Classic, Chameleon Form Marketing Alliance

Los Angeles-based party rental giant Classic Party Rentals and Chameleon Chairs, also based in Los Angeles, announced last week that they have entered an exclusive national marketing agreement whereby Chameleon’s chairs and barstools will be available within the United States only through Classic or Chameleon....

CMP APPLICATION NOW ONLINE

The Convention Industry Council announced Friday that the application for its Certified Meeting Professional designation is and the "CMP Handbook" are now available as free dowloads from its Web site....

U.S. DELAYS PASSPORT REQUIREMENT

In the face of pressure from would-be travelers and the travel industry, the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced today that U.S. citizens traveling between Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda won't have to show a passport until Sept. 30....

TB AND TRAVEL: WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Today the U.S. Senate is holding hearings on the scare last month when news reports revealed that an Atlanta man with a case of "extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis," or XDR TB, traveled to and from Europe, including slipping past a roadblock set up expressly for him at the Canadian border. ...

STARWOOD ANNOUNCES BIG GROWTH PLANS

Hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide--which operates the Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, W and Le Méridien brands--today announced an ambitious growth plan ...

GALA COMPETITION OPENS TODAY

CRUEL SUMMER FORECAST FOR EVENT PLANNERS

Hurricanes, heat and insect infestations--this summer promises to be a challenge for event planners....

FOOD WON'T BE SAFER ANYTIME SOON

Despite the fact that foodborne illness linked to tainted produce has made headlines, U.S. agencies in charge of fixing the problem have made little headway....

MORTON'S MAKES WAY FOR SOHO HOUSE

Legendary restaurant hotspot Morton's, which regularly hosts Hollywood's elite for dinner and is the site of Vanity Fair magazine's star-studded post-Oscar bash, is set to close its doors at the end of the year....

WHITE HOUSE GOES WHITE-TIE FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH

In a first for the 6 ½-year presidency of George W. Bush, the White House staged a white-tie dinner to fete Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Monday night....

L.A. BACKS OFF ON VACCINATION RULE

L.A. County government has no authority to require that all foodhandlers be vaccinated against hepatitis A, public health officials reported Friday...

BEIJING OLYMPICS COMPETE WITH CONTROVERSY

Although the Olympic Games are intended to celebrate the world's best athletes, the 2008 Games-- slated for Aug. 8-24--are already drawing international heat....

L.A. TO REVIEW MANDATORY VACCINATIONS; IS YOUR FOOD SAFE?

Next week the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider whether to require all foodservice workers to get a hepatitis A vaccination....

ORGANIC CATERING GAINS GROUND

Ignore the image of tepid tofu topped with soggy sprouts: Organic catering is casting off its hippie associations and moving mainstream. Back to Earth Organic Catering, based in Berkeley, Calif., has seen its business grow more than 100 percent every year for the last three years....

MORAN BUILDS ON SOUTHEAST RENTAL NETWORK

Former Classic Party Rentals chief John Moran announced Saturday that his San Francisco-based 523 Capital made its second party rental acquisition this year, picking up Special Events Rentals, based in Raleigh, N.C. ...

CHICAGO WINS BID TO PURSUE 2016 GAMES

The U.S. Olympic Committee gave the nod to Chicago over Los Angeles Saturday as the American candidate to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2016....

DISNEY TO ALLOW SAME-SEX WEDDINGS

The Walt Disney Co. announced last week that it has opened its popular Fairy Tale Wedding program to same-sex couples hosting commitment ceremonies....

LABOR STRIFE HEATS UP IN BOSTON

Boston hotels are bracing for a strike that could come at any time in light of aggressive union activity....

IN BRIEF FOR APRIL 4, 2007

Sydney goes dark in city spectacle Some 2,000 businesses and 60,000 individual signed up to help Sydney turn off the lights Saturday night for one hour to make a statement about the threat of global warming...

GOING UP: TRAVEL COSTS, AM EX SAYS

Travel costs took a hike last year, according to the latest report from American Express Business Travel, with international airfares, international hotel rates and U.S. budget-tier hotels showing the most dramatic increases....

PUCK MOVES TO ORGANIC, 'HUMANE' CATERING

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announced Thursday that he will serve food that avoids cruelty to animals in his culinary empire of 43 catering venues, 14 fine-dining restaurants and 80-plus cafes....

CLASSIC EXPANDS IN SOUTHEAST WITH ACE

Los Angeles-based rental powerhouse Classic Party Rentals announced Thursday that it has acquired ACE Party Rentals of Charlotte, N.C. The move expands Classic's reach in the Southeast; in August, Classic snapped up the operations of Carolina Party Plus, also in Charlotte, and Atlanta Party Plus in Atlanta....

PASSPORT BACKLOG DOGS TRAVELERS

Due to new security rules this year requiring U.S. citizens to carry passports when traveling by air from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, the average time to process a routine passport application has jumped from six weeks to 10, the State Department said last week....

CLASSIC PARTY RENTALS ACQUIRES NAPA-BASED LA BELLA

The Classic Party Rentals growth juggernaut continues with the announcement Thursday that the Los Angeles-based chain has acquired high-end La Bella Party Rental Co. of Napa, Calif. ...