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Friday, December 21, 2007
Parade pros

E-mail:
   journal@ntamar.net

Phone:
   (692) 625-8143
   (692) 625-8146

Fax:
   (692) 625-3136

Mail:
   PO Box 14
   Majuro, MH 96960
   Marshall Islands

In Person:
   On the ocean road
   behind Formosa
   in Uliga, Majuro
Ebeye inflation
up by six percent
Ebeye’s inflation rate grew at about one percent more than Majuro for fiscal year 2007, according to the latest consumer price index report issued by the Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office. The report said Majuro’s inflation rate grew slightly over one percent for the last quarter of 2007, giving Majuro a 5.3 percent inflation increase for the year.
Lomor takes
care of Lona
RRE’s workhorse cargo and passenger vessel Lona was rescued by Sea Patrol’s Lomor after it experienced engine problems while on a voyage in the northern Ratak chain last week. The vessel called for help Thursday evening, contacting RRE, which immediately got onto Sea Patrol. Lona was on a charter for the Ministry of Education when its engine shut down about 10 miles from Wotje and it began to drift.
Coast Guard takes a look at our ports
US Coast Guard officials were in Majuro last week inspecting port facilities to ensure they meet Coast Guard standards for handling US ships. Passing the inspections is of critical importance to the RMI, which depends on US shipping for a large portion of its food and trade goods, as well as mail.
Cutting back at Kwajalein
By 2010, many Kwajalein missile range operations will be moved to Huntsville, Alabama, reducing the on-island “footprint” of missile range activities. This follows an already significantly reduced American population at Kwajalein.
AMI's woes puts Bikini Dive in doubt
The flagship tourism destination in the Marshall Islands could be forced to close its doors after 11 years of operations if Air Marshall Islands doesn’t get back in the air soon. With the annual opening of the Bikini Atoll’s scuba dive operation looming in early February, company officials are expressing increasing concern about the lack of progress in getting planes back in the air.
The Marshall Islands Chamber of Commerce held two Christmas parades (one from Rita, one from Laura) last Saturday, with hundreds of kids eagerly harvesting the candy tossed by Santa Claus and his many clones.
Electoral fights to beat Nitijela clock
Two key dates are being carefully watched and anticipated by candidates. And the key question, with a small number of votes set to be tabulated Wednesday night in Majuro, is can the Electoral Administration get the final unofficial results declared quickly so the “new” 14-day appeal period ends before the seating of the new Nitijela on January 7. The first important date for election watchers was this week Wednesday, when two ballot boxes from Bikini and Rongelap were expected to make it to Majuro on the Continental flight from Ebeye following a trip by boat from the northern atolls. The Electoral Administration announced that these ballot boxes were to be brought immediately to the ICC counting headquarters and tabulated. This action is expected to produce the first final unofficial council and mayor results, and a revised final unofficial Nitijela result for some races. The second important date is this coming Monday, December 24 — the end of the 14-day period after which “unofficial” Nitijela results become official if there have been no recount petitions granted.
Court order on postal suit
The High Court on Tuesday ordered attorney David Strauss to explain why he has not pursued the required administrative procedures regarding postal ballots before filing a complaint in the court. “Generally, to secure declaratory relief in a case involving administrative action, all administrative remedies must have been exhausted beforehand,” Chief Justice Carl Ingram said in his order. Strauss filed a class action suit on behalf of eight Marshallese living in the US who want the High Court to order Chief Electoral Officer Carl Alik to count postal ballots postmarked November 19 that arrived prior to the December 3 deadline.
Ingram said Strauss’ “failure to require the Chief Electoral Officer to refer the matter (to the High Court) is significant because the plaintiffs seek relief in the form of a declaration under Section 2 of the Special Court Proceedings Act.”
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