Palm Springs Activities May Help Quiet Rowdies

In an effort to change what they refer to as the “cruisin’, boozin’ ” spring break that clogs streets with traffic and hotels with high school and college-age revelers, Palm Springs city officials this year are planning an alternative to coincide with the spring break period at many schools: the Desert Harvest Days and Wildflower Festival, April 1-11. At the urging of merchants and tourism officials who remember the 271 arrests during spring break, 1991--the vast majority of them alcohol-related--the Palm Springs City Council is scheduling events they hope will appeal to “families and adult vacationers,” including wildflower shows, old-time sidewalk entertainment, a farmer’s market, an arts and crafts show, a writers’ conference, parades and other children’s entertainment. Events and activities will be held along Palm Canyon Drive, the boulevard that runs through the city’s downtown. The street, which last year was gridlocked with spring break cruisers, will be closed to motor traffic.

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Travel Quiz: What airline was the first to offer in-flight movies?

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Change in Passport Office Hours: Effective tomorrow , the Los Angeles Passport Agency at the Federal Building in Westwood will be opening an hour later. The agency is changing its hours from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. to 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Officials say that there is still time to renew 10-year passports (the first of which were issued Jan. 1, 1983) by mail. Call (310) 575-7070 for information.

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Machine-Made: By January, the first ETM (electronic ticketing machine) in the Los Angeles area--and one of the first in the country--will begin operating in a Santa Monica office building, Colorado Place at 2400 Broadway. Accessible by credit card, the machine will provide airline tickets, boarding passes and itineraries just as ATMs (automatic teller machines) distribute cash and receipts. To make use of the ETM, travelers would make a reservation through a participating travel agency (all travel agents will have access to the service), but instead of driving to the airport or the agency to pick up the tickets or waiting for delivery via mail, the traveler will go to the machine, insert a credit card and receive the travel documents on the spot. The ticket will be charged to the credit card used. As with ATMs, the great advantage of ETMs will be ease of access. But price could be a factor, too. Although the charge--over and above the ticket price--for using the ETM has not yet been set, it will be “less than the cost for a delivery person or Federal Express,” according to a spokeswoman for ETM manufacturer Airline Computerized Ticketing. As an introductory offer, machine use will be free, according to the spokeswoman. The Santa Ana-based company expects to have 400 ETMs in operation by the end of 1993, many of them in the L.A. area. Eventually, they project that ETMs will be placed in hotels, shopping centers and banks.

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Quick Fact: Since the election, all bottled waters at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C., have been pulled from the hotel’s bars, restaurants and mini-bars and replaced with Mountain Valley Spring Water from Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.

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Vietnam Memorial Exhibit: In conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial this year, a new Smithsonian Institution exhibit, “Personal Legacy: The Healing of a Nation,” is showcasing some 500 of the more than 25,000 items, notes and artifacts that have been left at the wall since it opened on Veterans Day, 1982. Items on display include military paraphernalia, as well as personal remembrances: two cans of sardines sit next to a pair of black lace panties; an autographed baseball, a teddy bear, a Christmas tree and a woman’s blue high-heeled shoe. The exhibit is on display at the Smithsonian’s American History museum through June 7, 1993.

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United They Stand: United Airlines will begin daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Hong Kong April 4, making it the only U.S. carrier to do so, although Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific began offering the service two years ago. United’s nonstop service, which, like Cathay’s, is about 14 1/2 hours, represents a savings of about three hours over its other two connecting routes, one from Los Angeles to Hong Kong through San Francisco; the other through Tokyo.

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It’s a Wrap in the Bahamas: If you are cruising to the Bahamas this fall, you might consider saving your Christmas shopping for the trip. As part of a new shopping promotion, many of the islands’ shops and hotels are offering to wrap and ship purchases free; ask before you shop if this service is available. The Bahamas removed duties on many items--such as china, fragrances, leather goods, cameras, jewelry, crystal and liquor--earlier this year, and are continuing their Treasure Card promotion, which gives up to 50% discounts on most items purchased at participating shops. The free Treasure Card is distributed at Bahamas information booths in airports, casinos and where cruise ships dock.

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Down Under Deals: A new travel guide offering advice on getting discounts on transportation within New Zealand, “Getting Around New Zealand,” is available free. It includes information on ways to obtain discount air fares for travel within New Zealand, bus and train schedules, and particulars on rental cars and motor homes. Write New Zealand Tourism Board, 501 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300, Santa Monica 90401.

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Comparatively Speaking: Oahu’s top 10 cultural attractions for 1991, in number of visitors and in order of popularity: the USS Arizona Memorial, Dole Plantation, Polynesian Cultural Center, Honolulu Zoo, Sea Life Park, Bishop Museum, Dole Cannery Square, Waimea Falls Park, Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu Academy of Arts. (Source: Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.)

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Quiz Answer: Alaska Airlines, which in 1957 showed a film using a small projector and a home-movies screen on a flight between the East Coast and Fairbanks, Alaska.