Deck

As a purser with 37 years' experience working for an international air carrier, I find recent articles about the jumbo A380 Airbus . . . humorous (Dec. 20). The early Boeing 747s had two bars on the main deck and the entire upper deck was a bar/lounge. It didn't take the airlines long to realize that more seats meant more money. The day I'm on an airplane that uses valuable seating space for children's playrooms, casinos, gyms and boutiques is the day I'll look out the window and see pigs flying.

A helicopter carrying 15 men crashed and burned today on the deck of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing all but one of those aboard. The Coast Guard picked up one survivor and flew him 100 miles to the burn unit of West Jefferson Hospital in suburban New Orleans. Thirteen workers aboard the craft were employees of Penrod Drilling, according to Edward L. Billarreal, division manager of Forest Oil Corp., which operated the rig.

A section of Long Beach's popular Retro Row soon will be giving customers a different kind of curbside treatment. Three businesses have won city approval to convert a few highly valued parking spaces along the 4th Street corridor into green space, joining a national trend led by San Francisco, where the number of so-called parklets jumped from six in 2010 to more than 20 now. Construction of Long Beach's parklets — the first in Southern California,...

If the Oakland Athletics reach the American League championship series, the tarps that cover the third deck of their stadium will be removed, Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday. "If they advance, they are going to take them off," Selig said. The A's play host to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night, in the fifth and final game of the American League division series. The winner advances to the ALCS. The A's won Tuesday and Wednesday, with the tarps on and sold-out crowds of 36,067 each night.

Defective tubing used to transmit blood to and from a dialysis machine is believed to be the cause of illnesses reported in three states, including the deaths of two people in Maryland. The company that makes the tubing issued a recall, and dialysis centers where dozens of patients became sick in Nebraska, Massachusetts and Maryland shut down temporarily. Tests showed a blockage where the plastic tubing is joined with a cartridge the size of a deck of cards, said Dr.

Talk about room at the top. The Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego will make like the Matterhorn on Saturday as participants in a charity fundraiser called Over the Edge step out onto a deck on the 33rd floor, marvel at the high-altitude view and rappel down the side of the hotel’s tower. It’s a 357-foot rush in 10 minutes that ends at a Landing Party for fans and spectators at the hotel’s pool deck with music, food and entertainment. (OK, supposedly it’s for charity, but this sounds like a ticket to thrill-ville to us)

On a windy, showery February evening midway through our 16-night cruise from Laem Chabang, Thailand, to Shanghai, my wife, Laurel, and I stood on the balcony of our stateroom aboard the Ocean Princess, berthed at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Across Victoria Harbour, the astonishing array of skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island had grown lively with light, a multicolored, ever-changing display of patterns and advertising icons — and there was more to come. The ubiquitous Star Ferries — green and white, double-ended, distinctive in profile — scuttled back and forth, and other excursion boats joined the armada.

Question: We purchased a new apartment building a year ago. The apartments are above a subterranean garage that extends under the entire apartment structure. The first floor slab (subterranean garage ceiling) is exposed to weather as it is not enclosed with a roof. We are trying to decide on a product that will provide us with good waterproofing to elminate water dripping on vehicles when it rains as well as aproduct that will be low maintenance. What do you suggest? Answer: Walter F.