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Friday, March 13, 2009

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(692) 625-8143
(692) 625-8146
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(692) 625-3136
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PO Box 14 Majuro, MH 96960 Marshall Islands
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On the ocean road behind Formosa in Uliga, Majuro
Arno family takes care of sailor
At about 3am Sunday morning, the American yacht High Hopes slammed into a northern reef off Arno Atoll.
After nearly 90 days at sea, the yacht’s exhausted solo skipper, Monty Robinson, was asleep when his boat crashed ashore at Enedrik Island.
A family on the next island used their CB radio to contact people in Majuro, who in turn alerted officials and RRE on Monday morning.
RMI officials interviewed Robinson and then brought him back to the Marshall Islands Resort on Tuesday evening.
Ña Noniep film attracts huge crowds
Big crowds jammed K&K Theater over the weekend to see Ña Noniep, a film about a Marshallese boy who struggles after being put under a black magic spell.
“It was thrilling to see a film that was conceptualized, written, cast, filmed and edited in the Marshall Islands with a Marshallese cast and spoken mainly in Marshallese language with English subtitles,” said Dartmouth Prof. Andrew Garrod, who has directed a series of Shakespeare plays in Majuro over the past five years.
Kramer: We need grant writers now
The Marshall Islands has missed out on dozens of opportunities to bring “new money” into the RMI economy, but those opportunities have not been lost forever, says a local businessman.
In order to capitalize on potentially thousands of international grant options open to the RMI, the government urgently needs to establish a grant office, said PII CEO Jerry Kramer.
His key point: Hiring skilled people to write grants that bring money into the RMI “grows the economy,” creates new jobs for Marshallese, and increases tax revenue for the government — without raising tax rates as the government is planning to do.
The Good Book just got better
For the past 14 years, Laura residents David Utter and Eric Fisher have been working on revising the first Marshallese translation of the Bible.
Utter and Fisher said the completed Bible will go to printing this month. The printing should be completed and ready for purchase in approximately four months.
“We will also be making the Marshallese Bible available for purchase on Amazon Marketplace for Marshallese living abroad,” they said.
Bonus for the Bravo survivors
The 32 living Rongelap survivors of the 1954 Bravo fallout are being recognized by Rongelap Atoll Local Government with a special payment.
RALGov is providing $800 to each of the survivors, and cutting back on its operations expenses to make the special payment, Matayoshi said. “We’re cutting the travel budget to help the people,” he said.
Betelnut targeted
Majuro Senator Wilfred Iroaki Kendall wants betelnut to be banned from the Marshall Islands and has introduced legislation to make it happen.
The legislation, bill number 39, was introduced Tuesday. It comes as betelnut chewing and spitting is defacing public and private property throughout Majuro, and raising health fears.
Kendall’s bill would outright ban betelnut from entering the RMI. The two-page bill is brief and to the point.
“It shall be unlawful for a person to import betelnut into the Republic, distribution betelnut in the Republic or sell betelnut in the Republic,” it states. It provides for a fineof up to $100 and 30 days in jail for
Iroaki's bill to ban health risk product
violations. The ban is proposed “based upon concern that the use of betelnut has become a nuisance and a health issue in the Republic,” said the summary on Kendall’s bill.
The practice of spitting betelnut residue in public places is “undesirable” because it can transmit many diseases, the bill summary said. Betelnut can also cause a range of cancers.
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These photos suggest that 1) Ebeye Islanders love to play fastpitch softball, since they are competing and watching in a field eked out of the town dump, and 2) Ebeye could use a real ball field. Note the burning garbage behind spectators, inset. Photos: Ben Jacklick.
Gripping episode of the Tony show
With the recent sacking of Foreign Minister Tony deBrum followed by a letter signed by nearly all of President Litokwa Tomeing’s own party members asking the President to reinstate deBrum and then abrupt cancellation of last Tuesday’s scheduled Nitijela meeting, this week’s return to Nitijela was a highly anticipated event.
Uncertainty over the status of deBrum has given rise to speculation and intrigue in what has become a political soap opera with political spectators showing up at Nitijela Tuesday to find answers to the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: “Is Tony in or out?"
When deBrum arrived to the meeting and took his usual seat in the ministers’ seating area —just one seat over from the President’s — the question seemed to have been answered. But a quick exchange of noticeably brief and taut “good mornings” between the President and deBrum, followed by their immediately turning their backs to one another, was evidence that the one week respite from Nitijela wasn’t long enough to smooth relations between the two.
It wasn’t long after this exchange — before roll call started — that Nitijela Clerk Joe Riklon approached deBrum and asked him to a private meeting in the legal counsel’s office at the backof the chamber with Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia and Minister in Assistance Christopher Loeak. The private meeting took about 10 minutes and ended with deBrum re-entering the chamber and making beeline to Iroij Senator Michael Kabua. After a brief exchange with Kabua, deBrum returned to his original seat, grabbed his folder, and left Nitijela.
Soon after deBrum’s departure, Speaker Zedkaia and Minister Loeak re-entered the chamber and Nitijela deputy clerk Lina Tiobech began the roll call and the question everyone had been waiting for was, as one can only assume, finally answered. The clerk assigned the title of “senator” as opposed to “minister” before calling out Tony deBrum’s name.
Stars of the Marshallese film Ña Noniep: Randon Jack, Lulani Ritok, Kyle Trevor, and Netha Gideon.
P1 The Marshalls District Administration received word on Monday of last week that $135,000 has been allocated for secondary road development and related projects in the Marshalls District, according to Oscar deBrum Assistant District Administrator. DeBrum said meetings will be held with the Marshall Islands Nitijela to determine what the local legislature feels are priorities in using the money.
P3 Ad Robert Reimers Enterprises: Yes! Today we’re having our grand opening ceremonies. This is a Marshallese custom of singing and dancing and sharing our job. Even with this celebration today we still must spend a week or so yet to make the store ready for you, our customers.
P4 The LCU is tentatively scheduled to depart Tuesday for Bikini Atoll. The primary purpose of the trip is to haul cargo and equipment to Bikini for the rehabilitation project.
P4 Ad Aur Town Club (formerly Blue Lagoon) announces HAPPY HOUR, door prizes (win $5) every Friday and Saturday 4:30-6pm.
Journal 3/14/1970
P1 Yesterday, Friday the 13th, was a bad luck day for Kwajalein High School students and a good luck day for MIHS students. MIHS won the game 32-23 at the Rita Elementary School basketball court. The best players from MIHS were Kenjen Smith and Helner Nelson, who scored eight points each. Donald Tomeing scored six, Weiner Kattil five, Karick Mojilang four and Iso Gideon one. After the game, students from KHS had lunch with the student body and attended afternoon classes.

Journal 3/12/1976

Journal 3/13/1992
P1 Chief Ibedul Gibbons, one of two high chiefs in Palau, was offered a “military retainer” by a high official of the US Navy, Guam’s Pacific Daily News reported March 7. The newspaper said the chief’s wife said the offer came from Robert A. Wiecha, a Navy Intelligence agent on Guam. Photographer Douglas Faulkner said the retainer was offered on behalf of Rear Admiral G. Steve Morrison. The money from Admiral Morrison was refused by the high chief, they said. Ruth Gilliam, a former PDN reporter said the Navy’s desire to know “everything” that happens in Palau brought her a job offer from Navy Intelligence to “spy” on Palau where the US has requested land to be used for military purposes. A Navy spokesman admitted that Wiecha “had an office” at Navy headquarters on Guam and added: “Mr. Wiecha is assigned on detached duty from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for mid- and long-range planning in the Western Pacific, and to research cultural, economic and political trends as they relate to the military.”
P2 The Nite Life, by Stoney. Talking with Ben Barry last night, Ben is the owner of the Trochus hotel,
P1 Strong criticism of the Journal’s coverage of recent sessions of the Nitijela and related news was aired Tuesday during the comment period of Nitijela. The chief target of the criticism was Journal editor Giff Johnson, who was accused on the one hand of presenting a very selective and biased version of the debate instigated by RRDP member Senator Tony deBrum on the mater of government appointments, and on the other of not accurately reporting the true situation with regard to the power plant problems being faced at Ebeye. A third element in the criticism suggested that possibly the Nitijela’s law prohibiting activity by aliens was being violated and should be a matter taken up for consideration with regard to both Johnson and Journal’s publisher Joe Murphy.
P3 President Amata Kabua, in his most direct statement yet on the need to reduce the size of government, told heads of public services from around the Pacific Monday that the Cabinet fully recognizes the government sector must be trimmed if a viable economy is to be built in the Republic. But, he said, any move to reduce the public service will have “adverse political consequences” for those far-sighted leaders who want to develop a viable economy.
P3 President Kabua
they just start build the foundation, and they’ll finish in two years time, it’s gonna be a big hotel. Anyway Ben went there yesterday afternoon and he saw blood stain on the floor, he told me that somebody fell from the top and hit his head on the block really bad. Ben say also for people who always go there, to watch out of their step because the building is not really strong especially the block, so what you might be next one.
P10 Stockholders in Kwajalein Importing and Trading Company (KITCO) are holding a meeting March 27 on Ebeye. According to stockholder Jinna Keju, the meeting is not intended for officers or managers of KITCO. “We just want to get together to talk to each other to find out how the company is doing since it has been seven years now with no meeting,” Keju said.
congratulates new Ambassador to the United Nations Carl Heine on his appointment after the swearing in ceremony at Cabinet last week. With him was his wife Susan. Attending the ceremony were Herty and Clyde Heine, Minister Antonio Eliu and Foreign Secretary Jiba Kabua. Heine becomes the Marshalls first ambassador to the UN to be based in New York.
P12 Nearly one thousand Majuro residents have applied for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as FEMA gets set to close its application center this Saturday. Meanwhile, the first checks were issued out on Saturday and will continue to be released. One hundred fifty four checks amounting to $146,42.11 have been approved.
P20 A big crowd was on hand last week for the Benson and Hedges drawing as Francis Joklur walked away a happy man after being congratulated by RRE’s Wyatt McMillin for winning the Isuzu Trooper.