Archive - Jan 4, 2012

Christmas and New Year celebrations are done — it’s now that time of the year called TAX SEASON.

The Tax Office is prepping for the new tax filing season, and Tax Office manager Melvin Joseph says staff is ready, and tax payers can start filing their taxes anytime — as soon as they have their W-2 forms from their employers along with other important data.

As of late last year, the U.S. Treasury Department was still reviewing American Samoa’s application seeking more than $10 million under the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which was created under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 in response to concerns that small businesses have been unable to access capital that would allow them to create jobs.

Similar to the scene following the long Christmas holiday weekend, the District Court was packed yesterday with friends and families of individuals taken into custody over the New Year’s holiday weekend.

A total of 25 individuals made their initial appearance in court yesterday morning after being taken into custody during the holiday. Of that total, fifteen individuals were charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and ten for public peace disturbance.

Na fa’aalia e Kovana Togiola Tulafono e fa’apea, ua mafua ona toe fa’afo’i atu le Pulega a le EMS i lalo o le fa’atautaiga a le LBJ i Faga’alu, ina ua le taunu’u se tasi o folafolaga a le Pulega a le EMS ia te ia, i le tele o faamanuiaga tau tupe o le a mafai ona maua, pe afai e ave’ese mai le EMS ma le Falemai.

First Lady Mary Ann Tulafono has called the decrease in alcohol use by the territory’s youth “wonderful news” when she spoke at last week’s dinner for the Samoa Bowl IX participants, held at Pizza Hut.

The dinner was hosted by Ta’ita’itama — whose initiative is to prevent underage drinking — and the Boys & Girls Clubs of American Samoa. Both organizations are spearheaded by the First Lady, with the Ta’ita’itama Program supporting the Samoa Bowl event over the past years.

The American Samoa Wrestling Association (ASWA), held a Two Day End to End Walk-a-Thon, that took place this past Monday and Tuesday, to raise funds for the upcoming Oceania Wrestling Championships that will be taking place in Sydney, Australia from January 27-29.

Members of the ASWA, which were led by the President of the association Ethan Lake, began the Walk-a-Thon on Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. with a one-night stop over in Pago Pago.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi has been voted Samoa Observer’s “Person of the Decade.” He was among many outstanding nominees recommended by members of our community for this honor.

New Zealand based Sanford Limited, whose fishing vessel was detained in Pago Pago last year for alleged pollution violation, has asked the federal court in Washington D.C. to order the U.S. government to provide specific details of the charges against the company.

The request, made through a “bill of particulars” motion, seeks to clarify the federal indictment handed down Dec. 6 by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C., charging Sanford with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

The former Fiji politician Dr Mere Samisoni who was arrested by the military last Friday has been granted bail.

Her lawyer, the New Zealand QC Peter Williams, says Dr Samisoni, who has been charged with conspiracy, is in the process of being released on an assureity of almost three thousand US dollars.

He says bail conditions include reporting to police and a curfew but that’s usual for such cases.

Mr Williams says the 73-year-old business woman is amazingly strong.

Samoa’s prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has revealed that Samoa invited both China and Taiwan at the same time to establish diplomatic relations and then waited to see which country was first to take the opportunity.

Tuilaepa has told the Samoa Observer newspaper when other countries were looking down on China, Samoa’s then Prime Minister Tupua Tamasese Lealofi invited the Chinese to build an embassy in Apia.

The PM says China was the first to react and opened an embassy in Vailima while Taiwan never bothered.