Vacation Package News

Source: United Press International ()

Off-duty cop foils Canadian grinch

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec. 24 (UPI) — Christmas should turn out as merry as planned for one Canadian family, thanks to an alert off-duty police officer who nabbed a present-pilfering grinch.

The officer was driving in a neighborhood south of Winnipeg Sunday when he spotted a suspicious vehicle and followed it to a home, the Canadian Broadcast Corp. reported Monday. The driver headed inside with a duffel bag and later came out with it filled with gifts, the network said.

“From what we understand .. it was actually Christmas presents that he had stolen from this residence,” said Sgt. Kelly Dennison, a Winnipeg Police Service spokesman.

The suspect tried to get away but the officer followed him and eventually authorities were able to pull him over. The 22-year-old suspect faces charges of breaking and entering, and theft.

Cell phone bill may bankrupt British man

DARLINGTON, England, Dec. 24 (UPI) — One British mobile phone user from Darlington is considering filing for bankruptcy after receiving a cell phone bill for more than $54,000.

Ian Simpson, 29, was sent the bill after using his mobile phone as a modem for his laptop to download TV shows, not realizing his contract did not include unlimited Web use, The Mirror reported Monday.

Simpson recently signed up for a contract allowing 800 anytime minutes with an added inclusive Internet deal to let him use his phone for surfing the net through Vodaphone.

But his first bill had hundreds of extra charges for online use, with some at more than $35 a minute.

Vodafone said rules state the Web package has a limit of 120 megabytes of downloads and is designed for casual use to check emails, not for downloading.

Simpson also was surprised he was not contacted before the total got out of hand.

“I cannot they would let me run up such an enormous bill,” he said.

“Unless they take a sensible …

Source: Boston Globe ()

Globe West Community Bulletin Board

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December 23, 2007

BENEFITSHolliston: Holliston High School parents group is holding a Christmas tree sale through Dec. 23 at Package Depot Liquor, Woodland Street. 508-429-2994.Medway: Medway Friends of Elders presents Santa’s workshop through Christmas week, noon-5 p.m. at the Medway Common. 508-533-3210.Natick: Food for Fines program through Dec. 29 at the Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central St. Return overdue materials and pay fine with nonperishable food or personal-care items for local food pantry. The library is also collecting donations of new winter apparel, such as hats, mittens, socks. 508-647-6520.Waltham: Gingerbread House raffle through December at Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of New England, Bear Hill Road. $5 per ticket. Proceeds to Buddy Dog Humane Society. vescone.com.FAMILYNewton: Visual and performing arts classes begin in January at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, 333 Nahanton St., including dance, oil painting, pottery, guitar, piano, printmaking, photography. 617-558-6416, lsjcc.org.Norfolk: Wild Winter Week activities for grades K-5 are held Dec. 26-28, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Stony Brook Sanctuary, 108 North St. $47 per day. 508-528-3140.Sherborn: Free vacation-week events at the Sherborn Library, Sanger Street. Dec. 26, 3:30 p.m., book bingo for grades K-6. Dec. 27, 2:30 p.m., “Shrek the Third.” 508-653-0770.HEALTHWaltham: Free annual mammograms, Pap tests and cardiovascular screenings for qualifying women at the Women’s Health Network, Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center. 781-693-3881.MISCELLANEOUSWestborough: Christmas Eve services at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 183 West Main St. 5 p.m. family service, 7 p.m. traditional service, 9 p.m. contemporary service, 11 p.m. service. 508-366-7095, goodshepherdcares.org.Waltham: Winter Solstice service Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m. at First Parish Church, 50 Church …

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer ()

I know you’re busy right now. You’ve got orders to send out before the holidays, projects to finish before year-end, employees leaving for vacation. But I’m going to add to your workload for the next couple of weeks. You’ve got to carve out time to make those all-important, highly lucrative, end-of-the-year sales calls.

Yes, even in the midst of this busy season, now’s the time to pick up the phone and call customers, get out and visit clients, take time to send e-mails. That’s because December is a time when many customers are exceptionally eager to buy - and I’m talking about business customers, not consumers. There are sales you can land only right now.

Here’s a fact of business life that entrepreneurs often overlook: many companies have money they absolutely, positively must spend this month. They could be spending it with you.

In small companies, entrepreneurs rarely have a “use it-or-lose it” mindset when it comes to money. If we don’t spend our money in 2007, it’s still in the bank in January 2008. We rarely have dollars that we have to spend by Dec. 31 or they’ll disappear for good.

That’s not true for every business. If your customers are large corporations, government agencies, educational institutions or non-profit organizations, many have budgets they need to use before the end of the year. Moreover, if they don’t spend all their allocated dollars this year, their budget next year may be cut.

That means you’ve got some highly motivated prospects.

Even smaller companies may have money they must spend before 2008 rolls around. Some businesses - especially retailers, resellers, equipment installers and any company that sells products manufactured by others - receive “co-op” money to use for cooperative advertising or promotions. This money, too, often disappears if not used within the calendar means there are major selling opportunities available for you - but those opportunities disappear on Jan. …

Source: Globe and Mail ()

In Toronto, a lawyer we’ll call Herb is 55. Until recently, he was a high-powered corporate counsel working in the towers of Bay Street and bringing down a $206,000 annual salary plus an annual bonus. Downsized out of a job several months ago, he is looking for another, but at his age, with his salary expectations, and with his narrow specialization, he has limited opportunities. It’s a case of a high achiever thrown on hard times who faces the reality of having to adjust his family’s way of life.
Herb’s problems are compounded by the tuition costs he has to pay for his three children who are at university, by his relatively limited financial assets, and by the need to plan for a retirement that could begin a good deal sooner than he and his wife, 53, who we’ll call Jenny, had planned. Now he faces a future he might not have imagined a few years ago.
"Our $1-million house should be sold in about five years to help fund the retirement," he says. "We can get a condo in our neighbourhood for $300,000. Can we also afford a winter condo of about $200,000 in some place warm? What kind of a retirement can we expect?"
What our expert says Facelift asked Daniel Stronach, head of financial planning firm Stronach Financial Group Inc. in Toronto, to help Herb and Jenny cope with his unemployment and devise a retirement strategy.

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King Oleg! Currie’s conquest!! Revenge of Danny Chavez, McCaughey’s banana peel! The Paper …

Source: PR Newswire (press release) ()

Puerto Rico Tourism Not Only Gives the Entire Ellen Studio Audience a Free
Vacation But Also Gives Travelers $250 Back Upon Check-Out with the
Re-Launch of Puerto Rico NOW

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Puerto Rico
Tourism Company (PRTC) has truly spread the holiday spirit by making 600
people very happy. As millions of Americans tuning in to The Ellen
DeGeneres Show just found out, 300 members of the studio audience received
the ultimate holiday gift — a hassle-free week-long tropical escape for
two to explore beyond the shores of Puerto Rico! To spread the holiday
spirit beyond The Ellen DeGeneres Show, PRTC re-launched today the Puerto
Rico NOW promotion, giving travelers a nice holiday credit of $250 back
upon check-out.

With no passport required to visit and daily direct flights from major
U.S. cities, travelers can book a ticket and enjoy the authentic Latin
culture, rich history and delicious cuisine of Puerto Rico the very same
day. If you travel to Puerto Rico now through April 30th 2008, travelers
can advantage of the re-launched Puerto Rico NOW promotion. Travelers who
book a 4-night/5-day stay at participating hotels today through January
21st, 2008, via PRTC’s booking engine at http://www.GoToPuertoRico.com or through
Expedia, Orbitz and GoGo, will receive a $250.00 food and beverage credit
to be discounted upon checkout.

An exclusive partnership between PRTC, CheapCaribbean.com and the Ellen
DeGeneres Show resulted in the presentation of this prize package to the
studio audience — the largest in the show’s “12 Days of Giveaways” series.
“We are delighted to have been the final surprise of the highly rated Ellen
DeGeneres Show’s giveaway series and wish everyone a very happy holiday
season. We look forward to welcoming the show’s guests and all the viewers
through Puerto Rico NOW, to our island,” Terestella Gonzalez-Denton,
Executive Director of PRTC.

With this sponsorship and the re-launch of Puerto Rico NOW, …

Source: International Herald Tribune ()

QUITO, Ecuador

Dennis and Stacie Woods, a married couple from Seattle, choose their vacation destinations based on what they fear is fated to destruction.

This month it was a camping and kayaking trip around the Galápagos Islands. Last year, it was a stay at a remote lodge in the Amazon, and before that, an ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro.

“We wanted to see the islands this year,” Woods, a lawyer, said last week in a hotel lobby here, “because we figured they're only going to get worse.”

The visit to the Amazon was “to try to see it in its natural state before it was turned into a cattle ranch or logged or burned to the ground,” Woods said. Kilimanjaro was about seeing the sunrise on the highest peak in Africa before the ice cap melts, as some forecasters say it will within the next dozen years.

Next on their list: the Arctic before the ice is gone.

The Woodses are part of a travel trend that Ken Shapiro, the editor in chief of TravelAge West, a magazine for travel agents, calls “the Tourism of Doom.”

“It's not just about going to an exotic place,” Shapiro said. “It's about going someplace they expect will be gone in a generation.”

From the tropics to the ice fields, doom is big business. Quark Expeditions, a leader in arctic travel, doubled capacity for its 2008 season of trips to the northern and southernmost reaches of the planet. Travel agents report clients are increasingly requesting trips to see the melting glaciers of Patagonia, the threatened coral of the Great Barrier Reef, and the eroding atolls of the Maldives, Shapiro said.

Even the sinking of the Antarctic cruise ship Explorer, which hit an iceberg last month, has not cooled interest. Other Antarctic tour operators say they have received frantic calls asking for last-minute berths from those who had been scheduled to future Explorer voyages. Since most trips are already full, would-be paying customers are being turned away.

What …

Source: PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) ()

www.theladders.com - J. Roderick, Inc. John Roderick, 631-656-9736 john@jroderick.com or TheLadders.com Maria Schiller, 646-453-1913 maria.schiller@theladders.com In its ongoing quest to know the executive job market inside-out, TheLadders.com, the world’s leading online marketplace for $100k+ jobs, has been surveying its members since its launch in 2004. Over that time, TheLadders.com has left no stone

unturned and few taboos untouched, covering everything from the frequency of office romances to the value of advanced degrees. Now, with several dozen surveys under its belt, and in the spirit of reflection that comes with the season’s first snowfall, TheLadders.com releases its “greatest hits” compilation, offering a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the executive job market.

Separated into three basic categories - Money & Getting Ahead; Work/Lifestyle; and Office Politics - TheLadders.com survey data is sampled from registered $100k+ wage earners who were active in the job market between 2004 and 2007. Following is a summary of the insights gleaned over the past four years:

MONEY & GETTING AHEAD: -0- Does an MBA matter in the real business world? 57% of executives said the advanced degree is nice, but not necessary. What’s the most useful second language for today’s business people? 61% of executives said it was Spanish, followed by 16% who chose Chinese. Stock options: great incentive or lame substitute for cold cash? 32.5% said stock options are an integral component to a pay package; 24.9% would prefer more cash; and 20.5% said options are “gravy” but not a big motivator. Are overseas assignments a blessing or a curse? 70% of executives said the prospect of an overseas assignment would be an exciting opportunity. Body of evidence: can physical fitness help your career? 75% of executives surveyed said physical is critical for career success at the executive level.

WORK/LIFESTYLE: -0- Can Cupid strike …

Source: Kansas City Star ()

TRIP WIRE | Studying SeuratGeorges Seurat is best remembered, and cherished, as a painter: the inventor of pointillism. Yet his works on paper have been described as “the most beautiful painter’s drawings in existence.” An exhibit through Jan. 7 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art offers an extensive look at his drawing, focusing on Seurat’s sketchbooks, his methods and material and his subject matter. For details call 212-708-9400 or go to moma.org.

IN PRINT | Glimpse magazineIf you’re planning to travel or study abroad, check out Glimpse magazine (glimpse .org), which is geared to college students and young adults interested in international issues.

The quarterly magazine is published by an independent foundation but is largely supported by the National Geographic Society.

ONLINE | Atypical accommodationLodgings are a trip at Unusual Hotels of the World (uhotw.com).

What’s hot: Oh, the places to stay: The beagle-shaped Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho, for example. Hotels are rated in five colored categories from “wow” to “different.”

What’s not: Hotels have not been inspected by the site’s founders.

DEALS | Exploration in Alaska, venture in Venice•Book one night and get the next free at any of Denali Park Resort’s four properties just outside Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve. The deal is good at McKinley Chalet Resort, Grande Denali Lodge, McKinley Village Lodge or Denali Bluffs hotel May 13-June 6; price starts at $209 for two nights. Book at denaliparkresorts.com no later than Dec. 21.

•Tourcrafters has discounted a three-night trip to Venice. Price from Washington Dulles starts at $929 per person double (including $310 taxes and fuel surcharge). Package includes round-trip airfare and nights at the Best Western Hotel Olympia with breakfasts. Priced separately, the package would cost about …

Source: VC Poker - 4Flush.com ()

Victor Chandler Poker is offering several online poker players a shot at a trip to beautiful Johannesburg to play in the South African Poker Open. This prize package is worth $8000.00 and includes the poker players buyin fee’s to all three of the South African Poker Open main events. The winner will also receive a seven night stay at the Monte Carlo Resort located in Johannesburg South Africa along with $2000.00 to spend at their leisure whilst on their African poker vacation.

VC Poker players can enter for a shot at the African Poker Open by playing in a series of online poker satellite competitions available at Victor Chandler, in fact, satellite events are available for as little as $2.70, not bad for a trip to Africa.

The three main events available to VC Poker satellite winners will kick off with the South African Poker Open’s first Texas Hold’em poker Tournament which is set for February 5th. The next event, the Omaha High poker game will begin on the 6th of February, the buy in for that event is 3,500 rand. The Main event of the South African Poker Open which is also included in the VC Poker satellite package is another Texas Holdem poker event beginning February 8th, with a buy-in totalling 25,000 rand.

Players that prefer to skip over feeder satellite events, and into the super satellite offered by VC Poker are able to buy in for $215. The Super Satellites are being held on Sundays at 20:00 GMT from now until January 28th 2008. For every $8000 in the tournament prize pool, one prize package will be awarded.
Event 1: R3,500 NL Texas Hold’em on 02/05/08
Event 2: R3,500 NL Omaha High on 02/06/08
Event 3: R25,000 NL Hold’em Main event on 02/08/08

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Source: MiamiHerald.com ()

Holiday Inn is opening four new hotels in Brazil. American Airlines has just added several flights from Miami to Colombia. Royal Caribbean, for the first time in some years, will run cruises this winter out of Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

More Americans than ever are looking to South America as a vacation site as the weakening dollar makes travel to Europe increasingly expensive.

‘’South America is doing very, very well,'’ said Paul Barry, CEO of go-today.com and other Europe Express Group travel companies. “My recommendation for those going there is to book early. There are few last-minute bargains.'’

Value for the dollar, along with South America’s great variety of attractions and political stability in popular destinations, are among the chief lures.

Those are some of the reasons why Argentina, the Cinderella of South American tourism in the past few years, is still on a roll. Despite modest price hikes, Americans are visiting there in ever-increasing numbers, and facilities for travelers keep expanding.

‘’Buenos Aires is opening one five-star and two four-star hotels next year, and with the new nonstop from Chicago we’ll have a total of 11 nonstops daily from the United States,'’ said Eduardo Piva, regional director of the Argentine Tourist Office in Miami. American Airlines flies five of those, two of them from Miami.

Another new development in the Argentine capital that will catch tourists’ eyes is BA Hollywood, a complex of hotels, restaurants and shopping about 20 minutes from downtown.

But the Argentine capital isn’t the sole destination for tourists. ‘’Visitors are moving beyond the cities now, to the countryside,'’ Barry said.

Patagonia, once a little-visited Argentine wilderness, has doubled its hotel capacity in the past three years, said Piva, and now is high on the list of places that veteran travelers to visit. New hotels are opening in other Argentine cities — ‘’two or three in Bariloche, …