London’s Tower Bridge Closes Gates to Vehicles

Tower Bridge, London’s landmark drawbridge over the River Thames, has closed for at least three months to repair rusting steel girders under its two main towers. But it will remain open as a pedestrian walkway, and the drawbridge will continue to be open to allow boats to pass. Corrosion and the daily pounding of 40,000 vehicles have taken their toll on the 99-year-old bridge, originally designed for horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians. City officials said the corrosion was not fully visible and the closure might be extended if the damage is greater than expected.

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Travel Quiz: As a result of the Spanish-American War, which West Indies island became a U.S. Commonwealth?

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Cholera Alert in Honduras: Health officials in Honduras have declared a national alert after 15 new cases of cholera were detected during a two-day period. Rigorous inspection standards have been imposed along the borders of neighboring countries, especially Guatemala, where 350 new cholera cases are being found each week, Honduran Deputy Health Director Ricardo Ochoa told reporters. Ochoa said Honduras is particularly concerned because a virulent new strain of the cholera virus has recently killed nine people there. Since October, 1991, 33 people in Honduras have died of cholera, which is transmitted primarily through contaminated food and water.

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Digging the Monterey Bay Aquarium: Mounds of dirt and construction equipment stationed outside Monterey Bay Aquarium are part of a project under way to build a new wing, scheduled to debut in January, 1996, that will be devoted to the open ocean and deep sea. (At present, the aquarium primarily represents marine life in Monterey Bay.) The $62-million construction will include a 1-million-gallon tank that will explore life in the waters adjacent to Monterey Bay and will contain species of fish that have never before been seen in aquariums, according to a spokeswoman. The two-story, 86,500-square-foot addition will also include a permanent gallery for jellyfish, a section devoted to tiny plankton (visible through a bank of microscopes) and galleries featuring animals that have adapted to life on the bottom of the bay.

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Paperwork Made Easier for Driving Into Mexico: A new agreement between the American Automobile Assn. and the Mexican government will allow AAA clubs in California to issue all the necessary immigration and customs forms to motorists planning to visit Mexico. Requirements to take a car into Mexico remain the same: proof of ownership and residency, and a $10 administration fee, paid by international credit card. But beginning July 1, motorists will be able to prepare all documentation in advance at participating AAA offices (not all offices will offer the service). Then, when they reach the border, all travelers will need do is present their documentation and go. Previously, all paperwork had to be filled out at border crossings. A driver without an international credit card (Diners Club, Visa, MasterCard or American Express), however, must post a bond. AAA will not handle bonding.

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Diphtheria Shots Recommended for Moscow-Bound: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are urging travelers to Russia and the Ukraine, specifically the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev, to update diphtheria immunizations because of an upsurge in the number of cases in those cities. More than 700 cases were reported in Moscow in 1992, with 24 deaths. Kiev reported 335 cases the same year. A drop in child immunizations is believed to underlie the increase, according to the CDC. Although proof of immunization is not required of U.S. citizens traveling there, adults who have not had a booster shot of tetanus and diphtheria vaccine within the last 10 years are being advised to get one as a precautionary measure. The booster should be administered at least one week before a trip to allow time for antibodies to build up. Travelers who have had a booster, especially one following an accident, should make sure it was for the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine (Td) rather than the vaccine for tetanus only (TT), which lacks the diphtheria component. For those who did not receive the immunization series as children (most adults born in the United States after the 1940s did), the dosage schedule is a minimum of two shots of tetanus and diphtheria vaccine--with three preferred--over a period of from seven months to more than a year.

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Quick Fact: Number of claims filed in the class-action price-fixing suit against U.S. airlines: more than 3.6 million. Amount of money to be divided between them: $408 million in airline ticket certificates. (Source: Pitts Carr, attorney for the plaintiffs.)

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Florence Bomb Takes a New Victim: The latest victim of the bomb that destroyed part of the Uffizi Gallery May 27 is Florence’s historic town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio, which sustained severe structural damage and will undergo extensive repairs, city officials say. Only a few hundred yards from the Uffizi, damage to the Palazzo Vecchio came to light during recent checks, Florence’s art director Pierluigi Ballini said. Beams were shifted in the metal supports of the artistically important and richly decorated ceiling of one of its rooms, the 16th-Century Salone dei Cinquecento. The Salone was decorated by Giorgio Vasari in 1563, and its ceiling includes several of Vasari’s paintings illustrating the history of Florence’s former Medici ruling family. Among the oldest buildings in Florence, the Palazzo Vecchio was home to members of the Medici family during the 16th Century. It has served as the seat of Florence’s municipal government since the late 1800s, and houses a museum with works by Vasari and Donatello.

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Comparatively Speaking: Most popular U.S. destinations in 1992 for travelers departing from Los Angeles International Airport, in order of preference: 1) New York, 2) San Francisco, 3) Phoenix, 4) Las Vegas, 5) Oakland, 6) Chicago, 7) Honolulu, 8) Washington, 9) Seattle, 10) Boston. (Source: Avitas Aviation.)

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Quiz Answer: Puerto Rico.