Man charged with unlawful possession of ‘ice’ and ‘grass’ Section Thu 06-01...phine Andales Regis. She was recently awarded Valedicto-rian at St. Theresa Elementary School;

The four recipients of the 2017 National Summer Transporta-tion Institute (NSTI) studies award at Virginia State Uni-versity with their parents and (center, back row) the Director of Public Works Faleosina Voigt, at a brief ceremony hosted by the Department of Public Works last Friday.

Seated (L-R): are the four stu-dents Morgan Ulu of Samoana High School, Nichole Semeatu and Vini Sipili of Tafuna High School and Casidhe Mahuka of Faasao Marist High School. See story inside. [Photo: EM]

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PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA $1.00THURSDAY, JUNE 01, 2017

DAILY CIRCULATION 7,000ONLINE @ SAMOANEWS.COM

FOUND DURING A TRAFFIC STOP IN EARLY MORNING HOURS

Ta’utino Rev. Tofaeono e leai ni fa’amaoniga o tu’uaiga fa’asaga ia te ia

Utulei Youth wins Futsal Tournament on penalty shootout

Governor responds to complaints about favoritism and refund checks Page 3

Le Lali

Sports

by Fili SagapoluteleSamoa News Correspondent

A man accused of possession of illegal drugs as well as possession of unregis-tered guns — a 12-gauge shotgun and a 22-caliber rifle — has had his bail set

at $60,000.According to the criminal complaint, Tautua

Letasi is charged with unlawful possession of meth-amphetamine with intent to distribute; and unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to distribute — both felonies. Each count is punishable by not more than 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not more than $20,000, or both.

Letasi is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of possession of two unlicensed firearms.

Each count is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

The defendant made his initial appearance in Dis-trict Court late last week and another court hearing is set for later next week. Samoa News wasn’t able to confirm yesterday if he has been able to make bail.

Charges against Letasi stem from a traffic stop during the early morning hours of May 21st, when police officers allegedly confiscated from the defen-dant’s vehicle a weapon (12-gauge shotgun), nar-cotics and ammunition, according to court docu-ments, which also states that the defendant’s car was allegedly traveling at an “unknown high rate of speed” and it was the reason why it was stopped by police.

Avril Louela Andales Regis is the Champion of the 2017 Samoa News Territorial Spelling Bee. Her winning word

was “Despicable”. Major sponsor of the event is McDon-ald’s American Samoa.

Avril left for Washington DC last Friday, to com-pete, representing American Samoa, in the Scripps

National Spelling Bee, which is being held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention

Center. Avril is the second daughter of Jose-

phine Andales Regis. She was recently awarded Valedicto-

rian at St. Theresa Elementary School; and is a dedicated student, who loves reading novels and fiction. She also loves studying, because as she said before — she wants her dreams to come true. She is a member of Youth for Christ in Catholic that helps her mind learn to be imaginative, as

well as her creativity widen. She recently posted on social

media:“I learned many things

from my teachers, joined countless island wide competitions, met awesome friends, and made memories that I will cherish forever during the 8 years I spent in St. Theresa Elementary School. Finally I made it through an amazing journey in my beloved school and graduated as valedictorian yesterday!

“First and foremost, I’d like to thank our Heavenly Father for all His blessings and everything He has done for me. I’d also like to thank my parents, family, including the ‘estoryahee’ family, who supported me ever since day one.

“Thank you for motivating me to do my best in everything. Words cannot express how grateful I am to be blessed with an amazing family like you. Last but not the least, thank you to the faculty and staff of St. Theresa School and to my classmates/ friends. It was bittersweet moment to say goodbye to you at the graduation especially since some of us will be going to different high schools, but we’ll always have the memories we shared together.

“Once again, thank you so much to my support system. I love you all,” she concluded.

After a long journey and preparing for the competition, Avril is now in Washington DC at the Scripps National Bee. Let’s give her our prayers and all the support and best wishes.

[Courtesy photo]

Man charged with unlawful possession of ‘ice’ and ‘grass’

2017 LOCAL TERRITORIAL SPELLING BEE CHAMP AT NATIONALS

Page 2 samoa news, Thursday, June 01, 2017


With the Fono and many in the community com-plaining about the usefulness of the America Samoa Visitors Bureau, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has called for the agen-cy’s top leaders to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s mission as well as identify ways for improvements.

Lolo made the suggestion at last week’s cabinet meeting, after Visitors Bureau deputy director Vaito’a Hans Lang-kilde, gave a brief report on the agency’s latest activities, which covered clean up activities and working with the National Park of American Samoa to halt the dumping of trash in park areas.

After Vaito’a’s report, Lolo told the meeting that Visitors Bureau is one of the ASG enti-ties, which faces many public questions on what they do and cited a recent meeting with Fono leaders, who remain unclear as to the specific role and mission of the Visitors Bureau.

He said there is a need for Visitors Bureau to sit own and conduct a thorough review of its goal and mission and to ensure that it is not in conflict with work carried out by the Depart-ment of Commerce.

Lolo says its no secret to directors that during the annual budget reviews, the Fono has questioned the usefulness of this office and Fono leaders

again raised this to him during their recent meeting.

He pointed out that in past Fono budget hearings, ques-tions from lawmakers are not focused on the agency, but indi-viduals working in the office.

During the fiscal years 2016 and 2017 budget hearing, sev-eral lawmakers targeted the high salary and benefits received by Visitors Bureau’s executive director David Vaeafe, whose salary and benefits are set by the Visitors Bureau board of directors.

Lawmakers also raised ques-tions over local tourism devel-opment and what’s being done because nothing was visible to them, while a lot of money in the Visitors Bureau budget was allocated for off island promo-tion and travel.

According to the FY 2017 budget document, the Visitors Bureau budget is $751,500 with the executive director’s salary at $87,500, which does not include other benefits — such as housing.

During last week’s cabinet meeting, Lolo suggested that all cabinet members work with the Visitors Bureau leadership on identifying areas that needs changes or what needs to be done, even if the role of the Visitors Bureau should be done by the private sector. He said directors shouldn’t be afraid to tackle these important issues and if changes are necessary for

improvements then they should be made.

Lolo also directed Vaito’a and Vaeafe to conduct a thor-ough review of the agency and its mission and if there are other areas that need improvements or if there are things that should be taken away — then provide recommendations to the Gover-nor’s Office.

And with the pending fiscal year 2018 budget review later this year; Lolo believes law-makers will raise the same issues, including the usefulness of the agency.

He said the reason these questions remain is because the Fono and the public are not ‘seeing’ any results.

During another cabinet meeting last December, the governor also directed Vaito’a and Vaeafe to revisit and con-duct a new review of the agen-cy’s long-term tourism develop-ment plan to focus attention on local developments and attrac-tions first.

Lolo said that for the last four years, “We’ve been having some conflicts with the Fono” and it’s the Fono’s belief that the focus should be on the development of a local tourism infrastructure “before we even move outside to attract” off island visitors; and Lolo said at the time he agreed with the Fono. (See Samoa News edition Dec. 13, 2016 for details.)

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc walk from photo opportunity at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, May 31, 2017.

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Court documents revealed that Letasi’s driver’s license expired three years ago. Police were able to get this informa-tion from the dispatcher, who was called during the traffic stop because the defendant had no form of identification on him.

Following the traffic stop, police escorted the defendant along with his vehicle to the Tafuna police substation, where one of the officers inspected the rear of the vehicle and allegedly saw “a barrel of what appeared to be a rifle.”

Police asked defendant about the object and the defen-dant allegedly responded that, “it was a gun that he was going to fix”, court documents say and noted that the “12 gauge rifle that was recovered from the vehicle was revealed to be loaded and was later seized.”

A further search of the vehicle, allegedly “discovered a camouflage Army backpack on the rear seat of the vehicle containing what appeared to be baggies of crystalline sub-stance believed to be metham-phetamine and green leafy sub-stance believe to be marijuana.”

The police then searched the backpack, in the presence of the defendant, where police alleg-edly observed what appeared to be baggies of crystalline substance believed to be meth-amphetamine and baggies with green leafy substance.

Also allegedly discovered by police were three medium sized ziploc plastic bags containing crystalline substances, one sandwich sized ziploc plastic bag containing crystalline, two stamp sized ziploc bags con-taining crystalline substance, three small sized plastic ziploc bags containing green leafy substances believed to be mari-juana, one hand rolled joint, and

numerous paraphernalia such as a digital scale, and numerous empty baggies commonly used for packaging and distribution of meth. Also allegedly discov-ered inside the backpack was cash totaling $1,658.

In addition, police allegedly discovered five live 12-gauge Winchester ammunitions, three 12-gauge Remington live ammunitions and four 9-milli-meter live ammunitions.

During a vehicle inventory, in the presence of the defendant, police allegedly discovered a hand-rolled joint believed to be marijuana, and empty baggies, commonly used to package meth, the government alleges in court filings.

The defendant was then for-mally warned of his Constitu-tional Rights using an official Warning of Rights form. During the explanation by police of the Waiver paragraph on the Form, it’s alleged that the defendant kept uttering to police that “I don’t know what time my guy put the bag in the car.”

Police also interviewed the defendant’s spouse at the cou-ple’s home, who alleges that the backpack belongs to the husband and that the husband would bring the bag home with him sometimes.

Furthermore, the spouse alleges that she “doesn’t know who owns the stuff that her hus-band was selling.” When asked by police about any other illegal substances or illegal firearms, she allegedly told police there is another rifle in their bedroom.

Police allegedly discover, during the search of the cou-ple’s home, a 22-caliber rifle 9 Marline and numerous para-phernalia, such as Digital scale, stamp size baggies, and three glass tubes commonly use to smoke Meth.

A record check at DPS record office, carried out on May 22, disclosed that the defendant’s name was not on any file for weapon registration.

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➧Man chaeged…Continued from page 1

Usefulness of the Visi-tors Bureau continues

to be questionedGOVERNOR SAYS BECAUSE RESULTS CANNOT BE ‘SEEN’

samoa news, Thursday, June 01, 2017 Page 3


In response to public com-plaints of favoritism in the issu-ance of refund checks, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has pro-hibited the Treasury Depart-ment from releasing tax refund checks, under the “Expedited Tax Refund Policy”.

The governor’s policy out-lined in a memo last month to ASG Treasury Uelinitone Tonumaipe’a comes amid many public complaints over the alleged expedited issuance of refunds checks to tax payers, who are connected to senior officials at Treasury Depart-ment or the Executive Branch while others - especially can-nery workers who usually are the first ones to file taxes - have to wait.

Several ASG employees claiming favoritism by Trea-sury on issuance of refunds, and took their complaints to social media, blasting the gov-ernment, and targeting the governor’s office, especially the governor for not putting a

stop to the practice. Concerning to some ASG employees is that they claimed to have requested expedited issuance of their refund checks due to an urgent family medical situ-ation but were turned down, while others with connection to senior Treasury officials have had their tax returns expedited due to a funeral or other family fa’alavelave.

And Lolo made mentioned of the complaints in his May 18th memo, with copies sent to the Deputy Treasury Keith Gebauer, Deputy Treasurer Tina Va’a and the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Fiu J. Saelua.

“Complaints on the unfair-ness in the issuance of tax return refunds prompted this policy declaring abating the current practice of expediting tax return refunds,” the gov-ernor wrote.

Notwithstanding the impact of ASG’s cash flow position and delaying the ascertainment of reimbursements from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which funds the child

tax credit, Lolo said the “public perception of special treatment extended to friends, families and those with influence casts doubt on the integrity of this administration with respect to practicing the principles of equality and equity.”

Accordingly, said Lolo, the Expedited Tax Refund Policy “prohibits approval of any request for expedited tax refunds” with full compliance to the issuance of tax refunds based on the date the return was filled and aligned with the chronological order of issuance.

(Treasury Department has in the past, when issuing a statement about the release of refunds, reminded tax payers to keep in mind their filing date, which is when and how tax refunds are disbursed.)

“The Governor or the Lieu-tenant Governor in the absence of the Governor is vested with the authority to suspend the application of this policy,” the memo said.

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Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga responds to com-plaints about favoritism

and refund checks

A government soldier carries a boy to a processing center after being rescued from the site of fighting between the Philippine troops and Muslim militants in Marawi city Wednesday, May 31, 2017, in the southern Philippines. As the fighting enters its second week Wednesday, several tanks arrived at an army camp before their deployment to Marawi city along with busloads of reinforce-ment troops. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

O le malo e mamalu, o le malo e filemu (Samoan Hymn EFKS) –

A nation that has dignity is a nation that has peace

It was the custom of our forbears that when a special moment was forthcoming, they would revert to modes of prayer, fasting and dream dia-logues for insight. I want to share with you the insights and perspectives gained through my prayers, fasting and dream dialogues in preparation for today.

Today is Independence Day. Today we have come together to remember our for-bears who fought so hard to reclaim our Independence. We come together to remember their dreams and hopes, and to reflect on how far we have come. If we were to ask, why did they seek to reclaim our Independence? The short answer would be: “Because Independence is our tofi”. Tofi refers to our inheritance and heritage. It speaks about iden-tity and self-hood.

Tofi literally means to apportion. It is connected to the concepts“matāfaioi” and “faamatāfai”, which refer to a responsibility for using a portion or portions of land specifically for planting and harvesting food crops. These terms recognise that land is a key part of our tofi and using it wisely is hard work.

Recent initiatives in our agricultural and horticultural industries have revived tra-ditional land and gardening management practices with the view of developing sus-tainable family and village-level production enterprises in collaboration with locally owned businesses. These local

businesses work closely with local farmers – at the village and family levels – to give them access to the necessary business infrastructural sup-port so that they can not only produce good quality produce (for example, taro, bananas, cocoa, coffee, etc.) in suitable volumes, but also gain skills in sound business management practices. A few even heavily investing their own resources and profits into these initiatives as a way to nurture from the ground-up economic indepen-dence for Samoa as a whole. Such initiatives encourage families and villages to work together in ways that build not only economic indepen-dence, but also strong family bonds and communal responsi-bility. Such initiatives must be supported.

A large number of our people who experience hard-ship are either unemployed or work in the informal sector.

Sixty percent of those working in the informal sector work in the agricultural sector; in family plantations, or other kind of subsistence produc-tion. Investments in these agricultural initiatives must be complemented by invest-ments in education, vocational training, and relevant skills development.

Today we have seen an increase in the production of local produce, some of which are being sold for our local markets, but a significant amount are also being exported internationally, especially to New Zealand and Aus-tralia. Returning to the land and working it productively as families and villages is not only economically lucrative, it is also culturally lucrative.

We belong to the land, the sea, the sun, the moon and stars, and they belong to us. We belong to our families and our families belong to us.

We belong to our villages and our villages belong to us. We belong to our country and our country belongs to us. This is the essence of our sense of belonging. It is also the essence of our tofi.

In developing a strong col-lective work ethic, where there is unity of purpose, I am reminded of the example of the ant. When advising the slothful man, the Bible says: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; study her ways and learn wisdom!” While the Samoan saying,“ua fetosoa’i faapa’utolo a loi” (meaning, there is a tussle between com-peting groups of ants for the piece of sugarcane), points to the fact that sometimes in order to move something for-ward there needs to be a bit of healthy competition.

I want to end by reference to another of God’s small crea-tures, in this case the louse. When I was a young child and I managed to acquire some

goodies, my younger siblings would rally around asking for some. If I was reluctant to part with them, I can still remember one of the older ladies of my family saying, Se ‘ave se mea ma nai ou tei, pe na o le ‘utu e vaeluaina (meaning, give some to your siblings, for even a louse can be divided).

The moral of the story is the ethic of sharing. We must share not only in the benefits of Independence, but also in car-rying its burdens and responsi-bilities. If we have a high work ethic and work with a unity of purpose, we can achieve and maintain the kind of Indepen-dence our forebears dreamt of and fought so hard for on our behalf. If we achieve this we will find substance in the words of the hymn, O le malo e mamalu, o le malo e filemu - A nation which has dignity, is a nation which has peace.

May God bless our celebra-tion of Independence.


TUI ATUA TUPUA TAMASESE TA’ISI EFI, Independence Day Speech, Apia, 01 June 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITORSamoa News welcomes and encourages

Letters to the Editor. Please send them to our email [email protected]

Box 909, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799.Contact us by Telephone at (684) 633-5599or by Email at [email protected] 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.

Samoa’s 55th Independence Celebration infront of the Government Building, Eleele-fou, Apia. June 1st 2017. [Photos: Samoa Observer Online.]

© OSINI FALEATASI INC. RESERVES ALL RIGHTS.dba Samoa News publishes Monday to Friday, except for some local and federal holidays.Send correspondences to: OF, dba Samoa News, Box 909, Pago Pago, Am. Samoa 96799.Telephone at (684) 633-5599 • Fax at (684) 633-4864Email advertisements to [email protected] the newsroom at [email protected] 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.Please visit samoanews.com for weekend updates.


By Leiloa Ese MalalaSamoa News Staff Writer

Last week Friday the Department of Public Works hosted a private ceremony for the four high school students selected to attend and study at the National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) at Virginia State University, in Peters-burg, Virginia for 3- 4 weeks.

The four students are Morgan Ulu of Samoana High School, Casidhe Mahuka of Faasao Marist High School, Nichole Semeatu and Vini Sipili of Tafuna High School who were selected from 52 applicants.

Samoa News notes that all the recipients of the DPW summer studies award are female. We asked, and were told that out of the 52 applicants only 9 males applied.

The application process included a short essay on applicant’s interest in Engineering, Science, Transportation or Technology careers and how the program would benefit them and the community. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5-4.0; a letter of recommendation; and an interview rounded of the process.

According to Administrative Assistant of DPW Tanya Aab, the Department of Public Work receives their funds from the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administra-tion through the Highway Department of Public Works, to send local students to the universities in the US for training.

She said, “the Highway Department of Public Works in Hawai’i has looked at the youth to use funding for study opportunities and it has been successful for the last 5 years.”

Aab said, “The hope is to get them to look at engineering, at all different aspects, especially

that there are different areas in engineering. The Director and Chief Engineer of Civil Highway Division Siatu’u are very passionate about this, and getting new engineers, that is our downfall … we do not have many engineers to fill out the spots.”

She advised the four students to “never settle, always look, eyes wide open and go for it!”

During the ceremony, Director Faleosina Voigt welcomed the 4 students with their fami-lies who were in attendance.

She expressed her excitement for the stu-dents, shared her experience in engineering and advised them to take advantage of this opportu-nity so they are able to come back and use it to better our community.

Sophomore, Morgan Ulu of Samoana High School told Samoa News during an interview, “It is definitely an honor to be an ambassador of American Samoa to be a part of this program. I thank Department of Public Works for giving us this opportunity to learn more about transporta-tion and technology.

Transportation is our lifeline in American Samoa, without it we won’t have businesses and able to bring in goods, supplies and services and also a way to get home, work and around.”

Morgan’s mother who accompanied her to the ceremony also expressed her excitement for her daughter.

“Living in American Samoa is quite remote, affording our young people to travel to the States to be able to mingle with other kids and learn on these areas is a blessing. I am really excited for the government in providing these kind of oppor-tunities for the young people to take advantage of,” she said. (Courtesy Photos)

Director of Public Works, Faleosina Voigt (center) with the 4 recipients of the 2017 National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) studies award at Virginia State University, and DPW assistant engineers — Civil Highway — (far L) Tanya Aab and (far R) Doris Faleato. [photo: EM]

Local DPW funds summer studies off-

island in different areas of engineering

FOUR STUDENTS SELECTED


Compiled by Samoa NewsTWO FOR TEA

Beginning tonight, for Happy Hour, 5:30pm – 7:30p.m., at the Sadie Thompson Inn, “Tea for Two”, brings a medley of oldies but goodies, jazz and Samoan songs performed by Peta Si’ulepa and Vaito’a Hans Langkilde, backed by ‘sea-soned’ musicians.

It’s all a part of promoting live music in the Pago Bay area.

SAMOA CELEBRATES 55TH INDEPENDENCEThousands came together

to pay their respects, and cel-ebrate Samoa’s 55th Indepen-dence Day.

The program was held in front of the government building, for the nation to pay tribute to our forbears for the freedom we enjoy today.

In attendance was the Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Her highness Masiofo Filifilia Tamasese.

Among them was the New Zealand’s Prime Minister Bill English, his wife Dr Mary English, Ulu Tokelau, Aliki Faipule Siopili Perez and Fal-etua Taase Perez; American Samoa Governor, First Lady Cynthia Malala Moliga, and diplomatic corps.

The raising of the flag was by a member of the Council of Deputies, Tuimaleali’ifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and a 21-gun salute was performed by the firing of cannons. Tra-ditional entertainments were scheduled for the afternoon.

(Source: Samoa Observer)

O LE KEY O LOU ATANU’U O LOU

GAGANA LEAGiving back to family and

building up confidence are just a couple of reasons why young Samoans in Aotearoa New Zealand are learning their language.

It’s Samoan Language Week, part of a series of Pacific language weeks which this year tie together language, culture and identity.

In Samoan, the theme “Keep your identity alive to thrive” translates as Ma’au i lou ofaga. Maua’a lou fa’asinomaga.

Pasifika Education Centre Samoan language tutor, Seb-rina Fa’avae, said the week was a special occasion and a beautiful way to keep the gagana or language alive in New Zealand.

“It is meaningful to me because it defines who I am and where I come from. Before I used to take it for granted but now I relish every opportu-nity of using it. The language gives me confidence to be able to communicate with others, making connections as I go,” she said.

In Samoan, Ms. Fa’avae said the key to culture is lan-guage and that learning to speak your language teaches you that your identity and cul-ture are inseparable.

“E taua tele le gagana au ai e loa ai lou faaloalo, e loa ai lou tagata, ma mea e te sau mai ai. O lou gagana ma lou aganu’u, e uo faatasi. O le key o lou atanu’u o lou gagana lea.”

Student Italia Toelei’u is a first generation New Zealand

Samoan who isn’t fluent in the language but is attending the Pasifika Education Centre’s free Samoan class to improve her skills.

She said learning Samoan connects her to her parent’s generation, and all the things Samoans value like family, culture, God and the church.

“We’re lucky because we have a homeland to go back to, but not all of us get to go back as often.

“So I always think it is important you keep your cul-ture alive and as we are get-ting older our parents and our parent’s generation are passing on and I think it is important to keep the language and cul-ture alive and this is one way of doing it.”

Ms. Toelei’u said there is a key Samoan proverb she lives by. “O le ala i le pule o le tautua - ‘the path to leadership is through service’ and I think for us Samoan people, it’s not just about titles, regarding leader-ship, it is through service.

“I see it as giving back to your family, whether it is giving back to your colleagues or to your church, but the whole idea about leadership is through serving others.”

Another student, John Vai-fale, is learning Samoan for personal reasons.

“I guess it is for per-sonal reasons. So when I was younger, I was able to speak the language more but growing up and mainly being around English I kind of lost the lan-guage so it is more or less just trying to regain the language,” he said.

In New Zealand, Sabrina Fa’avae and Italia Toelei’u are a part of Samoan Language Week, part of a series of Pacific language weeks, which this year tie together language, culture and identity. Samoan Language Week ends this Friday, June 3. [Photo: RNZ Pacific / Sara Vui-Talitu]

Pacific Island News in BriefPacific Island News in Brief


By Kate Pereyra GarciaIn the first part of a new pod-

cast series looking at the facts behind current health trends, Kate Pereyra Garcia spends three weeks eating coconut oil to find out if really makes a difference.

The proponents of coconut oil make a lot of promises.

So when someone was needed as a human guinea pig for RNZ’s Healthy or Hoax podcast, I volunteered.

Lose weight, lower cho-lesterol and prevent wrinkles? Simply by eating oil?

If it works: amazing.The claims around the

medical properties of coconut oil have burgeoned in recent times, with bold claims online that it’s “one of the healthiest foods on the planet” with “life-saving” properties. Beyond the more superficial claims about weight loss, building muscles and stopping wrinkles, its sup-porters suggest it may prevent Alzheimer’s, heart disease and some cancers.

If even half of the claims were true, it would be a miracle cure. So, although some scien-tists are pretty skeptical, it’s not hard to see why more people are buying it.

New Zealand supermarkets had a 15 percent year-on-year increase in sales.

Countdown spokesperson James Walker said it was part of a trend across the entire supermarket for specialty health foods. For its part, Food-stuffs confirmed New Zealand supermarkets sold more than $7 million worth of coconut oil in the year to March.

So I was in good company when I popped into my local New World to purchase a tub for the experiment.

It was completely non-sci-entific, of course, but the idea was to consume at least a table-spoon a day for three weeks. I did a blood test to check cho-lesterol levels before and after.

Consultant Laurence Eyres conducted a major review of studies of coconut oil for the Heart Founda-tion, which was published last

year in the Nutrition Reviews journal. He didn’t find one peer-reviewed study showing any benefit of using coconut oil.

“The claims for curing Alzheimer’s or cancer or what have you were based on marketing hype and had no foundation.”

So on the serious science, there’s no evidence to endorse the claims, though one Otago University study showed coconut oil wasn’t quite as bad as butter when it came to raising cholesterol levels.

Auckland University of Technology Professor of Public Health Grant Schofield said coconut oil was not necessarily bad for you, but there was no evidence it would live up to the more extreme claims.

So how did my experiment go?

The first week was fine, I mainly used the coconut oil to fry vegetables each night. By the middle of the second week I was sick of stir-fried dinner and over everything tasting like coconut.

I went hunting for recipes and made a successful batch of fudge and a banana cake, both incorporating coconut oil. But I’m not sure eating more baked goods is really what the health blogs had in mind when extol-ling the virtues of coconut oil.

By the third week I was holding out for the experiment to end. I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to being jabbed with a needle so much. But then I got the results, and a bit of a shock.

Whereas I’d started with a reasonably healthy overall cholesterol level of 4.8 mmol/l, in just three weeks it had bal-looned to 5.4.

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitio-ners medical director Richard Medlicott said total cholesterol should ideally be below 4 or 5 mmol/l. So 5.4 wasn’t exces-sively high. But it wasn’t great. And worse, my HDL choles-terol (that’s the good one) had gone down, while my LDL levels (that’s the bad one) had gone up.

Basically on a completely unscientific experiment, my heart health had deteriorated rapidly over the three weeks and I hadn’t consciously changed anything except adding coconut oil to my diet.

Now Dr. Medlicott assured me my risk of heart attack was still very low given my overall health and wellbeing.

“One of the really important things to focus on around cho-lesterol is it’s only one risk factor for heart disease and strokes and other diseases... other risk factors [are] your gender, ethnicity, whether you smoke, whether you’ve got a bad family history of heart dis-ease, your blood pressure.”

And the rise in my choles-terol may have had nothing to do with eating coconut oil.

But it’s food for thought to be sure.

(Source: radionz.co.nz)

DDW Beach CaféWILL OPEN

THIS SUNDAY ONLY!Breakfast & Lunch

9:00am

Come celebrate your special graduate’s accomplishments after Baccalaureate Services.

K&B MATHP.O. Box 2046 Pago Pago, AS 96799

PH: (684) 252-5072email: [email protected]

Do you know that 50% of your SAT SCORE WILL BE FROM YOUR MATH SCORE BEGINNING THE YEAR 2017?

CURRENT SAT REDESIGNED SAT• Critical Reading 800 Reading and Writing 800• Writing 800 Math 800• Math 800 TOTAL SCORE 1600TOTAL SCORE 2400

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• All students should take Level Test• Period: 6/12-7/8 (1st Session) 7/10-8/5 (2nd Session)• Location: 2nd floor at Faatamalii Center in Malaeimi• Note: 7/4 (no school - Independence Day Holiday)

• Contact: (684) 252-5072• Tuition: $200 / 4 weeks• Registration Fee: $50• Small Size of Classes• Seats are limited, please register as soon as possible

Coconut oil — miracle cure or marketing hype?

proudly introduces the opening of its

VISITORS CENTEROn Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - Saturday, June 3rd

Aua Stake Center 10:00am to 9:00pm

Pago Pago Samoa Stake, under the direction of President Michael Barry Lavea extends a warm welcome to all members of the public to bring

your Families and Friends and learn more about our Savior Jesus Christ and have a better understanding about

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints*********************************

E fiafia tele le Siteki a le Pago Pago SamoaO le Ekalesia a Iesu Keriso o le Au Paia o Aso e Gata Ai

E fa’alauiloa atu le tatalaina aloaiaO LE NOFOAGA MO TAGATA ASIASI

Aso Lua, Me 30 - Aso Toonai, Iuni 310:00 i le taeao - 9:00 i le afiafi

i le Stake Center i AuaE vala’aulia faapitoa atu ai e le susuga i le Peresetene Michael Barry

Lavea ma le Siteki a Pago Pago Samoa, le mamalu o le atunu’u, e afifio ma tala’a’ao mai, tatou faatasi i aso ua atofaina.

Afio mai ma lou Aiga atoa, Uo, ma e masani, tatou te a’oa’o atili i le natura paia o lo tatou Alii Faaola o Iesu Keriso ma maua ai se

malamalama’aga i le Ekalesia a Iesu Keriso o le Au Paia o Aso e Gata Ai.

The Pago Pago Samoa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Coconut oil — miracle cure or marketing hype? [Courtesy photo: radionz.co.nz]

Mrs. Bella Asiata (second from left) and other Red Cross officials at the San Diego Chapter of the American Red Cross. [photo: Red Cross]

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(BASED ON A PRESS RELEASE) — May 30 2017 — Mrs. Bella Asiata is a proud wife, mother of 5 young children ranging from 2 to 10 years old, full time Sup-port Specialist Seminaries and Institutes of Religion in American Samoa for the Church of Latter Day Saints and Volunteers for the Amer-ican Red Cross in American Samoa, and with that one title comes multiple demands and huge responsibilities. She returned in American Samoa on Friday, May 26, following a one-week Red Cross training event in San Diego, California covering the following:

• Disaster geographical mapping information systems

• Service to Armed Forces• Volunteer recruitmentHer training in geo-

graphical mapping called “RC View” will improve the American Samoa Red Cross humanitarian response during tropical storms and other natural disasters by helping to identify delivery sites enabling Red Cross Disaster Response Teams to provide the needed disaster supplies.

Additional training will focus on the capacity building of the ‘Services to Armed Forces’ Program by offering this specific training to more Volunteers while incorporating it as and area of interest in the recruiting process.

Local American Red Cross Manager – Val Vaela’a Tuilefano added, “There is

Mrs. Bella Asiata completes Red Cross training in San Diego

(Continued on page 9)

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more to this story I am both honored and humbled to share. In short, we, Bella’s Red Cross family in Amer-ican Samoa are proud of her representing us both in Santa Monica and San Diego for these crucial trainings. In sharing, my appointing Bella to represent our local office in this rare opportu-nity was highly received and supported by the San Diego Chapter leadership team as she in the past 2 years helped in building the capacity of our local Volunteer online registration data base system.

“My challenge was to get Bella to accept, commit and help navigate around any obstacles that may pre-vent her from attending the trainings.

Everything fell into place except for some major trav-eling document issues.

The odds seemed to be stacked against her. Her faith, endurance and support system paid off in full. It was meant to be. Thank God!

This happens to be Bella’s first trip to the United States and away from her family.

Tuilefano said, on behalf of the Red Cross family he wishes to thank Bella’s immediate family, her boss LDS Malaeimi President Aiono, students and to the staff of Congresswoman Aumua Amata’s office for their support and believing in the American Red Cross Mission: Prevent and Alle-viate human suffering in the face of Emergencies by mobilizing the Power of Vol-unteers and the Generosity of our Donors.

President Donald Trump is handed a rose by Alison Malachowski, whose son Marine Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski was killed in Afghanistan in 2011, at Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 29, 2017, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

➧ Red Cross…Continued from page 8


WASHINGTON (AP) — Women’s groups are threat-ening to take the Trump admin-istration to court after a leaked, draft regulation revealed a plan to let employers opt out of pro-viding no-cost birth control to women for religious and moral reasons.

The White House refused comment, calling the 125-page document posted online by the news site Vox an “alleged draft.”

A government website shows that a rule on preventive services under the Affordable Care Act — which includes birth control — is under final review by the White House Office of Management and

Budget.The share of women

employees paying their own money for birth control pills has plunged to under 4 percent, from 21 percent, since contra-ception became a covered pre-ventive health benefit under the Obama-era health law, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Research has shown that contraception promotes maternal health by allowing women to space out their preg-nancies, among other findings.

The birth control require-ment also applies to depen-dent coverage for wives and daughters.

But the mandate has drawn

strong and sustained opposition from social conservatives, who see it as an infringement on freedom of conscience.

The Obama administration exempted houses of worship, and set up a workaround for religiously affiliated nonprofits, such as hospitals, universities and social service organiza-

tions. The Supreme Court later ruled that closely held private companies were also eligible for the workaround, through which the government arranges contraceptive coverage for the affected women employees.

The leaked draft from the Department of Health and Human Services would allow any employer to opt out of pro-viding birth control as preven-tive care at no cost to women employees for religious or moral reasons.

“The major thing that it does is broaden the exemption that in the past was only available to houses of worship,” said Alina Salganicoff, a women’s health policy expert at the Kaiser Foundation, who served on a government advisory panel that recommended birth control be treated as a preventive benefit for women.

Advocates on both sides and leading lawmakers in Con-gress were treating the draft as an actual administration docu-ment, with the caveat that fed-eral regulations can change sig-nificantly in the final stage of White House review.

“If this rule is made final, we will file a lawsuit,” said Gretchen Borchelt, vice presi-dent for reproductive rights and health with the National Wom-en’s Law Center. “Women are going to lose no-cost birth con-trol coverage under this rule.”

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecolo-gists said the proposal is an “extremely regrettable decision to turn back the clock on wom-en’s health.”

Social conservatives were optimistic.

“A change in the rule is welcome and good,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Reli-gious Liberty. “I hope that the leaked draft we’re looking at

obviously becomes law.” The Becket Fund opposes the birth control requirement and rep-resents the Little Sisters of the Poor, a women’s religious order that had sued the Obama administration.

It’s unclear how corpo-rate America will react if the broader birth control exemption makes it into a final regulation.

“I just can’t imagine an employer adding parental leave benefits to attract workers and then dropping this benefit,” said economist Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Setting aside the high cost of childbirth, contraception provides an indirect benefit to employers by taking much of the unpredictability out of requests for parental leave. Women have long been an integral part of the workforce at most companies, and some experts have argued that birth control has broader economic benefits.

The Obama-era regulations require employers to cover the full range of FDA-approved contraception, including ster-ilization and the morning-after pill. Some religious conserva-tives have specific objections to those.

“This is an invitation to business owners to drop con-traceptive coverage for any reason or no reason,” said Cindy Pearson of the National Women’s Health Network. “I can imagine anti-choice activ-ists pressuring companies to curtail full coverage of all FDA approved methods.”

Immediately upon taking office President Donald Trump said his administration would work to loosen health care regulations seen as infringing on religious conscience. There’s no timetable for a final regulation.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIC DUTIES• AssistsFinanceManagerinthepreparationofdaily,monthly,annualandotherperiodicfinancialstatements

andreportsforDBAS.• Researchandresolveaccountingerrorsanddiscrepancies• Supervisebilling,collectionandpostingofrentsandleasepaymentsforLumanaiBuildingtenants• Organizeandimplementtrainingprogramsforstaffonaregularbasistoupgradetheirskillsandknowledge,• EnsureaccountingfunctionsareperformedandcompletedinaccordancewithDBASproceduresand

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PleasesubmityourResume&ApplicationtotheDevelopmentBankofAmericanSamoalocatedinPagoPago-2ndFloor.ThisjobpostingwillexpireFriday,June9,2017

Leaked birth control rule

would broaden religious

exemption

FILE - In this May 4, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump talks to House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington after the House pushed through a health care bill. Women’s groups are threatening to take the Trump administration to court after a leaked draft regulation revealed a plan to let employers opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women for religious and moral reasons. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)


CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Malaysia Airlines plane returned to Australia after a mentally ill passenger threat-ened to detonate a bomb and attempted to enter the cockpit before he was tackled and tied up by passengers, police said Thursday.

The 25-year-old Sri Lankan man Manodh Marks had been discharged from a Mel-bourne psychiatric hospital on Wednesday before buying a ticket on the late-night flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Vic-torian Police Chief Commis-sioner Graham Ashton said.

Police have determined he had no “terrorist” links or asso-ciates, Ashton said.

About 10 minutes after Flight 128 took off from Mel-bourne, Marks walked from his economy seat to the cockpit door clutching an electronic device and threatening to blow up the plane, creating panic among passengers. Passengers subdued him and tied him up with belts.

“At that point, he was essen-tially trussed up,” Ashton told reporters.

Marks, who is in Australia on a student visa while studying to be a chef, appeared in the Mel-bourne Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with endan-gering the safety of an aircraft and making false threats. He faces a potential 10-year prison sentence on each charge.

His lawyer Tess Dunsford told the magistrate Marks suf-fered from a psychiatric illness and would not apply for bail. He did not enter pleas to the charges. He will appear in court next on Aug. 24.

Scott Lodge said he was one of four passengers who “pounced” on Marks.

“All of a sudden, someone has him in a chokehold and got his arm behind his back and the other guy eventually choked him and he passed out,” Lodge said.

Ashton described the device Marks carried on the plane as an “amplifier-type instrument.” Passenger Andrew Leoncelli described it as a Boombox por-table music player.

“He was saying: ‘I’m going to the blow the f-ing plane up, I’m going to blow the plane up,’” Leoncelli told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “He was agitated, is the best description —100 percent, he was agitated.”

The Airbus A330-300 car-rying 337 passengers returned to the airport about 30 minutes after takeoff.

Passengers were kept on the plane for 90 minutes after landing and the plane was searched for potential bombs at a remote part of the airport, Ashton said. Police wearing body army took Marks off the plane.

The airline said the incident would be investigated.

Malaysia’s state-owned air-line has had two recent high-profile disasters. Malaysia Air-lines Flight 17 was shot down over the Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of all 283 passengers and 15 crew. And Flight 370 with 238 people aboard disap-peared four months earlier. It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean but has not been found.

Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews offered gov-ernment support for the passen-gers stranded by Wednesday’s ordeal. “I don’t think any of us have a true understanding of the trauma, just how frightening this experience would have been,” Andrews said.

Andrews cautioned against governments responding to the drama by banning mentally ill passengers from flying.

“We want to be very careful not to be driving people away from getting the care they need,” he said. “We don’t want to be stigmatizing any more than mental illness is already stigmatized.”

Malaysia Airlines jet diverted in Australia over bomb scare

Police take statements for passengers evacuated from a Malaysia Air-lines plane after a man tried to enter its cockpit in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, June 1, 2017. The Malaysia Airlines plane returned to Aus-tralia after the man threatened to detonate a bomb and attempted to enter the cockpit before he was tackled and tied up by passengers, police said Thursday. The 25-year-old Sri Lankan man had been discharged from a Melbourne psychiatric hospital on Wednesday before buying a ticket on the late-night flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Andrew Leconcelli via AP)


MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Foreign fighters including Chechens and Arabs are among Muslim militants who were

killed in weeklong fighting in a southern Philippine city that involved about 500 gunmen aligned with the Islamic State

group, the Philippine defense chief said Thursday.

A Philippine air force plane dropping bombs on militants

killed 11 soldiers and wounded seven others in “friendly fire” as government forces were struggling to rout the assailants

in Marawi, the military said.Defense Secretary Delfin

Lorenzana said in a televised news conference that eight of the foreign militants slain in intense street combat included a Chechen, a Yemeni and sev-eral Malaysian and Indonesian fighters.

Lorenzana said that 25 other militants who died in the fighting had been identified as Filipinos. There were a total of 120 militants killed since last Tuesday, when a failed gov-ernment raid to capture one of Asia’s top militants in Marawi triggered the siege of the city by the rebels. President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the Mindanao region, the southern third of the Philip-pines, and poured in troops backed by airstrikes to push the attackers out of the city.

The Marchetti S-211 jet was on a bombing run over militant positions in Marawi on Wednesday when one bomb hit army troops locked in close-range combat with the extrem-ists who have taken cover in buildings and houses, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Resti-tuto Padilla said. The plane had made three successful bombing runs before dropping the way-ward bomb.

Padilla said the military has ordered an investigation of the friendly fire, which reflects the difficulty faced by government forces to contain the insurrec-tion despite their overwhelming number and firepower.

“Despite the stringent pro-cedure followed, there happens even with the best of armed forces, a case of friendly fire hitting our own troops,” Padilla told The Associated Press.

Military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano has ordered an investigation partly to prevent another incident, Padilla said, as government forces, backed by more than 30 assault aircraft, continue to advance toward the remaining positions of the militants.

Philippines says 8 foreign fighters killed in southern siege

In this image made from video, marines board a transport plane in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, June 1, 2017. A marine battalion left an air force base in Manila on deployment to the southern city of Marawi where ongoing violence has killed scores of people. (AP Photo)


JILL COLVIN, Associated PressJULIE PACE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will announce his decision on whether to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord during a Rose Garden event Thursday afternoon.

Trump promoted his announcement Wednesday night on Twitter, after a day in which U.S. allies around the world sounded alarms about the likely con-sequences of a U.S. with-drawal. Trump himself kept everyone in suspense, saying he was still listening to “a lot of people both ways.”

The White House sig-naled that Trump was likely to decide on exiting the global pact — fulfilling one of his principal campaign pledges — though top aides were divided. And the final decision may not be entirely clear-cut: Aides were still deliberating on “caveats in the language,” one official said. Everyone cautioned that no decision was final until Trump announced it. The president has been known to change his thinking on major decisions and tends to seek counsel from both inside and outside advisers, many with differing agendas, until the last minute.

Abandoning the pact would isolate the U.S. from a raft of international allies who spent years negotiating the 2015 agreement to fight global warming and pollution by reducing carbon emis-sions in nearly 200 nations. While traveling abroad last week, Trump was repeatedly pressed to stay in the deal by European leaders and the Vatican. Withdrawing would leave the United States aligned only with Russia among the world’s industri-alized economies.

American corporate leaders have also appealed to the businessman-turned-president to stay. They include Apple, Google and Walmart. Even fossil fuel companies such as Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell say the United States should abide by the deal.

In a Berlin speech, Chi-nese Premier Li Keqiang said that fighting climate change is a “global con-sensus” and an “international

responsibility.”“China in recent years has

stayed true to its commit-ment,” said Li, speaking in Berlin Wednesday.

Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, enacted the deal without U.S. Senate ratification. A formal withdrawal would take years, experts say, a situa-tion that led the president of the European Commission to speak dismissively of Trump on Wednesday.

Trump doesn’t “compre-hensively understand” the terms of the accord, though European leaders tried to explain the process for with-drawing to him “in clear, simple sentences” during summit meetings last week, Jean-Claude Juncker said in Berlin. “It looks like that attempt failed,” Juncker said. “This notion, ‘I am Trump, I am American, America first and I am getting out,’ that is not going to happen.”

Some of Trump’s aides have been searching for a middle ground — perhaps by renegotiating the terms of the agreement — in an effort to thread the needle between his base of sup-porters who oppose the deal and those warning that a U.S. exit would deal a blow to the fight against global warming as well as to worldwide U.S. leadership.

That fight has played out within Trump’s administration.

Trump met Wednesday with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has favored remaining in the agree-

ment. Chief strategist Steve Bannon supports an exit, as does Environmental Protec-tion Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Trump’s chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, has discussed the possibility of changing the U.S. carbon reduction targets instead of pulling out of the deal com-pletely. Senior adviser Jared Kushner generally thinks the deal is bad but still would like to see if emissions tar-gets can be changed.

Trump’s influential

daughter Ivanka Trump’s preference is to stay, but she has made it a priority to establish a review process so her father would hear from all sides, said a senior adminis-tration official. Like the other officials, that person was not authorized to describe the private discussions by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Wednesday in Alaska that he had “yet to read what the actual Paris Agreement is,” and would

have to read it before weighing in.

Scientists say Earth is likely to reach more dan-gerous levels of warming sooner if the U.S. retreats from its pledge because America contributes so much to rising temperatures. Calculations suggest with-drawal could result in emis-sions of up to 3 billion tons of additional carbon dioxide in the air a year — enough to melt ice sheets faster, raise seas higher and trigger more extreme weather.

Trump to announce decision on climate change Thursday

SKYVIEW, INC.Everyday Prices

CHICKEN LEGS 20LB .................................... $ 12.99 TURKEY TAILS 20LB ..................................... $ 12.95SAUSAGES 10LB .......................................... $ 13.95PORK SPARE RIBS ....................................... $ 24.95PALM PISUPO 12/11.5 OZ ............................ $ 38.95PACIFIC PISUPO 12/11.5 OZ ......................... $ 38.95MAGIC FLAKES 12/700G .............................. $ 43.95LIBBY VIENNA 18CT ..................................... $ 10.99ALBACORE TUNA .......................................... $ 12.99OCEAN QUEEN MACKEREL ........................... $ 36.95NONGSHIM BOWL SAIMIN ............................ $ 9.50MALA SAIMIN PKG ....................................... $ 4.95RICE 40LB ................................................... $ 19.95RICE 20LB ................................................... $ 9.99SHASTA SODA 24CT ...................................... $ 9.95NIAGARA WATER 500ML .............................. $ 4.75BUSH ICE 12PAK .......................................... $ 10.50SANGRIA WINE 4 LITRE ................................ $ 24.95

AUA & FAGAITUA 644-5000 / 622-5000

NOTE: Limited quantities for any items.Liquors & wines are sold at both locations.

Tent orders and funeral services will be provided at the main location in Aua.

In The High Court of American Samoa

FAMILY, DRUG AND ALCOHOL COURT DIVISIONSFDA/JR No. 17-17

IN RE: A CHILD.NOTICE/FA’AALIGA

Published: 05/01 & 06/01/17

CLERK OF COURTS

TO: Mr. Sammy Lafoga Pago Pago Village Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to the above-named respondent that a petition has been filed before the High Court of American Samoa to terminate your parental rights in a female child born on Sep-tember 8, 2016 at LBJ Tropical Medical Center, American Samoa. A hearing will be held after two months and ten days from the date of the first publication of this notice, in which the Court may enter an order that you have not acquired any pa-rental rights to the minor child and place the child for adoption. If you have any objection, or wish to claim or assert your parental rights, you must appear within two months and ten days from the date of the first publication of this notice and file an objection or a claim with the Court.O LE FA’AALIGA E TUUINA ATU ia te oe, le ua ta’ua i luga, ua iai se talksaga ua failaina i le Fa’amasinoga Maualuga o Amerika Samoa e Iloilo ai ou aia fa’a-matta i se teineitiiti sa fanau o ia i le aso 8 o Setema, 2016, i le Falemai i Faga’alu, Amerika Samoa. O lenei iloiloga e faia pe a tra-na’i le lua Masina ma aso e seguiu mai le aso o le ulua’i fa’asalalauga o lenei fa’aaliga, ma e ono tuuina atu ai se poloa’iga a le Fa’amasinoga e fa’ailoa ai ua leai ni ou aia fa’a-matta i lenei teinei-tiiti. Afai e te tete’e, pe e te fina galo e faamaonia ou aia faa-matua, ia e failaina se talosaga tete’e I le Fa’amasinoga i totonu o le lua Masina ma aso e sefulu mai le ulula’i fa’asalalauga o lenei fa’aaliga.DATE/ASO: April 18, 2017

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is pictured after delivering a policy announcement in Toronto , on Wednesday May 31 , 2017. McKenna says the Canadian government remains committed to the Paris Accord amid concerns that the U.S. will walk away from the landmark global climate agreement. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who was stabbed in the neck while trying to stop a man from shouting anti-Muslim insults at two young women on a Port-land, Oregon, light-rail train said Wednesday that the city should focus on the girls, not him.

An emotional Micah Fletcher said in a six-minute video on his Facebook page that Portland has a “white savior complex” and resi-dents are heaping praise on him, but the real victims are the women. He says they must be traumatized from being targets of hate and from the deaths of two other men who also tried to inter-vene Friday.

“These people need to be reminded that this is about them, that they are the real victims here,” he said.

Jeremy Joseph Christian is accused of stabbing to death Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23. Pros-ecutors say he attacked them after they confronted him for harassing two young black women, one of whom wore a Muslim head covering.

Fletcher, a 21-year-old student at Portland State University and a poet, also stood up to Christian. His wound was within milli-meters of being fatal, court documents say. He has been released from the hospital and attended Christian’s first court hearing, where a scar on his neck was visible.

Christian, 35, did not enter a plea Tuesday. His court-appointed attorney, Gregory Scholls, has not returned a call.

Fletcher’s post included a link to a fundraising page for the girls.

“Suffice it to say, that I think it’s immensely, immensely and morally wrong how much money we have gotten as opposed to the money, love, kindness that has been given to that little girl,” he said, speaking of the money raised for him and the slain victims’ families.

Court documents describe a chaotic scene on the train from the moment Christian boarded.

He was drinking sangria from a large, bladder-style bag and began shouting anti-Muslim slurs once he spotted the two young women, according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Mult-nomah County Deputy Dis-trict Attorney Ryan Lufkin.

One passenger tried to intervene and was not hurt. The women moved away from Christian.

Surveillance video then shows Christian turn his attention to Namkai-Meche, who was seated. It wasn’t clear if he said something to draw Christian’s attention, but he stood up as Christian began shouting at him.

Fletcher then stood up and pushed Christian hard enough to make him stumble, the affidavit said.

Christian pulled a folded knife from his pocket and concealed it in his hand, prosecutors say. As a shoving match ensued, Christian first stabbed Fletcher, then Namkai-Meche, the docu-ments say. Best then tried to come to their aid and was stabbed.

Also Wednesday, an organizer canceled an anti-Shariah law rally that had been planned for June 10 in downtown Portland. In a Facebook post, Scott Ryan Presler blamed “inflamma-tory comments” by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler that he said put participants at risk of violence. He said they will march in Seattle instead.

Wheeler had called on the U.S. government to revoke a permit for an event Sunday billed as a pro-President Donald Trump free-speech rally and not to issue a permit for the rally against Islamic law. Both were planned on federal property.

The government said Wednesday that it would not revoke this weekend’s permit.

Train stabbing survivor:

Portland has ‘white savior

complex’

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Responsibilities:• ResearchandexploreUSFederalgrantsandfundingsourcesavailabletothebankeitherdirectlyorthroughthe

AmericanSamoaGovernment.• Developandprepareproposalsandgrantapplicationsandperformprofessionalandadministrativeworkin

researching,identifying,developingandcomplywithallfollowupgrantsreportingasrequiredbythefundingagencies.

• Developandmonitorproceduresforcomplyingwithgrantrequirements,guidelines,andregulationsoffundingprograms.

• Workcloselywiththestaffindevelopingandtransformingideasintograntproposals• Assistwiththemanagementofgrantprogramsandsubmitrequiredmonthly,quarterlyorannualfinancial

reportsasmandatedbythefundingagencies.• Maintainacalendartoensuretimelysubmissionoflettersofinquiry,proposaldeadlinesandreports.• Prioritizeprojectstokeepmultipleproposalsmovinginatimelymanner,meetdeadlinesandmanagematerial

requiredforproposals• Establishandmaintainrelationshipswiththefundingagenciesandprogramofficers.• FunctionasapointofcontactforDBASwiththefundingagenciesandestablishworkingrelationshipwiththeir

designatedofficials.• Developandmonitorbudgetforgrantsandfundedprograms.• PreparequarterlyandannualreportsandsubmittothePresidentandBoardofDirectorssummarizingthe

evaluationofallgrantsandfundedprograms.• OrganizetrainingprogramsforDBASstaffpriortoimplementationofnewgrantorfundedprograms.• LiaisonwithagenciesordepartmentsofASGtoimplementandadminister“passthrough”fundingprograms.• Maintainadatabaseofvariousfundingagenciesandgrantprogramsforthebank.• AssumeanyotherdutiesasassignedbythePresident.

DEVELOPMENT BANK OF AMERICAN SAMOA

P. O. Box 9, Pago Pago A.S. 96799Office: (684) 633-4031 Fax: (684) 633-1163 . Website: www.dbas.org

Development Bank of American Samoa is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider and Employer

POSITION: GRANT WRITER

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION:

SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• BachelorsDegreeinBusinessAdministration,Finance,Managementorrelatedfieldwithaminimumof2yearsgrantwritingexperience.

• Professionalappearanceandattitude.• Excellentwriting,analyticalandresearchskillsareessential.• HighlylevelcomputerliteracyrequiredwithexcellentMicrosoftofficeapplication

use.• Mustbeselfmotivated,detailoriented,highlyorganized,andhaveexperience

usingonlineDatabase.• Beproficientinresearch,interpretingandanalyzingdiversedataandposses

theabilitytoworkcollaborativelyandindependentlytoachievestatedgoals.• Musthavesolidknowledgeofcreatingbudgetsastheyrelatetotheproposals

andgrants.• Abilitytomaintainconfidentiality.

QUALIFICATIONS

PleasesubmityourResume&ApplicationtotheDevelopmentBankofAmericanSamoalocatedinPagoPago-2ndfloor.ThisjobpostingwillexpireFriday–June9,2017.

New York City Police Sgt. Hugh Barry, center, is escorted into the Bronx Supreme Court in New York for his arraignment, Wednesday, May 31, 2017. Barry was charged with murder in the shooting of a 66-year-old mentally ill woman wielding a baseball bat in October 2016, a death New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called tragic and unacceptable. (Gregg Vigliotti/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — When most people think of Alaska, they picture its thick forests, hulking grizzly bears and soaring, snow-covered peaks.

What they might not imagine is rockets whisking defense and other payloads into space. But America’s northernmost state has that too, entering the high-tech aerospace business more than 25 years ago as it looked to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

The Alaska Aerospace Corp. hit a low point after a rocket exploded at its launch site in 2014 amid a deepening state deficit. The governor later gave it an ultimatum: Become self-sustaining or shut down.

Today, Alaska Aerospace has rebuilt its launch site and is again showing signs of liftoff. It is no longer confined to Alaska or government contracts, recently winning, for example, a deal with Rocket Lab to track the company’s rockets and monitor its onboard systems in New Zealand.

Gov. Bill Walker said he is impressed by the corporation’s aggressive pursuit of contracts and its “transformation.” His budget office recently freed $2.2 million in state money previously earmarked for the corporation for launch site improvements.

“Two years ago, we had a failed rocket, and we had a destroyed facility, and we had no customers,” Alaska Aero-space CEO Craig Campbell said. “We’ve turned the corner.”

Alaska sought to develop its aerospace sector in 1991 as

states and private organizations looked to capture a piece of a space industry that had once been the domain of NASA.

Alaska Aerospace now runs one of 10 commercial launch sites in the U.S. that are regu-lated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Some are co-located with federal facilities or have buzzy partnerships. The anchor tenant at New Mexico’s state-owned Spaceport America is Virgin Galactic.

Campbell is tight-lipped about some of the business at Alaska Aerospace’s launch site on Kodiak Island — about 250 air miles (402 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska — because of proprietary concerns. But the remote site is well-positioned for polar launches, which often are used for communication and weather satellites and those that take images of Earth.

An advantage Alaska has over major launch sites is a lack of wait times, said Micah Walter-Range, research and analysis director for the Space Foundation, a space advo-cacy organization. A boom in smaller satellites tied to cheaper hardware components and other factors also presents opportu-nity, he said.

The corporation launched its first rocket in 1998. It had another 16 launches through 2014, when a rocket carrying an experimental Army strike weapon was blown up after taking off from Kodiak Island. All of the launches it conducted were for the federal govern-ment, including NASA.


NEW YORK (AP) — A police sergeant was charged with murder Wednesday in the shooting of a 66-year-old mentally ill woman wielding a baseball bat, a death the mayor called tragic and unacceptable.

Sgt. Hugh Barry pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Wednesday to charges that also included manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Deborah Danner’s October death. He was released on bail.

Police were responding to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed person when Barry, who has been with the New York Police Department for eight years, encountered Danner in her Bronx apartment.

Danner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Officers had been called to her home several times before to take her to the hospital during psychi-atric episodes and had been able to take her away safely, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time.

On Oct. 18, Barry persuaded Danner to drop a pair of scissors she had been holding, police said. But after she picked up a baseball bat and brandished it toward him, he shot her twice in the torso, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s office said. Danner was black. Barry is white.

Assistant District Attorney Wanda Perez-Maldonado said Barry had disregarded his training on handling people with mental illness.

He had a stun gun, but did not use it.

His lawyer, Andrew Quinn, said that the sergeant confronted a woman “armed with a deadly weapon, a bat.”

Sgt. Ed Mullins, the head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said Barry “did not go to work intending to kill

anyone.” Mullins called the murder charge “obscene.”

“Officers risk their lives going into these situations. It’s a split-second decision,” the union leader said, predicting Barry would be acquitted.

But a relative of Danner’s said the indictment marked a start toward getting justice. Still, the family is watching to see how the case plays out in court, cousin Wallace Cooke Jr. said.

“If he’s guilty — which he is — of killing Debbie, he should serve time,” Cooke said, adding that he himself is a retired police officer. “It was totally unneces-sary for him to shoot her.”

Barry, 31, who had never fired his weapon before, has been suspended from the force while the criminal case plays out. He was suspended without pay for 30 days.

New York City police respond to tens of thousands of calls about emotionally dis-turbed people each year. Offi-cers and commanders, including sergeants, have been gradually getting training on how to deal with mentally ill people that includes instruction in tech-niques to “de-escalate” a situa-tion, rather than resort to force.

Danner’s shooting sparked protests and a rebuke from the mayor.

“Our officers are supposed to use deadly force only when faced with a dire situation. It’s very hard to see that standard was met,” de Blasio said the day after the shooting. “Something went horribly wrong here.”

New York police Commis-sioner James O’Neill, mean-while, said at the time that his department failed by not using means other than deadly force.

Officials and police reform advocates who had condemned

Danner’s killing commended Barry’s arrest, which fol-lowed a two-month grand jury investigation.

“We have full faith in the district attorney to lead a fair and thorough prosecution,” said de Blasio. He and the DA are Democrats.

The head of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, praised the DA for prosecuting the sergeant “like any other citizen” accused of a crime. Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton called the arrest “a good step in a long walk toward justice.”

New York City Police Sgt. Hugh Barry, center, is escorted into the Bronx Supreme Court in New York for his arraignment, Wednesday, May 31, 2017. Barry was charged with murder in the shooting of a 66-year-old mentally ill woman wielding a baseball bat in October 2016, a death New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called tragic and unacceptable. (Gregg Vigliotti/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

NY officer pleads not guilty in mentally ill

woman’s death

American Samoa GovernmentDEPARTMENT of COMMERCE

Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799Tel: (684) 633-5155 • Fax: (684) 633-4195

COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) PROGRAMFISCAL YEAR 2018 CSBG FUNDING

The Department of Commerce, as the lead agency designated to administer American Samoa’s Community Services Block Grant Program, announces informative workshops for all public agencies and non-profit organizations for FY 2018 prospective CSBG applicants.

Day: June 5, 2017Time: 10:30a.m.Location: Department of Commerce Conference Room, 2nd Floor, A.P.

Lutali Executive Office Building, UtuleiThis workshop is designed to assist prospective applicants in preparing their proposals for FY 2018. It is recommended to attend this session in order to receive all the information necessary to write an acceptable application. This session will cover the technical aspects as well as the type of criteria used in the evaluation process. In accordance with strict CSBG Act mandate, no project can be funded without a complete application meeting the requisites of CSBG Act.For further information about these workshops or any other CSBG related matter, please contact Charlene Fa’alevao or Dorothy Siatunu’u at 633-5155.

Keniseli F. LafaeleDirector of Commerce

Once-flagging Alaska space business

shows signs of liftoff


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Graduation season is upon American Samoa as the Elementary Schools kicked it off last week. Pictured above are some of Marist/ St. Francis’ 8th Grade graduates, who will be heading to high school in the fall. Many celebrated their accomplishments with a luncheon with families and friends. [Courtesy photo]

Documents

Man charged with unlawful possession of ‘ice’ and ‘grass’ Section Thu 06-01...phine Andales Regis. She was recently awarded Valedicto-rian at St. Theresa Elementary School;