NRC staff recommends approval of Andrews nuclear waste site

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released its final environmental impact statement this week for a proposed nuclear waste site in Andrews County, and with it, NRC staff recommended that the commission grant a license to the company seeking to store high-level nuclear waste.

Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists and Orano CIS, applied for a license in 2016 to store 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel for 40 years, until the federal government constructs a permanent repository. ISP officials have said they intend to expand the facility to hold 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel after initial approval.

“After considering the environmental impacts of the proposed action, the NRC staff recommend granting the proposed license,” a spokesperson for the NRC said in a press release.

In a copy of the final environmental impact statement, NRC staff said their recommendation came after weighing the impacts of the proposed site and comparing those impacts to the “No-Action alternative.”

Read more: https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/NRC-staff-recommend-approval-of-Andrews-nuclear-16353499.php
(Midland Reporter-Telegram)

Former Walker County EMS Director arrested on charges of fraud, abuse of official capacity

The former Walker County EMS director has been booked into the Walker County Jail on two felonies.

Jail records show that John Nabors, 51, was booked into the jail on Friday with charges of fraud with intent to obtain a controlled substance and abuse of official capacity between $2,500 and $30,000.

A bond has not been set on the charges.

Nabors retired from his position as EMS director in April 2021.

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This is a developing story. More information will be released when it becomes available.

https://www.itemonline.com/news/former-ems-director-arrested-on-charges-of-fraud-abuse-of-official-capacity/article_88d3c176-f222-11eb-93e5-7b43da3977c4.html
(Huntsville Item)

March for Democracy rally in Austin - YouTube cxoverage

March for Democracy rally in Austin

Vice Principal Fired For Affair On Campus Accuses Her Union Of Failing To Defend Her

The Hawaii Labor Relations Board this week will consider a case involving a public elementary school principal and vice principal who were fired in 2018 after they were accused of having sexual relations on campus during an extramarital affair.

Erin Kusumoto, the former vice principal of Pearl City Highlands Elementary School, filed a prohibited practice complaint against the Hawaii Government Employees Association last year after the union refused to take her case to arbitration to fight her firing.

She is also separately challenging the actions of state Superintendent of Schools Christina Kishimoto in the firing because Kusumoto contends she was terminated without proper cause, and was punished too severely.

Kishimoto wrote in Kusumoto’s termination letter that a 2018 investigation found that “there is sufficient evidence to conclude that VP Kusumoto inappropriately engaged in conduct of a sexual nature and/or sexual relations with Principal Nakasato on the PCHES campus before, during and after work hours.”

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/07/vice-principal-who-had-affair-on-campus-accuses-her-union-of-failing-to-defend-her/

Ige Warns New Restrictions May Be Needed As COVID Cases Spike

As Hawaii reported a record number of COVID-19 cases, Gov. David Ige called it an “alarming” reminder that the pandemic is not over and warned the state may need to consider reimposing restrictions if hospitals become overwhelmed.

On Friday, the state announced its highest daily number of infections — 622 — since the pandemic began last year. Officials stressed that number included a backlog of cases due to lab reporting delays earlier this week.

However, even with the previous undercounts, Hawaii had an average daily case count of more than 300 over the last three days and a seven-day positivity rate of 5.1%, Department of Health director Dr. Libby Char said in a joint press conference with Ige.

“The trend is clearly increasing versus what it was a week ago, or two weeks ago, and that’s really what we’re most concerned about,” she said, adding that 25% of the recent cases were children.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/07/ige-warns-new-restrictions-may-be-needed-as-covid-cases-spike/

CNMI 'lawmaker's remark uncalled for, very disturbing'

Commonwealth Casino Commission board chair Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero described as “disturbing and uncalled for” a lawmaker’s statement about “dynamiting” Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC’s casino/resort during a recent House Gaming Committee meeting.

In talking about the House Gaming Committee’s meeting last week during the CCC board’s monthly meeting yesterday, DeLeon Guerrero said some of the statements some CNMI’s policymakers gave at the meeting were “very disturbing” and uncalled for.

In reference to the role the CCC plays, DeLeon Guerrero said he heard a lawmaker demanding why the CCC doesn’t immediately terminate IPI’s casino license. “I heard statements about burning down facilities, smithereens,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

Commissioner Mariano Taitano said the word used by one House lawmaker was “dynamiting.”

Deleon Guerrero said those statements are uncalled for and not expected of policymakers.

Read more: https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/lawmakers-remark-uncalled-for-very-disturbing/

Proposed resort would be Guam's tallest building

The Taiwanese developers of the Honhui Guam Resort, which is at the site of the former Royal Palm Hotel in Tumon, plan to build the tallest building on island, with 913 hotel rooms, according to project architect Brent Wiese.

Wiese, senior vice president and principal architect with RIM Architects, provided the first public details about the massive hotel and condominium project during Thursday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Guam. Rotarians met at Three Squares restaurant in Tamuning.

As currently designed, the resort building will have two connected towers, built close to the shoreline near Matapang Beach, with a new waterpark on the south side of the building, according to Wiese.

The taller north tower will have 37 floors and stand 492 feet high, according to Wiese. The south tower will have 31 floors and stand 420 feet high.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/money/proposed-resort-would-be-guams-tallest-building/article_221f09fc-f02b-11eb-a56d-837f3172909f.html


Architect Brent Wiese, senior vice president for RIM Architects, provides details about the Honhui Guam Resort project Thursday at the meeting of the Rotary Club of Guam, in Tamuning.
Steve Limtiaco/PDN

Guam hits 80% vaccination rate goal

Operation Liberate Guam reached its goal of immunizing 80% of Guam’s adult population.

A t 2:50 p.m. Thursday, the last of 139 vaccines needed to reach the goal was administered.

To date, 96,066 of Guam’s population over the age of 18 have received either both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single dose series Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Acting Gov. Joshua Tenorio joined Department of Public Health and Social Services Director Art San Agustin and members of the Guam National Guard at the University of Guam Field House vaccination clinic to certify the achievement.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/news/guam-hits-80-vaccination-rate-goal/article_c99a1716-f03b-11eb-8c1d-bf2120111cf0.html

Residents of Pagan evacuated, CNMI monitoring volcanic activity

Fourteen residents of the CNMI island of Pagan had been evacuated as a result of volcanic activity and were on their way to safety, Northern Marianas Gov. Ralph DLG Torres announced on NewsTalk K-57 on Friday morning.

The precautionary measure began on Thursday night.

“Under the advisement of (Homeland Security and Emergency Management) and our federal partners close to the situation, we are sending out a (Department of Public Safety) boating team to Pagan to safely evacuate the residents on the island as we continue to monitor volcanic activity in our region,” Torres stated in a release sent at 6:29 p.m. on Thursday.

Two CNMI Department of Public Safety boats were deployed to Pagan to conduct the evacuation of the 14 residents, a release sent at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday stated.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/news/residents-of-pagan-evacuated-cnmi-monitoring-volcanic-activity/article_77397a38-f0c3-11eb-889d-7388e93181b8.html