Illustration of Boulder City, in which many houses and neighborhoods can be seen. The caption reads: "Boulder City, Nevada. A model city built to house the workmen engaged on the Boulder Dam [later known as the Hoover Dam] Project."
When Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs talks about the landscape architecture firm her parents, Barbara and Don Brinkerhoff, began in their home in 1958, she brightens and leans in. Since joining her parents’ firm in 1982, Julie gradually assumed responsibility for Lifescapes International’s sales, marketing, financial management, and strategic planning and serves as President and Chief Financial Officer. Here, Brinkerhoff-Jacobs talks of her life before joining and outside of Lifescapes: her family; her youth; her charity, HomeAid; her leadership activities; and her personal interests. Her focus, though, is Lifescapes and the Las Vegas people and the iconic projects that not only altered the ways that visitors perceive Southern Nevada but also changed the business of Lifescapes. “Not just in Las Vegas, but around the world people hire us because of what we've done in Las Vegas.” For Julie, one of the greatest joys of working alongside her parents was discovering them as peers—learning to know them as two people who “chose to live an incredibly artistic life together.” Her mother passed in 2014, but Julie and her father continue to work with and learn from each other.
Black and white image showing an interior view of the Boulder City Library Children's Collection in its new home on the top floor of the Municipal Building in Boulder City. An adult and a few children can be seen standing amongst book shelves.
Oral history interview with Kaku Makino and Masako "Julie" Ishitsuka conducted by Kristel Peralta, Vanessa Concepcion, Ayrton Yamaguchi, and Stefani Evans on March 22, 2021 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Makino discusses his early life in Tokyo, Japan and becoming a chef. He recalls arriving to the United States in 1989, establishing the Todai (now Makino Sushi & Seafood Buffet) restaurant chain, and opening nineteen locations in California, Florida, and in Hawaii. Kano talks about her upbringing in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan and describes Japan during the Meiji era. She remembers arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2000 and the cultural change she experienced. Lastly, Makino and Kano discuss the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.