Journal 6/1/1982
P1 Compact signed!
Compact of Free Association between the Marshall Islnds and the United States was signed Sunday 29 May (Majuro date), according to a front page story in the Honolulu Advertiser. Acting President Tom Kijiner confirmed the signing but had no details due to bad communication. The newspaper said the “historic agreement” signed by Foreign Secretary Tony deBrum and US Ambassador Fred Zeder in the 34th floor room of the Prince Kuhio Hotel in Waikiki. About $2 billion will reportedly come to the Marshalls over the 15-year life of the Compact. The Advertiser said the agreement was unexpected since talks had broken off in Washington last week.
P5 Settlers win band battle
The winner of the “Battle of the Bands” is the Laura Settlers, according to Teruo Kaminaga, chairman of the Latuma fundraising event which took place recently.
Journal 5/31/1991
P1 AMI: The story behind the rumors
After well over a year of DC-8 jet service to Honolulu, Air Marshall Islands is still bleeding half a million dollars a month more than its incoming revenue. This is the bottom line of its can-do management espouses for the airline’s daring go-for-broke strategy to establish Majuro as a regional hub for air traffic in the central Pacific, and to pull the area up by its bootstraps into a modern economy. The chief promoter of the airline is President Amata Kabua, chairman of its board of directors, primary visionary, and holder of its purse strings. Kabua, never referred to as timid by his detractors, is apparently ready, willing and able to pour millions more to prime the airline’s pump in anticipation of the economic surge he hopes is forthcoming. —Gerald Knight
Journal 6/3/2011
P6 Jurelang sings at his supper
Despite the gravity of last week’s joint RMI-Columbia University conference on climate change, the dinner one evening of the event provided for some lighter moments. President Jurelang Zedkaia, who had been the keynote speaker earlier in the day, led the Marshall Islands delegation in some island songs for the gathered dignitaries, and, according to a report from Columbia’s media office, “showed off his talents on the ukulele.”
P10 We’re a real restaurant town
In its admittedly short history (starting in the early 1960s with stumbling efforts by Mieco and Kitco), the restaurant scene in Majuro has seen a truly amazing degree of effort by both local entrepreneurs and their foreign import colleagues. To attempt to claim in a short perspective on the history of restaurants in town that one could hope to be all encompassing is a reach. In just starting to think of the many enterprises that have come and gone alone is staggering. Restaurants Mieco and Kitco were joined by a fresh sashimi-oriented Clara’s, located in Jenrok. Clara’s was destroyed by a fire in 1970. Then there came a virtual slew of restaurants: “Bilimon’s,” located across from Gan Bei, which morphed into Es Ka Pop disco. Ajidrik’s restaurant on mainroad in middle of town became Downtown Restaurant and then Canton Restaurant. Skyline was a popular restaurant located in Rita area, and was complimented by the Marshall Islands Yacht Club’s effort at the end of the island. Louis Louiston operated a restaurant across from Rita Elementary. Majuro Hut, Ohana, and Pizza shop operated in the ground floor of Hotel Majuro, next to Kitco. Joining the hotel location was a traditional Marshallese food restaurant started by the so-called “Blue Shirts.” The original Eastern Gateway Hotel hosted a popular restaurant, as well as Gibson’s with Quik Stop, Savannahs, and its own fast-food operation currently doing business. Sun Hotel’s restaurant, located at the site of Long Island Restaurant, featured live music on Sunday evenings with dinner specials of carefully marinated New Zealand beef. In town, Aliang restaurant (replacing White House), Uliga restaurant, Won Hai Shien, and “The Cooler” functioned as a provider of a wide variety of fare. An especially heavy concentration of restaurants butting against each other in the College of the Marshall Islands area, are still functioning (Monica’s, Carnation, and LaBojie’s). Across the road was Francine’s Restaurant, which is now operated as a retail store. The list goes on and on, but the overall impression of Majuro is that we are one place that certainly has a wide variety of eateries: Indian food, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, American, Local, and Filipino. We even have a restaurant focused on one very popular item: Oriental Noodle.The variety translates into a relatively high percentage of patrons everywhere. It is often said: “In Majuro, I like to eat out, I can’t afford to eat at home!”