IN BRIEF
SINGLE-CAR ACCIDENT
St. Rose Parkway crash victim identified
The 49-year-old man who died in a single-car crash on St. Rose Parkway near Coronado Center Drive Wednesday was identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Michael J. Douglas of Henderson.
It is unknown why Douglas, who was eastbound on St. Rose Parkway, lost control of his Volkswagen Jetta about 3:30 a.m. as he approached an intersection, Henderson police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said.
As the road began to curve, Douglas' car continued straight and struck a traffic light pole, Rasmussen said.
Douglas was pronounced dead a the scene.
'THE RESPONSE'
Writer to screen film about Guantanamo
The writer and producer of a film about Guantanamo Bay military tribunals will screen the movie, "The Response," and speak from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at UNLV.
The free event will be held at the Boyd School of Law in the Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility.
"The 30-minute film is based on actual courtroom transcripts compiled to deliver a compelling story in which three Guantanamo military judges must decide the fate of a Middle Eastern detainee.
The composite fictional characters shed light on this controversial legal process," a news release said.
Following the film, a panel including Sig Libowitz, who wrote, produced and acted in the film, will speak. Also in attendance will be Amnesty International Western Regional Director Banafsheh Akhaghi, UNLV Professor Christopher Blakesley and Las Vegas public defender Gerald Bierbaum.
The event is sponsored by the ACLU of Nevada, Amnesty International and the Boyd School of Law.
REID REQUEST
U.S. Senate approves landfill leakage study
The U.S. Senate has approved a measure sought by Sen. Harry Reid to study the environmental impacts of a proposed landfill near Winnemucca and tons of imported trash from California.
An amendment to the Interior Department's appropriation bill approved Tuesday night funds a study by the U.S. Geological Survey on seepage from trash at the site.
A California company, Recology, wants to haul 20,000 tons of garbage weekly to the site for 95 years.
The company received a conditional special use permit from the county two years ago, but a citizens group is fighting the project. The project still needs state permits.
Reid says the study would evaluate how long it would take seepage from the dump to contaminate local water resources, and how far contamination would travel over the next two centuries.
'JOURNALISM OF EMPATHY'
Wilkerson receives UNR writing award
A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for her narrative works has been named the 2009 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer at the University of Nevada, Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism.
Isabel Wilkerson has specialized in what has been described as the "journalism of empathy." The writing style requires a journalist to invest weeks or months researching a story to understand everyday life from an insider's perspective.
Among other things, Wilkerson has covered the uprooting of people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She is publishing a book next year about the migration of African-Americans from the American South to the big cities of the North.
She plans to discuss her craft in a free lecture at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at UNR's Joe Crowley Student Union.
