Roundup: Local airspace at risk?; deadly avalanches; S.F. may take (greater) toll; Yellowstone earthquakes

Good morning. On this penultimate day of 2008, here’s what we have for you in travel news:

Air safety | Sen. Dianne Feinstein has warned of shortfalls in aviation safety in SoCal. In a letter to President-elect Barack Obama’s Transportation secretary nominee, Feinstein referred specifically to shortages in the number of air traffic controllers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control in San Diego. Read “Feinstein urges FAA to hire more controllers at LAX.”

Avalanches | In Wyoming, the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort closed its slopes Monday after a slide buried part of its Bridger Restaurant; this came just two days after another avalanche took the life of a skier at the resort. Avalanches are proving particularly deadly this year in the U.S. and Canada. Read “Avalanches cut a deadly swath.”

San Francisco | City officials are crafting together a “congestion pricing” plan that would increase Bay Bridge tolls for those driving in and out of San Francisco. Currently, drivers coming from Oakland into downtown S.F. are charged a toll of $4. If the city’s plan-in-progress sees light next year, the fee may be $3 to come into the city and $3 to leave. Read “In San Francisco, ‘congestion pricing’ is something they’re sneezing at.”

Yellowstone earthquakes | Yellowstone has been the center of a series of small rumblers during the last few days. Though earthquakes are nothing new here, “it’s very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days,” said geophysics professor Robert Smith in an Associated Press article.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: Bay Bridge. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 8:10 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Airline travel, California, Good Morning, Los Angeles, National Parks, News, Tips & Advice, Rocky Mountain States, San Francisco, Ski & Winter, Wyoming, earthquake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.