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A Short List Of Green Hotels

Clint Williams — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:12:32 +0000

Want to stay at a verifiably green hotel for your next vacation? Soon you’ll be able to choose from among dozens of hotel and resort projects, in various stages of construction or remodeling, that have registered with the US Green Building Council, aiming to achieve silver, gold or platinum LEED certification.

But so far only a handful of resorts, hotels and lodges, 13 at last count, have completed the LEED certification process. These get-aways, which include upscale, urban hotels; trendy spas and woodsy lodges, have met the LEED standards, which requires that building projects consider the environment in how they locate their structures; choose materials with a lighter environmental impact; recycle or reduce construction waste, and conserve energy and water.

The 13 green pioneers:

Avalon Hotel and Spa — Portland, Ore., US (pictured)
GAIA Napa Valley — San Francisco, Calif., US
Kandalama Hotel — Damulla, Sri Lanka
Len Foote Hike Inn — Dawsonville, Ga., US
Orchard Garden Hotel — San Francisco, Calif., US
Snowmass Golf Clubhouse — Aspen, Colo., US
The Ambrose — Santa Monica, Calif., US
The John James Audubon Lodge & Camp — Charlotte, N.C., US
The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens — Pine Mountain, Ga., US
University of Maryland Inn & Conference — Adelphi, Md., US
Vancouver Conference Center & Hotel — Vancouver, Wash., US
Palazzo — Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Unity Village Hotel - Kansas City, Missouri, US

**LEED certification of building projects differs from the certification by the Green Hotels Association. While LEED focuses on construction and energy consumption; the GRE, which also looks at energy conservation, more closely analyzes daily operations, giving points for hotels that use bulk soaps, low-toxic cleaners, natural pesticides and less food packaging.

Chart source: The US Green Building Council.

For more on green living, go to greenrightnow.com.

Republican Convention Cities

Bill Sullivan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:35:53 +0000

Since visiting Miami Beach for consecutive gatherings in 1968 and ‘72, the Republican National Convention has been a movable feast. When Minneapolis-St. Paul opens its doors to the G.O.P., it will be the eighth different city over the past 32 years to play host to the event.

Republicans have done a good job of using their convention as a springboard to Election Day success, winning seven of the last 10 presidential races.

Here’s a list of the last 10 cities to serve as launching point for a Republican candidacy:

2008 — Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

2004 — New York

2000 — Philadelphia

1996 — San Diego

1992 — Houston

1988 — New Orleans

1984 — Dallas

1980 — Detroit

1976 — Kansas City

1972 — Miami Beach

1968 — Miami Beach

Source: CNN

Worst Cities To Be a Sports Fan

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:22:37 +0000

If you’re a regular at a Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA or NHL game these days, you’ve probably noticed that the price for your entertainment keeps going up.

That’s rough enough when your hard-earned dollars go to support a championship team, or at least a respectable contender. At least you are getting the hoped-for bang for your buck.

But what if you are shelling out all that dough…and the team you’re rooting for stinks?

That, unfortunately, is the case in too many towns, and the folks at Forbes have noticed. That’s why they came up with their list of “America’s Worst Cities To Be a Sports Fan.” Forbes weighed median income against the cost of a trip to the stadium or arena to determine which town’s fans were getting the rawest deal.

Of the terrible 10, here are the bottom seven, in reverse order:

10. Pittsburgh

8. Tampa

To check out the Top 3, and to see a slideshow about all 10, visit Forbes.com.

Best Cities for Commuters

Bill Sullivan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:41:13 +0000

There’s nothing quite like sitting in gridlock to help get the workday off to a rousing start. Getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic later in the day as you rush to your son’s baseball game or your daughter’s swim meet is big fun, too.

More and more Americans are cutting out the time and expense of commuting in favor of working from home. If your job doesn’t allow for that kind of luxury, finding a good town to get around might be a priority.

Forbes recently tried to identify the best cities for commuters, weighing items such as public transportation, carpooling efficiency, bottlenecking and insufficient capacity, and more.

From their list of 10, here are the bottom seven:

10. Richmond, Va.

9. Cincinnati

8. Kansas City, Mo.

7. Hartford, Conn.

6. Cleveland

5. Pittsburgh

4. Oklahoma City

Who are the Top 3? To find out, and to read about the entire list, check out Forbes.