Soaring and surfing

Those busy executives just have to have great Internet service, even when flying. Well, Southwest Airlines is the latest to try an in-flight Internet service.

The airline claims it will be the first US carrier to test satellite-delivered broadband Internet access on multiple aircraft, when it will outfit four of its fleet of 737s this summer. Working with Row 44, an Internet provider that specializes in aircraft, Southwest will install satellite antennae on the four planes to allow customers with a wi-fi enabled device full access to the Internet. This includes e-mail, searches, online entertainment and other capabilities. Test routes have not yet been determined.

Boeing previously offered an in-flight Internet service on its aircraft called Connexion to International carriers including Lufthansa, Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Last August, the six year-old service was discontinued after it was deemed "not profitable with the current state of airline industry."

American Airlines will try a Wi-Fi trial program sometime in 2008.

All the pretty colors

Walt Disney Co. announced a new schedule of construction and expansion for Disneyland, Anaheim CA. The Disney Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim will receive an additional 200 rooms and 50 villas, bringing the total to 945 rooms. The hotel also features a 20,000 sq. ft. convention center. Other group-related construction includes a 9,000-seat viewing area on Paradise Pier, scheduled to open in 2011, which will be available for private events. And because how often do you get to feature Jellyfish on the front page two weeks in a row?

GEICO Gecko makes jellyfish rejoyce

They may not speak with a Cockney accent, but lizards will be the center of a partnership program between the Silver Spring MD-based Assn of Zoos and Aquariums and GEICO.

The Gecko Exhibit will be a three-year partnership and tour that will bring live geckos as well as the insurance company’s English-accented mascot to AZA zoos across the country to increase conservation awareness.

Part of the tour features include day geckos, a large lizard species indigenous to Madagascar and islands in the Indian Ocean. The exhibit will spend several weeks at each stop, and GEICO will make a donation at each AZA member zoo. First stop is the San Diego Zoo through Feb. 17, followed by the Houston Zoo. Other tour dates will be announced.

Two TV commercials to promote the exhibit feature the animated mascot playing with an otter and a jellyfish.

Also as part of the agreement, GEICO will sponsor AZA's Earth Day "Party for the Planet" and other conservation events.

New 990 means more oversight

On Dec. 20, the IRS released the final draft of the 2008 Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, and there are significant changes. Get the details and put in place the necessary requirements now, before that unplesant phone call from your CPA...