The Daily Valet. - 9/2/21, Thursday

✔️ Where Are We Going?

Thursday, September 2nd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Who wants to travel again? ✋

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Travel Agencies Are Back

A business that lost ground to do-it-yourself online travel booking is having a moment

Last summer, the American Society of Travel Advisors issued a dire warning. It said 77% of members were facing closure. For travel agents—who’ve been hearing about their demise for decades as we all booked via Orbitz and Google Flights—a global pandemic that brought the entire travel industry to a screeching halt seems to have somehow made them stronger.

Travel has grown increasingly more difficult thanks to virus-related complexity, cancellations, border restrictions and testing requirements. As a result, many travelers booking a beach getaway or other trips are turning to professionals to help them with plans, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Travel advisers—don’t call them travel agents anymore—are cool again. And in demand. Many travel agents are seeing an unprecedented surge of business, and nearly half of those inquiries are from new customers.

“There’s a lot more research required before you book a trip,” Claire Newell, founder of Travel Best Bets told NBC News. “It’s just so difficult to navigate everything now.” That’s exactly what these experts do so well.

After all, after nearly two years of not traveling, most of us are looking for a relaxing vacation, not a stressful travel-planning experience. Hence the appeal of a using a travel agent. I mean adviser.

Of course, using an agency means you probably aren’t going to get the cheapest prices, one new customer admitted to the Journal. But the reduced hassle has justified the added cost. And in some ways, advisers can actually save you money. One cancellation involved a $10,000 nonrefundable booking at a five-star Caribbean hotel. Her agent used their connections to score her a refund. Now that’s service.

↦ FYI: Travel planning service Elsewhere.io has seen around 200 to 300 new sign-ups per month, since November.

Supreme Court Won’t Block Texas Abortion Law

The law prohibits abortions before many women even know they’re pregnant

A deeply divided Supreme Court is allowing a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force, stripping most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state. The court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others that sought to block enforcement of the law that went into effect Wednesday.

According to the New York Times, the Texas law is the latest battle over abortion rights in the United States, a legal fight that began in 1973, with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to the procedure. But in recent years, at least 12 other states have enacted bans early in pregnancy—but all have been blocked from going into effect.

Not only does the new law severely restrict abortions, it also enables members of the public to enforce the law, allowing them to sue anyone involved—from providers to the person who drives a patient to the clinic or lends them money for the procedure.

Advocates who spoke to BuzzFeed News said the latest restrictions will send more people out of Texas for abortions, but realistically, that option is simply out of reach for many people who do not have the resources to travel and who will be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Or obtain dangerous, black market procedures.

↦ Want to help? Donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds, dedicated to eliminating economic barriers to abortions for those in need.

Partner

As we transition seasons, it's time to switch things up. Grab yourself a pair of old school sneakers to wear throughout autumn.

Ida Is Not Done With U.S. Yet

Meanwhile, a new report finds weather disasters soar in numbers but deaths fall

Relentless rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida sent the New York City area into a state of emergency early Thursday, as the storm carried into New England with threats of more tornadoes.

Seriously. Did you see the photos and tweets? At least five flash-flood emergencies were issued on Wednesday evening by the National Weather Service, stretching from just west of Philadelphia through northern New Jersey.

Interestingly, the storm dumped all that water on the same day that a new report from the World Meteorological Organization declared weather disasters have become much more frequent in recent decades.

The WMO says weather disasters are nearly five times more common today than they were in the 1970s, and that such disasters will get even more frequent due to climate change. But the number of people dying per day due to weather disasters dropped from 170 in the 1970s and 1980s to 40 in the 2010s (thanks to advanced warning systems and better community preparedness).

↦ FYI: The planet experienced about 700 weather disasters annually in the 1970s. That number is more than 3,000 today.

Mental Health Days for Students

New laws are allowing kids to attend to their own self-care

If we had this option when I was a student, I wouldn't have had to pull a Ferris Bueller as often as I did (sorry Mom!).

A new Illinois law—which just passed unanimously in the state Senate and House before being signed into law by the governor—allows students in Illinois to take up to five excused mental health days each school year.

And it's not just Illinois. In the last two years alone, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia have all passed bills permitting children to be absent from school for mental or behavioral health reasons—efforts that were often aided or spearheaded by students.

Last year, Mental Health America surveyed teenagers about what would be most helpful for their mental health. More than half of the respondents cited the ability to take a mental health break from either school or work. And in a recent Harris Poll [PDF], 78% of those surveyed said schools should support mental health days to allow students to prioritize their health.

↦ Meanwhile: Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if teachers could take mental health days too?

In Other News

↦ Joe Rogan Says He Has COVID, Took Widely Discredited Drug Ivermectin

↦ McDonald’s McFlurry Machine Is Broken (Again). Now the FTC Is on It.

↦ The Sacklers, Who Made Billions From OxyContin, Win Immunity From Opioid Lawsuits

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The dogs know

Pumpkin Spice Bud Light?

Public nudity

Partner

New Season, New Shoes

Time to refresh your sneakers with something classic

We're long removed from our days as students, but there's something about this time of year that gets us thinking about new shoes. It's the promise of a fresh start as we transition from summer into fall. Of course, we don't have to go so heavy yet, so a pair of canvas lace-ups toes the line perfectly. SeaVees is a brand that specializes in classic kicks. That's because their sneakers are still made the way they were back when the California brand was founded.

The “Sixty Six” sneaker is a stitch for stitch re-creation of the original style shown in the SeaVees ad campaigns from the late '60s. They come in a range of colors, but our current favorite is a super soft, french terry knit upper. The heather grey fabric feels a lot like your favorite pair of sweatpants (complete with a smooth cotton lining). And just like your favorite sweats, you'll find yourself pulling them on over and over, in all sorts of situations.

↦ Get It: Sixty Six sneaker, $58 by SeaVees

The Best Early Labor Day Sales

Labor Day brings out some serious discounts. As always, we/ve got our team scouring the web to find the best deals and promo codes worth your time over the holiday weekend.