JULY 16, 2010
Zedkaia dismayed over event turnout
Disappointed best describes how Marshall Islands President Jurelang Zedkaia felt at last Saturday’s United Nation’s World Population Day at the former Weather Station field in Delap.
Addressing the small turnout to the event, Zedkaia opened his remarks expressing his sadness at being one of only three government representatives in attendance. “If I as President of the Marshall Islands can be here today then why can’t the others (from government) be here?”
Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands Council of Non-Government Organizations’ members were out in force at the World Population Day event at the old weather station field on Saturday.
MoH releases '06 HIV data
While the United Nations this week reported that the rate of new HIV infections has dropped 25 percent among youth in African countries heavily affected by AIDS, a just-publicly released report on the Marshall Islands confirms low levels of awareness about HIV and AIDS among Majuro’s youth population. The survey showed that three out of five sexually active youth did not use condoms to prevent the spread of HIV.
Jacklick against
wasting
money
Government workers who miss one hour of work each day cost the RMI government over three and a half million dollars annually.
Speaker Alvin Jacklick said it appears that Marshallese government workers cannot change attitudes that lead to late arrival to work in the mornings. At most government offices today, there are few if any workers there even by 8:30am, he said. If everyone of the more than 2,000 government workers misses an hour a day, over a year that costs the government $3.6 million in wages based on average pay estimated at $7 an hour per worker.
By cutting the workweek to 35 hours, the RMI can save millions, the speaker said.
A group of recent Marshall Islands High School graduates have just returned from the YMCA Conference on National Affairs in North Carolina. Clockwise from left are: Garbriella Hitchfield, Niten Anni, Jemima Lorak, Cartina Carter, Stella Kibin, Gabriella, Stephen Clark, Peterson Larry,
Paul Andres and Darrel Saimon.
Where do we bury our dead?
Click here to book a room
This problem has reached a crisis point on Ebeye, according to Kwajalein Senator and Iroij Mike Kabua.
In comments to the Journal after Monday’s Mayors Association opening ceremony, Kabua said all of Ebeye’s cemeteries are full. “There is no place to bury people,” he said. Kabua returned to Ebeye Tuesday saying there are four funerals in progress and burial locations are a problem. People are being forced to dig up existing graves and put new caskets in on top of the remains, he said. The Kwajalein leader said he has brought this up to US Army Kwajalein Atoll officials. One option is to create cemeteries on islands in the Mid Corridor of Kwajalein that are periodically off-limits because of US missile tests, but that also
presents the problem of the cost of transportation, Kabua said. Centuries ago, Marshallese “buried” their dead in the ocean or lagoon. But in modern times the custom of burial on land has been adopted and limited space in the two crowded urban centers is becoming an increasingly serious problem. Lack of burial space on Ebeye is also a concern for long-term US use. “Can we put up with this for another 70 years on Ebeye?” he asked.
Marshall Islands Mayors Association Annual Meeting
President Zedkaia spoke at the opening of the Marshall Islands Mayors Association on Monday. The Executive Leadership Conference will bring together national government leaders with the local government representatives. Photo: Giff Johnson.
Six years after a landmark United States study reported that 530 cancers in the Marshall Islands were caused by US nuclear testing, new US government studies have shrunk this number by 70 percent, claiming a dramatically minimized impact from the 67 weapons tests at Bikini and Enewetak.
A series of eight papers have been published in the US scientific journal Health Physics that was released on Friday discrediting the earlier higher estimate of cancers. A summary of the new US National Cancer Institute (NCI) studies says the 2004 NCI study was prepared “quickly” and used a “simplistic analysis.”
The 2004 NCI study indicated that half — 265 — 		of the estimated 530 cancers had yet to occur. But the latest eight NCI papers estimate only 170 cancers “might be attributable to radiation exposures resulting from nuclear testing fallout.” While the original study gave an unexpected boost to RMI claims for additional compensation, the new US government studies appear to do the opposite.
The abstract of one of the eight papers in Health Physics August issue notes that the latest projected cancer risks are smaller than those estimated by the National Cancer Institute in “a more simplistic analysis” done in 2004. stated that with the exception of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Rongerik, “the amount of radioactivity 		remaining in the environment has diminished to levels that are not of
Commenting on the earlier NCI study, which was produced in response to a request from the US Senate Energy Committee, an NCI summary of the new studies states: “These findings,” the NCI summary said, “reported in eight papers covering the subjects of external dose, internal dose, cancer risk projections, as well as the methodologies of dose reconstruction, are the result of several years of work to provide more precise estimates of cancer risk.” A summary of the NCI papers is available on the Internet: http://dceg.cancer.gov/reb/research/
dosimetry/1/marshallislands/bg

Journal 7/19/1985

Journal 7/17/1971
P1 Sadness, rootless anxiousness, and general calamity have descended in a most cold-blooded fashion upon Laura Municipality: they closed the bars. On Wednesday, representatives of the Laura Municipal Council informed the operators of the four Laura Municipality bar and package goods stores that they were to close immediately pending formulation of a municipal ordinance to permit the sale of alcohol. The Laura Council was informed Tuesday July 13 by P1 An introductory meeting between Armer Ishoda Memorial Hospital staff and officials of the Mercy International Health Services was held in the hospital classroom Tuesday. Minister Kunar Abner and Secretary Dr. Jack Helkena attended and explained to the staff that effective this coming Monday at 8am, Mercy International Health Services will take over management and operation of the hospital. The government awarded MIHS a two year management contract.
P1 The United Nations visiting team arrived Tuesday and held a public hearing at Marshall Islands High School gym. The team includes representatives from England, France and the US. Mike Senko along with Sam McPhetres from Trust Territory headquarters on Saipan will be coordinating all the activities.
representatives of the district administration that according to Nitijela Bill No. 77, each municipality had to have an ordinance to provide for the operation of bars and clubs. There were four businesses affected by the ban: Isaac Lanwi’s store, Francis (Teruo) Reimers snack bar, and two bars in Laura Village.
P11 Two prominent businessmen who for years hve been dealing in Micronesia and who, on their own word, are thoroughly capable in setting up and running a railroad, have announced here recently that they are presently working out the details on a proposal to set up a District Center to Laura railroad. The two entrepreneurs, Mike Noland of the Eastern Gateway Hotel and Dan Neblett, owner of Albatross Trading Company in San Francisco, state that over $2 million is presently being sought from the Trust Territory government to perform a feasibility study on the project. “We plan to have the railroad in operation within five years at the latest,” said Neblett. “We will use coconut logs for ties and not only save money by not having to import ties but will also gain the sense that the ride will be more comfortable — the ties will act like a cushion,” Noland said. The new railroad will be kept completely underground so as not to cause congestion. “Not only will the freight (from Laura to downtown) bring in some money,” said Neblett, “but we think we can depend on a sizeable subsidy from the government. After all, we’ll be a Micronesian corporation.” At this point, Neblett asked Noland for another brandy.

Journal 7/16/1993
P2 Air Marshall Islands reports that locally-based longline fishing vessels accounted for 56,810 pounds of tuna exported from Majuro last week. This brings the total exported for 19,932 to 462,789 pound, with the vessel Captain Peter the highest producing fishing boat with 61,205 pounds. Lemiweo is second with 52,791 pounds.
P3 Photo of a derelict two-story apartment building in Uliga is accompanied by the following caption: Soon to be history — Two of the three “pink apartments,” including this one, are soon to be the former pink apartments. They will be torn down to allow for the construction of a new demonstration school that will be used for teacher training by the nearby College of the Marshall Islands.
P10 All it took to get RRE’s latest enterprise — radio station V7RR AM 1550 — off the ground was fate. Or so it seems. Ramsey Reimers recalls that the idea to start a radio station to provide RRE promotion, to broadcast to the outer islands, and to compete with the government station — the only station at the time — came up two years ago when they got a transmitter. Lack of knowledgeable personnel put that idea on hold. Knowledgeable personnel in the form of Niki Repalla, a recent radio and video production graduate from Chico State University in California, who happened to arrive in Majuro about the time that RRE was looking to get the station going.
Repalla was quickly hired to manage the new station. She is also the lead, and right now only, disc jockey. That will change shortly.
Repalla and Reimers are in the process of hiring three fun, confident Marshallese people to share the 6am to 10pm DJ responsibilities.