News In Brief

I'D NEVER GET IT CLEAN AGAIN

For her wedding, Christina Golledge decided against wearing a traditional white gown and went instead with machine-washable burgundy. OK, so maybe her choice was unusual, but it did have its practical considerations. You see, she and bridegroom Mark Lee exchanged vows in a coal mine in south Wales, accompanied by 30 guests with flashlights. Why a coal mine? Because they wanted, Lee said, to be "deep in the country" they felt so much a part of.

MAYBE IT WANTED COMPANY

With only the howling of a dog audible over the phone, rescue crews raced to the scene of an emergency 999 call in Zabrze, Poland, assuming the worst. But on reaching the dwelling, they found - not a person too weak to say anything - only the dog. It had been left alone by its owner, and, authorities theorized, must have knocked the receiver off the hook and accidentally stepped on the keypad with a paw.

For business travel, 'Vegas' is the cheapest US big city

Three of the US's most popular vacation destinations are also the cheapest for business travelers, a new survey by Runzheimer International has found. But the Rochester, Wis.-based management consultants say these cities don't seem like bargains when you compare what they cost just 15 years ago. In Orlando, Fla., the 1986 per-day cost of $86 has more than doubled. New York has skyrocketed from $204 to $403. The average per-diem cost for a business traveler in the following cities in 1999:

Las Vegas $158

Orlando, Fla. $175

Honolulu $183

Atlanta $195

Dallas $197

St. Louis $199

Phoenix $200

Los Angeles $220

Seattle $232

Chicago $262

Washington $269

Boston $313

New York $403

- Runzheimer International/Reuters

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