IN BRIEF

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Yucca rail hearing scheduled in Las Vegas

The federal railroad board has set a Dec. 4 field hearing in Las Vegas to hear public reaction to the Department of Energy's application to build a 300-mile railway across rural Nevada to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing facility, 3250 Pepper Lane.

The Surface Transportation Board is considering DOE's bid to construct a rail line from Caliente to Yucca Mountain, where the department plans to build an industrial complex and a warren of tunnels to store more than 77,000 tons of highly radioactive material.

Speakers are required to register in advance. Go to www.stb.dot.gov for information on how to sign up.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

UNLV administrative changes announced

UNLV President David Ashley has announced two top appointments at the university.

Beginning Monday, Hotel Management Professor Christian Hardigree will join the president's office as assistant president and chief of staff.

And Educational Psychology Professor Gale Sinatra will serve as chair of the President's Advisory Council.

Hardigree is chair of the Hotel Management department. She has been at UNLV since 2001 and is a UNLV 1993 graduate.

Her role as assistant president and chief of staff will combine the roles of three previous positions at the university: deputy to the president, chief of staff and senior advisor. She will also be responsible for public relations.

Sinatra's role as chair of the advisory council will have her coordinating the activities of the newly formed group. The group is responsible for ensuring that campus issues are brought to the attention of the president.

Sinatra has been at UNLV since 2000.