Las Vegas Sun News

2019

El Rancho Hotel and Casino in Wells, NV as seen after the 6-magnitude earthquake that struck to town in February 2008.

Earthquake-ravaged Nevada town restoring old hotel as community, jobs hub: Thursday, December 26, 2019; By Miranda Willson; The El Rancho Hotel and Casino was the place to be in Wells, a small Elko County town six hours north of Las Vegas. Originally a hotel-casino and later a community center and ...

2020

From left, Jennifer Young, community liaison at St. Judes Women's Auxiliary, Deborah Evans, state director of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, and Charlotte Carpenter, coordinator for National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Nevada are shown Monday, June 15, 2020. They hold the Juneteenth flag at Craig Ranch Regional Park, the site of their upcoming Juneteenth Observance program.

Juneteenth celebrations set throughout valley; organizers stress shared history, safety: Thursday, June 18, 2020; By Sara MacNeil; The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation has worked with local and state organizations for nearly 25 years to promote recognition of Juneteenth, which is Friday and recognized by Nevada to help residents …

Lawmakers are shown during a special session in Carson City, early Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. The Senate voted to authorize public funds for an NFL stadium and convention center expansion in Las Vegas. Assembly members on Thursday were focused on a measure that would increase the hotel tax in Southern Nevada to fund a Las Vegas NFL stadium.

Special sessions date to early days of Nevada’s statehood: Sunday, June 28, 2020; By John Sadler; There have been 30 special sessions called in Nevada, with the first coming in 1867 — just three years after the state entered the union — and the most recent in 2016 ...

Helen Anderson Toland, 94, poses at her home in Las Vegas Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Toland was the first Black female school principal in the Clark County School District.

Kit Carson out: Name change spotlights pioneering principal's impact at Las Vegas school: Monday, September 14, 2020; By Sara MacNeil; She coordinated for icons Muhammad Ali and Sammy Davis Jr. to visit the Kit Carson Elementary School in the 1960s. She also went out of her way to raise money so the West Las Vegas children could take field trips to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon. For Helen Anderson Toland, it was all in a day’s work.

A view of the Boulder City Company Store in Boulder City Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019.

'It's authentic': Storied locale showcases Boulder City's unique history: Friday, October 2, 2020; By Hillary Davis; Under the Boulder City Company Store name, which in its day had been attached to the largest department store in Nevada, Tara Leon-Bertoli now sells ...

Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser, 91, poses for a photo in his home, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020.

Las Vegas Holocaust survivor, 91, continues to spread awareness: Friday, October 9, 2020; By Sara MacNeil; For much of his life, Ben Lesser avoided talking about surviving the Holocaust. “I chose to live a normal life and kept quiet about it,” he said. But more than 20 years ago, when his grandson’s fifth-grade teacher asked him to speak to the class about his experiences ...

The McGuire Sisters are shown during a performance on Nov. 6, 1953. From left are Christine, Phyllis and Dorothy McGuire.

Phyllis McGuire, of popular 1950s trio McGuire Sisters, dies at Las Vegas estate: Wednesday, December 30, 2020; By Ray Brewer; Phyllis McGuire of the famed McGuire Sisters loved her life in “the Beverly Hills of Las Vegas,” a term she coined for her 26,000-square-foot mansion in the Rancho Circle estates near downtown Las Vegas. The home includes a 45-foot version of the Eiffel Tower serving as ...

2021

An exterior view of The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas. (Photos Courtesy of The Mob Museum)

Take a self-guided audio tour of Las Vegas' Mob Museum: Tuesday, January 5, 2021; By C. Moon Reed; For a mere $8 (or $7 apiece for groups), ticketed Mob Museum guests can listen to Oscar Goodman share his experiences representing infamous figures such as Tony “The Ant” Spilotro and “Mob accountant” Meyer Lansky.

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Attacks on U.S. Capitol are without precedent, UNLV professor says: Thursday, January 7, 2021; By Ray Brewer; The riotous protest Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump that sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and left a woman dead are unlike anything seen before in the nation’s history, said Michael Green, an associate ...

Editorial cartoonist Mike Smith poses for a photo in the archives of the Las Vegas Sun Tuesday Feb. 9, 2021.

One for the archives: Sun editorial cartoonist’s life’s work gifted to UNLV: Monday, February 15, 2021; By Ray Brewer; Mike Smith’s work has appeared for more than 35 years in the Sun, dating to when he was a student at Loyola Marymount University in Southern California, and including depictions of seven U.S. presidents and plenty of Las Vegas notables. It’s one big history lesson, and it is now living permanently …

A small pond, home to the relict leopard frog, is shown at Cottonwood Grove in the Las Vegas Springs Preserve Tuesday, May 21, 2019.

‘Protectors of history’ honored for decades of activism in Southern Nevada: Husband-wife duo credited for their key roles in preserving Las Vegas Springs, other sites; Sunday, May 30, 2021; By Sara MacNeil; Elizabeth von Till Warren and Claude Nelson Warren are among a group of nine individuals to be honored by the Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission with …

Curator Malcolm Vuksich stands near a 1954 Martin Turbinator salon hair dryer, part of the “Obsolete Objects” exhibit at the Clark County Museum in Henderson, Tuesday, July 27, 2021.

Clark County exhibit explores obsolete technology — past, present and future: Saturday, July 31, 2021; By Arleigh Rodgers; The horn of a 1906 Edison standard phonograph is pointed toward the glass of a display case in a side gallery of the Clark County Museum. Surrounded by multicolored cylinder records, the phonograph is just one part of the museum’s “Obsolete Objects” exhibit ...

A sculpture dedicated to fallen fighters within the Firefighters Memorial Park features a new addition just in time for 9/11 observances: pieces of steel beams from the World Trade Center wreckage. The park, shown Thursday Sept. 9, 2021, is at 6401 W. Oakey Blvd.

Sculpture at Firefighters Memorial Park adds beam recovered from World Trade Center: Friday, September 10, 2021; By Casey Harrison; Visitors to Firefighters Memorial Park in Las Vegas may notice a new installation on a sculpture that’s been at the park since it opened in 2002. Just ahead of the 20th anniversary ...

Kelli Luchs, archivist for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, shows a 1965 program for a Cassius Clay vs. Floyd Patterson fight at the Las Vegas Convention Center Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.

This Las Vegan’s job is to keep an eye on the future by preserving the past: Thursday, November 4, 2021; By Bryan Horwath; Kelli Luchs, who came to Las Vegas from Michigan about 15 years ago to attend graduate school at UNLV, is charged with caring for the most extensive collections of historical Las Vegas photos in existence, which includes over 7 million photos taken over the years by ...

Jeff Young, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Yesco, shows off a sign that is being worked on at the company’s warehouse in Las Vegas, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021.

Neon still stokes nostalgia in Las Vegas and beyond despite a dimming future: Sunday, November 7, 2021; By Hillary Davis; When Eric Elizondo repairs the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Strip, he doesn’t just keep the city’s most beloved icon standing.

2022

Nev. Senator Jacky Rosen poses for a photo outside the U.S. Capitol building with UNLV law students (from left) Sebastian Ross, Yadira Santana, Nina Garcia, Gabriela Molina, and Eddie Curry who are in Washington D.C. for the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

UNLV law students get inside view to historic Senate confirmation hearing: Nevada senators arrange for group to ‘see democracy in action’; Sunday, March 27, 2022; By Arleigh Rodgers; The UNLV students were allowed in the hearing chambers for 30 minutes each. Afterward, they met the Nevada senators and their staffs.

Jay Poster, founder and general manager of King David Memorial Chapel and Cemetery and Celena DiLullo, president of Palm Mortuaries, pose for a photo at the Holocaust Memorial Plaza at King David Memorial Chapel and Cemetery Thursday, April 21, 2022.

Holocaust Memorial Plaza to be unveiled Sunday at King David Memorial Cemetery: Saturday, April 23, 2022; By Ray Brewer; Visitors to the newly constructed Holocaust Memorial Plaza at King David Memorial Cemetery might be caught off guard by the crumbled brick wall with rebar sticking out at the plaza’s entryway. But the symbolism is powerful. “That depicts the …

The Mirage volcano erupts on the night of the casino's reopening, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020.

Hard Rock’s plans to remove volcano from Mirage site stirs petition drive to save it: Monday, May 30, 2022; By Bryan Horwath; Alden Gillespy, a Las Vegas resident, started a petition on the online platform Change.org to save the volcano, which spews fireballs from 8 to 11 p.m. nightly.

Robert D. Bush, president National Action Network Las Vegas chapter, speaks to the press regarding a racist train display at the Galleria at Sunset Mall done by the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society over the Fourth of July weekend. Monday July 11, 2022.

Model railroad scene at area mall decried as racist: Tuesday, July 12, 2022; By Jessica Hill; Las Vegas activists are calling for racial justice awareness training after an art exhibit that depicted a Black man being hung by a noose was displayed earlier this month at Galleria at Sunset Mall in Henderson. “This image is disturbing to our community,” Grace Vergara-Mactal, executive director of ...

Tim Szymanski, public education and information officer for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, poses in front of his van after an interview at Fire Station 1 in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, August 2, 2022. Szymanski will retire on August 18 after a more than 50-year career in firefighting. Szymanski came to Las Vegas in 1996.

50-year career coming to close for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue PIO: Wednesday, August 10, 2022; By Casey Harrison; As Tim Szymanski sat in a meeting room inside Las Vegas Fire & Rescue’s headquarters early last week, a trio of firefighters caught wind he was giving away his office mementos and couldn’t resist ...

Firefighters put out blaze at building; no injuries reported: Tuesday, October 11, 2022; By Katie Ann McCarver; Firefighters had largely extinguished a building fire today and were continuing to put out some remaining hot spots, according to the Clark County Fire Department. County and ...

As part of a three-year project to help upgrade Las Vegas Boulevard, the city announced that they have installed the first of eight refurbished neon signs that will dot the median of Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and north of Washington Avenue. These eight will join the existing eight historic neon signs that are already present in that area.

Refurbished, vintage signs start to go up as part of Las Vegas Improvement Project: Saturday, November 5, 2022; By Grace Da Rocha; Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman remembers driving around Las Vegas decades ago amid the glowing neon signs that gave downtown the nickname of Glitter Gulch. The signs — made from twisted tubes of electrically excited gas — marked businesses like casinos and motels, beckoning tourists to try their luck at the one-armed bandit or stay awhile.

A view of the Karen Avenue sign at Maryland Parkway Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022.

‘First influencer’ Liberace to get Las Vegas street named for him 35 years after death: Tuesday, December 13, 2022; By Bryan Horwath; Karen Avenue, between Maryland Parkway and Joe W. Brown Drive, will be renamed Liberace Avenue. Clark County Planning Commissioners voted unanimously last week to make the change, which ...

Trip through Las Vegas' history displayed at Fremont St. Wednesday: Tuesday, December 20, 2022; By Katie Ann McCarver; Months of celebration around the 75th anniversary of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Archive Collection — which boasts millions of iconic images of early Las Vegas — will soon come to a close at the Fremont Street Experience, where the public can view photos from the collection as they are exhibited ...

2023

Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, looks over a section of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre wall the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.

Mob Museum marking 11 years with special artifacts from St. Valentine’s Day massacre: Tuesday, February 14, 2023; By Katie Ann McCarver; While couples celebrate Valentine’s Day today in Las Vegas, the downtown Mob Museum will be marking the 94th anniversary of one of the most notorious gangland murders in organized crime history. The holiday is also the anniversary of one of the most ...

Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser wears the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany as he poses for a photo at his home in Las Vegas Friday, March 24, 2023.

Germany bestows its highest honor on Las Vegas-based Holocaust survivor: Wednesday, March 29, 2023; By Grace Da Rocha; In a ceremony at the German Consulate building in Los Angeles, Ben Lesser was recognized for his work in teaching people about the events of the Holocaust, the “systemic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime” ...

Boulder City’s first full-time female firefighter in 25 years blazes a trail: Thursday, April 20, 2023; By Teresa Moss; Sarah Mitre-Hall was a teen in California when she peered out a car window and saw a woman running in formation with a group of firefighters. It was a brief but monumental moment that shaped Mitre-Hall’s life trajectory.

John Gotti, second from left in this sketch, appears March 21, 1992, in U.S. District Court. From left are: actor Anthony Quinn, Gotti, U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser; witness Anthony Gurino and assistant U.S. attorney John Gleeson. Tonight at the Mob Museum, Gleeson will speak about how federal authorities finally were able to bring Gotti, the “Teflon Don,” to justice.

Prosecutor who brought down ‘Teflon Don’ to speak tonight at Las Vegas' Mob Museum: Wednesday, May 24, 2023; By Teresa Moss; On a November evening in 1991, John Gleeson received a late-night phone call that would reshape not only his upcoming trial but also, as many have said, the power structure of the Mafia ...

Director Ann Raskin, left, interviews Holocaust survivors Lilo Kuechel, 91, center, and Alexander Kuechel, 99, right, during the filming of a documentary at Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center Friday, June 30, 2023.

Retired CCSD teacher captures Las Vegas Holocaust survivors' stories for documentary: Thursday, July 6, 2023; By Grace Da Rocha; Ann Raskin sits under bright lights in the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center in Summerlin and wipes away tears while Alexander “Alex” Kuechel recites ...

Vitalant phlebotomist Ivan Puzon assists Mynda Smith, sister of Neysa Tonks, during a blood drive at the Clark County Government Center Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Tonks was one of the victims of the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting.

Sister of Oct. 1 victim ‘gives some love’ with donation at remembrance blood drive: Saturday, September 30, 2023; By Grace Da Rocha; This week, in the days leading up to the six-year anniversary of the tragedy, Mynda Smith decided her continued healing from that tragic night needed to include donating blood. She participated in the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center Remembrance Blood Drive downtown.

Terri Davis, President of Route 91 Nation, poses for a photo at the Clark County Government Center Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.

Route 91 survivor group pairs with winery for unique fundraiser: Saturday, September 30, 2023; By Grace Da Rocha; Route 91 Harvest Music Festival mass shooting survivor Terri Davis was hoping the mental scars from that night would eventually deteriorate. But seemingly every day she pictures the chaos from the night in her head, reigniting the trauma. It’s as if it happened yesterday — not six years Sunday.

Judges in the Nevada Press Foundation’s annual awards contest deemed this the Photo of the Year. The shot shows Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson celebrating with teammates Sept. 20, 2022, during a parade and rally for the newly crowned WNBA champions on the Strip.

Sun reaps dozens of awards in Nevada Press Foundation’s annual statewide contest: Sunday, October 1, 2023; By Las Vegas Sun Staff; Greenspun Media Group, publisher of the Sun, Las Vegas Weekly and Las Vegas Magazine, received a combined 17 first-place honors and nearly 50 total awards. Awards for the contest, which was judged by journalists from North Dakota, were announced last weekend.

Never again: Nevada lawmaker’s fight for gun safety reform took hold after attending Route 91 festival: Sunday, October 1, 2023; By Casey Harrison; Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, a Las Vegas Democrat, has used her experience to become a driving force behind gun safety legislation in Nevada.

Sheriff Kevin McMahill responds to a question about the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting during an interview at Metro Police Headquarters Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

After trauma of mass shooting, sheriff prioritizes officers’ mental health: Sunday, October 1, 2023; By Casey Harrison; Less than a year into his tenure as sheriff and nearly six years after the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Kevin McMahill has made the mental health ...

2024

The visitors center at the Ice Age Fossils State Park features this skeletal display of a camelops, sometimes known as “yesterday’s camel.” Ice Age Fossils State Park, the Nevada Division of State Parks’ newest venue, will open to the public Jan. 20 at 8660 N. Decatur Blvd.

New Nevada state park opens this month, showcasing 25,000-year-old fossils: Wednesday, January 10, 2024; By Rhiannon Saegert; Some 25,000 years ago, the area near the modern-day 8660 N. Decatur Blvd. was home to a spring and marshland. It sustained Columbian mammoths, camelops (or yesterday’s camels), dire wolves, lions, and ...

Bea Baker, a local Las Vegas resident and long time reader of the Las Vegas Sun, just turned 100 years old, she said she didnt smoke or drink and that there is no secret, shes just like anybody else. Friday, January 5, 2023.

Summerlin centenarian looks back on a full life, not slowing down: Friday, January 12, 2024; By Emma Brocato; On what she describes as a “cold winter night,” Bea Baker was born in Stillwater, Minn., on Jan. 3, 1924. This month, the Summerlin resident turned 100 and swears there is no secret to the feat. “It’s just the genes,” she says. “If I knew what it was, I swear to God I’d can it. Just the genes.” Baker’s advice to the younger generation is ...

Muhammad Ali jokes with boxing legend Joe Louis during a workout at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Thursday, Feb. 1, 1973. CREDIT: Tony King/Las Vegas News Bureau.

One special night lost in time, where the stars turned out for Joe Louis: Sunday, February 11, 2024; By Bill Weinberger, Special to the Sun; Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, is famous for putting on world class events. There was one event, however, which might have been the largest ever gathering of A-list entertainers and celebrities, which had no pre-event publicity and wasn’t televised.

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