Tidbits

- Justice Larry Miller, the lone American on the Supreme Court, has announced his resignation from the Court in early October. Justice Miller joined the Court in 1993 and is greatly respected in the legal community and by Palauans. He is returning to New York to work with his brother and to be closer to his mother and teenage boys. He will be greatly missed as a jurist and member of the community. For most court counsel, he was the go to guy for a wide range of questions and I have often turned to him for advice or guidance in my case work. I'm lucky to have had him here and that he won't be leaving until just after I am finished. The timing is not so good for the next group of court counsels who will have only three justices when they begin their tenure. The Court is interested in hiring another American as his replacement and I am currently involved in the job search.

- The long awaited replacement of the main road through Koror is set to begin in early September. The road has been steadily deteriorating since my arrival and now it is a moonscape of ruts and potholes. While a new road is sorely needed, the construction will be a headache because there is only one road and it will have to be used while it is torn apart. In the long run it will be good for the country, especially since they convinced Japan to pay for it.

- More comings and goings. Dave Kregenow and the boys leave Palau next weekend to return back home to Seattle. They've been packing and organized a short trip through Japan on their way home. LB leaves a week later at the end of August. Nobody at the Court is prepared for her departure because she is nearly running the place these days. Her replacement Erin and her husband Ben arrive next weekend and we'll begin showing them around Palau. How time flies.