OPENING: LINCOLN, NEB.
A warm fuzzy for quilts The International Quilt Study Center is set to open March 30 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The new $12 million facility-- with a facade of glass panels "stitched together" -- will house more than 2,300 quilts, touted as the world's largest collection. It will contain gallery space, an international study center dedicated to research and preservation and climate-controlled storage areas for the center's expanding collection of quilts from cultures worldwide. For more information on the opening and the museum, visit www.quiltstudy.org.
KERRI WESTENBERG
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Hotel fire safety improves Smoke billowing from the 32-story Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas last month recalled the 1980 blaze that raced through the former MGM Grand in Las Vegas and killed more than 80 people. No one died in the recent Monte Carlo blaze, and that says much about how far the hotel industry has come in its quest to protect guests from fire. Since 1980, the number of structural fires reported each year in U.S. hotels and motels has dropped by about two-thirds, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Today nearly 40 states use the NFPA's Life Safety Code, which specifies hundreds of steps -- including sprinklers, alarms, exit plans and staff training -- to reduce fire risk for various structures including lodging, the organization said. Other states apply codes with similar provisions. But fire laws are still a patchwork. They vary among states and even counties, because the federal government exercises little jurisdiction in this area.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
WEB WATCH
Farecast scouts Europe Farecast.com is offering international predictions on airfares in 200 markets between the United States and popular destinations in Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada. The company says that fares to Europe during the peak summer months will average 11 percent higher this year over 2007. Consumers can expect to pay $600 to $1,500 on the lowest airfare from top U.S. cities to most European destinations, compared with $350 for domestic travel, according to the website, which offers guidance on when to book to take advantage of the lowest fares. Fares from top U.S. cities to Mexico and Caribbean markets average $360 in low season and more than $500 in high season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOOK BRIEF
Coffee perks up the Midwest Seattle and the Pacific Northwest may be considered the coffee capitals of America, but Jeff Hagen, author of "Brewed Awakenings" (Itchy Cat Press, $13), begs to differ. He thinks that the Midwest has its share of excellent coffeehouses, too. In this quirky guide to coffeehouses in Wisconsin, as well as a few in Iowa and Minnesota, Hagen has lovingly assembled the thoughts and comments of regulars who have spent quality time in the states' many java joints. Hagen finds coffeehouses in small towns, out-of-the-way byways, and big cities, including Madison, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Minneapolis. In each, coffeehouses are about creating community. Or, as one loyal coffee drinker told Hagen, "Jeff, this is not a coffeehouse, this is a coffee home."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
