Journal 2/27/1987
P7 RepMar-KALGov agree to Ebeye Public Works control
Following several months of talks, negotiators for the RMI and the Kwajalein Atoll Local Government have reached an agreement authorizing the national government’s public works department on Ebeye to be administered by KALGov. The agreement transfers all employees, assets, equipment and buildings to the control of KALGov. “I’m confident the people of Ebeye will stand behind our mutual desire for self-determination of local matters and we are grateful to the national government for the opportunity to assume their responsibilities,” said Mayor Alvin Jacklick.
P17 Capelles known for speedboats
Since the Capelle family began building boats 20 years ago, their Rita workshop has launched over 100 boats of every shape, size and dimension. The Capelle boatbuilding industry specializes in building motor boats, but also has built a number of bum-bums and other larger boats. The elder Capelle “Buttou” started the shop years ago and is still building. But he has passed his boat building skills onto his sons. “Boatbuilding is one of the best things one can learn and enjoy doing,” he says.
Journal 2/26/1999
P3 Mayor meets senator
During a recent visit to Washington, DC Kili/Bikini Mayor Tomaki Juda met Senator Ted Kennedy just prior to the Senate vote in the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton. In other news: Juda announced plans for a big celebration on Kili March 8 to mark Bikini Day — a day that will also be used to cut the ribbon officially dedicating some 60 new homes built on Kili with US-provided resettlement trust funding money.
P20 Ahead of schedule
The Makali’i voyaging canoe from Hawaii is three days ahead of schedule and is expected to arrive in Majuro this Sunday, where a big welcome is planned. The master navigator who helped guide the voyaging canoe Hokule’a from Hawaii to French Polynesia in 1976, Mau Piailug, is on his way home to Satawal in the Federated States of Micronesia on the Makali’i with first stop being in Majuro.
Journal 2/26/2010
P2 Nitijela bans betel nut
Nitijela voted to ban betel nut from the Marshall Islands Tuesday. The vote approved a stronger version of the ban than originally introduced in March 2009 by Majuro Senator Wilfred I. Kendall. In a floor amendment introduced Tuesday by Vice Speaker Alik Alik and Kendall, a total ban was introduced and approved by unanimous vote. A section that would have allowed betel nut in small quantities to be imported for personal use was deleted.
P4 Who makes the most money?
A comparison of average income levels shows that people working in the private sector in the Marshall Islands have seen a dramatic drop in their “real” income since 1997. From 1997 to 2009, private sector real average annual earnings fell by a staggering 37.4 percent, according to data released last week by the government’s Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics office, using 2000 prices as a baseline. Salaries of government workers did not decrease in value as much as their cousins in the private sector, declining by 5.6 percent over the same period. In FY1997 the private sector real average earnings were $6,097 compared to $3,818 in Fy2009. Average private sector earnings have been devastated by inflation over the years, EPPSO said. “Since FY1997 there has been a tremendous erosion of earnings in the private sector as a result of inflation and declining levels of salaries and wages,” said EPPSO Director Carl Hacker. According to the RMI planning office, the three top paying places to work in the RMI are, based on 2009 salaries: Banks, which paid an average of $17,336; US Army Kwajalein Atoll, which paid an average of $16,817; and RMI government agencies, which paid an average of $16,424.