In Brief
CONFIRMATION IN FEBRUARY
Census official appointed secretary for state Senate
The man in charge of the taking of the 2010 census in Nevada was appointed Wednesday as the secretary of the state Senate.
David Byerman, 28, the chief government liaison for the Census Bureau, accepted the appointment by Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas.
The secretary secures staff and secretaries for the senators and keeps the record of all proceedings of the Senate floor sessions. He is the chief administrative officer and parliamentarian for the Senate.
Byerman will start work Aug. 30. The full Senate will vote on his confirmation in February.
CROSSING AGAINST SIGNAL
Pedestrian, 42, struck, killed
in intersection by Mack truck
A 42-year-old man who crossed the street against a green traffic signal was fatally struck Thursday morning by a Mack truck near Tropicana Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, Las Vegas police said.
The identity of the Las Vegas man was not released by authorities. The collision occurred about 9:24 a.m.
Police said the truck, driven by 36-year-old Alis Ramirez, was traveling west on Tropicana at Valley View and proceeding through the intersection on a green light while the pedestrian was crossing Tropicana from south to north.
tax argument
Mining company sues to block Legislature's claim fee hike
A northeast Nevada mining company is suing the state, alleging that a one-time mining claim fee increase approved by the Legislature amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase.
Claremont Nevada Mines LLC owner Buster Hunsaker told the Elko Daily Free Press it might be called a fee, but it's a tax. He said the state constitution doesn't allow for a tax increase.
Nevada state attorney general's office spokeswoman Edie Cartwright said the state is reviewing the case.
The Elko District Court civil lawsuit asks a judge to block collection of the fees, which are due in October.
NORTH CAROLINA TRIAL
LV suspect refuses to take stand in slaying of Marine
The ex-Marine charged with killing a pregnant Camp Lejeune colleague in 2007 declined Thursday to take the stand in his own defense after the final witnesses in his trial in Goldsboro, N.C.
Speaking for the first time at the trial, Cesar Laurean, 23, of Las Vegas answered "Yes, sir" when the judge asked whether it was his decision to skip the opportunity to speak to the jury.
Laurean could face life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder and other charges.
He is accused of killing Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, of Vandalia, Ohio, who served with Laurean in the same personnel unit and had accused him of rape.
The judge dismissed the jurors until Monday, when attorneys are expected to present closing arguments.
Prosecutors contend that Laurean killed the pregnant Lauterbach with one blow of a crowbar after she came to his home on Dec. 14, 2007.
Lauterbach had spent that afternoon withdrawing $700 from the bank, buying a bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, and leaving a note for her roommate that she was quitting the Marine Corps.
