NO MAJOR PROBLEMS ON WHITE SUNDAY IN AMERICAN SAMOA

Police Commissioner Save Liuato Tuitele says there were no major incidents leading into White Sunday in American Samoa. A senior police official who was contacted early yesterday morning also confirmed this.

The senior police official said they were some individuals who were taken into custody for public peace disturbance, and as of early yesterday morning, fewer then 10 individuals were in custody at the Territorial Correctional Facility and these individuals will make their initial appearance today in District Court. 

FAA AWAITS UPDATE OF ASG CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN

The American Samoa Government is expected to transmit soon to the US Federal Aviation Administration its corrective action plan status update, which would include a Fono approved concurrent resolution.

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga sought the required resolution as part of the ASG corrective action plan, following a 2014 land use audit by the FAA of the Pago Pago International Airport land. The audit found that 325 acres of land included in the original airport layout plan from 1973 had been converted to non-airport use — covering areas such as the Tafuna Industrial Park.

In order to bring ASG into compliance with the corrective action plan, “It is necessary to submit a land use change request formally seeking release of the land  under use restrictions on the 325 acres of non-compliant lands, accompanied by a Resolution confirming that ASG will agree to fund and subsidize operations of Pago Pago International Airport in the amount of $2.5 million per year for a period of 10-years,” according to the Resolution, which didn’t describe the funding source for the subsidy.

However, ASG’s corrective action plan states the subsidy will be funded through direct appropriation from the Legislature as well as earmarks from the hotel tax, clearance fee and other revenue measures enacted into law to support the airport.

The resolution was discussed last month when FAA Honolulu district manger Ron V. Simpson met with the governor on island.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries including the resolution, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said, “We are awaiting ASG's formal submittal of the Corrective Action Plan status update. This will include the Resolution and a number of documents.

“We have been informed that ASG has most of the documentation compiled, and we expect to receive ASG's formal submittal shortly,” Gregor said last Friday via email from Los Angeles.

According to the corrective action plan, the $2.5 million annual payment starts in FY 2017 through 2026.