Tuesday, August 25, 2009 SANTA BARBARA: A small airplane made an emergency landing into oncoming traffic on a coastal freeway and collided with three vehicles, but no one was injured, authorities said.The Piper PA-24 Comanche with a pilot and his wife aboard was bound for Santa Barbara Airport when the pilot told air traffic controllers he had no fuel remaining and landed at about 10:30 a.m. on the southbound side of U.S. Highway 101, about one mile northeast of the airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.The pilot, Kris Sean Michel, told investigators he had tried to land with the flow of traffic but could not control the plane and came down amid oncoming traffic, the California Highway Patrol said in news release.The plane's tail hit a Chevrolet Suburban while it was still in the air, hit a Honda Accord just after landing, then was struck by a Volkswagen after it had come to rest, the CHP said.A total of nine people were involved in the accident but none were hurt. A passenger in the Suburban asked to be taken to the hospital, but he was examined and quickly released, the CHP said.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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