GIFF JOHNSON The Ribuuk Ae field trip vessel is likely a total loss. After running aground on the reef at Ujae Atoll shortly before New Year’s Eve, the vessel developed a large hole in the hull under the engine room. That allowed the engine room to flood, and by the time a Pacific International Inc. […]
GIFF JOHNSON Nearly four years after the 2015 election, the RMI Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in former Mayor Mudge Samuel’s lawsuit attempting to overturn Ladie Jack’s election victory. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision, which confirmed the correctness of Jack’s election. The Supreme Court panel said the High Court’s ruling “leaves […]
GIFF JOHNSON Unofficial election results released this week show that the balance of power has shifted from President Hilda Heine’s government to the opposition. The opposition now appears to have an outright majority of 17, and possibly more as the country awaits the announcement of the complete unofficial vote tabulation results that start a two-week […]
GIFF JOHNSON Three rental generators have stabilized Ebeye Island’s power situation as the island waits for four new generators to be installed over the next several months. Two new generators arrived last month and their installation is waiting on the arrival of two new alternators. In the meantime, two additional complete generator sets — including […]
Voter turnout Monday varied around Majuro. While many of the outer island absentee voting locations showed heavy turnout and long lines, some Majuro regular voting stations saw relatively few voters. The Rita ward voting station at Rita Elementary School was prepared for 1,200 voters, the number registered. To accommodate the anticipated large number of voters, […]
GIFF JOHNSON The November 18 national election is arguably the most significant in the RMI’s history. The vote will elect national leadership that will be responsible to oversee negotiations with the US for post-2023 Compact funding and to guide the RMI through a period of increasingly contentious relations between China and the US, which has […]
GIFF JOHNSON Shorelines around Majuro Atoll were repeatedly inundated this past week during high tides that approached all-time records. Flooding began early morning Sunday September 29 and continued at each high tide through Tuesday, when the tide levels began dropping with the new moon phase. “Water level was 20cm (7.8 inches) higher than predicted at […]
A hearing scheduled for this week in the High Court for two lawsuits seeking to restore voting by postal ballots for off-island Marshallese was cancelled as the judge sent the dispute to the RMI Supreme Court. The two lawsuits had been scheduled for their first hearing in the High Court August 27. Although the plaintiffs […]
GIFF JOHNSON The first suspected cases of dengue fever were reported late last week in Majuro, as the outbreak on Ebeye Island continues. Majuro numbers continued to increased this week. Ebeye was the focus last week of a major mosquito spraying and cleanup program to eradicate mosquito-breeding areas. Health authorities said this week the count […]
GIFF JOHNSON World War II battlegrounds, 1950s hydrogen bomb test sites, and prized real estate controlled by the United States during the Cold War era with the former Soviet Union, the islands of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands in the north Pacific were relegated to backwater outposts the past three decades […]
