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Americans heading north for Fourth of July

NORWALK, Conn., June 26 (UPI) -- Chicago's Michigan Avenue neighborhood is the top destination for the Fourth of July weekend, a survey by Priceline.com indicates.

Priceline.com's annual survey of the 50 most-popular destinations for the holiday weekend indicates many Americans are heading North or to Canada to beat the heat for the Fourth of July holiday.

The survey is based on thousands of credit card-backed booking requests made via Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price hotel reservation service and not on consumer preference polls or votes, therefore Priceline.com says the annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of Fourth of July travel trends.

"With record high temperatures in various parts of the country, many Americans appear to be headed for hopefully cooler northern destinations over the Fourth of July long weekend similar to the trend we saw last year," Brian Ek of Priceline says in a statement.

"In 2010, it was the BP oil spill that was affecting tourism in the Southern beach destinations, but it is worth noting the strong recovery of New Orleans -- last year the city was 26th on the list, but this year it's the second most-popular destination."

Following New Orleans on the list is Montreal; Ottawa; New York City; St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, Ontario; Seattle; Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.

Floating pool proposed in NYC's East River

NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Plans for a floating pool in New York City's East River will go into development after the creators raised more than $25,000 in one week, officials said.

There are other floating pools around the world, such as La Piscine Josephine Baker in Paris and Badeschiff in Berlin, but neither functions the way the "+Pool" would, the New York Daily News reported Saturday. The pool would ideally go at the base of the East River in New York City.

The proposed pool, shaped like a plus sign, would use a dual water filtration system, currently being researched, to make the water safe for swimmers. If the creators -- designers Dong-Ping Wong, of Family New York, and Archie Lee Coates and Jeffrey Franklin, with PlayLab -- make $500,000 on Kickstarter.com, they hope to construct a prototype to show to city and state officials that have been involved in the permitting process throughout the past year. Their Kickstarter account remains open until July 15.

School board mulls G-string ban

RICH, Ill., June 25 (UPI) -- A Chicago-area school district, where some students wore short shorts, G-strings and 6-inch heels under their graduation robes, is considering a dress code.

Brunetta Hill-Corley, a member of the Rich Township school board, said the code should also apply to teachers and other school employees who attend graduation ceremonies, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday. The board discussed the issue last week but has not yet acted.

"When you come to graduation with hot pants, no stockings, 6-inch heels, G-strings and all other types of attire under a gown, that's just inappropriate and highly disrespectful," Hill-Corley said. "Morals do start at home, but in the event they're not at home, the school district needs to uphold them."

Sonya Norwood, another board member, agreed that student clothing should be checked at the door and anyone improperly dressed barred from participation in school ceremonies.

The district has three high schools.

Police seek 2nd 'stroller bandit' suspect

LOS ANGELES, June 25 (UPI) -- Los Angeles police say they have apprehended one of two women dubbed the "baby stroller bandits" for allegedly stealing wallets from shopping mothers.

Los Angeles' KTLA-TV reported Saturday police said they had arrested Bertha Dona Vargas, 55, of West Covina Friday morning. Authorities were still looking for her alleged accomplice, identified in media reports both as Guadalupe Castro and Norma Lizette Reyes, 51, of Silverlake.

Investigators said the women are suspected of committing several thefts in Los Angeles' Fashion District since April by distracting mothers and stealing wallets from purses left in baby strollers, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Lt. Paul Vernon said the women, who were identified from images released of the suspects, were not home when search warrants were served Wednesday and they may be "holed up with relatives or friends in the area."

Vernon said Vargas had previously been arrested for stealing a wallet from a baby stroller.