Chaplain Leaving Strip’s Night Life for a Pressure Job

--To the Rev. Jim Reid, “Chaplain of the Las Vegas Strip” for the last 15 years, retirement means that hit men won’t be calling in the middle of the night anymore--and he’ll be able to go to bed early. “I’ll be able to go to bed at 10 to 10:30,” he said. “It will be nice.” Reid, who has roamed the Strip’s showrooms, casinos and alleyways at all hours to minister to performers, stagehands and prostitutes, plans to leave the ministry to begin a career in acupressure, a treatment similar to acupuncture in which manual pressure is used instead of needles. But he’ll never forget his Las Vegas nights--one in particular. “I remember the time I received a 4 a.m. call from a voice which said, ‘Is this a man of the cloth?,’ ” Reid said. “He had picked up the phone and asked the operator to put him in contact with a preacher. He was a hit man who had killed five people. He had had nightmares in which he saw people’s heads being blown off. I led him to Christ.” Today, Reid said, that ex-hit man is an active Baptist working a 9-to-5 job in a small town in California.

--Frank Sinatra is suing Capitol Records, contending that the company breached agreements by releasing his recordings on “bargain-basement” labels and limited editions without his consent. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also contends that the company owes him royalties. He asks that Capitol be enjoined from distributing or selling his recordings on other labels without his express written consent.

--It was a familiar sight in New York: Some inconsiderate person had ignored the signs and parked a car in a reserved space. But it was no ordinary violation, for the offended party in this instance was H. E. Porfirio Munoz-Ledo, Mexican ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United Nations. And he did not take it lightly. The envoy became so enraged when he saw a civilian car extending into the parking spot, which is reserved for diplomats, that he pulled out a handgun and smashed one of the car’s windows, according to police reports. But no charges were filed against the 45-year-old Munoz-Ledo--he has diplomatic immunity.

--Ethel Simkins’ 107th birthday party lit a fire under the Peoria, Ill., Fire Department--or, rather, her cake did. Officials at the nursing home where she lives said the flaming cake set off the fire alarm, which automatically rings at the Fire Department. “It was unbelievable,” Battalion Chief Paul Thornton said. “. . . I’ve been (with the Fire Department) over 33 years, and that’s the first time I ever saw anything like that.” The firefighters were unable to stay for cake and ice cream, but they congratulated the guest of honor and offered her a little advice. Said Thornton: “I shook her hands and told her, ‘Young lady, you’ve got to quit pulling these (fire alarms).’ ”