Holiday closings

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

New Year's Day has been celebrated by some cultures as early as Sept. 21 (the autumn equinox) and as late as June 21 (the summer solstice). With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, New Year's Day moved to Jan. 1 for most countries. Many local entities will close early on New Year's Eve, Friday. Here's what's open and closed Friday and New Year's Day Saturday:

SAFETY: Police and fire emergency services as usual. Administrative offices closed.

UTILITIES: Closed both days: Nevada Power Co., Southwest Gas, Las Vegas Valley Water District. Open but closing early Friday, open Saturday: Sprint. Open but closing early Friday, closed Saturday: Cox Communications cable television.

GOVERNMENT: Closed both days: Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Clark County, state, courts, federal offices, federal courthouse.

SCHOOLS: Closed, no classes: Clark County School District (classes resume Monday, Jan. 3), UNLV (classes resume Jan. 18), Community College of Southern Nevada (classes resume Jan. 24).

MAIL: Open Friday for deliveries and pickups, closed Saturday: U.S. Postal Service. Open Friday for some deliveries but no pickups, closed Saturday: United Parcel Service. (Note: No UPS ground service deliveries on Saturday, air and international deliveries only.)

NEWSPAPER: Sun offices closed both days. Sun published in combined morning editions with the Review-Journal.

TRANSIT: Downtown Transportation Center: Open both days. City Ride natural gas buses: Regular schedule with three vehicles in operation but closing early on Friday, not running Saturday. Citizen Area Transit: Regular schedule Friday, holiday schedule (fewer buses on fixed routes) Saturday. (Note: from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday, CAT bus rides are free.)

LIBRARIES: Closed both days: Henderson District, North Las Vegas District, Boulder City Municipal. Open but closing early Friday, closed Saturday: Las Vegas-Clark County District.

GARBAGE: Republic Services of Southern Nevada pickups as usual.

MATRIMONY: Marriage License Bureau open 24 hours, starting at 8 a.m. Friday, closing at midnight Sunday.

FINANCIAL: Open Friday, closed Saturday: Brokerage firms, some banks. State law allows banks to open on holidays as long as they post transactions to the next regular business day. Check your local branch for hours of operation.

PARKING: Las Vegas city parking metered spaces free both days.