What the F.A.A. Bill Means for Travelers
Automatic refunds for significant flight disruptions, fee-free family seating and accessibility improvements. Those are among the benefits for travelers in the bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five more years, which Congress passed on Wednesday. After months of back and forth, and several short-term extensions, it will now head to President Biden’s desk […]
Cruel acts, though not alleged to debase, degrade child, may still be considered abuse
Dear PAO, Can a person who pointed and poked a gun at a 12-year-old child be held liable for child abuse under Republic Act 7610 when the complaint does not seem to indicate that there was an intention to debase or degrade said child? This happened to the son of my best friend. They already […]
On the Belgian Coast, a Design Gallery Where You Can Spend the Night
Rooms With a North Sea View Last year, when Micha Pycke, 40, and Albane Paret, 39, bought an apartment in Ostend — a once run-down Belgian seaside town that, in recent years, has become a favorite of artists and designers — they knew they wanted the place to be, says Pycke, “something more than an […]
About parental advice
Dear PAO, My brother and his girlfriend recently celebrated their 23rd birthday together. I heard they plan to have a secret marriage wherein only close friends and relatives will be invited. My brother also told me that they would not invite his girlfriend's family. Can they get married even without the approval and consent of […]
113-Year-Old Death Valley Salt Tram Tower Toppled by Driver Stuck in Mud
A century ago, the timber-and-iron tower had supported a tram carrying precious salt across the Inyo Mountains that had been mined from a remote valley in the California desert. More recently, it stood as an artifact in the Saline Valley, and it marked the edge of a hiking trail through the sun-baked wilderness. But a […]
Prenuptial agreement: When to execute, when changes can be made
Dear PAO, My sister just got engaged. She has yet to discuss this with her fiancé, but she is considering having a prenuptial agreement. They both have their own small online businesses, so she thinks it will be easier and less messy if they will just agree to have a complete separation of property. Assuming […]
Vantage, Our Cruise Company, Went Bankrupt. We Are Out $17,905.
Dear Tripped Up, In September 2022, I booked a 17-day Arabian Sea cruise through Vantage Travel Services to celebrate my 80th birthday with my wife. The cruise was to set sail in October 2023. I used my credit card to leave a $2,000 deposit and paid the remaining $17,905 shortly afterward by bank transfer. I […]
Retaliation is different from self-defense
Dear PAO, My brother killed his friend. It started when my brother failed to pay his debt to his friend despite several demands. Due to frustration, his friend went to my brother’s house and ran amuck. He challenged my brother to a fight. After my brother went downstairs, his friend punched and stabbed him to […]
How to Plan a Visit to the V&A Museum in London
Even for someone who loves getting lost in museums — especially “everything museums” like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — London’s Victoria and Albert Museum might have been my Waterloo. The statistics are daunting: 5,000 years of artistic production with more than 60,000 works on view (from a collection of some 2.8 […]
Conviction of accused must rest, not on weakness of defense, but on strength of prosecution
Dear PAO, My cousin filed a criminal case, which was heard in court but was eventually dismissed. My cousin said that the assailant only presented one witness, while he had several witnesses who testified for him, and he submitted a good number of evidence. So, we really could not understand why or how the case […]