Passports

VISITORS TO THE VATICAN ARE getting a heads-up that nothing is eternal -- at least when it comes to the Holy See's museums. Admission prices just went up by a euro to 13 euros, or about $17.05, and opening hours have been cut back for visitors not affiliated with organized tour groups. JAZZ GUIDE: NYC Little Bookroom / $15.95 Hard to believe it's been several years since this wonderful guide to New York City jazz was published. During the intervening years, though, much has changed, and author Steve Dollar picks up where he left off. He discusses the new club scene in Brooklyn and the slick new Jazz at Lincoln Center, which has not only greatly increased its programming but also houses a recording studio, a broadcast center, a classroom and a jazz hall of fame.

Her peers are probably at an exotic beach somewhere, having a wild time during that annual pilgrimage of party-hungry college students known as spring break. But Camille Petty has spent much of her week at the post office. Along with nearly two dozen eager travelers, the second-year Peabody Institute piano student spent a morning this week at Baltimore's main post office applying for a passport. She needs it for a fellowship to study musicology in Moscow this summer. But like a record number of Americans with dreams of traveling abroad, she must wait.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a comprehensive homeland security bill implementing most of the remaining recommendations of the 9/11 commission. The proposed legislation includes an amendment that would allow for the limited expansion of the visa waiver program in return for all participants' taking steps to enhance their travel security. The visa waiver program currently permits the citizens of 27 countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, to enter the U.S. for tourism or business (but not employment or formal study)

David Nguyen remembers being 7 and watching Pete Sampras on television, as the tennis great dominated opponents in far-flung places. It was not long afterward that Nguyen lobbied his parents for his own racket and the chance to take his game far from their Columbia home. Ten years later, Nguyen is starting his third season at Wilde Lake with big expectations. The junior is coming off a year in which he finished 21-0 and won Howard County, regional and state titles. "Pete Sampras inspired me, but I always just had a natural tendency toward tennis," Nguyen said.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO THE CHEAP BASTARD'S GUIDE TO CHICAGO: SECRETS OF LIVING THE GOOD LIFE -- FOR FREE Insiders' Guide / Globe Pequot Press / $14.95 Most people try to avoid the perception that they're cheap. Not author Nadia Oehlsen, though. Oehlsen wears her cheapness with pride and, what's more, she knows a bargain when she sees one. No matter what your interest, this cheap guide mentions the best deals on everything from theater and poetry to music and film. Here you will find information on theaters that seek ushers, no-cover nightclubs, free street festivals and even free food sampling.

More than a year ago, the federal government decided it was going to require just about everyone entering the United States to present a passport - even U.S. citizens coming back from trips just across the border. Confusion ensued - travel companies and border cities protested, start dates were pushed back, and air and sea requirements were broken up and put on different timetables. On Tuesday, the first of the requirements will be a reality. If you're jetting off to Mexico or the Caribbean, you'll need to pack a passport along with that bathing suit.

Travelers flying between the United States and the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada this month will need a passport - the first of sweeping changes in documentation resulting from the terrorist attacks in 2001. The new Department of Homeland Security rules for air travelers go into effect Jan. 23 and extend to land and sea travel next year. Most people enter or leave the United States by land. Requiring passports - instead of commonly used birth certificates or driver's licenses - was recommended by the Sept.

Planning to escape winter in the Caribbean? Better have your passport ready. Beginning Jan. 23, everyone, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport. Passport applications usually take about six weeks but can be expedited for an additional $60 fee. For rules, go to travel.state. gov / passport.

WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq has ordered sweeping changes for privatized military support operations after confirming violations of laws against human-trafficking and other abuses by contractors involving possibly thousands of foreign workers on American bases, according to records obtained by the Chicago Tribune. Gen. George W. Casey Jr. ordered that contractors be required by May 1 to return passports that have been illegally confiscated from laborers on U.S. bases after determining that such practices violated U.S. laws against trafficking for forced or coerced labor.

As we enter the peak summer travel season, travelers won't be competing just for bargain airfares. They might also be competing with fellow travelers to get their passport application processed. Normal passport processing time is six weeks, but it's already the peak period, according to the U.S. Passport Bureau. So those who need a passport -- even infants and children must have their own -- shouldn't delay. A passport is an internationally recognized document verifying identity and nationality.