State Briefly Aug. 5

Democrats leading voter registration race

(AP) - Democrats outnumber Republicans statewide in the Silver State, but in the congressional district that will host Nevada's Sept. 13 special election, Republicans have the edge.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller said Thursday that there are nearly 473,000 active Democratic voters compared to nearly 408,000 active GOP voters as of July.

Democrats gained 141 more voters than Republicans did that month. Overall, the ranks of non-partisan voters grew the most, with 922 new voters. There are more than 179,000 non-partisan voters in Nevada.

In the northern Nevada House district left vacant after Republican Dean Heller was appointed to the Senate, Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 31,000 voters. There are nearly 61,000 non-partisan voters registered in the district.

Republican Mark Amodei is running against Democrat Kate Marshall in the race.

Governor appoints chief of Nevada nuclear agency

(AP) - Gov. Brian Sandoval has appointed a veteran consultant to lead Nevada's fight against disposing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

Sandoval announced Thursday that Robert Halstead will be chief of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

Halstead has worked as a consultant to the agency since 1988, managing studies on the proposed Yucca Mountain repository in Southern Nevada that have focused on transportation, costs and potential consequences of terrorism.

His more than 30 years of experience with nuclear projects include testifying before congressional committees and representing Nevada in proceedings through the U.S. departments of energy and transportation.

Halstead was selected from a list of candidates submitted to the governor by the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects.

He replaces Joe Strolin, who has served as acting director since January.

Utah victim's family sues in Amtrak crash

RENO (AP) - The husband of a Utah woman killed after a truck slammed into an Amtrak train in Nevada is suing the truck driver's employer.

Stephen Shirey of West Jordan, Utah, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against John Davis Trucking Co.

Shirey's 34-year-old wife, Cheuy Ong, was one of six people killed in the June 24 crash at a railroad crossing 70 miles east of Reno.

Shirey's suit claims recklessness on the part of truck driver Lawrence Valli, who died in the crash. It asks for thousands of dollars in damages, funeral costs and legal fees.

The lawsuit marks the seventh civil case filed in the wake of the incident.

A lawyer for the trucking company did not immediately return a message Thursday morning.

VP Joe Biden to address Las Vegas energy summit

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden will give a keynote speech at a national green energy conference in Las Vegas.

Biden will speak Aug. 30 at the National Clean Energy Summit at the Aria hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

The annual technology conference is hosted by the Center for American Progress, the Clean Energy Project, MGM Resorts International, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the office of Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.

Notable speakers include Reid, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and California Gov. Jerry Brown.

Reid says Biden's speech at the event illustrates the White House's commitment to green technology.

Participants at the conference will discuss electricity production, energy efficient buildings and homes and new clean energy sources.