Ed Koch

Stories

Lifelong Las Vegan turned card counting into security job: Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012; With her long, flowing brown hair, ice blue eyes and curvy figure clad in hip huggers and a halter top, Patti Kunkel pulled the wool over every casino pit boss’s eyes and became a premier blackjack card counter around town.
Former attorney remembered as 'liberal conscience of Nevada': Saturday, July 7, 2012; Ralph Denton could trace his liberal Democratic Party roots back more than 100 years to populist politician William Jennings Bryan, who in his time was the standard bearer of American liberalism.
A push to get roller derby back on track: Saturday, June 23, 2012; Old-time roller derby is back in Las Vegas, the latest stop in its effort to return the sport to its glory days — or at least help stave off extinction.
With rosters laden with aging skaters, a struggle to find and train young talent, the lack of a major television contract to bring the game to the masses and money issues, it figures to be a bumpy road ahead for the banked-track spectacle.
Rene O'Reilly, former Clark County Mother of the Year, dies at 66: Thursday, June 21, 2012; Rene E. O’Reilly, the 2001 Clark County Mother of the Year for Civic Service, died June 14 following a lengthy battle against lung and neck cancer. She was 66.
As police chief, Ray Sheffer improved training, later worked on the Strip and prompted the use of AC in cabs: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012; Ray Sheffer, who started the first police academy in the valley when he served as the Las Vegas police chief, was one of several local government officials who helped end segregation of Strip hotels, ran security for the Desert Inn and prompted the use of air conditioners in cabs, has died at age 87.
Reporter recalls following Muhammad Ali as boxer found 'more to life': Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012; I interviewed Ali about a half-dozen times between 1980 and 2000. Away from the TV cameras, Ali was a soft-spoken gentleman who could be downright philosophical — nothing like the loudmouth showman the public saw during his long and illustrious career.
Retiree rubbed elbows with Sinatra, 'the boys' in the mob: Friday, Jan. 20, 2012; When Italian immigrant Emilio Muscelli came to Las Vegas to work as a showroom maitre d’ 60 years ago, he had no idea he was giving himself one of the best seats in the house to watch the meteoric growth of the tiny desert city.
Former prize fighter boxed in: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010; During Las Vegas boxing’s heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Willie “The Cannon” Shannon, a tall, lanky, good-looking heavyweight hopeful, swaggered onto the scene and made a splash. Shannon fit the bill of the boxer in the “Rocky” films of that era — the down-and-outer who sought redemption through his fighting and eventually won the love of the public while regaining his self-respect and self-worth.
Former county DA George Foley Sr. made Nevada ‘a better place’: Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010; While his father and four brothers practiced law in Southern Nevada, George Foley Sr. shunned the family business for a somewhat lucrative career as a Las Vegas bellhop.
'Walking Through Walls': A local recalls her triumph over mental illness: Monday, Sept. 20, 2010; Over the course of many years and many false hopes, Two Lenz has found her way to recovery and telling the world in her autobiography.