Quick reads

Gay journalists descend on Vegas

Sometimes good things crop up in unexpected places. The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association is sponsoring a Southwest Institute (think mini-conference) in Las Vegas this weekend. The event is hosted by the ever-expanding local NLGJA chapter. Funny thing is, the event isn't really "gay" at all.

"There's nothing inherently gay about any of this," explained local chapter president Steve Friess. "This is to foster good journalism."

The free event, open to NLGJA members and nonmember journalists, boasts a bevy of programs designed to inform and enhance professional skills. Digital media, time management and a Sunday brunch panel with Strip headliners are on the agenda. Local media executive Danny Greenspun and KVBC Channel 3 news director Jamie Ioos will be presenting alongside national journalists from Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times.

For more information, go to NLGJA's national website, www.nlgja.org/programs/institutes.html. To RSVP for the limited-seating Sunday brunch, call Friess at 384-1435 or e-mail NLGJALasVegas@aol.com.

--Emmily Bristol

City wants tour guides

Yesterday, it was just a quaint downtown post office filled with old dudes checking their P.O. boxes for correspondence from their Russian brides-to-be. Today it's an integral part of the Centennial celebration of Las Vegas history. We're talking about the historic post office at 301 E. Stewart Ave., which the city is turning into a museum and cultural center newly christened the Post Modern. What makes this building so special? Experts consider it the valley's finest example of Depression-era architecture.

Of course, no museum is complete without slouching security guards--and, of course, tour guides. The city's looking for volunteer museum guides to give tours of the building during May, June and July, and encourages historians, architects and grad students to apply. The deadline is Feb. 28.

To obtain an application, call Kim Jones at 229-4739 or e-mail her at kjones@lasvegasnevada.org.

--Andrew Kiraly