George Washington BridgeGate: 5 Reasons Iowa Should Seize Control of the George Washington Bridge

If you haven’t heard of BridgeGate, you soon will. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration is in damage control mode after revelations that staffers conspired with a Christie childhood friend and his appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to shut down a couple of local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September as political retribution. The lane closures turned Fort Lee, New Jersey, which hosts the bridge on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, into a postcard for gridlock for several days, with public safety, convenience and rationality the clear victims.

Observers charge that the Christie administration’s political high jinx aimed to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who has been sympathetic to Republican Christie in the past, but declined to endorse him in Christie'slatest gubernatorial run.

Given that the George Washington Bridge is a vital cog for tourists, commuters and area residents, and in light of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal yesterday that New York State take control of JFK and La Guardia airports’ redevelopment, which like the George Washington Bridge, is currently the responsibility of the Port Authority, we’ve come up with a sensible solution to fix the woes of the George Washington Bridge.

Let Iowa operate the George Washington Bridge.

Here are five reasons why it would be sensible for Iowa to seize control of the George Washington Bridge.

1. Iowa is not in New Jersey, and its bridge decisions would not be swayed by New Jersey’s legendary political corruption.

2. Iowa wouldn’t have to answer to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is a bloated, do-nothing bureaucracy filled with patronage appointments, when determining the traffic flow over the George Washington Bridge.

3. Christie reportedly sought the Democratic Fort Lee Mayor’s endorsement to show that Christie would appeal to Democratic and Republican voters in what until now seemed like his inevitable quest for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Iowa hosts the all-important Iowa presidential caucuses, but hasn't for several years put forward a hometown presidential candidate of its own. Iowa, therefore, could do right by the George Washington Bridge and would be mostly immune to political influence over whether roadways to the bridge would remain open or blocked.

4. Despite New York State’s proposal to usurp the Port Authority's power and assume control of the redevelopment of JFK and La Guardia, we have no confidence that New York State can improve New York airports or the George Washington Bridge. New York, after all is part of the problem as it runs the Port Authority in cooperation with New Jersey. Iowa has 24,000 bridges, and nearly 4,100 of them are the responsibility of the Iowa Department of Transportation so it has a lot of experience in over-water roadways.

5. Iowa needs a real bridge to run, one that is worthy of the Hawkeye State. The George Washington Bridge, it should be pointed out, is not a drawbridge, but we feel confident Iowans would rise to the occasion.

Shocker: Hotel consultant switches sides, joins TripAdvisor foe

Now some will say he is really RockCheating.

In some travel tech news that will undoubtedly roil the hotel and travel-tech industries, hotel consultant Robert K. Cole of RockCheetah has abandoned his business -- and some would say his sanity -- and been hired as senior executive vice president emeritus, Hotel Monetization, Western World, for CheckChex.

CheckChex is an infamous reputation management firm, based in the Euro zone and on the Pacific Rim, which infamously has been a thorn in the side of hotel review site TripAdvisor and been on its case over CheckChex's unsubstantiated charges about an avalanche of fake reviews.

CheckChex's most notable accomplishment to date is that it has managed to coax EU authorities to deliver a slap on the wrist to TripAdvisor over trustworthiness boasts that TripAdvisor had abandoned months earlier.

So why is the Cole hiring such a shocker?

Cole has been a strong supporter of TripAdvisor and is on record as saying that its CEO, Steve Kaufer, is the smartest bloke in the travel industry. [You see Cole has just been hired and the American already is awkwardly and somewhat pathetically trying to speak Brit.]

Despite his support of the hotel review site, however, Cole has authored compelling investigative posts on the lengths that black-hat fake review factories will go to in order to slam competitors and he's unearthed many of their tricks.

So what compelled Cole to hitch his Lamborghini to CheckChex?

In an exclusive and insightful interview, Cole answered in a word.

"Boredom," Cole says.

Boredom?

Yes, Cole has reportedly grown bored with all of his sleuthing and investigative labors, especially his work on the best and least-read treatise (7,153 words) on the online travel agency hotel tax issue, Bathing in the Hotel Merchant Tax Quagmire.

Legions of Cole's blog and Twitter followers, as well as his erstwhile hotel clients, grew bored with the tome, too.

So Cole has thrown in the hotel towel and is tithing his fate and paychecks with CheckChex.

He is already in London today, April 1, which is April Fool's Day and a Sunday, not a work day in the UK.

The CheckChex press conference announcing its "get" of Cole is tentatively scheduled for April 2, pending the securing of a field house, Tim Tebow-like, for the press conference.

For the now-landmark "boredom" interview, Cole was reached at Hotel 41, in the shadows of Buckingham Palace. He is staying at the 5-star property in anticipation of the press conference, and may drop in on the Queen to see if she is in the market for some reputation management.

Why did Cole select Hotel 41?

"TripAdvisor hotel reviews," Cole replies smoothly.

Shhh. Don't tell CheckChex.

How Delta Air Lines staff took great care of my 80-something parents

On Tuesday, with the snowstorm heading for New Jersey and having hit Atlanta the day before, I sent my 88- and 89-year-old parents on a Delta Air Lines flight from Newark, connecting in Atlanta, and headed to Sarasota, Fla.

My parents were in wheelchairs from the moment they checked-in at Newark Airport to their eventual arrival in Sarasota, about 12 hours later, because they can't handle walking the long distances from check-in to the gates or baggage claim areas.

After parking my car curbside and dashing in to get my parents wheelchairs in Newark Terminal B, a Delta agent -- a distance from the check-in counter -- checked my parents in and didn't even charge them for their two bags.

My parents' trip was off to a great start.

We'd all seen horror stories on TV after the Christmas storm of people getting stranded at airports for days on end.

But, with all of their anxiety about getting stuck at the airport in Atlanta, their ultimate nightmare almost happened.

While they were flying from Newark to Atlanta, I got notified by Delta via my mobile phone that my parents' connecting flight to Sarasota was cancelled.

A bunch of other Delta flights from Atlanta to Sarasota that evening, Jan. 11, also got axed. With icy conditions in Atlanta, Delta was running a light schedule.

When I started searching Delta.com, there was no availability shown for any Atlanta-Sarasota flights that evening.

Nothing for any other airlines, either.

It looked like my parents were going to get stuck in Atlanta for the evening, and would have to figure out how to gather up their luggage and look for a hotel.

They would have been totally stressed out.

They had originally booked their flights on Delta.com and had no travel agent to get them out of this mess.

But, I called a travel agent friend, Bonnie Salt of Planet Travel in Newburyport, Mass., and she suggested I try to rebook as fast as possible on Delta.com and to phone Delta and hang on the phone for as long as it takes.

I called a couple of times and just got a recording. Another time I called and was promised by Delta that someone would call me back in around 20 minutes.

Fortunately, Salt provided me another phone number, Delta's agency number, and I reached Tricia Maris, a Delta customer service rep in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Maris sprung into action right away and got my parents rebooked on an Atlanta-Sarasota flight, slated to depart at around 8:55 p.m., about four and a half hours after they arrived in Atlanta.

It didn't matter -- at least they wouldn't have to spend the night at the airport and would be heading home, if the Delta flight didn't get cancelled in the interim.

Maris seemingly pulled some strings, got my parents seat assignments, 24B and 38B, explained to me what to do if their baggage didn't make it onto the connecting flight, and really brought me some "good news," as she put it.

Maris had provided me with the phone number for the baggage claim area in Sarasota because I was concerned that my parents' luggage, with all of their medicine, wouldn't make the connecting flight.

In Sarasota, I reached Drucilla Russell, the baggage claim floor supervisor, who was very kind and advised me that if my parents' bags didn't appear, then they should fill out a lost baggage claim form that night at the airport, regardless how late they arrived, because then Delta would ensure that the bags would get sent to their home the next day at the airline's expense.

Well, my parents' flight from Atlanta to Sarasota took off a few minutes late, but everything went smoothly. The gate agent had managed to place them next to one another in the first row of coach.

None of the Delta staff members gave my parents special treatment because they knew I'd write about it, and none were aware that I am a travel journalist. They, of course, had no idea I have this blog and am North America editor of the travel tech news site Tnooz.

It was a really long day for my parents, a travel marathon for them, but when they arrived in Sarasota, they were happy and their bags were there.

Two Delta staff members handling their wheelchairs retrieved their luggage at baggage claim in Sarasota, wheeled them out to a taxi -- and loaded their luggage into the taxi.

The cab driver obviously didn't work for Delta, but even he (maybe it was a she) pitched in, carrying my parents luggage into their condo.

People who work for airlines take a lot of crap, often deservedly, but the Delta people whom my parents and I came in contact with on Tuesday, a day that was full of flight cancellations and probably customer service havoc, acted so admirably and with such kindness, that they all deserve this blog post.

Nice work, Delta.

And thanks.

How Delta Air Lines staff took great care of my 80-something parents

On Tuesday, with the snowstorm heading for New Jersey and having hit Atlanta the day before, I sent my 88- and 89-year-old parents on a Delta Air Lines flight from Newark, connecting in Atlanta, and headed to Sarasota, Fla.

My parents were in wheelchairs from the moment they checked-in in at Newark Airport to their eventual arrival in Sarasota, about 12 hours later, because they can't handle walking the long distances from check-in to the gates or baggage claim areas.

After parking my car curbside and dashing in to get my parents wheelchairs in Newark Terminal B, a Delta agent -- a distance from the check-in counter -- checked my parents in and didn't even charge them for their two bags.

My parents trip was off to a great start.

We'd all seen horror stories on TV after the Christmas storm of people getting stranded at airports for days on end.

But, with all of their anxiety about getting stuck at the airport in Atlanta, their ultimate nightmare almost happened.

While they were flying from Newark to Atlanta, I got notified by Delta via my mobile phone that my parents' connecting flight to Sarasota was cancelled.

So, were a bunch of other Delta flights from Atlanta to Sarasota that evening, Jan. 11. With icy conditions in Atlanta, Delta was running a light schedule.

When I started searching Delta.com, there was no availability shown for any Atlanta-Sarasota flights that evening.

Nothing for any other airlines, either.

It looked like my parents were going to get stuck in Atlanta for the evening, and would have to figure out how to gather up their luggage and look for a hotel.

They would have been totally stressed out.

They had originally booked their flights on Delta.com and had no travel agent to get them out of this mess.

But, I called a travel agent friend, Bonnie Salt of Planet Travel in Newburyport, Mass., and she suggested I try to rebook as fast as possible on Delta.com and to phone Delta and hang on the phone for as long as it takes.

I called a couple of times and just got a recording. Another time I called and was promised by Delta that someone would call me back in around 20 minutes.

Fortunately, Salt provided me another phone number, Delta's agency number, and I reached Tricia Maris, a Delta customer service rep in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Maris sprung into action right away and got my parents on an Atlanta-Sarasota flight, slated to depart at around 8:55 p.m., about four and a half hours after they arrived in Atlanta.

It didn't matter -- at least they wouldn't have to spend the night at the airport and would be heading home, if the Delta flight didn't get cancelled in the interim.

Maris seeminly pulled some strings, got my parents seat assignments, 24B and 38B, explained to me what to do if their baggage didn't make it onto the connecting flight, and really brought me some "good news," as she put it.

Maris had provided me with the phone number for the baggage claim area in Sarasota because I was concerned that my parents' luggage, with all of their medicine, wouldn't make the connecting flight.

In Sarasota, I reached Drucilla Russell, the baggage claim floor supervisor, who was very kind and advised me that if my parents' bags didn't appear, then they should fill out a lost baggage claim form that night at the airport, regardless how late they arrived, because then Delta would ensure that the bags would get sent to their home the next day at the airline's expense.

Well, my parents' flight from Atlanta to Sarasota took off a few minutes late, but everything went smoothly. The gate agent had managed to place them next to one another in the first row of coach.

None of the Delta staff members gave my parents any special treatment because I write about travel. They had no idea I have this blog and am North America editor of Tnooz.

It was a really long day for my parents, a travel marathon for them, but when they arrived in Sarasota, they were happy and their bags were there.

Two Delta staff members handling their wheelchairs retrieved their luggage at baggage claim in Sarasota, wheeled them out to a taxi -- and loaded their luggage into the taxi.

The cab driver obviously didn't work for Delta, but even he (maybe it was a she) pitched in, carrying my parents luggage into their condo.

People who work for airlines take a lot of crap, often deservedly, but the Delta people whom my parents and I came in contact with on Tuesday acted so admirably and with such kindness, that they all deserve this blog post.

Nice work, Delta.

And thanks.

My New Tnooz Gig with Kevin May

I'm taking on a new journalism assignment as the North America reporter for Tnooz, a global media brand for the travel industry which will tackle developments, small and large, related to travel technology.

Until we get under way, you can sign up on our website to be among the first to learn the details of this new venture.

We also have Facebook and LinkedIn pages where you can check us out.

Here's what's public so far (I know more but I ain't telling): The founders are Editor Kevin May and President and CEO Gene Quinn.

I am excited about the tasks at hand, the dialogue we are going to create with our readers, the buzz, the scoops, the posts and our prospects. Among the reasons for my optimism? These lads know what they are doing.

Kevin created a name for himself over the last few years as he essentially created the Travolution brand and tore up the European online-travel market with his unique analysis and gotta-be-there conferences.

Gene has made his mark in the wireless, travel technology and media industries. He has a track record in traditional and new media, and e-commerce, too.

The three of us have roots in traditional journalism. But, along the way, we got hooked on the whole technology thing and grew right along with it.

Kevin started as a police reporter/editor for the Police Gazette; my editorial initiation occurred as a cub reporter covering Trumbull Town Hall for the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Post; and Gene got his seasoning as the sports editor at a couple of big-city daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune.

What you are going to get from us is the most modern form of e-journalism and analysis, coupled with the highest standards.

We -- meaning the Tnooz team -- are going to cover the world. Kevin is rolling out the names of our editorial contributors, including Alex Bainbridge in the U.K., Claude Benard in France, and Charlie Li in China.

And, we're just getting started with our name-dropping. There are many more notable editorial contributors to be announced in the coming days. Think global and think thought-leaders.

I'm itching to get this thing started and can't wait to take it up several notches in my across-the-Atlantic collaboration with U.K.-based Kevin.

We started working together in December 2005 when he became editor of Travolution and I began writing its U.S. View column.

In the interim, I've became a huge fan of his blog, and I think he's read mine, too.

We penned a joint byline for Travolution a few months ago when DialAFlight began suing or threatening to sue TripAdvisor's HolidayWatchdog, Microsoft's Ciao and Travel Rants over dubious reader comments.

Now that Kevin has left Travolution and I've joined Tnooz, I'm confident a few more joint bylines will be forthcoming.

With your help and insights, we aim to fill a huge gap in the current state of travel-technology reportage.

We'll endeavor to be provocative and informative. We hope to drill down on travel-technology developments where others just scrape the surface.

We'll champion travel start-ups when they do something valuable, and we won't be afraid to point out their failings.

I'll leave it to Kevin to fill in the blanks about Tnooz and its direction.

Meanwhile, I merely want to say that it's great to be part of the Tnooz team.

Let's roll.