A Section Wed 02-26-14

Transcription

Buckle up!
Fatalities CraSHES
0
LOCAL HIGHWAYS
01-01-14 to date
Smiling faces from our local
female weight lifters after their
training this week, in preparation
for the Oceania weightlifting tournament in New Caledonia from
May 25-31, 2014.
The tourney is a qualifier for
the Continental Youth Olympics
to be held in China in August, this
year. See story inside sports sec[photo: AF]
tion today.
134
LOCAL HIGHWAYS
01-01-14 to date
office of highway safety
Couple stumbles
upon $10 Million in
rare gold coins… 8
C
M
Y
K
E le o fai fa’atoaga
uma e mana’omia
laisene pisinisi… 9
online @ samoanews.com
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PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
$1.00
Draft GAO report — Governor Lolo falls ill, now
strong opposition to recovering at GWU Hospital
wage hike continues
by Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu
Samoa News Reporter
From 2007- 2012: local prices rose about
5% more than average annual earnings
by Fili Sagapolutele, Samoa News Correspondent
C
M
Y
K
The American Samoa Government and the private sector
have maintained their opposition to future mandated minimum
wage hikes, but some in the business community say the government has also failed to foster new economic development
for the territory, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office “draft” report on the impact on minimum wage
on American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (CNMI).
The draft report is now being sent to officials of the
two territories for comments to be included in the final
report due to the U.S. Congress in April this year — well
before the next minimum wage hike would become effective — Sept. 30, 2015.
GAO officials, who met last November with the Chamber
of Commerce and other local officials, made clear the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress does not provide in the final
report any recommendations on the minimum wage issue, as
that is left to Congress.
And in this draft report, as has been the case in previous GAO
minimum wage impact reports, there are no recommendations.
The report does show that the total number of employees
in American Samoa — based on ASG tax and GAO questionnaire data — increased 1.5% from 2011 to 2012 (from
15,552 to 15,790). However, employment declined 11%
(from 17,791 to 15,790, with a peak of 19,340 in 2008)
between 2007 and 2012.
For “earnings”, the draft report states that analysis based
on American Samoa taxes, the GAO questionnaire, and
consumer price data show that from 2011 to 2012 average
inflation-adjusted earnings of those employed in American
Samoa fell by 2%.
For the overall period from 2007 to 2012, average inflationadjusted earnings fell by about 4 percent while average annual
earnings rose about 28 percent. However, local prices rose by
about 33 percent.
The inflation-adjusted earnings of minimum wage cannery
workers, who retained their jobs and work hours fell by about
4 percent from 2011 to 2012 and by about 5 percent from 2007
to 2012, it says and noted the cannery is the largest private
employer in the territory.
Questionnaire responses from the tuna canning industry
show that their employment of hourly workers dropped by
13 percent from 2012 to 2013 and by 58 percent from 2007
to 2013.
Samoa News should point out that this is only a draft report,
therefore other specific data for earnings, the economy and
other issues will be withheld until the final report is released.
(Continued on page 14)
Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga, 64, is
recovering well in the Medical Ward at the
George Washington University Hospital
in Washington DC since his admission last
Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. The governor had flown
to Washington DC to attend several meetings,
including one with President Barack Obama.
He was also to attend the National Governor’s
Association (NGA) Winter Meeting as well
as the Interagency Group on Insular Affairs
(IGIA) meetings.
During a press conference, called yesterday
afternoon, Lt. Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga,
who is the Acting Governor, while Lolo is offisland, said the governor arrived in Washington
DC on Feb. 20, 2014, but was hospitalized the
next day. “This was due to an unforeseen illness
and he was admitted to George Washington
Hospital for observation,” said Lemanu.
As of yesterday he was still in the hospital,
“doing fine and recovering very well since
Friday last week,” Lemanu stated.
Samoa News notes the governor is reported
to have attended a meeting with the US Treasury to discuss the territory’s Small Business
Credit Initiative Application, which is still
being reviewed, according to a press release,
dated Friday, Feb. 21st. It would seem then, the
governor was hospitalized sometime after this
meeting took place.
A media release, received yesterday,
Tuesday, Feb. 25th, noted the governor, due to
an illness, was unable to attend the IGIA meetings and was represented by American Samoa’s
Attorney General, Talauega Eleasalo V. Ale.
The same press release also said Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin did not
attend the IGIA meetings either, and was represented by Chief Counsel Ta’afili Sagapolutele
Yesterday, February 25 was World Spay Day 2014, and in American Samoa the day was honored with a free Spay and Neuter clinic held at the Pavilion in Fagatogo.
[photo: th]
See story inside for schedule of locations and times.
Page 2
samoa news, Wednesday, February 26, 2014
For your island gifts & handicraft shopping, visit
TURTLE & SHARK SSE
Fagaima Center One Suite 201/Upstairs,
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ALL PUZZLE ANSWERs on page 14
NEWS IN BRIEF
Pro-Russian rally in Crimea
decries Kiev ‘bandits’
SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of
pro-Russian protesters rallied Tuesday in this
Crimean Peninsula city, bitterly denouncing
politicians in Kiev who are trying to form a new
government, with some even calling for secession from Ukraine. A Russian lawmaker stoked
their passions by promising that Moscow will
protect them. “Russia, save us!” they chanted.
The outburst of pro-Russian sentiment in the
strategic peninsula on the Black Sea, home to
a Russian naval base, came amid fears of economic collapse for Ukraine as the fractious foes
of President Viktor Yanukovych failed to reach
agreement on forming a new national government and said the task of assigning posts could
not be completed before Thursday.
While Ukraine’s politicians struggled to
reorganize themselves in Kiev, a Russian flag
had replaced the Ukrainian flag in front of the
city council building in Sevastopol, 500 miles
(800 kilometers) to the south of the capital. An
armored personnel carrier and two trucks full of
Russian troops made a rare appearance on the
streets, vividly demonstrating Russian power
in this port city where the Kremlin’s Black Sea
Fleet is based. Some called on Moscow to protect them from the movement that drove Yanukovych from the capital three days ago.
“Bandits have come to power,” complained
Vyacheslav Tokarev, a 39-year-old construction worker. “I’m ready to take arms to fight the
fascists who have seized power in Kiev.”
APNewsBreak — Asiana
Airlines penalized over crash
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the first penalty
of its kind, federal transportation officials on
Tuesday docked Asiana Airlines $500,000 for
failing to promptly contact passengers’ families
and keep them informed about their loved ones
after a deadly crash last year at San Francisco
International airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said
it took the South Korean airline five days to
contact the families of all 291 passengers. In
addition, a required crash hotline was initially
routed to an automated reservations line.
Never before has the department concluded
that an airline broke U.S. laws requiring prompt
and generous assistance to the loved ones of
crash victims. Three people died and dozens
were injured on July 6 when Asiana Flight 214
clipped a seawall while landing. One of the victims, a 16-year-old girl, apparently survived
being ejected onto the tarmac, only to be run
over by a fire truck in the post-crash confusion.
Many of the families live in South Korea
or China, meaning the airline was their main
source of information on the crash half a world
away.
Toronto mayor says he’s
off drugs, hits gym daily
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob
Ford says he no longer uses illegal drugs, goes
to the gym every day and doesn’t drink as
much as he used to. Ford told NBC’s “Today”
show that while he has had a few drinks since
the show’s host Matt Lauer interviewed him in
November, it hasn’t been “to the point of some
of the episodes before.”
The interview comes a month after a video
surfaced showing Ford inebriated at a restaurant, rambling in a Jamaican accent and using
profanity. The mayor admitted he had been
drinking that night, saying, “maybe you’re perfect, but I’m not.”
Ford is running for re-election this year,
despite admitting last fall to smoking crack
cocaine while in office. He told Lauer that he
was only experimenting with illegal drugs.
Navy relieves commander
of grounded ship
WASHINGTON (AP) — The commander
of the U.S. Navy ship that ran aground while
deployed near the Olympics has been relieved
of his command. Navy officials in Europe
issued a statement Tuesday saying Cmdr.
Dennis Volpe was reassigned to another job due
to loss of confidence in his ability to command.
The Navy says the USS Taylor, one of two U.S.
warships dispatched to the Black Sea before the
Sochi Winter Olympics, remains under repair in
the Turkish port at Samsun. It ran aground there
Feb. 12 while preparing to moor.
The guided-missile frigate arrived in the
Black Sea early this month with the USS Mount
Whitney, an amphibious command ship. The
Pentagon announced the planned deployment
in January, after terrorist groups threatened to
disrupt the Olympic Games in Russia.
California man gets 6 years
for his 8th DUI conviction
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern
California man convicted of his eighth drunk
driving charge has been sentenced to a maximum term of six years in prison.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported
Monday that Pablo Servin Sanchez’s latest violation was Oct. 3, when he backed his pickup
across a busy route in Healdsburg, nearly
causing a crash with a big-rig.
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill
Ravitch says Sanchez’s blood alcohol content
was found in two tests to be .31 percent and
then .33 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent.
The 50-year-old’s eight convictions stretch
over 20 years. Ravitch says he was also driving
on a suspended license at the time of his last
arrest. Sanchez’s driving privileges are to be
revoked for 10 years when he leaves prison.
Free spay and neuter clinic held
in Fagatogo for World Spay Day
by Teri Hunkin
Samoa News staff
Yesterday, February 25 was World Spay
Day 2014, and in American Samoa the day was
honored with a free Spay and Neuter clinic held
at the Pavilion in Fagatogo.
The Department of Agriculture Veterinary
Clinic in partnership with the local animal protection group, Alofa mo Meaola organized and
manned the event, which took care of about 20
spay and neuter surgeries during the morning,
with another ten animals seen in the afternoon
for health checks.
World Spay Day is an annual campaign of
the Humane Society of the United States and
Humane Society International that shines a
spotlight on spaying and neutering as a way to
save the lives of our companion animals, our
community cats (feral and stray), and street
dogs who might otherwise be put down in a
shelter or killed on the street.
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary
of this annual event, which has animal advocates around the world performing acts of
community service to help alleviate suffering
in the cat and dog population, and promote
good stewardship of our feline and canine
companions.
Alofa mo Meaola and the DoA veterinarian,
Dr. Brenda Smith, have scheduled a series of
spay and neuter clinics, with the first few being
held at the Fagatogo Pavilion.
According to organizers, people must bring
their animals in cages or on leashes by 9a.m.
and pick up their animals by 2p.m.
Everything is free if the animal is being
spayed or neutered; if people want to vaccinate
their pet, the cost is $10, and dog license tags
are just $5.
If you are considering bringing your dog or
cat to a clinic, please remember the following:
* Animals should not eat the night before,
or that morning, but should have lots of water.
* Female animals should not be nursing their
puppies or kittens; if they are still nursing, then
surgery must wait until the babies are weaned.
* Major surgery cannot be done at these
clinics - only spaying and neutering. Fixing
broken bones, etc. is done in the Dept. of Agriculture veterinary clinic in Tafuna.
Listed below are the next scheduled dates for
the free Spay/ Neuter Clinics:
Feb. 27 Fagatogo Pavillion
Mar. 6 Afoa guest house in Utulei
Mar. 11 Leone Village (Salavea Otela guest
house, across from the Healing Garden)
Mar. 13 Fogagogo (Maiava House)
Mar. 18 and 20 Organizers are trying to
schedule a clinic on these dates for Pago Pago,
but need a suitable venue. People can call the
Pago pulenu’u, Faepolo at 770-9011 for more
info — or to offer their guest house if possible.
A covered area with power and running water
is needed.
In addition to the village clinics, the group
is actively working to reduce the number of
roaming animals in Lions Park and the Tafuna
Industrial Park. They are visiting those areas to
locate and identify stray as well as owned dogs,
and asking residents and business owners to call
in if they want their dogs spayed or neutered.
If dogs have already been spayed or neutered, the group is offering license tags at $5
each, which will help identify the dogs when
the Task Force begins capturing stray dogs in
those areas.
To add your dog or cat to the schedule for
any village clinic, please call 699-9445.
High School
student dies
at Le’ala cliff
by Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu, Samoa News Reporter
Leone High School is mourning the death of one of their
female students, who died last Saturday at Le’ala. Police are
treating this as a homicide until proven otherwise, says Commissioner of Public Safety, William Bill Haleck.
The Commissioner confirmed that an incident occurred in
Le’ala, and as a result a 17-year-old girl died. Bystanders told
Samoa News that someone in the area contacted the police for
assistance over an incident which occurred there, and as soon as
the young girl saw the police officers at the scene, it’s alleged
she jumped off the cliff and landed on the rocks near the ocean.
Haleck in response to Samoa News queries stated that
someone had called the Leone Police Station for assistance
and when police arrived the second incident (the girl’s death)
happened. The Commissioner did not specify what the girl
did which led to her death, but stated they are conducting an
investigation to determine if the young girl had slipped, or if
it was otherwise an accidental death.
“CID (Criminal Investigation Division) is currently investigating this matter which was referred from the Leone Station, Patrol Division.”
The Commissioner noted that incidents occurring left and
right in the span of three weeks are quite worrying. Haleck
was referring to a recent incident in Afono following a
drinking session, where a man was struck on his head and
later died — the man was attempting to stop a fight amongst
those under the influence.
There was also an incident in Fagatogo, where the deceased
was part of an earlier drinking session. He had gotten into
a fight, where he got hurt, but he did not go to the hospital.
Instead, he went home and slept. Neighbors found him dead
the next day and there were visual injuries to his face and body.
samoa news, Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Page 3
Notice for Proposed Registration of Matai Title
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Section 6.0105 of the Revised Code of American Samoa
that a claim of succession which has been filed with the Territorial Registrar’s office for the registration
of the Matai Title FETUI of the village of OLOSEGA by RAMES MOLIPE of the village of OLOSEGA, county
of OLOSEGA, MANU’A District.
THE TERRITORIAL REGISTRAR is satisfied that the claim, petition by the family and certificate of the
village chiefs are in proper form.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that anyone so desiring must file his counterclaim, or objection to the
registration of this matai title with the Territorial Registrar Office before the expiration of 60 days from
the date of posting. If no counterclaim, nor any objection is filed by the expiration of said 60 days, the
matai title FETUI shall be registered in the name of RAMES MOLIPE in accordance with the laws of
American Samoa.
POSTED:
FEBRUARY 1, 2014 thru APRIL 2, 2014
SIGNED:
Taito S.B. White, Territorial Registrar
Fa’aaliga o le Fia Fa’amauina o se Suafa Matai
O le fa’aaliga lenei ua faasalalauina e tusa ma le Maga 6.0105 o le tusi tulafono a Amerika Samoa, e
pei ona suia, ona o le talosaga ua faaulufaleina mai i le Ofisa o le Resitara o Amerika Samoa, mo le fia
faamauina o le suafa matai o FETUI o le nu’u o OLOSEGA e RAMES MOLIPE o OLOSEGA faalupega o
OLOSEGA, falelima i MANU’A.
Ua taliaina e le Resitara lea talosaga, faatasi ma le talosaga a le aiga faapea ma le tusi faamaonia mai
matai o lea nu’u, ma ua i ai nei i teuga pepa a lea ofisa.
A i ai se tasi e faafinagaloina, ia faaulufaleina sana talosaga tete’e, po o sana faalavelave tusitusia i le
Ofisa o Resitara i totonu o aso e 60 mai le aso na faalauiloa ai lenei fa’aaliga. Afai o lea leai se talosaga
tete’e, po’o se faalavelave foi e faaulufaleina mai i aso e 60 e pei ona taua i luga, o lea faamauina loa
lea suafa matai i le igoa o RAMES MOLIPE e tusa ai ma aiaiga o le tulafono a Amerika Samoa.
02/26 & 03/26/14
American Samoa Government
OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
RFP No: RFP-037-2014
RFP No:
RFP-037-2014
Issuance Date: February 26, 2014
Date & Time Due: March 12, 2014
No later than 2:00 p.m. local time
The American Samoa Government (ASG) issues a Request For Proposals (RFP) from
qualified firms for the:
“Turtle and Shark National Register Nomination”
Submission:
Original and five copies of the Proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked:
“Turtle and Shark National Register Nomination” Submissions are to be sent to the following
address and will be received until 2:00 p.m. (local time), Wednesday, March 12, 2014:
Office of Procurement
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
attn: Tiaotalaga J.E. Kruse, CPO
Any proposal received after the aforementioned date and time will not be accepted under any
circumstances. Late submissions will not be opened or considered and will be determined as
beingn on-responsive.
Document:
The RFP Scope of Work outlining the proposal requirements is available at the Office of
Procurement, Tafuna, American Samoa, during normal working hours.
Review:
Request for Proposal data will be thoroughly reviewed by an appointed Source Evaluation
Board under the auspices of the Chief Procurement Officer, Office of Procurement, ASG.
Right of Rejection:
The American Samoa Government reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals and to
waive any irregularities and/or informalities in the submitted proposals that are not in the best
interests of the American Samoa Government or the public.
“Equal Opportunity Employer / Affirmative Action”
TIAOTALAGA J.E. KRUSE
Chief Procurement Officer
Page 4
Small Business
Credit Initiative
Application still
in review by feds
(BASED ON A PRESS RELEASE) — Washington DC —
Friday, February 21, 2014 — Today, Governor Lolo M. Moliga
met with officials of the US Department of Treasury to discuss
the territory’s Small Business Credit Initiative Application,
which is still being reviewed.
The meeting included Clifton Kellogg, Program Director for
the State Small Business Credit Initiative within the US Department of Treasury and David Rixter who is the Outreach Manager and the contact person at the US Treasury for all SSBCI
programs.
According to the press release, Kellogg thanked the Governor for the opportunity to meet with him personally and
assured Lolo that American Samoa’s application is being
reviewed and many of the questions posed by his staff have
been responded to clearly by the American Samoa Department
of Commerce (DOC).
“American Samoa has come up with a truly innovative
SSBCI format that is already gaining attention from the White
House and other States,” the press release stated, noting “the
SSBCI Program is only three years old and already states
have different approaches and varying strategies in program
content.”
The media release does not detail what American Samoa’s
“truly innovative SSBCI format” is.
Samoa News should point out that the application being
reviewed is a revised application, submitted in December 2013,
after the two local banks, Bank of Hawaii and ASB- ANZ, were
reluctant to participate in the initial SSBCI program guidelines
— mainly the Loan Guarantee Program, which would have
been only for 50% of a commercial loan, exposing the banks
to risks with the balance of the loan principle if the borrower
defaulted. Under the Lolo Administration, the DOC is the lead
on the application.
The federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
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.
During last Friday’s meeting, Kellogg also informed Lolo
that Rixter has been a strong advocate for American Samoa’s
SSBCI Application and he and the DOC director, Keniseli
Lafaele, are collaborating to ensure that all questions and issues
of concern are comprehensively addressed.
The SSBCI program director in particular noted that American Samoa will be held accountable like all the States to
ensure that full compliance with the four criteria is met; that is,
American Samoa must have established capacity 1) to handle
the money, 2) to underwrite the loans, 3) for effective evaluation, and 4) to comply with all requirements, including the
marketing of the program and the needed outreach.
The Governor assured Kellogg that since the onset of his
administration he has made a commitment to improve the
American Samoa Government’s integrity and image with
the federal agencies by making sure that all federal program
requirements are complied with, without compromise. The
same attention will be placed on ensuring that all requirements
of the SSBCI Program will receive full compliance from his
government, he said.
Lolo thanked all who are involved with the application to
ensure all issues of concern are resolved, including John Clyburn and Mike Davis of InTek for the technical support and
expert guidance in the development of American Samoa’s
SSBCI Application and ensuring that our application is moved
through the US Department of Treasury review process
expeditiously.
© Osini Faleatasi Inc. reserves all rights.
dba Samoa News is published Monday through Saturday,
except for some local and federal holidays.
Please send correspondences to: OF, dba Samoa News,
Box 909, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799.
Contact us by Telephone at (684) 633-5599
Contact us by Fax at (684) 633-4864
Contact us by Email at [email protected]
Normal business hours are Mon. thru Fri. 8am to 5pm.
Permission to reproduce editorial and/or advertisements,
in whole or in part, is required. Please address such requests
to the Publisher at the address provided above.
ASCC students participate in a volleyball game as part of the Student Government Association’s calendar of events for this semester, which emphasizes Healthy Living through sports and
[Photo: J. Kneubuhl]
other activities. ASCC Student Government
emphasizes healthy living
By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer
Returning students to the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) have noticed that
the Student Government Association (SGA) calendar of activities has a different emphasis in
spring 2014 than in previous semesters. Where in the past the SGA organized competitions
between various student clubs, this semester the calendar places a greater emphasis on sports
activities open to all students whether they belong to a club or not.
“When planning this semester’s activities, the SGA decided to focus on Healthy Living ,” said
SGA Coordinator Maxine Tuiolemotu. “That’s why most of the activities this semester are the
type that keeps the body moving. We’d like to motivate students to not only lose weight and feel
stronger through physical activity, but also to stay sharp mentally.”
Tuiolemotu explained that the SGA based its decision to take a different approach this
semester in the hopes of serving a greater percentage of the student population. “There have been
no competitive clubs since last semester,” she said. “When the calendar was based on activities
for competitive clubs, we only had about 20% of our student population participating. Since the
goal of the SGA is to serve the whole student body, this semester, we’ve shifted our emphasis to
activities open to any students, not just club members. “
During February, the most prominent health-related activity are the volleyball competitions
on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A collaboration between SGA and the Physical Education Academic Department, the volleyball competitions take place between teams made up of students
and staff in male and female divisions. The Physical Education personnel coordinate the games,
supply referees, and sign up the different teams, while the SGA distributes the awards for each
championship game.
Tuiolemotu noted that currently awards or prizes are distributed immediately after each competition, unlike during past semesters where prizes in the club competitions were not given out
till the end of the semester.
In March, the highlighted sports activity will switch to basketball, and over the semester students can also take part in forthcoming SGA events such as a Talent Show; April Fools game
competitions; an International Day to be organized in collaboration with the International Club
(which will include food tasting, country costumes and cultural dance displays); an Easter Egg
Hunt; and a Dance Competition. The final SGA activity of spring 2014 will be Field Games
which will include Samoan cultural competition in basket weaving, coconut husking and preparing coconut milk.
This semester’s SGA members include Executive Officers Mrs. Theresa Togia (President),
Ms. Patricia Tofilau (Vice President), Ms. Anna Sewell (Secretary), Ms. Visa Vaiau (Treasurer),
and Ms. Talimeli Taufete’e (Representative to the Board of Higher Education).
Sophomore Representatives are Ms. Rasela Ta’ala, Ms. Lana Toia, Ms. Jessebeth Ropeti, Ms.
Grace A. Senetenari and Ms. Mereane Laumatia. Freshman Representatives are Ms. Anastacia
Carruthers, Ms. Josephine Yandall, Ms. Athena Savali and Ms. Mereina Laumatia.
Honorary Members are Princess Auva’a (Peer Mentors/YANA), Mr. Tony Bishop (Diversity/
Archivist), and Mr. Arona Toalepai (Parliamentarian).
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Page 6
Shipyard faces deteriorating financial situation
by Fili Sagapolutele, Samoa News Correspondent
Immigration Office staffers (left) as they register undocumented immigrants at the Fagaitua
[photo: AF]
site last week Tuesday, under the new Immigration Amnesty Program. ➧ NEWS IN BRIEF…
Police: Ohio driver’s bible
booklet stops bullet
CINCINNATI (AP) — A biblical booklet
in a shirt pocket apparently helped a bus driver
survive a shooting, and authorities were looking
Tuesday for three suspects, police say.
The driver for the Greater Dayton Regional
Transit Authority told Dayton police he was
standing outside the bus early Monday morning
when the men shot at him three times, with one
bullet hitting his leg. He also was stabbed in the
arm.
Rickey Wagoner, 49, of Trotwood, told
police he fought back, grabbed the gun and the
men ran away. Wagoner told police he fired at
them before driving the bus to a safe location
and calling for help.
“I stabbed one in the leg, I think, with my
pen,” he said on the 911 call to police in Dayton,
about 60 miles north of Cincinnati.
Police said Tuesday no one was on the bus
at the time.
Wagoner said in the 911 call that he felt two
shots to his chest, but he didn’t think the bullets got through the booklet in his shirt pocket.
Police said in their report that two small-caliber
bullets hit the booklet called “The Message,”
which has Bible verses in contemporary language and were found lodged inside the book.
“It just feels like I’ve been hit with a sledgehammer,” Wagoner said. “I’ve got a book in my
pocket, and I don’t think they made it through
this book.”
Wagoner told police he just started carrying
the book about a week ago.
Panel faults US gov’t over
offshore tax evasion
WASHINGTON (AP) — Billions of dollars
in U.S. taxes are going unpaid because Americans are exploiting Swiss bank accounts, and
the U.S. government has failed to aggressively
pursue Switzerland’s second-largest bank, a
Senate investigation has found.
The bank, Credit Suisse, has provided
accounts in Switzerland for more than 22,000
U.S. clients totaling $10 billion to $12 billion,
according to a report issued Tuesday by the
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The U.S. government has received only
238 names of U.S. citizens with secret accounts
at Credit Suisse, or just 1 percent of the estimated total, the investigation concluded.
Credit Suisse recruited U.S. clients to open
Swiss accounts from 2001 through 2008, helped
them conceal the accounts from the Internal
Revenue Service and enabled misconduct by
bank employees, the subcommittee asserted.
For five years, the Senate panel has been
examining Swiss banks’ use of secrecy laws
to enable tax evasion by Americans. The main
focus of its latest report was Credit Suisse.
Continued from page 2
San Diego police chief
resigns after 11 years
SAN DIEGO (AP) — William Lansdowne
said Tuesday that he was resigning as San
Diego’s police chief after nearly 11 years on the
job and would leave office the same day that
a new mayor is sworn in to lead the nation’s
eighth-largest city.
Lansdowne, 69, retires as his department
faces officer-misconduct allegations. Earlier
this month, he said he would seek an outside
audit of the department’s policies, training and
discipline.
Lansdowne said Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer didn’t ask him to resign but that he felt
the time was right to step aside, calling it a difficult decision. The chief informed Faulconer on
Monday night.
Faulconer, a two-term Republican city councilman, told the U-T San Diego newspaper on
Monday that he would demand changes at the
department and declined to say if he wanted
Lansdowne to stay.
“There is absolutely a need to make sure
we have public trust and confidence in the San
Diego Police Department,” Faulconer told the
newspaper. “I will be taking definitive steps to
make sure that happens.”
New Zealand will sell stake
in 3rd power company
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) —
New Zealand’s government on Wednesday
announced plans to sell a slice of a third stateowned power company as the final step in a
contentious program of asset sales.
Finance Minister Bill English said in a speech
the government planned to list Genesis Energy
on the stock market in mid-April. He said the
government would sell between 30 and 49 percent of the company depending on demand.
Over the past year, the conservative government has raised about 4 billion New Zealand
dollars ($3.3 billion) by selling 49 percent stakes
in energy companies Mighty River Power and
Meridian Energy. It also sold a 20 percent stake
in national carrier Air New Zealand, which was
already partially privately owned.
The government says the program has helped
it reduce foreign debt and allowed it to invest in
hospitals, schools and roads.
But opponents say the program is ideologically driven and unnecessary. More than twothirds of New Zealanders who voted in a referendum last year said they opposed the sales.
Genesis Energy is the smallest of the three
power companies. An independent 2011 assessment valued the company at NZ$1.8 billion,
suggesting the government could expect to reap
between NZ$540 million and NZ$900 million
from the sale.
Faced with serious economic conditions in the fishery
industry, the American Samoa Shipyard Services Authority board
chairman David Robinson says five shipyard workers have been
laid off and the shipyard has informed the governor’s office of its
deteriorating financial situation. Robinson said the five staffers
were laid off effective Monday this week, after advance lay off
notices was provided to them as well as a face-to-face meeting to
explain the situation at the shipyard. “We are faced with serious,
difficult economic conditions in the fishery industry, which is
affecting the shipyard,” he told Samoa News yesterday.
“Having due regard to the sensitivity of this issue, we carried out a very careful assessment of all our staff levels in each
department,” he said. “And with input from each of the supervisors, the shipyard management came to the conclusion that
we had more staff in certain departments than was necessary in
view of the shortage of work that we are experiencing and we
are likely to experience going forward this year.”
He says the five people identified for lay off, included one
crane driver who has to report to the LBJ Medical Center every
week as his health is “extremely poor and he could be a danger
to our work force if he suffered a medical condition on the job.”
Others laid off were a janitor, two welders and a general worker.
Robinson said the shipyard has asked the ASG Department of
Human Resources to try and relocate the two welders and so far
one has been relocated with expectation that the other will also be
relocated. As to the production manager hired last September from
New Zealand, this individual is returning to his home country this
week “due to personal family reasons,” said Robinson, adding the
shipyard currently has a workforce of 33 people.
CHALLENGES
Since the start of fiscal year 2014 on Oct. 1 last year, Robinson said the shipyard has lost approximately eight weeks of
potential revenue. For example, six of the eight weeks were
used to carry out all the repairs, including the replacement of
the hauling chain and realignment of the railway lines — all of
which were necessary to continue in business.
Additionally, it lost two weeks at the beginning of January
due to bad weather and then two longliners canceled their dry
dock appointments, while “one purse seiner that was scheduled
to dry dock in December canceled so we have lost a considerable amount of revenue,” he said.
Robinson noted, “It would seem unlikely that the local
fishing industry will see improved conditions in the near term
if the price of fish remains low,” adding that the problems experienced by the local longliner fleet have been well documented.
(Longliner owners put up around 18 boats for sale in the
beginning of January 2014 as they faced issues such as the price
of fish and stiff competition from Chinese fishing boats that are
subsidized by their government.)
The board chair said that in late December 2013, the Governor’s Office was advised of “our deteriorating financial situation
and the [Shipyard] Board of Directors put in place a plan to reduce
expenses.” Parts of this plan “need to be fully ratified by the governor”, upon his return home at the end of this week, he added.
“We see the next few months as remaining difficult and even
though we have dry dock bookings forward till July, the work is
only small in dollar value,” he said.
CHICKENS
Taputimu Farm offers $2.00
for live bird (Special)
Come to Taputimu Farm
by Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu, Samoa News Reporter
SAMUELU SAE SENTENCED FRIDAY, AFTER RENDERING GUILTY PLEA
One of the two men who broke into a Pavaia’i store in June 2012 and removed $475 cash has
entered into a plea agreement with the government. Samuelu Sae was charged with first degree
burglary and stealing, however he pled guilty to the amended charge of attempted stealing, a lesser
charge. Upon his plea of guilt, the government moved to dismiss the burglary count. Associate
Justice Lyle L Richmond accepted the plea agreement in this matter.
The defendant admitted that during the evening hours of June 3, 2012 he along with his codefendant John Ioane broke into the Samumalu Sales Store by breaking the front door. The defendant, Sae took $475 in cash. During the plea, Richmond noted the defendant must agree to pay
restitution to the victim for the cash taken and testify in trial against a third co-defendant Gabriel
Tinai, who was the watchman in this case. According to the plea agreement, Sae said he understands and accepts that in the event the court imposes a different sentence than that recommended
by counsel, he will not be allowed to withdraw his plea of guilty.
MAN CHARGED FOR RAPING NIECE IN PAGO PAGO
A 38-year-old man is being held on a $50,000 bail on allegations that he raped his 17-year-old
niece last year and the incident is alleged to have occurred in Pago Pago. Samoa News is withholding the name of the defendant to protect the identity of the victim in this matter. The defendant’s sister is the mother of the victim. The uncle is charged with felony counts of Rape, Sexual
Abuse, Deviate Sexual Assault and Incest.
The government claims, on July 16, 2013 a woman reported to police that she caught her
brother naked in the bedroom with her daughter. Court filings say, the girl told police the first
incident occurred on July 11, 2013, and the second incident occurred on July 16, 2013, when the
sexual intercourse occurred. The victim told police she was a virgin when the incident occurred.
The victim also told a social worker that she was raped by her uncle.
During the interrogation with the defendant, court filings say, he admitted that he had had feelings for his niece for a very long time and that he is aroused every time he sees his niece.
MAN IN STABBING CASE FACING FELONY ASSAULT
Pati Solomona charged with first degree assault on allegations he stabbed another man with a
broken glass during a drinking session has signed a plea agreement with the government. Solomona, who’s held on $20,000 bail, will be in court to have the plea deal on record. According to
the government’s case, the defendant was at a party, when a verbal argument started.
It’s alleged Solomona stabbed the victim in the neck with a broken beer glass. Court filings
say when police officers questioned the defendant, he admitted he punched the victim, but denied
stabbing him with an object, however witnesses at the scene told police otherwise.
It’s unclear at this time what charge he has pled guilty to, but his change of plea hearing is set
for today before Chief Justice Michael Kruse.
Leopard on the prowl
panics a bustling city
MEERUT, India (AP) — Forestry officials and police armed
with tranquilizer darts searched for a leopard that injured six
people and drove residents indoors in a bustling northern Indian
city, police said Tuesday.
The leopard wandered through an army hospital and a
crowded market in Meerut city on Sunday, setting off a minor
stampede in which two more people were hurt, said police
superintendent Abhiskek Singh.
Authorities ordered schools and colleges closed on Monday
and asked people to stay indoors as police teams scoured the
city. Shopkeepers lowered their shutters and the city streets
emptied. Soldiers also joined the hunt after the leopard was first
spotted in the army hospital Sunday afternoon. “We cordoned
off the area and waited. It emerged some hours later and jumped,
injuring a police inspector,” Singh said. The animal leaped over
the roofs of single-storied homes and disappeared.
Since then groups of wildlife officials wearing helmets and
carrying tranquilizer guns and volunteers armed with sticks have
been searching a wide swathe around the hospital.
At one point, forestry officials closed in on the leopard in a
warehouse, but it leaped through a concrete grill, breaking it and
escaping. “It’s a fully grown male ... a big animal with enormous
strength, which is what has panicked residents,” Singh said.
“We were afraid to go out of the house. There was a lot of
panic and fear,” homemaker Pooja Mahajan said Tuesday. “But
no one has spotted the leopard since yesterday, so today things
are back to normal.”
Singh said schools and colleges reopened Tuesday.
Wildlife officials were on alert but it was likely the animal
had fled to nearby forests, he said.
Leopards are protected in India, though more are straying
into cities and villages to search for food as their habitats shrink.
Meerut, a bustling commercial city in Uttar Pradesh state, is
about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the Indian capital,
New Delhi.
In another part of Uttar Pradesh, a female tiger has killed nine
people, most of them poor villagers and farm laborers living on
the fringes of a wildlife reserve park.
Forest officials roped in wildlife hunters to track down the
tiger but gave up after nearly two weeks of a futile search.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Project Notification & Review System
Legal Notice
PNRS BOARD MEETING
March 05, 2014
Notice is hereby given that the Department of Commerce/American Samoa Coastal
Management Program has received a Land Use Permit Application from the following
individuals.
1. DPW c/o Faleosina Voigt
14-2570-L
Federal Consistency Certification and new construction ASG facilities (EOB) with utilities,
filling, clearing and excavation - Ofu
2. MaryanneA fualo
14-2542-LVB
Proposal for construction of a new commercial building (warehouse) - ‘Ili’ili
3. Abe& T aiepisiJ amias
14-2546-LVB
Proposal for converting fish market for a Laundromat with utilities - ‘Ili’ili
4. MarkA tafua
13-2491-LVB
Proposal for new construction of a storage with utilities - Nu’uuli
PROPOSAL FOR DRY LITTER PIGGERIES:
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Fereti Jr. Pulou
NaomiS eafa
CatherineM aria-RosaryA dams
Alofa Sa’o
KimP ili
Ao& H elenL ago
Mathew Failauga
VaitoelauL aumoli
MasefauS uiaunoa
Salvador Ve’ave’a
Faga’itua
Mapusagafou
Vaitogi
Taputimu
Faleniu
Pava’ia’i
Pava’ia’i
Leone
Nua
Afao
14-2578-L
14-2569-L
14-2587-L
14-2588-L
14-2568-L
14-2580-L
14-2577-L
14-2579-L
14-2589-L
14-2567-L
Persons interested in or affected by a proposed project, are invited to review the project file
and provide comments based on environmental issues, by contacting Marvis Vaiaga’e at 6335155, at the Department of Commerce in Utulei during regular ASG working hours. Public
comments must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 04, 2014. Interested
individuals are also invited to attend a Public Hearing at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 05,
2014 at DOC Conference Room, on the 2nd Floor of the Executive Office Building in Utulei.
O lo’o iai i le Ofisa o Fa’afetauaina ni talosaga mo Pemita e Fa’atagaina ai le Fa’aaogaina o
Fanua ma Laueleele e tusa ma ala o le Tulafono. A iai se tasi e fa’asea pe fia tusia se molimau i
ni afaina o le si’osi’omaga pe a galueaina nei galuega, telefoni mai ia Marvis Vaiaga’e i le 6335155. E mafai fo’i ona e auai i le fono a le Komiti Fa’afoe ia Ianuari 05, 2014, ile itula e 9 i le
taeao.
Page 8
David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service, poses with some of 1,427 GoldRush era U.S. gold coins, at his office in Santa Ana, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014.
A California couple out walking their dog on their property stumbled across the modern-day
bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree. Nearly
all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said Hall, who
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
recently authenticated them. Couple stumbles
upon $10 million
in rare gold coins
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
A Northern California couple
out walking their dog on their
property stumbled across a
modern-day bonanza: $10
million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the
shadow of an old tree.
Nearly all of the 1,427
coins, dating from 1847 to
1894, are in uncirculated, mint
condition, said David Hall, cofounder of Professional Coin
Grading Service of Santa Ana,
which recently authenticated
them. Although the face value
of the gold pieces only adds up
to more than $28,000, some
of them are so rare that coin
experts say they could fetch
nearly $1 million apiece.
“I don’t like to say oncein-a-lifetime for anything, but
you don’t get an opportunity
to handle this kind of material,
a treasure like this, ever,” said
veteran numismatist Don Kagin,
who is representing the finders.
“It’s like they found the pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow.”
Kagin, whose family has
been in the rare-coin business
for 81 years, would say little
about the couple other than
that they are husband and wife,
are middle-aged and have lived
for several years on the rural
property in California’s Gold
Country, where the coins were
found. They have no idea who
put them there, he said.
The pair are choosing to
remain anonymous, Kagin
said, in part to avoid a renewed
gold rush to their property by
modern-day prospectors armed
with metal detectors.
They also don’t want to be
treated any differently, said
David McCarthy, chief numismatist for Kagin Inc. of Tiburon.
“Their concern was this
would change the way everyone
else would look at them, and
they’re pretty happy with the
lifestyle they have today,” he
said. They plan to put most of
the coins up for sale through
Amazon while holding onto a
few keepsakes. They’ll use the
money to pay off bills and quietly donate to local charities,
Kagin said.
Before they sell them, they
are loaning some to the American Numismatic Association for
its National Money Show, which
opens Thursday in Atlanta.
What makes their find particularly valuable, McCarthy
said, is that almost all of the
coins are in near-perfect condition. That means that whoever
put them into the ground likely
socked them away as soon as
they were put into circulation.
Because paper money was
illegal in California until the
1870s, he added, it’s extremely
rare to find any coins from
before that of such high quality.
“It wasn’t really until the
1880s that you start seeing
coins struck in California that
were kept in real high grades
of preservation,” he said.
The coins, in $5, $10 and
$20 denominations, were
stored more or less in chronological order in six cans,
McCarthy said, with the 1840s
and 1850s pieces going into
one can until it was filed, then
new coins going into the next
one and the next one after that.
The dates and the method indicated that whoever put them
there was using the ground as
their personal bank and that
they weren’t swooped up all at
once in a robbery.
C
M
Y
K
C
M
Y
K
E le o fai fa’atoaga
uma e mana’omia
laisene pisinisi…
Lali
Le
tusia Ausage Fausia
C
M
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C
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Na faamanino e le Fa’atonusili o le Matagaluega o Fa’atoaga
i luma o le Senate ananafi e faapea, e le o tagata fai faatoaga
uma i le teritori e manaomia ona faia ni a latou laisene pisinisi,
ina ia faa faigofie ai feuiaiga mo a latou faatoaga i le taimi nei,
aemaise lava i le taimi e manaomia ai ni fesoasoani tau tupe mo
a latou faatoaga.
O le toatele o ni isi o le aufai faatoaga ua faasea aga’i i Senatoa ma Faipule e faatatau i laisene pisinisi ua manaomia mo a
latou faatoaga, atoa ai ma ni isi o mataupu sa fia malamalama
i ai afioga i Senatoa, na mafua ai loa ona valaau le iloiloga e le
Komiti o Fa’atoaga a le maota, ina ia mafai ai ona faamanino e
le Faatonusili tulaga uma o lo o fia malamalama i ai le maota.
O le tofa Lealao M. Purcell ma lona sui faatonusili ia Peter
Gurr na molimau i luma o le komiti e tusa ai o lenei mataupu.
Na faamanino e Lealao e faapea, e le o manaomia ona faia
e le aufai faatoaga a le atunuu ni pemita ona o tulaga i a latou
faatoaga, faatoa manaomia lava e le fai faatoaga le pemita pe
afai e i ai ni fua o faaeleeleaga e fia aumai i Samoa, po o le avatu
fo’i iinei aga’i i Samoa.
“Se’i vagana ai le mataupu e faatatau i laisene pisinisi, o
le mataupu lena o lo o taumafai pea le latou ofisa e faamalamalama i le aufai faatoaga, ina ia manino ai le tulaga e pei ona
nenefu ai le toatele,” o le saunoaga lea a Lealao.
Na taua e le alii faatonusili e faapea, o se tasi o mafuaaga
ua ala ai ona manatu e manaomia laisene pisinisi mo tagata fai
faatoaga, aemaise lava i latou o lo o faatau atu fua o a latou
faaeleeleaga i le polokalame a le School Lunch a le Matagaluega o Aoga, ona o ni isi o i latou nei (aemaise lava i tagata mai
Asia), e ese lava galuega na mafua ai ona ulufale mai i le teritori
e fai, ese galuega ia ua latou o faatino.
Mo se faataitaiga e pei ona saunoa le alii faatonu, o ni isi
o tagata mai Asia na o mai e galulue o ni faatau oloa poo teu
oloa i totonu o faleoloa, ae ina ua taunuu mai iinei ma vaai i
le tamaoaiga e maua i faatoaga, ona manatu loa lea e tulioso e
fai a latou faatoaga, ma ua soli ai le isi vaega o le tulafono tau
femalagaaiga, ia galue i le galuega na mafua ai ona ulufale mai
i le teritori.
Na taua e Lealao i le komiti e faapea, e manino le tulafono,
e le tatau ona aafia tagata fai faatoaga i Amerika Samoa i tulaga
o laisene pisinisi, ma o tulaga foi nei o lo o mulimulita’i i ai la
latou matagaluega.
Ae talu ai tulaga o lafoga o lo o totogi atu i le malo, ua manatu
ai loa e manaomia ni laisene pisinisi mo le aufai faatoaga o lo
o faatau atu a latou faaeleeleaga i le polokalame a le School
Lunch, ina ia faa faigofie ai tulaga o le toe failaina o lafoga i le
faaiuga o le tausaga.
“E aoga fo’i laisene pisinisi mo le aufai faatoaga, pe afai
latou te manaomia ni fesoasoani e pei o nonogatupe i faletupe,
ae o lo o i ai le laisene pisinisi e faamaonia ai tulaga o le pisinisi
ma tupe maua,” o le isi lea saunoaga a le alii faatonu.
Na taua e le afioga i le alii senatoa ia Faletagoa’i Tuiolemotu lona teena malosi o le fuafuaga e fai laisene o le aufai
faatoaga, aua, na mafua ona fai le faatoaga a le tagata Amerika
Samoa, e tua i ai lona aiga ona o le tulaga lima vaivai, ae
afai o lea ua faaaoga e le malo e saili ai tupe, o se tulaga e le
talafeagai.
Na fesili le afioga i le alii senatoa ia Magalei Logovi’i, pe
moni tala o lo o tomumumu ai nisi o le aufai faatoaga, fai mai
ua oo lava fo’i i fa’i ma taro ua maua fo’i e tagata fai faatoaga
mai Asia le avanoa latou te sapalaia ai vaega ia i le School
Lunch, ae pagatia ai le aufai faatoaga a le atunuu, ae na saunoa
Lealao, “e le sa’o lea tulaga.”
Na faamanino atili e Lealao e faapea, e na o fualaau aina lava
o lo o mafai e tagata fai faatoaga mai Asia ona sapalai mo le
School Lunch, ae o fa’i, taro ma isi fua o faaeleeleaga, o tagata
fai faatoaga a le atunuu o lo o latou sapalaia.
I tulaga o fa’i pula, sa fia malamalama le afioga i le alii senatoa ia Gaea Perefoti Failautusi, pe moni tala salatua o lo o i
ai ni isi o le aufai faatoaga o lo o latou faaaogaina vailaau tata
lavalava (clorox) e vali ai le tino le fa’i ina ia vave ona pula, ae
na toe saunoa fo’i Lealao, “e le sa’o na tu’uaiga.”
Na faamanino e le alii faatonusili e faapea, soo se taumafa
e faatau atu i le School Lunch, e muamua ona siaki e le aufaigaluega faatoa talia ai, e oo lava fo’i i fa’i pula, e le mafai ona
taliaina ni fa’i e masalomia o lo o faia i ai ni isi auala ina ia vave
ai ona pula, e ese mai le tuu lava o le fa’i se’i pula lelei.
Feso’ota’i mai i le tusitala ia [email protected]
Le Faatonusili o le Ofisa o Fa’atoaga a le malo ia Lealao M. Purcell (itu taumatau) ma lona
sui faatonu ia Peter Gurr, ina ua molimau i se iloiloga sa faia i luma o le Senate ananafi, lea na
[ata: AF]
fesiligia ai le mataupu e faatatau i laisene mo le aufai faatoaga.
Saunia: L.A.F./Naenae Productions
FAAVAEINA VAEGA FAAUPUFAI FOU
Ua faamaonia e le sui faipule mai le itumalo Siumu, le afioga Tu’u’u Anasii Leota le amata
faagaioi o le faavaeina o se vaega faaupufai fou ma ua ia faailoaina foi e faapea, o ia o le a taitaia
lea vaega faaupufai. Peitai na ia faaalia, e le mafai ona ia faailoaina le aofai o sui o lana vaega
faaupufai i le taimi nei seia aloaia. Ae na ia faaalia, ua mafua ona faavaeina lea vaega faaupufai
ona o le le fiafia o nisi o sui a faipule o le HRPP i le faafoeine e le minisita o Tupe, le afioga Faumuina Tiatia Liuga, o ona tiute i le vaaia o tupe a le malo. Na saunoa Tu’u’u, o lo o mananao ia
sui e faatulai ese Faumuina mai lona tofiga ona o leaga o lona faafoeina o nisi o mataupu, ae leai
se fuafuaga a le alii palemia o faia i ai. O ia mataupu e aofia ai fausia o le maketi i Fugalei, o lona
ofisa i le SNPF Plaza, ma faiga le amiotonu i le ofisa o Fanua o Samoa e pei ona faamaonia e le
komiti o Ofisa o le Palemene.
APILI FAAIUGA A FAAMASINO VAAI
Ua faamaonia mai e le Loia Sili, le susuga Aumua Ming Leung Wai, le apili e lona ofisa o le
faaiuga a le afioga Faamasino Lesatele Rapi Vaai lea na ia faaleaogaina ai le faaiuga a le vasega
o Faatonu o le Faamasinoga, na faamaonia ai le moliaga o le fasioti tagata faamoemoeina faasaga
ia Jonathan Patrick Crichton, ona o le maliu o le alii Samoa mai Niu Sila o Hans Dalton. Peitai e
lei faailoaina mai e Aumua ia mafuaaga ua latou apiliina ai lea faaiuga.
O Crichton mai Leifiifi ma Tafuna, Amerika Samoa na molia i le maliu o Hans Dalton, o se
alii e le atoatoa le malosi o lona mafaufau mai Niu Sila sa taofia ai i le toese i Tafaigata. Ina ua
maea taualumaga o lona faamasinoga, sa faamaonia e le vasega o Faatonu lona moliaga o le fasioti
tagata faamoemoeina. Peitai na faaleaogaina e Faamasino Lesatele lea faaiuga ona na ia faaalia, e
le “faamaonia i se tulaga e le toe finauina” le moliaga sa molia ai lea alii.
TOFIGA FOU A LE KAPENETA
E lua tofiga fou ua faia e le Kapeneta e faauluulu i ai nisi o ana matagaluega. Ua tofia nei
le susuga Leausa Toleafoa Dr. Take Naseri, o se alii fomai ua loa tausaga o tautua i le falemai
i Fagaalu, e avea ma ofisa sili o pulega o le Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina mo le isi tolu
tausaga, ae tofia le susuga Fauena Susana Laulu i le tofiga ofisa sili o pulega o le Faletupe o Atinae
a Samoa. Ua suia nei e Leausa ia le tamaitai o Palanitina Tupuimatagi Toelupe sa tauaveina lea
tofiga mo le tele o tausaga. O le susuga Leausa ua silia i le 20 tausaga o tautua i le galuega faafomai i Samoa, Amerika Samoa ma Niu Sila. O le susuga Fauena sa avea ma sui ofisa sili o pulega
a le Faletupe o Atinae mo le lima tausaga ua tuanai ma sa faauluulu ia te ia le vaega o Tupe a le
Faletupe. O ia o se suetusi ma sa galue muamua i le BOC Samoa faapea le kamupani suetusi o le
Lesa ma Penn Accounting Firm.
(Faaauau itulau 10)
Page 10
LAND COMMISSION
NOTICE is hereby given that PULETASI AISAKE of OLOSEGA, American Samoa, has executed
a LEASE AGREEMENT to a certain parcel of land commonly known as VAISAILI which is situated
in the village of OLOSEGA, in the County of OLOSEGA, MANU’A District, Island of MANU’A,
American Samoa. Said LEASE AGREEMENT is now on file with the Territorial Registrar to be
forwarded to the Governor respecting his approval or disapproval thereof according to the laws
of American Samoa. Said instrument names AMERICAN SAMOA POWER AUTHORITY (ASPA) as
LESSEE.
Any person who wish, may file his objection in writing with the Secretary of the Land
Commission before the 15TH day of APRIL, 2014. It should be noted that any objection must
clearly state the grounds therefor.
POSTED:
FEBRUARY 14, 2014 thru APRIL 15, 2014
SIGNED:
KOMISI O LAU’ELE’ELE
O LE FA’ASALALAUGA lenei ua faia ona o PULETASI AISAKE ole nu’u o OLOSEGA, Amerika
Samoa, ua ia faia se FEAGAIGA LISI, i se fanua ua lauiloa o VAISAILI, e i le nu’u o OLOSEGA i le
itumalo o OLOSEGA, Falelima i MANU’A ole Motu o MANU’A Amerika Samoa. O lea FEAGAIGA
LISI ua i ai nei i teuga pepa ale Resitara o Amerika Samoa e fia auina atu ile Kovana Sili mo
sana fa’amaoniga e tusa ai ma le Tulafono a Amerika Samoa. O lea mata’upu o lo’o ta’ua ai
AMERICAN SAMOA POWER AUTHORITY (ASPA).
A iai se tasi e fia fa’atu’i’ese i lea mata’upu, ia fa’aulufaleina mai sa na fa’atu’iesega tusitusia
ile Failautusi o lea Komisi ae le’i o’o ile aso 15 o APERILA, 2014. Ia manatua, o fa’atu’iesega
uma lava ia tusitusia manino mai ala uma e fa’atu’iese ai.
02/26 & 03/26/14
tusia Ausage Fausia
FA’ASEA FAIPULE I LE
TUAI ONA MAUA O SIAKI
O LAFOGA A TAGATA
Na fa’aleo e faipule e
to’alua i totonu o le maota o sui
i le vaiaso nei, ni isi o finagalo
fa’asea mai ni isi o tagata faigaluega i le atunuu, ina ua silia i le
tolu itula o laulau tutu e faatali
siaki o lafoga i le aso Faraile na
te’a nei, ae emo ane le ata e leai
ni siaki na maua.
Na taua e le afioga i le alii
faipule ia Faimealelei Anthony
Fu’e Allen e faapea, o le itu e
faanoanoa ai, ua alu le aso o
laulau tutu nai tagata, ae emo
ane le ata e leai ni siaki e maua
mo latou lafoga, ae fesili atu i
le aufaigaluega ae sau le tali, ua
mafua ona leai ni siaki ona o lo
o faatali le tupe mai le malo tele
mo le ‘child tax’.
Na taua e Faimealelei e
faapea, e le tatau ona fai e
le ofisa o lafoga lea alofaga,
aua o tupe mai le feterale mo
tulaga faapenei, e na o le 48
lava itula e faatali ai ae maua
mai, e oo fo’i i lafoga i le tele
o setete i le Iunaite Setete ua
tau fai maua uma.
Na tula’i le afioga i le alii
faipule ia Vaamua Henry Sesepasara ma lagolagoina le
finagalo o Faimealelei faatatau
FA’ASALALAUGA
AIGA TUIALU’ULU’U MA MATA’UTIA,
TA’U, MANU’ATELE
A vailulu’u Malaetele na fai feagaiga ai Samoa i ona Lau Afega, ona suatia lea o le vine tau, ae fa’agaosa
lona paepae valu, ona suatia fo’i lea o le Faleselau, aua ua oia le Falesoa, a’o se tasi o Aiga Tupu faavae
o Samoa.
Ou te mua’i faatulouina le paia ma le mamalu o le Tapaau fa’asisina i le lagi: Le Atua le Tama, Le Alo
ma le Agaga Sa, tainane fo’i lona itupa paia i le lalolagi, o lo’o latou nono manuina manuia mai lagi,
aua Samoa atoa ma ana faiga malo. Tulou.
Ou te fa’atulou atu i paia ma mamalu o Samoa atoa, aua o oe o le Ao mamala ile faasouga o Ao ma le
Atu Folasa. O ou paia le popo, ma ou pa le solo, o ou paia e pei ole maota e tulutulu i tao, ua so’o ona
ta’i ao: Paia ia Pule ma Tumua, Paia o le Faleagafulu, faapea fo’i Fa’atui ma To’oto’o. TULOUNA IA!
Taoto ia le fiso ma ona lau, aua paia o lau faiga malo Tutuila ma Manu’a, ua taoto a’o se ala o’o. E le
toe tau faapaiaina, e pei lava fo’i o upu masani. “E le toe tau laei-ina le ma’a osofia.” O upu e masani
ai Samoa, mai Saua e o’o atu i Falealupo. E leai fo’i se fia ma’ema’e na te toe sopoia le vaosa. Oute
matua fa’atulou, fa’aaloalo, fa’ata’alolo atu!
O le a le malo’u fo’i fa’ala’au tapu’e le Afio o Lau Afioga ile Kovana Sili, Tofa le To’oto’o Lolo Matalasi
Moliga, faapea Lau Susuga ile Sui-Kovana Lemanu Sialega Mauga. Tulou, Tulou, Tulouna ia.
Ae mapu ane ia i ou tafa ma ou mauga maualuluga Tutuila ma Manu’a, aua lau fa’afofogaaga paia. Ae
soloia i fuga magalo lo’u nei leo fa’atauva’a. “OU TE FA’ASILASILA ATU AI MA LE FA’AALOALO MA LE
ALOFA I LO’U AIGA I FALEOSA, TA’U, MANU’A, E FA’APEA FO’I I LATOU O LO’O PAPA A’AO I TUTUILA
NEI. INA UA SA’UA I TALA O PEPA MA TALA FA’ASALALAU I ALA MA NOFOAGA FAITELE, LE AIGA O
TUIALU’ULU’U MA MATA’UTIA.
LO’U AIGA E, O LE UPU A LE TUPU O LE MALO O ISARAELU O SOLOMONA E FA’APEA. “A LEAI SE
FA’AALIGA: E FAASALALAUINA LE NU’U, A’O LE UA TAUSIUSI ILE TULAFONO, AMUIA O IA.”
OU TE LE TOE FATU SE TALA, PE TOE SI’I SE ALA. OU TE FA’AETE FIMALIE: “OLE AIGA I FALESOA OLE
AIGA E LUA I AI AIGA TUPU FA’AVAE O SAMOA.” O le mea lea lo’u Aiga e, “E faape’i ona naunau ole
mutia ile sau, ua fa’apena ona ou auau i lo’u aiga i Falesoa. E lelei Aiga potopoto, ma o le a poto le
tatou aiga ile maota o Tuialu’ulu’u i Falesoa, Tau, Manu’a ia Mati 15, 2014 itula e 9:00 ile taeao. Ia
saunia e le Atua se laofie lelei mo lo tatou aiga.
O LENEI FA’ASALALAUGA UA FAIA,
TUIALU’ULU’U VAIMILI TUIALU’ULU’U
i lenei mataupu.
Na taua e Vaamua e faapea,
e oo lava fo’i i tagata faigaluega
i lona itumalo ua faasea fo’i i
lenei mataupu, ae o le fesili ua
tula’i mai, afai ua leai se tupe
mai fafo e faatupe ai lafoga a
tagata, e foliga mai la e le o i
ai fo’i se tupe a le malo lea e
faaagaga e totogi ai lafoga, ae
toe totogi pe a maua mai tupe
mai le malo tele.
Ua talosagaina e Vaamua le
tatau lea ona fesiligia le Teutupe a le malo, se’i faamanino
le mataupu e faatatau i tupe ia
e faaagaga e totogi ai lafoga a
le malo.
FESILIGIA FAGUVAI
MAI ASIA FAATAU I LE
ATUNUU
O se iloiloga sa faia a le
Komiti o le Soifua Maloloina a
le maota o sui ma sui o le vaega
a le EPA ananafi, na fesiligia
ai e le afioga i le alii faipule
ia Puletuimalo D. Koko le alii
faatonu e faatatau i fagu vai
mai Asia o lo o faatauina i le
atunuu, po o mautinoa e le EPA
o lo o saogalemu ia faguvai mo
le soifua maloloina o tagata.
Na taua e Puletuimalo e
faapea, o le tele o faguvai mai
Asia o lo o faatauina i ni isi o
faleoloa i le atunuu, e taunuu
mai i le teritori faguvai nei ua
afugia uma totonu o le faguvai,
ma ua faailoga fesili ai le tulaga
lelei mo le taumafa.
“Faamata e le mafai e le
EPA ona toe siaki faguvai nei
po o saogalemu mo le fofoga
taumafa o le atunuu, aemaise
fanau aoga o lo o latou faatauina
i aso taitasi,?” o le fesili lea a
Puletuimalo.
Ae na taua e se sui o le EPA
e faapea, o le taimi lava e utu ai
i totonu o le fagu le suavai ma
kiliva mai i Amerika Samoa, e
leai se malosi o le EPA latou
te toe siakiina ai nei faguvai,
sei vagana lava faguvai o lo o
gaosi i Amerika Samoa nei, o
lo o mafai ona siaki e le EPA.
Na toe saunoa Puletuimalo e
faapea, “afai la e leai se malosi
o le EPA e siaki ai oloa nei pe
saogalemu mo tatou tagata, e
sili ai loa le taofi ina ne’i tula’i
mai ai ni aafiaga o ni isi o le
atunuu i le lumanai.”
O se tasi o mataupu na fesiligia, o isi faguvai e tusia i le
gagana Saina poo Kolea upu
i le tino o le faguvai, e faigata
fo’i i tagata faatau ona malamalama poo a nei upu e tusia
ai. O le fautuaga ua tuuina atu
i le EPA, ia toe silasila toto’a i
le mataupu lenei, ona e taua mo
le soifua maloloina o le atunuu.
PASIA SENATE TOTINO
KOMITI FALETUSI
O le vaiaso nei na pasia ai
e le Senate totino o le Komiti
faafoe lea ua tofia e le kovana
e vaavaaia le Faletusi a le
malo, le Feleti Barstow Public
Library. O i latou ua pasia e
aofia ai David Addison, Gwen
Tauiliili-Langkilde ma Wendy
Malepeai, lea e ta’i 14-0 a latou
palota, ma le isi toafa e ta’i
13-1 a latou palota sa maua, e
aofia ai Tom Drabble, Tapaau
Dr. Dan Aga, Albert Toeaina
ma Bessie Manase.
I se vaega o le iugafono a le
Senate na pasia ai totino nei e
toa 7 o le komiti faafoe, o sui
tuai uma o le komiti faafoe ua
mavae, ua maea uma lava a
latou taimi na tofia e galulue ai
i le komiti faafoe, ae toe toalua
foi o lo o aumau i le atunuu.
Na taua e le alii kovana ia
Lolo Matalasi Moliga i sana
tusi i taitai o le Fono e faapea,
o totino o le a galulue mo le
umi e ta’i fa tausaga e aofia ai
Malepeai; Tapaau; TauiliiliLangkilde ma Drabble.
O isi sui o le a galulue
mo tausaga ta’i lua e aofia ai
Addison; Toeaina ma Manase.
O le isi sui o le komiti faafoe e le
tau tofiaina lona avea ma totino
o le komiti, o le Faatonusili lea
o Aoga a le malo ia Vaitinasa
Dr. Salu Hunkin-Finau.
➧ TALA MAI SAMOA…
Mai itulau 9
TINA NA LAFOAI LANA PEPE
Ua faasalaina nei e le Faamasinoga Maualuga le tina na molia
i le lafoai o lana pepe lea na maua atu ua ai e taifau ni vaega o
lona tino, i le faanofovaavaaia mo le lua tausaga. Na vaaia le toulu
o loimata o le tina ia Seutatia Taina, 25 tausaga o Vaitele-fou
ma Foalalo, ina ua lauina lona faasalaga ma sa faafeiloaia o ia e
sui o lona aiga ina ua ulufafo mai le Fale Faamasino. Na saunoa
Faamasino Sili Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu Sapolu, ua tauaaoina e le
Faamasinoga ni molimau tusitusia i itu lelei o lea tina mai pulega
o ofisa sa faigaluega muamua ai o ia, faapea le pulenuu o lona
afioaga. E le gata i lea, ua uma foi ona totogi lana sala e pe tusa
ma le $6,000 i le fono a tamalii ma failauga o Foalalo.
FAAOPOPO VAIASO O LE FAASALAGA
Na fautuaina e le Faamasinoga se alii pagota sa sola ese mai
le toese i Tafaigata e faapea, e taofia loa o ia i le toese ona o sana
solitulafono, e leai sona saolotoga e fai ai so o se mea e manao e
fai. E moomia se faatagaga mai leoleo mo le tuua o le toese mo
so o se mafuaaga. O le fautuaga lea a le tamaitai faamasino o le
Faamasinoga Faaitumalo, le susuga Mata Tuatagaloa. O le alii
pagota sa tulai, o Afaese Afaese, o lo o tuli lona faasalaga e fitu
masina mo le gaoi, ma e lima masina o lona faasalaga ua maea
ona tuli. Peitai na faaalia, sa sopoia e lea alii le pa o le lotoa i
Tafaigata ma sola ese ai ao tuliloa atu o ia e alii leoleo. Ma e lua
vaiaso ua faaoopo i le faasalaga.
Sone
Vevela
O le
Fa’aliliu: Akenese Ilalio Zec
Vaega: 102 — Fa’atalofa atu i le maleifua mai o le atunu’u i fanuga lelei o lenei aso fou, e ao ai
ona o tatou fa’apea ifo, “Le Tama e, fa’afetai i lou alofa ma lou agalelei mo i matou, ia tumau atu pea
ia te Oe le vi’iga, o le fa’amanu ma le fa’afetai e le aunoa, Amene.”
A’o faia tapenapenaga mo le galuega o le a feagai ma le vaega a le Ami i totonu o o le nofoaga o
lo’o i ai manuki a le Kamupani a le Hazelton, o le taimi lea ua muamua i Reston Virginia le ali’i foma’i
o Eugene Johnson ma se tasi o ali’i foma’i e igoa i a Curtis Klages. O le mafua’aga na o muamua ai,
ona o le fia va’ai lea o Eugene Johnson i le nofoaga o lo’o i ai manuki, ona fuafua ai lea o auala uma e
mafai ai ona ulufale i totonu tagata mai le Ami, ma toe fo’i mai i fafo e aunoa ma se fa’aletonu. O le isi
itu sa manatu i ai le ali’i, ia fuafua lelei le galuega ina ia malu puipuia tagata uma.
Ua taunu’u nei i totonu o le nofoaga lenei, e mimilo atu loa le ta’avale a Gene Johnson ma Kurtis i
luma o le fale, ae va’ai atu loa, o lo’o tu mai le ta’avale a le T.V. Ua tu nei le ta’avale a Gene ma Kurtis
i lea taimi, ma i le va’ai atu i ai, e foliga mai o lo’o fa’atalitali le aufaigaluega a le T.V pe i ai se mea
o le a tupu. Na avea lea ma ala na lagona ai le popole o Eugene, ua ia iloa lelei lava, na maua e le fale
fa’asalalau a Virginia le tala, ae e le o sa’o pe o iloa lelei fo’i se tala mautu. O le mea lea na mana’o i ai
le Vaega a le Ami, ia ‘aua lava ne i alu i fafo le tala, e uiga i le galuega lea o le a feagai ma Foma’i ma
Fitafita i totonu o Reston. Ua paka le ta’avale a Gene ma Kurtis i luma o le fale ma savavali loa e aga’i
atu i le faitoto’a e ulu fale ai i totonu. Na ona matala lava o le faitoto’a o le fale o lo’o tausi ai manuki,
ae sau loa ma le manogi leaga. O lona uiga, ua leai se mea o le fale ua le o’o i ai le virusi. Na i ai le
manatu o Kurtis, o se tulaga faigata lea ua o’o i ai i la’ua, ona e tatau ona fai o la suti ma ofu e puipui
mai ai i la’ua. Na maua atu e Gene ma Kurtis le ali’i pule o le kamupani o Bill Volt ma ua fa’ailoa i ai
e Gene Johnson le mafua’aga ua o atu ai, o le fia va’ai lea i le fale, ma fuafua lelei se auala e mafai ai
ona ulufale le vaega a le Ami, ma toe fo’i mai i fafo e aunoa ma se fa’aletonu.
Ua o nei i totonu o le ofisa o Bill Volt, na fai ane i ai Bill, e alaala i lalo, ae ua mumusu Gene ma
Kurtis e nonofo i luga o le nofoa. Na toe fai ane i ai Bill, o lo’o i ai lole o lo’o i luga o le laulau, ae na
tali Kurtis, e leai o lo’o lelei mea uma. E foliga mai, ua mumusu e toe pa’i lava i se mea o lo’o i totonu
o le fale lenei, ona ua i ai le manatu o Gene ma Kurtis, ua a’afia uma i le virusi. E le i toe fa’atali le
ali’i foma’i o Gene Johnson, ua mana’o e fia alu i totonu o potu nei fa’apea le fale atoa, ona o lona fia
su’esu’e pe i ai se avanoa lelei e mafai ai ona o i totonu tagata o le Ami ma ia mafai fo’i ona toe fo’i
mai i fafo. O lea na tali ane ai le ali’i pule o Bill Volt, o lo’o i ai le isi potu sa avanoa mai lava i le lua
tausaga talu ai. Na alu nei le ali’i foma’i i totonu, ma na ia lagona ai, o le matua’i manogi leaga lava
ua o’o i ai le nofoaga lenei. O le mea ua tupu, ua le toe i ai ni tagata e fufulua ma tapenaina le fale, ua
le toe i ai nisi e toe faigaluega ai, ona ua fefe tagata i le fa’ama’i e pei ona fa’ailoa ane e Dan Dalgard.
O lona uiga, ua tu’u lava manuki ia e fai le mea e loto i ai. Ina ua ulufale Gene Johnson i totonu o le
potu e pei ona fa’ailoa ane e Bill Volt, na ia iloa ai loa, o le potu lenei e tatau ona sui ai ‘ofu a le vaega
a Jerry Jaxx, a’o le i o i totonu o potu o lo’o fa’atalitali mai ai le tama ulavale o Ebola. E faia pea…
O se va’aiga i nisi o galuega fa’atino ua gaosia mai i paipa kopa
e le malo o Solomona i ni a latou meaalofa na molita’i mai mo
Amerika Samoa i le taimi na tatou talimalo ai i le Pacific Arts Festival. Ua fa’atutuina nei meaalofa mo le maimoaga a tatou tagata
gasolo atu i le Fale Mata’aga i Fagatogo. O paipa kopa isi mea e
saili e tagata e toe fa’atau atu aua e taugata tele. [ata: Leua Aiono Frost]
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Page 12
California officers
arrested in vehicle
impound scheme
Obama tells Pentagon to
plan for Afghan pullout
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a blunt warning
to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President
Barack Obama threatened on Tuesday to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the
end of this year if a crucial security pact isn’t
signed — and he ordered the Pentagon to accelerate planning for just that scenario.
At the same time, in a rare phone call with
Karzai, Obama indicated he was willing to wait
his mercurial counterpart out and sign a security
agreement with a new Afghan president after
April elections. That would allow the U.S. to
keep as many as 10,000 troops in the country.
The effort seemed aimed at marginalizing Karzai’s role in the high-stakes negotiations over the
future of the lengthy American-led war. Obama’s
attempt to minimize Karzai’s importance to U.S.
decision-making underscores how fractured the
relationship between the two leaders has become.
Tuesday’s phone call was the first direct contact
between Obama and Karzai since last June. The
Afghan leader has deeply irritated Washington
with anti-American rhetoric, as well as with his
decision this month to release 65 prisoners over
the objections of U.S. officials.
Israeli police enter holy
site to disperse clash
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police stormed
a sensitive Jerusalem holy site Tuesday to disperse a violent protest there, hours before the
Israeli parliament debated a nationalist lawmaker’s motion to extend control over it.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said
about 20 masked Palestinian youths hurled
stones and firecrackers at troops from atop the
Temple Mount. Police then entered the compound and arrested three people. He said two
police officers were lightly wounded.
The Palestinian Observer Mission at the
United Nations protested to the Security Council,
accusing Israel of escalating “aggression, provocation and incitement” at the holy site in an illegal
attempt to forcibly assert control over it.
Palestinian Charge d’Affaires Feda Abdelhady-Nasser said in a letter to the council that
Israeli forces violently stormed the compound
Tuesday, “attacking and injuring Palestinian worshippers with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear
gas canisters and arresting several worshippers.”
The site, known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa
Mosque or Noble Sanctuary, is ground zero in the
territorial and religious conflict between Israel
and its Arab neighbors. Clashes often erupt after
Muslims conclude their prayers. Jews typically
KING CITY, Calif. (AP) — Police officers in a Central California town took part in a scheme in which cars belonging to
poor Hispanic people were impounded, towed and later sold
or given away for free to some officers when the car owners
couldn’t pay the fees, authorities said Tuesday.
Four King City officers — including the recently retired
police chief and the acting chief — have been arrested in the
scheme, and two others were also arrested Tuesday on unrelated
charges, Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo said.
“There has been a significant breakdown in the internal leadership of the King City Police Department,” Flippo said.
“It also appears to me that some officers have dishonored
their badge.”
The six officers account for more than a third of the 17-member
force in the agricultural town of 13,000 people about 150 miles
southeast of San Francisco.
Early Tuesday morning, teams from the Monterey County
sheriff’s office, the FBI, the Salinas Police Department and the
district attorney’s bureau of investigation arrested the officers
after a months-long investigation.
It began as a response to complaints by residents of corruption and criminal acts within the department dating back at least
3 1/2 years, Flippo said.
The probe revealed that the scheme focused on poor Hispanic residents — including many who don’t speak English.
More than 200 vehicles had been impounded, Flippo said, and
87 percent had been taken in by the same towing company.
In some cases, authorities said, officers simply kept the cars
for their own use.
The four officers tied to the alleged car theft scheme have
each been charged with bribery, accepting a bribe or embezzlement. They are Sgt. Bobby Javier Carrillo, Acting Chief Bruce
Edward Miller, former Chief Dominic David Baldiviez and
Mario Alonso Mottu Sr.
Brian Albert Miller, the operator of the towing company who
is also the brother of the acting chief, has also been arrested in
the case.
The other two officers arrested Tuesday are facing charges
unrelated to the scheme. Officer Jaime Andrade was accused of
possession of an assault weapon and illegal storage of a firearm,
and Officer Mark Allen Baker was arrested on suspicion of
criminal threats.
Investigators said Carrillo was the car scheme’s ring leader
and that for every 10 to 15 vehicles he impounded, he would
receive one free vehicle to keep or to sell.
Authorities said Carrillo gave one of those vehicles to Bruce
Miller, who was then a police captain and has been charged with
accepting a bribe, the Salinas Californian reported.
Authorities also say Baldiviez gave Mottu a 2001 Ford
Crown Victoria patrol car belonging to King City or the King
City Police Explorers, the Californian said.
All seven of those arrested were bailed out of jail within
hours. The officers have been placed on paid administrative
leave, KSBW-TV reported.
“I’m completely surprised by the arrest this morning,”
Bruce Miller told a KSBW reporter on his way out of jail after
posting bail.
He said he had known his department was being investigated
but had no idea that he was a suspect.
He denied that he had accepted any bribes in the car theft
scheme.
“My reputation is soiled,” he said. “There’s no coming back
from this, even if I’m found innocent. People are always going
to look poorly upon me.”
Tuesday evening in King City was typically quiet, with the
historic main street’s bakeries, markets, taquerias and restaurants mostly empty.
The windows were steamy at Bailey’s Gym, where a handful
of people were working out.
Owner Greg Bailey, who also works as a correctional officer
at a nearby prison, said he has known Miller for a long time and
is skeptical about the charges.
“When the finger gets pointed at you, you’ve got to dig your
feet in and fight your way back,” he said.
Bailey said it’s not uncommon for immigrants to drive without
insurance, and if they are caught, their vehicles are impounded.
He said his own car was hit by someone driving without
insurance.
Bailey said he is concerned about the sudden, sharp reduction
in the police force.
First lady Michelle Obama laughs as she participates in a zumba class with Mario Lopez at a
Miami parks and recreation center during a visit to promote her “Let’s Move” campaign Tuesday,
Feb. 25, 2014. The Obama administration is moving to phase out junk food advertising on football scoreboards and elsewhere on school grounds, part of a broad effort to combat child obesity
and create what Michelle Obama calls “a new norm” for today’s schoolchildren and future generations. Obama announced that the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Recreation
and Park Association will serve more fruits and vegetables at after-school programs and ensure
(AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)
kids get 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day.
➧ NEWS IN BRIEF…
Child dies from infected
rat; family sues Petco
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego family is
suing Petco after the death of their 10-year-old
son from a bacterial infection they say he contracted from his pet rat.
Attorney John Gomez told The Associated
Press on Tuesday that his firm filed the lawsuit Monday in San Diego County seeking an
unspecified amount for the suffering endured
by the Pankey family, whose son, Aidan, died
June 12, 2013, hours after he was rushed to the
hospital with severe stomach pains.
The San Diego County medical examiner’s
office ruled that the cause of death was streptobacillus moniliformis infection, commonly
known as rat-bite fever, after exposure to an
infected rat.
The retailer in a statement expressed its
condolences.
“We are deeply saddened by the Pankey
family’s tragic loss,” Petco said in a statement.
“The health and safety of people and pets is
always a top priority, and we take the family’s
concerns very seriously.”
Neighbors foil attempt to
steal wall, Banksy mural
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Neighbors in New
Orleans foiled what police say was an attempt
to steal a chunk of cinderblock wall bearing a
painting created by the world-renowned graffiti
artist Banksy.
The building’s owner called police Friday
evening, saying someone was attempting to
cut out the painting, which Banksy had created
after Hurricane Katrina, said Officer Garry Flot,
a police spokesman.
By the time of that call, he said, two suspects were gone and the mural, known locally
as Umbrella Girl or Rain Girl, was still there.
The painting and the long holes that had been
cut around it are now shielded by plywood.
The mural is among more than a dozen made
in 2008 in New Orleans by the elusive British
artist, who is perhaps the world’s best-known
street artist. Banksy’s works have sold at auction for as much as $1.1 million. He came to
New Orleans as Hurricane Gustav was heading
toward Louisiana. The images he left were generally related to the 2005 hurricane, Katrina.
Well known in New Orleans, they have been
the subject of news articles in the past.
Many have since been painted over or
destroyed. This one shows a mournful girl
holding an umbrella from which rain pours onto
her as she extends a cupped hand into the open
air around her.
Confused Japanese tourists in
Utah trigger highway pursuit
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The first night
in the United States for a family of Japanese
tourists ended with the parents being pulled
from their rental car at gunpoint with their
young son watching after their confusion about
American traffic laws set off a high-speed pursuit in southern Utah.
The pursuit began at 1 a.m. Saturday on Interstate 15 near the Utah-Arizona border when the
couple’s car was spotted going just 37 mph and
swerving between lanes, said Lt. Brad Horne,
Utah Highway Patrol’s DUI unit commander.
More than a dozen patrolmen were working
the area in a special DUI operation, and Horne
said he figured the car was being driven by a
drunken driver. Horne turned on his lights and
siren to pull the car over.
Instead of pulling over, the driver sped up to
75 mph and began driving erratically, he said.
Her speeds fluctuated between 40 and 75 mph as
she weaved across lanes and into the shoulder.
Soon, there were three patrol cars in pursuit
with other officers closing highway offramps
and setting tire spikes miles ahead, Horne said.
“It was literally red and blue lights in every
direction,” Horne said.
The couple’s car skidded to a stop about 7
miles north of where the pursuit began after
three of the tires deflated after hitting the spikes.
A patrolmen bellowed commands from a
loudspeaker in his patrol car, telling the couple
to exit and walk backward. Both directions
of I-15 were closed as officers prepared to
encounter hardened criminals.
Instead, a Japanese woman in her early 40s
emerged.
“She would walk forward, backward, spin
around — obviously she had no clue what we
wanted her to do,” Horne said.
Still bracing for the worst, officers approached
the car with guns drawn and pulled the woman
and a man from the car. That’s when they saw
the couple’s 7-year-old son in the backseat and
realized the family didn’t speak English.
The boy was crying, and the parents appeared
nervous and confused, Horne said.
“I think they were terrified,” he said.
Realizing they were dealing with language
and cultural barriers, and not a drunken driver
or fugitive, officers changed their strategy,
Horne said. One officer consoled the boy and
reunited him with his parents as others worked
to get a Japanese-speaking officer on the phone.
They found one in northern Utah who spoke
to the couple and learned they had arrived
from Japan on Friday morning and rented a car
to drive from California to Bryce Canyon in
southern Utah.
The woman said she had no idea what she
was supposed to do when the patrolman put on
his lights and siren, so she sped up to get out
of the way. She kept apologizing for crashing
the car, not realizing they ran over tire spikes,
Horne said. Patrolmen took the family to a
motel and wished them safe travels.
Nobody was hurt and no cars damaged other
than the flat tires, he said. About a dozen law
enforcement officers were involved in some way.
Authorities don’t plan to pursue charges.
Horne said the couple didn’t have Japanese
driver’s licenses with them.
Horne said he’s encountered many tourists
in his three decades working with the Utah
Highway Patrol, but he’s never seen a situation escalate like this. “Red and blue lights are
a pretty universal signal,” Horne said. “Regardless of nationality and language, when we put
lights on, people pull over and stop.”
Federal government
won’t charge group
of Michigan officers
SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — No civil rights charges will be
filed against a group of Michigan police officers in the shooting
death of a homeless, mentally ill man, federal officials said
Tuesday.
Milton Hall was shot 11 times during a July 2012 confrontation with officers in a Saginaw parking lot. Police have said
the 49-year-old Hall was holding a knife and moving toward an
officer and police dog when he was shot.
“Federal authorities have determined that this tragic event
does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to lead
to a federal criminal prosecution of the police officers involved,”
the U.S. Justice Department said.
No local or state charges were filed in the case.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI reviewed results of a criminal probe by
state police, Michigan’s attorney general and Saginaw County
prosecutor as part of their investigation. Evidence reviewed also
included witness statements and videos from police car dashboard cameras and cellphones.
It was determined “that the evidence in this case is insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt” that Saginaw officers
“willfully shot Hall for an unlawful purpose,” the release stated.
“Even if the officers were mistaken in their assessment of the
threat posed by Hall, this would not establish that the officers
acted willfully, or with an unlawful intent, when using deadly
force against Hall.”
Nearly 50 rounds were fired by six officers.
Hall’s death prompted a number of protests in Saginaw, about
80 miles northwest of Detroit.
His mother, Jewel Hall, told The Associated Press that the
FBI delivered a letter to her early Tuesday about the decision
not to file charges.
Jewel Hall, 82, said that does not mean the case is over.
“The letter gave excellent facts that can be used as we pursue
justice for my son,” she said from her New Mexico home.
NOTICE FOR SEPARATION AGREEMENT
TO Members of the SALANOA Family and to all whom these present may come!
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that AOMALO AUMOEUALOGO of TULA has offered for recording in
this office an instrument in writing which seeks to separate a certain structure which is or to be
erected, on land SINAVEVELA allegedly belonging to SALANOA FAMILY of the village of TULA. Said
land SINAVEVELA is situated in or near the village of TULA in the County of VAIFANUA, Island of
TUTUILA, American Samoa.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that any interested person may object to the recording of such
instrument by filing in the Territorial Registar’s Office in Fagatogo, a written objection to the
recording of said instrument. Any objections thereto must be filed with in 30 days from the date of
posting of this notice.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that if no such objections are filed within the said 30 day period, the
instrument will be recorded and shall be valid and binding on all persons. The said instrument may
be examined at any time at the Territorial Registrar’s Office.
POSTED:
FEBRUARY 13, 2014 thru MARCH 17, 2014
SIGNED:
FA’AALIGA O LE FEAGAIGA MO SE TU’U’ESEINA
I tagata o le aiga sa SALANOA, ma i latou uma e silasila ma lauiloaina lenei fa’aaliga!
O le fa’aaliga lenei ona o AOMALO AUMOEUALOGO o le nu’u o TULA ua ia fa’aulufaleina mai i
lenei ofisa se feagaiga tusitusi e fa’ailoa ai se mana’oga fia tu’u’eseina o se fale ua/po o le a, fa’atuina
i luga o le fanua o SINAVEVELA e fa’asino i le aiga sa SALANOA, o le nu’u o TULA. O lenei fanua e
totonu pe latalata ane i le nu’u o TULA , itumalo o VAIFANUA, ile motu o TUTUILA, Amerika Samoa.
O le fa’aaliga fo’i e fa’apea, so o se tasi e iai sona aia i lenei mata’upu e mafai ona fa’atu’i’iese ile
fa’amauina o lenei feagaiga pe a auina mai i le ofisa ole Resitara o le Teritori of Amerika Samoa i
Fagatogo, sana fa’atu’ese tusitusia. O fa’atu’iesega uma lava e ao ona fa’aulufaleina mai i totonu o
aso e 30 faitauina mai i le aso na faíaalia ai lenei fa’aaliga.
Afai ole a leai se fa’atu’i’esega e fa’aulufaleina i totonu o aso 30 e pei ona ta’ua i luga, o le a
fa’amauina loa lenei feagaiga e taualoaina ma ‘a’afia ai tagata uma.
02/26 & 03/12/14
AUTO NATION
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
The Praxis I test scheduled for Saturday, March 8, 2014 at Tafuna High School will
have two sessions. The first one will be at 7:30 am and the second at 12:30 pm. All
teachers registered for this date must contact your school principal to identify which
session and room you are assigned to. You are asked to bring the following on the
day of the test:
• Registration ticket
• Valid photo ID (driver’s license, passport, etc.)
• Two No#2 pencils
All UH Cohort teachers registered for this sitting as well are to report to Tafuna High
School at 7:30am sharp.
For more information, please contact Sam Uhrle at the DOE Testing Office (6994757) or Diana Ameperosa at the Teacher Quality Office (699-9117).
Please be on time.
FA’AALIGA TAUA
O le a fa’ataunuuina su’ega mo le PRAXIS I i le Aso To’ona’i, Mati 8, 2014 i le aoga
maualuga a Tafuna. E lua taimi faatulagaina o le a faataunuu ai lenei suega, o le 7:30
i le taeao ma le 12:30 i le aoauli. Mo faiaoga uma ua maea ona lesitala e su’e i le
suega i le Aso To’onai, ia faafesootai a outou puleaoga ina ia maua mai ai a outou
taimi ma potu. Ia e málaga mai i le aso o le su’ega ma mea nei:
• Pepa Lesitala (ticket)
• ID o iai sou ata (laisene avetaavale, tusi folau, etc.)
• Penitala #2 e lua
O faiaoga UH Cohort ua lesitala mo lenei suega, ia outou ripoti atu i le aoga
maualuga i Tafuna ae le i ta le 7:30 i le taeao.
Mo nisi fa’amatalaga, faamolemole faafesootai Sam Uhrle i le Ofisa o Su’ega a le
DOE (699-4757) po o Diana Ameperosa i le Ofisa Teacher Quality (699-9117).
Page 14
➧ Strong opposition to wage hike…
➧ Governor Lolo falls ill…
OPPOSITION TO INCREASES
Some 20 business representatives attended
a group discussion with GAO officials last
November and the private sector were generally opposed to additional minimum wage
increases. They also stated that previous wage
hikes had been harmful to the local economy.
The employers called the minimum wage the
most important issue impacting businesses and
cited American Samoa’s reliance on the tuna
canning industry and fears about the effect of
further increases on the industry and the American Samoa economy in general.
In addition, these employers said that federal
tsunami recovery assistance had cushioned the
impact of the 2009 closure of the Chicken of the
Sea cannery, so its full impact had not yet been felt.
Further, “the business representatives we
spoke with expressed frustration with American
Samoa’s lack of success in attracting alternative
businesses to the territory,” the draft report says.
Business representatives also told GAO that
ASG had not fostered economic development
and that its tax policies had created a poor business environment, it says.
As the territory’s largest employer, ASG
continues to report that any increases in the
minimum wage will result in reduced government employment and ASG anticipates that it
will reduce staff or hours as part of its response
to any future increases. ASG further stated that
the scheduled 2015 increase would raise its
wage bill by approximately $140,000 and ASG
anticipated it would have to cut six employees
to offset this increase. ASG also contends that
any future increases beyond 2015 would have a
drastic budget impact and contribute to the government’s “already critical cash flow problem”.
Also cited in the GAO draft report was Gov.
Moliga’s address to the Fono last month, wherein
the local Commerce Department has been
instructed to prepare and justify a request to Congress to permanently remove American Samoa
from the federally mandated minimum wage.
According to the Governor, the justification
will include the presentation of a locally-developed “living wage” to address what it described
as Congressional fear that the American Samoa
minimum wage does not provide for basic
living needs in American Samoa.
StarKist cannery workers who participated
in a discussion group also shared their opposition to further minimum wage increases rather
than support for future increases. The draft
report says workers expressed concerns that any
increase would result in lost jobs or a complete
closure of StarKist Samoa.
Jr. from the congressman’s office.
Speaking in Samoan, the Acting Governor stated the governor was experiencing pain, however when asked for specifics,
Lemanu declined to respond, stating instead that the governor is
now “out and about and walking around” in the hospital. He said
he has opted to wait for the medical release document and would
not say anything specific as of yet.
Lemanu noted that usually medical observations take one or
two days before a person is released from the hospital and they
“don’t foresee any major complications or anything that would
worry us.”
The Acting Governor apologized to the public, the Fono
leaders and the Administration for the delay in relaying the news
of the Governor’s situation, however his office had waited to
gather actual facts prior to going public on the matter.
“On behalf of the governor’s office we like to say that the
governor is recovering well and we thank the Lord for His help,”
said Lemanu.
He stated that First Lady Cynthia Malala Moliga is by the
governor’s side, along with the Chief of Staff Fiu Johnny Saelua
and Executive Assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira.
Lemanu further said that among the delegation are Medicaid
Director Tofoitaufa Sandra King Young, Grants Compliance
Officer Jerome Ierome, Director of DOE Vaitinasa Salu Hunkin
Finau, Director of Health Motusa Tuileama Nua, Director of
Commerce Keniseli Lafaele, and Treasurer Dr Falema’o Phil
Pili, who will all return to the territory as planned next week
Monday, but it’s unclear if the governor’s stay in the hospital
will delay his return.
Workers told GAO officials that working
hours have been reduced at the cannery and that
opportunities for overtime have been reduced.
Workers also said that prices for essentials such
as rent, food, and utilities are high and difficult
for them to afford. “Some workers we spoke
with expressed concerns that future increases in
the minimum wage would lead to an increase in
prices in American Samoa, which is something
they reported occurring as a result of previous
minimum wage increases,” the draft report says.
CANNERY ACTION
Two of the three employers in the tuna canning industry in American Samoa reported
that they had taken cost-cutting actions from
June 2010 to June 2013 including labor- and
cost-saving strategies and reduced overtime,
according to the draft, which didn’t identify the
companies by name, but Samoa News understands GAO is referring to StarKist Samoa and
the can manufacturing plant — Impress Samoa.
The third employer, which was just beginning operations in American Samoa considered
the questions — on the impact of wage hikes to
the cannery — not applicable. (GAO is referring
to Tri Marine International’s local Samoa Tuna
Processors Inc.) “The two employers attributed all but one of their actions to a moderate
or large extent to minimum wage increases.
In addition to minimum wage increases, these
two employers also attributed their actions to a
moderate or large extent to increased utility and
material costs,” the draft report says.
It also says that two of the three employers
stated that they planned in the next 18 months
to introduce labor-and cost-saving strategies,
delay business expansion, relocate business,
and reduce overtime hours.
“The two employers attributed all of these
plans to a moderate or large extent to the minimum wage increases, but also to increased utility
and material costs and business factors,” the draft
report says and noted that cannery officials had
stated that wage increases are one of many factors
affecting the tuna canning industry in American
Samoa, but that its labor costs, including the minimum wage increases, place American Samoa
at a significant cost disadvantage in comparison
with other canned tuna exporting countries.
“Both canneries cited congressional action to
defer the next minimum wage increase to 2015
as encouraging their ability to invest in American Samoa. Cannery officials said that there is
a spectrum of possible actions in response to
increasing costs. For example, canneries could
lower the staffing level or close certain production lines,” draft report says.
➧ $10M in rare gold coins…
Although most of the coins were minted in San Francisco,
one $5 gold piece came from as far away as Georgia.
Kagin and McCarthy would say little about the couple’s
property or its ownership history, other than it’s located in Gold
Country, a sprawling, picturesque and still lightly populated section of north-central California that stretches along the western
slope of the Sierra Nevada.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, set off the California Gold Rush of 1848.
The coins had been buried by a path the couple had walked
for years. On the day they found them last spring, the woman had
bent over to examine an old rusty can that erosion had caused to
pop slightly out of the ground.
“Don’t be above bending over to check on a rusty can,” Kagin
said she told him.
They were located on a section of the property the couple
nicknamed Saddle Ridge, and Kagin is calling the find the
Saddle Ridge Hoard. He believes it could be the largest such
discovery in U.S. history.
One of the largest previous finds of gold coins was $1 million
worth uncovered by construction workers in Jackson, Tenn., in
1985. More than 400,000 silver dollars were found in the home
of a Reno, Nev., man who died in 1974 and were later sold intact
for $7.3 million.
Gold coins and ingots said to be worth as much as $130
million were recovered in the 1980s from the wreck of the SS
Central America. But historians knew roughly where that gold
was because the ship went down off the coast of North Carolina
during a hurricane in 1857.
➧ Vehicle impound scheme…
“There was a safety issue prior to this happening,” he said,
noting gangs are active in the town.
Hector and Laura Vasquez set down a heavy sofa they were
carrying in the showroom of their Dor’s Furniture store to chat
about the arrests.
Speaking in Spanish, Laura Vasquez said it didn’t seem right
that the officers were bailed out so quickly after her husband
described what had happened.
“They’re supposed to be keeping us safe, but they’re the ones
who are breaking the law,” she said.
Husband Hector Vasquez said there’s frequent talk in the
U.S. of how corrupt Mexican law enforcement agents are.
“So that’s a little awkward,” he said.
The front office of the King City police station was closed
Tuesday afternoon.
King City Manager Michael Powers told The Associated
Press that Monterey County sheriff’s deputies and officers from
the nearby cities of Gonzales and Soledad have volunteered to
help police the city now that so many of its officers have been
taken off duty.
“Obviously, people are in shock, and so is the city staff,”
Powers said. “But at the same time, we can’t tolerate corruption
in the police department.”
➧ NEWS IN BRIEF…
pray below at the Western Wall but tensions have
grown lately with an increased number of Jews
arriving to pray at the Temple Mount as well.
Benedict denies he was
pressured to resign
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Retired Pope
Benedict XVI has denied speculation that he
was pressured to resign, saying his decision was
freely made and his alone.
Benedict wrote to the Vatican correspondent
for La Stampa newspaper, Andrea Tornielli,
amid a new round of speculation about his reasons ahead of Friday’s first anniversary of the
resignation, the first by a pope in 600 years.
La Stampa on Wednesday quoted Benedict
as writing: “There isn’t the minimum of doubt
about the validity of my resignation from the Petrine ministry. The only condition for the validity
is the full freedom of the decision. Speculation
about its invalidity is simply absurd.”
Benedict also defended his decision to continue wearing the white cassock of the papacy,
saying that there were no other clothes available.
S. Sudan: Patients shot
dead in hospital beds
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The aid group
Doctors Without Borders says the extreme violence and lack of respect for health care workers
in South Sudan has made its work there almost
impossible.The group said in a statement issued
Wednesday that its team members discovered
at least 14 dead bodies in a hospital in Malakal
over the weekend. It said several of the dead had
been shot while lying in their beds. Rebels have
been fighting government forces for control of
the city, the capital of an oil-producing state.
Group leader Raphael Gorgeu said Doctors
Without Borders’ facilities in the towns of Leer
and Bentiu have been looted and completely
destroyed. She said Doctors Without Borders
does not want to leave South Sudan but must
look at the safety situation of its workers.
Indian navy sailors overcome by smoke; 2 missing
NEW DELHI (AP) — Two Indian navy
sailors are missing and seven others have been
hospitalized after they were overcome by smoke
during a firefighting training exercise on board a
diesel-powered submarine off Mumbai’s coast.
A navy spokesman, Capt. D.K. Sharma, says
a naval helicopter took the seven sailors to a
navy hospital in Mumbai, but that two others
are unaccounted for.
He says an inquiry has been ordered into
Wednesday’s incident.
Sharma says the Russian-made submarine
did not suffer any damage.
Last August, another of the navy’s Russianmade diesel-powered submarines, the INS
Sindhurakshak, caught fire after an explosion
and sank at its home port in Mumbai, killing all
18 sailors on board.
Convicted state lawmaker
takes indefinite leave
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state
senator convicted of perjury and voter fraud
took an indefinite leave of absence Tuesday as
he awaits sentencing in May.
Sen. Roderick Wright, a Democrat who represents a Los Angeles-area district, requested
the leave during a meeting with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.
“I’ve accepted his request and wish him well
going forward,” Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said
in a two-sentence statement.
The Senate leader had recommended letting
Wright remain in office until his sentencing,
which has been delayed until May 16.
“I have decided to take a leave of absence
from the state Senate, so that I may devote my
full attention to pending legal matters,” Wright
said in a statement. “I remain hopeful that through due process - I will once again have the
opportunity to fight for laws that strengthen our
communities and support those most in need.”
Wright’s lawyer has said he intends to ask
a judge to set aside the jury verdict involving
his client. By taking leave, Wright will continue receiving his $95,291 annual salary but
will not receive the $163 daily expense payment he would receive if he were traveling to
Sacramento.
China leader’s stroll in
Beijing alley sparks buzz
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping braved Beijing’s choking smog Tuesday,
making an unannounced visit to a trendy alley
and sitting with residents in his latest public
relations effort to be seen as a man of the people.
Xi wore a black jacket and pants and was
followed by a posse of similarly plainly suited
Beijing city officials for his short stroll through
part of a traditional alleyway popular with tourists and fashionable youth.
Guan Shiyue, a 69-year-old retiree who lives
in a small, sparsely furnished home on a nearby
alley, said Xi visited him and sat between him
and his wife on their living room sofa. Guan
said he was impressed by the president.
Such visits are extremely rare for top Chinese leaders, who are not known for mingling
with the public other than at scheduled events.
Given Xi’s status and China’s conservative
political culture, his appearance was likely
stage-managed to some degree beforehand.
Photos apparently taken by onlookers of Xi’s
visit ricocheted around Chinese social media
sites, triggering a flurry of comments. Some
Internet users expressed support for “Uncle Xi”
while others mocked the public relations effort,
saying he should prioritize fixing the city’s air
pollution woes over visiting residents.
Speed may be cause of Hayek
brother’s deadly crash
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles
police say speed may be a factor in a deadly
crash involving Salma Hayek’s brother.
Lt. Andrew Neiman tells the Los Angeles
Times that 40-year-old Sami Hayek may have
been going too fast on a curvy stretch of Sunset
Boulevard when he lost control of a high-powered Ford GT Sunday afternoon.
Neiman says the muscle car fishtailed,
crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a pickup
truck. The crash broke Hayek’s ribs and killed
his passenger, photographer and Grammy-winning art director Ian Cuttler Sala.
The pickup driver suffered a broken foot.
No drugs or alcohol were involved.
Youth counselor charged
in prostitution case
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California mental health counselor for teens has
been indicted on charges of child sex trafficking.
The counselor, 27-year-old Justin Crutchfield, was named in an indictment unsealed this
month in U.S. District Court in San Jose, and
he is accused of using his position to lure two
teenagers to work as prostitutes.
Crutchfield — who was arrested in June
— worked for the Santa Clara Valley Mental
Health Department as a peer counselor for
minors and young adults.
Another man, 23-year-old Demontae Toliver, who was arrested a few weeks ago, is also
named in the indictment.
San Jose Police Sgt. Kyle Oki says convinced
the teens to sell their bodies on busy thoroughfares and on websites like My Red Book.
California slaughterhouse
under criminal probe
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — A congressman
says federal officials have launched a criminal
probe of a Northern California slaughterhouse
that recently recalled more than 8.7 million
pounds of beef.
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman told the Press
Democrat of Santa Rosa on Monday he learned
about the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s investigation of Petaluma-based Rancho Feeding Corp.
during a telephone call with U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack. Huffman said investigators could not provide details, but he was told
the suspected misconduct was grave.
The USDA has said Rancho processed diseased and unhealthy animals and circumvented
federal inspection rules. The recalled beef was
sold at Walmart and other national chains and
used in products, including Hot Pockets.
Robert Singleton, a partner in Rancho, has
denied the allegations and said he was unaware
of a criminal investigation
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Page 16
Toe Tepa Tasi
TATOORS @ the 26th Vailima Marist Samoa Sevens. Malo Finau. Faafetai Faaeaea. (Photos:THA)
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A Section Wed 02-26-14

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