Angelo Villagomez
Jonathan Okamura: There May Be No ‘Black Jobs,’ But What About Micronesian Jobs?
While we need to move beyond notions of racialized occupations, it’s even more important to welcome COFA residents into the job market.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023
FEMA To Reopen Disaster Response Program To Include COFA Citizens
The action comes following requests from Hawaii’s congressional delegation.
US Army Corps of Engineers/2023
Hawaii Delegates Urge FEMA To Include COFA Citizens In Wildfire Aid
The action follows the recent passage of renegotiated Compacts of Free Association included in a federal spending package.
Chad Blair/Civil Beat
Congress Restores Federal Benefits To COFA Migrants As Part Of $7.1 Billion Aid Deal
Migrants from Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia lost access to numerous federal assistance programs in the 1990s under Clinton-era welfare reforms.
Feds Failed To Track Millions Of Dollars In Misspent COFA Grants
A new audit from the Government Accountability Office raises questions about whether federal agencies have been doing their jobs to hold Micronesian grantees accountable.
US, Marshall Islands Renew COFA Treaty For Another 20 Years
The multi-part agreements still need approval from Congress and the RMI parliament.
Nick Grube/Civil Beat/2023
Congress Should Have New COFA Treaties Soon. Now They Just Need To Be Ratified
The U.S. special envoy working on the treaties laid out a bit of what is in the agreements, which are key to the U.S. strategy in the Pacific.
Courtesy: Greg Webb/IAEA
Japan Delays Dump Of Fukushima Wastewater. But For How Long?
The decision coincides with construction setbacks that would have postponed any discharge into the Pacific Ocean until spring or summer at the earliest.
Courtesy: U.S. Department of the Interior
Marshall Islands Could Receive Billions Under Renegotiated US Treaty
Congress will need to approve the funding for three Pacific island nations that are part of critical security treaties.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2020
Why Hawaii’s Language Access Office Is Having Trouble ‘Fulfilling Its Mission’
The state auditor says OLA “remains a partially formed organization” some 16 years after its establishment. Advocates say that’s keeping non-English speakers from getting much-needed services.