Archive - Dec 2011

Ao i ai Leutogi i le motu tu'ufua, sa masani ona fai ana umu e fai ai ana mea'ai, peita'i o le fa'afitauli e leai ni lau la'au e taufi ai lana umu, o lea sa ia fa'aaogaina ai iliili o le sami e fai ma tau o lana umu, ma o i'ina lea e mafua ai le suafa o Tauiliili, e fa'amanatu ai iliili sa fa'aaoga e le tama'ita'i e fai ma tau o lana umu. E tele isi mea taua na maua mai i lenei tala, e pei ona maua ai suafa o le Tonumaipe'a, Tauiliili ma le Tilomai, lea na sau ma le tama o Fa'asega le tama a Leutogi ina ua usu i ai le Tui Uea po o le tupu o le motu o Uea.

On Wednesday, November 23, 2011, the day before Thanksgiving, American Samoa's Middle Level M.Ed. (MLMED) Cohort 1 members gathered at the Gov. H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei for their commencement ceremony which began with words of gratitude and ended with hugs, happy tears, and of course, diplomas.

The Crandall Dry Dock Engineers, Inc., based out of Chelsea, Massachusetts, inspecting the Slipway they installed at the Ronald Reagan Marine Railway Shipyard in Satala. "We promised during our visit to the Fono, that we were going to do whatever was necessary to upgrade the shipyard...

and this is part of the upgrade," said Carlos Sanchez, chairman of the shipyard authority board.

Seiuli ‘the Rock’ Johnson has it, David Beckham’s body is full of it, Bollywood stars are getting into it, and the Manu Samoa rugby warriors and NFL superstars living proof of it. Even the iconic Barbie doll has it. It’s the tatau or tattoo, an art and a way of life gaining global recognition and popularity.

FFAS President Iuli Alex Godinet has been appointed by the OFC Executive Committee to sit on its eight-member board. The appointment was confirmed in a letter from OFC President David Chung to Iuli. Chung is also a FIFA Vice-President.

"We are pleased to confirm the decision of the OFC Executive Committee on 10 November 2011 of your appointment as a Member of the OFC Executive Committee from 10 November 2011 and for the remainder of the term until 2015," wrote Chung in his congratulatory letter.

A week after being crowned Miss American Samoa, Ms. Skyline Ah Soon Nua made the ultimate decision, the ultimate sacrifice: resigned from her full time job to dedicate herself to the title of Miss American Samoa and the community service and other obligations that come with being the territory's goodwill ambassador.

The Election Office (EO) will launch its new computerized Voter Registration Identification Card System project in the next few days, according to EO officials.

Chief Election Officer Soliai Tuipine first revealed this project in late September during a House committee hearing, saying his office is preparing for the 2012 general election and among the developments is the new voter identification card, which will eliminate the current laminated one to be replaced with a newer voter ID - similar to the new driver's license issued by the Office of Motor Vehicles.

StarKist Company's board of directors and executive team arrive next Monday for the semi-annual Board of Directors' meeting including Jae-chul Kim, board chairman of Dongwon industries, the South Korean based owner of StarKist Co and StarKist Samoa.

Responding to Samoa News questions yesterday, Mary Sestric - the StarKist spokesperson based at the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa. - said next week's events will run from Tuesday, Dec. 6 through Thursday, Dec. 8.

In an effort to gather public opinion and input on two proposed pieces of federal legislation, Congressman Faleomavaega Eni will hold a public forum, next month, in the territory with the date to be announced soon.

The first proposal seeks to amend provisions of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) to allow foreigners who have been long time legal residents of American Samoa to apply for U.S. National status.

The stage has been set with the line being drawn in the American Samoa High School Athletic Association (ASHSAA) girls volleyball league, as the #4 seeded Samoana Sharks will be battling it out with the defending champions- the #2 seeded Tafuna Warriors- (at THS), to see who will be the 2011-2012 ASHSAA Girls Varsity Volleyball Champions.