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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri mili-tary academy and college that dates to 1880 and includes federal lawmakers, business titans and a famous zoologist among its alumni will fold at the end of next month, given waning enrollment, rising costs and an aging campus.

Wentworth Mili-tary Academy and Col-lege’s two top administra-tors announced the closure in letters Friday to cadets, students, parents and alumni, saying the assets of the site in 4,700-resident Lexington about 50 miles east of Kansas City will be liquidated as part of “an orderly closure.”

“Although everyone regrets this decision, we are proud that Wentworth suc-cessfully achieved its mis-sion for 137 years, and many, many cadets and students obtained the knowledge and developed the character to be successful,” Wentworth’s board chairman, Regis McDonald, and president Michael Lierman wrote in a letter to alumni.

By Leiloa Ese MalalaSamoa News Staff Writer

It is confirmed by the owner and captain of the “God is Great” boat that this is Aeto’s 2nd boat. Many have thought that the boat belongs in Faleniu but Saviliga Afu, the captain and owner of the fautasi, told with Samoa News the boat belongs in Pago Pago.

“Many have thought that the boat belongs to Faleniu but no— it belongs in Pago Pago where I live, so this year — it’s the second year of racing I’ve had this boat — and it is the second boat for the AETO.”

According to the captain, God is Great is rowed by the tupulaga and youth of Pago Pago.

They have been preparing for Flag Day since the begin-ning of this year. They have had a good amount of boys who

wanted to learn how to row from Pago Pago and who have not experienced being part of the Flag Day or fautasi race.

“We had the boat down for two months — January and February —because we had so many inexperienced boys who needed to learn how to use the oars and learn how to row. So this was done for two months and then right after, we brought the boat back out and started training the boys on their strengths,” Afu said.

Liatama Amisone, Jr., who has been training the crew, told Samoa News, “The boys would train mornings and evenings, but our main focus was their strength. They already got their fitness, but the strength needs work only because they are young so they were able to work on that through daily pulling.”

by T. GasuSamoa News Sports Correspondent

The Iseula Ole Moana fau-tasi crews from the village of Fagatogo are prepared to take on the challenge of bringing home the ‘Mua’ in this year’s Faigamea i le Tai – as their skipper Samia Pino Mata’afa told Samoa News their youth is the focus of it all.

Similar to this year’s 2017 American Samoa Flag Day theme – “Tupulaga mo a Taeao” (or Youth for Tomorrow), the village of Fagatogo is concen-trating mainly on their youth as skipper Samia emphasized to Samoa News that their goal coming into this years Faigamea i le Tai, “is to bring the youth together again, form a stronger

bond within the young genera-tion of our village – mainly to keep them away from drugs and alcohol.”

Samia said, “That is why this year, our village has decided to use both of our fautasi — to accommodate as many of the younger generation in our vil-lage as possible, this way, we’ll have a str onger aumaga for tomorrow, a stronger auva’a for the future, and a brighter gen-eration for the years to come within our village.”

When asked how long they’ve being preparing for the 2017 Flag Day Fautasi Regatta, Samia told Samoa News, “… Our crew and our aumaga are ready and prepared to compete and honor the celebration of

Afao Catholic Church youth group performing Monday night, the opening night of the 44th Annual Flag Day Performing Arts at Su’igaula o le Atuvasa at Utulei Beach Park. The annual event was presented by the Amer-ican Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, & Humanities (Arts Council) and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Council program concludes Thursday night. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

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God is Great - “Aeto 2” - is ready for the competition!

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FAGATOGO WILL USE BOTH FAUTASI – WITH THEIR FOCUS ON THE YOUTH

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Iakina early leader in boys’ high school soccer

Fautasi ua lautogia mo le Tuuga o le Fu’a i le taeao nei

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Tutuila and Manu’a’s Flag raising ceremony – this is our fifth week of preparations, and I can say that we’re ready to compete in today’s Faigamea i le Tai”.

Samia continued, “As of now, all our kids are ready — their strength, stamina, and overall fitness is there. We even empha-sized a diet plan within these five weeks of training, to try and mend their appetite to our expectations of a fit auva’a who’ll rep-resent the village of Fagatogo in this year’s race.”

Samoa News asked Samia about the methods they used in training the Iseula Ole Moana crew this year – are there some new strategies mixed in with the usual. He responded, “There are no new strategies or methods to our preparations – we’re sticking with the basics that we began with from the very start.”

He said, “The majority of our conditioning and running phases of training – we always try to test the faith of our boys by running them uphill at the Tramway, or here within our village going up to the mountain area.”

The Fagatogo skipper told Samoa News that methods aren’t what they’re focused on – instead they’re concentrating on strength. He said, “The most important thing is that our auva’a will absorb and have the strength to row the boat from the starting point, all the way to the finish line — the most important thing to us is that we reach the finish line.”

Reflecting on some of the changes made to the Iseula Ole Moana fautasi crew this year compared to past years, Samia said, “There isn’t that much of a change – the only difference is, this year, we have two new rowers that have joined our old crew from last year, but as far as the crew is concerned, we have the same old crew members from last year” — as he referred to the returning members of the Iseula Ole Moana III – and to their new high-tech pride and joy.

Samia sends out his thank you and acknowledgement to those who’ve supported them in their preparations leading up to this year;s American Samoa Flag Day Fautasi Regatta. “First and fore-most, I want to thank my village of Fagatogo – i le Sa Usoali’i, Tapunu’u, Toeali’i, le Aloali’i, fetalaiga ia Ta’amu Vaigafa ma le Launiusaelua, ae mai se ai fo’i le nofofa’afeagaiga i totonu o si o matou nu’u.”

He concluded with a thank you “to all our families and friends who supported us with food, water, donations, and monetary sup-port – as well as some of the businesses that came through and supported us throughout the process. We thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts for wanting to support and make a change within the lives of our young generation as well as the auva’a of the Iseula Ole Moana.

“Our special thanks goes out to the Sons and Daughters of Fagatogo, who are here and abroad, for their prayers and thoughts – those of you who are off-island in Hawai’i, San Francisco, and Seattle, and all of those out there who are praying and thinking about us as we prepare to represent our village in tomorrow’s race to celebrate this year’s Flag Day Ceremony” Samia said.

Captain Afu added that the boys have come a long way and have gained a lot of strength from training. “From my own opinion I can see God is Great will get a good placing during this Fautasi race.”

The God is Great trainer said, “Our boys are all set with their heat. This has been an easy ride and now we are waiting for the competition to start already.”

Afu pointed out that the fautasi is named “God is Great” because “God has always done so much good to me so I owe it all to Him.”

He sends out “big thanks to the Maoputasi village councils members, such as Tuaolo Fruean for supporting the boys, thank you to all the churches and faiths for endless prayers to make this possible for the boys.

“Thank you to the Drug Free Coalition for emphasizing the importance to teach the boys to stay away from it. That is the reason we have this is to invite kids to come row so they can stay away from drugs,” the captain said.

Afu said, “Thank you to the AETO #1 for the support, the par-ents and families of these boys for supporting them.

“We do not have a sponsor for this boat but we do our own stuff with the help of Pacific Printing, T.I. Brothers, PJ Cooperation, Signmaster.

“Last but not least a big thank you to Liatama Amisone Jr., he has always been my right-hand man, who never let the team down. He has been training the boys since we started and I thank him for that,” he concluded.

In yesterday’s fautasi story, Samoa News reported that “God is Great”, formerly of Faleniu village, is now ‘independent’. How-ever, with this information from Afu, it would designate the fau-tasi as the second fautasi for the village of Pago Pago, while the Sinapioa is listed as the second boat for Aua.

All fautasi that are “second” boats for the villages are racing in Heat #2, still scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2017.

Allan Hallquist, a Kansas City lawyer who has repre-sented Wentworth for the past quarter century, said Saturday that Wentworth has 220 cadets who boarded there. Fifty-five of them are high school students, and the rest enrolled in its two-year college program. The site also has roughly 300 civilians taking classes there.

“Wentworth has struggled for more than five years to break even and has tried dif-ferent options,” including hiring consulting firms to bolster recruiting and develop alumni fundraising, Hallquist told The Associated Press. “But they continued to run deficits and are projected to dig a deeper hole.”

The accrediting Higher Learning Commission placed Wentworth on ongoing proba-tion in November 2015, citing

“concerns related to integrity regarding the college’s finances and resources to support its academic programs and opera-tions.” The commission was to revisit that matter Monday, according to its website.

Wentworth’s prominent alumni include the late Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, Wal-Mart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, and zoologist Marlin Perkins, who hosted “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” for more than two decades before his death in 1986.

Wally Hulver, a 79-year-old insurance industry retiree who graduated from Wentworth in 1956, called the news “really a shame.”

Wentworth “taught you a lot about life, about how to treat people. It was just, well, etiquette and made you aware

of how you should be living,” Hulver, an Army veteran, told the AP by phone from his home in Lexington. “This is just a sad day for the old guys around here who went there.”

McDonald didn’t immedi-ately reply to messages left Sat-urday. Lierman has an unlisted home telephone number. The academy’s website was inoper-able, undergoing what it called “scheduled maintenance.”

Samoa News understands American Samoa has quite a few Wentworth graduates, as well as some students, who are currently attending the academy, many on scholar-ships. We are reaching out to local graduates and students now, and will report further on the affect of the school’s closing on American Samoa’s educa-tional opportunities.

➧ God is Great - “Aeto 2”…Continued from page 1

➧ Iseula Ole Moana is ready…Continued from page 1

➧ Wentworth Academy and College to …Continued from page 1

by Samoa News staffTreasury Department’s Tax Office is offering

an amnesty program for the remainder of 2017 to tax payers who have an outstanding income tax liability, while the tax filing deadline for tax year 2016 is next week Tuesday, April 18.

TAX AMNESTY In a statement released late yesterday morning

ASG Treasurer Uelinitone Tonumaipe’a announced he has approved an amnesty program for those who have an outstanding tax liability. However, the program, will not be available for outstanding employment taxes or penalties for Filing and Furnishing information Returns.

According to Tonumaipe’a, the amnesty pro-gram will be available for the remainder of cal-endar year 2017. Additionally, settlement offers will require full payment of tax liability portion before the end of 2017 while all outstanding late penalties and interest will be waived.

“As ASG continues its collections efforts, the amnesty program provides a mutually beneficial option to those with outstanding tax liability,” he said.

The program’s purpose “is to empower col-lection officers to improve enforcement efforts while incentivizing tax payers who have an existing accounts receivable to complete pay-ment of any outstanding balances,” Tonumaipe’a said and noted that this will bring ASG’s accounts receivable reconciliation current at the conclu-sion of the program.

He says it’s the expectation that formalizing and making public his program “will encourage

taxpayers to take advantage of its benefit and avoid costly and unnecessary actions including litigation.”

TAX FILING DEADLINEThe usual deadline for individual tax filing

every year is Apr. 15, but this year, it falls on a Saturday. Additionally, Monday, Apr. 17 is a government holiday, in observance of the 2017 Flag Day celebration.

Therefore individual income tax return filing with the Tax Office is Tuesday, Apr. 18, said Tonumaipe’a in a separate statement also released late yesterday morning.

For tax taxpayers with American Samoa sourced income and residing off island, returns must be postmarked Apr. 18, 2017 to meet the deadline.

And Apr. 18 will also be the last day for the Tax Office’s tax filing assistance program, which is a free of charge service provided every year.

Tonumaipea said taxpayers who do not pay the amount due by the original due date may incur late-payment penalties and interest. How-ever, the late payment penalty will not be due for tax payers who pay at least 90% of their tax liability through withholding, estimated tax pay-ments, or with Form 4868 by the original due date.

For more information contact Tax Office at 633-4181 or visit the tax office online page at: americansamoa.gov/tax office-page.

As of yesterday afternoon there was no word from Treasury Department as to when the next batch of tax returns will be released.

Tax amnesty offered — outstanding late

penalties and interest will be waived

© 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.

samoa news, Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Page 3

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by Fili SagapoluteleSamoa News Correspondent

The American Samoa Power Authority has provided a written explanation to a House com-mittee as to how it drastically reduced its accounts payables, which peaked at about $14 mil-lion in July 2016.

While Samoa News and KHJ News have reported extensively on this issue in the past three weeks, the written explanation provides additional details.

Responding for ASPA exec-utive director Utu Abe Malae, the ASPA managing director in a letter early this week to the House ASPA & Territorial Energy Committee, explained how ASPA reduced its accounts payables. As of April 7, ASPA’s accounts payables stood at approximately $2.3 million or just 4.2% of fiscal year 2016 revenue said Utu and noted that this low level of short-term debt was not always the case.

For example, debt to vendors stood at just under $8.8 million as of September 30, 2015. At the same time, utility bills due from the American Samoa Govern-ment were almost $9.5 million.

Then on Jan. 15, 2016, ASPA and the ASG Treasury entered into a Memorandum of Agree-ment on financing of renewable energy projects. In the agree-ment, Treasury agreed to dedi-cate $8.1 million from proceeds of the American Samoa Eco-nomic Development Authority bond issuance towards the con-struction of renewable energy projects.

“Specifically, the money would go towards meeting the American Samoa Renew-able Energy Committee’s stra-tegic plan goal of electric gen-

eration for the Manu’s Islands from 100% renewable energy sources by October 2016,” Utu explained.

As a result, ASPA agreed to:• Reduce amounts owed to it

for utility bills from the govern-ment by $8.1 million;

• Waive approximately $1.3 million in late fees; and

• Build a solar park on Manu’a islands of Ta’u and Ofu

While the agreement elimi-nated the government’s utility debt, it redirected monies that would have gone towards sig-nificantly reducing ASPA’s account payables to infrastruc-ture projects with current costs totaling almost $13 million, according to Utu.

He also says that the addi-tional $5 million paid by ASPA out of local funds for these proj-ects contributed to the strain on its balance sheet. Utu informed lawmakers that ASPA’s accounts payables of almost $8.8 million at the end of fiscal year 2015 rose to a peak of just over $14.4 million at the end of July 2016.

Since that time, Utu says ASPA “has made a concerted effort to dramatically reduce debt to vendors” by:

• Curtailing spending;• Reducing its grants reim-

bursement backlog;• Revising its procurement

procedures and process;• Entering into payment plans

with vendors who have balances over 90 days old;

• Implementing improved cash management;

• Repairing long inactive equipment in order to reduce equipment rental expenses;

• Improving its accounting systems and controls;

• Hiring on a “net-zero” basis;

• Limiting overtime; and• Trimming staff counts

through attrition and retirement from 460 as of July 31, 2016 to 421 as of April 7, 2017.

Utu points out that the reduc-tion in operations of Samoa Tuna Processors Inc. (which closed cannery operations last December) has impacted ASPA and monthly billings have dropped from an average of $280,000 to $300,000 a month to $68,000 in February 2017.

ASPA began preparations for this eventuality in November 2016, one month prior to Samoa Tuna Processors commence-ment of reductions. The unan-ticipated reduction in operations placed a large additional strain on ASPA’s finances.

To address the issue, Utu says ASPA publicly announced various measures it would take including a possible reduction-in-force. He says ASPA con-tinues to address challenges brought about by its cost struc-ture, the American Samoa Gov-ernment’s financial shortfall, and American Samoa’s uncer-tain economic environment.

“Notably, we have been able to confront our financial short-falls without any rate increases other than what was previously approved through public con-sultation process,” he explained. “Also, while a reduction-in-force remains an option, it is an option of last resort.”

In closing Utu said, “ It is our mission to provide quality, safe, economical and sustainable utility services in partnership with our customers, the commu-nity of American Samoa and the Pacific region.”

ASPA explains in writing to House how it drastically

reduced its payables

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Members of the Poloa Methodist Church Youth performing Monday night, the opening night of the 44th Annual Flag Day Performing Arts at Su’igaula o le Atuvasa at Utulei Beach Park. The annual event is presented by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, & Humanities (Arts Council) and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Council program con-cludes Thursday night. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]



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ASCC-SSI presents lecture on Samoan dance

ASCC faculty, staff and students congratulate Samoan Studies Institute Director Okenaisa Fauolo-Manila (back, far right) following her campus lecture last week on Siva Samoa (Samoan dance). [Photo: V. Tofilau]

By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

Okenaisa Fauolo-Manila, director of the Samoan Studies Institute (SSI) at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) offered some new per-spectives on a familiar subject when she gave a campus lecture on Siva Samoa last week.

With its lectures in Samoan, of which Fauolo-Manila’s was the third in a series, and in alignment with the ASCC Mis-sion, which includes promoting awareness of Samoa and the Pacific, the SSI aims to provide information to topics of interest to students and the public, which may or may not be cov-ered in an existing Samoan course.

Each fall semester, the SSI surveys students taking Samoa courses as well as the Student Association for Faasamoa, asking which topics they want to know more about. Based on the survey results, or at topic suggested by faculty or staff, the SSI prepares a campus lecture for the coming spring semester.

For the last two SSI lec-tures, Teleiai Ausage spoke on Tatau (malofie, tattoo) in 2015, and Tamari Cheung gave a talk on Faleaitu (Theatrical Arts) in 2016, both of which set the stage for Fauolo-Manila’s lecture on Siva Samoa this semester. “Personally, I found my topic challenging because most of us already have set ideas on this subject,” she said.

The SSI Director began with the question “Why dance?”

This led into a discussion of dance as an expression of emo-tions, a statement of identity, a reminder of events in the past, and even a good means of exer-cising to lose weight. Fauolo-Manila went on to quote from different documentations of Siva Samoa by Samoan and non-Samoan scholars, such as historian Augustin Kramer’s analysis of Samoan songs and dances as prototypes. She dis-cussed Samoan dances that have been lost, and why, as well as highlighting the different types of dances that Samoans continue to perform.

Video clips shown during the lecture followed the evolu-tion of siva to its contemporary style, both locally and in enter-tainment and competitions held in off-island locations such as New Zealand.

Fauolo-Manila referred to the “sakē,” performed with sticks, as a type of Samoan dance in danger of fading into obscurity, and expressed the view that it would only take more research and practice it keep it going. One rare per-formance of the “sakē,” by Manu’a, took place during Flag Day 2016.

(Continued on page 5)


“Those who teach Samoan dances often face challenges in knowing the origins of the dances and songs they use, as well as the names of some of our dance movements,” she noted.

The SSI director demon-strated certain dance moves, including filiki, moto, matala-tala, and matiu’u, and explained their significance. She talked about ailao afi, a feature attrib-uted to the Falesefulu, what found a niche in diaspora wherever Samoans entertain, and went on to give different examples of faataupati, and how Samoa developed ailao from nifo ‘oti to fire, and the sāsā.

Describing the role of dance in the cultural practices taught by the SSI to its student group the Students Association for Fa’asamoa (SAFF), Fauolo-Manila noted that thanks to the mentorship of former SSI staff such as one-time Tihati dancer Sia Achica and previous Pro-gram Coordinator Apisaloma Toleafoa, who is now a Theo-logical student, the SSI achieved a reputation for quality dance performances, as evidenced by their representing American Samoa during the 2012 Festival of the Pacific Arts.

The SSI, currently under the mentorship of former Uso dancer and current Outreach Coordinator Elisaia Mailo, still receives invitations to perform for visiting cruise ships as well as special occasions such as Flag Day.

While the majority of the audience consisted of students, a number of ASCC faculty and administrators as well as inter-ested members of the public also attended. Fauolo-Manila said she looks forward to the next SSI public lecture in spring 2018, although the SSI’s selec-tion of the topic and the speaker will not take place until later this year.

Samoan Studies Institute Director Okenaisa Fauolo-Manila is seen here during her campus lecture last week on Siva Samoa (Samoan dance). [Photo: V. Tofilau]

➧ Continued…Continued from page 5

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FLAG DAYHappy

AMERICAN SAMOA 201720172017ARTS COUNCIL PERFORMANCES

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FLAG DAYHappy AMERICAN SAMOA

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A handful of applications will be reviewed by a six-member committee for funding from American Samoa’s share of the federal State Small Busi-ness Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program, overseen by the Com-merce Department, which is looking for private investors and financial institutions to pro-vide matching funds, according to Commerce director Keniseli Lafaele.

American Samoa was awarded $10.5 million several years ago for the SSBCI but efforts to get the program off the ground have faced many obstacles. Under the newly revamped program by the Lolo Administration, the program is now called, the American Samoa Venture Fund.

At a House committee hearing last Thursday, Lafaele explained that the program is already launched with four or five businesses whose applica-tions are now set to go through

the Venture Fund committee review.

Lafaele explained that $3.5 million is currently available for the local program, which requires investors or finan-cial institutions to invest by matching the federal money, awarded to each business.

He says DOC is working with ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank, Development Bank of American and the ASG Employees Retirement Fund — as financial institutions — to provide the matching funds.

Responding to follow-up Samoa News questions after the House hearing, Lafaele explained that the six member “investment committee” will convene soon and decide on applications to be funded.

Asked what happens next after the investment committee gives approval, Lafaele said the fund manager meets with the sources of private funds matching the Venture Fund program.

For the four or five applica-tions, Samoa News asked about the type of businesses involved and how much each applicant has requested in funding. “I can’t comment on the specifics, but I can say these are the types of businesses that would create employment, generate gov-ernment tax revenues, import substitution or export opportu-nities and new monies into the economy,” Lafaele told Samoa News over the weekend.

Lafaele also couldn’t com-ment on whether the appli-cants have secured a private investor, or local financial institution. “Suffice it to say private matches can be in the form of equity investment — shareholding, or debt, loans from financial institutions,” he explained.

As to whether the US Trea-sury gives final approval for local businesses to get funding, Lafaele explained that US Trea-sury does not, the “US Trea-sury reviews whether our pro-gram process complies with our approved modified pro-gram and US Treasury SSBCI guidelines.”

At the House hearing, House Vice Speaker Fetu Fetui Jr., voiced — what others in the community are talking about — it’s taking too long to get this program off the ground. Addi-tionally, the application pro-cess is taking too long thereby delaying boosting economic developments in the territory.

Fetui informed Lafaele about a business person who put in an application about two years ago and still nothing has

happened. “This waiting pro-cess given to applicants is frus-trating,” he said adding that DOC announced this program a long time ago and still no money has been disbursed.

The DOC director apolo-gized for the delay but notes that “we have to look for inves-tors” who will match the federal funds. He said the first SSBCI funding allocation of $3.5 mil-lion is now available and if a match is found — either through investors or banks — that would bring a total of $7 million to boost the local businesses.

Once the $3.5 million is expended, DOC will then request, a second allocation, until the entire $10.5 million in federal money is used, he said, and reiterated that they are working on getting investors as well as financial institutions.

“I totally disagree with you on [using] the Retirement” fund, and should not be a part of the program, Rep. Vui Flor-ence Saulo told Lafaele.

“So we don’t have inves-tors?” Vui asked to which Lafaele responded that it is very difficult to get investors to invest in American Samoa. He said that they have talked to local investors, who are busi-ness owners, who all wanted to invest in their own businesses but not other businesses.

“I just wanted to get to the bottom of this. What if, in the worst-case scenario, the banks don’t respond and you are not able to find any investors? What then?” Vui asked.

While it’s been difficult, Lafaele said, they have made solid communication with ANZ bank, and he was in Guam two weeks ago to meet with top officials of ANZ Guam Inc., which oversees the local ANZ operation.

At the discussions in Guam, Lafaele said bank officials have stated their willingness to assist with the local Venture Capital program. He also revealed that the governor was to meet soon with ANZ’s chief executive officer, who oversees the bank’s Pacific operations, which includes Guam and American Samoa.

Lafaele said the Venture Capital program is one of the issues for the meeting in which the governor will seek ANZ’s assistance.

At a January cabinet meeting, Lafaele announced that the fund manager is local attorney Marshall Ashley and DOC staffer Mike McDonald is attached to the SSBCI program. Additionally, the fund adviser is Andy Moss.


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• SpecialProjects–helpfunctionasaninspectioncoordinatorwithregulatoryinspectionpersonnelfromFDA,USArmyVet,AIB,JewishOrthodoxUnion,DSCP,USDC,etc.asassignedbytheQAManager.

• MonitorsforcompliancetotheapprovedHACCPprogramtoassurestrictadherencetotheplan.• Conductproductreviewsandproduct/processauditstoinsurecompliancetospecificationsandproductdesign.Supervisethedailyfinishedproductcuttingprogram.

• Managequalityandanalyticaldataandperformstatisticalanalysistodrivequalityimprovementsandcostreductions.• SupportR&Donproductcommissioning’s.• SupervisesPestControltechniciansinimplementationoftheplantIntegratedPestManagementprogram.• SupportstheQAManagerinwritingnewstandardoperatingprocedures(SOPs)andworkinstructions(WIs)fornewprocesses,andrevisingandupdatingexistingSOPsandWIs.

Qualifications/Requirements• MinimumoffiveyearsofoverallprofessionalexperienceinQualityAssurance,FoodSafety,orotherindustrymanagement/specificdiscipline.

• B.S.infoodscience,foodtechnologyorequivalentdegree.• ExperienceinHACCPand/orFSMA.• Knowledgeinthermalprocessing,andwithapprovedBPCS(LACFregulation21CFR113)• IntermediateuserknowledgeofWord,Excel,PowerPoint,Internet,andOutlook;• KnowledgeaboutStatisticalQualityControl;• KnowledgeaboutfoodsafetystandardsasBRC,SQF,ISO22000,orequivalent;• Demonstratedpriorsuccessinachievingresultsusingteamdrivenphilosophies.

Pleasesubmitresumesto: Attn:SandySatele HumanResourcesOffice StarKistSamoa,Co. E-mail:[email protected]

American Samoa Venture Fund reviewing

applicationsINVESTOR-APPLICANT MUST MATCH FEDERAL FUNDS AWARDED

AMERICAN SAMOA RUNAWAY & HOMELESS YOUTH SHELTER

699-HELP(4357)ARE YOU UNDER 18 AND NEED

A PLACE TO STAY?DO YOU FEEL UNSAFE AT HOME?

CALL 699-4357(HELP), MESSAGE us on Facebook (Pasefika Youth Project),

or EMAIL [email protected] contacts and information are strictly

CONFIDENTIAL.Remember to call 911 if you have an emergency.

NOFOAGA SULUFA’I MO LE PUIPUIGA O FANAU TALAVOU A AMERIKA SAMOA

699-HELP(4357)Afai e le i atoa lou 18 tausaga ae ua mana’omia

se nofoaga malu puipuia e te fia sulufa’i iai...Ua lagona le le malu puipuia o

lou soifuaga i totonu o lou aiga?VALA’AU MAI! 699-4357(HELP)!

Po o le fa’afeso’ota’i mai i le Facebook (Pasefika Youth Project) po’o le email [email protected].

O faamatalaga ma fesootaiga uma, o le a malu puipuia.Ia manatua e valaau le 911 mo so’o se faalavelave

faafuasei e ono aafia ai le soifua maloloina o soo se tasi.



Sen. Tuaolo Manaia Fruean has questioned why the Amer-ican Samoa government is not liable for debts and obligations incurred by the Territorial Bank of American Samoa, which is governed by a seven-member board of the Territorial Bancorp Holding Company, an ASG entity, according to local law which established the govern-ment owned bank.

Tuaolo raised several ques-tions on this particular issue during last Friday’s Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing on an administration bill, which allows TBAS to provide trust

services. Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga submitted in late Feb-ruary the measure saying that trust services are another source of revenue for the bank and they are services, which are needed in the community.

The Senate endorsed its ver-sion of the trust services bill during Saturday’s Fono session

and the measure is now in the House for consideration and approval. The House has its own version pending in committee.

The Saturday session — for both the House and Senate — was to make up a session day for a holiday in February, so that the current First Regular session ends at the close of

business tomorrow (Thursday), as Friday is the government’s Good Friday holiday.

SENATE HEARINGDuring the committee

hearing Tuaolo raised several questions targeting a provision of law, in which it states that “debts and obligations of the bank are not the debts or obli-gations of the government.” He asked — why is ASG not liable.

Although the govern-ment owns the bank, bank board member Steve Watson explained, “This is a corporate entity and in the form of a cor-porate entity, the shareholders are not liable for its debts. So as a shareholder, the government is not liable for the debts and obligations of the bank, which is a statutory corporation, estab-lished by law.”

Responding to more ques-tions from Tuaolo, Watson explained further that the share-holder of the corporation is ASG and like any other corpo-ration, the shareholders of the corporation are not liable for the debts of the corporation.

“If you look at any of the local businesses here, [for example] Bank of Hawaii share-holders are not liable for debts of Bank of Hawaii. StarKist shareholders are not liable for the debts of StarKist and so on. This is the way a corporate entity is structured,” Watson said.

Responding to other ques-tions from Tuaolo pertaining to trust services, Watson explained that the trust side of the Bank of Hawaii family performs trust related services. For example, they manage retirement funds, future funds as well as admin-istering to the pension plans for several other local businesses.

“They have the ability to serve as executor or adminis-trator of an estate — a deceased person. They have the authority to perform fiduciary services on behalf of consumers or busi-

nesses,” he said. Tuaolo says BoH is the

trustee of the ASG Employees Retirement Fund and asked if TBAS can provide this service without being insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor-poration (FDIC).

“Yes, it could be done without FDIC insurance, because it’s not a banking function, it’s a trust function,” Watson replied and explained that BoH is the bank for the Retirement Fund and for Retirement Fund invest-ments “but that is not the kind of role” TBAS is looking at, which is a “much more com-plex endeavor than what we’re contemplating.”

TBAS chief executive officer, Philip Ware said, “What we are requesting here is a very simple part of the trust services that banks can do. Most banks on the mainland don’t do trust services anymore because its too complicated, takes too many people.”

“It is not our intent to do those complicated trust services but doing only the simple [trust services] such as property trans-fers, lease or a loan payment,” Ware explained. “It’s very simple to do. Our [computer] system is set us to do it, as well as current staff, with expertise.”

Before the hearing ended, Tuaolo along with other sena-tors told TBAS officials “we strongly support the bank to help our community” and they encouraged the board to ensure that loans made, will be repaid by customers.

Ware told Samoa News early this year that Fiduciary or Trust Powers allow a bank to act in a fiduciary capacity.

“The fiduciary or bank then can hold assets for a third party when required as in the case when transferring privately held real property or when a third party is required to collect pay-ments for rents, “ he explained.


AMERICAN SAMOA LEGAL AID, INC.Letialua Building, Second Floor

P.O. Box 5984Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799

Telephone: 684-633-3300 • Fax: 684-633-3303

ASLA is an equal opportunity employer.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: PART-TIME STAFF ATTORNEYThe American Samoa Legal Aid, Inc. (ASLA) is seeking employment of one part-time staff attorney for our non-profit law firm that provides free civil legal services to low-income residents of American Samoa. About the Position:ASLA is interested in an attorney with legal experience in Home Foreclosure Defense and Domestic Violence. Experience in the following areas will be considered: Debt Collection Defense, Guardianship, Divorce/Child Support, Social Security, Healthcare, Public Benefits, Employment, Immigration, Disability, Civil Rights, Worker’s Compensation, and Veterans Benefits. Responsibilities:

• Provide effective legal advice and representation of ASLA clients.• Perform work assigned by the Executive Director.• Comply with Legal Services Corporation regulations in 45 CFR Part 1600 et. seq. • Adhere to ASLA Board and Office policies. • Allowed to do private practice while working part-time for ASLA.• Articulate ASLA’s mission in the legal community, judiciary, government, nonprofit organizations and the

community at large.Requirements:

• Admitted or being admitted to practice law in American Samoa.• Possess the highest ethical standards.• Five years experience as an attorney practicing law in American Samoa or the U.S.A. or Samoa. • Familiarity with Legal Services Corporation regulations is preferable.• Possess excellent communication skills. Ability to speak and write both in English and Samoan will be

favorably considered.• Excellent computer skills.• Familiarity with the PIKA case management system is preferable.• Value diversity and be culturally competent.• Ability to work well together with the Board, Executive Director and support staff to fulfill the ASLA mission

and Strategic Plan action goals.• Demonstrate a commitment to serve low-income residents.

Starting Salary:In the range of $19,000-$24,000 per year for a part-time attorney (20 hours per week). Entitled to 4 hours annual leave, 2 hours sick leave per pay period. Also pro rata share of other benefits enjoyed by full-time employees.Applicants: Applications will be accepted until position is filled. ASLA will review applications as they are submitted. The deadline for applications is Monday, April 24, 2017, at 4:00 p.m. local time.Interested candidates should submit a letter expressing why they are interested in the position of ASLA Staff Attorney as well as what they believe they can contribute to the future of the program and its client community. The letter should be accompanied by a current resume with the names and contact information of three references. Application letter and resume should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format to Fainu’ulelei L.P.F. Ala’ilima-Utu, Executive Director American Samoa Legal Aid at email address: [email protected].

A group photo of dancers representing Fatu o Aiga — St. Joseph Catholic Youth before taking the stage Monday night to perform during the first night of the 44th Annual Flag Day Performing Arts at Su’igaula o le Atuvasa at Utulei Beach Park. The annual event is presented by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, & Humanities (Arts Council) and supported in by the National Endow-ment for the Arts. The Arts Council program concludes Thursday night. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

Senate hearing for TBAS

Trust Service

bill


by Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu Samoa News Reporter

POLICE ON THE HUNT FOR “OLE PALEMIA”

FACEBOOK PAGE OWNER

Apia, SAMOA—The Min-istry of Police is currently working with their Informa-tional Technology (IT) spe-cialists to determine the person or persons behind the Face-book page “Ole Palemia”. This is in connection with a criminal complaint filed by former CCCS Reverend Opapo Soanai Oeti. The post by “the Palemia” circulated on Face-book accuses Opapo of incest with his daughter.

Opapo was stripped of his church titles and he’s the father of the stigmata girl, Toaipuapuaga ‘Toa’ Patrick who claims to be carrying the marks of Jesus.

During the Police press con-ference last week, spokesman Su’a LeMamea Tiumalu said they are looking for who is responsible.

Samoa News notes that “the Palemia” Facebook page had since been deactivated, how-ever Su’a told Samoa News yesterday the deactivation will not stop their investigation.

Last month Opapo told the media that he was able to assimilate the disapproval of the public regarding Toa car-rying the mark of Jesus, but the latest post is way out of line and extreme.

Su’a said this is the first time they are dealing with this “type of cyber bullying” and assured that the those respon-sible will be caught and crimi-nally charged.

SAMOA ONCE AGAIN SUPPORTS THEIR SON

PARKER FOR WBO FIGHT IN MAY

Apia, SAMOA — The Samoan Government has con-firmed it will support Lupeso-liai La’aulilemalietoa Joseph Parker’s first title defense next month against Englishman, Hughie Fury in New Zealand and it doing so by investing $144,000 for the fight. This is the second time fight pro-moters Duco Events has approached Samoa for sup-port. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi confirmed this to SamoaFM last week.

Tuilaepa reiterated what he stated the last time when the Samoa Government gave money, that this will help Samoa boost their tourism industry. He also said that there was a possibility for the fight to be held in Samoa, however the timing makes it difficult and unrealistic for that historic event to happen in Samoa.

Early last month, the New Zealand government once again turned down Duco Events’ request for sponsor-ship, and this was reported by TVNZ. According to New Zea-

land TV the decision follows trainer Peter Fury being denied entry into New Zealand for the W.B.O. world heavyweight title fight in May. “Tourism New Zealand has said “no” to backing the Auckland bout on May 6, after also turning down a funding request from DUCO Events for Parker’s title bid last December.

DUCO’s founder David Higgins says the fight will still go ahead without Peter Fury being in son’s Hughie Fury’s corner and without New Zea-land funding. “We’re never going to give up and so we put in an application again that we thought met the criteria. We received a letter just to say no there won’t be any support. Of course we are disappointed, but that’s life, they make their judgments, so be it.”

SAMOA GOVERN-MENT SETS RECORD

STRAIGHT Apia, SAMOA — The

Samoa Government confirms there are delays in their plans for the Hope 4 Cancer Clinic in Samoa. In an official statement issued by the Press Secretariat the Hope 4 Cancer organiza-tion has indicated that they have redesigned this project in Samoa, hence the delay. “As in all other prospects that will benefit Samoa, Govern-ment will continue to support the Hope 4 Cancer endeavor, and will remain open and com-mitted to developments with the potential to create positive spin-offs for the country.”

In reference to the Samoa Land Corporation building at Tuanaimato, which was identi-fied as a potential site for the Hope 4 Cancer Clinic, Govern-ment has also been engaged by other parties who have shown interest in leasing the property for further development.

Government will revisit the Hope 4 Cancer Clinic’s housing needs once the organi-zation’s preparations are com-plete. As Government takes a proactive stance in all devel-opment matters, any legitimate development proposals will be considered and decided upon as quickly as possible to maxi-mize the benefits for Samoa, they indicated.

BackgroundLast year May, Hope 4

Cancer (H4C) Institute made up of American doctors sought Samoa’s endorsement to set up shop in Samoa. Tuilaepa at the time said that these doctors are well trained and have many years of experience and also many of their patients have recovered from cancer because of these natural treatments.

SAMOAN STUDENTS AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS

FELLOWSHIPS Apia, SAMOA —Two stu-

dents have made history by being the first Samoan youth to be awarded prestigious fel-lowships by The Sir Peter

Blake Trust in New Zealand to take part in the Sir Peter Blake Youth Enviro Leader Forum (YELF) in New Zealand this month.

Quenjule Slaven and Jorim-Paul Phillips will represent Samoa at the weeklong forum to be held in Auckland from April 18- 24 and the program is fully funded and is run in part-nership with the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment.

They will join a group of 60

high school students from New Zealand and the Pacific who are represented by Niue, Cook Islands and Samoa who will come together to learn about our ocean environment.

Slaven told Samoa News that he’s honored. “I feel very honored and blessed to be selected for YELF. Thank you so much for such a great opportunity for my country and I hope to learn as much as I can to help others espe-

cially the youth in Samoa to be advocates in climate change. I am also looking forward to participating in field trips and exploring New Zealand, which is such a beautiful country. I am also looking forward to meeting other kids my age and making new friends.”

Phillips is excited as well, and said, “I am so happy that I have been selected for the conference.”

Well-established, dynamic corporation is seeking an experienced corporate Group Controller for a successful progressive group of companies (beverage bottler and distributor, auto dealership, ship’s chandler and cartage company).Duties and Responsibilities:1. Developsaccountingsystems,monitoring,evaluating,andupdatingallfinancialcontrolsandsystems2. Implements internal controls, policies and procedures to safeguard business assets 3. Overseessenioraccountantsofeachcompanytoensureaccurateandtimelyfinancialreporting4. Performsoroverseesinternalauditsasneeded;preparesorfacilitatespreparationoffinancialschedules

for external audits5. Analyzesfinancialdataandprovidesrecommendedinputtoachieveorganizationalgoals6. Providestaxadviceandpreparesallnecessaryfinancialschedulesrequired7. Overseesandcoordinatesfinanceoperationsofseveralcompanies,recommendingandimplementing

strategiestomaximizeprofitabilityforthecompaniesasagroup8. Candidate reports directly to the Board of DirectorsMinimum Qualifications:1. Bachelor’sDegreeinAccounting,Finance,oraccountingrelatedfield2. Current CPA license maintained throughout employment period3. Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, internal control policies and procedures4. Extensive experience working with various accounting software5. 5yearsexperienceinaccountingrelatedfield6. 7 years management or supervisory experience7. Corporatefinanceandoperationsexperience,aplus8. Strong analytical and communication skills, written and verbal9. Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to interact well with all levels of various organizations10.ProficientcomputerskillsincludingproficiencyinMicrosoftExcel,PowerPointandWord,preferred11. Strong knowledge of tax matters relating to Sub S and C Corporations

Attractive salary package commensurate with experience includes 401(K), vacation/sick leave and partial medical insurance. Pleaseforwardyourresumewithanyadditionalquestionsto:levaimalu5@gmail.com.Referencetheadyouareinquiringaboutinthesubjectline.

An Equal Opportunity Employer and maintains a Drug Free Workplace Program hence successful applicant will be required to go through a drug test.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYGROUP CONTROLLER

A look at some of the students and teachers in the background from Manulele Tausala Elemen-tary School, who performed Monday night, the opening night of the 44th Annual Flag Day Per-forming Arts at Su’igaula o le Atuvasa at Utulei Beach Park. The annual event is presented by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture, & Humanities (Arts Council) and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Council program concludes Thursday night.

[photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

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Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, Family & Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)

PACIFIC YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTPasefika Youth Project - American Samoa Runaway

& Homeless Youth Basic Center Programwww.pycd.net

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tusia: Leua Aiono FrostUa i’u le tauvaga sa alofaiva i ai le

silia ma le 2000 o le fanau a’oga i le teri-tori, ma ua maua fo’i le sui e malaga i Maryland University mo le tauvaga a fanau a’oga maualuluga ia Iuni 2017, o ia lea na togisilia i nei poloketi, Morgan Ulu o Samoana High School, tulaga lua ai Alia Tuiolosega ma Gloria Park mai le Pacific Horizons ae tulaga tolu ai Vini Sipili mai Taluna Hgh School.

O le manulauti o lenei tausaga i le tauvaga, “Ia Tu ma Lele Malie lau Ti’a i Tala Fa’asolopito!”

Vaega o le tauvaga Tala Tusia o le Tala Fa’asolopito - Historical Paper: tulaga muamua Vini Sipili mai Tafuna High i lana poloketi: “Lois Jenson, The Woman in the Mines!” Tulaga lua Emily Kennach mai Tafuna High i lana poloketi “Mother Jones and the March of the Mill Children, To Give Child Labor a Mortal Stab.” Tulaga tolu Ran Gao i lana polo-keti: “Deng Xiaoping: Opening the Chi-nese Economy!”

Vaega o Fa’atinoga Taito’atasi - Indi-vidual Performance: togisilia Morgan Ulu mai Samoa High School, i lana fa’atinoga: “Nellie Bly: Ten Days in a Mad House.” Tulaga lua Talofa Jes-sica Fe’a mai Tafuna High School i lana fa’atinoga o le: ”Nellie Bly: An Under-cover Daredevil.” Tulaga tolu Lina Crawley i lona fa’atinoga o le “Wolf Schanze.”

Vaega o Fa’aaliga Taito’atasi - Indi-vidual Exhibit: togisilia Farrah Young mai Tafuna High, i lana poloketi ”For-bidden Love”. Tulaga lua Koneferenisi Purcell mai Manumalo Academy i lana galuega fa’atino: “Animal Welfare: Act of 1966: Voice of the Voiceless!” Tulaga tolu Sheralyn Leota mai Leone High i lana galuega fa’atino: “Thurgood Mar-shall [Justice for Racial Srgregation]”.

Vaega o Ata Fa’asolo Taito’atasi - Individual Documentary: Na maua ai e Emla Solaita mai Tafuna High le tulaga muamua i lana fa’atinoga: “Uni-fied by The NINE”. Tulaga lua Lurlene Angelina Ave mai Leone High i lana galuega fa’atino: “Action for Equality: The US Women of the 20th Century.” Tulaga tolu i lea lava vaega sa maua lea e Kutori Temase mai Manumalo Academy i lana fa’atinoga: “Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Opposing the Rise of Nazism.”

Vaega o Poloketi Uepesite Taito’atasi - Individual Website: Tulaga muamua Ryan Devalues mai Pacific Horizons i lana fa’atinoga: “We Shall Never Sur-

render!” ma le galuega fa’atino a John Iosefo mai Tafuna High School: “Standing Up to Communism: Formation of Nato”. Tulaga lua Gloria Passi mai Tafuna: “Denied a Stage: The Song for a Nation.” Tulaga tolu na tutusa poloketi e lua: Ninna Mikaela Balauro mai Fa’asao Marist High i lana poloketi: “Rachael Carson: Taking a Stand for the Environment.” ma le gal-uega fa’atino a Karlina Sanchez man Samoana High: Pacific Women Taking a Stand Through Literature.

Vaega o Fa’atinoga Taito’alua - Group Performance: Tulaga muamua ai le fa’atinoga a Uriah Uila, Jedidiah Brown ma Elizabeth Gebauer i le latou fa’atinoga o “Rosa Parks.” Na tulaga lua ai le fa’atinoga a Elizabeth Faoasau, Julia A. Fa’ai’u ma Levanimonimo Taula mai leone High School i le fa’atinoga “The Resistance of the Japanese Occupation of Nanking.” O le tulaga tolu i togi na maua sa maua lea e T.J. Aulava, Tevita O. Tevita ma Semi O. Tevita o Fagaitua High i le latou fa’atinoga: Booker T. Washington.

Vaega o Fa’aaliga Tusia Taito’atele - Group Exhibit: togisilia na maua e Akenese Saleutogi ma Geraldine Alii-taeao Ofisa mai Tafuna High School i le laua poloketi: “Cesar Chaves: Si Se Puede - Yes it’s Possible!” Tulaga lua na maua e Nadia Ta’ase ma Menora Otineru mai Leone High School i le laqua polo-keti: “Sophie Scholl & The White Rose: Taking a Stand Against Hitler!” Tulaga tolu sa maua e Malaefou Tausaga, Venci

Pefric ma Grace Lagai mai Tafuna High School i le latou galeuga fa’atino: “Hacksaw Ridge!”

Vaega Ata Fa’asolo Fai To’atele - Group Documentary: tulaga muamua Carl Balauro & Katherine Betham o Fa’asao Marist High i le galuega fa’atino: “Eunice Kennedy Shriver: Taking a Stand for the People who Can’t!” Tulaga lua le galuega fa’atino a Mua Fiatoa, Julia Tufele ma Celestila Lotulelei mai Tafuna High i le latou galuega fa’atino: “The Unfathomable Bravery of the Kashariot.” O le tulaga tolu sa maua lea e Aitulagi Alofa ma Dorvida Fuiava mai Manumalo Academy, i le la’ua galuega fa’atino: “Thurgood Marshall: Taking a Stand in Court Against Segregation!”

Vaega o Uepesite Faito’atele: Group Website: Tulaga muamua Alia Tui-olosega ma Gloria Park mai le Pacific Horizons i le galuega faatino: “B.R. AMBERKAR: Reforming India’s Caste System and Untouchability.” Tulaga lua Evelini Suani ma Raquel Mamea mai Manumalo Academy i le polo-keti: “Mother Theresa: Taking a Stand to Help the Unwanted, The Unloved and the Uncared for!” Tulaga lona tolu Mandelyn Tuufuli ma Pauline Vaivao mai Samoana High School i le poloketi: “Back to Black: The Arts Movement!”

O le aoga a le VocTech High School ua misi i lenei tausaga, ona ua tuai ona fa’ao’o atu galuega fa’atino a le fanau a’oga e tusa o le taimi tamau i le fa’asilasilaga mo poloketi uma.

Togisilia ia Morgan Ulu tauvaga high school i tala faasolopito

O se vaaiga i tama’ita’i nei sa la’ua mau-aina le tulaga lua i le tauvaga atoa i togi na maua, ma o Alia Tuiolosega ma Gloria Park mai le Pacific Horizons i Tafuna.

[ata: Leua Aiono Frost]

O se va’aiga i le tama’ita’i na tulaga tolu i le aotelega o togi, ua maua lea e Vini Sipili mai Tafuna High. [ata: Leua Aiono Frost]

Se vaaiga lena i le tulaga sa i ai le tuuga fautasi o le fu’a i le tausaga na te’a nei. [ata AF]

God is Great lea o alo e le afioaga i Pago Pago, i lalo o le ta’ita’iga a le ali’i Kape-teni ia Savaliga Afu, o ia fo’i lea e ana lenei Sa, o le Sa o le Sinapioa lea o lo o alo e fanau aoga mai le Aoga Maualuga i Fagaitua, o le Sa o le Iseulaolemoana I mai Fagatogo, ma le isi Sa o le Man-ulele Tausala II mai Nu’uuli.

O le mae’a ai o le tuuga mo Fautasi e le o aofia i le tuuga tele o le fu’a, ona fa’atulaga mai ai loa lea o le tuuga e sailia ai le siamupini o le fu’a o lenei tausaga i le taeao lava o le aso Tofi, lea ua fuafua e tausinio ai Sa e 3 pito i luga mai ulua’i tuuga e 2 lea ua fa’amoemoe e faia i le taeao nei.

E pei ona fa’amama e le Komiti o le Tuuga Fautasi o le Fu’a i ali’i va’a faapea ai sui o afioaga sa auai, e le tatau ona fa’atauaina le naunau i le manumalo, ae tatau ona silasila toto’a i le saogalemu o alo ma fanau o le a auai i lenei fa’amoemoe.

Saunoa le afioga i le Maoputasi ia Mauga Tasi Asuega e fa’apea, e le tatau ona toe tula’i mai fa’aletonu sa tula’i mai i tuuga o tausaga ua mavae, e le gata o le fiu o le Komiti e fa’atonutonu ali’i va’a ma a latou Sa i luga o le sami, ae o le tulaga fo’i o le le amanaia o tulafono.

Na toe fa’atepa e Mauga susuga i ali’i va’a ma sui o afioaga i le tulaga fa’aletonu sa tula’i mai i le tuuga fautasi o le fu’a i le tausaga na te’a nei, lea na i’u lava ina leai se tuuga e sailia ai le siamu-pini, e mafua mai i le tele o fa’aletonu sa tutupu i ulua’i tuuga sa fa’atinoina, ma manatu ai loa le Komiti ina ia taofi le fa’atinoina o le tuuga ae tausi le filemu i le va o afioaga sa tausinio a latou Sa.

“Le mamalu e o afioaga uma o lo o i ai a latou Sa i lenei tausaga mo le fa’amoemoe e Tutuila ma Manu’a, aua ne’i naunau i le i’a ae ma’imau ai le upega, silasila i le ta’uleleia ma le manuia o nai o tatou tagata, aemaise fanau o le a fa’atinoina le fa’amoemoe mo le tuuga fautasi o lenei tausaga, ia manuia le tuuga fautasi, ia manuia fo’i le sisiga fu’a a Tutuila ma Manu’a”, o le saunoaga lea a le afioga i le Maoputasi ia Mauga.

E pei ona manino i le polokalame a le Komiti o le Fu’a, e le o i ai se Sa mai Samoa mo le tuuga o lenei tausaga, se’i vagana ai lava Sa mai afioaga eseese i totonu o le atunu’u.

E pei ona silafia e le atunu’u, o le aso Gafua o le vaiaso lenei na amata aloaia ai polokalame eseese mo le fa’amanatuina o le 117 tausaga, talu ona sisi le fu’a a le Iunaite Setete i laufanua o Amerika Samoa, e ala i fa’aaliga o oloa a le aufai pisinisi, fa’aaliga a le aufai fa’atoaga atoa ai ma fa’afiafiaga eseese o loo fa’agasolo i le malae o le Su’iga’ula a le Atuvasa i Utulei.

➧ Fautasi ua …Mai itulau 13


tusia Ausage FausiaUa i luma nei o le maota o sui o

le Fono Faitulafono se pili mo se tulafono e si’i ai i le 8% le lafoga o oloa mai fafo, atoa ai ma le faia o se fa’aiuga ina ia soloia ai le lafoga o totogi e 2% o lo o totogi e tagata fai-galuega uma i Amerika Samoa.

O lenei tulafono sa fa’aulufaleina e le afioga i le ali’i faipule ia Puleleiite Tufele Li’amatua Jr ma le afioga i le ali’i faipule ia Lavea Fatulegae’e P. Mauga.

E pei ona manino i le tino o le tula-fono taufa’aofi e fa’apea, o le a si’itia i lenei tulafono le lafoga mo soo se oloa mai fafo, mai le 5% o lo o i ai i le maualuga e 8%. O le fa’aopoopoga e pei ona fuafuaina, o le a tu’uina atu le 2% e fesoasoani ai i le fa’agaioiga o le malo, ae o le isi 1% o le a alu lea i le fa’agaioiga o le Falema’i o le LBJ o Faga’alu.

O le 2% lea ua fuafua e alu mo le fa’agaioiga o le malo, o loo taua i totonu o le tulafono le tu’uina atu o le isi 1% e fa’aagaga mo le lipea, fa’afou atoa ai ma le fa’aleleia o fale ma mea e fa’aaoga i aoga uma a le malo o Amerika Samoa, ae o le isi 1% o le a fa’ailoga ese lea ma le fa’amomemoe

e tu’uina atu mo le fa’agaioiga a le falema’i o le LBJ i Faga’alu, ae o le 6% o lo o totoe ai o tupe e maua mai i le lafoga e 8% o oloa o le a teuina lea i se teugatupe tele a le malo mo le fa’asoaina e le Fono Faitulafono.

O lo o fuafuaina ai fo’i i le isi vaega o lea lava tulafono taufa’aofi, le faia o se fa’aiuga e soloia ai le lafoga o totogi e 2% o lo o totogi e tagata faigaluega i le atunu’u.

O le Maga II.0607 o le Tulafono lea sa fa’aagaga ai le lafoga o totogi e 2% mo tagata faigaluega a le malo, ua soloia nei.

E pei ona silafia, o le lafoga o totogi e 2% lea na pasia mai i le taimi o le faigamalo a Togiola ma Faoa i le 2012, sa fa’aagaga e totogi ai le non-ogatupe a le falema’i o le LBJ e $3 miliona mai le Teugatupe a le Vaega o Taui mo Fa’alavelave Fa’afuase’i ma le tuutuuga, afai ae mae’a ona totogiina lea aitalafu, ona tu’uina atu atoa loa lea o le 2% mo le pulega a le falema’i o le LBJ i Fagaalu, e fesoa-soani ai i lana fa’agaioiga.

O le taeao ananafi lea na fa’atulaga e fa’ataunu’uina ai le iloiloga o lenei tulafono taufa’aofi, ae talu ai o se fonotaga fa’apitoa a le Kovana ma ni

isi o sui o lana Kapeneta e aofia ai le Loia Sili, Teutupe a le malo, fa’apea ai ma le Fa’atonusili o le Ofisa o le Paketi, o i latou fo’i ia sa fuafua e molimau i le iloiloga, ma sui o le Ofisa o le Initeria, na mafua ai loa ona toe tolopo lenei iloiloga.

Na taua e le afioga i le ali’i faipule ia Lavea Fatulegae’e P. Mauga le taua tele o lenei tulafono, ona o loo naunau le malo e fia maua ni isi ala-gatupe faaopoopo e fesoasoani ai i lana atina’e ma galuega fa’ataino, ae na taua e ni isi o afioga i Faipule e fa’apea, e le tatau fo’i ona fa’anatinati se finagalo o le maota i lenei mataupu, ae tatau ona sailiili mae’ae’a lelei ma fesiligia molimau e tatau ona fesiligia, ona e le o se tulafono e faigofie mo le atunu’u, aua o lea ua fa’atulaga i le tulafono le si’i o le lafoga o oloa mo le aufai pisinisi, e mautinoa fo’i le pau atu o le mamafa o lenei lafoga i luga o le atunu’u ma tagata fa’atau.

Ua i ai le fa’amoemoe o le masina o Iulai pe a toe a’e mai le Fono mo lana tauaofiaga lona lua o lenei nofoaiga, o le a fa’atulaga ai loa le iloiloga mo lenei tulafono taufa’aofi.

O se va’aiga i sui lautogia mo fa’ailoga mai le A’oga Maualuga a Samoana, lea e aofia ai ma Morgan Ulu, peita’i, sa talia e lona faia’oga ana fa’ailoga, ona sa le pa’au atu o ia, aua o lo’o maliu fo’i si ona tina matua, Alice Ripley. Ia manuia lau taumafaiga Morgan Ulu. [ata: Leua Aiono Frost]

Pili si’i ai 8% lafoga oloa mai fafo ae fa’aleaoga ai

lafoga o totogi 2%

Tusia: Akenese Ilalio ZecVAEGA: 78

“Le Atua e, e fa’amaualalo lava o matou loto i ou luma i lenei aso, matou te fa’afo’i atu ai le vi’iga ma le fa’ane’etaga i Lau Afio. Fa’afetai tele i Lou alofa ma Lou agalelei i a i matou i aso uma o lo matou ola. O a fo’i ni aso o totoe, ia e alofa fesoasoani mai mo i matou, o a fo’i mafatiaga ma faigata o lo’o feagai ma i matou, matou te tua atu lava i La’u Afio i mea uma, ae o le vi’iga ma le fa’afetai, matou te fa’afo’i atu i Lau Afio e fa’avavau, fa’avavau lava, Amene.”

Ua fa’asolo pea aso o le soifuaga, o le mataupu fo’i e pei ona taumafai le tama o Lilo ina ia fa’ailoa i ona matua, ua ma’ea ona o latou soalaupule ai. Sa i ai le manatu o le tama, o le a tutupu mai ai nisi faigata ma nisi puapuaga i totonu o lo latou aiga, ae maise fo’i o matua o Loleta. Peita’i, ua suiga malie mea uma, ona o le auai o le Atua i fuafuaga ma fa’amoemoega a le tagata soifua.

Fai mai, o le tala a le lo’omatua o Malia, fa’apea fo’i le toeaina o Mose, ua le toe ta’u’esea lava Mataniu, o le la tama, po’o ai lava e fai ane i lea tulaga, e le toe suia ai o la mafaufau, o le afafine lava o Lilo, e le toe ta’u’esea pe fa’asinoesea fo’i Mataniu i totonu o lo latou aiga. Ua fa’apea lava ona fai, ma leai se isi o le nu’u o iloaina, e o’o fo’i i le toeina o Lefefe, e le i gagana Lefefe i se mea e tasi, ona o lona alofa ia Lilomaiava.

Fai mai, ua amata lava ona lelei mea uma, o le faletele na nonofo ai Malia ma Mose, ua suia nei i se falepalagi matagofie, ae fai mai, e le ave’esea ai le mana’o o le lo’omatua, ia fai pea se faletalimalo mo le aiga. O nei fuafuaga uma, na galulue malosi ai Lilo ma lona tua-fafine o Filipina.

Ua le toe i ai se tulaga e fa’apea ua tau fa’asoa, e leai, ua lelei mea uma, ona o le gal-ulue fa’atasi o Lilo ma lona tuafafine o Filipina fa’apea ma Loleta. E i ai lava tama e mana’o ai Loleta e alu e fai i ona matua mo se fesoa-soani, peita’i, e le taliaina e Lilo lea manatu, o lona lava loto tele, ia tagi ifo lava i o la lima e fa’atino ai fuafuaga lelei mo si o latou aiga.

Fai mai, ua si’itia le tulaga o Filipina i lana galuega, o se tama’ita’i e lalelei i le va’ai, o lea la ua mautu nei Lilo, ae ua agai ane le popo-lega o Malia ma Mose ia Filipina. Ua iloa fo’i e le lo’omatua o Malia ma le toeaina o Mose, ua tu lelei fo’i Luisa ma Vesi, ona o fua o fa’a’ele’eleaga o lo’o tua i ai Vesi ma Luisa e tausi ai si a la fanau, ae maise fo’i o le fesoa-soani malosi ane a le tama’ita’i o Filipina.

Na i ai le aso na tau futi ai fo’i e le lo’omatua o Malia le ulu o si teine o Filipina, “Filipina, alu e fai sou to’alua, ua ma le iloa po’o le a le mea ua e fa’apena ai, na o lou alu e te faigal-uega e sau, e alu e sau, ae ma te le o va’ai atu lava i se tama’i tulisi o mulimuli mai i ou tua, o le a le mea ua tupu ia te oe.?”

Fai mai, e le tautala le teine ae na o le ‘ata ma tilotilo ane i si ona tina e pele i lona loto, “Malia, e i ai lava le taimi e te va’ai atu ai o taumulimuli mai le turisi ia te a’u, ona e le toe pisa fo’i lea.” Fai mai, e fai ane lava tala ia a le teine, ae ua na o le ‘ata o si ona tama o Mose ma punou.

Ae na toe tali ane i ai lona tina, “Filipina, se i va’ai lelei, pe le o se turisi na amo popo le na turisi o le a e aumaia i lo tatou aiga, va’ai lelei sou to’alua e alofa fa’amaoni ia te oe, pau lava lea Filipina o le mea ou te mana’o i ai, pe mativa, pe ivi le mata, pe pi’o le vae, ou te le popole i ai, ae afai o se tagata e alofa fa’amaoni ia te oe, ou te taliaina.”

Na tilotilo ane nei Filipina i si ona tama, ae na iloa ane e le teine le ‘ata o lona tama ma punou. Na lulu ane nei le ulu o le teine i lona tina, ae ua fa’apea ona mafaufauga, “Mama, ua lata mai lava le taimi e te va’ai ai i la’u turisi, ‘aua e te popole i se mea e tasi pe lua.”

E faia pea...

Onosa’i i Mea Tiga


MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops battling militants in a central province killed a key Abu Sayyaf com-mander who had been blamed for the beheadings of two Cana-dians and a German hostage and was apparently attempting another kidnapping mission, the military chief said Wednesday.

Military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano told The Asso-ciated Press that troops have recovered and identified the remains of Moammar Askali, who used the nom de guerre Abu Rami, in the scene of the battle in a far-flung coastal vil-lage on Bohol island, where five other Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in the fighting Tuesday, along with four soldiers and policemen.

Ano said troops took the picture of Askali after his death and that captured Abu Sayyaf militants identified the young militant leader.

“This is a major blow to the Abu Sayyaf,” Ano told The AP. “If they have further plans to kidnap innocent people some-where, they will now have to think twice.”

The military chief said Askali had led several of mili-tants who traveled by speed-boats from their jungle lairs in southern Sulu province to Bohol province in an apparent bid to carry out another kidnapping in a region that is popular for its beach resorts and wildlife. Sporadic gunbattles between the remaining Abu Sayyaf mili-tants and government forces continued Wednesday, military officials said.

At least 10 people has been killed since Tuesday in the fighting in Bohol, far from the extremists’ southern jungle bases and in a region where the U.S. government has warned that the gunmen may be plotting kidnappings, officials said.

Military officials said at least six gunmen, three soldiers and a policeman had died in the ongoing gunbattle in a village in the coastal town of Inabanga. The island province lies near Cebu province, a bustling com-mercial and tourism hub.

National police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said troops and policemen attacked the gunmen early Tuesday in Inabanga, where the gunmen had arrived aboard three boats. The gunmen took cover in three houses as the fire-fight broke out.

Government forces seized control of two of the houses, and the rest of the gunmen either were in the third house or had fled the area, dela Rosa told reporters.

It’s the Abu Sayyaf’s first known attempt to carry out ransom kidnappings deep in the heartland of the central Philip-pines, far from its jungle lairs in the southern provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

Bohol island, where one of the world’s smallest pri-mates, called tarsiers, are found, drawing many tourists, lies about 640 kilometers (397 miles) southeast of Manila. Bohol is about an hour away by boat from Cebu province, across the busy Cebu Strait, which is crisscrossed daily by ferries, cargo ships and fishing vessels.

Abu Sayyaf militants have crossed the sea border with Malaysia on powerful speed-boats and kidnapped scores of foreign tourists in past years. In 2001, they sailed as far as western Palawan province, where they seized 20 people, including three Americans, from a resort.

“If we were not able to mon-itor this and engage them with our government forces, it’s a cause for alarm if they were able to carry out kidnappings,” dela Rosa said.

Ano said military intel-ligence operatives had been trying to track down the move-ments of the suspected mili-tants, who first traveled from Sulu to southern Zamboanga peninsula. Intelligence later

indicated the gunmen landed ashore in Inabanga, prompting military and police officials to deploy their forces, he said.

The gunmen traveled on board motor boats along a river to Inabanga’s Napo village, where government forces assaulted them, military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said, adding that troops recovered four rifles and a homemade bomb from the slain gunmen.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila recently advised Americans to take precautions amid “unsub-stantiated yet credible informa-tion” of possible kidnappings by terrorists in Bohol, nearby Cebu province and other central areas.

The United States and the Philippines have separately blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings. Some Abu Sayyaf commanders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered troops to destroy the extremists in Sulu and in outlying island provinces, and has threatened to declare martial law in the country’s south if the threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf and other extremist groups aligned with the Islamic State group gets out of control.

Although the Abu Sayyaf militants have been weakened by years of battle setbacks, they came back to international attention when they separately beheaded two Canadians last year and a German hostage earlier this year after ransom deadlines lapsed. The militants are still holding at least 29 cap-tives in Sulu’s jungles, many of them foreign tugboat and cargo ship crewmen seized at the sea border between the southern Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Po Box PPB, Pago PagoAmerican Samoa 96799Phone No.: (684) 699-3057Fax No.: (684) [email protected] Management Office

AMERICAN SAMOA POWER AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ)RFQ NO: ASPA.17.029.ESD-WTR Closing Date & Time: April 27, 2017Issuance Date: April 10, 2017 No later than 2:00 p.m. local timeThe American Samoa Power Authority issues a Request for Quotes (RFQ) to invite qualified firms to submit quotes for the:

SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF FLOW METERS – WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT

SubmissionAn original and one (1) PDF must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked: “ASPA17.029.ESD.WTR. SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF FLOW METERS – WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT.” Submissions are to be sent to the following address and will be received until 2:00 p.m. (local time), Wednesday, April 27, 2017:

Materials Management Office American Samoa Power AuthorityPago Pago, American Samoa 96799 Attn: Ioana S. Uli, Procurement Manager

Any quotation received after the aforementioned date and time will not be accepted under any circumstances. Late submissions will not be opened or considered and will be determined as being non- responsive. DocumentThe RFQ package outlining the quotation requirements is available at The Materials Management Office at ASPA’s Tafuna Compound and may also be obtained from our Website: http://www.aspower.com.Right of RejectionThe American Samoa Power Authority reserves the right to reject any and/or all quotations and to waive any irregularities and/or informalities in the submitted quotations that are not in the best interests of the American Samoa Power Authority or the public.Approved for Issuance: Utu Abe Malae, Executive Director

Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa walks after an anti-terror simulation exercise at a bus terminal in Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Dela Rosa said at least several people have been killed in battle between government forces and suspected Abu Sayyaf militants on a central resort island, far from the extremists’ southern jungle bases and in a region where the U.S. government has warned the gunmen may be conducting kidnappings.

(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Philippines: Troops killed

militant blamed for beheadings


WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans survived an elec-tion scare on Tuesday and won a Kansas House seat in the first congressional election since President Donald Trump’s vic-tory, but the margin was much closer than expected in a dis-trict that had voted overwhelm-ingly for Trump in November.

Republican state Treasurer Ron Estes, 60, will repre-sent the Kansas 4th congres-sional district replacing Mike Pompeo, who Trump named as CIA director.

Trump won 60 percent of the district’s vote in November and Pompeo won re-election by 31 points. Estes defeated civil rights lawyer James Thompson by seven percentage points, suggesting some back-lash against Republicans since November.

“Republicans nationally should be very worried,” said Bob Beatty, a Washburn Uni-versity political scientist. “It’s remarkable that Thompson got this close.”

The Kansas election was the first of four special elections to fill seats in the House of Rep-resentatives — where Repub-licans now hold a 237-193 majority— to replace Republi-cans who took top jobs in the Trump administration. Others are in Georgia, Montana and South Carolina.

Both parties will now turn their attention to Georgia and the extremely competitive April 18 contest to replace Tom Price, who resigned to serve as Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.

Democratic hopes rest with Jon Ossoff, 30, a former con-gressional staffer turned inves-tigative filmmaker who has raised more than $8 million, an extraordinary amount for a spe-cial election. Ossoff is counting on opposition to Trump to propel him to a decisive victory.

The Kansas result also reflected blowback against the state’s unpopular Republican governor Sam Brownback.

Thompson tapped into voter frustration after Brownback made Kansas a laboratory for sweeping tax cuts that left the state short of revenue and facing a budget crisis. Brown-back also refused to expand the Medicaid health program for the poor.

Lucy Jones-Phillips, a 31-year-old insurance represen-tative and Democrat, acknowl-edged she doesn’t vote in every election, but said she voted for Thompson because she wanted to register her disappoint-ment in Brownback, especially his veto of an expansion of Medicaid.

“I can’t stand Brownback,” she said as she left her polling site in Belle Plaine.

In a sign of nervousness in the waning days of the cam-paign, Republicans poured money into the race to bolster Estes. Republicans pulled in

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to campaign in Wichita for Estes, and both Vice President Mike Pence and Trump recorded robo calls for him.

Those GOP calls prompted Charlene Health, a 52-year-old homemaker and Republican in Belle Plaine, to cast a ballot for Estes.

“I wasn’t even going to vote,” she said as she left her polling site Tuesday morning. “I finally did. I realized this was important.”

Republicans have repre-sented the south-central Kansas district since 1994. The district has been hurt by the downturn in the agricultural economy and the loss of hundreds of well-paying, blue-collar jobs in air-craft manufacturing plants. The 17-county congressional dis-trict includes the state’s largest city of Wichita, home to Koch Industries, the company led by conservative billionaire polit-ical donors Charles and David Koch.

Estes handily won the dis-trict’s rural counties. But Thompson won in Sedg-wick County, which includes Wichita. Trump had carried Sedgwick county by more than 18 percentage points.

Estes said in his victory speech Tuesday night that his campaign showed political pundits and national media that they were wrong in suggesting he could lose the race.

Thompson, 46, a political newcomer backed by a group aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, said late Tuesday that he will run for the seat again in 2018.

“We came a lot closer than everyone thought we were going to be at the beginning of the race, because from the very beginning people wrote us off as having absolutely no shot,” Thompson’s spokesman Chris Pumpelly said.

Libertarian Chris Rockhold trailed a distant third in the race.

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Kansas 4th District con-gressional candidate Ron Estes, front left, thanks Sen. Ted Cruz who came to Wichita to campaign for Estes the day before a special election at Yingling Aviation, Monday, April 10, 2017, in Wichita, Kan.

(Fernando Salazar/The Wichita Eagle via AP)

C M

Y K

C M

Y K


tusia Ausage FausiaNa atagia i saunoaga a afioga

i Senatoa ma Faipule i le taeao ananafi le fa’ateia o i latou i le fa’afuase’i lea ona saputu atu i’ugafono mo tofiga a le Kovana i sui o Komiti Fa’afoe eseese a le malo, a o lea ua toe 3 aso tapunia galuega a le Fono Faitulafono mo lana ulua’i tauaofiaga lea ua fa’amoemoe e mae’a i le aso Tofi o le vaiaso nei.

Na avea le saputu atu o i’ugafono mo tofiga a le Kovana i Komiti Fa’afoe ma auala na umi ai se taimi o fetufaa’i maota e lua i le tau fa’atulagaina o iloiloga mo le pasiaina o totino o Komiti Fa’afoe eseese nei, ona o lea ua fetaui le taunu’u atu ma le pisi o le atunu’u i sauniuniga o le fu’a o lenei tausaga e pei o tuuga fautasi i le taeao nei ma le taeao o le aso Tofi.

I luma o le maota o sui, ua talia ma le agaga le fiafia e ni isi o afioga i Faipule le fautuaga mai le Fofoga Fetalai ia Savali Talavou Ale, ina ia toe tolopo uma a latou iloiloga sa fa’atulaga mo aso o lo o totoe o le tauaofiaga a le Fono, ae ave le fa’amuamua i iloiloga mo Komiti Fa’afoe e pei ona toai atu i luma o le maota, ona o lo o mana’omia e le Kovana le fa’apasiaina o nei tofiga.

Na talosagaina e ni isi o faipule le Fofoga Fetalai mo se avanoa e tolopo ai le fa’aauauina o iloiloga, ina nei pisi le to’atele o sui o le maota i le lagolagoina o Sa a afioaga mo le tuuga fau-tasi, ona fa’aletonu ai lea o le Kalama e fa’atino ai galuega a le maota, peita’i sa finagalo lava le tofa Savali ina ia fa’ataunu’u pea iloiloga a Komiti i le itula e 8:00 i le taeao nei, atoa ai ma le itula e 8:00 i le taeao o le aso Tofi.

Ae i le maota maualuga, ua toe tolopo uma iloiloga sa fa’atulaga e fa’ataunu’uina i le taeao nei, i lalo o se fautuaga mai le afioga i le peresetene o le Senate ia Gaoteote Palaie Tofau.

Ao taumafai mai ai taitai o komiti eseese e tau fuafua ma tau fa’atulaga taimi o iloiloga mo tofiga fou a le Kovana, na

fa’amanatu e Gaoteote i afioga i Senatoa le tulaga tonu e tatau ona taoto i ai la latou galuega.

“Aua nei fa’amamafaina le saputu mai o iugafono mo tofiga fou a le Kovana ma auala e tau atugalu ai a outou afioga e tau fa’atulaga taimi ma aso o iloiloga, e fai aso le Atua, e toe amata fo’i isi galuega a le Fono i le masina o Iulai, o le mea lea e fautua atu ai ia outou afioga, fa’aagafua iloiloga mo aso fa’ai’u o lo o totoe, ae alo le maota mo le faaiuga o ana gal-uega masani”, o le fautuaga lea a Gaoteote na mafua ai loa ona toe tula’i afioga i ta’ita’i komiti sa fa’atulaga a latou iloiloga i le taeao nei, ma fa’alauiloa le toe tolopo o a latou iloiloga seia aulia le masina o Iulai o le tausaga nei, lea e toe a’e mai ai le Fono mo lana tauaofiaga lona 2 o le nofoaiga lenei 35.

O tofiga fou a le kovana e aofia ai Komiti Fa’afoe o Aoga Maua-luluga, Komiti o Femalagaaiga, Komiti Tausimavaega o le Tupe a le Litaea, atoa ai ma le Komiti Fa’afoe mo Fesoasoani Tau Tupe mo Tamaiti Aoga.

O le itula e 8:00 i le taeao nei lea ua fa’atulaga e faia ai le iloiloga a le Komiti o Aoga a le maota o sui, mo le fa’amaonia o tofiga a le Kovana mo sui o le Komiti Fa’afoe o Aoga Maualuluga, lea e aofia ai Moseniolo Viane Etuale, Rev. Dr. Siulagi Solomona, Tauiliili Lauifi ma Dr. Annie Fuavai, fa’apea ai ma totino o le Komiti Fa’afoe mo Fesoasoani Tau Tupe mo Tamaiti Aoga, lea e aofia ai Donna Gurr ma Ruth Matagi-Fa’atili.

O le mae’a ai o le iloiloga a le Komiti o Aoga a le maota o sui, ona sosoo ai loa lea ma le iloiloga a le Komiti o Mataupu Tau Tula-fono a le maota, mo le iloiloina o tofiga a le kovana mo sui o le Komiti Fa’afoe o Femalagaaiga, lea e aofia ai Gloria Ausage, Taui-lagi Asuega, Togotogo Poto Sotoa, Edda Wyberski, Frank Gaisoa ma sui e to’alua o le Fono e aofia ai le afioga i le ali’i faipule ia Toeaina Faufanu Autele ma le afioga i le ali’i senatoa ia Fa’amausili Mau Jr.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

February

Fiso Filisi

Fa’ateia Fono i le saputu atu o

tofiga Kovana mo sui Komiti Fa’afoe

Le sui failautusi fou mo le maota o sui, le tofa Vaeaitu Mulinu’u Maluia (itu agavale), lea ua avea nei ma se tasi o tagata faigaluega a le Fono Faitulafono e sui tulaga i le afioga i le Matua ia Savea Tavita Loseti sa ia tauaveina le tulaga o le sui failautusi. [ata AF]

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As Christians, the Paschal Triduum is the culmination of the liturgical season of Lent; where we journey with Jesus into the desert and witness in faith His passion, His death, His burial and resurrection.Amerika Samoa attests to proclaiming the work of Jesus’ salvation as living testimonies seen in our cultural practices of family and religion.Amerika Samoa’s 117th Flag Day celebration subsequently follows Easter, where we as a country celebrate His resurrection and 117 years of God’s bounteous blessings and grace on our islands. It is also befitting that as we celebrate Easter and in this Flag Day we celebrate our Youth, we recall our Lord’s words “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” These words of our Lord reminds us to reform and empower our youth for tomorrow. May it be a time of reconciliation, reformation and reflection on strengthening our families and communities. Lemanu and I, join our families in wishing our people and families, our soldiers and families, and most especially our youth a Blessed and Happy Easter.

Ua tatou iai nei i le vaiaso Sa Paia, le vaiaso tatou te manatunatu ai i le tafatolu o le galuega fa’aola a Keriso: o ona puapuaga, o lona maliu ma lona toetu manumalo. Ma ole taualuga fo’i lea o le vaitausaga o le Fagafulu na tatou o ai fa’atasi ma Iesu i le toafa ma tatou molimau ai i mata o lo tatou fa’atuatua mea fa’atiga ma fa’aosoosoga na feagai ma le Ali’i fa’aola.O Amerika Samoa o se tasi o Atunu’u fa’atuatua i le fa’aolataga, ma o se mitamitaga tele le avea o si o tatou atunu’u o se tasi o pulela’a ola e laugaina ai pea le talalelei e ala i a tatou tu ma tatou aganau’u o lo’o atagia ai le soifua fetufa’ai ma le aiga fesilafa’i.O le mitamitaga i lenei vaiaso ina ua tumua’i tutusa le fa’amamaluina o le117 tausaga o le alofa o le Atua ia Amerika Samoa ma le fa’amanatuina o lona alofa mo le lalolagi atoa.I le fa’amanatuina la o le Eseta i lenei tausaga ua talafeagai tonu ma le aso o lo tatou malo ua fa’ataua ai le tupulaga, ou te fia fa’amamafa ai upu a Iesu i fafine ierusalema na ia fa’apea ai, “ TAMA FAFINE A IERUSALEMA SOIA TOU TE FETAGISI IA TE A’U A IA OUTOU FETAGISI IA TE OUTOU MA A OUTOU FANAU. “O upu e toe atina’e ai le mafutaga i aiga, ae maise le tapenaina o a tatou fanau - Le tupulaga mo a taeao. Ia avea le fa’amanatuina o lenei vaiaso Sa Paia ia liligi fa’aua mai ai e le Atua ana fa’amanuiaga i aiga uma o si o tatou atunu’u ae maise a tatou fanau - o lo tatou fa’amoemoega mo a taeao.

American Samoa GovernmentOFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Governor’s Easter Message

LOLO M. MOLIGAGovernor of American Samoa


WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans pulled out a vic-tory in Kansas in the first of four U.S. House special elections to replace GOP congressmen named to top jobs in President Donald Trump’s administra-tion, but the next contest for a seat in Georgia could be tougher to hold.

The margin of victory Tuesday for Kansas Repub-lican Ron Estes in the 4th Dis-trict special election slid to only seven percentage points from a 31-point margin in November, when incumbent Mike Pompeo was running before he was appointed Trump’s CIA director.

In a further warning sign for Republicans, Estes nar-rowly lost the district’s most populous county around the city of Wichita to his Democratic opponent James Thompson, a political newcomer. Trump won that county by 18 points.

The outcome was a shot across the bow of national Republicans as the party faces three more special elections in Georgia, Montana and South Carolina. Republicans now hold a 237-193 majority in the House.

“Republicans nationally should be very worried,” said Bob Beatty, a Washburn Uni-versity political scientist. “It’s remarkable that Thompson got this close.”

Both parties will now turn their attention to Georgia and the extremely competitive April 18 contest to replace Tom Price, who resigned to serve as Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.

Democratic hopes rest with Jon Ossoff, 30, a former con-gressional staffer turned inves-tigative filmmaker who has raised more than $8 million, an extraordinary amount for a spe-cial election. Ossoff is counting on opposition to Trump to propel him to a decisive victory.

All 18 candidates from both parties will appear on one pri-mary ballot, with polls sug-gesting that Ossoff will lead the first round of voting. Republi-cans are aiming to keep Ossoff below the majority required to win outright, forcing a two-person runoff — basically a Republican v. Democrat gen-eral election — on June 20.

The Republican candidates in Georgia have engaged in a bitter squabble and none of

them has clearly emerged to lead the party.

While the Kansas result sug-gested some blowback against Trump, another important factor was anger with the state’s unpopular Republican governor Sam Brownback.

Democrats tapped into voter frustration after Brownback made Kansas a laboratory for sweeping tax cuts that left the state short of revenue and facing a budget crisis. Brownback also refused to expand the Medicaid health program for the poor.

Lucy Jones-Phillips, a 31-year-old insurance represen-tative and Democrat, acknowl-edged she doesn’t vote in every election, but said she voted for Thompson because she wanted to register her disappointment in Brownback, especially his veto of an expansion of Medicaid.

“I can’t stand Brownback,” she said as she left her polling site in Belle Plaine.

In a sign of nervousness in the waning days of the cam-paign, Republicans poured money into the race to bolster Estes. Republicans pulled in U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to campaign in Wichita for Estes, and both Vice President Mike Pence and Trump recorded robo calls for him.

Those GOP calls prompted Charlene Health, a 52-year-old homemaker and Republican in Belle Plaine, to cast a ballot for Estes.

“I wasn’t even going to vote,” she said as she left her polling site Tuesday morning. “I finally did. I realized this was important.”

Republicans have repre-sented the south-central Kansas district since 1994. The district has been hurt by the downturn in the agricultural economy and the loss of hundreds of well-paying, blue-collar jobs in aircraft manufacturing plants. Wichita is home to Koch Indus-tries, the company led by con-servative billionaire political donors Charles and David Koch.

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Democrat James Thompson kisses his wife Lisa while their daughter Liberty stands to their left at the Murdock Theatre in Wichita, Kan., Tuesday, April, 11, 2017. Thompson came up short in his bid to beat Republican state Treasurer Ron Estes in a special election to replace current CIA director and former U.S. Rep Mike Pompeo in the Kansas 4th congressional district. (Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle via AP)


MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont motor vehicle department gave federal offi-cials information on immigrants living in the country illegally, documents show, giving life to longstanding fears that programs providing such immigrants with documentation could be used against them.

Copies of emails requested and recently obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union show that investigators with the state Department of Motor Vehicles coordinated with fed-eral Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last year to identify noncitizens.

Many of the emails show department investigators sent information to ICE on migrants they suspect gave false infor-mation on their applications for driver identification cards. The state’s card program was created in 2013 to provide immigrants living in the country illegally with a way to drive.

The ACLU asked for the records to ensure the motor vehicle department was com-plying with a settlement agree-ment reached last year in a dis-crimination case brought by a Jordanian man. The man had applied for a driver ID card, and state officials forwarded his infor-mation to federal immigration officials, who started deportation proceedings. He was briefly jailed and released after posting bail; he was ultimately not deported.

The department was ordered to pay $40,000 to the man and follow a Vermont policy that pro-hibits state officials from carrying out federal immigration policy.

“We wanted to see if the DMV was honoring that agreement,” said ACLU attorney Jay Diaz. “Unfortunately, these emails show that they were not.”

Vermont’s Seven Days news-paper first reported about the documents, which span from November 2015 to November 2016. And a report published by the news outlet VTDigger.org in October 2016 showed the motor vehicle department and ICE had been coordinating, similarly to what the newly released docu-ments show, as early as 2014.

It’s unclear exactly how many immigrants were the subjects of communication, but a motor vehicle official said at a legisla-tive hearing Tuesday that one investigator in southern Vermont had nearly 300 cases last year. It is also unclear whether anyone has been deported because of the communication.

Such cooperation between state officials and federal depor-tation agents has long been a fear of immigrants in the country illegally who apply for identifica-tion cards in places that allow for them.

The development is especially surprising in Vermont, a politi-cally liberal state where even the Republican governor, Phil Scott, has acted intensively on behalf of immigrants. Scott last month enthusiastically signed a law that some critics said came close to making Vermont a “sanctuary state,” limiting the work police can do on behalf of the fed-

eral government. He called it a response to federal overreach on immigration by the administra-tion of President Donald Trump, a member of his own party.

Twelve other states and Wash-ington, D.C., along with some municipalities, have some type of program allowing immigrants living in the country illegally to get some form of legal identifica-tion for such needs as driving or attending school.

In New York City, officials are considering destroying the information of people who apply for municipal ID cards out of fear their information will end up with federal immigration officials.

ICE spokesman Shaun Neu-dauer did not respond to requests for comment. About 50,000 people in Vermont have driver ID cards, said motor vehicle Commissioner Robert Ide. The department is still training staff members on how to carry out the policy that prohibits state officials from carrying out immigration

policy, Ide said. Scott said at a news conference Thursday that he would “rectify the situation” but did not condemn the motor vehicle department.

The Senate Committee on Government Operations held a hearing on the matter Tuesday.

“Somebody comes in, applies, and a DMV employee takes it upon themselves to share that information, forward it to the feds. So walk me through, in a detailed way, is that practice still happening?” Sen. Chris Pearson, a member of the state’s Progres-sive Party, asked of motor vehicle Deputy Commissioner Jake Elo-virta. DMV officials don’t for-ward information to federal offi-cials unless it’s part of a criminal investigation, Elovirta replied.

Enrique Balcazar, a Mexican immigrant living in Vermont ille-gally, said he has had a driver ID card since 2014. After reading the emails, he said through an inter-preter that he wouldn’t be likely to apply if he had the choice now.

“It’s really sad the way that this law has been implemented,” said Balcazar, who was one of three immigrant activists in the state recently arrested by federal agents on immigration charges.

His activist group, Migrant Jus-tice, has said it believes his arrest was the result of his high profile, not communication between ICE and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

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Documents: Immigrants’ ID card info was fed to Customs

Vermont’s Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Robert Ide testifies before the state’s Senate Government Opera-tions Committee on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, Montpelier, Vt. Newly released emails show DMV investigators were sending personal information on people who they believe fraudulently applied for driver identification cards, often used by people in the country illegally, to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

(AP Photo/Cory Dawson)


CHICAGO (AP) — After people were horrified by video of a passenger getting dragged off a full United Express flight by airport police, the head of United’s parent company said the airline was reaching out to the man to “resolve this situation.”

Hours later on Monday, his tone turned defensive. He described the man as “disrup-tive and belligerent.”

By Tuesday afternoon, almost two days after the Sunday evening confrontation in Chicago, CEO Oscar Munoz issued his most contrite apology yet as details emerged about the man seen on cellphone videos recorded by other passengers at O’Hare Airport.

“No one should ever be mis-treated this way,” Munoz said.

The passenger was identified as physician David Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who was convicted more than a decade ago of felony charges involving his prescribing of drugs and spent years trying to regain his medical license.

But while Dao’s history quickly became a focus of attention, there’s no indication that his past influenced how he was treated or that the airline or police were aware of his back-ground or would have known anything about him other than basic information such as his name and address, if that.

Screaming can be heard on the videos, but nowhere is Dao seen attacking the officers. In fact, he appears relatively pas-sive both when he was dragged down the aisle of the jet and when he is seen standing in the aisle later saying quietly, “I want to go home, I want to go home.”

Munoz’s latest statement described the removal as “truly horrific.” He said the com-pany would review policies for seeking volunteers to give up their seats, for handling over-sold situations and for part-nering with airport authorities and local law enforcement.

An attorney who represents Dao said his client was being treated at a Chicago hospital for injuries he sustained on the plane and that the family would not comment.

According to records from the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Dao went to med-ical school at the University of Medicine of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, graduating in 1974. He was licensed in Kentucky with a specialty in pulmonary disease.

His legal troubles started in 2003, when his medical license

was suspended after an under-cover sting operation at a Louis-ville motel for allegedly writing fraudulent prescriptions.

According to the documents, the licensing board had learned that Dao had become sexually interested in a patient and hired the patient as his office man-ager. That man later said he quit his job because Dao “pursued him aggressively” and arranged to provide him with prescrip-tion drugs in exchange for sex.

Dao was ultimately con-victed in late 2004 of several counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deceit and was placed on five years of supervised pro-bation and surrendered his med-ical license.

His longtime effort to get his license back finally succeeded in 2015, when the licensing board allowed him to practice medicine again.

About a year after his med-ical license was suspended, Dao joined the professional poker circuit, according to his World Series of Poker profile . His big-gest competitive win came in 2009 when he took home more than $117,000 from a tourna-ment in Mississippi.

Airport officials have said little about Sunday’s events and nothing about Dao’s behavior before he was pulled from the jet that was bound for Louis-ville, Kentucky. Likewise, the Chicago Aviation Department has said only that one of its employees who removed Dao did not follow proper proce-dures and has been placed on leave. No passengers on the plane have mentioned that Dao did anything but refuse to leave the plane when he was ordered to do so. Also Tuesday, Chi-cago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the way Dao was treated “completely unacceptable” and praised Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans for taking “swift action.” He promised that a city investigation would “ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

The event stemmed from a common air travel issue — a full flight. United was trying to make room for four employees of a partner airline, meaning four people had to get off.

At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $400 and then when that did not work, $800 per passenger to relinquish a seat. When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.

Three people got off the flight, but the fourth said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.

American Samoa GovernmentOFFICE OF PROCUREMENT

Equal Opportunity Employer / Affirmative ActionDR. ORETA MAPU CRICHTONChief Procurement Officer

INVITATION FOR BIDSIFB-2396-17

Issuance Date: April 10, 2017 Closing Date: May 2nd , 2017 No later than 10:00am (local time)1. INVITATION Sealed bids are being solicited to provide Technology Equipment for the

Department of Education (OCI). 2. RECEIPT & OPENING OF BIDS Sealed bids will be received by the Chief Procurement Officer, American Samoa

Government, Tafuna, American Samoa 96799, until 10:00a.m. (local time), Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017 at which time and place the sealed bids will be publicly opened and read.

3. CONTRACT DOCUMENTS Bid documents, including Specifications, may be examined at the Office of Procurement

or obtained there from free of charge during normal hours of operation.4. CONDITIONS The American Samoa Government reserves the right to:

• not accept the lowest or any bid.• reject all bids and reissue and amended IFB.• request additional information from any bidder submitting a bid.• waive any informalities in bidding as may be in the best interest of the American

Samoa Government.

DEPARTMENT of COMMERCEProject Notification & Review System

Legal NoticePNRS BOARD MEETING

April 19, 2017Notice is hereby given that the Department of Commerce/American Samoa Coastal Management Program has received a Land Use Permit Application from the following individuals. 1. Te’etai Fanene ..................................................................................................................... 17-4647-L Proposal for construction of a new residential structure with utilities - Nu’uuli2. Talo Ioapo ............................................................................................................................ 17-4614-L Proposal for dry litter piggery - Futiga3. La’u M. Lino......................................................................................................................... 17-4644-L Proposal for construction of a new residential structure with utilities and retaining wall - Utulei4. ASDHS c/o Kilomita Polu ................................................................................................... 17-4632-L Proposal for construction of a new residential structure with utilities - FagatogoPersons interested in or affected by a proposed project, are invited to review the project file and provide comments based on environmental issues, by contacting Aokusotino Mao at 633-5155, at the Department of Commerce in Utulei during regular ASG working hours. Public comments must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Interested individuals are also invited to attend a Public Hearing at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at DOC Conference Room, on the 2nd Floor of the Executive Office Building in Utulei.O lo’o iai i le Ofisa o Fa’afetauaina ni talosaga mo Pemita e Fa’atagaina ai le Fa’aaogaina o Fanua ma Laueleele e tusa ma ala o le Tulafono. A iai se tasi e fa’asea pe fia tusia se molimau i ni afaina o le si’osi’omaga pe a galueaina nei galuega, telefoni mai ia Aokusotino Mao i le 633-5155. E mafai fo’i ona e auai i le fono a le Komiti Fa’afoe ia Aperila 19, 2017, ile itula e 9 ile taeao.

United CEO issues apology, calls removal ‘truly horrific’

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan authorities on Tuesday were investigating the death of a university stu-dent killed by gunfire at a pro-test against President Nicolas Maduro, as opposition leaders mapped out their next steps to push for new elections and gov-ernment officials held a gath-ering to drum up state support.

Daniel Queliz, 20, was killed late Monday after being shot in the neck in Valencia, a city east of Caracas where students have actively participated in the protests that erupted April 1 fol-lowing a Supreme Court deci-sion to strip Congress of its last remaining powers — a decision later reversed.

It was not immediately clear where the bullet came from, though opposition leaders quickly decried the death as another example of the Venezu-elan government’s excessive use of force in countering protests. Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, while several opposition leaders have been roughed up and bloodied while participating in demonstrations.

Government officials blame the opposition for inciting vio-lence and detained 18 people Monday. Thus far, two people have died and dozens left injured in the protests.

Human rights organiza-tions and countries including the United States are calling on Venezuela to allow protesters to gather and refrain from unnec-essary use of force, adding to mounting international pressure for the Andean nation’s gov-ernment to hold elections and respect democratic institutions.

“The existence of isolated acts of violence during protests cannot justify a blank restric-tion of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression or the indiscrimi-nate and disproportionate use of force against demonstra-tors,” the Inter-American Com-mission on Human Rights said Tuesday.

Queliz’s father told local media his son was at Monday’s demonstration “like any other youth,” when gunshots were fired and people began running. He said his son had “bad luck” to be caught in the melee.

“I need an answer from the highest level of the state,” Alex-ander Queliz said of his son’s death.

Members of the opposition-controlled National Assembly showed up at the National Guard’s headquarters in Caracas early Tuesday to deliver a docu-ment denouncing the govern-ment response to the protests. Speaking directly to officers at the National Guard’s entrance, National Assembly president Julio Borges said they could decide either to be the heirs of

independence leader Simon Bolivar or “the bodyguards of Nicolas Maduro.”

The National Assembly later held a special meeting with dozens of civil society mem-bers to establish an agenda and create working groups with the goals of holding elections, let-ting humanitarian aid enter the country, restoring democratic institutions and freeing those deemed political prisoners.

Venezuela has struggled with triple-digit inflation, food and medical supply shortages amid an ongoing economic slump. According to human rights groups, there are more than 100 political prisoners in Venezuelan jails.

Opposition leaders contend the government is steadily spi-raling toward authoritarianism.

Authorities squashed an oppo-sition campaign to hold a recall referendum on Maduro last year, and a date has yet to be set for gubernatorial elections that were supposed to take place in 2016. In the last 15 months, the Supreme Court has issued 56 rulings against the National Assembly, rendering it essen-tially powerless.

As the National Assembly decided its next steps, the gov-ernment held a rally in Caracas to commemorate 15 years since the 2002 coup that briefly ousted Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s predecessor and mentor.

Officials also used the protest to garner support in rejecting the opposition’s continued call for protest.

“At 15 years from that swipe at the constitution and the hope

of a people, today we continue fighting to defeat this con-tinuing coup,” Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami said on Twitter.

The opposition announced plans for continued demonstra-tions throughout Easter Week Tuesday evening.

“We have two choices,” said Juan Requesens, a National Assembly member injured in a protest last week, a bandage still covering the gash above his left eye. “Stay at home, sitting down, watching how this gov-ernment tightens itself in power. Or decide at once to get up.”


University student killed in Venezuela opposition protest

A Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard officer throws a tear gas grenade towards demonstrators during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, April 10, 2017. Thousands of people in Venezue-la’s capital are protesting against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, demanding new elections and vowing to stay in the streets during the usually quiet Easter Week.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

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