Your watching the "Weekend Report" for April 24, 2009 (requires Quicktime 7.4)
Below is the text vesion of the weekend report with headlines from around Palau and the Pacific.
NEWS:
Melekeok State Governor Lazarus Kodep was charged this week for misuse of public funds, misconduct in public office, and money laundering. According to Island Times the Governor was alleged to have converted public funds to his own use on at least 100 occasions between 2003-2007. It is also alleged that the Governor stole $100 from the Melekeok State Treasury, and that he laundered money as he acquired, possessed, and controlled property owned by the state government. An unnamed former employee of the Melekeok State Government said that as Executive Secretary she was asked to withdraw money from the Melekeok State savings account so she might pay for Goverfor Kodeps personal loans at the Bank of Hawaii.
In other news, the Supreme Court has affirmed the decision by the Trial Division that former President Kuniwo Nakamura now rightfully holds the title of "Obaklechol" and its respective seat in Peleliu State Legislature. This affirmation has finally settled a long dispute over the title. Obaklechol Nakamura replaced the late, former chief, Obaklechol Ichiro in 2007.
Senate President, Mlib Tmetuchel, has introduced a new bill that will allow the hunting of the local fruit dove, known as the Belochel, from December 1 st thru January 31 st . This, he strongly believes, will not harm the local fruit dove population because of the short, two-month period, and will secure the fruit dove for the enjoyment of future generations.
PPUC has announced a change in the power rationing schedule that has been implemented for about three weeks. The new schedule has the rolling black outs set for about four hours. All locations and power rationing schedules are listed as follows.
This past Wed. was the first meeting for the members of a new national task force created to develop a national framework on the proper usage and disposal of commercial chemicals. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the members to understand their roles and duties for the coming two years. Here's correspondent Joe Aitaro with Ms. Porsia K. Franz, Executive Officer, Palau EQPB, secretariat of the task force 9-11...
The Bureau of Community Services, as reported by the acting public auditor, Satrunino Tewid, was not in compliance with the rules and regulations in administrating the Palau Severely Disabled Assistance fund. Looking at their performance audit last year, Mr. Tewid stated that the BCS did not obtain and retain any files documenting evidence containing termination dates for recipients who were no longer eligible for the program. Some of these recipients with no documentation were no longer receiving stipends from the program. The Palau Severely Disabled Assistance Fund provides assistance for Palauan citizens who have severe disabilities that prevent them from being employed. As of now, the ministry of finance has developed a plan to look into the situation and have it resolved as soon as possible.
On Monday, the President Toribiong announced during his first State of the Republic Address, that the state of the nation was "precarious". This, he said, was inherited from the previous administration; however, President Toribiong said that he was optimistic of the country's future. He reported that despite the problems that his administration has been facing since his inauguration, he pleased in the administrations progress... reassuring the public that under the firm hand of his administration, Palau is on its way to a "full recovery".
Also during his State of the Republic Address, President Toribiong announced that he will not be allowing any tax increase. He addressed the issue that the "people who are being taxed are the same people whose businesses are suffering or whose jobs are in jeopardy. Raising taxes will only lead to the close of all said businesses and for more employees to be laid off. He however urged Palau to maximize its private sector economy. In closing, the president stated that Palau can no longer depend on charity from other countries... and quote, "we ourselves must take whatever action we can to relieve our people of economic hardship..."
With the economy on everyone's minds, it was the perfect time to host the 4th annual Bank Fair. The Fair showcased local opportunities that are available through financial services. Here's a sample of what the fair had to offer.
The Bank Fair wasn't the only fair this week, here's Joe again with a look at the 2nd Annual Green Fair.
The USNS 1st Lieutenant Jack Lummus made a port call in Palau late last week. This is to evaluate the suitability for offshore anchorages for use by large preposition ships. The Lummus is a naval merchant roll-on/roll-off ship and is part of 32 ships in the prepositioning program. It is also part of the MRPSRON 3 which is responsible for the military sealift command prepositioning program in the western pacific. The ship is operated by over 30 U.S government contractor merchant mariners and will be leaving sometime next week. Otv would like to thank the commodore, captain Richard W. Daniel, for giving us a grand tour of the ship.
President Toribiong plans to make regular trips to the Southwest Islands to tend to the needs of the islands residents. The Southwest Islands are home to rich fishing grounds and are a known safe haven for turtles and seabirds, The President will be making his first trip to the southwest in June.
This coming Tuesday night, OTV will feature a special Chised on "Monkey Awareness". As you might have seen on some of the commercials here on OTV, monkeys can no longer be thought of as just "cute friendly pets". The problems that monkeys cause have reached crisis levels on the island of Anguar. Here's a clip of a local woman who was forced out of farming because of the monkeys.
The Chised show will focus on what's needed to be done on Anguar and the potential dangers if and when the monkeys were to make it to Koror and Babledoab. Please turn in to Chised Tuesday at 7pm for important information on what you can do to help stop the spread of monkeys.
The local non-profit organization Seeds of Promise Palau is back with another community outreach program geared towards youth. This week, Seeds of Promise launched "After 3", a free after-school mentoring program that addresses alcohol and drug prevention among children ages 10-14. "After 3" funded by SPF-SIG/COSAP, uses an established curriculum and includes a strong physical activity component. The program is based out of Meyuns, where Seeds of Promise transformed the old Ramen Express with the help of the local community into a place that's comfortable for kids to participate in group activities and discussion and features computers and a library donated by the Rotary Club. Currently the program is running Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 and has openings for the Monday and Wednesday program. For more information contact Veronica Fox at 778-1383 or Lorraine Rivera at 778-3321.
It was a busy week of action in the NBL starting with the NBL Division 1 Championships last Saturday night. Peched continued their season long dominance claiming the Division 1 crown by routing the Styxers, 106-82. Peched led from start to finish behind 24 points, mostly on 3 pointers from veteran Weston. The Styxers Una put in an impressive 38 points including this pretty 4 point play. Douglas Schmidt, recently named Male Athelete of the Year, can now add MVP of the series to his list of accomplishments.
With the Division 1 and 2 Champions set, the League Championships got underway on Monday with the 6th ranked Division 2 Ngiwal 79ers beating the 5th ranked Division 1 Ranchers by an appropriate score of 79-72.
Division 2 Champion and #1 ranked Kabong saw their season end with a loss to the Division 1, 10th ranked Stingers by a score of 82-71. Despite winning the championship, Kabong will remain in Division 2 next season.
The most exciting matchup occurred when the 2ndDivision Jaguars stunned Division 1, 9th ranked Breakers in an overtime victory, 85 to 81. The Jaguars were led by Aquinaldo's 24 points that included a 3 pointer so send it into overtime. With the win, the Jaguars will move into Division 1 next season.
NBL Playoff action continues tonight. Here's a look at the schedule through Tuesday.
Wednesday will mark the beginning of the Top 10 elimination round. Stay tuned to OTV for what games will be covered for the "Game of the Week" sponsored by Shell.
On the weird side of news,
The US National Nuclear Security Administration recently postponed its program to rejuvenate old missle warheads because no one could remember how to make a key component for the weapons. This is because all knowledgeable personnel left the agency and NO written records were kept. One commentator mentioned, "this is like James Bond destroying his instructions as soon as he reads them."
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