News briefs for October 2, 2001

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001 | 9:21 a.m.

City manager to speak to public

Henderson City Manager Phil Speight on Wednesday will present a formal report on the state of Henderson city government.

The meeting, during a public buffet at the anthem center, is free, but reservations are suggested. The event starts at 4:30 p.m. Those interested should call public affairs at 565-2848.

Speight, 53, who has served as city manager for 13 years, will discuss the city's ongoing capital projects, public safety programs and annexation plans.

City spokeswoman Vicki Taylor said the speech will likely mark the first of many annual reports.

"It will be a working session," Taylor said. "With the kind of growth we have, it is difficult to find time for the city manager and the council to talk about the larger issues facing the city."

Through the mid-1990s, Henderson ranked as the fastest-growing small city in the United States.

City Council members will also discuss individual priorities in preparation for a council retreat later this month.

Comment period extended to Oct. 19

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced Monday another extension of the comment period regarding a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

The Department of Energy will accept public comment on the proposed nuclear waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas until Oct. 19. The current comment period began on May 4, and had been scheduled to run through Sept. 20.

In addition to hearings on Oct. 10 in Amargosa Valley and Oct. 12 in Pahrump, Abraham ordered the DOE to conduct hearings in Nevada and in one California county. Twenty-nine hearings have been scheduled.

Comments received at the hearings, collected by a court reporter at the Las Vegas Yucca Mountain Science Center or sent in writing by Oct. 19, will be considered before the site recommendation is made, Abraham said.

There will be additional opportunity for the public to comment on issues that could not be raised during the current comment period, he said.

Additional information on the public hearings and how to comment is available at the DOE's website (www.ymp.gov) or by calling (800) 967-3477.

Supreme Court rejects Whittaker

The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed the fifth appeal from Larry Whittaker Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his 5-week old son in 1992.

The court rejected Whittaker's petition for a writ of habeas corpus because it was filed too late -- six years after his conviction -- and noted that he had previously filed requests for writs that had been denied.

Whittaker initially filed an appeal from his guilty plea to first-degree murder and then sought unsuccessfully writs to either reduce his sentence, allow him to change his plea or to be released.

The head of his son was crushed when Whittaker swung the infant by his legs into a wall.