The links below are a collection of my favorite stories from my work at the Las Vegas Sun. The stories range from breaking news efforts to special projects. Most of the stories included use my own audio and photos as well. Some highlights to look for is the Hard Rock Hotel fire in breaking news, our coverage of the Las Vegas Marathon, my feature on the former high-wire star and the beer pong tournament at the Flamingo.

Two friends, Gilbert Nick Medina, 79, and Emma Coll, 77, celebrate Veterans Day together at the downtown parade. Medina, a World War II veteran and Coll, a veteran's widow, have attended the parade together for the past six years. Photo courtesy of Cydney Cappello, Las Vegas Sun.

Breaking News:
* Small fire extinguished at Hard Rock Hotel
* Baggage handler gets 5 years for stealing guns
* CityCenter accepting applications for 12,000 jobs
*Pilot dies after plane crashes into Las Vegas neighborhood
* Winter storm entices residents to Mount Charleston

News:
* Hundreds turn out for ‘Extreme Makeover’ pep rally
* Famous Las Vegas sign now safer for tourists
* Clark County man wins Las Vegas Marathon
* Reid, Goodman tour foreclosed homes, present remedy
* Students sample chef’s school lunch creations
* Scroggins, Sisolak, Narter vie for Woodbury’s seat
* Party faithful turn out to support Democrats

Features:
* Student fashion show celebrates Barbie’s 50th birthday
* 291,000 to ring in 2009 in Las Vegas
* Former circus star seeks return to the high wire
* Program granting wishes for Las Vegas homeless
* Marathoner attempts world record at Las Vegas event

Entertainment:
These are a collection of my entertainment stories from the Las Vegas Sun’s cool younger sister, the Las Vegas Weekly.
* St. Patrick’s Day off to a green start
* $50,000 on the line today in beer pong playoffs
* Fremont appeals to locals, laid-back crowd for NYE
* Mortgage reapers protest McCain campaign with funeral

A UNLV model takes the catwalk in a dress donated by Jessica McClintock Monday night at UNLV's third annual Fashion with Passion. Photo courtesy of Cydney Cappello, Las Vegas Sun.

Special projects:
Sun Youth Forum
This is a phudio set, or photos combined with audio, of the brightest young voices in the Valley. Another reporter and myself interviewed students at the annual Sun Youth Forum and later edited and uploaded the audio to the Las Vegas Sun’s content management system.
Sun Youth Forum

Crime Map
This is the Las Vegas Sun’s crime map that I was responsible for updating. The crime map covers the entire Las Vegas Valley; Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Boulder City. From assault to vandalism, the map covers all local crimes through each jurisdictions daily calls to service log. Everyday I had to contact officers to send their calls to service to me, reformat that data into a spreadsheet to sort the crime codes and cherry pick the types of crimes that would be used on the map, since we didn’t want every 911 phone call.
Las Vegas Sun Crime Map