Journal 2/7/1986
P1 ‘Navigator’ sailing to Majuro The Honolulu Theater for Youth play, “Song for the Navigator,” has been captivating sold-out audiences since it began performing in Hawaii last month. Later this month, Majuro residents will have the opportunity to view the play during the theater company’s tour of Micronesia. Thanks to the efforts of the Alele Museum, the cast of seven will perform for high schools and the public on February 27 and 28. Alele board members who agreed to sponsor the tour of “The Navigator” include Nidel Lorak, Carmen Bigler, Alfred Capelle, Marie Maddison and Jerry Knight.
P8 Classy RRE center opens The long-anticipated grand opening of the new Robert Reimers Commercial Center building on the lagoon side downtown was held February 3, an event that heralds and anticipates the heady pace of development which has characterized the Marshall Islands in recent years. Construction was supervised by Kirt Pinho built by 100 percent local residents. The result is a fully-functioning shopping mall, including a first-class hotel all under one roof.
P17 Marshallese deacons ordained in Majuro Hundreds of friends, relatives and well-wishers came to the ordination of three Marshallese deacons at the Catholic Church last Sunday — the first such event ever for the Catholic Church in the Marshall Islands. Alfred Capelle, Thomas Makiphie and Antonio Mamis were ordained by Bishop Martin Neylon, SJ. Fr. Tom Marciniak said the ordination is the culmination of more than three years of study and religious work by the three deacons. Fr. Leonard Hacker, SJ, and Fr. James Gould, SJ, were also in Majuro for the ceremony.
P23 One-on-one anyone? Girls basketball is picking up steam at Assumption High School with an enthusiastic group of players taking to the court. They include: Corrina, Amy, Angela D., Laura, Wonda, Angela L., Rosania, Chuan, JaneRose, Gardina, Jeannette and Yumiko.
Journal 2/6/1998
P1 Hello! Hello! New tax, new tax A dual level of tax legislation, dubbed VAT/excise tax, is scheduled to be introduced to Nitijela this session, with the hope of installing the new, higher tax system as early as October. As much as Minister of Finance Rubin Zackhras wants a switch to the value added tax (VAT), the country’s mayors don’t want it, said Rongelap Mayor James Matayoshi. The Mayors Conference held recently found a resounding unity in their opposition to the drastic overhaul fo the country’s tax system, which is inevitable with the VAT. According to Matayoshi, the hangover would entail the hiring of foreign consultants and accountants by business and government to make the changeover to a system which appears betters suited to the more industrialized and complex economies as found in England and Australia.
Journal 2/6/2009
P3 Right turn onto the superhighway The Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority has signed a contract with Tyco Telecommunications to install an undersea fiber optic connection to Majuro and Ebeye, wrapping up six years of off-again, on-again negotiations. “The extension into Majuro and Ebeye, which is part of a larger trunk from Guam to Kwajalein, will provide high bandwidth connectivity between the Republic and the rest of the world,” said NTA General Manager Tony Muller.
P12 Around Town One of the senior staff editors of the Journal (there are quite a few of them, we run into them at various eateries Around Town) stopped in to preview some of this column’s weekly material. “Just what do you mean in this reference to ‘colorless people of Illinois’ in the article about paying to use toilets,” said Staff Sgt. Belok, editor of our military column. “Simple,” explained the gal who penned the item, “if some people are referred to as people of color, it’s only logical that there must be other people who are colorless. We do it for balance. The majority of the people vying for politics in Illinois are colorless, and we wanted to point that out.”
P32 New hospital Health Minister Amenta Matthew announced in Nitijela exciting plans for a brand new hospital to be funded by the US that will replace the current 20-year-old facility.