Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (MIAMI) -- The outgoing mayor of Miami, Joe Carollo, has made an official executive appointment that the Miami Herald says might set up an "awkward transition into power for the mayor-elect." The publication says that Carollo, as one of his last official acts, named Arthur Teele Jr. as the chairman of the City Commission. Teele was strongly opposed to the man who won the mayor's chair -- Manny Diaz -- during the just-completed election campaign. Advertisement One commissioner, Tomas Regalado, tells the publication that the only reason Carollo made the appointment was to embarrass Diaz. (KANSAS CITY, Mo.) -- Officials of the transit company that serves the Kansas City metropolitan area -- in both Kansas and Missouri -- say they expect a big budget shortfall that could mean curtailing some services. The Kansas City (Mo.) Star newspaper reports that officials say the red ink for next year could be nearly $2 million deep. One transit executive is suggesting a regional transit tax. A similar taxing plan helped produce the money to renovate the old downtown Union Station, turning it into a showpiece. Most of the operating budget for the system comes from citizens in Missouri. Advertisement (PHOENIX) -- The site search for a new Cardinals football stadium has begun anew in Phoenix. The Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority tells the Arizona Republic that it is beginning, again, to try to find a compromise site for a new stadium. Letters are being mailed to all local jurisdictions and Indian tribes in the Phoenix area, asking for ideas. The project is slated to cost about a third of a billion dollars. In order to make up for lost time -- caused by debate over location, safety issues and possible proximity to major airports -- the agency says it wants to start finding a plan by the first of next year. (LAS VEGAS) -- America's gambling capital has yet another high-rise, high-tech casino-hotel complex. The Palms has opened to much fanfare, media attention and even a fireworks display. Not quite on The Strip, but just minutes away in a burgeoning gaming area just west of Interstate 15, the hotel's arching crown is topped with a rainbow of color, reminiscent of an old Wurlitzer "bubbler" jukebox. Invitation-only guests for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies included Matt Dillon, Samuel L. Jackson and Joe Pesci. Advertisement By 'Vegas standards, the hotel is small ... only 455 rooms, compared with the Bellagio which boasts 3,000. But the Palms has plans to expand, with an additional 1,500 rooms on the drawing board. The opening is the first since the downturn in tourism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and is seen as a psychological shot in the arm for the city.
