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This Week's
Inside Stories
US pays $8m to Kwajalein landowners
The first Kwajalein rent payment for the new fiscal year happened last week, with more than $8 million flowing into the landowners, their banks for loan payments, and to the Bank of Guam “escrow” account. The total payment from the US government was $8,309,413, according to the Ministry of Finance. Of this, $1,139,413 — was deposited to the escrow account at Bank of Guam. The escrow account as of October 13 stood at $25,671,151.56, Finance officials said.
Ingram hopes for action on TRC judges
High Court Chief Justice Carl Ingram submitted the Judicial Service Commission’s recommendations to the Cabinet earlier this week for new Traditional Rights Court judges. This is the third attempt by the JSC to get Cabinet endorsement of recommended applicants; the first two were rejected earlier this year. The TRC has not functioned since May, when the contracts of its three members expired.
MEC picks Rod
for KAJUR
The Marshalls Energy Company board has named a new manager for KAJUR, Ebeye’s power company. Rod Nakamura was recently named as KAJUR manager, according to MEC officials.
Copra price cut by 30%
The price of copra in the Marshall Islands will drop dramatically on November 1, Tobolar’s board of directors announced late last week. “Based on world market prices, we had no choice but to drop the price,” said Tobolar Copra Processing Authority board Chairman Jemi Nashion, an assistant secretary at the Ministry of Finance. The price will drop from the current 23.5 cents to 16.5 cents per pound in Majuro, and from 22 cents to 15 cents per pound on the outer islands. This is a 30 percent drop.
Supremes uphold High Court on MALGov election
The Marshall Islands Supreme Court has reaffirmed a High Court ruling from last year that an election is not required to replace a mayor who dies while in office, confirming the position of Mayor Titus Langrine. “The High Court held that a special election to fill the vacancy was not required by the Majuro Atoll Local Government Constitution,” the Supreme Court ruling said. “We affirm.”
Third time lucky?
Former President Kessai Note joined with three opposition party members to move a no confidence vote onto the Nitijela’s agenda Wednesday morning.
Although this is the third no confidence vote against President Litokwa Tomeing to be called for during the past 12 months and a court order was issued in April clarifying the procedure for the five-to-10-day window for the vote, there was confusion on the floor about procedures to handle the vote.
The notice of intention to bring a vote of no confidence was “pre-filed” Tuesday evening with Nitijela staff by Senators Kessai Note, Kaiboke Kabua, Rellong Lemari and Fredrick Muller, and went onto Wednesday’s Nitijela agenda. President Tomeing is presently off-island in Japan and expected back on Friday’s Continental flight.
On Wednesday, Nitijela started off as if as usual, but when Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia arrived at agenda item number five, the move became official. Speaker Zedkaia officially informed Nitijela that he received a notice for a motion for a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet.He said the five-to-10-day “clock” will start counting from Thursday October 14 with the fifth day falling on Tuesday and the 10th day falling on Sunday. “Therefore after Church you all have to return to
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Nitijela,” he said. Jaluit Senator Alvin Jacklick quoted the Constitution, saying that if the 10th day falls on a Sunday or holiday, then the vote will proceed the next day.
Zedkaia responded that now he was confused between the Constitution and the Nitijela rules of procedure.
Vice Speaker Alik Alik reminded the Speaker that there was already a ruling from the High Court that clarified how to count days. All seven days of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays, are included in the calculation of “five-to-10-days,” the High Court ruled.
Zedkaia then called for a short recess. Upon returning a few minutes
later, he moved to item six on the agenda, the question and answer period. But Kwajalein Senator Tony deBrum asked the Speaker to return to item five. DeBrum requested for more information on the no confidence issue and asked for the clerk to read the document filed.
Deputy Clerk Lena Tiobech read the two letters related to the motion for the no confidence move that had been pre-filed Tuesday. The first was to notify Nitijela that there was a motion for a vote against the Cabinet signed by Senators Kessai Note, Kaiboke Kabua, Rellong Lemari and Fredrick Muller. The second letter was a request that voting be done by secret ballot. Senator Note in comments on the floor said putting up the motion “is difficult but it is our duty to do what is right for the government and people of the Marshall Islands.”
Deborah takes over at RMI EPA
The RMI EPA’s board of directors has named a new general manager, replacing John Bungitak, who has managed the agency since 2001.
Deborah Barker-Manase (pictured) takes over EPA management on October 26.
The board was unanimous in choosing Barker-Manase for the position, said Acting Chairman Ben Chutaro.
“John has not done anything wrong,” Chutaro said. “But the board felt it needed
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changes, especially to address climate change and Deborah has a strong background in climate change and biodiversity. The new GM appointment is the first step in the transformation of the RMI EPA.”
Bungitak’s contract expired in February. Only he and Barker-Manase applied for the EPA job that was advertised by the EPA. Her appointment, said Chutaro, “is the first of several changes to raise the bar at EPA.”
Barker-Man-ase worked for the RMI EPA for about four years after graduating from Waikato University in New Zealand in 1999. Since 2003, she’s worked at the Office of Environmental Planning and Policy Coordination (OEPPC) and is currently the deputy director.
Since February, when the current EPA board — Chairman Fred Pedro, Joe Riklon, Biten Lanki, Kioron Sam and Chutaro — was appointed, the board has been focused on evaluating EPA’s program, where it needs to go and the gaps to get there, said Chutaro.
“Our goal is to present policy recommendations to the President in early 2010 for new directions where EPA needs to move,” he said.
“What happens at the December global climate change meeting in Copenhagen is a big part of that plan,” Chutaro said, adding that the EPA is aiming to take up a much bigger role in climate change mitigation work.
Amimono ladies to display products in Guam
Members of the Marshall Islands Amimono (handicraft) Association are heading off to Guam this weekend to represent the Marshall Islands at this year’s Micronesia Trade Fair in Guam. Showcasing the skills and beauty of Marshallese handicrafts are from left, Nela Hermios, Iolani Melijon and Mio Candle. Missing from the photo but also going is Lucia Guavis.
Photo: Suzanne Chutaro
NTA General Manager Tony Muller (pictured third from right) joined with other Pacific leaders at the Asia Pacific Association for Fiduciary Studies’ ninth annual Pacific Region Investment Conference to ring the bell at the Philippines stock market.

Journal 10/17/1970

Journal 10/14/1977
P1 High Commissioner Edward E. Johnston Wednesday returned the Congress of Micronesia seven of the 25 bills the Congress passed during its third and final session. Among the bills not approved was the income tax bill, which has now been considered by the Congress in several versions over the two regular and one special session.
P3 One of the most respected figures in the Marshall Islands passed away Thursday, October 15 in Majuro. Rev. Bourn Heine, who spent most of his 61 years serving the Protestant Mission schools and churches of the Marshall Islands, became seriously ill about a month ago. He was born on Ebon in 1909.
P1 US Chief Negotiator Peter S. Rosenblatt ruled out the possibility of more political fragmentation — and independence for any part of the territory — in a recent radio interview here. Palau “will enjoy the same future political status of all the other districts in relation to the United States. Free Association will be the same throughout all of Micronesia,” Rosenblatt said.
P3 “Lanwi: One, McKay and Davis: Zero” A television antenna war has been fought here, and it looks like Joe Lanwi, district Social Security agent,
won. The battle was set between two Americans who live on Long Island, and Lanwi who lives near the old airport, away from the downtown site of Pacific Communication Corporation’s 10-watt television transmitter. During initial weeks of the transmitter-antenna operation, Lanwi and district government official Ray McKay and OK Davis complained over which way the directional antenna would be pointed. If the direction was toward Long Island, Lanwi saw “snow.” If the direction was the old airport, McKay and Davis saw “red.” As construction of a permanent antenna by Marshalls Electronics radio and TV technician John progressed, local residents watched in awe which way the antenna was going to be pointed. In a table-side interview last Sunday at Whitney Brothers Restaurant in Majuro, Lanwi claimed victory over his two American opponents. “I don’t really think it was me complaining that made the difference,” said Lanwi. “I think it was just the fact that Senator Amata Kabua bought a TV and he happened to be down in my direction.” Such are the vagaries of war.
P6 Renegotiation of the Kwajalein Mid-Corridor islands are scheduled to begin Monday. Army officials from Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville, Alabama will meet with Marshallese leaders this week to discuss the amount of payment for the use of parts of Kwajalein Atoll as a guided missile testing range.
It was not until February 1964 that a 99-year lease with payment of $1,000 per acre was agreed upon. Last April Kwajalein was the scene of a confrontation between island owners, Army representatives and TT government officials.
The former inhabitants of the Mid-Corridor islands returned to the missile range islands until the Army agreed to increase the subsistence payments.
P6 Editorial: When the Income Tax Bill was passed by the Congress of Micronesia at the end of the last session, Rep. John Mangefel of Yap remarked: “Today Mr. Micronesia has gained his manhood.” But because of High Commissioner Johnston’s veto and “paternalistic” remarks concerning the bill, manhood is something America seems reluctant to give.

Journal 10/16/1992
P4 Are you ready for this one? How about people who actually put lice in their hair? At first we didn’t believe it, but by application of the truest form of investigative reporting we have come to the unblemished truth: there are women in the Marshall Islands (and this is some, by no means all) who actually “seed” their hair with head lice. As crazy as this seems, there is a smidgen of sense to it, and just maybe now, the women who do this are right.
When foreigners come to the Marshall Isalnds they normally come with a set of values and customs that they have grown up with and which they assume are the best way to do things. And the foreigners who came to the Marshalls originally were the missionaries.
So in our hot climate, we have women wearing long dresses with their tops covered, no matter how hot or uncomfortable this may be.
But these same missionaries also came with an attitude problem about head lice. To the missionaries, these charming little creatures were to be scorned, poisoned, mutilated and removed. Head lice to them was equivalent to having a disease.
Yet to Marshallese, especially the women here, head lice was a positive thing, an excuse for two females to get together in close physical proximity and work on each others heads.
How often do we see one woman sitting with her extended fingers digging into the skull of another woman in the activity called “akit.”
Now you could be superficial and say that the real purpose of “akit” is to kill the lice (since this is what the woman with the extended fingers is doing) but this is not true. The real purpose of “akit” is so that women can sit together and talk about all the stupid things that their men are doing so they can keep tabs on them. This is a control mechanism for the society here. So, when a woman discovers, much to her alarm, that her head is without lice, she must do something about the deficiency immediately. Else how is she to qualify to participate in “akit” and find out all the worrisome things the men have been doing?