Journal 6/7/1985
P1 Marcella Jonathan first girl to graduate from Xavier Another “first” has been attained by a young Marshallese woman who has been studying overseas. She is Marcella Jonathan of Ebeye and has the distinction of being the first young woman to graduate from Xavier High School in Truk. The Jesuit-run high school on Moen formerly was an all-boys school until five years ago.
P4 The best fishermen For your information, the Marshalls produce the best fishermen in the history of the world. Take the biggest international fishing tournament held in Kona, Hawaii every year. The Marshalls have only participated in the last three tournaments out of 26 and hold all kinds of records. We have won the largest fish caught two of three years. No other country has caught the largest fish twice. Ramsey Reimers’ 711lb marlin is the second largest ever. Wally Milne has caught more fish than any other fisherman in the history of the tournament. As a team, we won the first time we entered. That’s out of over 70 international teams. The second year we were first international and fourth overall. The third year we were second overall, narrowly edged out in the last day of the tournament. No one in the history of the tournament caught as many marlin as we have. Just thought I’d let you know how wonderful the Marshalls Billfish Club is. —Grant Gordon.
P16 Stop Star Wars Activists onboard the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior Thursday climbed the main radar at the Kwajalein Missile Range hanging a banner to protest KMR’s involvement in the “Star Wars” space weapons development program. The banner said: “We cannot relocate the whole world — Stop Star Wars.” The KMR security appeared not to be aware of the protestors until 15 minutes after the banner was hung when security agents arrived on the scene and removed the banner.
Journal 6/6/1997
P3 RMI prepares ‘changed circumstances’ The Marshall Islands plan to trigger the “changed circumstances” provision of the Compact — seeking increased nuclear test compensation from the United States — is moving ahead following discussions in Washington last month.
P4 Majuro’s cuisine becoming more international If you like oriental food but fancy a change from Chinese cuisine, a new restaurant being constructed in Long Island could fit the bill. Featuring Vietnamese recipes, the new restaurant is owned by local businessman Jerry Kramer. Thuy Smith will be in charge of running the show.
P11 Task force seeks to improve literacy The decline in literacy in the Marshall Islands has prompted the creation of a community-based task force to raise awareness about the need to promote reading and writing skills, particularly focused on the younger generation.
P21 Top students honored PM&O operations manager Gene Muller handed out $1,000 checks to three MIHS students this week in honor of their outstanding achievements this year. Kaminaga Kaminaga and Edna Jakeo tied for the highest grade point average so both received the $1,000 scholarship award. Sherwood Tibon was elected by the principal and faculty of MIHS to receive an award for leadership and community service.
Journal 6/6/2008
P1 Prices hit families Most bargain buyers on Majuro will know 48-year-old Thompson Lanwe. He works at Pacific Basin’s Cash ’n Carry container in Uliga. Every day he sells hundreds of bags of rice, frozen chicken quarter legs and other popular canned foods that make up the ri-Majuro diet. Lanwe lives directly behind the capital building in Delap and the sight of the building surrounded by luxurious yellow-license-plate vehicles leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. “Government workers benefit from my sweat,” he said. “I pay taxes and they get to have good salaries, drive government cars and the government also pays for the fuel. I see them drive these cars to the stores with their families and I know that my tax money is supporting them.” But it’s not only the politicians and civil servants that benefit from Lanwe’s “sweat.” Like many families in Majuro, Lanwe directly supports his relatives in two other households. His relative neighbors who are unemployed have no electricity — no other means except for Lanwe.
P3 Cost of living soars The cost of living rose by more than 10 percent in Majuro from January to March this year — more than double the inflation for all of fiscal year 2007. The two main reasons for the skyrocketing costs in Majuro were food and utility price rises, said a report from the Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office.