The San Francisco Bay area, one of the most popular destinations for Isle vacationers and business travelers with a tacked-on fun day, offers free concerts and film series throughout the summer, a way to enjoy the environs without suffering attraction sticker-shock. There are more than 400 total such events, including: The Del Monte Square Film Festival in the courtyard of The Cannery at Del Monte Square, Aug. 2-23 (www.delmontesquare.com, 415-771-3112); Film Night in the Park, on giant outdoor screens in various parks now through Oct. 3 (www.sfneighborhoodtheater.org, 415-465-3456); performances of the Golden Gate Park Band, every Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Spreckles Temple of Music (www.goldengateparkband.org, 510-530-0814); Shakespeare in the Park, "A Comedy of Errors," Aug. 29-Sept. 20, the Presidio of San Francisco (www.sfshakes.org, 800-978-7529). For more free stuff, check out the visitors' guide at www.onlyinsanfracisco.com.

NEW YORK HARBOR TSA SECURE FLIGHT PROGRAM

TRAVELERS HAVE TO PROVIDE MORE PERSONAL DATA WHEN BOOKING TRIPS

TSA's Secure Flight program that began May 15 requires passengers to provide their full name — including middle name or initial — when booking a domestic airline ticket.
Starting Aug. 15, passengers must also provide birth date and gender. As of Oct. 31, you'll have to do the same for international reservations.
TSA is taking over the responsibility from airlines, who until now have been responsible for checking passengers against government watch lists.
Privacy advocates oppose it, but the move is courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security to help cut down on mistakes on the government's "no-fly" terror watch list. For details, see "Secure Flight" at www.tsa.gov.

LADY LIBERTY'S CROWN RE-OPENS TO PUBLIC ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Statue of Liberty's crown has been closed for almost eight years.

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, fears of further attacks closed all of Liberty Island, though the pedestal and the area around it reopened in 2004. All that will change on Independence Day this year. On July 4, Lady Liberty's crown will open again.

Visitors can climb the 168 steps through the copper-clad beauty sent to the U.S. by France in 1886 as a token of friendship.

High above the waters churning with ferry boats, cargo ships and the occasional cruise liner, visitors can take in sweeping views of the New York skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge and the ever-working harbor. Stroll down to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan in the evening, when the lights come on to illuminate the Statue of Liberty. Or take the inexpensive round-trip ride on the Staten Island Ferry (you don't even have to get off), which gives the classic harbor view seen by generations of immigrants arriving from the Old World in the New.

The reopening is another step in New York's rehabilitation from the attacks that leveled the World Trade Center. Work there has been slow, and little more than a transit center exists at a site that developers say one day will include the Freedom Tower, soaring to a symbolic 1,776 feet. http://nps.gov/stli or 212-363-3200.