Friday Travel Ticker: LAX reports drop in crime

Reported crime at LAX dropped 27% in 2011, from 2,220 incidents to 1,612, Airport Police reported Thursday. Two aggravated assaults were reported last year, compared to three in 2010. Thefts dropped 29% in 2011, and there were 19 reports of car burglaries, out of the 6.1 million vehicles in public parking in the course of the year . . . . Only part of the construction work going on right now at LAX involves the expanded Bradley Terminal. In order to heat and cool the additional spce, the airport’s Central Utility Plane, or CUP, is being replaced at a cost of $438 million. Drivers can expect occasional lane closures to accommodate the work . . . . La Nina? What La Nina? After a promising start, most California ski resorts are suffering one of the worst winters in memory. Mammoth is offering a “snow guarantee” on its mid-winter passes. For every day that goes by until the resort gets 24 inches of new snow, Mammoth will add a day to the pass period that originally ran to Feb. 9. For info, call (800) MAMMOTH (626-6684) . . . . If you’re looking for big snow, try British Columbia’s Whistler, which has received 17 feet of snow this year, 6 since Christmas Eve. . . . Yosemite National Park’s first free entry dates of the year are approaching. Admission will be waived at Yosemite and other national parks Jan. 14-16, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The usual fee is $20. . . . Northern California’s Mendocino County celebrates locally harvested Dungeness crab and wines Jan. 20-29. Info: (866) 782-9636 or click here. . . . Heading for San Diego in February? San Diego Museum Month means half-price admissions. . . . Look for Chinese New Year celebrations across Las Vegas late this month. . . . Bids for the Hooters hotel-casino in Las Vegas are due Feb. 10, under bankruptcy terms unveiled this week. . . . Travel quote of the day: “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” (Pat Conroy)