Giff Johnson

Postal ballot goes to Supreme Court

Postal ballot goes to Supreme Court

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 […]

Misco Market continues expansion

Misco Market continues expansion

GIFF JOHNSON From a modest start as a retail facility for fresh fish and handicrafts, the Misco Market in Majuro continues to expand, adding a wholesale operation, food processing, local produce, and soon a sizable walk-in freezer and cold storage facility to store fish for both local and export markets. The Misco Market is a […]

Students produce creative RMI stories

Students produce creative RMI stories

GIFF JOHNSON Local students in Majuro and Ebeye were given the chance to show their audiovisual creativity in a series of workshops that will lead to a soon-to-be-released film and graphic adaptations of Marshallese legends. A team from the United Kingdom collaborated with the local organization Jambo Arts to sponsor drawing and animation workshops involving […]

Runit captures global concern

Runit captures global concern

GIFF JOHNSON After decades of no one outside the Marshall Islands paying attention to the nuclear waste storage facility known as the Runit Dome, it is increasingly in the international spotlight with attention like never before. Following UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ comments of concern last month about possible leakage of radioactivity from the Runit […]

Hospital focuses on power fix

Hospital focuses on power fix

GIFF JOHNSON A small fire on an electrical panel in the TB ward Monday caused power to go off for the facility at Majuro hospital. It confirms ongoing power issues that plague Majuro hospital’s electrical system — problems highlighted in an assessment of the electrical system conducted late last month by a US expert. “The […]

Trump meets FAS ‘family’

Trump meets FAS ‘family’

GIFF JOHNSON President Hilda Heine joined with Palau and Federated States of Micronesia presidents in a historic meeting with President Donald Trump Wednesday (Majuro date) at the White House — the first time the three presidents from the freely associated states have met an American president as a group. In lead up meetings with Interior […]

‘He was Kewan Jela’

‘He was Kewan Jela’

GIFF JOHNSON A local man who transformed the nature of Marshallese political debate has died in Honolulu at the age of 56. Arthur Kaylor Laukon became the key manager of the Marshall Islands Facebook page Kewan Jela, which was founded in September 2013 to stimulate debate on a variety of Marshall Islands issues. The site […]