Local government and federal offices will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Several businesses, including the two commercial banks, will also be closed. Samoa News will not publish a print edition on Monday.

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has already declared Monday an ASG holiday and all employees required to work on the holiday will be paid wages in accordance with rules and regulations.

This holiday has also been called the Martin Luther King Day of Service where Americans come together to serve their neighbors and communities.

The MLK Day of Service is a part of “United We Serve,” the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service, which provides more information on civic, community, and service projects on the website: www.MLKday.gov

The holiday is expected to be a quiet one for American Samoa, and the only major public event this weekend is the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) festival set for tomorrow at Samoana High School football field.  The public is invited and it is free. See today’s edition for details in the STEM-DOE advertisement.