Other options on the table range from requiring no permits at all to removing the safety cables.
Airport in Las Vegas tops 41M passengers
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Fueled by increased international flights, McCarran International Airport handled almost 41.5 million passengers in 2011, an increase of 1.7 million people compared with 2010, airport administrators said Friday.
Traffic on commercial flights by 16 airlines using the airport’s international terminal increased 13.8 percent compared with 2010, the Clark County Department of Aviation said. Some of the increase came from more flights to and from Latin America, Great Britain and Canada.
The overall improvement of 4.3 percent came after the airport saw 39.8 million passengers in 2010. The airport peaked at 47 million passengers in 2007.
Terminal 2 in Las Vegas, which handles flights to Hawaii and most international traffic, saw 2.2 million passengers in 2011 compared with 1.93 million in 2010.
Picks revealed for free plays in Central Park
NEW YORK (AP) — The Public Theater will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Shakespeare in the Park series this summer with a little Bard and a little Sondheim.
The Public said Thursday that Daniel Sullivan will direct “As You Like It” in June with Lily Rabe as Rosalind. A month later, directors Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel will present Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.”
Both works will be free at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Additional casting and dates will be announced later.
Universal Orlando plans daily parades
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Universal Orlando, with an eye on bolstering attendance, announced ambitious plans Wednesday for a daily interactive character parade and a nighttime light and pyrotechnics show at the theme park highlighting the company’s 100 years of moviemaking.
The interactive parade and the Morgan Freeman-narrated evening show — with images from Universal movies projected onto screens created by waterfalls in the middle of a lagoon — is the most significant addition to attractions at the Universal Studios park since the hugely successful Harry Potter attraction opened in 2010 at Universal’s other Orlando property, Islands of Adventure.
Jim Timon, senior vice president for entertainment at Universal Orlando, said the parade and night show will debut sometime this spring, although specific dates weren’t announced.
Yosemite says fewer people should climb
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Yosemite National Park officials say lowering the number of permits to Half Dome is the best option for maintaining the wilderness character at the popular hiking spot.
Officials recommended a 300-per-day limit in their draft of the Half Dome Trail Stewardship Plan released Tuesday, following years of study.
Last year, officials instituted a lottery system that allows 400 hikers per day to tackle the 400-foot ascent up the granite shoulder of the dome.
Before that, as many as 1,200 park visitors would attempt the popular hike each day, creating congested and dangerous conditions on the cables that provide handholds on the slick granite.
Public comment on the report will be accepted through March 15.
Other options on the table range from requiring no permits at all to removing the safety cables.