Oral history interview with Sarah Ortiz conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez on December 20, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Ortiz discusses being born and raised in Austin, Texas and spending the majority of her life there before attending the Columbia Publishing Course in Manhattan, New York. Ortiz describes her family's many moves throughout the city of Austin and the changes that have since happened in the city. Ortiz recounts her trajectory in the publishing industry, which led her from Manhattan back to Austin, and eventually to Las Vegas, Nevada. Ortiz is currently the program and festival director for The Believer magazine and the Black Mountain Institute. She writes about what she and her colleagues hope to achieve with the magazine and annual festival, and about the changes that she hopes to see for Las Vegas' publishing and literacy industry.

Mike Montandon, former Arizonan and former three-term mayor of the City of North Las Vegas (1997-2009), is a natural storyteller. As he recalls municipal governance during a period of record-breaking growth, he talks of forming relationships with developers, legislators, and other municipalities; he speaks to land use, open space, parks, trails, conservation and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA). He shares histories and stories of the Becker family's role in developing Clark County, of the Combs family's North Las Vegas pig farm; of the drama that routinely characterized BLM land auctions, and of why North Las Vegas spent millions of dollars to build its own sewage treatment plant. The guy who never ran for office in high school or college moved to North Las Vegas in 1992 and four years later was elected as mayor of one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. He ran because he realized the City was populated with people just l

Joel Coombs was raised in an interracial upper middle class family. Born in Newport News, Virginia, his parents relocated and separated when he was young. Joel's white father went on to marry a black woman by the name of Delores. Many of Joel's friends thought that Delores was just hired help, as coming from an interracial home in Las Vegas in the 1970s was considered extremely rare. Joel recalls having to tell his peers on more than one occasion that Delores was his mom and not his maid. His fondest family memories include rock collecting and going to the gun range. Joel became a cheerleader and ran track in high school and college. He recalls attending Valley High School amidst racial tensions, racism, and prejudice. His recollections concerning high school lockdowns and race riots reveal the underlying social issues that once plagued Las Vegas, Nevada. Another major social problem that negatively impacted the lives of Joel's peers was drug abuse, as drugs were easily available at Valley High School and at Bishop Gorman in the 1970s. As an interracial couple Joel's parents were at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement. He recalls participating in the protests as a child and landing on the front page of The Post. In regards to jobs, prior to building and designing roofs and floors at Truss Plant, Joel worked as a jeweler and as a land surveyor. Growing up in an interracial home in Las Vegas helped to shape him into the hardworking, socially aware, and innovative man he is today.

Folder contains program of a building dedication for the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. From the University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law Records (UA-00048).

From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Unpublished manuscripts file.