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Olivia Harden

Travel Reporter at SFGATE -- based in California. Writing about social justice and mental health everywhere else. Passionate about food, exploring the world, and uplifting the voices of those who often go unheard.

SFGATE •

Frontier Airlines’s trickery helped inspire new DOT ruling

The Biden administration and the Department of Transportation announced Wednesday a new policy that streamlines the air travel system by requiring airlines to provide automatic cash refunds for flight cancellations, significant delays and other travel inconveniences caused by an airline.

The policy shift comes after the DOT began investigating how airlines reimburse passengers for delays and cancellations in the years following the start of the pandemic. Frontier Airlines, for instance, was iss
SFGATE •

Hidden Sierra lake lands on best campsite list

Californians who love camping might want to add this Sierra lake near Placerville to their bucket list.

In time for Earth Day, Hipcamp released its annual list of the best camping spots. The San Francisco-based company, which operates like an Airbnb for campsites, selected dozens of locations across the country, with one in the Sierra landing among the top.

Finnon Lake Recreation Area, which sits beside the 22-acre Finnon Reservoir, took third place on the list — trailing behind a campsite in
SFGATE •

Someone sabotaged the Sacramento airport

Authorities in Sacramento are searching for a person they said intentionally cut a fiber cable that delivered internet to the Sacramento International Airport.

The internet outage delayed flights for two airlines throughout the morning on April 18 before it was restored later that day.

“One little cut and you can mess up quite a significant portion of the airport,” Scott Johnston, spokesperson for Sacramento International Airport, told SFGATE.

The outage began around 1:20 a.m. and when Southw
SFGATE •

Kanye West's barefoot spouse caught breaking Disneyland rule

Spotting celebrities at Disneyland is nothing new — they are humans who get to enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth, too.

Nevertheless, an expected guest showed up to spend time at the park this week, which put social media in a frenzy. Kanye West, who legally changed his name in 2021 to Ye, and his wife Bianca Censori, who married him in 2022, were seen enjoying several rides and attractions, including in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, according to multiple Wednesday social media posts.

The most pecu
SFGATE •

Hawaii airport future uncertain after another runway crack

A major airport in Hawaii was forced to halt all flights last week after authorities discovered another crack in its runway. It’s the latest in a set of ongoing issues at the airport where families resorted to sleeping outside on the lawn earlier this year due to a scheduling error.

The Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole halted operations for two hours April 12 to repair a crack in the asphalt of the single-runway airport, according to a recent news release. The runway reopen
SFGATE •

How a zoo ended up in the middle of California's desert

Planning takes around a year since the zoo cycles out exhibits to bring in new ones. The giant structures are built off-site and then assembled and painted once they arrive at the zoo.


“The event’s various themes are put together with hundreds of individual lanterns,” Esterbrook said. “Each year, more than 15 semis roll in, loaded with the many structures that will be covered in the colorful silk-like fabric that gives each lantern its imaginative design.”

The animal sculptures look like lan
SFGATE •

Rattlesnakes are a problem for this sunny stretch of Calif. coast

For anyone who suffers from ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes, it’s probably unsettling to learn that it’s rattlesnake mating season in California with the warmer weather.

“People used to kill rattlesnakes. Some still do, but more and more people are realizing that the tide has shifted,” Taylor told SFGATE. “We’ve learned enough about rattlesnakes that many people don’t want to do that anymore.”

In the five years that Central Coast Snake Services has been active, Taylor said she’s had an up
SFGATE •

Airline quietly makes vacation flights pricier with new fee

JetBlue, known as the low-cost carrier with legacy airline perks, is tweaking its business model and joining the likes of Bay Area highways and Uber.

The airline is adopting dynamic pricing for checked bags. For flyers traveling within the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean or Canada, prices will range from $35 to $50 for their first bag, depending on whether you pay in advance of your flight. Transatlantic flyers can expect to pay between $60 and $70.

“The cost of transporting bags has gone u
SFGATE •

An opening day Disneyland ride is getting a huge change

Autopia may be among the oldest operating rides in Disneyland history, but it has a pungent reputation due to gasoline fumes. In fact, SFGATE’s Disneyland editor crowned it as having the worst scent in the parks.

While the cozy feeling of crawling through traffic isn’t coming to a close, the park is preparing to adapt a major feature.

Autopia is ditching its gas-guzzling engines and replacing them with “cleaner sources of energy,” Jessica Good, a Disneyland spokesperson, told SFGATE over email
SFGATE •

How to avoid Boeing planes

While Airbus has been the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer for the past five years, Boeing, with its 42% share of the market, is still Airbus’ biggest rival, according to Reuters. This means that, while it might be tricky or inconvenient to avoid flying on Boeing planes entirely, it’s not impossible. Travel companies have added dedicated features to their websites and apps, and even created whole websites, to make it easier for travelers to figure out whether they’ll be flying on one.

Anec
SFGATE •

California park warns of illegal trails near 'unexploded' grenades

The Bureau of Land Management has a clear message for visitors to Fort Ord National Monument: Stay on the designated trails.

Fort Ord National Monument in Marina on the Central Coast served as a military base for the U.S. Army between 1917 and 1994, and 1.5 million soldiers trained there over the years. But recently, U.S. Army safety officials said visitors have built illegal trails and bike jumps west of Barloy Canyon Road. Visitors could be in danger of running into “munitions and explosives
SFGATE •

Rail deaths spike near Calif. county’s popular beaches

California has a growing problem with train-related deaths, and one coastal county in particular is seeing a recent uptick in fatalities, especially near its popular beaches.

Between 2020 and 2023, California accounted for 24% of the nation's rail-related trespassing deaths, totaling 593 people over the four years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Warren Flatau, spokesperson for the FRA, told SFGATE in a statement that a vast majority of rail fatalities are due to illegal tresp
SFGATE •

Is LAX Calif.'s worst airport? Maybe not anymore.

There is an inside joke among locals in Los Angeles — their airport is always under construction.


With over 75 million passengers last year, Los Angeles International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country. With nine passenger terminals it holds the record for most terminals in the world, according to travel deal platform Going.

In 2017, LAX began an ambitious $30 billion renovation to redesign the airport experience. Although the upgrades aren’t entirely finished — the airpor
SFGATE •

These Calif. workers may earn the highest minimum wage in the country

Following a “hot labor summer” that saw some California hotel works arrested for protesting near Los Angeles International Airport, a coastal city is on its way to offer certain hospitality workers the best starting wage in the country.


A majority of Long Beach residents appear to have supported Measure RW in the March 5 election, which will raise the minimum wage for hotel workers from $17.55 per hour to $23 an hour for both union and nonunion workers. Beginning in July, hourly pay rates wil
SFGATE •

Passengers on infamous Boeing flight share what the media got wrong

The California resident is one of seven passengers who filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines, Spirit AeroSystems and the Boeing Company alleging their negligence lead to the now-infamous flight from Portland International Airport to Ontario International Airport on Jan. 5.

The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that it was negligence that caused the door plug on the 737 Max 9 aircraft to rip away from the plane once it passed 10,000 feet in altitude.

Los Angeles law firm Wisner Baum filed the l
SFGATE •

Two parks could beat Golden Gate Park in national contest

A San Franciscan treasure that is so beautiful fact checkers once had to prove it’s real is in the running for the best park in America.

Golden Gate Park at the time of writing is in the lead for the Best City Park award from USA Today. It’s the only California nomination, and was previously lagging behind Forest Park in St. Louis and Ala Moana Regional Park in Honolulu.

The nominating panel for USA Today’s 10 Best Award defined the best city park as a “space to connect with nature and the com
SFGATE •

Las Vegas' newest corporate overlord consolidates power on the Strip

For loyal members of one national chain looking to visit Vegas, the hotel giant’s portfolio is opening a new world of properties on the Strip.

Marriott International announced a partnership March 6 with MGM Resorts International to allow 40,000 rooms at 16 MGM resort properties to be booked under the new Marriott Bonvoy program. The partnership follows a breakup between Hyatt and MGM that happened last year.

The resort stacking, dubbed MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, spells good news for
SFGATE •

Tahoe battens down for weekend rush thanks to clear roads, fresh snow

A tumultuous blizzard struck the Sierra last weekend, stranding drivers and blocking the road to Tahoe for days. This week it’s a different story and Bay Area travelers can expect an easier effort to drive up to the mountains to enjoy what the blizzard left behind.

“Even though it’s not going to be totally dry, we’re not expecting any heavy snowfalls between now and Sunday afternoon,” Justin Collins, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, told SFGATE.

The forecast is expected to be
SFGATE •

In rare move, NPS fires park contractor after fiasco at Crater Lake

After a tumultuous several years, the National Park Service has made good on its recent threat to terminate its current contract and replace Crater Lake National Park’s concessions operator.

Kansas-based ExplorUS announced in a news release on Monday that it had signed a “definitive letter of intent” to take over operations from Crater Lake Hospitality as well as its concessions for the popular West Coast national park.

However, after taking over the park’s management in 2018, the company was
SFGATE •

Videos show 60 mph windstorm thrash through Las Vegas Strip

While the Sierra Nevada endured blizzard conditions this weekend, a massive windstorm consumed another section of the West, blowing up mountains of dust and knocking out power across Las Vegas.


The popular social media page Las Vegas Locally shared a video where traffic on the Strip came a standstill; huge gusts of wind swirled to conceal the Conrad Las Vegas in a cloud of dust.

The National Weather Service reported record-breaking winds; at Harry Reid International Airport, the weather serv
SFGATE •

Flipped big rig on I-80 stalls traffic as winter storm slams Tahoe

A big rig flipped on eastbound Interstate 80 near Truckee, according to California Highway Patrol, just as a strong storm started plowing through Tahoe and the Sierra.

At 7:37 a.m., a semitruck flipped on its side, blocking all lanes near the Donner Lake Interchange. The driver walked away with only minor injuries, CHP Truckee said on social media. Cal Fire and a towing company were called to assist.

The crash was likely caused by icy roads due to the major snowstorm that is expected to last t
SFGATE •

'It would be foolish': Officials warn against Tahoe travel as blizzard nears

A storm is brewing for the Sierra Nevada beginning Thursday, according to the weather service. Winds are expected to reach over 60 mph in the Sierra with 1 to 4 feet of snow in Lake Tahoe communities or 5 to 10 feet of snow above 7,000 feet elevation.

“This is definitely looking to be the strongest storm that we have seen so far this season,” Jeremy Linder, a spokesperson for Caltrans, told SFGATE. “Not only in the amount of snowfall but also the coldest. We're going to be seeing snowfall down
SFGATE •

Hawaii officials move forward with unusual fee for tourists

Over the past two weeks, two Hawaii House committees heard testimonies regarding a bill that would impose a $25 tourism tax on visitors that the state would use to address the effects of climate change on the islands. Both committees overwhelmingly supported the bill.

House Bill 2406 “Establishes the Climate Health and Environmental Action Special Fund in the Department of Land and Natural Resources to minimize the impacts of, and respond to, climate crises,” according to the Hawaii State Legis
SFGATE •

NFL QB's wife partied at Las Vegas hotel recently treated for bedbugs

Las Vegas might be known as the entertainment capital of the world, but nothing is fun about dealing with bedbugs after they hitch a ride home in your suitcase.

In a report spanning five months, health inspectors from the Southern Nevada Health District found bedbugs in four resorts on the Las Vegas strip: the Encore, Venetian, Excalibur Hotel & Casino and Mirage, KLAS-TV reported.

The first sighting occurred in September at the Venetian in a guest’s room. Hotel staff cleaned the items and pla
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