Archive - Nov 2011 - Article (News Story)

The Labour Party may have lost the election but its sitting MP for Mangere, Su’a William Sio, returns for a second term. Su’a won the Mangere seat by a margin of 13,356, nearly doubling his 7,126 winning margin over Taito Philip Field in 2008.

Deputy Police Commissioner Leseiau Laumoli has dismissed claims by officers with the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) who say they have been waiting for overtime pay, but it has been delayed by Laumoli, who has refused to sign off on the overtime.

When asked for comments about the claim, Laumoli told Samoa News on Monday that none of the officers within the Department of Public Safety are getting any overtime pay due to budget constraints faced by DPS, and this has been the case for several months.

A “speechless” Mrs Asenati Taylor has become the second Samoan woman to make it to New Zealand Parliament.  The first is Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, who entered as Labour MP, and was made a Cabinet Minister.

Mrs Taylor ran in last Friday’s election on a New Zealand Party ticket in the Manukau East electorate and won.  The National Party, however, breezed in in a landslide victory. 

The twenty-year old man who broke into a home and assaulted another man as well as trying to stab him with a pair of scissors is facing four charges, including burglary in the first degree, a felony punishable by five to fifteen years imprisonment.

Taligalu Ah Siu is also charged with assault in the second degree, also a felony, punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a $5,000 fine or both, as well as two misdemeanors - underage drinking and private peace disturbance.

American Samoa has been allocated more than $1 million to cover costs of some of the highway repair projects following the 2009 earthquake and tsunami.

The allocation for American Samoa comes from a pool of $215 million announced Monday by the U.S. Transportation Department. The money has been awarded to states and territories to cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural disasters in the U.S.

A Pacific Islands Training Initiative - "Understanding and Complying with Office of Management and Budget'(OMB) Administrative Requirements and Cost Principals for Grants and other Agreements" is being conducted at this time at Sadies by the Sea conference room.

Charles W. Hester, who is a Certified Public Accountant/Forensic CPA, Certified in Financial Forensics by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a Certified Fraud Examiner/Specialist as well as a Certified Government Financial Manager is conducting the training.

As the third Twilight film is released in Australian cinemas, a Samoan writer has launched her own teen romance series based in the Pacific. Author Lani Wendt-Young has tied Ancient Samoan mythology into her book Telesa: the covenant keeper, as the protagonist realises her links to the cruel spirit women known as Telesa.

And, just like the Twilight characters, she must make a choice between destiny and love.

It was the promise of more job opportunities and a better education that enticed 24-year-old Christina Aokuso and her family here from Samoa. Ms Aokuso, along with 34 others were welcomed as citizens by Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott in a ceremony at the Napier City Council on Monday night.

The American Samoa High School Athletic Association (ASHSAA) girls Varsity volleyball playoffs are set for today, and the top four teams include - Leone High School seeded #1, Tafuna High School seeded #2, Faga'itua High School seeded #3 and Samoana High School seeded #4. This past Monday, the Samoana Sharks were the last team to make it to the playoffs, when they defeated the very determined Kanana Fou Stallions in three sets...

Odds were, Thomas Rongen was going to be on the job for only a month. Then again, with a little luck — make that a lot of luck — he might have been able to extend his stay as coach of the American Samoa national team a while longer.