Traveler’s notes

As the nation remained on orange alert last week, public tours of the U.S. Capitol (except for prearranged group tours) and the White House were suspended. The Washington Monument remained open. For city updates visit www.washington.org.... The State Department has updated its worldwide public caution, citing “an increased potential for anti-American violence ... as a result of the military action in Iraq.” It urged Americans to “maintain a high level of vigilance.” It also warned against traveling to Indonesia and Turkey because of tensions related to the war, and to Vietnam because of inadequate medical care for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, reported there.... The City Council of Monterey, Calif., this month voted to refuse city services, such as the use of its pier to unload tenders, to Crystal Cruises for 15 years because the line’s Crystal Harmony discharged treated wastewater into Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The council will also require all visiting cruise lines to sign written agreements against discharging into the sanctuary and promptly notify the city if they do. Crystal has apologized for releasing the wastewater in October but said it was under no legal obligation to report it to the city.