KPress Vol. 17 Iss. 03
Jaynes, Bill (2017-01-16). KPress Vol. 17 Iss. 03 (PDF) (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Kaselehlie Press.
- Has attachment: File:VIZNJFHR.pdf
Abstract: KPress Vol. 17 Iss. 03: NEWS: Pohnpei, FSM—legislation tripling vehicle registration fees for most owners from $10 to $30 took effect, prompting concern that the increase, which more than triples costs for many drivers, would disproportionately burden unemployed residents and those with limited resources, with alternative proposals raised to increase sales taxes on alcohol and tobacco instead due to their negative impacts on public health and welfare; disaster reporting covers Ulithi’s response after a waterspout turned tornado struck the island on December 22, 2016, tearing apart more than twenty newly repaired homes and cookhouses, with the community remaining vigilant against natural disaster threats; a Guam-based nonprofit, the Micronesian Conservation Coalition, launched a fundraiser with a $20,000 goal to purchase construction materials and agricultural supplies for Ulithi, pledging not to deduct administrative fees; telecommunications coverage reports fiber-optic cable repairs that resulted in slow internet service in Pohnpei and near-complete outages in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, noting that on December 28, 2016 at 19:45, at the direction of the cable repair ship CS Dependable, FSM Telecommunications Corporation disconnected power from Segment 4 of the HANTRU-1 branching unit to the Pohnpei terminal station by ramping voltage and amperage to zero and placing power-feed equipment in short-circuit position, after having purchased backup bandwidth and taken other mitigation steps; fisheries reporting forecasts that sustainably caught tuna tonnage would double in 2017; law-enforcement reporting states that a former FSM Division of Immigration and Customs employee was charged and scheduled for arraignment on March 14 on national government charges related to allegedly withholding the administrator password for the FSM’s machine-readable passport system; community notices include calls for dedicated correspondents and subscription information; OPINION / EDITORIAL: commentary notes that the Pohnpei State Legislature sent the vehicle-registration bill to Governor Marcelo Peterson, who vetoed it and attached a letter explaining his objections, references correspondence from the Office of the Public Auditor to Chief Magistrate Mason Henry regarding inquiries into low balances in the Mwoakilloa operating account at the Bank of the FSM, and includes notices inviting applications and consultant expressions of interest submitted to FSM NORMA by January 20, 2017.
