Your watching the "Weekend Report" for May 15th, 2009 (requires Quicktime 7.4)

Below is the text vesion of the weekend report with headlines from around Palau and the Pacific.

NEWS:

The House of Delegates passed the third and final reading of the Palau Gaming Control Act of 2009 last Friday. Del. Jonathan Isechal introduced the bill, along with co-sponsors Dels. Marhence Madrangchar, Wayne Andrew, Celestine Yangilmau, and Lencer Basilius. The bill is designed to permit controlled gaming in Palau, and to establish the Palau Gaming Control Commission, which is in charge of supervising controlled game and gambling. The bill was made with the intent of improving Palau's economy by creating an attraction for high-end tourists. The Olbiil Era Kelulau acknowledges full awareness of all possible effects of gambling and will work hard to protect the community. OEK also believes that this bill will allow Palau to benefit from the revenue that will occur from allowing gambling. Once the Palau Gaming Control Commission is established, it will create gaming regulations and oversee gaming operations to ensure that they are lawful and safe for tourists and locals alike.

To find out more on the future of Gambling in Palau, tune into Chised this Tuesday night at 7pm for an exclusive interview with Francis Toribiong.    

The Senate passed Senate Bill 8-27, SD2, that prohibits non-citizens from driving tour boats, tour buses, and taxis. The bill also prohibits non-citizens from being employed as tour guides and airport greeters. The bill, introduced by Sen. Mlib Tmetuchl, disallows hotel owners to employ non-citizens as such. Any person or entity seeking to employ a non-citizen shall not be bound by the restriction if he or she proves that they have reasonably tried to seek the employ of a Palauan citizen. Any non-citizen who currently holds a work permit and boat or bus operator, airport greeter, or tour guide shall be exempted from the restriction until the expiration of his or her permit or operator's license. The bill does not apply to operators of live aboard vessels registered outside Palau who obtained his or her operator's license prior to the establishment of the act.

A new bill was recently passed by the Senate, which includes a new income tax scheme for large corporations. Senate Bill No. 8-41 requires corporations to pay a 26 percent tax on net income and at the same time exempt them from paying corporate taxes imposed by other provisions in the Palau National Code. The goal of the bill is to attract foreign investors to Palau. In order to pay taxes under this legislation, however, a corporation must meet specific statutory qualifications. First, the corporation must have sufficient shareholder equity or paid-in capital. Corporations are required to have at least one million dollars in shareholder equity or paid-in capital in order to apply for taxation under this scheme. Another requirement is an 80 percent shareholder equity or paid-in capital totaling ten million dollars from the corporation's parent companies and subsidiaries.

The Palau senate also passed a bill to establish a language commission to preserve the native language of Palau and maintain standards for its use. The commissions task is to provide rules to determine the appropriate spelling of Palauan words, as well as proper grammar and usage. The commission would also draw up a procedure by which new words can be added to the official Palauan language. These rules along with teaching content, are to be recommended for a school curriculum

The Senate last Friday recommended that the appointment of George Ngirarsaol to the Palau Public Utilities Corporation Board of Directors be reconsidered after failing to secure the required number of yes votes. During the last session, Ngirarsaol got six yes votes and four no votes. The six yes votes are deemed void as the yes vote requirement was confirmed to be nine. President Toribiong's nomination of Ngirarsaol came after the rejections of both the former Minister of Health Victor Yano and former Senator Surangel Whipps Sr. Aside from Ngirarsaol, Shallum Etpison was nominated to the Board but was reported to have declined the nomination.

The government of Palau is getting ready with the help of the World bank to set up an offering for the first Oil licensing round or exploration license which, if sold, will further facilitate the search for oil. But Bill Cline, who is the chief executive of Gaffney Cline and Associates, which helps several oil and gas industries, stated that the World Bank did not hesitate to give Palau the grant needed for the licensing round, but also stated that the World Bank is also looking at the best interest for Palau in terms of its environment and only suggests that Palau does its research very well before hiring someone to do the oil exploration.  

In response to the worldwide Influenza A, H1N1 outbreak, the Ministry of Health has activated it's emergency response protocol and opened an Emergency Operations Center located at the Belau National Hospital's conference room.  

The Ministry of Health is enacting the following preventive measures to prevent the possible spread of influenza and product residents and visitors of the Republic of Palau.

Public Health Screening at the Ports of Entry

A nationwide educational and awareness campaign

Heightened surveillance

Vaccination updates

Implement responder's safety measures at border control and health care settings

Identify medical stockpiles and alternative care sites

New visiting and clinic hours

Regular communications with national, regional and international partners.

A new 24 hour hotline number for the H1N1 is in place.   Please call 488-0-5-55 for any medical or general questions on the flu.

Palau Visitors Authority bid farewell to Dr. Minoru Ueki during the fundraising event for the Palau Tourism & Hospitality School of Excellence. Dr. Ueki had accepted the position as Palau's new Ambassador to Japan which resulted in his resignation as the Director of Palau Visitors Authority. Dr. Ueki, was one of the Palauans to start a business in the field of tourism worked very hard to see that the construction of the school continues. He stated that once the Palau Tourism & Hospitality School of Excellence is completed, the future of Palau's tourism industry will be in good hands.

The 2nd Annual Mayors' Conference continues in CNMI today as delegates from around the Pacific host discussions on CNMI federalization matters, the military buildup in Guam and its economic benefits to the neighboring areas in the region and other pressing issues.

Gov. Lazarus Kodep, chairman of the Governors' Association of Palau, will deliver a solidarity message.   Other speakers include Capt. Ulysses O. Zalamea, U.S. Navy deputy director of the U.S. Defense Department Joint Guam Program Office, will speak on the topic, "What Can We Expect to See, Now that the Military Buildup is Underway."

The four-day conference which ends Sunday features participants from the Pacific Rim, including Guam, the Philippines, Republic of Palau and the United States mainland.

A local elementary school teacher is nominated for Pacific Education Conference's Pacific Teacher of the Year.   Ms. Epsie S. West of Koror Elementary School is one of 10 teachers nominated for this prestigious award.

The Teacher of the Year will be announced at the 26th annual Pacific Educational Conference, July 15-17 at the University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam.

Ms. West has been a teacher in Palau for 7 years and currently teaches English, social studies, and health in grade 8 at Koror Elementary School.   Congratulations Sensei from OTV on the nomination.

A private high school on the Big Island of Hawaii that offers free education to students from Pacific island nations is expected to close at the end of the school year because of financial woes.

"High School of the Pacific" in Kealakekua hosted 38 students from such nations as Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Principal Michael Breslin said Thursday that the school will not reopen due in particular to the economic downturn in Japan where the school received most of it's money from supporters.

The nonsectarian school opened in 2004 with backing from the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, and his followers. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The NBL Finals are about to come to a dramatic close and a new Champion will finally be crowned.   Game 4 of this best of 5 series takes place tonight with Peched keeping it's championship hopes alive with a 88-68 victory over the Rivals in Game 3, Wednesday night.   Peched broke open a tight game in the 3 quarter behind the play of Douglas Smith, and veterans Weston and Sunshine.   If Peched can win Game 4, they will force a winner take all finale, Saturday night PNOC Gymnasium.   Games 4 and possibly 5 will air right here on OTV thanks to the sponsorship of the Palau Basketball Federation and OTV.

Finally in the weird story of the week....

Nobody really knows what it was in the offending refrigerator that prompted an evacuation of 325 workers at an AT&T call center in North San Jose.

A smell from somewhere in the office complex became so bad that the San Jose Fire Department's HAZMAT team was summoned just before lunchtime. Before they could determine that it wasn't an attempt by terrorists to disable the information grid a second alarm was issued and a total of 50 firefighters and 18 emergency vehicles raced to the scene. Seven employees, who were vomiting or complaining of nausea, were treated at area hospitals.

It was determined that the aroma of rotting food worsened when an employee had relocated the mess to a conference room and scoured the fridge with a cleaning fluid similar to 409 or Lysol. "She didn't smell a thing," said Capt. Barry Stallard of the fire department.

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