Urban News

(LAS VEGAS) -- The switchboards at Las Vegas rock radio stations were jammed Thursday with anxious callers wanting to know more about the death of John Entwistle, the bass player with the group The Who. Many told disk jockeys they were in shock, begging for more information, asking if memorial services were planned.

Entwistle was in Vegas to perform with the other members of his group at the Hard Rock Hotel-Casino. That performance, naturally, has been canceled.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal says that all indications are that Entwistle, who was only 57, died of natural causes -- most likely a massive heart attack.

There were no reported signs of foul play. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department told UPI that his unit received a call from the hotel, saying that someone was dead in a room there. Patrolmen and the coroner's office responded. The investigation continues.

(MINNEAPOLIS) -- Most people hate long layovers in airports. But for service personnel in the military, flying through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport can now be a treat. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says that a new "oasis" for GIs has opened at the airport.

It features 26 beds, free refreshments, Internet access, all-hours televisions and tons of telephones. The new facility is carrying out the tradition set by the airport decades ago, of providing one of the premiere facilities for military personnel as they transit through the jetport, some headed for distant destinations.

During the past three decades facilities at MSP have hosted more than 600,000 visitors. By the way, if you need proof that the military has been on the move since Sept. 11, the USO-sponsored "club" has seen a more than 25 percent upsurge in the number of in-uniform personnel passing through.

(MIAMI) -- Tourism officials in south Florida say they need to work hard to snag the Democratic or Republican presidential nominating convention in 2004 -- hopefully both. The Miami Herald's Anabelle de Gale says that her city has a lot to offer, and in a major article suggests ways that the city and surrounding suburbs can put on their best face.

According to the publication, Miami is one of a half a dozen cities under scrutiny by both major parties as possible venues for the national quadrennial conventions. The others are Boston, Detroit, New Orleans, New York and Tampa.

Additionally, in the tongue-in-cheek article, de Gale points out that Miami has never had problems coming up with funding for projects, when push came to shove. And there's always those great bus tours for visiting politicians, houses where famous people used to live: Madonna, Sly Stallone, Gianni Versace and Elian Gonzalez.

(CHICAGO) -- The mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, says he wants to use tons of landfill to create artificial beaches. The plan, called "ambitious" by the Chicago Sun-Times, would create a series of beaches from the Hollywood neighborhood to Evanston.

Using landfill to expand the usable acreage of Chicago is nothing new. Just look at a map of the city and notice that much of North Shore Drive, Grant Park and even Meigs Field (an airport that sticks out into Lake Michigan) are on reclaimed or "created" land.

Daley's plan, announced to media this week, would essentially fill in "missing" sections of the beach along the lake, creating a seamless beachfront from downtown to the northern extremes of the Second City.

Daley pointed out that in the northern sections of the city there is no real way for people to enjoy Lake Michigan.