REMINDER: Regular Monthly Meeting June 10th

Please be reminded that the monthly meeting is scheduled for this Thursday!

When: June 10th, Thursday
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Century Insurance Conference Room
JP Bldg, Beach Road

JP Center is the building where Saipan Tribune, Century Insurance (CIC), Century Travel are holding office. The CIC conference room is at the Ground floor. For directions, call at 234-0609 Ext 101 (Lina) or Ext 115 (Eli)

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to Tan Holdings for donating their conference room space for monthly meetings. PLEASE NOTE that all monthly meetings will be held at the CIC conference room until further notice.

Have a question or need more info - contact Laurie Peterka at 483-7499.

Everyone is welcome --- please feel free
to join us if you can.

REMINDER: Regular Monthly Meeting May 13th

Please be reminded that the monthly meeting is scheduled for this Thursday,

When: May 13th, Thursday
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Century Insurance Conference Room

JP Bldg, Beach Road

JP Center is the building where Saipan Tribune, Century Insurance (CIC), Century Travel are holding office. The CIC conference room is at the Ground floor. For directions, call at 234-0609 Ext 101 (Lina) or Ext 115 (Eli)

Corporate participation is available in many, many ways. For example, donating a meeting space for any of our committee meetings or our reular monthly meetings. Coalition members appreciate having quiet place to get together to work on projects.

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to Century Insurance for donating the conference for two Beautify CNMI! meetings this week!

Have a question or need more info - contact Laurie Peterka at 483-7499.

Everyone is welcome --- please feel free

to join us if you can.

SAVE THE DATE! for the Awadori Festival April 15th

Enjoy the festivities and cultural exchange at the Paseo de Marianas April 15th!

There are 25 members from the Tokyo Tensuiren group from Koenji Japan and the 50 children members of the Saipan Awaodori Team ages 6 to 16 years old.

Click on photo below to see the performance schedule.

P.A.W.S. Requests Your Help

Your help is needed in distributing REWARD posters around the island.


We are asking all of our members to print at least five (5) copies of the REWARD poster that is available as a download on our website at www.paws-saipan.org. We are asking that you distribute these fliers in your neighborhood and Garapan, where the violent act took place.


Also, a clarification needs to be made regarding the article which appeared in the Saipan Tribune Wednesday, January 27, 2010, about the PAWS reward for information leading to the apprehension of the individual or individuals responsible for the gruesome beheading of a cat in Garapan on or about January 24, 2010.


Since NMI Crime Stoppers has agreed to assist in obtaining information on this terrible act, PAWS has agreed to step aside until such time an apprehension has been made.


The $400 reward PAWS is offering is on top of any award given anonymously by Crime Stoppers, if a call leads to the identification and arrest of the person or persons who committed this act.


Any and all information regarding this act should directed to NMI Crime Stoppers at 234-7272 or https://nmicrimestoppers.com/tippost.asp.

PDM Promoters Cleanup Garapan

Volunteers from Paseo de Marianas Promoters got up early on Sunday morning for their monthly cleanup of the Garapan Tourist District. They have cleaned important area of Saipan every single month since October 2006.

Thank you for all your hard work! It is much appreciated!

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

Quoted by Bruce Bateman

From the Saipan Tribune:

Revitalization

While eating something-on-a-stick at the Thursday Street Market, I ran into Angelo Villagomez. As we sat and discussed how to save the world, the conversation came around to oldtown Garapan revitalization. Angelo espoused a couple of ideas that made a lot of sense to me and I will pass them on to you for your edification. (Notice how I deftly laid it off on Angelo in case you think the idea is wacky).

He believes that to make the place better, jobs, like government agencies, and other office type private job generating businesses need to move into the Garapan downtown area. Tourists would like to participate in a “real” local experience, not just a tourist sham experience put up for their benefit. Tourists want to meld into an already existing unique cultural enclave a la San Francisco.cable cars, rice-a-roni, wharf, Nob Hill, China Town etc. Tourists come to see the local ambiance in a location, not to create it.

Also needed are people to move their residences into this area, real working folks, living there full time. Angelo has already moved in there for whatever nefarious reasons (kidding) and would like to see others do the same. Real residents walking the streets (no, not street walkers), using the business facilities and adding foot traffic to a sometimes barren area will make it a pleasant and comfortable feeling place to go.

He has a good point on both counts, if you ask me. So MVA, find yourselves a new or now empty building somewhere in Garapan and move on in.

Goings on

Hafa Adai,

PTI has generously donated a cellphone to MINA to help us with the coordination of Beautify CNMI. They are also donating DSL to help us with our day to day operations.

The new Beautify CNMI volunteer line is 285-MINA (6462). Please save that number!

Thank you PTI!

We've got a few non-volunteer events going on this weekend. I hope you can make it!

Friday (today)

The USS Germantown is in town with 700 sailors and marines. On Friday morning, 100 marines are going to be paired up with 100 elementary students from Garapan Elementary for a cleanup of the Garapan Tourist District set to begin at 9:30 AM. We are going to meet at the AMP Parking lot. Everyone is invited to participate, but it would be great if we could get people from MVA, Fiesta, Hyatt, and PDM Promoters to attend. This is already going to be a huge event. Let's make it even bigger.

I'll have garbage bags and gloves for everyone. I'm going to provide water, unless someone wants to donate some (hint, hint). The soldiers are going to bring lunch.

People who attend the Friday cleanup will be invited for a special tour of the USS Germantown on Saturday morning. After the tour we'll have lunch in the ship's messhall. They're not giving open tours to the public, so this may be your only chance to see the ship!

Saturday

Everyone who attended the cleanup of Garapan on Friday will be invited to a tour of the USS Germantown. I'll give out the details at the cleanup on Friday, but the tour will be on Saturday morning.

DEQ also has their monthly cleanup brigade event. This month they will be cleaning Tank Beach. Meet them at Tank Beach in Kagman at 8 AM. Contact Reina Camacho at DEQ for more info, 664-8500.

Sunday

We've got a handful of Flame Trees left to plant. Thank you to everyone who has adopted one so far. I haven't compiled the numbers (because some were planted while I was gone) and I haven't printed up the certificates, but I know we've planted over 150 Flame Trees this year.

We are going to replace some of the Flame Trees on Beach Road. We're meeting across the street from Naked Fish at 8 AM. If you don't see us, just look for the people with trees and shovels.

Also, kudos to Parks & Recration for putting bush cutter guards around the young trees planted over the last year and a half! Thank you!

If you have any questions, please contact me at 285-MINA (6462)

Have a great weekend,

Angelo

Allow me to give you an update

Beautify CNMI! continues to be as busy as ever, even if I don't have time to update every single one of our activities on this blog. We continue to have our weekly cleanups on Sunday mornings and sometimes on Saturday mornings; we have started planting trees, so far we have planted 115 Coconuts and 13 Flame Trees; we held a Summer Camp for 15 students; continue to support the Family Fun Night in Koblerville every Friday; cleaned up the lighthouse; had a public meeting concerning turtle conservation; and continue to look for ways to improve the welfare of our pets through proper pet care and veterinary services.

The Fourth of July was a day on, not a day off. About 20 volunteers met up at the Navy Hill Lighthouse for a cleanup.

Then over the weekend we had several cleanups.

On Saturday, Friends of the Mariana Islands led a cleanup of the Garapan Tourist District while DEQ led a cleanup of Pau Pau Beach.

On Sunday, Friends of the Mariana Islands also led a cleanup of Isa Drive, from Java Joe's all the way up to the Botanical Gardens.

We also managed to have some fun this weekend. A group of Beautify CNMI volunteers went night snorkeling in the hopes of seeing the annual coral spawning. We also had a BBQ on July 4th up at the Lighthouse and a goodbye BBQ for Steve and Miwa Nguyen on Sunday.

Shirley's Again!

Shirley's Coffee Shop has a monthly cleanup of the beach in Susupe.

They have also donated $100 towards the purchase of a trash trailer, adopted 3 Flame Trees to be planted this rainy season, and they are corporate members of MINA, the fiscal agent and a proud partner of Beautify CNMI!

On Thursday I found out that they also were Beautify CNMI! shirts at the street market. How cool is that?

Thanks, Shirley's!

Garapan Revitilization Cleanup

The Garapan Revitalizers were on the front page of the Saipan Tribune today. This collaboration is a private sector led effort meant to cleanup the Garapan Tourist District. Here are some pictures from their March 3 Cleanup:

The first three pictures are of employees of Tan Holdings Corp., Hyatt Regency Saipan and staffers of Rep. Waki's Office. They removed 6,400 lbs of litter and debris in a single day.

The second three pictures are of a new Japanese corporation just established in Saipan that is going to assist in these type of cleanup projects. The company is called MARIANA BLUE CORPORATION. In the photo are four members of the corporation.

F.O.R.C.E.

Be there!

Just another weekend

With the sheer volume of Beautify CNMI! activities going on every week, it is getting cumbersome keeping up with this website by myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the new Beautify CNMI! contributors Cinta, Bree, Bev, Walt, and Steve for helping me post pictures and tell our stories.

Event #1:

Cinta has already published a post detailing Saturday's cleanup of Koblerville. Her office and the Board of Parole were at it again. Great work!

Event #2:

Friends of the Mariana Islands (website coming soon!) also hosted a cleanup on Saturday. They removed 3000 lbs of litter from Isa Drive between the Botanical Gardens and San Vicente Elementary School. Holy cow! Thank you!

Event #3:

Also on Saturday, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance hosted their monthly cleanup of Wing Beach. The 15 volunteers from MINA, ISA CNMI, and Ecosaipan scoured the beach for tiny bits of plastic and glass littering the beach.

Some of the volunteers found a rusted out engine on the beach. It was much too heavy to move, so we left it where we found it. Here are a few more pictures:

The MINA adoption of Wing Beach has been the shining star of the Beautify CNMI Adopt-a-Spot program. Not only is MINA picking up trash every other month, but they are also paying for regular trash pickup at the beach, planting native tree species, keeping the grass along the road cut, and removing invasion vines (while under the supervision of CNMI Forestry, of course).

In the span of less than a year, MINA has turned Wing Beach into the cleanest beach in Micronesia (feel free to use that MVA). Thank you MINA for coordinating this great cleanup, ISA CNMI and Ecosaipan for providing volunteers (and for promoting our activities on your Japanese language websites), and special thanks to Brad Doerr for hauling our trash.

Event #4:

Beautify CNMI! made it to the shores of Tinian over the weekend! PSS and NMC teacher Bree Reynolds led a group of Tinian NMC students on their first beach cleanup. She reported on her weekend activities on this post. Thank you Bree and thank you NMC students!

Event #5:

Friends of the Mariana Islands hosted their fifth consecutive cleanup of Laulau Beach on Sunday. They had volunteers from Rep. Kaipat's Office and the SDA Dental Clinic. They removed 580 lbs of beach litter. Thank you, Everybody!

Event #6:

Department of Public Safety Crime Prevention Unit led some of their Law Enforement Explorer Program and Junior Police Officer students on a cleanup of Coral Ocean Point Beach. I was supposed to participate in this cleanup, but I missed it because they changed the time without telling me! The kids wanted to go swimming in the afternoon, so they did the cleanup in the morning! As I drove up, they were already loading the pickup truck with bags and bags of garbage. Thank you to the officers, the students, and their teachers from Hopwood JHS and Koblerville ES.

Event #7:

On Sunday morning, Mike Tripp and several divers participated in a cleanup of the water surrounding the Garapan Fishing Base. This was the least favorite thing I have done since I moved to Saipan in April. The water over there is NASTY. Garbage has been piling up there since WWII. Don't beleive me? When was the last time you saw a Schlitz Malt Liquor can or a Sprite glass bottle:

This event was the first Micronesia Challenge event for Beautify CNMI! It will be the first of many.

Again, thank you to every single person that is helping to make these islands a better place to live and visit. Your work is not going unnoticed.

Angelo

Beautify CNMI's Spirit- Contagious!

"Never Doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, its the only thing that ever has" -Margaret Mead.

On Sunday morning, Beautify CNMI and over 100 volunteers rallied together to help clean up the Garapan Tourist District. This was indeed the largest turn out for 2007! My name is Beverly Cabanatan and I am the Women's Ministry team leader for the Saipan Seventh-day Adventist Church. This was my third cleanup with Team BC. The reason that I keep coming back and the reason why I have gotten my church involved is simply because your spirit is contagious! Team BC exhibits unity and extraordinary love for Saipan. It is a powerful feeling to be a part of a community working together for the greater good. I would like to express to Team BC and the community of Saipan that the Saipan SDA Church and School is excited about being involved with Beautify CNMI's projects.









The groups that were represented were: Marianas RC&D, MINA, Kinpachi Restaurant, MOVER, CNMI Power, Saipan International School (SIS), Garapan Elementary School, SDA Church (Women's Ministry and SDA Pathfinders Club) and School, ISA CNMI, Rep. Cinta Kaipat, Staff, and Family, Rep. Absalon Waki, Jr., and Steve Hiney Consulting.

I hope that's everyone. Let me know if I have forgotten anyone.

Holy Cow!

Thank you to the over 100 volunteers who helped us clean up Garapan this morning. This morning's cleanup was the largest cleanup of 2007 (so far).

Update: we picked up 1260 lbs of trash. Wow, that's a lot of candy wrappers!

Letter to the Editor and other News

Saipan Tribune, Wednesday, January 3, 2006

Important partners, too!

Your Person of the Year article forgot to mention that the Saipan Tribune and your parent company, Tan Holdings Corp., are two of the most important partners of Beautify CNMI! Your weekly (and sometimes daily) reports of our various activities and campaigns have been essential in our goal "to enhance the CNMI’s natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors." You heap too much praise on us without recognizing your own involvement. Through your written words and photos, your paper has brought our vision to the people of the CNMI. We couldn’t have been as successful as we have been without your involvement. The honor you bestowed on us is as much yours as it is ours.

As for Tan Holdings, your company has been involved in everything we have done. Tan Holdings’ employees, friends, and family members have participated in cleanups, donated supplies, contributed ideas in meetings, and donated cash contributions.

What more can I say?

Thank you.

Angelo O’Connor Villagomez
Restoration Committee chair, Beautify CNMI!
Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council

Other News:

>>>Beautify CNMI was mentioned in Walt Goodridge's weekly commentary

>>>We got a tongue in cheek reference by Sour Grape's Bruce Bateman

>>>The Saipan Tribune is also reporting that Beautify CNMI! is taking on responsible pet ownership (This is partially true; we are taking on the stray and dead dog issue, of which responsible pet ownership is a part)

>>>Four litter bugs have recently been busted

>>>We've also been asked by one of our partners to do something about the supposed "stench" eminating from the Garapan sewers:

Marianas Variety, Wednesday, January 3, 2006

Garapan sewer stench driving tourists away
By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News
Staff

A STENCH said to be coming from the drainage system at the Paseo de Marianas in Garapan is driving tourist away, according to one of the restaurant owners in the area.

Kinpachi Restaurant and Paseo De Marianas Promoters general manager Misako Kamata said businesses in the area have been complaining about the foul odor for quite some time now.

She said tourists and residents who visit the Paseo have also complained about the sewer stench that “seems to be coming from all directions.”

Although people who work in the area seem to be used to it, the stench still poses serious problems for businesses, especially restaurants and bars, Kamata said.

She added that customers may lose their appetite and decide to eat somewhere else when they smell the disturbing odor from the sewer.

Kamata said she has already reported the matter to the proper authorities but nothing has been done about it yet.

She said Beautify CNMI! shares her concern and told her in a letter dated Dec. 23 that the group may either request the contractor to deploy a half-day cleaner in the area seven days a week, “or perhaps add a little money for the additional task.”

Beautify CNMI!’s junk goods committee also told her that the contractor hired to get rid of the problem will be given a stern warning to keep the site clean, or else the contract will be terminated.

Kamata said the Paseo de Marianas Promoters have already done all they can to enhance the area.

Now she said, the sewer stench is the only problem left and it’s creating a bad image for the area.

“We can clean this place ourselves. In fact we’re doing that already,” Kamata said, adding that they are willing to help whatever government agency will take action on the sewer stench problem.

“I hope (Beautify CNMI!) will include a solution to this problem in their program,” she said.

JSTA Cleanup of Paseo de Marianas

Members of Japan Saipan Travel Association (JTSA) and Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA) woke up bright and early on Wednesday morning to pick up trash along the Paseo de Marianas in the Garapan Tourist District of Saipan. Here are a few pictures:

Garapan in the News

Marianas Variety, Thursday, December 28, 2006

NMI needs more community volunteers
By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

AS the government’s financial condition continues to worsen, public and private sector officials are banking on volunteers to help clean up Garapan, the center of business activitys in Saipan.

Rep. Cinta M. Kaipat, Covenant-Saipan, said volunteers are needed in these difficult times to help promote the Northern Marianas as a major tourism destination in the Pacific.

Kaipat is part of a newly formed group spearheaded by the Hyatt and Tan Holdings Corp. whose goal is to transform Garapan into a more family-oriented place.

Dave Sablan of Tan Holdings, who presided over a meeting yesterday at the Tan-owned Fiesta Resort & Spa, said they want Garapan to be a more tourist-friendly area.

A team of volunteers will survey various business establishments and private property in the area.

The teams will then report to an advisory council which will ask the establishments to take action on suggested changes.

Sablan said their project will not be costly for business owners.
“We don’t want to impose costs (on business owners or the government) so we’ll try to round up more volunteers,” he said.

The volunteers will be asked to plant more flowers around the area; help install signs written in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese; and paint facades, among other beautification projects.

The group aims to finish transforming Garapan by June 30, 2007.

MVA Chairman and Tan Holdings CEO Jerry Tan said one of the things they want to see is improvement in Garapan’s street lights.

“(Having more street lights) does a lot of good. Tourists feel safer walking around and it drives away prostitution activities,” said Tan.

Garapan in the News

Saipan Tribune, Wednesday, December 28, 2006

Ad-hoc group formed to transform Garapan
By Liberty Dones
Reporter

A private sector-led group was recently formed to accomplish one big goal: to spruce up or transform the appearance of the downtown Garapan tourist area, block by block, in the next six months.

This area covers the corners of Winchell's and the police fire station on the highway side and the Hyatt Regency Saipan and the Fiesta Resort & Spa area on the Micro Beach side.

The ad-hoc group is led by Century Insurance president Dave M. Sablan Sr. and Hyatt Regency Saipan general manager Michael von Siebenthal.

Sablan and von Siebenthal presented their project to government and environmental groups yesterday noon.

“The team's sole goal is to enhance the need to beautify the whole Garapan area so that we may proudly showcase the whole 'tourist belt' area, not only for our visiting tourists but also to our own local residents to enjoy,” said the two organizers.

The group divided the tourist belt, which includes the Paseo de Marianas, into 20 blocks and appointed 20 team captains to head the transformation of each block.

Hyatt Regency Saipan appointed six of its managers to handle six blocks while the remaining areas are given to managers belonging to Tan Holdings Corp., the mother company of Century Insurance.

Named as team captains from Hyatt Regency Saipan are its executives: Steve Palomero, Matt Araki, Gabrielle Colombo, Yosh Gabaldon, Josephine Mesta, and Ken Kaku.

They will be in charge of blocks located along Royal Palm Beach, Coffee Tree Avenue, and a portion of Ginger Avenue.

From Tan Holdings, the team captains include Lynn Knight, Ed Cho and Joe Ada, Rene Magalong, Nel Matanguihan, Arlene Almero and Elna Curante, Henry Pun, Ador Dimaano, Frank Camacho, and Puy Macario, among others.

Tan Holdings will handle portions of Royal Palm Beach, Coffee Tree Avenue, most of Ginger Avenue and the entire Plumeria Avenue.

Each team captain is tasked to pay a courtesy call on all business establishments within the assigned block to discuss beautification plans such as cleanup, painting, or planting flowering trees.

Part of the visit is to observe overall safety of the building, “ensuring that loose objects in the surrounding area are secured so that during high winds or typhoons, they do not fly away and damage other properties.”

Business operators are encouraged to plant flowering plants and decorative trees around the building.

Business signage will also be checked, making sure that it complies with the CNMI Building Code.

Team captains are required to submit reports and to meet once a month.

Sablan said the group would need more volunteers to implement the program.

He said the whole project is expected to be finished by end of June 2007.

The group met yesterday with Reps. Cinta Kaipat, Absalon Waki Jr., Zoning Board administrator Steve Tilley, Division of Environmental Quality's Tina Sablan, Beautify CNMI's Angelo Villagomez, Coastal Resources Management's John B. Joyner, Mike Evangelista from the House Speakers' Office, Judy Torres from Marianas Visitors Authority, among others.

Other officials dropped by during the meeting. They included MVA board chair Jerry Tan, MVA executive director Perry Tenorio, Asiana Airlines general manager Kwang Joong Kim, and Tan Holdings' Ivan Quichocho.

The group's transformation plan for Garapan tourist belt was widely supported by the attendees.