Posts on Route 66 News will be light in the next few days because I’m traveling, and connections will be erratic at best. I do have someone checking the Internet periodically to make sure no big stories are being missed.

In the meantime, I recommend the Route 66 Revisited blog by two Reuters correspondents. They are driving Route west to east in a vintage Porsche (when it isn’t having problems), and their stories are exemplary. They also are prolific, filing at least a half-dozen times a day.

The new California Welcome Center for San Bernardino, one of just 13 in the state of California, opened today, reported the San Bernardino County Sun.

It’s expecting 100,000 visitors a year and a $6.5 million boost to the local economy.

The center’s opening may be a benchmark in the city’s progress. After two consecutive years of being ranked by a national magazine as one of the nation’s 20 most dangerous cities, crime is significantly down and optimism is up.

The new Welcome Center now touts San Bernardino and surrounding cities as destination points.

The opening is a major step toward revitalization, city and county leaders said.

“We will be able to connect the dots,” said county Supervisor Josie Gonzales.

She said that with myriad resorts and sport venues, the San Bernardino area can become a tourist hub and not just freeway sign en route to Los Angeles or Las Vegas. [...]

The center will be open seven days a week. Inside, it features multimedia panels advertising local destinations, an Internet cafe, a gift shop and kiosks with promotional brochures. Two Red Fusion computer stations take tourists on virtual tours of local hot spots.

A faux Route 66 made from composite material snakes between the multimedia panels.

The Welcome Center’s Web site is here. The center is at the crossroads of interstates 10 and 215.