Editing Paradise, Nevada (section)

==History==
The southern part of the [[Las Vegas Valley]] was referred to as Paradise Valley as early as 1910, owing to a high [[water table]] that made the land particularly fertile for farming.<ref>{{cite news|title=Origin of many Clark County township names is a mystery|newspaper=Anthem View|location=Las Vegas|author=F. Andrew Taylor|date=August 3, 2010|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:VNNL&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1316569E1E17B088&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=1028A39C75C2B899|via=NewsBank}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Paradise Valley well named|newspaper=Las Vegas Age|date=May 28, 1910}}</ref> County commissioners established a Paradise school district in 1914.<ref>{{cite news|title=County board met Monday|newspaper=Las Vegas Age|date=November 7, 1914}}</ref>

[[File:Las Vegas Suburbs.jpg|left|thumb|Neighborhoods on the east side of Paradise]]
In 1950, mayor Ernie Cragin of Las Vegas sought to annex the [[Las Vegas Strip]], which was unincorporated territory, in order to expand the city's tax base to fund his ambitious building agenda and pay down the city's rising debt.<ref name=moehring>{{cite book|last=Moehring|first=Eugene P.|title=Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930-2000|year=2000|publisher=University of Nevada Press|isbn=0-87417-356-6|pages=87|url=https://archive.org/details/resortcityinsunb0000moeh_e2q7}}</ref> A group of casino executives, led by [[Gus Greenbaum]] of the [[Flamingo Las Vegas|Flamingo]], lobbied the county commissioners for town status, which would prevent the city from annexing the land without the commission's approval.<ref name=moehring /> The commission voted to create the unincorporated town of Paradise on December 8, 1950.<ref>{{cite news |title=Las Vegas: Bright lights, but not a big city |author=Steve Kanigher |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2003/jul/18/las-vegas-bright-lights-but-not-a-big-city/ |newspaper=Las Vegas Sun |date=July 18, 2003 |access-date=2017-10-28}}</ref><ref name=luxury>{{cite news|title=Luxury hotel 'Strip' in Clark becomes town|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 11, 1950|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14739517/luxury_hotel_strip_in_clark_becomes/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The town encompassed a strip {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} wide and {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} long, from the southern city limits of Las Vegas to just south of the Flamingo.<ref name=luxury /> The town board initially consisted of five casino managers, chaired by Greenbaum.<ref name=luxury /><ref name=newboundary>{{cite news|title=New boundary for Paradise|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=January 16, 1951|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14739612/new_boundary_for_paradise/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

A month after its establishment, the town was expanded to include the residential areas of Paradise Valley, giving it a total area of {{convert|54|sqmi}}.<ref name=newboundary /> Months later, however, it was reported that county officials had determined that the town had not been properly established, because the petition for the town's formation had an insufficient number of signatures and because it had violated a state law forbidding formation of a town spanning multiple school districts.<ref name=hoggatt>{{cite news|title=Paradise revealed as town that never was|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|author=John Hoggatt|date=April 27, 1951|page=3}}</ref> On August 20, 1951, county commissioners accepted petitions to create two new towns covering the area of the putative town.<ref>{{cite news|title=New town 'richest' in state|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=August 21, 1951|page=1}}</ref> Town "A" of Paradise included the areas that lay within a Las Vegas school district, extending from the city limits to a point one mile south, while Town "B" included the areas within the Paradise school district.<ref name=hoggatt />

In 1953, Town A was renamed as [[Winchester, Nevada|Winchester]], and Town B became known simply as Paradise.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rich new Nevada town of Winchester founded|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=October 8, 1953|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14740652/rich_new_nevada_town_of_winchester/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1975, Nevada enacted a law that would have incorporated Paradise (along with [[Sunrise Manor, Nevada|Sunrise Manor]] and Winchester) into the City of Las Vegas.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clark consolidation bill signed|newspaper=Nevada State Journal|location=Reno, NV|date=May 22, 1975|agency=AP|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nevada-state-journal-clark-consolidation/158900865/ |access-date=November 12, 2024}}</ref> Before it could take effect, however, the bill was struck down as unconstitutional by the [[Supreme Court of Nevada|Nevada Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Why consolidating city and county governments isn't a silver bullet for waste|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|author=Michael Mishak|date=May 24, 2009|url=http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/may/24/why-consolidating-city-and-county-governments-isnt/|access-date=2015-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=County of Clark v. City of Las Vegas|vol=550|reporter=P.2d|opinion=779|court=Nev.|date=1976|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/nevada/supreme-court/1976/8719-1.html|access-date=2015-07-12}}</ref>

=== MGM Grand fire of 1980 ===
{{Main|MGM Grand fire}}

The deadliest fire that occurred in the entire [[Las Vegas Valley]] was the MGM Grand fire on November 21, 1980. In the early morning hours, a deli counter had an electrical short that resulted in a fire in the walls of the hotel. The [[Horseshoe Las Vegas|MGM Grand]] was built to the fire code of 1973, which did not require sprinkler systems, so sprinklers were only installed in the kitchens and theater. The fire traveled in the walls of the hotel damaging the fire alarm system.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-20 |title=40 years later: Reflections on the Las Vegas MGM Grand hotel fire |url=https://www.firerescue1.com/high-rise/articles/40-years-later-reflections-on-the-las-vegas-mgm-grand-hotel-fire-4Iu1HhvGMQgBHicF/ |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=FireRescue1 |language=en-US}}</ref> As the fire burned, toxic smoke entered the ventilation system traveling to the rooms of the hotel. Guests broke windows to get fresh air, while waiting for rescue from firemen. Eighty-five people died in the fire, with two more dying later, bringing the death toll to 87 people. In addition to those who died, nearly 700 people were injured in the fire.<ref name=fire>{{Cite news |date=2024-11-21 |title=44 years ago: Devastating Las Vegas MGM hotel fire left 87 dead, hundreds injured |url=https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/44-years-ago-devastating-las-vegas-mgm-hotel-fire-left-87-dead-hundreds-injured/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241123015148/https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/44-years-ago-devastating-las-vegas-mgm-hotel-fire-left-87-dead-hundreds-injured/ |archive-date=2024-11-23 |access-date=2025-04-06 |work=KLAS |language=en-US}}</ref> This fire contributed to a widespread change in the requirements for fire safety in hotels.<ref name=fire />

=== Las Vegas shooting ===
{{Main|2017 Las Vegas shooting}}
On October 1, 2017, the deadliest [[mass shooting]] in the United States by a lone gunman occurred in Paradise when 64-year-old [[Stephen Paddock]] opened fire on the crowd attending the [[Route 91 Harvest]] music festival on the Strip from his 32nd-floor suite in the [[Mandalay Bay]] hotel.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenblatt |first1=Kalhan |title=Las Vegas shooting is deadliest in modern U.S. history |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-shooting-deadliest-modern-u-s-history-n806486 |agency=NBC News |date=August 20, 2018}}</ref> He fired more than 1,000 rounds, killing 60 people and wounding at least 413 others.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schnur |first1=Sabrina |title=Stephen Paddock’s guns destroyed, land sold, hearing confirms |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/stephen-paddocks-guns-destroyed-land-sold-hearing-confirms-2764870/ |website=Review Journal |publisher=Las Vegas Review Journal}}</ref> The ensuing panic brought the total number of injured to approximately 867. About an hour later, he was found dead in his room from a [[self-inflicted gunshot wound]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Coroner says Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock killed himself |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coroner-says-las-vegas-gunman-stephen-paddock-killed-himself/ |agency=CBS News |date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>

=== Cybertruck explosion ===
{{Main|2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion}}
On January 1, 2025, at approximately 8:39 a.m. (PST), an IED exploded in a [[Tesla Cybertruck]] parked outside the main entrance of the [[Trump International Hotel Las Vegas]] in Paradise. The driver and alleged perpetrator was Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an American-born, active-duty United States Army Special Forces soldier from Colorado Springs, Colorado.<ref name=bomb /> He was on leave from overseas duty and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head immediately before the explosion.<ref name=bomb /> Seven bystanders were injured by the blast.<ref name=bomb>{{cite news |last1=Margolin |first1=Josh |last2=Stone |first2=Alex |last3=Hutzler |first3=Alexandra |last4=Brennan |first4=David |last5=Katersky |first5=Aaron |last6=Reinstein |first6=Julia |last7=Deliso |first7=Meredith |title=Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion: 2 letters found on suspect's phone, police say |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-investigators-piece-suspects-final/story?id=117291682 |agency=ABC News |date=January 3, 2025}}</ref> Authorities found that the vehicle contained firework mortars and gas canisters, which had fueled the explosion and fire. Per a note from Livelsberger's "the explosion was a stunt meant to be a 'wake up call' for the nation’s troubles".<ref>{{cite news |last1=CATALINI |first1=MIKE |title=Man who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI, police say |url=https://apnews.com/article/tesla-cybertruck-explosion-trump-hotel-las-vegas-248b41d87287170aa7b68d27581fdb4d |agency=AP News |date=January 7, 2025}}</ref>