Survey

With average gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, fewer Southern California residents say they plan to take a leisure trip over spring break, according to a survey by the Auto Club of Southern California. The annual survey of Auto Club members found that 47% said they plan at least one leisure trip this spring break season, compared with 57% in 2012 and 55% in 2011. High gasoline prices prompted 69% of those polled to say they made at least one significant cut to their budget, compared with 66% in 2012 and 61% in 2011.

Double-dipping -- it's the gravest of party fouls. Well, if you don't count passing out on someone's front lawn, breaking a window or accidentally knocking over an entire bottle of liquor. But, it's up there with the worst things you can do. Dip once, you're good. Dip twice, you get the boot.  But if you've ever been at a party and thought you could sneak in a double-dip, you're not alone. In honor of National Chip and Dip Day, which happens to be Saturday, Tostitos commissioned Ketchum communications agency to conduct a survey about double-dipping.

NHL general managers met Wednesday in Toronto to discuss a variety of issues, including player safety, but didn't put forward any rule changes. The NHL Players' Assn., which was represented there, said it will poll its members this summer for their thoughts on the mandatory use of visors, which the league favors but which players have maintained should be their choice to make. “I think by the sheer number of players wearing them, I think you have seen a big change,” former NHL defenseman Mathieu Schneider, now the special assistant to the executive director of the NHLPA, told reporters in Toronto.

The level of optimism among Americans about traveling has risen beyond pre-recession levels, according to a new survey of 2,300 travelers. The so-called Travel Sentiment Index may help predict how much Americans plan to travel for vacation this summer, according to the survey by the marketing services firm MMGY Global. The survey asked travelers their attitude about travel, the affordability of travel, finances available for travel and the safety of travel, among other factors.

Because of a long and confusing customs process to visit the U.S., 43% of overseas visitors said they would recommend others to avoid a trip to America. That was one of the conclusions from a survey of 1,200 overseas visitors, commissioned by the U.S. Travel Assn., a trade group for the nation's travel industry. The organization has long advocated that the federal government improve the visa process to make it faster and easier for foreign travelers to visit the U.S. Spending by international tourists traveling to and visiting the U.S. reached a record $168.1 billion in 2012, an increase of about 9% from the previous year, according to federal statistics.

If you never tip a concierge when staying at a hotel, you are not alone. According to an online survey of nearly 700 travelers, 55% said they never tip a concierge, and 23% said they tip between $2 and $4 per day. The survey by the hotel booking website Tingo found that housekeepers get better treatment. Among hotel guests, 40% said they tip $2 to $4 per day, and 15% tip $5 to $7 per day. Only 19% said they never tip a housekeeper. “I always tip hotel maids, and you should do it as soon as you check in, and thereafter each day of your stay,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog, a low-airfare alert and air travel advice website.

A sluggish economy appears to have shifted mothers' attitudes toward full-time work, as more women report wanting to work full time, a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday found. Among mothers with children under 18, the percentage that said they wish to work full time grew to 32% in 2012 -- up from 20% in 2007. The survey , which also examined how fathers balance family and work life, also found that the public remains divided on the impact of parent's work schedules on their children.

Is it acceptable or unacceptable for an openly gay Boy Scout to share a tent with a heterosexual boy on an overnight camping trip? Is it acceptable or unacceptable for a lesbian to serve as a den leader for her son's Cub Scout den? Those are among the questions in a survey being distributed to 1.1 million Scout leaders, alumni, volunteers and parents as the Boy Scouts of America considers whether to lift its ban on gay membership. Two of the 13 questions concerning gays and Scouting are open-ended.

The Boy Scouts of America is surveying adult members about their attitude toward gays in Scouting as the group's leaders consider potentially lifting their ban on gay membership later this spring. The 13-question survey is being distributed to 1.1 million Scouts leaders, alumni, volunteers and parents. It asks them to respond to hypothetical situations involving homosexuality, gays camping with children and gays in church leadership.  Members can respond according to a scale of feelings that ranges from strong support to strong opposition.