders of the world to New Yorkers. As one of the City’s largest cultural capital projects in recent history, I am excited to see what innovative and captivating exhibitions our City will get to explore next.”

Designed by Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design practice led by Jeanne Gang, the Gilder Center is the latest in a series of major projects over the last three decades that have transformed the Museum’s campus, its science, educational and exhibition spaces, and all four facades, including Central Park West (2012 and 2021) and the 77th Street “castle” façade (2009), which have been thoughtfully restored. These include:

installation of fourth-floor fossil galleries dedicated to dinosaurs, early vertebrates, and mammals and their extinct ancestors (1996)

the development of the Hall of Biodiversity (1998)

the creation of the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space, housing the new Hayden Planetarium and the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth (2000)

the complete refurbishment of the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life (2003) and the renovation of the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites (2003)

the opening of the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins (2007)

the restoration of the Jill and Lewis Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals (2012)

the restoration of the Central Park West façade, and the restoration and reconceptualization of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (2012)

the complete renovation of the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals (2021)

the revitalization of the Northwest Coast Hall (2022)

“As a scientist, I’m excited that the Gilder Center will reveal more of the cross-disciplinary processes of science and be a powerful springboard for an even deeper integration of the Museum’s ongoing research with our exhibition program and education initiatives—all while inspiring our visitors to appreciate and learn about how all life on Earth is connected,” said Sean M. Decatur, President of the American Museum of Natural History. “It will be a great joy to welcome visitors to the new Gilder Center, as it heralds a new era of exploring the wonders of nature at the Museum.”

INTRODUCING THE GILDER CENTER

The 230,000-square-foot $465 million Gilder Center project was announced in 2014 and includes six floors above ground, four of which are open to the public, and one below. It creates 33 connections among 10 Museum buildings to link the entire campus and establishes a new entrance on the Museum’s west side, at Columbus Avenue and 79th Street, in Theodore Roosevelt Park. Visitors coming from Columbus Avenue experience the Gilder Center as a building set in a park, constructed at the same height as the older Museum buildings that flank it, with flowing, gentle curves. Adjacent areas of the park have been enhanced with a new landscape design, developed by Reed Hilderbrand with community input, which features more pathways and seating areas.

Offering a visual link between the two sides of the campus, the Gilder Center’s undulating façade, with its inviting expanses of bird-safe fritted glass, is clad in Milford pink granite, the same stone used on the Central Park West entrance. The diagonal pattern of the stone panels evokes both the phenomenon of geological layering and the design of the richly textured, coursing surface of the masonry on the Museum’s 77th Street side.


“The opening of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation is a great achievement that will expand access to learning opportunities for science and natural history for all New Yorkers," said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. "The Council has always been a strong supporter of our city’s cultural institutions because of how they enrich our City holistically. I congratulate the American Museum of Natural History on the opening of the Gilder Center, which will benefit generations of New Yorkers now and in the future.”

“The Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation is a glorious new facility that fulfills a critical need at a critical time: to help visitors to understand the natural world more deeply, to appreciate that all life is interdependent, to trust science, and to be inspired to protect our precious planet and its myriad life forms,” said Ellen Futter, President Emerita of the American Museum of Natural History. “This opening represents a milestone moment for the Museum in its ongoing efforts to improve science literacy while highlighting for our visitors everything the Museum has to offer, and sparking wonder and curiosity.”

“The Gilder Center is designed to invite exploration and discovery that is not only emblematic of science, but also such a big part of being human. It aims to draw everyone in—all ages, backgrounds, and abilities—to share the excitement of learning about the natural world,” said Jeanne Gang, founding principal and partner of Studio Gang. “Stepping inside the large daylit atrium, you are offered glimpses of the different exhibits on multiple levels. You can let your curiosity lead you. And with the many new connections that the architecture creates between buildings, it also improves your ability to navigate the Museum’s campus as a whole.”

Upon entering the Gilder Center, visitors find themselves in the five-story Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium, a grand space illuminated with natural light admitted through large-scale skylights. The building’s design is informed by the ways in which wind and water carve out landscapes that are exciting to explore, as well as the forms that hot water etches in blocks of ice.

The texture, color, and flowing forms of the Griffin Atrium were inspired by canyons in the southwestern U.S. and animate the Gilder Center’s grand entrance, evoking awe, excitement, and discovery. Its striking structure has been built by spraying concrete directly onto rebar without traditional formwork in a technique known as “shotcrete,” invented in the early 1900s by Museum naturalist and taxidermy artist Carl Akeley. The bridges and openings in the hand-finished shotcrete connect visitors physically and visually to multiple levels housing new exhibition galleries, designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates with the Museum’s Exhibition Department, education spaces, and collections facilities, creating welcoming sightlines that encourage movement into and throughout the building. The verticality of the Griffin Atrium also acts as a key sustainability feature, providing natural light and air circulation to the heart of the building’s interior.

A broad, grand staircase on the east side of the Griffin Atrium, on axis with the entrance, is designed with one side as seating steps, featuring deep, walnut-covered treads and high risers that offer visitors a place to gather for rest and conversation and can be used as seating for programs. With improved circulation provided by the Gilder Center, Museum visitors will be able to proceed from the entrance on Columbus Avenue all the way through to Central Park West, or vice-versa.

For more detals and tickets, please visit: https://www.amnh.org/about/gilder-center SHARING IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY IN THE GILDER CENTER Located along the south side of the Griffin Atrium, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core establishes the central role of scientific collections as evidence from which knowledge is derived. The five-level facility includes three floors of floor-to-ceiling exhibits that showcase the breadth of the Museum’s collections, revealing to visitors the diversity and importance of scientific collections, the ways in which they are studied, and some of the discoveries they have yielded so far as well as the potential for future discoveries based on new methods and technologies. Visitors will be able to explore three levels of spectacular displays featuring more than 3,000 objects and representing every area of the Museum’s collections in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology, with materials ranging from dinosaur tracks to astronomical instruments, and from antlers to pottery. A series of digital exhibits feature stories about how scientists analyze various types of collections and introduce Museum researchers, while the glass-paneled exhibits, including those in the Macaulay Family Foundation Collection Galleries on the first and second floors, offer visitors glimpses into working collections areas situated behind the displays. Together with the collections stored in the new Lepidoptera facility, which is also visible to visitors and is located next to the Collections Core on the second floor, the Gilder Center houses more than 4 million scientific specimens. (See the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core fact sheet for more). Along the north side of the building, on the Gilder Center’s first floor, visitors will find the 5,000-square-foot Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium, dedicated to the most diverse group of animals on Earth and to highlighting their critically important role on our planet. Featuring 18 species of live insects, digital exhibits, models, and pinned specimens, the Insectarium introduces visitors to many of the 30 orders of insects and explores the vital functions that insects perform in different ecosystems, their evolution, and how insects benefit our species—and even inspire architects and roboticists. Oversized models of honeybees mounted overhead draw visitors through the gallery toward a monumental 8,000-lb resin model of a beehive at the west end. Along the way, visitors encounter exhibits where they can “meet the insects” by closely examining pinned specimens, living insects, and scientific visualizations and pass under a transparent skybridge built as a route for scurrying leafcutter ants in one of the world’s largest live leafcutter ant displays. Touch screens provide ways to learn more about insects in various ecosystems in each borough of New York City, and a sound gallery envelops visitors with the “music” of Central Park’s insects and their vibrations. (See Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium fact sheet for more.) Directly above the Solomon Family Insectarium, on the second floor, visitors can continue their exploration of live insects when they enter the year-round, 2,500-square-foot Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium to mingle with up to 1,000 free-flying butterflies in various micro-environments along a meandering route. Featuring butterflies of up to 80 species—which visitors can identify by referring to an identification board featuring an illustrated card for each species in flight—the Vivarium offers opportunities for close observation of one of nature’s vital environmental barometers as well as a view into the pupae incubator, where visitors can learn about the butterfly life cycle and observe chrysalises, perhaps even seeing a butterfly emerge. With the assistance of staff, visitors can also view butterflies through a digital microscope. (See the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium fact sheet for more.) On the third floor of the Gilder Center is Invisible Worlds, an extraordinary 360-degree immersive science-and-art experience that represents the next generation in scientific visualization. The experience begins in the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Gallery, which highlights the ways in which all life is connected—through segments of our DNA, within our ecosystems, through food webs, and through communication at the cellular level and beyond—and then draws visitors into a custom-designed oval space for the immersive experience. Building on the Museum’s long tradition of transporting visitors across the world via its iconic habitat dioramas and throughout the universe in the Hayden Planetarium, Invisible Worlds surrounds visitors with projections to present a breathtakingly beautiful, imaginative, and scientifically rigorous view into networks of life at all scales. The looping 12-minute immersive experience reveals how all life on Earth is interconnected: from the building blocks of DNA to ecological interdependencies in a Brazilian rainforest, a bay in the Pacific Ocean, the center of New York City, and to the neural network within the human brain. At key moments, visitors become part of the story as their own movements affect the images of living networks projected all around them. The experience is designed by the Berlin-based Tamschick Media+Space with the Seville-based Boris Micka Associates, who worked closely with data visualization specialists and scientists from the Museum and researchers from around the world.

The Barnes Foundation In Philadelphia Presents William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision, June 25–September 10, 2023

In summer 2023, the Barnes Foundation will present William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision, the first major East Coast exhibition dedicated to the work of self-taught American sculptor William Edmondson (c. 1874–1951) in decades. Though Edmondson was considered one of the most important Black artists of the American South in the early 20th century, in-depth attention to his work has been sporadic. Co-curated by the Barnes’s James Claiborne, Curator of Public Programs, and Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator, this exhibition sheds new light on Edmondson’s practice and artistry and explores the artist and his oeuvre within the context of African American social history.

Major support for William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Additional support is provided by Comcast NBCUniversal, the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, and the Henry Moore Foundation. This exhibition is on view in the Roberts Gallery from June 25 through September 10, 2023.

Edmondson made carving his vocation around 1932, having previously worked as a hospital orderly in Nashville, Tennessee. Inspired by a vision—described by the artist as a divine calling—he developed a career making headstones for the city’s Black cemeteries. Soon he expanded his repertoire to include freestanding figurative sculptures, depicting nurses, teachers, angels, and preachers. Following a solo exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1937—the institution’s first show dedicated to a Black artist—he increasingly found buyers beyond his immediate community, attracting the attention of East Coast intellectuals and collectors. As Edmondson found fame beyond Nashville, media coverage of the artist played into racialized stereotypes about the Southern Black experience, with many journalists framing Edmondson’s sculptures as the work of a “modern primitive.” Such readings may have been encouraged by how white photographers, including Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Edward Weston, captured the artist at work in the 1930s and 1940s.

More than 80 years later, William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision presents over 60 works by Edmondson. Acknowledging the complexities of his early critical reception, the Barnes exhibition also presents a selection of Dahl-Wolfe’s and Weston’s photographs, not as documentary evidence of Edmondson’s practice but as independent works of art that at once celebrate and romanticize their subject. The show reassesses the artist as more than a passive actor in an unfolding drama—a self-taught sculptor “discovered” by white patrons and institutions—and explores how Edmondson’s identity and position within history influenced his life and work.

This exhibition also examines the complex relationship between Black cultural production and the American museum. To further investigate this theme, acclaimed visual and movement artist Brendan Fernandes—who works at the intersections of dance and visual art, addressing cultural displacement, migration, labor, and queer subjectivity—has been commissioned to create a new work, which will activate the exhibition on select dates throughout the summer. In Returning to Before, Fernandes, a classically trained dancer, has choreographed a piece that will employ the techniques of ballet and modern and contemporary dance to respond to and interact with Edmondson’s sculptures. In considering the guiding role that spirituality plays in both his own work and that of Edmondson, Fernandes prompts audiences to interrogate a museum’s capacity to serve as a space for spiritual creative expression. He and exhibition designer Yaumu Huang have created a contemplative display space—constructed as a kind of altar or memorial—that includes a Jacquard tapestry designed by Fernandes. A corps of dancers will activate this environment, evoking, as Fernandes describes, “the innate choreographic nature of Edmondson’s own sculpture making, chiseling, and carving.” Through this collective movement of the dancers and audiences within the Roberts Gallery, the museum space becomes a place for communal homage to the artistic and spiritual legacy of Edmondson.

Returning to Before will begin on July 14, with an evening performance and conversation featuring Brendan Fernandes. Following the opening, performances will take place in the exhibition space on Saturdays from July 15 through September 9 at noon and 2 pm. (Included with admission.)

“Across our programs, we extend and grow Dr. Albert C. Barnes’s commitment to racial equality, social justice, and education. William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision is representative of our commitment to presenting underresearched and underrepresented artists, and to demonstrating the contemporary relevance of historic works of art,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President at the Barnes. “This exhibition expands our understanding of William Edmondson as a major figure in American art and marks the first in a series of collaborations that elevate the role of performance in exhibitions. Recognizing the interpretive potential for performance to build new pathways into historical art, we are expanding and deepening our program, developing our capacity for collaboration and placing performance at the heart of exhibition development.”

Arranged thematically, the works in this exhibition are on loan from museums and private collections across the US, including many from the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, which holds the largest collection of Edmondson’s work. In addition to the animals, angels, and other religious iconography Edmondson was known for, exhibition highlights include:

Ancient Egyptian Couple (limestone sculpture, c. 1940), from the Museum of Everything, London Edmondson’s only sculpture of a male nude, made for Sidney Mttron Hirsch: Reclining Man (limestone sculpture, date unknown), from Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Nashville, gift of Michael LeBeck in memory of Sidney Mttron Hirsch

Important works from the collection of KAWS, including Untitled (Angel) (c. 1940), Untitled (Seated Girl) (date unknown), and Untitled (Crucifix) (c. 1935–45), all limestone sculptures Mermaid (limestone sculpture, c. 1932–41), the collection of Robert and Katharine Booth

12 photographs of William Edmondson by Louise Dahl-Wolfe (c. 1895–1989)

A rare carving of Eleanor Roosevelt (limestone sculpture, c. 1940), from a private collection

“Recognizing the gaps in Dr. Barnes’s collection, we focus on presenting the voices and work of women and artists of color in our exhibition program,” says co-curator Nancy Ireson. “Through this exhibition, we seek to recontextualize William Edmondson, reinstating the importance of community in his work and rejecting narratives that oversimplify his life and practice. As we highlight Edmondson’s position in art history, questions about equity in the cultural sector arise that still resonate today, making the exhibition a space for important discussions.”

“This exhibition is our first to draw a holistic connection between the Barnes’s performance and exhibition programs,” says co-curator James Claiborne. “By bringing Brendan Fernandes’s performance directly into the exhibition, we hope to create new and compelling points of entry for audiences and engage visitors in an active dialogue about multifaceted Black experiences across time and place. We are excited to showcase Fernandes’s new work, Returning to Before, and witness how it brings Edmondson’s sculptures, and the stories they tell, to life in new ways.”

For more details, please visit: https://www.barnesfoundation.org/plan-your-visit

St. Augustine, Florida Sizzles With The Sounds & Flavors Of Latin America

Hispanic heritage is one of the pillars of Floridian culture, and nowhere is this better shown off than in the city of St. Augustine — the birthplace of Hispanic influence in the United States. Recently named one of the top 50 Best Small Towns in the South by Southern Living, and perched along Florida's northern coast, St. Augustine was basking in Spanish influence four decades before the first English settlement was ever established in continental North America.

The Spanish influence of St. Augustine began in 1565 when the city was founded by explorer Pedro Menedez de Aviles. Today, visitors to St. Augustine can step back in time and see the evolution of Hispanic influence and culture throughout the city. Some of the most impressive heritage sites include:

The Castillo de San Marcos fortress, one of the oldest masonry fortifications on the continent.

Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological park, where visitors can actually sip from the legendary fountain.

St. Augustine Historic District and Aviles Street, the oldest street in the United States.

Fort Matanzas, the fort that protects St. Augustine along the Matanzas River.

Mission Nombre De Dios, the first Catholic parish in the United States.

But St. Augustine’s Hispanic influence extends much further than historic landmarks. Modern-day St. Augustine is a veritable spotlight on Hispanic culture. The sounds and flavors of the city are deeply rooted in Latin American traditions. Some of St. Augustine’s most iconic and beloved restaurants take their culinary direction from Hispanic kitchens.

Columbia Restaurant, for example, offers diners a traditional Spanish setting in the city's historic district. The restaurant is more than 100 years old and has a menu of award-winning Spanish and Cuban cuisine.

Other top Latin American restaurants in St. Augustine include Asado Life with Argentinian meats, Leon La Cocina, serving Latin, Colombian, Spanish, and South American dishes, Casa Maya Restaurant for Mexican cuisine, Llama Restaurant highlights Peruvian cuisine, and Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila, for a fusion of Mexican, Latin and Cuban flavors. Also not to be missed is Michael’s Tasting Room for a modern take on Latin American staples.

Visit St. Augustine during the annual St. Augustine Spanish Food & Wine Festival to celebrate all of the Spanish influences in the city's most iconic kitchens. The event features tapas, wine and spirits, as well as a Cava Dinner Reception, and a Grand Tasting. More than 100 Spanish Wines are available to taste throughout the three-day event, including Spanish-inspired cuisine prepared by St. Augustine chefs.

The celebration of St. Augustine's food and wine continues at the city's premiere culinary event, the St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival, held every May. Showcasing culinary, beverage, and culture, the annual event highlights celebrity guest chefs, winemakers, local chefs, artisans, and local craft spirits and beer.

Latin American food, music, and dance come together at another beloved annual St. Augustine tradition — Unidos en la Musica: A Latin American Festival. This yearly event celebrates the wide variety of Latin American music, and pairs beat perfectly with authentic dance, food, and games.

The celebration of St. Augustine's Hispanic heritage continues during its end-of-year Nights of Lights celebration. Locals and visitors love to watch the city light up with millions of tiny white lights, a practice inspired by the Spanish tradition of lighting candles in the windows during the holiday season.

Overall, St. Augustine is one of the best cities in the nation for honoring and celebrating the Hispanic and Latin American influence that is such a vital part of the fabric of Florida and the United States. Taste, listen, see, and feel where it all began in the oldest city in the country.

About St. Augustine: St. Augustine is found along Florida's northern coast between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. It is one of the most important stops on Florida's Historic Coast, which includes the city itself, as well as the 42 miles of Atlantic beachfront. Visitors can access St. Augustine through Daytona Beach International (DAB) and Jacksonville International (JAX) airports.

Tourism Booms In Jamaica After Pandemic, Overwhelming Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

The number of tourists flocking to Jamaica’s sun-drenched beaches soared nearly 100% in the first three months of the year, causing long queues and hours-long waits for arriving passengers at the island’s main airport.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett told The Associated Press that the problem stemmed from a shortage of airport staff to process the unexpected volume of people flying into Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay since the end of the pandemic.

Bartlett told Parliament later that day that there were 1.18 million arrivals from January through March — 94% more than the same period of 2022 and a record high for Jamaica’s tourism high season.

“The recovery has been stronger than anticipated and everybody all over the world is having difficulty with their airports because … (many) of the workers have not come back,” Bartlett said.

He said authorities plan to spend more on technology as they strive to do away with paperwork at the airport, including ending a requirement for visitors to fill out a form upon arrival.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the problems at Sangster underscore the need to push through the $70 million modernization and expansion project that already was underway.

The work is scheduled to be completed by 2025, and Honess said the improvements at the Caribbean’s largest and busiest airport “will make Jamaica more attractive and make Jamaica more competitive with other countries in the region, which have also invested heavily in improving their infrastructure.”

As part of the project, the runway is being lengthened at a cost of $34 million, work that is expected to be finished in June.

We are excited about the prospects of Sangster being able to accommodate these mega airlines that will be flying to Jamaica and the Caribbean,” Bartlett said during the AP interview last week.

He said the Tourism Ministry’s growth plan aims to have the island draw 5 million visitors annually by 2025. That would be a 35% increase from Jamaica’s peak of 3.7 million tourists in 2022.

Bartlett said Asian and Middle Eastern countries are among new markets being targeted and the airport must be able to accommodate the larger aircraft that would be used on such long-haul flights.

In 2019, before the pandemic, the airport processed 4.7 million passengers, including citizens and visitors. The number of tourists to Jamaica peaked at 3.7 million in 2022, 70% of whom used the Sangster gateway.

Sangster is managed by MBJ Airports Ltd., a consortium 74.5% owned by a subsidiary of the Mexican airports operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico and the rest by Vantage Airport Group of Canada.
The consortium, which has a 30-year concession that began in 2003, said it spent $287 million to improve the airport in the first 18 years of the deal.

Among the improvements, the airport operator has expanded the immigration hall and departure lounge. The check-in area was recently outfitted with 60 self-service kiosks, with plans to install more, to reduce passenger processing and waiting times.

Travelore News: Berlin Airport Cancels All Departures On Monday Due To Strike

Germany's Verdi union called for a one-day strike of air security staff at Berlin airport on Monday as part of an ongoing wage dispute, prompting the airport to cancel all passenger departures that day.

The walkout is due to start at 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) on Monday and will end at midnight (2200 GMT), the union said.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has experienced some of its most disruptive strikes in decades this year as unions press for higher pay to offset the surging cost of living.

The planned action follows walkouts at four other German airports - Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart on Thursday and Friday when more than 700 departures were cancelled.

"Due to the warning strikes by security staff, no departures of passenger flights will be possible on Monday April 24," Berlin Brandenburg airport said in a statement, adding arrivals might also be affected.

The union has been negotiating with the BDLS aviation security association to push for pay increases for night, weekend and public holiday shifts.

Reporting by Madeline Chambers Editing by Mark Heinrich, Reuters

The Philadelphia Museum Of Art Presents Judith Joy Ross, April 24–August 6

“Judith Joy Ross has, as an artist, no formula. She starts over again each time—the riskiest way to do it. She has a style, of course, but it is austere. It cannot, if she panics, be used to take the place of content.”

—American photographer Robert Adams

The work of Judith Joy Ross marks a watershed in the lineage of the photographic portrait. Her pictures—unpretentious, quietly penetrating, startling in their transparency—consistently achieve the capacity to glimpse the past, present, and perhaps even the future of the individuals who stand before her lens. Since the early 1980s, Ross has used a large-format, 8x10-inch view camera as a tool to capture the distilled essence of her brief encounters with a cross-section of the American people, with a focus on those in eastern Pennsylvania, where she was born and raised.

For Ross, whose stated purpose is “to notice what is going on with other people and to record it,” this has required a spontaneous and radical reformulation of the relationship between the photographer and the photographed. When successful, these encounters yield pictures that enable an acute emotional and psychological connection that resists sentimentality, upends prejudice, and traverses boundaries of time, place, and circumstance.

Featuring approximately 200 photographs, this exhibition charts Ross’s work through all her major projects as well as smaller series and individual images that have never been seen before. Together, these bodies of work explore what it means to be a citizen and a human being, forming a profound portrait of our age. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will be the only US venue for the exhibition, following its European tour in Madrid, Paris, and the Hague.

About the Artist

Judith Joy Ross was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1946. She graduated from the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia in 1968 and earned a master’s degree in Photography in 1970 from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Ross has received a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1985), an Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1986), a City of Easton/Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant (1988), the Charles Pratt Memorial Award (1992), and a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant (1991). Her photographs are included in numerous institutional collections including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; among many others.

For more details and tickets, please visit: https://philamuseum.org/

Travelore Environmental News: Spain’s Barcelona Faces Drought ‘Emergency’ In September

Authorities in Spain’s parched northeast warned Tuesday that Barcelona and a wide surrounding area that’s home to some 6 million people could face even tighter restrictions of water use in the coming months.

Samuel Reyes, head of Catalonia’s Water Agency that manages water resources for the area encompassing Barcelona and other smaller cities in Spain’s northeastern corner, said the area would likely be declared in a “drought emergency” by September unless forecasts for scant rain prove incorrect.

“Unless it rains in the spring and summer, there won’t be any increases in the reservoirs and we will enter a stage of emergency for the Llobregat river system sometime around September,” Reyes said.
The Ter-Llobregat river system provides the main water supply for Barcelona, Girona and other smaller towns and villages. Spain’s government said Tuesday that its reservoirs, along with others in northern Catalonia, have shrunk to 27% of capacity. Only the reservoirs connected to the Guadalquivir river basin in southern Andalusia are worse off, at 26% of capacity.
Reyes said many of Catalonia’s rivers are at historic lows after a drought that has broken all records for the region and forced authorities to start limiting water use for agriculture and industry last year. Town halls have also been asked to stop filling public fountains, and limits on other uses are in place. There is an open debate now about whether or not to fill swimming pools in the summer, with many cities saying they are ideal “climate shelters.”

In an extraordinary effort to save every last drop of water, authorities successfully moved some 13 cubic hectometers of water from Catalonia’s Sau reservoir in recent weeks. In order to ensure the quality of water and avoid a massive die-off of fish, authorities culled 4,000 fish belonging to invasive species. Reyes’ agency said on Tuesday that that process had concluded.

Sau is now one of three reservoirs that Catalonia’s firefighters have said they will no longer be able to use to reload water to fight wildfires. Most of Spain is bracing for a difficult wildfire season with forests dry and temperatures expected to remain high after a record-hot 2022.

“Drought has become the principle concern of this country,” said Patrícia Plaja, spokeswoman for the Catalan government.

Under current restrictions, Catalonia’s cities are limited to using 230 liters of water per person per day, including personal use as well as what the town hall uses per inhabitant for services like street cleaning. That would drop to 200 liters per day under the “emergency” phase of Catalonia’s drought plan. The water agency says that the average person consumes some 116 liters per day for domestic use.

Catalonia’s government is proposing regional legislation that would allow it to impose fines on cities that use too much water.

Catalonia faced a severe drought in 2008 and used tankers to ship in water for Barcelona. Reyes told The Associated Press recently that his agency would not recommend for that method to be used again, nor would it back a possible rerouting of water from the much larger basin of the Ebro river in Catalonia’s south.

By JOSEPH WILSON

The Island Of Ireland Is A Walker's’ Paradise With Hundreds Of Trails Through Stunning Inland And Coastal Landscapes. Here Are 9 Recommended Places To Explore.

One of the best places in the world for walking and hiking trips is Ireland. From greenways to cliff paths, and mountains to woodlands, there are wonderful trails on the island of Ireland to suit dedicated hikers and fair-weather walkers alike. Step out on these nine great routes. We just recommend you bring good rain gear, and if you do get wet, we highly recommend hot whisky with honey and cloves to warm you up.

1. Howth Cliff Path, Dublin

Walking this 6km looped trail is a brilliant way to spend an afternoon. Easily reached from Dublin city, the walk offers superb views over Dublin Bay as it wends its way along the cliff path and over heather-clad hills. You’ll see the picturesque Baily Lighthouse perched at the end of a peninsula before starting your descent into the charming village of Howth.

2. Hare’s Gap, Mourne Mountains, Down

The majestic Mournes offer many paths to its peaks but the climb to Hare’s Gap is easily done in a few hours. Considered to be the most dramatic pass in the Mournes, Hare’s Gap was created by glaciers and was once a favourite haunt of smugglers.

3. Glencar Hill Walk, Leitrim

This beautiful 7km trail rises up from the shores of Glencar Lake past the “wandering water” of the waterfall that was immortalised in the poetry of W B Yeats. At its highest point you will be treated to spectacular views over Sligo Bay, Knocknarea and beyond.

4. Carrauntoohil, Kerry

Ireland’s tallest mountain is the ultimate challenge for hikers in Ireland. Rising to over 1,000m, it has three routes to the top including the aptly named Devil’s Ladder. Not for the faint hearted, the climb is demanding and lengthy but rewards hikers with breath-taking views. For those looking for a less arduous climb, the Cronin’s Yard Loop is an 8km walk through the foothills of the mountain.

5. Gobbins Cliff Path, Antrim

Said to be Europe’s most dramatic cliff walk, The Gobbins is a unique adventure. Clinging to the side of a cliff, the walkway is made up of tubular and suspension bridges with steps down into smugglers caves and undersea tunnels. Only accessible on a three-hour guided tour, it combines an elemental experience with insights into local history and folklore.

6. Glendalough, Wicklow

The location of a sixth-century monastic site, Glendalough is one of the most beautiful places for a walk on the island. The ancient landscape is dotted with the remains of the religious buildings including an impressive round tower. The lake walk is stunning and the experience is even more magical on a night-hike.

7. Royal Canal Greenway

The full length of the greenway runs 130km from Maynooth to Longford but you can join it at 12 different access points to walk as much or little as you want. The route follows a towpath beside the canal and is mostly flat. Along the way there are plenty of heritage sights including old bridges, locks and aqueducts.

8. Sperrin Mountains, Tyrone

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty yet one of the lesser known parts of Northern Ireland, the Sperrin Mountains have walking trails to suit every ability. Ramble through Gortin Forest, loop around Vinegar Hill or enjoy a riverside walk at Dunnamore and let the peace of the mountains inspire you.

9. Lough Derg Way, counties Limerick, Clare and Tipperary

If you’re looking for a multi-day hike, the Lough Derg Way is perfect. Stretching for 68km, it can be walked in three days and follows a mix of riverbank, canal bank, forest track, old roadway and minor roads. Along the way you’ll pass charming villages and heritage towns.

For more informagtion, please visit: www.ireland.com

‘World’s Longest’ Purpose-Built Cycling Tunnel Opens In Norway Though A Mountain

CNN
—
There are many ways to explore the seven mountains that surround the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage city of Bergen on Norway’s fjord-studded west coast. The newest, however, might well be record-breaking.

A three-kilometer-long (1.8-mile) cycling and pedestrian tunnel has been blasted through the base of Løvstakken mountain and its makers say it’s the longest purpose-built tunnel of its kind.

Fyllingsdalstunnelen, as it’s known, opened on April 15 with a family day of sporting activities, following four years of construction that began in February 2019. The state-funded mega-project cost close to $29 million, or 300 million Norwegian kroner.

“We Norwegians are usually modest people,” Camilla Einarsen Heggernes, a spokesperson for rail company Bybanen Utbygging, tells CNN, “But in this instance we would say that the tunnel is 100% state of the art.

It takes a little under 10 minutes to whizz through the tunnel by bike and around 40 if strolling by foot. To break up the monotony of the windowless tunnel, there are a variety of art installations throughout, as well as different colors and lighting to help users place where they are on the journey and offer a sense of direction.

At the center point is a “sundial” installation – where the sun definitely will never shine – which shows the time of day, again helping to orientate visitors and also to break up the otherwise long line of sight. The tunnel is otherwise perfectly straight, apart from slight curvatures at entrance and exit.

If you’re wondering how cyclists and pedestrians can use the same space, there are two lanes in the tunnel: a 3.5-meter wide bike lane and a 2.5-meter-wide lane for walkers and runners. “We have laid down a blue rubber flooring throughout the tunnel, similar to an athletic track, explains Einarsen Heggernes. “This makes it more pleasant to use than if one would just walk on asphalt.”

The new tunnel came about as a byproduct of Bergen’s second Bybanen tram line, which opened in November 2022. The tram line through the mountain required a parallel evacuation tunnel, so the developers decided to make the new tunnel multipurpose.

Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city and the port city is linked to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, by the 496-kilometer Bergensbanen railway line. This stunning rail journey crosses Europe’s largest high mountain plateau, the Hardangervidda, and its snow-clad vistas were the backdrop for the battle scenes in the “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back.”

While the Fyllingsdalstunnelen is pitching itself as the world’s longest purpose-built cycle tunnel, the reason for that caveat is the 3.6-kilometer-long Snoqualmie Tunnel in Washington, just east of Seattle. This former train tunnel is now a passageway for cyclists, runners and walkers and is part of the 250-mile Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail.

Six European cities made it in CNN Travel’s recent roundup of 10 of the world’s most bike-friendly cities. Copenhagen has 385 kilometers of bike lanes, having introduced its first one way back in 1892. Strasbourg in France has around 6,000 bikes available at self-service stations 24/7 which tourists can use. And the Swiss capital of Bern has a exhilarating downhill trail for riders who feel the need for speed. The best bit is that cyclists can get a funicular up to the top then ride down – no uphill struggle.

House Where Martin Luther King Planned Alabama Marches Moving to Michigan

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A lot was happening in March 1965 in the bungalow in Selma, Alabama, that then-4-year-old Jawana Jackson called home, and much of it involved her “Uncle Martin.”

There were late-night visitors, phone calls and meetings at the house that was a safe haven for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders as they planned the Selma to Montgomery marches calling for Black voting rights.

The role the Jackson House played was integral to the Civil Rights Movement, so Jackson contacted the The Henry Ford Museum near Detroit about a year ago to ask if it would take over the preservation of the Jackson House and its legacy.

“It became increasingly clearer to me that the house belonged to the world, and quite frankly, The Henry Ford was the place that I always felt in my heart that it needed to be,” she told The Associated Press last week from her home in Pensacola, Florida.

Starting this year, the Jackson House will be dismantled piece-by-piece and trucked the more than 800 miles (1,280 kilometers) north to Dearborn, Michigan, where it will eventually be open to the public as part of the history museum. The project is expected to take up to three years.

Owned by dentist Sullivan Jackson and his wife, Richie Jean, the 3,000-square-foot (28-square-meter) home was where King and others strategized the three marches against racist Jim Crow laws that prevented Black people from voting in the Deep South.

King was inside the home when President Lyndon Johnson announced a bill that would become the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“There was a synergy going on in that house during those critical times,” Jawana Jackson said. “Whether that was when Uncle Martin was praying the morning of the Selma to Montgomery march or whether he was talking to President Johnson (by phone) in the little bedroom of that home, I always got a sense of energy and a sense of hope for the future.”

The house and artifacts, including King’s neckties and pajamas, and the chair where he sat while watching Johnson’s televised announcement, will be part of the acquisition by The Henry Ford. The purchase price is confidential.

Named after Ford Motor Co. founder and American industrialist Henry Ford, the museum sits on 250 acres (100 hectares) and also features Greenfield Village where more than 80 historic structures are displayed and maintained. The Jackson House will be rebuilt there, joining the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln first practiced law, the laboratory where Thomas Edison perfected the light bulb, and the home and workshop where Orville and Wilbur Wright invented their first airplane.

Also among the collection’s artifacts are the Montgomery city bus whose seat Rosa Parks refused to give up to a white man in 1955 and the chair that Lincoln was sitting on in 1865 when he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

Visitors to Greenfield Village will be able to walk through the Jackson House, according to Patricia Mooradian, The Henry Ford’s president and chief executive.

“This house is the envelope, but the real importance is what happened inside,” Mooradian said. “We want people to immerse themselves in that history ... to feel and experience what may have gone on in that home. What were the conversations? What were the decisions that were being made around the dining room table?”

Built in 1912, the home served as a guest house for Black authors W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington who held “fireside chats” regarding education, religion, the arts, community building and economic sustainability, according to the Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium.

It took on a greater importance following the fatal shooting of a young Black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, by an Alabama trooper.

On March 7, 1965, weeks after that slaying, about 600 people participated in a peaceful protest. The late Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis was one of the leaders of the planned 54-mile (86-kilometer) march to the state Capitol, which was part of the larger effort to register Black voters. But police beat protesters as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in what is now known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Television and newspaper reports seared images of that confrontation into the nation’s consciousness. Days later, King led what became known as the “Turnaround Tuesday” march, in which marchers approached police at the bridge and prayed before turning back.

Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eight days after “Bloody Sunday.” On March 21, King began a third march, under federal protection, that grew to thousands of people by the time it arrived at the state Capitol. Five months later, Johnson signed the bill into law.

The Jackson House brings a new dimension to understanding the role Black Americans played in defeating Jim Crow, according to historian Gretchen Sullivan Sorin.

“The Jacksons are unsung heroes,” Sorin said. “Their generosity and courage shows us how we, as ordinary Americans, can stand up against injustice.”

Jackson said her parents felt the risks were worth taking.
“For them, it was all about the future for me and millions of other children that were going to grow up,” she said. “They felt that everyone deserved a peaceful and more democratic society to grow up in.”

Colorado Offering Safe Haven For Abortion And Transgender Care

A trio of health care bills enshrining access in Colorado to abortion and gender-affirming procedures and medications became law Friday as the Democrat-led state tries to make itself a safe haven for its neighbors, whose Republican leaders are restricting care.

The main goal of the legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is to ensure people in surrounding states and beyond can go to Colorado to have an abortion, begin puberty blockers or receive gender-affirming surgery without fear of prosecution. Bordering states of Wyoming and Oklahoma have passed abortion bans, and Utah has severely restricted transgender care for minors.

Many states with abortion or transgender care bans are also criminalizing traveling to states for the purpose of accessing legal health care.
The contradicting laws are setting the stage for interstate disputes comparable to the patchwork of same-sex marriage laws that existed until 2015, or the 19th-century legal conflict over whether fugitive enslaved people in free states remained the property of slaveholders when they escaped.
The governor’s office was packed with lawmakers, advocates and health care providers, many of them women, for a ceremony with a celebratory feel that resembled a rally at times with loud applause and call-and-response chants.

“We see you and in Colorado, we’ve got your back,” Democratic state Sen. Julie Gonzales said during the ceremony.

With the new laws, Colorado joins Illinois as a progressive peninsula offering reproductive rights to residents of conservative states on three sides. Illinois abortion clinics now serve people living in a 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) stretch of 11 Southern states that have largely banned abortion.

Florida, temporarily a haven for abortion seekers in those states, outlawed abortions after 6 weeks. The bill, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday in a closed-door ceremony doesn’t go into effect right away.

California and New York are considering similar bills after the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Roe. v. Wade, putting abortion laws in the hands of state legislatures.

Colorado’s southern neighbor, New Mexico, is also controlled by Democrats and signed a similar abortion protection bill earlier this year. It legally shields those who seek abortions or gender-affirming care, and those who provide the treatments, from interstate investigations.

Ashley Blinkhorn, a graduate student and activist who testified in favor of the bills during legislative hearings, said they will help people across the country, including possibly her recently married friends in their 30s and her queer friends in her former homes of Texas and Florida.

“It’s a real comfort to know that Colorado both will provide health care to them if they visit or if they move here,” she said.

Visits to Colorado’s abortion clinics have increased by about a third since the Supreme Court ruling and wait times for an appointment have increased from one or two days up to three weeks, according to state lawmakers. They also expect an increase in wait times for gender-affirming care.

Colorado House Minority Leader Mike Lynch said he feared the legislation would make Colorado an abortion destination that will attract “the vulnerable, the indigent and frightened minors from all over the country” and said the package of laws does not protect choice.

“They deny a new mother the choice to consider alternative options other than to end her pregnancy,” Lynch, a Republican from Wellington, said in a statement.

Karen Middleton, president of Cobalt Advocates, a Denver-based organization that pushes for abortion access, said most of the women traveling to Colorado since the Supreme Court ruling have come from Texas and Wyoming. The organization spent $220,000 to help women travel for abortions in Colorado last year, most of them from other states, up from $6,000 in 2021, she said. That is on top of money spent for the actual procedures.

Polis added the first layer of abortion protection a year ago, signing an executive order that bars state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations regarding reproductive healthcare. One of the bills he signed Friday codifies that order into law. Like the New Mexico law, it blocks court summons, subpoenas and search warrants from states that decide to prosecute someone for having an abortion.

Colorado’s abortion law extends the protections to transgender patients dodging restrictions in their own states. Gender-affirming health care has been available for decades, but some states have recently barred minors from accessing it, even with parental consent. Hospitals in some of those states say gender-affirming surgeries are rarely recommended for minors anyway. Puberty blockers are more common.

Conservative states are pushing back. Idaho passed a bill that outlaws providing a minor with abortion pills and helping them leave the state to terminate a pregnancy without their parents’ consent.

The Colorado law comes as medication abortions are in limbo across the U.S. and mail-order prescriptions of a crucial abortion drug are virtually banned pending the outcome of a federal court case.

Also on Friday, Polis signed a measure that outlaws “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centers, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don’t actually offer the procedure. Instead, they attempt to convince patients to not terminate their pregnancies. The bill also prohibits sites from offering what’s called an abortion pill reversal — and unproven practice to reverse a medical abortion.

A third bill signed Friday requires large employers to offer coverage for the total cost of an abortion, with an exception for those who object on religious grounds. It exempts public employees because Colorado’s constitution forbids the use of public funds for abortions. ____

Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert in Denver also contributed to this report.

By JESSE BEDAYN and COLLEEN SLEVIN

Resort Famous For Elvis’ ‘Blue Hawaii’ Movie Will Be Rebuilt

Demolition will soon begin on a resort once favored by Elvis Presley and other Hollywood royalty before it was heavily damaged by a hurricane three decades ago.

The Coco Palms Resort on the island of Kauai will be torn down for a new 350-room hotel, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

The resort is best known in movie lore as the location where Presley and Joan Blackman’s characters married in the 1961 movie “Blue Hawaii.”

It’s also the site of other key scenes in the movie, including the last where Presley sings the “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and holds Blackman’s hand while they board a raft to cross a lagoon.

In its heyday, it was famed for being frequented by other Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Bing Crosby.

The 46-acre (19-hectare) grounds were also once home to Kauai’s last queen, Deborah Kapule, who died in 1853.

The resort opened in 1953 next to a historic coconut grove and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. The property fell into disrepair after being damaged when the powerful Hurricane Iniki hit the island in 1992

Several attempts to restore the property have failed over the years.

The $250 million project will take three years to complete, said Patrick Manning, a managing partner of Reef Capital Partners from Utah.

Reef Capital served as the lender to a previous developer and took over the property in 2018 when they defaulted on a loan. Manning said the plan was to sell the property, but that changed after he investigated its history.

“I called my partners, and I said, ‘This property is too important to sell,’” Manning said.

The new hotel and a cultural center to honor the property’s history will be built on about 10 acres (4 hectares) of the property.

At one time, the community wanted the resort rebuilt, but those sentiments have changed, said Kauai Council Chairman Mel Rapozo. “They don’t want to see a resort built,” he added.

At a state Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting Friday, some spoke in opposition to the development, citing a number of ancestral bones buried on the property.

Cultural practitioner Joseph Kekaulike Kamai said his great-grandmother is buried there, and others are buried under the hotel, driveway and tennis courts.

“I really don’t want them to be digging anymore. I don’t want them grubbing our land,” Kamai said.

Manning said something needs to be done or the site will be an eyesore for another 30 years.

“Even though we know there are many that don’t want it rebuilt, we intend to be viewed and earn a reputation for doing everything we can to honor its past and respect the people of Kauai and guests of Kauai and how we manage its future,” Manning said.

Source: AP

Travelore News: Airport Reopening As South Florida Floods Slowly Recede

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — One of Florida’s busiest airports announced plans to reopen Friday morning, two days after an unprecedented deluge left planes and travelers stranded and turned Fort Lauderdale’s streets into rivers.

Officials at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport completed final inspections after sunrise Friday and said in a tweet that operations would resume at 9 a.m.

“Travelers are advised to check with their airlines for updated flight times BEFORE coming to the airport. Thanks for your patience as we work to restore normal operations,” the tweet said.

The airport shut down Wednesday evening as a storm dumped more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) of rain.

“Nature has been unkind to us,” Broward County Mayor Lamar Fisher said during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the airport.

A flood warning was expiring, but the National Weather Service warned motorists that water-covered roads could still be a hazard.

All across Fort Lauderdale, residents and business owners cleaned up. While it started raining on Monday in South Florida, much of the water fell Wednesday, and the Fort Lauderdale area saw record rainfall amounts on a matter of hours, ranging from 15 inches (38 centimeters) to 26 inches (66 centimeters).

On Thursday, residents in the city’s Edgewood neighborhood waded through knee-high water or used canoes and kayaks to navigate the streets. Dennis Vasquez, a window screen installer, towed some of his neighbor’s belongings on an inflatable mattress to a car on dry land. He himself lost all of his possessions when water rose chest-high in his house Wednesday night.

“Everything, it’s gone,” he said in Spanish. “But I will replace it.”

Christopher Alfonso and Tony Mandico, neighbors for 50 years in Edgewood, said their homes are likely total losses.

They said the area never severely flooded until a sanitary sewer system replaced septic tanks 10 years ago, making some streets higher than others and channeling rain onto lower roads.

Airlines were forced to cancel more than 650 flights at Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, according to FlightAware.com.

Southwest canceled about 50 departures through Friday morning, a spokesperson said. The airline is letting customers rebook on flights to and from Miami and Palm Beach at no additional charge, she said.

Frontier Airlines moved two flights from Fort Lauderdale to Miami but canceled about 15 other round trips, a spokesperson said. Allegiant Air also canceled some flights and rerouted others to the Tampa, Orlando and Punta Gorda areas.

Broward County Public Schools, the sixth-largest school district in the nation with more than 256,000 students, canceled classes Thursday and Friday after water inundated halls and classrooms in some schools.

The scene as floodwaters rose in the streets on Wednesday was chaotic, with abandoned cars “floating like boats,” tow truck driver Keith Hickman said.

“A truck would come by and the wake would push the cars into the other cars, and they were just floating,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said the region received “an unprecedented amount” of rain. The weather service was still confirming totals, but some gauges showed up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rainfall.
“For context, within a six-hour period the amount that fell is about a 1 in 1,000 chance of happening within a given year,” Bhatti said. “So it’s a very historical type of event.”

By FREIDA FRISARO, DANIEL KOZIN and TERRY SPENCER

Splash Mountain At Disneyland To Close In May

Splash Mountain's closing date has officially been revealed.

The ride’s last day will be May 30 before officially closing on May 31 in order to begin transforming the ride into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disney officials announced.

The log flume ride, opened in 1989, received criticism over the years as it features characters from Disney’s controversial 1946 movie “Song of the South.” A Change.org petition in 2020 called for Disney to change the ride’s theme to the “Princess and the Frog”, which features Disney’s first African-American princess, Tiana.

Disney officials also gave a sneak peek into what riders can expect from the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, including “familiar faces from the film such as Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Mama Odie, Louis, Eudora, Charlotte, “Big Daddy,” the King and Queen of Maldonia and Prince Ralphie.”

The new ride will open to the public in 2024.

Viking Celebrates The Float Out Of The New Viking Aton, Continuing To Build On Commitment To Egypt

Viking® (www.viking.com) today announced its newest ship for the Nile River—the 82-guest Viking Aton—was "floated out," marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Set to debut in August 2023, the Viking Aton will join the company's growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships purpose-built for the Nile River and sail Viking's bestselling 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary. Viking has seen very strong demand in Egypt, with the 2023 season now sold out and many 2024 sailing dates already sold out. The surge in demand has led Viking to open 2025 sailing dates sooner than originally expected.

"We are pleased with the continued strong interest for our Nile River voyages. Our guests are curious explorers, and Egypt remains a destination of great interest for its many cultural treasures," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. "We are proud to be the only western company to build, own and operate ships on the Nile, and with the float out of the Viking Aton, we look forward to welcoming more guests to experience this fantastic region."

The traditional float out ceremony took place at Massara shipyard in Cairo on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, and is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The float out of Viking Aton began at approximately 1:00 p.m. local time when Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen and Sayed Farouk, Chairman of The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.), together pressed the button that signaled to lower the ship-lift of the yard. She will now be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.

The Viking Aton & Viking's Growing Egypt Fleet

Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, the new, state-of-the-art Viking Aton is inspired by Viking's award-winning river and ocean ships with the elegant Scandinavian design for which Viking is known. The identical sister ship to the Viking Osiris, which was named in 2022 by Viking's first ceremonial godfather, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, the Viking Aton features several aspects familiar to Viking guests, such as a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace. In addition to the Viking Osiris, the Viking Aton will join the Viking Ra, which launched in 2018. In response to strong demand, Viking will have six ships sailing the Nile by 2025 with the addition of two new sister ships, the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, which are already under construction and will be delivered in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Viking's Pharaohs & Pyramids Itinerary

During the 12-day, Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, guests begin with a three-night stay at a first-class hotel in Cairo, where they can visit iconic sites such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Sakkara, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, or the Grand Egyptian Museum. Guests then fly to Luxor, where they visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding a Viking river ship for an eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile River, featuring Privileged Access to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, and excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a visit to a colorful Nubian village, where guests can experience a traditional elementary school. Finally, the journey concludes with a flight back to Cairo for a final night in the ancient city.

For guests looking to extend their journey, Viking also offers Pre and Post Extensions that provide Privileged Access to archives and exhibits. Guests on the five-day British Collections of Ancient Egypt extension will begin the journey in London, where they will meet their Viking Tour Director, an expert Egyptologist, and experience Privileged Access to two museums: first a private, early morning visit to the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum before it opens to the general public – and then a visit to the home and personal museum of world-renowned architect, Sir John Soane, where the tour will be illuminated by candlelight, a re-enactment of how Soane entertained guests and showcased his exquisite collection of Egyptian antiquities, including a 3,000-year-old Egyptian sarcophagus. Guests will also visit London's Petrie Museum, which houses more than 80,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan. In Oxford, guests will visit the Ashmolean Museum, one of the oldest in the world, and home to a varied collection of Egyptian mummies and art—and go behind the scenes at Oxford University's Griffith Institute, where they will enjoy a Privileged Access visit to see Howard Carter's archives, which detail the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Lastly, guests will have further Privileged Access with an exclusive visit to Highclere Castle to view the Earl's magnificent private collection of Egyptian artifacts, as well as archives and exhibits not normally accessible to the public.

Additional offerings include a Pre Extension in Jerusalem where guests will explore the ancient history and vibrant culture of Israel's fascinating capital and a Post Extension to Jordan – Petra, Dead Sea & Amman to view Roman antiquities at Jerash, Crusader-era castles at Kerak or Shobak and experience the lost city of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

JetBlue Adds Amsterdam In Effort To Compete With Big Rivals

JetBlue said Tuesday it will begin flying between New York and Amsterdam this summer after a Dutch court blocked a government effort to limit flights at Schiphol Airport.

JetBlue currently flies to London and will start service to Paris in June. The Amsterdam flights will put the New York-based airline in head-to-head competition against the alliance of bigger rivals Delta Air Lines and KLM.

“This route is long overdue for some competition,” said JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes.

JetBlue said it eventually plans to add flights between Boston and Amsterdam, but it did not give a timetable.

JetBlue has seeking approval to fly to Amsterdam for some time but was unable to get anything more than temporary takeoff and landing slots this summer, which it said wasn’t good enough. The airline reversed course on Tuesday, however, saying that a court ruling against the Dutch government’s plan to reduce flights at Schiphol gives it confidence to enter the market.

Most airlines use big, two-aisle planes for transatlantic flights, but JetBlue will use a long-range version of the smaller, single-aisle Airbus A321 to reduce costs.

: Source: AP