Joe's Travel Newsstand for 2018 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEWSSTAND When Joe Brancatelli launched JoeSentMe two weeks after 9/11, it was all he could do to get his own columns, Brancatelli File and Tactical Traveler, posted. When he decided to keep the site running, however, one of the first things he created was the Travel Newsstand. At the time, it was aimed at linking to all the travel news and commentary sites on the Web. Now it is Joe's way of linking to useful travel stories that appear elsewhere on the Internet. December 20: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Edward and Doris Bair, a business traveler and a flight attendant, are anthropomorphized Heathrow Bears. Their holiday TV ads impressively sell a humanized Heathrow Airport. 'Tis the season for It's a Wonderful Life but, no, Virginia, there's no Bedford Falls. Selling Santa in Finnish Lapland and fighting for reindeer herds in Norwegian Lapland. And more. December 13: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Marriott's data hack gets caught up in global politics and trade wars. In 2018, London's Crossrail Project lay in ruins. A flap over a new hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida. Bullets on a plane (in the in-flight food). How to walk to New York's LaGuardia Airport. The best food at LAX. The best travel movies ever--and where to watch them. And more. November 29: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the busiest flying day in post-9/11 history. How Denver finally added more international flights. A very African airline war. Indonesia's Lion Air crash was beyond tragic, it was criminal. Adam's Mark, the home of corporate lodging discrimination, limps on. Britain runs out of Indian chefs to staff its curry houses. It's Amtrak versus Iowa. And more. November 15: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! What's cool in America around Thanksgiving, the most American of holidays. In Seoul, bars where humans and animals mingle. Three multi-day flights from hell around the world. Crime-ridden rail stations in London. Better airport hotels. Flight attendant sues flight attendant. Thailand's "Death Island" and Geneva's VIP guest from Cameroon. November 8: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The world's longest hauls and some weird and wacky flights around the globe. Dozens of striking Marriott hotels tell guests they are on their own. Miami voters finally approve a convention-center hotel. Making your space safe for Airbnb rentals. How and why airlines stock beverage carts. The battle over new routes to China. And much more. November 1: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Italy's coffee culture grapples with change. The "best" pizza in Brooklyn and safe spaces for women in Zanzibar. San Antonio's foodie culture and Hong Kong's record-breaking bridge. Braniff's stews speak of the colorful old days. Philadelphia's new rail park and getting out of Dodge to vote. The last bastion of colonial France in North America. And much more. October 11: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is a huge hit, but the Airbus A380 is dying (again). Around the world from Amsterdam to Vientiane. While Brits get apologies for bad trains, Russians get much-needed rail options. DOT Secretary Elaine Chao is very hard to find on Fridays. Your Uber driver probably earns peanuts and much more. September 27: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The Hong Kong-to-Beijing high-speed rail link is open and all manner of commentary ensues. The media in the East suddenly pay attention to Washington State. The French have come to embrace McDonald's, so don't assume the Italians will hate Starbucks. The best mobile phones ever made, Las Vegas rebounds and much more. September 6: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Bernie Sanders wants to know why American Airlines earned $1.9 billion last year but has employees on food stamps. Bugs (the medical kind) on a plane--and on airport security trays and in hotels, too. Storms knock out Kansai and O'Hare this week. Plus the best view restaurants, hotel restaurants and hotels with runway views. And more. August 30: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Boise and Fargo are cool. China uses travel spending as a big stick. Oregon's Willamette Valley is comparatively uncrowded and unhurried. Baseball's most frequent flyer. Interstate 95 is finally finished. The ugly (and racist) American tourist. Aretha Franklin and that amazing 2015 performance. John McCain's flight games. And more. August 16: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Yes, a massive bridge collapse could--and probably will--happen here. The first IKEA opens in India and it makes worldwide headlines. Canada and Saudi Arabia are in a nasty diplomatic spat and flights between the two nations are one of the first victims. Truly bad meals on the road. Osama bin Laden's mother speaks. And much more. August 2: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Lucille Ball comes to the rescue of Jamestown, New York. The big media noise over the federal "Quiet Skies" program. The case of the copycat wine suitcase. Malaysia Flight 370: No aircraft, no answers. The tourist police of Venice. The erotics of anonymous hotel space. The cows of Cambridge, England. And much more. July 26: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The best laid plans for Cardiff Airport in Wales aren't working out. Surprising no one, U.S. carriers bow to China's demands about Taiwan. Australia and New Zealand fight over their flags--again. Where to eat if you're visiting Saratoga for the horses. Can tax breaks spur investments in poor communities? Cleveland after LeBron. And much more. July 13: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! London and Heathrow Airport rule the airline world--at least for now. The media goes, um, nuts about Southwest's decision to eliminate peanuts as in-flight snacks. NIMBY--and not over my back yard or in my view shed, either. Inheriting frequent flyer miles. The airline naming game yields a big win for Airbus. And much more. June 28: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Trains around the world are a matter of the good (China's high-speed network), the bad (Europe's fractious and costly systems) and the ugly (America's railroad). Can you really pick a best airport restaurant in each state? And why would you? Plus America's prettiest drive-in theaters, the case for hotel housekeeping. And more. June 21: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The airlines say do as we say (don't steal amenities), not as we do. Detroit's revival is coming to another of the city's iconic ruins: Michigan's Central Railroad Station. China's aeronautic identity crisis continues. Vancouver's fierce real estate boom stings everyone. Volcanic action will remake Hawaii's famous volcano park. And more. June 7: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! There will always be an England because where else are there red phone boxes, narrow canal boats and Virginia Woolf's home of her own? Akbar al Baker, a lousy airline guy makes worldwide headlines--and not in a good way. Flight attendants have worn wild outfits over the years. The first Airbus A380s go to the chop shop, visiting the DMZ and more. May 31: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Billy Joel's big Doo-wop hit, The Longest Time, is remade to explain the TSA and our summer security outlook. Tourism ravages Lisbon while Amsterdam and Venice try to change the behavior of the visiting hordes. China's geographic paranoia cause problems for the airlines. A cheesy French tale, the world's cheapest airlines, life after a hub in Memphis and much more. May 17: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The state of Atlanta/Hartsfield Airport is worse than you think. This week's scary aircraft incidents. Los Angeles real estate is booming in areas where home and condo owners can (gasp!) walk. Car museums around the country are closing. Kim Jung Un's Air Force One. What we spend on car-sharing. The last of the Beat Generation. And much more. May 10: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! We've all come to look for America--and Paul Simon. The new airport in Islamabad cost $1 billion but has had some missing pieces. There's never love lost when we're talking about Dallas airports. Famous chefs design airline menus. Best and worst railroad stations in Britain. A French town with no street names. And much more. May 3: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! JetBlue Airways claims cutting legroom makes flying more humane. Meanwhile, some airline companies think we don't need seats at all and would be fine perched on a flying saddle. The battle over hotel toiletries and how they're dispensed. McDonald's opens a branch at its Chicago headquarters featuring its global dishes. And much more. April 26: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Baseball stadiums around the country are serving so many fancy snacks there's a food festival to celebrate it all. Meanwhile, one firm is opening a range of beer-themed concessions at airports. It's grim in Grimsby, England, and getting grimmer. Virginia Beach gets its grand dame hotel back after years of renovation. Hotel key cards are hackable after all. Can you wear any more clothes at the airport? And more. April 12: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Hilton's new Tru hotel brand cuts development costs, but upgrades desks. Why? Even cost-conscious travelers want decent in-room workspace. Twenty years after peace, The Troubles still cause trouble in Northern Ireland. America's "best" fast-food chains. Anthony Bourdain on life and love. Ginseng poaching in the Great Smoky Mountains. And much more. March 29: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Right wing activists and conservative media decide CNN must be ousted from the airport. Will Berlin Brandenburg Airport ever open? Well, um, er ... Qantas launches Australia-London nonstops and confuses the term with "direct" flights. Plane cushions, long train rides and the end of the 55-miles-per-hour speed limit. And much more. March 15: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! How to spend $2.1+ million a night at a Ritz-Carlton in Saudi Arabia. How do you solve a problem like United? All the president's (corrupt travel) men. An update on Cathay Pacific's fight for survival as a premium airline and TAP Air Portugal's unlikely revival. A model and her carry-on casserole. And much more. February 14: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! The star of Doc Martin picks his favorite places in Port Isaac, the idyllic seaside Cornish village where the show is filmed. Hong Kong gains and loses as the city is remade. Rome finds warehouses full of antiquities as it excavates for a new subway line. Brexit turns the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland into a lodging flashpoint. And much more. February 1: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Michelin learns the fault is in its stars, not in our chefs. Meanwhile, developing nations develop dietary problems. The prettiest coffee shops in every state. Millennials choose vacations by Instagram. A Scotch whisky rebellion. Downtown Los Angeles is hot. Downtown Buffalo gets its grand hotel back. And much more. January 25: ON THE NEWSSTAND Read all about it! Death rides the (new) rails in Florida ... but things are brighter elsewhere. Except, of course, in New York, where the railroads are collapsing. Meanwhile, a well-groomed Marriott Family public image is undermined by a very nasty lawsuit. Trump Hotels are paying for Trump being president. Googie architecture lives in Los Angeles! And more. January 11: ON THE NEWSSTAND Local critics pick the best new restaurants in 17 hub cities. Expect new-wave ethnic choices in unexpected places and really creative dishes. What's out in 2018? Power lunches, sit-down dinners and pour-over coffee. What's in? Round-the-clock, always available dining menus. Meanwhile, a major critic rates big chain restaurants. And much more to, er, chew on. These columns originally appeared at JoeSentMe.com. Copyright © 2018 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.