People Briefs

Maureen Maratita is now the publisher for Glimpses Inc., which puts out Guam Business magazine and the biweekly Marianas Business Journal. She has been with Glimpses for about five years and was the managing editor of Guam Business and editor of the journal. She replaces Steve Nygard, who had been publisher of the magazine for more than 20 years.-- FW

Chu Fu, construction manager handling the largest-ever aid project in Kiribati, the $10 million-plus Betio Sport Complex, reiterated in late September that the work is on schedule and will finish before the end of the year. The project is funded by the Taiwanese government, with which Kiribati has had diplomatic ties since late 2003. -- BB

American Samoa Senate President Lolo M. Moliga has appointed Senators Fa'amausili Mau Mau Jr., and Pulefa'asisina B. Tuiasosopo to serve on the Workforce Development Commission. The pair's terms expire in 2009. Senator Fiatauiaulava Sauni has also been appointed to the Zoning Board. -- FS

Firebrand Fiji government Senator Apisai Tora was jailed for eight months in September by the High Court for leading the takeover of a military checkpoint and erecting a roadblock at Sabeto in Nadi during the 2000 coup. Tora and 12 co-defendants were acquitted by the Magistrates Court last year but state prosecutors successfully appealed to the High Court. Tora's co-defendants received four month jail terms. -- RM

C.E. "Rags" Scanlan, a well-known Samoan businessman in Hawaii, who is also a retired detective from the Honolulu Police Department, has been awarded status as a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute (ACFEI). ACFEI, an independent scientific and professional society, recognizes experience and education of individuals in their field. -- FS

Samoa's Health Ministry Chief Executive Officer Talealeausumai Lolofie, Dr. Eti Enosa has been suspended following extensive investigations into misuse of funds in the Health Ministry. According to a Cabinet announcement, the suspension is to allow further investigation. Already, a number of junior staff have been suspended, but the investigations have also implicated senior staff. -- AT

Nicole Punimata Shanahan has been awarded the American Samoa Bar Association's annual law student scholarship for the 2005-2006 academic year. The $500 scholarship will help pay the costs of her first year of law school at the La Verne College of Law, in Ontario, California. -- FS

The Fiji military beefed up security at the homes of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo and Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi after a man climbed over the fence of the presidential residence in September. Iowane Tuinamasi, 25, was caught by the First Lady listening to loud music while doing press-ups at the residence late at night on Sept. 22. A magistrate ordered he undergo psychiatric assessment after he pleaded guilty to criminal trespass. -- RM

Yumi Crisostomo, who directs the Marshall Islands government's Office of Environmental Planning and Policy Coordination that deals with international environmental treaty compliance issues, has been named as chairperson of the Environmental Protection Authority's board of directors. Also new to the EPA board is Dennis Alessio, the director of the non-governmental organization Canoes of the Marshall Islands. They replace Chief Secretary Robert Muller and Transportation Secretary Jorelik Tibon, respectively. Cabinet Minister Witten Philippo said the new appointments are aimed at reducing national government control of-and potential conflicts of interest with-the board. The two new appointees join ongoing board members Majuro Mayor Riley Albertter, Health Secretary Justina Langidrik and Mark Stege. -- GJ

Wilson Hess is the new president of the College of the Marshall Islands, which has been teetering on the brink of losing its U.S.-based accreditation. Hess, who was hired following an extensive search by the college's board, has received a "thumbs up" from Charles Cook, described as the "dean of regional accreditation." Cook, who for 23 years headed the Commission on Institutions of Higher Learning for the New England area--the East Coast equivalent to Western Association of Schools and Colleges that accredits CMI--credited Hess with saving an American college from losing its accreditation. -- GJ

Larry Butterfield was reelected president of the Guam Bankers Association. He is president and chief executive officer of Citizens Security Bank and served as president of the GBA in 2003 and 2004. Other newly elected GBA officers are Edward Untalan, vice president; Antoinette Camacho, secretary; and Erwin Perez, treasurer. Untalan and Perez are vice presidents of First Hawaiian Bank and Citibank respectively; Camacho is senior vice president of Bank of Hawaii. -- FW

The first person to be convicted in a multi-million dollar agricultural scam in Fiji was jailed for three years in October. Sakiusa Bole, a former field agent with the Agriculture Ministry, was found guilty on five charges of defrauding the government of over F$35,000 (US$20,470). In all, about F$15 million (US$8.7 million) was misused through a farming assistance scheme introduced in 2001.-- RM

Police in Solomon Islands have laid further official corruption charges against former Finance Minister Francis Zama, following previous charges of official corruption and making a false statement brought against him in April. The charges relate to offenses allegedly committed while Zama was Finance Minister. Zama's defense team will ask the court to dismiss the charges at the next court appearance, claiming they were brought against him incorrectly under the Penal Code, rather than the Financial Institutions Act. --BE

Former Kiribati President and current MP for South Tarawa Teburoro Tito has criticized the Broadcasting and Publication Authority board for planning to conduct an inquiry on allegedly biased news reporting by its journalists. Government ministers and secretaries have complained that BPA journalists are not doing their jobs properly and need scrutiny by their board. But Tito says journalists should not be intimidated by what he called political manipulations. -- BB

Papua New Guinea's Deputy Opposition Leader Andrew Baing has been referred by the Ombudsman Commission to the public prosecutor for alleged misconduct in office. The commission has alleged Baing deposited K250,000 (US$77,000) in electoral funds meant for development projects in his Markham electorate into his bank account, before putting the money to his personal use. Baing is the sixth local parliamentarian referred to the public prosecutor this year for allegedly breaching the leadership code. -- AR

Kiribati Leader of the Opposition Dr. Harry Tong has called on the Minister for Transport Natan Teewe to resign based on the fact that an airport fire truck was not working, which he said could impact both passengers and mail on international flights. Teewe retorted that the idle fire truck doesn't come under his portfolio but that of the Police Service. He said he has liaised with the police and spare parts have been ordered. -- BB

The Cook Islands teenage golf sensation William Howard has moved a level up in his quest for a career as a professional golfer. The 12-year-old, who is the youngest champion of the Rarotonga Golf Club, will now play in the New Zealand Under-19 National Championship. Howard created history when he won the national championship early this year, beating friends of his father Ned Howard, who is also his coach. -- UKM

Kimberly M. Mendiola, a senior analyst at the Public Auditor's Office (OPA), was named the 2005 Government Employee of the Year and received her award at the Labor Day celebration Sept. 17 at American Memorial Park. Mendiola was chosen the overall winner from among 30 other employees who won their departments' and offices' awards. -- FSR

In Memoriam

Dr. Leonard E. Mason, whose involvement with the Pacific Islands spanned more than half a century, died in Hawaii on October 8th at the Pohai Nani Good Samaritan Retirement Community on Oahu. He was 92. Mason was an anthropologist who first studied the region in 1946 as part of the U.S. Commercial Company's post-war economic survey of the former Japanese Mandated Islands in Micronesia. He was assigned to the Marshall Islands, and began a close relationship with those islands and its people, particularly those from Bikini atoll. As a University of Hawaii professor in the late 1950s, Mason founded the regionally-focused graduate program in Pacific Islands Studies, the first of its kind in the United States. He served as its director, and was its spiritual leader for years afterwards. A tall, soft-spoken man, "Len" Mason and his wife Hazel, who preceded him in death, were gracious hosts and counselors to generations of graduate students and academicians from around the world. Mason is survived by his son William; daughters Jacqueline Norman and Nancy Henderson; brothers Ralph and Robert; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. -- FKT

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Tulsa Tulaga Tuliau, 33, a Samoan soldier who was born in San Francisco and grew up in American Samoa, was killed Sept. 26 in Baghdad, Iraq. Tuliau, who resided in Watertown, New York, was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 314th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 78th Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y. Tuliau is the seventh known Samoan soldier to die in Iraq. The other six, including one female, had their homes of record in American Samoa. -- FS

Legendary rugby sevens coach Rupeni Ravonu who, led Fiji to its first World Cup victory in 1997, died Oct. 2 at his home in Suva after a short illness. A devastated Waisale Serevi, who captained the team that won the Melrose Cup in Hong Kong, said Fiji had lost a rugby mentor. Under Ravonu's leadership, the team appeared on the field with a Bible verse emblazoned on their jerseys, which sponsors later objected to. -- RM

Tuaine Marurai, the wife of Cook Islands Prime Minister Jim Marurai, died in New Zealand on Sept. 15 after a long battle with cancer. She was last seen in public with her husband in August during the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Cook Islands self-government. The PM accompanied his wife's body from New Zealand to their home island of Mangaia, a 40-minute flight, for burial. Parliament adjourned for two days to allow members to attend the funeral. -- UKM

Contributors: Frank Whitman, Batiri Bataua, Fili Sagapolutele, Ricardo Morris, Afamasaga Toleafoa, Giff Johnson, Samantha Magick, Bruce Edwards, Alex Rheeney, Frank S. Rosario, Floyd K. Takeuchi and Ulamila Kurai Marrie.