12ft waves hit Utrik and Mejit

Journal 2/20/1981

P1 Wave threat subsides Fear of another ‘big wave’ like the ones that hit the DUD area of Majuro in 1979 swept over the Marshalls starting Saturday February 14. Sunday February 15 waves of about 12 feet hit Utrik and Mejit inflicting minimal damage as residents of Majuro and other atolls made preparations for disaster. Chief Secretary Oscar deBrum reported that damage on Mejit was limited to the dispensary door being washed down and there was water on the airfield.

P1 New hospital design near $4 million Plans for a new, prefabricated hospital are nearly completed, according to Jim Abernathy, special projects officer for Public Works. Faced with Army Corps of Engineers estimates of $185 per square foot and construction times of as much as six years, government officials last year asked Abernathy to come up with a less expensive, easily constructed plan. The new hospital has evolved from a $1 million interim facility into a $2.5 million, 80-bed, 45,000 square foot medical center. In addition, up to $1.5 million would be spent for equipment and furnishings.

P3 AMI lands on one engine Airline of the Marshalls 16-seat Nomad made a normal landing on Likiep today with one engine shut down. Pilot Ron Kush shut the starboard engine down between Mejit and Likiep after noticing fluctuating oil pressure, indicating a leak.

P10 Japan to pay $1.2 million for fishing rights The terms of a pact between the government of Japan and the government of the Marshall Islands regarding fisheries within the exclusive economic zone of the Marshall Islands have been tentatively agreed to. The Japanese fishing industry has agreed to increase its annual fishing access fee from $900,000 to $1 million in cash. There is also $175,000 to be provided in goods and services.

Journal 2/19/1993

P17 Bill No. 54 requests pay increase for Nitijela Bill No. 54 asks for increases in compensation of Nitijela members. The request: President $60,000 (from $50,000), Cabinet members $35,000 (from $30,000), Speaker $32,000 (from $27,000), Vice Speaker $27,000 (from $22,000), all other members $23,000 (from $18,000).

P23 Breadfruit turned into chips at local plant With the help of the Pacific Business Center Program from the University of Hawaii, the Ministry of Resources and Development hopes to have its breadfruit chip plant open by May or June. The plant has been in the works for about two and a half years.

Journal 2/20/2004

P16 Paradise has arrived Diving in the outer islands just got a lot easier thanks to the recent arrival of the good ship Paradise, which is owned by partners Darryl Hodson and Julie Snider. The 56-foot boat can sleep nine people and is unique among RMI’s dive operators in that it has a compressor on board for filling tanks.

P20 RMI gives NGOs a pat on the back Local non-government groups received a morale boost from RMI government agency officials at a workshop earlier this month. At a one-day “audit accountability” workshop sponsored by the Council of Non-Governmental Organizations, Casten Nemra, director of the Office of International Development Assistance at the Ministry of Finance, and Assistant Attorney General Jack Jorbon praises the work of NGOs, saying they have a lot of potential for addressing needs in the RMI.

P20 It’s Rele, really! It’s final and official: Rele Alberttar is the new mayor of Majuro and Lajan Kabua is back for another term as mayor of Ebon. Postal ballot tabulation at the weekend did not change the outcome of the vote from the domestic count two weeks ago.