Print edition for July 1, 2000

Working inmates earn respect, cash while paying their debt: LAS VEGAS - With the unemployment rate hitting a 30-year low and a state labor market that's stretched tighter each month, the Nevada Department of Prisons has a unique solution to the employee supply problem - workers with rap sheets.

Child in foster care craves a summer camp opportunity: He could also benefit from exposure to positive role models who show him how to treat others with respect. The lessons learned at summer camp and the friends made can provide a lasting influence on children.

High winds spread Nevada wildfires: Martin Griffith; RENO, Nev. - High winds hampered firefighters Saturday in their battle against the latest in a series of lightning-caused wildfires that have blackened more than 25,000 acres across northern Nevada over the last week.

Saying "Bring it on!" the Greenspun family welcomes the future: Given that the Las Vegas Sun was born in much simpler times, the paper offered just words back then, albeit meaningful ones.

On anniversary, church remembers its dance hall days: Twenty-five years ago Norman McFarland, the new Catholic bishop of Las Vegas and Reno, asked a local reverend to begin a parish, even though he had no money to build the church.

2 Shovel Brigade leaders resign after U.S attorney's stern warning letter: Martin Griffith; RENO, Nev. - Two Shovel Brigade board members have resigned following a stern warning letter from Nevada's chief federal prosecutor about the group's plans to reclaim a remote dirt road in Elko County this week.

It's a clown's world: When Ron Lee envisioned his future, he saw people working at long tables -- handcrafting products designed by him.

PCl Box: Stars 11, Buzz 6: E-Walker (10). DP-Salt Lake 2, Las Vegas 2. LOB-Salt Lake 5, Las Vegas 9. 2b-Jennings (26), Pierzynski (3), Moriarty (13), Milliard (17), Darr (13), Radmanovich (12), Vitiello (27), Davis (15). HR- Mientkiewicz (10), Hunter (11), Curl (3), Pelaez (1).

Timeline: The Sun's first 50 years: June 29, 1947 -- Flamingo owner Siegel is slain in Beverly Hills. Hank quits his public relations post.

Nevada explorer uncovers South American ruins: RENO, Nev. - The mountains are high, the jungle dense, the mud deep and the mosquitoes thick.

Hard-charging Hank created lasting legacy and ongoing tradition: By Ed Koch; Herman M. Greenspun, attorney and soldier, was born Aug. 27, 1909. Perhaps of greater importance to generations who religiously read his Las Vegas Sun column, the persona of "Hank" Greenspun, crusading publisher, was born 37 years later.

State gaming board denies license for Joliet casino owner Jack Binion: Tammy Webber; CHICAGO - Illinois regulators on Friday deemed Jack Binion unfit to hold a license as chief owner of Joliet's Empress Casino, leaving the riverboat casino's future in limbo.

Sun Flashbacks: Sparring with Sonny Liston: "I had a feud with Sonny Liston after I wrote a column saying he was 32 going on 37. He got mad and swore he was 32 years old, but I pointed out if that were true, he would have been 12 years old at the time he was in the Missouri state prison.

Sun Flashbacks: Kidnapping case left all with feeling of emptiness: "The kidnapping was an affront to the entire community and Hank had several of his reporters doing surveillance work to try to get information that would lead to Cary's rescue.

Greenspun, Hughes changed Las Vegas: By Ed Koch, Mary Manning; Had it not been for the close relationship between Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun and billionaire Howard Hughes, Las Vegas hotel-casinos and the Las Vegas Sun might not be thriving as they are today.

Sun Flashbacks: Reporter's actions led to 'Newburn law': "When Howard Hughes' attorney Richard Grey died, his widow called me to help her prove to Summa (Hughes' gaming corporation) that some lounge furniture outside their room at the Sands belonged to her because they wouldn't let her take it.

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, Nov. 16, 1986: Seeds of Watergate scandal might have been sown in LV: A little known fact of Watergate is that the seeds for exposure of the scandal might have been sown right here at the SUN.

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, Jan. 8, 1954: McCarthy can only come to violent demise: Sen. Joe McCarthy has to come to a violent end. Huey Long's death will be serene and peaceful compared with the demise of the sadistic bum from Wisconsin.

Sun Flashbacks: Keeping peace at the Sun: "The Sun is what it is today because of Hank Greenspun -- one of the greatest movers and shakers Nevada ever had. He had enormous vision for the state and moved in many circles -- identifying with the so-called little guy or hobnobbing with kings.

Hank takes on R-J: Alan Jarlson; By Alan Jarlson SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Sun Flashbacks: Sun got scoop on Frank-Mia wedding: Hank Greenspun arranged for a Sun reporter and photographer to cover the event exclusively while the rest of the world's media waited outside the resort in hopes of getting a quick shot of the couple departing.

Sun Flashbacks: When the sword is mightier than the pen: "In the mid-1970s there was not a whole lot of security at the Sun building -- people pretty much could walk through the front door, go into the newsroom and talk to anyone they wanted.

Sun Flashbacks: Bergen interview wound up as an obit: "I was given an assignment to interview (famed ventriloquist) Edgar Bergen at Caesars Palace. I arrived at about 10 a.m. and called his room. Someone answered the phone and told me he was not quite ready, and asked me to call back.

The Sun is NOT the R-J: It is not a sister publication of the Review-Journal. It is not the Review-Journal's afternoon edition.

That's entertainment: Lisa Ferguson; How do you cover entertainment in the entertainment capital of the world?

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, Sept. 19, 1973: A not-so-fond farewell to Vice President Agnew: As recently as a year ago Vice President Spiro Agnew was the "Mr. Clean" of the present administration.

Barbara Greenspun: Unsung strength: "I gave Barbara an extra dozen kisses (and) went down the wide stairs ... through the main hall with its musty relics of forgotten wars and joined the men of my company, bound for ... the battlefields of France.

Deskin a pioneer in Nevada journalism: When Ruthe Deskin, the assistant to the publisher of the Sun, talks to groups of young women in the media today, she muses: "I had it a lot better than you when I started because I didn't have as much competition."

Born near 4th of July, Sun holds tight to independence: Freedom of choice, certainly, is one of the blessings wrought by the War of Independence.

Coverage helps expose abuses of power: Steve Kanigher and Mary Manning; Day in, day out the Las Vegas Sun has been bringing home the news to its readers for 50 years. While most of the stories have been what readers expect -- thorough reports of the day's news -- many have become legendary, transcending the memories of daily news.

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, Dec. 18, 1977: Howard Hughes: The good and bad: There was no way to tell, from one day to another, while Mr. H.R. Hughes was resident among us earthlies, what would come from the mind and pen of the world's most famous recluse.

Sun Flashbacks: Photographer has memories of old days: "I was assigned to cover the crash of a jet from Nellis Air Force Base. As I approached to take the picture, a military policeman pointed his M-16 at me and threatened to shoot me, so I told him I would take a picture of him doing it.

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, June 1, 1954: Sheriff Jones tied to illegal prostitution in county: The Wednesday, April 15, 1953 copy of the afternoon paper is before me now. A story headlined "Ask Felony Libel Count Filing Here," reads: "Roger Foley, Clark County District Attorney, has been asked to file a criminal libel complaint against H.H. Greenspun, which City Commissioner Bill Peccole claimed will place the publisher behind bars for five years, it was learned today."

A powerful vehicle for change: By Ed Koch; Hank Greenspun's front-page "Where I Stand" columns had great influence.

Sun Flashbacks: Remembering the days after the Sun fire: Sun employees worked out of columnist Ruthe Deskin's house the day following the Nov. 20, 1963, fire.

Sun Flashbacks: First sports betting column was all Greek to Sun: "Hank decided to hire Jimmy, who at the time was a pretty well-known local character, but certainly not nationally known. It was the first column of its kind in the country, but I think Hank hired Jimmy more to give him a break than to be innovative.

Humble beginnings spawn high-tech giant: Martin Kuz; Fifty years ago when Hank Greenspun founded the Las Vegas Sun a lot of people had predictions about the paper's future.

O'Callaghan engenders inspiration: Gov. Mike

Sun Camp Fund, Youth Forum reflect family commitment: The responsibility of a newspaper -- as the Sun has always seen it -- is to get involved. And when it comes to helping children, the poor and the elderly, or participating in other worthy causes, few organizations have outshined the Sun.

Sun Flashbacks: How the Sun founder dealt with a cub reporter: "Hank was going before a planning commission meeting over some land he was buying, and I was assigned to cover the meeting as both a reporter and photographer. I had one of those big old-fashioned cameras with the popping flashbulbs.

Sun Flashbacks: Photo editor recalls fire at MGM: "When the MGM (now Bally's) burned about 20 years ago, every photographer we had went to the scene. We shot from the ground and the air, as (the late) Ken Jones went up in a helicopter to take photos.

Penny Levin: Female cop reporter had to overcome problems: "I was the first full-time female cop reporter hired by the Sun and had to overcome problems on the beat that were associated with that.

Young girl let Greenspun show a much softer side of his nature: In 1967 Wanda Ivie and her husband and two daughters moved from Las Vegas to Anchorage, Alaska. Accustomed to reading the Sun, 10-year-old Robyn was not happy with the comics that ran in the newspaper in Anchorage -- so she wrote to Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun, requesting a copy of the Sun.

Sun Flashbacks: Entertainment scene has changed: "I was hired over the telephone and arrived in town to find out I was the Sun's only full-time reporter.

Sun Flashbacks: Photographer breached Nixon's security: Assigned to cover Nixon's departure at Nellis Air Force Base after a visit to Southern Nevada, Veljkovic made his way through the crowd -- and somehow through the president's security, a line of Secret Service agents.

Where I Stand: Hank Greenspun, Nov. 22, 1969: Like one household word, Agnew should be flushed: Here's a fellow who before the election was practically an unknown. He admitted he was not a household word and in a short space of time he has become a household word.