|
|
|
Got a hint? You're welcome to submit news ideas and announcements.
|
News and Views_
Segavao wins Samoa Independence Day fautasi race; Aeto came in second place
By T. Auva'a and T. Mata'afa
sports@samoanews.com
The Aeto from the village of Pago Pago loading before the race held yesterday morning in Apia, Samoa, as its Captain Va'amua Sesepasara looks on. The Aeto represented the Territory in Samoa's Independence Day fautasi race - coming in second to the Segavao, captained by Vaemasenu'u Zita Martel. [Photo: Salima Eucharist Elisara Reupena]
Don Bosco's Segavao clinched Samoa’s International Independence Day fautasi race championship avenging their loss to Aeto in American Samoa's Flag Day race held early this year in April.
(Segavao Captain Vaemasenu'u Zita Martel was unavailable for comment. Samoa News will follow up with Vaemasenu'u in a later report.)
Pago Pago's Aeto placed second in the race with the La o Samoa placing third and the Tamarina finishing in fourth place in the International race.
Samoa hosted two races to celebrate their 48th Independence Day - the international race in which the Aeto competed and the second race in which six wooden boats participated.
In the wooden boats regatta - the Fetu o le Moana 1 from Manono took first place. Fetu o le Moana 2, also from Manono came in second, the Lupe o le Soaga from Magiagi came in third; Apia Little Rina finished in fourth, the Tama o le Lava slid into fifth, Punialava'a claimed sixth and the Ulalei came in the seventh place.
The waters were calm and the weather was beautiful as the first race, the international race, got off to a fair, punctual start.
The Segavao was racing in Lane 1, the Tamarina in Lane 2, the La o Samoa in Lane 3 and the Aeto in Lane 4.
Va'amua told Samoa News when the gun went off all the boats shot out of the starting line and the Aeto was keeping pace - their 'apefoe' starting with their usual long strokes, but waves caused by the patrol boats and media vessels caused the boat to rock.
The Aeto tried to overtake the La o Samoa which was in the inside lane and according to Va'amua, the La o samoa captain purposely steered their boat toward the Pago Pago sa causing the Aeto to be pushed toward the reef. The Aeto captain said it was cause for concern that the Aeto might be grounded.
It was also mentioned and witnessed by some of the media on the vessels that after doing so the La o Samoa captain was seen waving at the Segavao boat to go full speed.
Va'amua called out to the La o Samoa Captain to give way but he refused so the Aeto captain stopped his crew from rowing until the La o Samoa boat had moved ahead and he was able to move inward and started rowing, moving in on the Segavao as they overtook the La o Samoa.
After the Aeto moved in they started to row in earnest with their long strokes and gradually they caught up to the Segavao close to Mulinu'u.
As the Aeto approached the Apia Harbor, they started to overtake the Segavao, about 50 meters from the finish line when Va’amua saw that he was on a collision course with the Segavao.
The Aeto swerved left to avoid the Segavao and Vaemasenu'u swerved to the right to avoid the Aeto. Sadly, this move cost the Aeto precious moments - the seconds they needed to overtake the Segavao. The race finished with the Segavao 4 seats ahead of the Aeto.
Va'amua thanked his crew for their magnificent efforts in overcoming difficult obstacles to secure their second place finish.
In an interview with Va'amua, he told Samoa News about a special cabinet meeting called by Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi Sunday to finalize whether the race should start from the open ocean or within the lagoon.
Va'amua said it was very disappointing how the committee made so many changes regarding the starting point of the race.
He said when the Aeto and its crew arrived in Samoa it was decided that the international race, in which boats would utilize scoop oars would start from the open ocean.
The ocean was rough but the Aeto went out and started practicing from the open ocean. According to the Aeto crew, they practiced from the 'open ocean' route Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
According to Va'amua after a captains meeting held Saturday it was finalized that the race was to start from within lagoon where the waters are calm and Saturday was the only day they practiced from the race starting point within the lagoon.
"A decision was also made to shorten the Aeto's rudder to accommodate the shallow water of the reef. The original rudder was designed for deep waters and is part of the design of the boat so we had to alter the rudder for the shallow reef," said Va'amua. Later, a policeman was sent over to the Aeto camp to alert Va'amua of a special meeting called by the committee.
"We were told that the committee had decided to take the race back to the open ocean. That is when I made the decision to tell them that we had adjusted our rudder and removed the stabilizer that was on the bottom of the boat, and if they decided to take the race out to the open ocean again, then the Aeto will not participate in the race as it is now not safe for the Aeto to be out in deep waters," said Va'amua. He said he was not willing to put the safety of his crew at risk.
A decision was then made to call the Prime Minister for a decision who in turn called a special cabinet meeting to decide the final route of the race.
"We received a call at 8:30 Sunday night letting us know that the race will now be held in the lagoon," said Va'amua.
Va'amua was very confident that the Aeto had a good boat, and a very fit crew and said that the Aeto had come prepared.
"E momoli atu le fa'afetai i le tatou atunu'u, le faleagafulu fa'apea le motu sa, ua sauni le tatou sa, ua sauni le Aeto," said Va'amua. "Fa'afetai tele mo talosaga ma le tapuaiga."
When Samoa visited the Pasifika Inn where the Pago Pago Village and Aeto crew are staying, we found the village and crew in high spirits.
Source: Samoa News
Retired local soldier dies while training for civilian police on Marine base
Thursday May 13, 2010
By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com
A native of American Samoa, who deployed to Iraq in 2004, died Tuesday at the Marine Corps Base Hawai'i in Kane'ohe during physical training, the military says.
Tauveve Vivao, 42, of Waipahu was a civilian police officer with the Marine Corps Military Police Department and he collapsed while running on the track, according to a statement from the Marine Corps.
Two U.S. Navy corpsmen rendered aide before emergency medical services arrived. Vivao was transported to Castle Hospital and pronounced dead at 7:47 a.m, it says.
Born in American Samoa, Tauveve Vivao - whose roots are Atu'u and Manu'a - is a 1985 graduate of Marist Brothers High School in Atu'u. He went straight to the military out of high school, said his younger brother Talieselaine Vivao in a telephone interview from Honolulu yesterday.
"I will miss my brother dearly but I know he is in a better place sitting next to our father," said Talieselaine, whose father is deceased. He said his brother retired in 2007 after 22-years of service to the military.
Tauveve Vivao served in the U.S. Army before he retired and according to the Marine Corps, he was one of the first civilian officers that graduated from the base police academy in the fall of 2008.
"He was a great American who will be terribly missed. We will continue to provide comfort and support to the Vivao family," said Lt. Col. K.M. Jessup, the Marine Corps Base Hawai'i Provost Marshal.
Asked what he will miss about his brother, Talieselaine said "basically everything, especially with my own military career. All that I've learned in life as well as in the military was with the help and love of my brother."
During his tenure in the military, Tauveve Vivao was part of the U.S. military deployment for Desert Storm in the Middle East (between 1990 and 1991) and our Toa o Samoa was also deployed to Iraq in 2004, said Talieselaine, adding that the funeral service is pending.
A 2001 military newsletter shows that Sgt. Tauveve Vivao was the recipient of the Army Achievement Medal. His social information on Facebook shows that he holds a Masters of Political Science degree from Hawai'i Pacific University.
"Today I lost a great friend ... and a brother: Tauveve Vivao rest in peace my beloved friend," wrote his friend A J Toleafoa in a Facebook posting.
Samoa News extends our condolences to the grieving family.
Source: Samoa News
Manu'a lawmaker asks Governor to declare state of emergency; Basic supplies running low with no transportation in sight
Thursday April 15, 2010
By Fili Sagapolutele
fili@samoanews.com
Manu'a Rep. Fetu Fetui Jr., has called on Gov. Togiola Tulafono to declare that an "emergency" situation exists in the island group, where there are reports of lack of food supplies while air and ocean transportation has grounded to a halt.
Ta'u resident Ale Filoiali'i agreed, telling Samoa News "we are suffering" and the government should do something.
Sandra King-Young, whose husband is stranded on Ta'u island where he is doing work for a government project, says "there is no sense of urgency [by ASG] when it comes to Manu'a and their needs." (See King-Young's letter in today's issue)
Fetui's request was made to the governor's chief legal counsel Tasi Tuiteleleapaga during a House Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday.
The Manu'a faipule said yesterday that he has not received any feedback from the governor's office. However, he has received reports from Manu'a about the serious conditions residents of the island group are now facing.
Firstly, he said, there is no school lunch for Manu'a schools and even the stores don't have food items. Fetui said the last of the food items at the Manu'a stores were used by the schools.
Additionally, there are reports of no more gasoline and now it's understood that the school buses on Ta'u island are not running at all due to the lack of diesel fuel.
Ale Filoiali'i, the president of the Parents and Teachers Association for Manu'a High School and Faleasao Elementary School, said via telephone from Ta'u island that the situation is getting worse.
"We are suffering and continue to suffer," he told Samoa News. "There is no food for the school lunch. We lack supplies, including basic food supplies such as rice in the stores. Vehicles using gasoline are now just sitting at home, not driven due to the lack of gasoline."
Regarding the school buses, Filoiali'i said the two buses were originally down for mechanical repair so he used his car to transport students until the buses were finally fixed.
However, the buses were then out of diesel fuel and an alia sailed to Ofu Island to get fuel from one of the buses, there but that fuel is now almost finished, leaving no fuel for the buses, said Filoiali'i, adding that only private vehicles with diesel fuel are able to drive around "but that will not last long until we have a shipment."
He said the last time there was a sail to Manu'a was more than a month ago, and there has been no word from Tutuila as to when a charter vessel will sail to Manu'a.
Making the situation worse, said Filoai'i, is that there is no air service with the Segaula plane down and it been a week now without commercial service by Inter Island Airways.
Fetui agreed, saying that he is not only speaking about students being affected by this situation but all residents of Manu'a are unable to get even basic supplies.
King-Young said her husband and two staffers have been stranded on Ta'u since Sunday because Inter Island's plane is down due to mechanical reasons.
"I talked to my husband, who says that they are now fishing for food due to the lack of basic food supplies and other goods in the stores," she said.
She recalled a phone conversation with her husband, who stated that store shelves are empty with only a few cans of pisupo and other goods. "My husband has been fishing for food since Monday," said King-Young, who was clearly disappointed with the situation.
She contacted Port Administration deputy director Chris King for the status of ocean service to Manu'a. "But I was told by Chris that it's not their responsibility to take care of Inter Island Air's stranded passengers."
"They are missing the point. Manu'a is a special case and it's the government's responsibility to provide reliable service," she said.
"We have so much here [on Tutuila] that should be shared with Manu'a," she continued. "We can't treat people of Manu'a as second class. They deserve the same treatment as those of us here in Tutuila."
She said that Manu'a residents have been "denied basic necessities" and therefore "have been neglected" and it's the government's responsibility to care for them.
Fetui said he went to the governor's office Tuesday seeking a meeting with the Governor, who was not available, but was able to meet with Lt. Gov. Faoa A. Sunia with these concerns. His request for calling an "emergency" situation existing in Manu'a was relayed to Faoa.
Fetui said the Governor had recently vetoed a $160,000 appropriation bill saying that there were sufficient funds with the Department of Port Administration to cover charter costs, but the transportation problem still exits.
According to the Manu'a lawmaker, he has tried many times to speak with Port Administration deputy director Chris King but to no avail.
While the MV Sili is on dry dock, the other ASG boat which was originally purchased for Manu'a - the Fo'isia - is not operating. The boat was out of service last week due to a problem with the rudder, but it's not immediately clear if it has been fixed.
Filoiali'i said rumors that reached Manu'a indicated that the government was trying to get a charter with the Samoa government vessel Fotu-O-Samoa, but were unable to do so.
The Fotu-o-Samoa, which has been charted for Manu'a service in the past, went on the slipway at MYD Samoa on Monday and was released yesterday followed by test sails.
As of yesterday afternoon the ASG's MV Sili was still at the slipway at MYD Samoa.
Samoa government has established two commissions in the country, one to review Freedom of Religion and the other to look at the bestowment of matai titles.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Samoa's constitution calls for the freedom of religion, which is also a fundamental human right safeguarded under an International Convention already ratified by Samoa, according to a Samoa government statement over the weekend and reported earlier in the week by Samoa News.
However, freedom of religion has somehow posed a direct challenge to the autonomy of the village council. With most of the cases brought before the Court in the past, the Court has ruled in favor of the freedom of religion, with the authority of the indigenous Government found wanting, the statement said.
Furthermore, Christian authorities in Samoa have asked the government whether it is not time to review legislation pertaining to Freedom of Religion.
"Government is concerned that there are other religions yet to arrive in Samoa which strongly advocate beliefs that are contrary to Christianity," the statement said.
A U.S. State Department Human Rights report of 2009 says that a 2000 Supreme Court ruling in Samoa found that the village fono may not infringe on villagers� freedom of religion, speech, assembly or association.
The report, released last Thursday points out that the government of Samoa generally respects the people's freedom of religion and the Samoa constitution acknowledges an "independent state based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and tradition", but there is no official or state denomination.
"The law grants each person the right to change religion or belief and to worship or teach religion alone or with others but in practice the matai often choose the religious denomination of the extended family," it says.
According to the State Department�s International Religious Freedom Report 2009 released in October last year, villages traditionally tend to have one primary Christian church, but now many larger villages have multiple churches serving different denominations.
"However, some newer, non-traditional groups face resistance when attempting to establish a foothold in a given village," the federal report says.
National Council of Churches in Samoa general secretary Rev. Maauga Motu says the commission of inquiry is a good move to stop more religions from coming to the country as there are enough already.
"Part of the church is already fed up with this many religious beliefs coming into the country and disturbing or doing this moving of people around to religions, from one religion to anther," Motu said in an interview with Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) aired Tuesday (local time).
Motu says they don�t have a problem with the different religions already established in Samoa, like the Bahai and Muslim faiths, but they don't want any more allowed in.
According to the 2009 State Department report, a 2006 census revealed the following distribution of major religious groups: Congregational Christian, 33.6 percent; Roman Catholic, 19.4 percent; Methodist, 14.3 percent; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), 13.2 percent; Assemblies of God, 6.9 percent; and Seventh-day Adventist, 3.5 percent.
There are also other smaller religious faiths in the country, which is home to one of the world's seven Baha'i Houses of Worship, it says.
MATAI TITLES
According to the Samoa government, it has established a Commission of Inquiry to look into ways to monitor bestowment of matai titles and to uphold the dignity of the matai system.
While the matai system is the heart of the Samoan culture, the unlimited number of matai titles being bestowed has decreased the value of the titles, where in most cases a hundred to two hundred people are bestowed with the same paramount title in a single bestowal ceremony, said the government in a statement.
"This practice has now devalued the importance of the matai system, and has eaten into the core of 'Faasamoa'," it said.
The statement acknowledged that mass bestowment of matai titles was experienced in the past when Matai were the only ones given the right to vote during Elections. This was brought to an end when this right was extended to all Samoan citizens who have reached the age of twenty one.
Given its sensitivity, a Commission of Inquiry is being established to provide Government with quality advice on how best to legally settle this important matter, according to the statement.
The issue of many people being bestowed the same title has become a big issue of discussion by many who hold matai titles from Samoa and residing in American Samoa - with many of them not in agreement with the many people bestowed the same title.
According to the State Department�s 2009 Human Rights report, there are about 30,000 matai title holders in the country from which the candidates for parliament are drawn.
Although both men and women are permitted to become matai, only eight percent were women and matai controlled local government through the village fono which were open to them alone, the federal report says.
RNZI reporter Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia based in Apia says that in the past, no more than four important chiefly and oratory titles were given out at a time.
But now some families have many more and it's a concern of Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi because it looks like it's a commercial thing done for financial gain for those matais who are looking after families, Autagavaia is quoted by RNZI as saying.
How these two issues in Samoa will reflect and/or impact American Samoa remains unknown at this point, especially in light of the Con Con set to review the Territory's constitution in June-July, this year.
Am Samoa taxpayers receive more warnings: You are not entitled to EIC tax credit
By Fili Sagapolutele
fili@samoanews.com
Thursday March 18, 2010
The Tax Office and Gov. Togiola Tulafono have issued separate warnings to local taxpayers about filing their taxes off-island in order to claim a federal credit which American Samoa is not entitled to as new tax refunds were released yesterday totaling more than $1 million.
For more than a year now, the U.S. Internal Revenue Office's criminal division has been conducting an investigation into cases of local residents who were issued federal refund checks after they filed taxes off-island claiming the Earned Income Credit (EIC).
American Samoa is not entitled to the EIC.
Local officials last year issued warnings to tax payers regarding this practice as the IRS probe continues, but Tax Office Manager Melvin Joseph said he has been in contact with the IRS about locals still filing off-island and claiming the EIC.
"Tax payers who are filing off-island are committing fraud as they are not entitled to the EIC and they have been warned about it," said Joseph in a telephone interview. "I think there are people encouraging tax payers to continue this practice. I think there are tax preparers encouraging this practice so they can get money out of it."
"However, in the end, it's the tax payer, who signed the form that will be 100% liable to repaying this money back along with the penalty and interest and any other problems that comes along with committing fraud against the U.S. government," said Joseph.
On his weekend radio program, Gov. Togiola Tulafono said he has been informed about this problem and urged tax payers not to file taxes off-island because it's illegal and that all taxes for American Samoa are filled locally.
Togiola said he was informed by local officials that many local taxpayers are filing off-island and that getting the EIC will get you in trouble in the end. "American Samoa is not eligible for the earned income credit," he said.
Joseph reminded local tax payers about the most recent case, which occurred out of Guam last year where a federal court in Guam sentenced a tax preparer to serve up to 15 months in prison after helping more than 200 residents file tax returns that made it appear they lived in Hawaii so they could get federal refunds.
The taxpayers in Guam affected by this case, ended up having to pay back all the money they received, as well as penalties and fines.
"People might think they are able to get away with this practice now� but there will be a day of reckoning," said Joseph.
Samoa News understands that the IRS is currently closely monitoring the W-2 forms and if they are from American Samoa, they are returned back to the territory. The IRS has been able to determine that some tax payers are using U.S. addresses to file their tax returns in the U.S. and claiming the EIC.
Meanwhile, Joseph says the Treasury Department has released a little over $1.07 million in tax refunds for tax year 2009 and this covers those who filed up to January 27th.
The total refunds released included $330,462 for local; $616,050 for the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) and $132,986 for the Making Work Pay Credit (MWPC), said Joseph. ACTC and MWPC is funded by the U.S. government.
Over all, more than $4 million has been released in tax refunds, says Joseph, who noted that not everyone who filed by Jan. 27th got their refunds because there may be problems with the return.
On his radio program, Togiola acknowledged there are complaints about the delay in releasing tax refunds. However, he said the delay could be a number of things, such as no social security number on the return, the form is not signed, or there is missing information on income.
He asked tax payers to fully review their tax returns before they are turned in, to ensure all necessary information is provided for the government.