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August 27, 2020 - 10:29 pm

Developers are putting up subdivisions, apartments, retail centers and other projects across Las Vegas. But the local construction industry is still nowhere near as big as it was during the bubble years of the mid-2000s. 63,900 people work in construction in Southern Nevada. Employment has nearly doubled since early 2012 but is still far below the peak of 112,000 in mid-2006. It’s hard for me to imagine such a surge of population that you would need to build housing, retail, schools and other things on the scale that was happening in 2005. — Ken Simonson, chief economist, Associated General Contractors of America

Las Vegas’ housing market: Bubble vs. today

August 27, 2020 - 11:12 pm

Las Vegas home prices are rising at one of the fastest rates nationally, and builders are selling the most homes in years. But by almost any measure, the market remains a long way from the peaks of the bubble years last decade. The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes was $280,000 last month. That’s more than doubled since hitting bottom, but still below the peak of $315,000 in mid-2006. Builders sold 9,400 homes last year, the highest tally in almost a decade but far below the record of almost 39,000 in 2005. “Las Vegas has been climbing out of the hole for the better part of the last decade.” Brian Gordon, co-owner, Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis

Las Vegas’ Deadliest Air Disaster

August 27, 2020 - 11:13 pm

A cross near Cactus Aveue and Decatur Boulevard marks the site of Las Vegas’ deadliest air disaster. On April 21, 1958, an Air Force fighter jet collided with United Airlines Flight 736 at 21,000 feet. Both aircraft plummeted to the ground and burned. All 47 people on the airliner and both men in the fighter jet were killed. The crash led to new air safety regulations, including the creation of what is now the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash site is now a parking lot. The cross on the hill behind it is the only sign of what happened there.

Spencer Gallagher on a roll

August 27, 2020 - 11:21 pm

Spencer Gallagher posted his career best finish in last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol, Tennessee. The second-year driver from Las Vegas started ninth and finished fifth. He called the impressive run a “watershed moment.” Gallagher, who struggled as rookie in 2017, has four Top 10 finishes after seven races and has yet to run outside the Top 15. Spencer Gallagher

MGM Resorts will use solar array to power Las Vegas casinos

August 27, 2020 - 11:22 pm

MGM Resorts International is planning to power Las Vegas Strip casinos using solar arrays. MGM Resorts is partnering with a Chicago-based renewable developer on a new 100-megawatt photovoltaic array set to go online in 2020, about 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The dedicated solar array will be capable of supplying up to 90 percent of daytime demand at the company’s 13 Las Vegas casinos. The array will consist of 336,000 solar panels capable of producing enough power for about 27,000 homes. Construction is slated to start next year, and is expected to employ about 350 people during construction . All of the electricity generated by the array will go to MGM Resorts under a 20-year agreement.

2 rescued after car crashes into lake

August 27, 2020 - 11:28 pm

Two people were rescued safely after a car crashed into a lake in the Desert Shores community in northwest Las Vegas. The crash was called in five minutes before midnight at a lake near Breakwater and Port of Call drives, according to Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski. A man and woman managed to get out of the car and onto the roof, Szymanski said. One of them couldn’t swim, so they waited for help to arrive. Firefighters pushed a raft over to the couple and used a fire hose to pull them back to shore, Szymanski said. No one was injured. No one was injured. Las Vegas Police took over the investigation to determine how the car got into the lake.

Golden Knights fans saving money on the road

August 27, 2020 - 11:38 pm

Golden Knights fans invaded Staples Center for Game 3 of a playoff series on Sunday night.
Ticket prices on the secondary market fell well below what they would be for a game at T-Mobile Arena.
Some fans who made the trip from Las Vegas paid as little as $112 per ticket for Sunday’s game.
“We saved enough money that we also took the kids to Knott’s Berry Farm today before the game,” said one Knights fan.
The series against the Kings continues in Los Angeles with Game 4 on Tuesday night.

NBA playoffs in Las Vegas

August 27, 2020 - 11:42 pm

In 1992, the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers played an NBA playoff game in Las Vegas. Game 4 of the Western Conference first round was originally set for the Los Angeles Forum. It was moved to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas at short notice amid the Rodney King riots. The Trail Blazers won 102-76, eliminating the Lakers 3 games to 1. Clyde Drexler scored 26 points for Portland while Danny Ainge added 19. It was the last playoff game of the four major sports to be played in Las Vegas before the Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 on Wednesday.

Knights success far exceeds LVCVA’s tourism goals

August 27, 2020 - 11:45 pm

Several months ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority set out to market the city as the sports capital of the world. With the addition of the Golden Knights and the Raiders, LVCVA saw the perfect opportunity to do so. The Knights’ success and current Stanley Cup playoff run has resulted in a marketing marriage with Las Vegas that has been far more successful than anyone could have imagined. This season, the Knights have managed to unite the community and made hockey fans around the country take notice. “The Knights, in my mind, really put the exclamation point that we’re the sports capital of the world, not only what they’ve done on the ice in this historic season but how they brought the community together.” Lisa Motley, director of sports marketing and special events for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Professional sports have been a staple for Las Vegas for decades with championship boxing matches, PGA golf tour events and the National Finals Rodeo. But big-league teams kept their distance from Nevada, due to lingering fears of sports betting somehow influencing games. “Las Vegas stands for something much more extensive and expansive now than what it once did” David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Marshall Sports Business Institute

Former Las Vegan and auto racing crew chief George Bignotti to be honored

August 27, 2020 - 11:53 pm

George Bignotti will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame on June 21. The former Las Vegas resident raced stock cars but made his name as an Indianapolis 500 crew chief. He served as crew chief on seven Indy 500 winners, including twice with A.J. Foyt and Al Unser. He also was head mechanic on Indy winners driven by Graham Hill, Gordon Johncock and Tom Sneva. Bignotti was an avid golfer and lived on Canyon Gate golf course in Las Vegas. He was 97 when he died in 2013. “As far as I’m concerned, he was the greatest mechanic that ever turned a wrench on an Indy car.”