Anacortes to Sidney ferry runs resume today

The Washington state ferry Elwha resumes runs Sunday between Anacortes and Sidney, B.C., after a three-month winter break.

On its spring schedule, the 160-car ferry will make one run each way daily, leaving Anacortes at 7:45 a.m. and departing Sidney at 11:40.a.m.

On the Elwha's first-day sailing from Anacortes, Olympia artist Alex Young, who is known for his ferry art, will be signing copies of Washington State Ferries' 2006 commemorative poster. The poster, titled "Ferry between Friends," is a reproduction of a Young watercolor of the Sidney ferry terminal and the Elwha.

Parking is free at the Anacortes terminal until May 1.

Washington

Sea-Tac debuts new children's play area

The Port of Seattle has opened a 1,400-square-foot children's play area near Sea-Tac's A and B concourses.

The area includes a control tower, airplane, baggage cart and mock-up of the airport's central terminal. Several of the features include slides and tunnels. There's a family restroom and a room for nursing mothers.

The play area is located behind the security screening checkpoints.

Fire-damaged ship costs company money, cruises

Carnival Corp. said the cost of repairs and canceled cruises stemming from last month's deadly fire on its Star Princess ship is costing its shareholders money and its passengers lost cruises.

The Star Princess will be out of action until May 15 because of repairs to cabins damaged in last month's fire during a Caribbean voyage. The March 23 fire resulted in a Georgia man's death, injured 11 people and damaged 150 cabins. It also left a large charred spot on the ship's exterior.

In addition to an already canceled Caribbean departure, five cruises scheduled for April also were canceled. Passengers booked on canceled cruises will receive a full refund of their cruise and nonrefundable air charges, and a future cruise credit equal to 25 percent of the fare.

The ship will be repaired in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Study says 1 percent of airline bags mishandled

Airlines around the world mishandled about 1 percent of the 3 billion bags checked last year, according to a report released recently by SITA, a Swiss-based airline consulting firm.

SITA is among those recommending that airlines or airports pay for Radio Frequency Identification technology. An RFID tag is automatically scanned by numerous stationary "readers" that record each movement a bag makes through the system. SITA's Kira Perdue predicts the technology will be available in 45 percent of airports worldwide by 2009.

For a given airline's baggage handling record, go to the U.S. Department of Transportation, http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.

'Copter it from Manhattan to JFK and back

Manhattan to Kennedy Airport in eight minutes? During rush hour?

A new company is promising just that — using helicopters. A cab or bus ride to Kennedy from Manhattan can take an hour or longer, depending on traffic.

The helicopter service, which began Monday, will cost $144.80 each way including taxes and fees.

Passengers will undergo security screenings at the heliport so that they can disembark at JFK into the terminal without having to go through airport security again.

Reservations are available online at www.flyush.com or by calling 877-262-7676.

Child magazine lists favorite family resorts

A wide mix of amenities is offered by some of the 340 family resorts surveyed for the May issue of Child magazine.

The magazine's list of the 10 best family-friendly resorts, with 50 runners-up organized by region, appears in the issue, on sale April 11, and also online at www.child.com.

Child's top 10 family resorts are: The Breakers, Palm Beach, Fla.; Winnetu Oceanside Resort, Martha's Vineyard, Mass.; Kingsmill Resort & Spa, Williamsburg, Va.; Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa, San Diego; Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, Longboat Key, Fla.; The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla.; The Tyler Place Family Resort, Highgate Springs, Vt.; Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Ojai, Calif.; Four Seasons Lana'i, Manele Bay, Hawaii; and tied for 10th place, Club Med Sandpiper, Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Nickelodeon Family Suites (Holiday Inn), Orlando, Fla.

Seattle Times wire services