Valley Times (North Las Vegas)

Last updated February 09, 2023

The Valley Times was a daily newspaper based in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

History

1959–1973: Adam Yacenda

In late 1958, Las Vegas Sun managing editor, Adam Yacenda grew tired of Sun owner Hank Greenspun and other executives interfering with the daily operations of the paper and resigned in order to found a paper in his hometown, North Las Vegas. On March 26, 1959, the first issue of the weekly North Las Vegas and Moapa Valley Times was published, named for the two areas it aimed to serve.^[1] (Greenspun also claimed he was the founder and owner of the new paper, but lost the battle and Yacenda was eventually declared the rightful owner.)^[2] The paper initially cost 10¢ and was published weekly. The front page headline of the first issue read "No. Vegas Growth Looms", hinting at what would be the paper's early purpose – promoting growth in North Las Vegas. The second issue carried the paper's statement of purpose: "A Newspaper Dedicated to Serving the People".^[1]

The Valley Times quickly surpassed its rival North Las Vegas News , published by Greenspun, and in November the News suspended publication to join forces.^[3]^[4] Greenspun agreed to provide printing services for the Valley Times going forward. The paper continued to grow rapidly and the name was soon shortened to simply Valley Times. In 1963, the Valley Times changed to twice-weekly publication. In 1973, it went to thrice weekly publication. Explaining the growth years later, reporter Bruce Hasley remarked "[Yacenda] really understood how to make a small community paper succeed ... getting as many names of local people in the paper as we could."^[1]

1973–1984: Bob Brown

Facing health issues, Yacenda decided to sell the paper in 1973.^[2] On November 1, Bob Brown purchased the Valley Times through his newly formed Las Vegas Valley Publishing Company.^[3] The sale was officially announced on the front page of the November 7 issue. In the article, Brown praised Yacenda for "building the Valley Times against tremendous odds" and promised "a number of personnel additions and political changes at the paper," but assured his readers the paper would remain politically independent.^[1] Under his leadership, the paper expanded to daily publication in April 1975.^[3] The move made Las Vegas together with New York City the only U.S. cities with three competing daily newspapers.^[2]

Brown soon hired longtime Las Vegas journalists A.D. Hopkins and Bruce Hasley to lead his staff. The Valley Times aimed to cover the gaming industry heavily, viewing it as the political and business core of the Vegas community. He hired reporters to dig deep into the industry and top reporter Ned Day uncovered mob connections at the Argent-owned casinos of Stardust, Fremont, and Hacienda, which were run by Frank Rosenthal. He also uncovered Kansas City-based mob connections at Tropicana.^[2] The paper became a "must read" for politicians and the gaming industry, despite the fact its daily circulation peaked at around 10,000 copies compared to 69,000 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 43,000 for the Las Vegas Sun.^[5]

In financial trouble, the Valley Times became involved with the mob itself. According to a 1979 expose by the Reno Evening Gazette , Brown switched the paper's editorial position in 1976 from criticizing the state government for not being hard enough on Rosenthal to supporting him. From 1976 to 1977, the Valley Times' received $368,000 from ad man Jerry May for fake ads that never ran. Brown kept 10% for the Times, passing the rest back to May who funnelled the money to the mob in Chicago. May was convicted of money laundering in 1984 for his involvement in the scheme.^[5]

After he was elected governor in 1978, Robert List went public with accusations that Brown and Rothenthal had attempted to extort him. He said Brown has promised to withhold unfavorable stories in exchange for a gaming license for Rosenthal. Brown denied the accusations and List declined to aid the FBI in investigating the claim, citing the hectic final days of the campaign season. Shortly after the election, the Valley Times published stories about List receiving comps from Stardust while working as attorney general. List subsequently repaid $3,200 to the casino.^[5]

Brown stopped paying payroll taxes and filed for bankruptcy. The IRS seized control on Times assets, including its buildings and printing presses, in July 1982 as the paper owed $200,000 in back taxes.^[5] Although he won the assets back in court, Brown was not able to turn around the struggling paper before his death on June 8, 1984.^[2]

After Brown's death, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court appointed Berkeley Bunker as trustee. He ordered the paper to close down and its last issue was published on June 22.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.

Oscar Baylin Goodman is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat-turned-independent, Goodman was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011.

The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a 600 sq mi (1,600 km²) basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada.

Frank Lawrence Rosenthal, also known as "Lefty" Rosenthal, was an American professional sports bettor, former Las Vegas casino executive, and organized crime associate. Rosenthal, who was once called "the greatest living expert on sports gambling" by Sports Illustrated, is credited with bringing increased exposure to sports betting to Las Vegas in the 1970s.

The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on 60 acres (24 ha) along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by his brother. The Stardust had numerous creditors, and construction was stopped in 1956, when the project ran out of money.

Green Valley Ranch is a hotel and casino located within the eponymous community in Henderson, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos, and includes a 143,891 sq ft (13,367.9 m²) casino. The resort was initially proposed by American Nevada Corporation, which received city approval to build it in 1996. In addition to a hotel-casino, the company also planned to build a mixed-use project to accompany it.

The settlement of Las Vegas, Nevada was founded in 1905 after the opening of a railroad that linked Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The stopover attracted some farmers to the area, and fresh water was piped in to the settlement. In 1911, the town was incorporated as part of the newly founded Clark County. Urbanization took off in 1931 when work started on the Boulder Dam, bringing a huge influx of young male workers, for whom theaters and casinos were built, largely by the Mafia. Electricity from the dam also enabled the building of many new hotels along the Strip. The arrival of Howard Hughes in 1966 did much to offset mob influence and helped turn Las Vegas into more of a family tourist center, now classified as a Mega resort.

Herman Milton "Hank" Greenspun was the publisher of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. He purchased the Sun in 1949, and served as its editor and publisher until his death. Greenspun was also a prominent real estate developer in the Las Vegas Valley.

<i>Las Vegas Review-Journal</i> Newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Las Vegas Review-Journal is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area.

The Las Vegas Sun is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now included as a section inside the pages of the morning Las Vegas Review-Journal but continues operating exclusively on its own website.

The Greenspun Media Group is an independent company and was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Greenspun Corporation. Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, the group has over 60 years experience in the Las Vegas Valley. Beginning with the Las Vegas Sun newspaper in 1950, the company has grown to more than 30 publications and a total distribution exceeding 27 million magazines and newspapers. In 2007, The Greenspun Group acquired Niche Media, which was founded in 1992 by Jason Binn. Niche Media was sold in 2014.

The Greenspun Corporation (TGC) was a privately owned corporation that manages the Greenspun family assets. The company was founded by Hank Greenspun and was based in Henderson, Nevada.

The Boulder City News was a weekly newspaper distributed in Boulder City, Nevada. The paper was first published in 1937. When it ceased publication in late October 2009, the paper was published by the Greenspun Media Group. The paper was focused on the community of Boulder City including the local sports, news and events. According to the Circulation Verification Council, for the first half of 2009 the paper's circulation increased by 29.3% which was the largest increase in the country for any community newspaper.

Las Vegas Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. Las Vegas Weekly is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James P. Reza, Greg Ryan and Robert Ringle as a free monthly publication called Scope Magazine covering Southern Nevada's culture, arts, music and lifestyle from a decidedly Generation X perspective.

Argent Corporation was a company in Las Vegas that at one time controlled the Hacienda Hotel/Casino, the Stardust Resort & Casino, the Fremont Hotel and Casino and the casino in the Marina Hotel. The company was owned by Allen R. Glick, a San Diego real estate investor. The name Argent came from the three initials of his name, combined with the first three letters of the word "Enterprises". Over a few years, federal, state and local gaming officials in Nevada confirmed that these casinos were controlled by organized crime families in the Midwest and that a huge skimming operation was conducted within the casinos.

Joe Schoenmann is an American journalist and nonfiction author who has lived in Las Vegas since 1997.

Las Vegas CityLife, founded in August 1996, was the oldest alternative weekly newspaper in Southern Nevada and covered news about the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding areas. Coverage included news, politics, arts, and culture reporting in print and online formats.

Robert Lloyd "Bob" Brown was an American publisher of the Las Vegas Valley Times from 1973 to 1984. Prior to this, he had served as a correspondent in Asia for the United Press and as a journalist in Alaska and Arkansas. He was also editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a speech-writer for Paul Laxalt, editor of the Tucson Daily American, editor and publisher of the Lacey Leader and chairman of the Nevada State Tax Commission.

Adam John Yacenda was an American newspaper publisher and political adviser. He began his career working for various newspapers in New York and New Jersey before moving to California in the 1940s for health reasons. There, he published the Beverly Hills Bulletin before taking a job as then-U.S. Representative Richard Nixon's press secretary. After Nixon's success senate campaign in 1950, Yacenda moved to Las Vegas where he became editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

Royal Nevada was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It was owned by Frank Fishman, who leased it to various individuals during its brief history. The resort was designed by Paul Revere Williams, and construction began in August 1954. The Royal Nevada opened on April 19, 1955, and was among four Las Vegas resorts to open within a six-week period, at a time when demand had declined for additional hotel rooms. The resort faced numerous financial problems, and was closed and reopened several times.

References

1 2 3 4 Michael S. Green (1996). "The Valley Times: A Personal History". In Stephen Tchudi (ed.). Change in the American West . University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0874172888.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Michael Green (March 18, 2009). "Valley Times". o.n.e.: Online Nevada Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 15, 2015.
1 2 3 Richard E. Lingenfelter (1984). The Newspapers of Nevada. pp. 158–9. ISBN 0874170753.
↑ Barbara Cloud (2008). "The Valley Times". The Coming of the Frontier Press. p. 174. ISBN 0810125080.
1 2 3 4 Jane Ann Morrison (September 5, 2013). "Sad story of the Valley Times, the last Las Vegas daily newspaper to die". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2015.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[change-1] 1 2 3 4 Michael S. Green (1996). "The Valley Times: A Personal History". In Stephen Tchudi (ed.). Change in the American West . University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0874172888.

[one-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Michael Green (March 18, 2009). "Valley Times". o.n.e.: Online Nevada Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 15, 2015.

[newspapers-3] 1 2 3 Richard E. Lingenfelter (1984). The Newspapers of Nevada. pp. 158–9. ISBN 0874170753.

[4] Barbara Cloud (2008). "The Valley Times". The Coming of the Frontier Press. p. 174. ISBN 0810125080.

[sad-5] 1 2 3 4 Jane Ann Morrison (September 5, 2013). "Sad story of the Valley Times, the last Las Vegas daily newspaper to die". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]