Journal 10/25/1985
P1 Majuro fishing base construction starts Majuro will soon sport a new fishing base to go with its new dock facility. Construction officially got underway this week following a formal groundbreaking ceremony last Friday. The groundbreaking barely got underway before a torrential downpour forced the speakers and spectators to run for cover. Rain is considered good luck, and so the project appears to have gotten off on solid footing.
P3 Costly education costs RepMar medical referral bills, now at nearly $2.6 million for the year, total more than 50 percent of the Health Services budget of $4.2 million. While referrals have steadily increased since 1980 — from about $1.6 million in 1980 to the present figure — the Health budget has remained stagnant. Last week, the Cabinet reprogrammed $317,000 to cover referral costs. The department taking the heaviest loss is Education, which loses $107,000 to referral costs.
P11 Trying to win by losing OK Davis said the human body is made up of hundreds of muscles, each one to tell you you’ve been jogging too much. If you don’t know, about 10 of us beer guts are trying to lose weight and get in shape. Some of the big names, or big stomachs in this case, are: C. Domnick, J. Kramer, 2 T. deBrums, L. Edwards, L. Muno, K. Pinho, O. Davis, myself (G. Gordon) and a few more hulks. When we get together now: “I’m so tired of drinking grapefruit juice and Diet Pepsi. There’s only so many calories in this and that. Oh yeah, but what about the carbohydrates, and on and on…” Kirt was buying some paint the other day at Roberts and the clerk ask, “thinner?” Kirt said, yes, about 10 pounds. The puzzled clerk said, “no, I mean paint thinner?” Shows you where our heads are right now.
P14 Hot lunch at RES Monday October 28 is the opening of Social Services “School Hot Lunch Week” and will be featuring a number of different activities. The RES PTA is planning an open house at their new cafeteria on October 31. In addition, a parade with floats is planned.
Journal 10/24/1997
P1 Atomic test litigator now targets tobacco The Marshall Islands this week filed suit against the American tobacco industry, becoming one of the first foreign nations to attempt to cash in on the multi-billion dollar settlements being offered by tobacco companies in the United States. A group of Texas and California-based lawyers has filed suit for the government in the High Court in Majuro. “We’re not looking for a settlement from the tobacco companies,” said lead attorney Gordon Stemple. “We’re taking this to trial to win.” In the early 1980s, Stemple led a consortium of US lawyers known as the Marshall Islands Atomic Testing Litigation Project that filed $5 billion in lawsuits against the US government for nuclear test damages to Marshall Islanders. Although the passing of the Compact forced dismissal of those suits in 1986, the high profile legal campaign waged by Stemple was credited with helping to increase the American government’s final $270 million settlement to the Marshalls.
P14 Wotje high will open The government’s Northern Islands High School on Wotje Atoll will open for business in January 1998. It will start with a freshman class of about 40 students, according to Education Secretary Cent Langidrik.
Journal 10/24/2008
P3 No confidence motion fizzles An expected vote of no confidence fizzled Tuesday when opposition party Chairman Senator Ruben Zackhras withdrew the motion before a packed Nitijela chamber. In contrast to a normally nearly empty chamber during session days, on Tuesday the public jammed into Nitijela like a standing room audience at a rock concert. But the drama was soon over, for after the usual speech preliminaries and a bible citation, Zakchras announced that the opposition was withdrawing the motion of no confidence filed last Tuesday. Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia then went to “break” format, when V7AB turns off live broadcast of the session in favor of island music. Meanwhile in the chamber, nearly 500 people were treated to a modest debate between the ruling AKA party and opposition UDP.
P16 MIMRA in red for 2007 The latest audit of the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority shows that the agency’s income in fiscal year 2007 dived to about half what it netted in 2006, causing MIMRA to lose money in 2007 ending its run as one of the few RMI agencies that has been profitable. Revenue in 2006 was slightly over $2 million. In 2007 it fell to just over $1 million, the latest Deloitte audit shows.
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