By Tony Gasu tony@samoanews.com Nu’uuli VocTech High School held their Annual Trades Fair yesterday, Wednesday, April 30, on campus, for one day. It’s the day when the high school that was created to focus on trades, such as welding, sewing, cooking, flower arrangements, auto body repairs and engine repairs, etc. in an apprenticeship-type environment, showcases the student’s...
The Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council staff will be traveling to American Samoa for a busy week of meetings and workshops. Beginning on Saturday May 3, the Council will be providing a fresh fish training workshop with local tuna processors and vessel owners and operators. This training will provide hands on training in fresh fish operations, focusing on proper storage with...
By Samoa News staff reporters@samoanews.com Bluesky Communications is publishing an American Samoa Yellow Pages Telephone Directory later this year, with a briefing given early this week during a cabinet meeting, which was attended by Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga, before he departed for Honolulu, according to minutes of the meeting. Bluesky country manager Lewis Wolman made the presentation...
2014 budget ceilings remain for 2015 By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com The budget for Fiscal Year 2015 (which officially begins Oct. 1, 2014), two inter Samoa talks, food safety in the territory and a possible new phone directory by Bluesky Communications were among the issues discussed during the Cabinet meeting held Monday, prior to Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga’s departure...
By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga has not authorized the payment of $144,000 which the United States Department of Labor has cited ASG must pay for overtime incurred by Customs Officers. Samoa News understands Lolo has instructed the Department of Human Resources not to act on anything yet, until after he consults with the USDOL’s main office...
By Tony Gasu tony@samoanews.com The Annual Miss SOFIAS Pageant always promises a night of talent, fashion and beauty, however this year’s 31st pageant — “Diamonds, a tale of everlasting Beauty" and its six contestants — took it to a whole new level. Enjoy some more video clips of the show that took place Friday, April 25, 2014. YouTube ...
By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com A highlight of the SOFIAS 31st pageant this year was a powerful rendition of the story of 19 women murdered by their husbands in acts of domestic violence. Written as a chant by Pacific Islander Roma Potiki and performed by Samoana HIgh School English students as a choral reading, the performance had originally been prepared for the DOE Speech...
By B. Chen blue@samoanews.com The Alamea Eradication Project has netted positive results for the territory. The eight-man dive team from off island eradicated a total of 1,440 Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) during a ten-day period that included 32 dives and 184 dive hours, encompassing a distance of 20.6 miles. A special briefing to provide an official update on the status of the Alamea...
By Radio New Zealand The joint talks between Samoa and American Samoa that was initially set for May are now being pushed back to June. Lt. Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga said during a cabinet meeting that the new date for the inter-Samoa talks is June the 27. He did not explain why there has been a postponement. He urged cabinet members who have new issues they want discussed during the inter-Samoa...
By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com Lt Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga departed Monday evening on Hawaiian Air and has appointed Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale as Acting Governor in his absence. Lemanu issued a general memorandum prior to departure. According to the Governor’s Chief of Staff Fiu Johnny Saelua, Lt Governor Lemanu, who had been serving as Acting Governor...
By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com The alleged assault of an inmate while at the Tafuna Correctional Facility who was then transported to Manu’a earlier this year was an issue questioned by Chief Justice Michael Kruse in the High Court when the young man, Joe Togitogi, was sentenced for an earlier crime. Togitogi is implicated in two criminal cases, one that accused him...
By Teri Hunkin reporters@samoanews.com “There are times when we can’t see the forest for the trees, when it comes to the enormous problems of health care in America.” So stated Dr. Neal Palafox, MD, MPH, a professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, who was here in the territory last week to speak to the Cancer Coalition...
By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com The American Samoan plaintiffs in the citizenship lawsuit have filed their merit brief with the federal appeals’ court in Washington D.C. and their main argument is that the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees them citizenship by birth on U.S. soil, according to their attorneys. “Because we are born on U.S. soil, my family...
Governor not obligated to consult with them on board nominees says Kruse By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com The Trial Division of the High Court has denied a motion for reconsideration or new trial, filed by the current ‘de facto’ members of the ASG Employees Retirement Fund board of trustees, saying that the plaintiffs do not make prevailing arguments for such a request. (In...
By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu & Terry Custodio Auva'a joy@samoanews.com The Annual Miss SOFIAS Pageant always promises a night of talent, fashion and beauty, however this year’s 31st pageant — “Diamonds, a tale of everlasting Beauty" and its six contestants — took it to a whole new level. While the crowd is usually being entertained by the breathtaking...
ASG will pay $5Mil plus By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com A 12-year-old civil battle between the American Samoa Government and the Progressive Insurance Company has been resolved in a settlement and ASG has moved to dismiss with prejudice the appeals in the matter. (Samoa News reminds its readers that dismissal with prejudice means the plaintiff is barred from filing another...
Sentenced for felony assault By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu joy@samoanews.com A grandmother who assaulted her grandson with a billiard stick, a piece of 2X4 and a piece of metal in separate incidents was sentenced to serve 20 months in jail, as part of her five-year probation. Priscilla Schwalger, A.K.A. Sila Aiono, was facing charges of second-degree assault, a felony, and endangering the...
Coleman Elementary a close second By Jeff Hayner jeff@samoanews.com Today will be the first day of judging for the 2014 Island-Wide History Day Senior Division for grades 9-12 at the Governor H.Rex Lee Auditorium starting at 8:00 a.m. The American Samoa Humanities Council, local affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Samoa Department of Education has sponsored...
By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com Through an executive order issued from Honolulu and now in effect, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has created a task force focused on developing an animal care and control program to reduce problems associated with stray dogs and cats in the territory. Among the responsibilities and objectives of the task force is to establish a full time animal clinic at...
By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer During the fall 2013 semester, American Samoa Community College (ASCC) former Marine Science coordinator Kelley Anderson-Tagarino made the switch to University of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Agent. Although hosted by ASCC, the Sea Grant Extension agent position is funded by the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, and functions within the Community and...