NEWSPAGE 26 May
2010

(Photo: Waikato District Health Board)

(Photo: Samoa Tourism Authority)

SAMOA: Samoa Tourism Authority Updates
Source: Samoa Tourism Authority Press Release

STA Ausiva Samoana (Dance Group) prepare for Expo 2010 Shanghai China

The STA Ausiva Samoana (Dance Group ‘Samoana’) is progressing well with its preparations for Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

The STA Ausiva continues to practice its group’s dance moves after its rehearsals, through its acceptance of increasing invitations to perform at local events and functions.

The dance group that will be representing Samoa at the Expo is made up of 8 males, 8 females, a six man band and Dance Coordinator, a combined total of 23 travelling members.

The group is expected to join Samoa’s representatives already in Shanghai, from the 19th July - 05th August 2010.

In the meantime, the Ausiva is responding to invitations to perform for the likes of the Independence Celebrations, the upcoming Martial Arts Display in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy, and the Opening of the 2010 Oceania Swimming Championships.

Its regular performances include entertainment as part of STA’s Meet and Greet activities for all visiting Cruise Ships.


Samoa to host 2010 Oceania Swimming Championships

Samoa is preparing to host the 2010 Oceania Swimming Championships, scheduled to take place from 21-26 June 2010.

Other Oceania Member countries expected to participate include American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Guam, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea as well as Samoa.

Associate countries which will be a part of the Championships include Hawaii and New Caledonia while Countries that are not attending will be Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana and Tahiti.


Samoa game fishing tournament ends successfully

The 2010 Samoa International Game Fishing Tournament has successfully come to an end.

Samoa came out the overall Champion but all who took part were winners in the Tournament.

The SIGFA are already taking registrations for next year’s tournament.


HK Golfer visits Samoa

HK Golfer visited Samoa’s shores last weekend, from 18-21 May 2010.

HK Golfer is the best selling golf and lifestyle magazine in southern China with over 150,000 readers and has been in publication since 2002.

HK Golfer CEO/Publisher, Charles McLaughlin accompanied feature writers John Bruce & Roy Kinnear.

The three gentlemen visited all of the golf courses in Samoa; Faleata Golf, Royal Samoa Golf Course at Fagalii and the Le Penina Golf Course near the Airport. They also hoped to visit the Sinalei Golf Course.

The writers came to experience what the golf is like on these grounds and will write feature articles for the magazine based on their experiences.

Photo Caption: Ausiva Samoana performing for the Pacific Sun Cruise Ship’s Arrival on Sunday 16th May 2010.
 

(Photos:  Australia-Pacific Technical College)

AUSTRALIA: APTC students volunteer help for Samoa Victims Support Group
Source:  Australia-Pacific Technical College

The Samoa Victims Support Group (SVSG) a not-for-profit Non Government Organisation set up to help children who have suffered from physical abuse, and have no family support, was "…overwhelmed by the APTC students' response to their request for assistance," said Michael Moller, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Trainer, at the APTC Samoa Campus.

"The Student Representatives had already expressed the students' wish to 'give something back to Samoa', and were looking for some volunteer work. So they were ready and willing to assist when SVSG approached APTC for help," continued Michael.

"SVSG has been given the use the old Court House building, to house their administration offices and client interview rooms," explained Michael. "A team of 43 APTC students, trainers and trainer partners turned out for a Volunteer Day, to refurbish the building."

Michael explained that the various trade groups supported the efforts within their trade areas, working within competencies that needed to be completed. "The Electrical students, with Trainer Leigh Roberts, carried out testing of the building to make sure that it is safe; Plumbing Trainer Bruce Weatherill and his students worked at fixing basins and toilets, while I worked with my Refrigeration team, relocating air conditioning units."

Michael said that other students from the Automotive and Carpentry courses, along with their trainers and trainer partners, helped on the day to clean and paint the space, and "…the Tourism and Hospitality students kindly donated a much appreciated lunch and cake."

"After a lucky draw of APTC T-shirt prizes, the students finished their Volunteer Day, saying they felt very positive about the project, and asking if they could come back the next weekend for more duties. Members of the SVSG expressed their gratitude and praised the work completed by the team," concluded Michael.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - APTC Country Manager, Julie Kean, cutting the cake made by Tourism and
Hospitality students.

Photo 2 - (L-R) Koata, (Automotive student), and Vishal, Sido, Tupou, Simon, Voctory, and Devendhran (Refrigeration students) helping with cleaning and painting at the Old Courthouse.
 

(Photo: Ink Architects)

HAWAII: Kamehameha project a boon
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

Kamehameha Schools' expansive $118.5 million redevelopment project at its main Kapalama campus will be a boon to Hawaii's struggling building industry.

The three-year project is the single largest in the history of the Kalihi campus. It is expected to generate up to 500 construction jobs, a Kamehameha spokesman said yesterday.

The Kapalama master plan includes revamping the middle school campus, dormitories and physical education and athletics complex, as well as building a long-envisioned Hawaiian cultural center and 500-stall parking structure connected to a pedestrian bridge to Kunuiakea stadium.

The campus has 3,200 students.

"This is an opportune time for them to capitalize on the downturn in the construction industry," said Mike Hamasu, director of consulting and research at Colliers Monroe Friedlander Inc.

Hawaii's total private building permits have declined 16 percent in value to $455 million in the first quarter of 2010 from $542 million in the same period a year earlier, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The state also lost 2,800 construction jobs over the previous year in April, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. There were 29,500 seasonally adjusted building jobs last month, down 8.7 percent from 32,300 the previous year.

"That's one of the sectors of the economy where we critically need help," said Honolulu economist Leroy Laney. "It'll take more than one project to kick-start the industry."

The middle school, which has 640 seventh- and eighth-grade students, will be almost entirely demolished, with the exception of the Keawe Gym and locker room, and replaced with five buildings totaling about 160,000 square feet. That project, which includes the middle school dormitories, begins in June and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

Classrooms will be clustered according to core curriculum courses: English, science, social studies and language, said Wendy Cook, project manager, in a statement.

"The most noticeable design feature that will enhance general learning spaces is that classes will have a maximum of three walls," she said. "All of the classrooms open into a common central area that increases flexibility."

Another part of the master plan is the building of a 30,000-square-foot athletics complex that will house the athletic and physical education departments, men's and women's locker rooms, a weight and fitness room, as well as classrooms and a training room.

The Ka'iwakiloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center, approved by Kamehameha's board of trustees in January 1994, will be the final piece of the campus makeover.

Measuring 22,000 square feet, the facility will mark a major milestone for the state's largest land trust, serving as a symbol of the school's commitment to revitalizing the Hawaiian culture, Kamehameha officials said.

The center was first envisioned in 1992 by former Kamehameha trustee Myron "Pinky" Thompson as a place where Hawaiians could learn and celebrate the culture, but the project was put on hold in lieu of expansion to the neighbor islands.

"It's been a matter of getting things lined up in priority as resources permitted," said Kamehameha spokesman Kekoa Paulsen.

In 1996 the school instead opened campuses on Maui and the Big Island, he said.

Nordic PCL is the general contractor on the project. Architects Hawaii Ltd. was contracted for the parking structure and physical education and athletics complex; INK Architects LLC, for the cultural center; and Mitsunaga & Associates Inc. for the middle school and dormitories. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

"This will certainly help with keeping people employed because many of the larger projects are done," said Karen Nakamura, chief executive officer of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. "You can count the number of projects on one hand, practically, and so we're really grateful that Kamehameha Schools has decided to go forward with this project. It's a good time for them, too, because the prices are coming in very competitive."

Photo Caption: The 22,000-square-foot Ka'iwakiloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center will be the final piece of the campus makeover.
 

USA: McConnell Dowell awarded contract for road pavement & shore protection
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega announced recently that the Department of the Army has awarded McConnell Dowell Limited American Samoa a contract for $6,646,892 through the American Samoa Government for the road pavement and shoreline protection construction on Ta’u. This funding is provided by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation for the repair and restructuring of the main road on Ta’u after the devastation caused by both Cyclone Heta and Cyclone Olaf. The design and construction of the project is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Honolulu. It is scheduled to be completed by November 2011.

“This construction project is critical for the residents of Ta’u given the high priority of safety and access for transportation and commerce,” said Faleomavaega. “Such transportation projects are critical for our Territory while we are recovering from a dire economic crisis. It will provide more jobs and help the local economies, and in this case, for Ta’u and Fitiuta.”

“I am hopeful that after all damage assessments in the aftermath of the tragic tsunami in September 2009 that the U.S. Department of Transportation will continue to provide for the repair and reconstruction of our local infrastructure. I will continue to work diligently with my good friend, Secretary LaHood, to ensure that the needs of our people are met.”

“I want to thank Mr. Punaofo Tilei, the Director of Public Works, and the Governor for their efforts. Also, I want to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their continued support of our local needs. I, especially, want to thank my good friends and former colleagues, Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, and Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, for their assistance in improving the lives of our people in American Samoa,” concluded Faleomavaega.
 

(Photo: International Union for Conservation of Nature)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific Resource and Environmental Economics Network gets new logo
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature Press Release

The recently established PREEN (Pacific Resource and Environmental Economics Network) unveiled its logo today at a prize giving ceremony hosted by the IUCN in Suva. The logo depicts land, sea, fish, turtles and mangroves. Also included in the logo is a scene of traditional fishers at work.

“The logo is intended to illustrate examples of resources that communities across the Pacific rely on for their well being” said Taholo Kami, Regional Director of IUCN Oceania which cofounded the PREEN along with SOPAC and the SPC. “The fishers emphasise that people’s decisions and actions are at the core of the natural resource and environmental issues we face. The effective management of these kinds of issues is then critical to supporting and sustaining livelihoods in the region. The PREEN members will provide key analytical inputs to support sustainable use and management decisions”

Designer of the logo, Sailesh Kumar Sen, explained that his logo was not only inspired by the people and resources in the Pacific but also economics work itself. “The dotted line at the bottom of the logo represents both the graphs that economists usually use as well as the network of economists working together with scientists and communities” he said.

Dr Russell Howorth, Director of SOPAC, congratulated Sailesh on the logo, noting that “the logo presents the face of environmental and resource economics in the region”. Dr Howorth reiterated the importance of the PREEN as a forum for environmental and resource economics practitioners, and others interested in the use of economics to exchange information, ideas and experiences for mutual learning and professional development.

The PREEN was established in 2009 and has over 30 members spanning 18 organisations including 5 Regional Organisations and 10 countries.

Photo Caption: Regional Director for IUCN Oceania, Taholo Kami; Sailesh Kumar, winner of the logo competition and Dr Russel Howorth, SOPAC Director at the unveiling of the PREEN logo.