TRAVEL TEMPERING
After months of doom and gloom news about major losses in the travel industry, there’s no better time to focus our attention on the light at the end of the recession tunnel. (Orange County Business Journal)    
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COASTAL MEANDERING
I’m driving through fog, heading north across the Golden Gate Bridge, toward the Shangri-La lushness that is Marin County. The Golden Gate – the strait below me where San Francisco Bay meets the Pacific Ocean – was called that long before there was a bridge. In the fog there is barely a bridge. (The Boston Globe)
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PLACER TOURISM TV WORTHY, SAYS BIZ OFFICIAL
Could Placer County tourist attractions fill a half-hour television series? El Dorado County is spending big bucks to promote itself through “Experience El Dorado,” a glossy TV magazine airing monthly on KXTV a la PBS’s long-running “California’s Gold.” (Roseville Press Tribune)
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THE NAPA VALLEY RESTAURANT SCENE
Every couple of years I feel that siren call to go up and spend some time in Napa Valley. For most of us, this was our first wine country experience, as exotic as anything discovered later in Burgundy or Piedmont. Who can forget the smudged violet of the hills, the rows of vines with mustard blooming bright yellow at their feet? (Los Angeles Times)
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FIND TREASURES AND PLEASURES ALL YEAR LONG ON CATALINA ISLAND
Catalina Island is California's most beloved getaway, an island of our own fewer than 30 miles from Los Angeles. Thanks to the efforts of the Catalina Island Conservancy and the Santa Catalina Company, it's a magical place, where history and culture live in harmony with tourism. (San Francisco Examiner)
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TEMECULA VALLEY CVB APPLAUDS SOUTH COAST BEST WINERY IN THE STATE AWARD
For the second year in a row, a winery from the Temecula Valley was judged the best in the state at the California State Fair. South Coast Winery, which opened its doors just six years ago, again won the fair's Golden Bear Winery trophy, which goes to the winery that wins the most medals and awards at the prestigious wine competition. (Globe Newswire)
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GOVERNMENT MEETING? STAY AWAY FROM FUN CITY
What do Reno, Orlando and Las Vegas have in common? To some pockets of the federal government, they just seem like too much fun. Instead, employees at some big agencies, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are being encouraged to host meetings in more buttoned-down places such as St. Louis, Milwaukee or Denver. (The Wall Street Journal)
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TOURISM BLACKLIST BACKLASH
Should government meetings steer clear of Orlando and Las Vegas because they're resort destinations that could cause image problems during a recession? The White House doesn't think so. Reports of a so-called federal travel blacklist surfaced last month, when the travel industry said an unwritten policy circulating among federal agencies barred meetings in cities perceived as leisure destinations. (Orlando Sentinel)
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HOTELS, AIRLINES OFFER TREATS TO LURE CUSTOMERS
With many people staying put during these tough times, the travel industry is going to great lengths to woo people back on the road with promotions that range from the creative to borderline kooky. This is not your mother's fare sale or rate cut. (USA Today)
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SSA DEFENDS CHOICE OF RETREAT VENUE
Some House lawmakers are demanding answers from the Social Security Administration after the agency held a training retreat earlier this month at the Waldorf-Astoria’s Arizona Biltmore resort, but the agency contends the conference was appropriate. About 650 GS-12s through GS-14s attended the $700,000 conference in Phoenix earlier this month to learn better management skills, said SSA spokesman Mark Lassiter. (Federal Times)
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TRAVEL DEALS TAKING SHINE OFF STAYCATION PLANS
For financial reasons, many suburban families planned to give up their summer vacations this year and just stay home. Now they're seeing almost irresistible travel deals, and they're feeling the urge to go somewhere, anywhere, even if just for a few days. (Daily Herald)
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