The FDA faces an uphill publicity battle, after admitting - 11 weeks into the tomato scare - that the agency is still unsure of the source of the salmonella outbreak and even whether tomatoes were involved.

NEW YORK: Rotating Tower Technology Company, headed by architect Dr. David Fisher and his Dynamic Architecture Group, hired Rubenstein to handle PR surrounding the launch of its latest project: the Dynamic Tower.

NEW YORK: The Empire State Building (ESB) recently hired Edelman to support its brand repositioning and expansion into international tourism markets. The new consumer-focused PR and marketing campaigns come during the building's ongoing $500 million capital improvement program.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA: The city of West Hollywood hopes a new PR campaign will catapult the roughly 37,000-person town into an international wedding destination for gay couples.

HAGATNA, GUAM: Burson-Marsteller is helping the Guam Visitors Bureau develop a new branding campaign that will launch this fall to boost tourism from its key Asia Pacific markets as well as the emerging travel markets of Russia and China.

When Greyhound launched its new Boltbus service, the company wanted to challenge all the prevailing stereotypes about bus travel in the competitive Northeastern market.

Giving up some control can work to the advantage of travel and tourism entities, finds

The "official" first day of summer is this Friday, June 20. Traditionally, summer is the time for family vacations and long weekend escapes. This year, the recession and the rising prices of virtually every consumer product seem to have Americans strapped and thinking about staying closer to home this summer.

The Australian Tourism Board is seeking an image makeover, by linking global marketing efforts to Baz Luhrmann's new film, "Australia," which features the country's expansive vistas and homegrown actors, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul region provides many opportunities for PR professionals.