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Show Tuesday, March 6. 2007 DAILY HERALD D5 Delay Rumors Continued from D6 Continued from D6 Following the JetBlue incident, Sen. Barbara Boxer,. ' DCalif., introduced a bill that would prohibit airlines from keeping travelers stuck on the The same medium that spreads rumors can be a gauge of how far and damaging they have become; Most big companies spend a chunk of time watching blogs, message boards and other sites for rumors and to see what customers, shareholders and employees are saying. Companies that are subject to lots of rumors should respond to the important ones, said David Dunne, general manager of interactive solutions for the firm Edelman, But software companies often use their Web sites to address every virus rumor, he said, because "it's important to teU the people who use their software not to worry." More traditional businesses have picked up the habit, s too. Web site addresses so many rumors that they are categorized into separate myths and rumors pages one for rumors from the Middle East, another for products and packaging, and a third addressing contests and promotions. Right now, the most widespread rumor about Coca-Colinvolves ostensibly from the company saying recipients have won cash in a drawmg. They first appeared several years ago, and Coke beat them down by using its Web site and by talking directly to employees and customers who" had received them. But the hoax resurfaced a couple of months ago, said spokeswoman Kerry Kerr. k For the Atlanta company, it is more important to address rumors than to try to contain them she said. "When unfounded statements are repeated often enough," said spokeswoman Kerry Kerr, "they do start to cloud the truth, and people start to believe them." I tarmac for longer than three hours. Days after Boxer filed the a ft biH on Feb. 24, United Airlines kept a flight from California sitting on the tarmac at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for seven hours. Airline industry spokesman t David Castelveter said the JASON E. MtCZEKThe Charlotte Observer number of .delays on airport US Airways passengers at the Charlotte-Dougla- s International taxiways, though in the thouAirport wait in line outside a check-i- n point Sunday after sands, is still small compared a problem with a computerized reservation system caused with the millions of flights evdelays for US Airways passengers at the airline's largest hub, airline officials said ery year. "As horrific a situation as that must be for travelers, it is still an extremely low numThe airline industry opposes Onboard while ber," said Castelveter, spokesefforts by the government to man for the Air Transport set limits on the amount of waiting for Association. time passengers can be kept in In 2006, there were more than According to the Bureau of parked planes. Airline officials 66,000 flights delayed more than Transportation Statistics, the say the limits would result in an hour before takeoff. 7,405 flights sitting on runmore delays and disruptions of Flights delayed more than service. ways for more than two hours passenger an hour before takeoff last year was about Castelveter said a passenger 70 thousand of 1 percent of all 7,141,922 who needs to get somewhere 66,868 ' flights. 60 might prefer sitting on the The number of flights stuck runway for a few hours to risk on taxiways for more than two having the flight canceled or hours has climbed unevenly further delayed because the from 2,247 in 1995, peaking in pilot is required to taxi back to 2004 with 8,115. the gate. The airports reporting the During the late 1990s, in20 most taxiway delays of three creasing flight delays sparked 10 hours or more are Chicago a similar consumer movement to set minimum legal standards O'Hare; Newark, N.J.; New I York LaGuardia and New for customer service. '95 97 '99 '01 '03 '05 York JFK. Airlines blocked those atSOURCE: Bureau of AP "Unfortunately, the number tempts by agreeing to a volunof delays is going to get worse Transportation Statistics tary code of conduct that they before it gets better, until we have not always foUowed. That transition to a satellite-baseyears and cost many billions of code doesn't promise to let pasair traffic control system," dollars. sengers off planes sitting on Castelveter said. Most taxiway delays are the ground for hours; it does The Federal Aviation Adcaused by weather. In 2004, six say airlines will meet passenministration is in the process times as many outbound flights gers' essential needs for food, of transforming the air traffic 594 were parked on taxi- water and medical attention control system, which is based ways for more than five hours during such delays. on radar and radio commuthan in any other year between On the Net: 1995 and 2006. That was one nication, to one that allows of the worst years for thunderpilots to navigate from the Department of storms, which are especially cockpit using satellite signals. Transportation: The project is expected to take disruptive to air traffic. http:lfwww.dot.gov I V takeoff one-tent- h I I I I I d Seminole Continued from D6 they would end up paying the developer up to $2.2 billion over 10 years "for doing absolutely nothing." The tribe said it already paid Power Plant $310.5 million in advisory fees and continued to pay more than $18 million every month. Cordish and Power Plant countered in December with a lawsuit in state court, alleging the Seminoles orchestrated scheme in their a purchase of the Hard Rock franchise. Cordish aUeged it would have paid more for Hard Rock International, but the tribe conspired with Hard Rock executives to discourage competition and keep the bid low. The settlement makes both cases of those go away and resolves Power Plant's ongoing dispute over what it's owed by the tribe. "Business solutions are always preferable once the issues have been sorted out," Kluger said. "On the one hand, we were fighting the litigation aggressively. On the other hand, we always kept the back channels open." high-profi- Marty Steinberg, an attorney for Cordish and Power Plant, declined comment. The Seminole Tribe's spokesman, Gary Bitner, also declined comment. The litigation between the Seminoles and Power Plant had the potential to drag on for years, said Joe Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, an international consulting firm that analyzes gaming markets. "It's very difficult to proceed with major plans with an uncertainty over such a tremendous amount of money at stake," Weinert said. This provides the Seminole enterprise with certainty so they can now map out their growth plan." There still remains one high-stakes case over the Seminole Hard Rock, but it doesnt involve the tribe. Donald Trump is suing Cordish and Richard Fields, a former Trump employee who negotiated the Seminole deal for Cordish. Trump accuses Fields of stealing his idea of building a Seminole casino hotel. The Seminole Tribal Council "One way to squelch a rumor is to refrain public-relatio- Coca-Cola'- a soft-drin- it" from refueling Doug Shelton Procter & Gamble spokesman In trying to kiU a rumor, companies often enlist help from outside sources, including linking to other Web sites like Snopes.com, a d reference for sorting out myths and rumors. That's one way Procter & Gamble squelched the rumor that its president had told a TV host that part of the Cincinnati company's profits go to the Church of Satan. That tale started decades ago and escalated with the Internet, Procter & Gamble but it appears on the rumor-respon- page of Starbucks' Web site along with several links to Snopes.com and other sites refuting that Starbucks doesnt support U.S. soldiers. Still, the rumor has not died TWe get it every few weeks," said Starbucks spokeswoman Valerie CNeiL "Somebody will forward it to me and say, 'Do you know about this? Oh boy, do we." Starbucks monitors blogs and other sites regularly, but it doesnt respond to all rumors, OTfeil said. "You could spend hours responding to everything out there." Triggers for responding include how widespread media coverage has become, what the company hears from customers and employees, and what's being said online. This past week, the spokesman Doug Shelton said. page on Starbucks' He declined to say where the Web site addressed just three consumer products giant berumors: The one about the lieves the rumor originated. military, a false one about "One way to squelch a ruStarbucks Chairman Howard Schultz supporting the Israeli mor is to refrain from refuelarmed forces, and a third that ing it when you believe it is was true about a memo Schullargely behind you," Shelton said. tz wrote to top executives last Sharing the truth is key, he month saying the company's said. Procter & Gamble's Web stores "no longer have the soul of the past." site links to several independent sources on the subject, "It's an ongoing check. If we've seen a significant drop, including Snopes.com. It also helped, he said, when or if it becomes out of date, we'U take it down," CNeil talk shows issued statements said. saying that Procter & GamMcDonald's does not have ble's president never appeared e a on their shows. page for Starbucks went directly to U.S. customers, but its Australian business has a site called the source of one of its most virulent rumors, which says www.MakeUpYourOwnMind. com.au that addresses everythe company doesn't support the war in Iraq or anyone in it. thing from whether its That tale began with an sandwich has shark or from a Marine sergeant dolphin (not true) to whether its soft serve ice cream has in 2003 or 2004, who wrote to friendslhat Starbucks had pig fat. "No idea how this one got said so in a letter to Marines in Iraq who had asked for free started," the site says of the coffee. rumor. "There is definitely no Several months later, the lard or pig fat in the McDonsame sergeant wrote another ald's Soft Serve." apologizing and saying he was mistaken. His mea cul- I Seattle Times researcher David Turim contributed to pa is not nearly as widely circulated as the original this report. talk-sho- rumor-respon- se rumor-respons- Filet-O-Fi- HUGEllfWiEMiTiORWof signed a ceremonial resolution, at noon Monday, sealing the Hard Rock International deal The tribe will own 68 i.i -- inn t 1 niiRft Hard Rock Cafe restaurants and detail stores, primarily in the United States. The tribe also will have licensing or franchise agreements for 56 more restaurants, five hotels and two Hard Rock Live! concert venues. Hard Rock International announced Friday that its operating profit increased 18.7 percent last year, with $501.9 minion in total revenue. A Hard Rock hotel is scheduled to open in San Diego later this year and the reconstruction of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Miss., win be done by summer. "This year's performance marks the third consecutive year of growth and we now look forward to a promising future," said Hamish Dodds, president and CEO of Hard Rock International mi my 11)11 rs company-owne- d is Try s TIRPG FOR LIFE! A NEW LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE C Brent Brown 212S THE GM 100,000 MILES I anamehcan REV0UJT10N Chevrolet N. UWV FKWY . PROVO - SATURDAY 8:30am - :00pm MONDAY www.brenlbrownauto.com '.'..provides real value..." I South Florida staff researcher John Maines contributed to this report. Sun-Sentin- el -- i 1 1 1 j 22!!n!rr"r lexchanje The latest in BYU Sports online wwww.rwaldaxtra.com .tfmitaiMiMM' i - -- - -. 1 4 i, classes meet two with faculty from week a evenings the Marriott School's nationally and internationally ranked daytime BYU EMBA L" program. 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