Journal 10/14/1982
P1 Weather station technicians get computer Majuro weather service meteorological technicians have a new helper, an Apple computer, which relieves them of an hour of tedious calculation and checking of data from weather balloon flights. Future improvements will include a hard disk for increased storage and speed.
P2 Fishing fees only 3% “The day will come when distant water fishing nations will no longer be able to pick off the Pacific island states one by one in negotiating fishing rights deals,” Philipp Muller (no relation to Marshalls Phillip Muller), Director of the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, said in Port Vila on October 14. “The day will come when the fleets of foreign fishing vessels and the governments which support them will face a solid front of island states united in their demand for reasonable payment for the fish taken from their zones.” The Director’s remarks came at the end of a Fishery Access Negotiations workshop. Over $400 million worth of fish was taken from the fishing zones of South Pacific Forum member and observer states during 1981. Only $13 million, of three percent, was received in fees.
Journal 10/21/1994
P1 Wilfred on waste: Menage a trios The Marshall Islands plans to develop an agreement with three Asian nations for the safe disposal of those countries’ nuclear waste on an uninhabited atoll, said Marshall Islands Ambassador Wilfred Kendall following meetings in Japan. The Marshalls aim is to “develop a compact” with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to dispose of nuclear waste in the islands.
P12 36-hour week for government Most government employees will begin a four-and-a-half-day work week beginning at the end of October, according to the Public Service Commission. PSC said there is a complete freeze on all hiring, including replacements, and a halt of all incremental steps, regrading or reclassification to increase salary levels.
P14 FEMA will help Majuro recovery FEMA is back in force on Majuro to provide assistance to public facilities and buildings damaged by the high waves in June. FEMA could provide as much as $3 million assistance. An 18-member FEMA team is surveying damage and repair work that has been accomplished since high tides washed over Majuro in early June.
P17 SDA student draws new RMI stamp On October 28, the RMI will celebrate the holiday season by issuing a 29¢ stamp that portrays Christmas through the eyes of a child. Designed by 13-year-old Ringo Baso, a student at SDA School in Delap, this stamp design was the winning entry in a competition that asked Marshallese school-age children to submit ideas for the Christmas stamp.
Journal 10/14/2005
P1 RRE Store sale ‘kabwilonlon’ After being the symbol of the private sector to several generations of Marshall Islanders, Robert Reimers Enterprises retail store is being sold to Formosa Store. The sale is expected to be effective next week.
P17 Quality of life report gives the RMI a C- The Marshall Islands government received a mixed review — about a “C-“ — in a locally-written progress report about how the government is doing in improving quality of life in the country. “Achievement of the ‘Millennium Development Goals’ by the RMI can still be characterized as slow, with improvements in some areas, but with little or moderate progress in others,” said the MDG National Progress Report issued late last month by the RMI Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office and the UN Development Program.
P24 Ji drums up more band instruments Over 100 pieces of donated music-related equipment arrived in Majuro this past week, a further embellishment to the already blooming flower of music chic provided to RMI occasions of national merit. Yong Ji, founder of the national band, said the instruments include 30 violins and 20 flutes.