HILARY HOSIA Here are a few highlights from this week’s Committee of the Whole session from the ongoing Constitutional Convention at the International Conference Center. • Majuro Delegate Yolanda Lodge-Ned wants to prevent candidates with felony charges in their history from running for Nitijela, adding that the current law allows felons who did time to […]
Kwajalein Atoll landowners gave a big thumbs up to development of Ebeye and other islands with the recent signing of a master lease for Ebeye-to-Gugeegue land. The master lease signed January 9 on Ebeye replaces a 30-year master lease that had expired last September 30. The previous lease had provided the Kwajalein Atoll Development Authority […]
A series of new bills have been introduced into Nitijela by different Nitijela members. Among the new legislation: • Jabot Senator Kessai Note is proposing a constitutional amendment to change the opening day of Nitijela from the first Monday of January to the second Monday of the month each year. The purpose for the changed […]
Legislation to delay implementation of the new MISSA law was introduced on the first day of the Nitijela session last week. Bill 54 was introduced by Health Minister Kalani Kaneko and supported by Finance Minister Brenson Wase, and Senators David Paul (Kwajalein), Dennis Momotaro (Mejit), and Bruce Bilimon (Maloelap). The bill is brief and to […]
The new RMI Combined Utility Board met recently on Ebeye for an orientation with KAJUR, Ebeye’s power company. KAJUR General Manager Romeo Alfred said this board meeting was in response to KAJUR’s request to have at least four meetings a year on-site in Ebeye. “It is really important to have meetings in Ebeye, as it […]
A proposed solar project for Ebeye could save the utility company anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year, depending on the scale of the plan that is under discussion now. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and RMI officials reviewed the project following a second survey visit to Ebeye and Majuro by […]
An over $20 million plan to reinvent housing for displaced Kwajalein “Mid-Corridor” islanders is the latest step in an overhaul of Ebeye Island infrastructure. Mid-Corridor islanders were evacuated in 1965 by the US Army so missile tests could be targeted on Kwajalein’s “Mid-Corridor” lagoon area. Although Mid-Corridor residents have modified many of these one-story block […]
The Ministry of Health faced tough questioning and criticism during Tuesday’s Appropriations Committee hearing at Nitijela. Chairman Senator David Paul, Finance Minister Brenson Wase, Resources and Development Minister Alfred Alfred, Jr., Senator Mike Kabua and other members of the panel asked numerous questions about lack of services being offered at Majuro and Ebeye hospitals and […]
The Marshalls Energy Company began long-awaited testing of engine seven at the Majuro power plant late last week. The engine, one of two six-megawatt capacity generators, has been undergoing major rehabilitation for the past two years. Engineers from Australian manufacturing companies arrived over the past few days to check the newly rebuilt engine. MEC officials […]
GIFF JOHNSON Chemical contamination of fish at Kwajalein Atoll “is a public health concern of epic proportion that we cannot take lightly,” Kwajalein Senator David Paul said in advance of this week’s annual RMI-US military consultation in Majuro. Paul and other RMI officials called for action on the contamination issue at the Joint Committee Meeting […]
