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250 students will be affected when the Samoan government closes a college on Savaii in December.

The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture announced the decision to close the 91 year old Vaipouli College after consultations with the school and parents.

The assistant chief executive at the ministry, Maimoana Petaia, says the cost of running the school at a location too far for students to reach doesn’t justify keeping it open.

Ms Petaia says there are nine other colleges on the island that students will be able to easily reach while being able to stay with their families.

What do parrotfish feeding habits, coral bleaching tolerance, reef resiliency, sea turtles, aquaponics, and marine debris have to do with each other?  Answer – these are all topics of research that local college students were involved in through the Marine Science Program over the past year.

A Member of Parliament has cautioned against making prison so comfortable that prisoners would not want to leave.

Associate Minister and MP for Sagaga le Usoga, Muagututagata Peter Ah Him said the distinction must be made otherwise the prison population would continue to grow.

“We are all wrapped up in sympathy for the situation at the prison,” he told Parliament. “But it seems we have forgotten that these people are criminals, they broke the law.

“Listening to the discussions today and all the ideas brought forward, it seems we are trying to build a hotel for these people.”

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The students in the Saturday morning class trickle in and, as they introduce themselves around a table, reveal far more intimate biographies than just name and hometown.

One confesses to demons he struggles to control. Another says he's here to find a community. "Forgive me," an Iraq war veteran begins haltingly. "I have to use notes. I have a brain injury."

NEW YORK (AP) -- With the launch of Windows 8, buyers are about to discover a computing experience unlike anything they've seen before. Here's a guide to getting past some of the hurdles.

The main thing to know is that Windows 8 is designed especially for touch-screen computers, to make desktops and laptops work more like tablets. It is Microsoft's way of addressing the popularity of tablets, namely the iPad. But Windows 8 will work with mouse and keyboard shortcuts, too. It'll take some getting used to, though.

TOKYO (AP) -- Radioactive cesium levels in most kinds of fish caught off the coast of Fukushima haven't declined in the year following Japan's nuclear disaster, a signal that the seafloor or leakage from the damaged reactors must be continuing to contaminate the waters - possibly threatening fisheries for decades, a researcher says.

LBJ Medical Center, the only hospital in the territory, has limited emergency generating capacity and this vulnerability is an issue that both the federal and local governments need to address, according to a comprehensive assessment report for the territory, ‘Addressing the Threat of Long-Term Energy Supply Disruption’.

Marisco Limited has joined Bank of Hawai’i’s motion filed last week with the federal court in Honolulu for injunctive relief, which seeks among other things, to prevent the American Samoa Government and its attorneys from seeking claims against the more than $800,000 that the bank was ordered to deposit with the federal court registry by Oct. 22.

On Tuesday this week, BoH attorney Robert Marks filed a notice with the federal court that the interpleader funds in the amount of $824,017.15 were deposited Oct. 22 with the court registry.

Samoa News in partnership with major sponsors, Barefoot Republic/IPEX Pacific, American Samoa Visitors Bureau, Blue Sky Communications and GHC Reid& Co. Ltd/ Vailima presents the best ever, Tisa’s Tattoo Fest, October 26-28, 2012. 

The 8th Annual Celebration of the Tatau Art will highlight some of the best locally produced award winning artists, and legends of the Tatau art in the Samoan Islands.

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