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News Roundup
This is a roundup of news and other interesting pieces that I’ve come across over the last few days. Read about US tourists fined for damaging Rome’s Spanish Steps, ITA codeshare agreement with Azul, Hawaii island too expensive for locals, Amex Blue Business Plus fee, and possibly a new ferry to LGA.
US tourists fined for damaging Rome’s Spanish Steps with Scooters
Two American tourists have been fined and briefly banned from Rome’s historic city center after damaging the city’s Spanish Steps with electric scooters. The incident, which was captured on security cameras, comes less than a month after a Saudi man was arrested for allegedly driving a rented Maserati sports car down the 18th-century landmark, also causing damage. Police said the tourists, aged 28 and 29, were stopped by a patrol around 2:45 a.m. local time on June 3 after a scooter was thrown down the steps, also known as the Trinità de Monti.
ITA Airways announces codeshare agreement with Azul
This codeshare agreement will provide the best connection options with the main Brazilian cities to customers of the Italian flagship carrier. The agreement, which takes effect on June 10, is already available on the company’s’ official channels.
Thanks to this codeshare agreement, ITA Airways will place its code “AZ” on domestic flights operated by Azul in eight strategic domestic markets: Belém (PA), Cuiabá (MT), Santos Dumont (RJ), Porto Alegre (RS), Recife (PE), Juazeiro do Norte (CE), Confins (MG) and Curitiba (PR), connecting via São Paulo with 5 weekly frequencies in June and July, which will become daily frequencies from August.
Billionaire Larry Ellison Bought a Hawaiian Island and Is Pushing Residents Out
Ellison has invested serious money in renovation and construction projects on the island, and many residents have come to accept the trade-offs. (“He has the right to do whatever the hell he wants with what he owns,” Andrus says.) Yet the extent of Ellison’s control has left them with little say in Lanai’s future or their place in it. Gabe Johnson, who represents Lanai on the regional Maui County Council, points out that the government controls little public infrastructure.
$250 Fee for Amex Blue Business Plus?
If you try to apply for the Amex Blue Business Plus card through a referral link today, you will probably notice a $250 fee in the card details. As you know, this is a business credit card that earn 2X on all purchases and has no annual fee.
But could there be plans to slap a $250 fee on this product? Most likely not. It looks like they just copy/pasted the Amex Plum card details, so this is probably just a temporary error.
Brand-new ferry could connect Manhattan to LaGuardia Airport
Possible stops on this ferry could include Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan, East 34th Street in midtown and East 90th on the Upper East Side. These would connect to landings at the airport—a Flushing Bay landing and a Bowery Bay landing—which would both require shuttle bus connections to get people to the terminals.
It would be about 7 miles to Bowery Bay and 10 miles to Flushing Bay from the East 34th Street/midtown ferry stop.
