Local news briefs for December 21, 2000

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000 | 10:33 a.m.

Public accountant named to panel

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn Wednesday named Nadia Jurani, a certified public accountant from Las Vegas, to the five-member Nevada Equal Rights Commission to succeed John Medina, also of Las Vegas.

The governor also reappointed Dennis Shipley, who heads his own human resources firm, Human Capital Inc. in Las Vegas, to the commission. Shipley has served since 1997.

Jurani is a founder, board member and former president of the Philippine Bisayan Society of Nevada, a nonprofit support group with more than 1,000 members. And she is a trustee with the Asian Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee and a member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.

The terms are for three years. Medina, who retired from the commission, is former equal employment director for Reynolds Electric and Engineering Co. in Southern Nevada.

New generator planned

After parts of the University Medical Center lost power for about 30 minutes Tuesday night, the hospital will install a second backup generator system to further decrease the chances of such a failure happening again.

The new generator system is expected to be brought online in about a month, a hospital spokesman said.

Engineers still investigating the cause of the power failure have learned so far that circuitry in the backup generators failed, causing parts of the hospital to be without power. The backup generators are tested weekly, the spokesman said.

Patient care was not disrupted by the power loss, and the trauma center did not lose power.