Archive - Mar 9, 2012 - Article (News Story)

I Tala o le Fono na lomia i le vaega o Le Lali i le aso ananafi, na sese ai le sipelaina o le suafa o le afioga i le Faipule ia Puleitumalo Koko, lea na fa’aulufaleina le i’ugafono e lagolagoina ai le pili a le tofa Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, e fa’aagafua ai ni mana’oga fa’asitiseni mo tagata o Amerika Samoa, ae avea ma sitiseni o le Iunaite Setete.

E fa’amalulu atu i le afioga i le ali’i Faipule ma le mamalu o le atunu’u, e tusa ai ma lea sasi le fuafuaina.

The Washington D.C. based group Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) has no date set as to when it plans to file a suit at federal court to make the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution apply to persons born in American Samoa.

CAC’s litigation and policy counsel Neil Weare arrived in the territory Sunday night and met the following day with the American Samoa Bar Association for an informal discussion on the issue.

The LBJ Medical Center is not getting any additional funding for its operations because the House majority agreed yesterday to table in committee the Senate version of the $2 million loan to be refinance loan under the $20 million loan from the ASG Retirement Fund. Today is the last day of the 3rd regular session.

The government is up to date with paying subsidies for the hospital for Fiscal Year 2012 according to Treasurer Magalei Logovi’i during a hearing held on Monday about the loan agreement between the hospital and  the government for use of the $3 million from the Workman’s Compensation Account.

It was confirmed by hospital CEO Mike Gerstenberger, who said on Monday that the last payment was made in February and the subsidy payments are made on the 5th of every month.

The Attorney General’s office has filed multiple sexually related felony charges against a former ASCC instructor.

James Barlow is accused of giving three boys alcohol, watching pornographic movies and having sex with the three minors, all young men. Barlow appeared this morning on his pre-trial conference for a DUI offense when CID detectives Elden Ane, Vili Faa’pouli and Vaina Vaofanua served the defendant with the additional felony charges.

LAFOGA KERETI

An 18-year old boy made his initial appearance before District Court Judge John Ward yesterday after he allegedly struck a Chinese woman on the face with a PVC pipe on Tuesday in Afono. The Chinese woman owns a store in that village.

Lafoga Kereti is facing third degree assault and public peace disturbance charges, however Assistant Attorney General Camille Philippe said the government is looking in this matter and may possibly file felony charges.

TUMON BAY, GUAM — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today in Guam voted to maintain its initial recommendations regarding traditional fishing in the Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) had asked the Council to consider revising its initial recommendations to include:

a) limits on cash reimbursements under customary exchange practices,

b) bag limits for allowed fishing activities, and

ONE MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND REASONS THE LBJ CLINICS ARE CLOSED TODAY

We may not know everything about why the money ran short for LBJ, but we do know one million, two hundred thousand reasons why LBJ clinics are closed on Friday and hospital employees are being forced to earn less than full time pay.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- The wildly successful viral video campaign to raise global awareness of a brutal Central Africa rebel leader is attracting criticism from Ugandans, some who said Friday that the 30-minute video misrepresents the complicated history of Africa's longest-running conflict.

PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) -- President Barack Obama applauded another burst of job growth Friday as proof the economy is rebounding on his watch from a disastrous recession. Bidding for re-election, Obama warned factory workers and campaign donors that Republicans would offer only the policies "that got us into this mess."