CAMI CNMI

There will be a CAMI CNMI meeting tonight at the BenCam Building in Garapan at 6 PM. Contact Jeanne Rayphand at jeanneesq@yahoo.com for more information.

Sugar Dock Group

Sugar Dock Group Cleanup Leaders: (left to right) Joe Cabrera, Ben Barcinas and Max Aguon at Sugar Dock before a cleanup.

Last week a number of the Sugar Dock Group members cleaned the entire area from Sugar Dock to Aquarius Beach Tower Hotel. According to Aquarius Beach Tower Hotel manager, Will Hunter, it looked fantastic after they were done.

According to Hunter, Max Aguon is out on the beach almost daily cleaning the area. Hunter provides them with bags and drinks.

This is a great example of businesses and the community working together. I hope to see more of this in the coming months.

FOUND DOG

Are you missing someone?

This long-haired wonder was found near Java Joe's in DanDan. If you or someone you is missing a dog, please contact Katie at 286-0970 or busenkell@gmail.com.

CAP - Conservation Action Planning

Angelo wrote an artical about this program today in the Saipan Tribune here.
Who's at the table. DFW, CRM, DEQ, NOAA, John Gonzales, Marians Dive, The Zoning department, The Nature Conservancy and RC&D.
That's Vanna Fran looking for a vowel!

As Angelo has pointed out, thankfully, the Coral Reef Initiative Policy Committee has chosen Laulau Bay as the highest priority conservation site on Saipan. This is a huge undertaking. Planning (and some action) has been going on for this site at various times in the 5 plus years I've called Saipan home. Unfortunately, there has been little success or movement in the right direction.

BCNMI and RC&D have done re-vegetation projects in the highlands aimed at reducing run off and sediment on the reef below. The bottom line is this project will take a lot of money, effort and creative solutions to solve the problems that exist. The overall importance of the Bay to everyone can not be overstated. For divers, fisherman, tourists, local medicinal products and endangered species (among others) the successful implementation of a solid plan is essential for survival. It's that simple! The plan and getting it done is not so simple.

A working mission / vision
Lau Lau Bay provides unique cultural, historical and environmental benefits and values: therefore, we pledge to restore and sustain its aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and resources above and below the waves

After the first morning alone I am very happy that I've attended this working group. Without a divers perspective this process would be much more difficult to get it right. At least that's how this diver sees it. Lau Lau Bay to the dive industry here is very important and the dive industry provides one of the biggest revenues to the tourism industry the current economic engine. Having said that it is also a very important fishing and traditional cultural area so balance is the key. That's why this must be a group effort that brings together ideas and efforts from everyone.

It has been a fun morning working and listening to others who are devoted, for one reason or another, to the success of Lau Lau Bay.

For a taste of what Lau Lau offers underwater check out this and this video!

Help Whispering Palms Make Saipan a Better Place!

UPDATE: Whispering Palms raised over $700.00 at their garage sale this weekend. All proceeds will go towards spaying and neutering the schools numerous stray cats.

PAWS and Beautify CNMI! would like to commend the students and teachers of Whispering Palms for acting responsibly and compassionate - and doing the right thing! Thank you for working so hard to give these animals a better life.

If you are interested in helping Whispering Palms, or adopting one of these cats, please contact PAWS at 286-0970.

Whispering Palms School (Navy Hill) is seeking your help in making Saipan a better place!

Over the last few months, the teachers and students of Whispering Palms have worked hard to raise money to spay and neuter 3 stray cats. The school would now like to spay or neuter the remaining cats and find homes for the kittens that are soon to be born.

Middle School Student President Crosby Kaid Schultz said:

"It has been hard keeping up though because the cats are adopting us and they just keep coming and to top it all off one of our cats named Ginger, got sick and her hair is falling out. We need help so we are having a garage sale at our school on January 19th this Saturday from 8-12. At our garage sale we will have everything from furniture to bikes to toys. We will have almost everything you can imagine. So please Saipan help us make our community the best it can be."

The teachers and students of Whispering Palms are to be commended for acting responsibility and compassinately towards animals, and for working so hard to make Saipan a better place.

So, please join Whispering Palms this Saturday for their garage sale. Alternatively, make a donation to the school for this very worthy cause and lesson!

For more information, contact Brenda Schultz at brendaschultz70@yahoo.com.

Korean Restaurant Rescue - WOW is she Lucky!

Are you a responsible home looking for a new addition to the family? Well, meet our friend here, Lucky (as we here at PAWS like to call her).

In Mid-December, a woman reported seeing a Korean restaurant owner pay $20.00 for a dog. She said she witnessed this man purchase numerous dogs in the same manner. She also reported having heard dog cries from the restaurant, where she believed the dogs were being killed for their meat.

Disturbed by what the woman was saying, a man heroically entered the restaurant and marched straight back to the kitchen, where he found Lucky tied to a kitchen table, cowering over a drain in the floor.

The rescuer called DPS, but DPS said there was nothing they could do. The rescuer then called DPH, who came out to the scene, confiscated some chopped up bones, and took the dog. The dog was then transported to Paradise Island Animal Hospital, where she remains today - waiting for someone to foster her or permanently adopt her.

Over the last few weeks, PIAH has worked with this dog to socialize her with other animals and humans. Yesterday, January 15th, Lucky was spayed. She has received all of her shots and is ready to be adopted by a responsible and loving home.

If you have room in your heart for Lucky, please contact Paradise Island Animal Hospital at 234-9669. Alternatively, you may contact Katie at 286-0970 or busenkell@gmail.com.

Meeting Reminders

There will be a Beautify CNMI General meeting tonight at 7 PM at Cafe in the Park in Garapan.

There will be an Beautify CNMI Chair meeting tonight at 5:30 at Abyss in Garapan.

See you there.

Angelo

Leaving Island-Last Clean Up and Party!!!

The Reynolds Family is leaving January 16th to go back to Washington State.

They are hosting a cleanup at the Lighthouse and going away bbq after on January 13th. We'll start cleaning up around 3 p.m. and will watch the sunset from one of the most spectacular locations on island. We'll need chairs, tables, coolers, food to share, a grill to cook on, candles, and flashlights.

Email Bree at bree.reynolds@gmail.com if you can bring chairs, a couple of tables, a cooler, or a grill.

Imagine the New Garapan

The Garapan Tourist District should be the premier real estate in Saipan. Sandwiched between the Saipan Lagoon and a National Park, with easy walking access to several hotels, an elementary school, health clubs, restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and a three mile long walking path fronting the ocean, it should be the perfect place to raise a family.

But it’s not.

It’s the manky armpit of our once beautiful island.

In his weekly column in the Saipan Tribune, Bruce Bateman recently recounted a conversation we had concerning Garapan. We were discussing ways to make Garapan more palatable for families and tourists alike and I offered three simple solutions that would lead to a "new" Garapan. I suggested that we move prostitution out of Garapan, move several government offices into Garapan, and entice young professionals to make Garapan their residence.

I’d say close your eyes and try to imagine my vision, but then you’d have a really hard time reading this...but imagine what living in Garapan could be like:

Imagine if you are a young professional with a small one- or two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of one of the buildings in the "new" Garapan. You share it with your husband and your daughter.

You could wake up first thing in the morning and go for a six-mile run along the Saipan Bike path, then jog over to Club Elan for some weightlifting or yoga.

Fresh from a shower at the spa, you walk over to one of the Chinese restaurants and have breakfast for $4.

You walk back to the apartment to help your husband get your daughter ready for school. Your daughter is pretty good in the morning and can get herself ready; it’s your husband who really needs the help getting out the door.

Your daughter likes you to walk her to school, which is right across the street, so you take her over, kiss her goodbye, wish her luck on her test, and then go to work.

You work at MVA, which along with the Saipan Mayor’s office and several other government entities are now located in Garapan. Instead of driving, you walk over to work, strolling through the brand new Visitor’s Center on your way to your desk.

Around noon one of your coworkers asks if you want Japanese, Korean or Thai for lunch. You respond with, "How about Italian?" Your husband, who works for the Mayor, walks over to meet you.

When your daughter gets out of school, you are able to take a 15-minute break to pick her up. You take her home, then she goes out to play with her friends. They ride bikes through the National Park and then go swimming.

After work, some of your coworkers want to go for some happy hour drinks, but you promised your daughter you’d take her to the Thursday street market.

Alright, open your eyes.

In my vision, almost everything except for the government offices being located in Garapan is already true. It already exists. We can do this. If we can move the prostitution out, move several government offices including MVA in, and get young professionals to live here, we can save Garapan.

Beautify CNMI has done a lot of work in the last two years to clean up Garapan, with our biggest support coming from Rep. Waki, Rep. Kaipat, Friends of the Mariana Islands, Kinpachi Restaurant, Hyatt, and Fiesta Resort. There is still a lot of work to be done, so if you are interested in helping, please attend 2008’s first Beautify CNMI meeting. We meet on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008, at 7pm at Cafe at the Park in Garapan.

I hope to see you there.

Angelo Villagomez
Executive Director
MINA