Denver to host Dems in '08 The Democratic National Committee announced last week that it picked Denver over New York to host its national convention next year, which will run Aug. 25-28. Political conventions bring a slew of events--both official and unofficial--to their host cities. The Republicans will party in Minneapolis-St. Paul Sept. 1-4, 2008 ...

MPI reacts to violence in Big Easy On the brink of its Professional Education Conference North America next week in New Orleans, MPI leaders have reached out to reassure registrants in the wake of ongoing crime in the city. MPI president and CEO Bruce MacMillan told MPI leaders that extra security will be in place during the Jan. 20-23 event, according to MeetingsNet ...

Passport problems ahead? Although Americans will have to begin showing a passport when returning home by air from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean next week, they are slow to begin the process of applying for one. According to a recent poll by travel search engine Kayak.com, a third of respondents said they plan to apply for a passport, but fewer than one in 20 had started the application process. "We think it could create a major backlog when the State Department starts processing all of those applications once they are in the system," Kayak.com CEO Steve Hafner says.

Photo by iStockphoto.com/ © Jill Frommer