Meetingsnet.com:

• After a controversy that caused the National Council of La Raza to pull its 2009 conference from Kansas City, Mo., the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group has decided to move its 2009 event to Chicago.

• Two major online meeting registration providers — San Francisco-based Certain Software Inc. and Brisbane, Australia-based Amlink Technologies — announced a merger in March.

• According to the Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report, the on-time arrival rate dropped to 73 percent in 2007, down from 75 percent in 2006, and reports of mishandled baggage have risen.

• At Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., a Four Seasons Resort Hotel is planning a 2010 opening as part of a 900-acre luxury resort area that will include an 18-hole championship golf course and vacation homes.

• In February, United Airlines announced it will start charging $50 round trip for a second piece of checked baggage. U.S. Airways followed suit three weeks later. The new fees go into effect May 5.

• Many cruise itineraries will change if a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposal is adopted requiring, among other things, that foreign-flagged cruise ships that depart from a U.S. port spend 48 hours in a foreign port.

More on dealing with political gatherings

Planning the 2004 Democratic Convention

Housing the Democrats