NATION

NATION

Parking-garage rates stay near last year’s

NEW YORK — The economy is in distress, and people are driving less, but that’s not affecting garage parking prices, according to a recent study. U.S. parking-garage owners and operators have managed to hold rates near last year’s levels, according to the survey conducted by real-estate services company Colliers International.

Monthly parking rates slipped a modest 0.9 percent to an average of $154.23. Daily rates rose by 1.2 percent, or 18 cents, to an average of $15.96 a day.

The highest average monthly parking rate in the U.S. was $700 in midtown Manhattan, while Memphis had the lowest at only $20.

Be considerate with in-flight Internet use

NEW YORK — As airlines scramble to offer in-flight wireless high-speed Internet coverage, you may want to consider the most-productive and least- offensive ways to use it within the small confines of your seat.

Jackie Yeaney, chief marketing officer for communications technology company Premier Global Services, offers these tips:

Consider investing in a privacy filter to block a side view of your computer screen. They’re affordable and easy to use — just snap one on.

Use your computer, and your computer alone. Avoid scattering paperwork and encroaching on your neighbor’s area.

Wear headphones or turn the volume off so the other passengers won’t have to hear e-mail pings or Windows-themed acoustics during their flight.

Be sure that you’re silently reading text to yourself and not to others on board.

Associated Press