Journal 9/21/1984
P6 Tourist? Driving down the road I tried to define just what it was that made the tourists different from the local Americans. They wear shorts, Matt Holly was wearing shorts and he did not look like a tourist. They carry cameras, so does a reporter. It finally came to me, what the major difference is: they wear shoes. Americans on island like zorries better. That is how you tell a tourist from a local.
P10 Wase gets 23 Hoopla Swoosh led by Brenson Wase’s 23 points dropped the Dukes 58-52 in a Friday evening basketball game at the MIHS gymnasium.
Journal 9/20/1996
P1 Job cutbacks For Finance Minister Ruben Zackhras, Tuesday this week had to be a difficult day. He was the messenger bringing the bad news, the new budget for 1997. It was as though a ship we saw off in the distance, a small hesitating dot on the horizon, had finally drawn up to our beachside location and we had to interrupt the picnic while the grueling sound of reality, acted out by the grinding of the anchor chain as the black boat came to rest, called all of us revelers to attention. Across the nation, despite a brief delay due to broadcast difficulties, copra makers and clerks, taxi drivers and checker players, waitresses and handicraft weavers listened attentively as the cargo from the big black ship was lightered to shore from the big black ship by the doughty Finance minister. For starters, he announced, the difference between this year’s budget and next year’s is about $10 million. Minister Ruben explained that some government departments have complied with requests for names and positions of people to be affected by the reduction but added that others have not. The bottom line is that an overall cut in government employment will see 2,303 the government workers wound down to 1,658 when the new budget comes into effect on October 1.
Journal 9/21/2007
P2 Who dat man? Why it Norman Jennings, guy been police commissioner heah befo. Came visit us from State Nevada where he and wife livin, but Norm he been running a security service in Iraq for pass couple o’year. He also said he was stayin Ramsey Hotel, but we sad: “Don’t call it Ramsey, it called Hotel RRE.” Then Normanb said he talked to Jerry Kramer, Isaac Marau and Al Wong but didn’t have much time here in Majuro cuz he got missed plane delay out of Honolulu. Mostly he work out of Great Britain for security firm. Norm used to be a marine, but he’s not a marine in current times. Norman Jennings was a nice guy before and he is a nice guy now.
P3 Allotments don’t leave a lot in your pay check Life in the RMI is generally one big allotment, particularly for government workers. On average, national government employees receive only 25 percent of their biweekly pay. That’s because the other 75 percent of the total $1.2 million biweekly RMI payroll bill is paid directly by the Ministry of Finance to banks, utilities and private businesses.
P31 Waylon is proud of Anjain trio One branch of the Anjain family has produced a bunch of tough customers who have left people all over the region talking about the Marshall Islands. Specifically, we’re talking about Richard ‘Kuj’ Anjain, Jastin ‘Stinky’ Anjain, and Jeton ‘Zulu’ Anjain, Jr. — all of whom are multiple-medalists in international wrestling competitions. “It’s been a real honor to wrestle with them,” said wrestling standout Waylon Muller, who has won more medals in international competition than any other wrestler in RMI. Richard, who is currently serving in the US Army, picked up gold medals at the Samoa Open tournament in 1999. Jastin, who is attending USP in Suva, won gold in Pohnpei at the Micronesian Games in 2002, then silver and bronze at the SPG Mini-Games in Palau two years ago. Jeton, Jr. took silver at the Oceania Championships in Pohnpei last year and won two bronzes at the SPG last month in Samoa.
P32 Healthy figure The Marshall Islands Visitors Authority reports that following a survey, they have estimated that officers and crew of the USS Peleliu that visited RMI early this month injected about $400,000 into the economy.