The Fords Visit Saipan - Day 1

The first day was a full day. We started off with breakfast at Shirley's, then we went to American Memorial National Park to visit the museum and the World War II memorials.

Kevin wanted to see the history museum next, so we drove over there only to find that they were closed down due of a power outage. Customers Use Candles, indeed.

Before we got back in the car I dared Kevin and Catie to walk through the bomb shelter out front. Kevin's going to kill me for writing this, but Catie did it before Kevin!

Ouch!

By that time it was starting to get hot, so we decided to go swimming.

The waterpark at Pacific Islands Club was a hit with the kids. I'm not sure how many times they went around the lazy river, but they must have covered several kilometers. We also went kayaking and ate a huge bowl of spicy fries. I even managed to catch a little nap.

Jim took a long nap. While he napped we paid a visit to the Kaipat house in Koblerville and to my Dad's house in Fina Sisu.

The house in Fina Sisu is a mess. Jungle is growing up all around it and someone stripped the house of its wiring.

Talk about a fixer upper.

I wanted Cinta and Gus to be the first people we had dinner with, so we made plans to go to Abyss for garlic octopus and tuna poki. No offense to all my friends and family here, but Cinta and Gus have been one of the best, if not the best, thing about my return to Saipan.

Eating at Abyss wasn't in the cards. They were full, so we ate next door at Cafe at the Park.

Gus and Cinta's sister, Francis, and their Mom made mwaars for everybody. Kevin had a hard time excepting that men can wear flowers in their hair. We'll fix that by the time he leaves.

I like Orchids too

Orchids is a good bar, too. They have free karaoke...just ask Ian.

Did they get here?

Why do all the flights have to come in during the middle of the night? It is so hard to stay awake...

Is the flight on time? Man, Oreo is getting heavy. What time is it anyway. I hate these late night flights...

Is that them? I guess they made it...

It is them! Catie, you got so big! This is your nephew, Oreo...

Slurp, slurp, slurp...

Mom! What has in been, almost three years?

Everyone's here! Even Jim. Man, what are we going to do for a month?

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Come greet my Mom at the airport!

Two worlds are about to collide.

For all of my life there has been Dad's side of the world and Mom's side of the world. Every couple of years Dad would show up for a day or two in Mom's world, but Mom has never, ever been a part of Dad's world.

That changes in a few hours when Mom, Jim, Kevin, and Catie step off a plane at 1:25 AM coming from Nagoya.

If you are reading this, you are invited to come greet my Mom at the airport. It has been 26 years since she's been here.

******
The Saipan Tribune carried a story today about recently introduced Senate Bill 16-32, "TO ESTABLISH THE NORTHERN ISLANDS COMMONWEALTH CONSERVATION AREA; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

Since this is the Saipan Blog and I'm the Saipan Blogger, I'll just repost the part about me:

Angelo Villagomez, a local coordinator of Pew Charitable Trusts, said he welcomes all conservation efforts in the community. But he pointed out that a national marine monument declaration could offer much more environmental protection than the local measure could.

“This bill is different from the Mariana Trench Marine Monument proposal in that it only pertains to the emergent lands. There is language in the bill about submerged lands, but that issue has already been resolved. This bill has the potential to work in conjunction with the Marine Monument proposal to protect both the land and the water,” Villagomez said.

He praised a provision in the bill that would create a conservation fund. But he said the language should be strengthened to keep the money in the fund from being used for non-conservation purposes.

Villagomez also urged the Senate to hold public hearings on the bill, as the Pew group has done since March, to allow for community input.

Where we stand

The conversation about whether or not the CNMI should create a Mariana Trench Marine National Monument is trickling through our commmunity.

From the onset we have told people that if this is something that they wanted, the Pew Environment Group would be there to facilitate. We can fund studies, put together a proposal, do research, and help in other ways and with other things, such as setting up meetings with Federal officials in Washington, DC.

We have been very clear that there is a timeline associated with the designation of a potential monument. It would have to be created before Bush left office on January 20, 2009.

We've also been very clear that there are other areas under consideration and that the President is likely to choose those areas that are non-controversial and supported by a majority of the people.

On May 13, the Marianas Variety reported that American Samoa Governor Togiola T.A. Tulafono requested President Bush to designate Rose Atoll as a national monument. On May 23, The State newspaper in South Carolina reported that Governor Mark Sanford wrote a letter to President Bush requesting that he use the Antiquities Act to protect the deep water corals living off the coast of his state.

That means that two of the five proposed marine monuments have the support of the local governor. Our governor currently does not support the proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.

Fred Hovnaton wrote a very insightful letter to the editor on May 21 explaining our predicament:

Speaking of the future, just a quick comment on the now comatose, if not dead, underwater federal monument. There was an article in the local paper that basically explains how the CNMI has killed the proposal. Then there was an unrelated article the same week about how American Samoa is sending a proposal to the federal government asking the federal government to create a national monument there. It seems a proposal similar to the one the CNMI has rejected is actually being sought by American Samoa. Two different island governments with similar, desperate economic problems and environmental issues. Both have a similar relationship to the federal government. One seems to be looking for new things to try with the assistance and input from the federal government. The other has a “just say no” approach to the federal government. A person could get the impression that American Samoa is looking for new and creative solutions to current and future problems while the CNMI is fighting to maintain its downward spiral. This is just an impression someone could get.

But in any event, either American Samoa or the CNMI is making a big mistake. Someone has been misled and misinformed, yes lied to and even duped. A national monument is either good for the people of those islands and the environment or it’s not. Only one island government is doing the right thing for the future of its people and islands. The question is which one. Time will tell. Anyone want to place a bet?

According to the NPR story last week, the White House has yet to consider which of the five remaining proposed monuments they will assess. It is my hope that the proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument makes it to the assessment stage, but that is yet to be seen.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

You know what? I take that back.

I'm not going to wish you a happy birthday today. I'm going to wait two days and wish you a happy birthday in person!

I hope you are as excited in coming to Saipan as I am. You'll hardly recognize the place. What has it been, 26 years since you were last here?

Steamroller

The body is a little sore today after playing almost four hours of soccer yesterday. Four teams played in the "Sportmanship Tournament," including my team, Wild Bill's Independents (in orange).

We called it the "Sportsmanship Tournament" because a few of the Men's League games ended with fights out in the parking lot...including the fight between the Ol' Aces and Onwell that forced the NMIFA to cut the league short by one week.

With four teams participating (the Fightin' Ol' Aces and the Brawlin' Onwells weren't invited), we played a round of pool play, with the top two teams playing for the championship and the other two teams playing for third.

Our team played really well in pool play. We drew Inter and the MFC 2-2 and 0-0, respectively, and we beat the Korean team, FCA, 1-0. That was good enough to get us into the championship game against FCA (Football Club Arirang).

After three games, nobody's legs were moving too quick. We were given a respite when Eli showed up half way through the first half, but we were really, really tired.

The game ended in a 2-2 tie and the game went straight to penalty kicks.

We choked.

Damn it.

Even so, this is the best our team has ever done. This was our first time playing in the championship game. I wish we had won, but I'm proud to have just been a contender.

(tear)

The next men's league starts in August. There's always next year.

I love this bar

A few months ago I was scolded by Rose for following a post about my Mom up with a post about two monkeys having sex (BTW, that Youtube video has over 2,100,000 views now).

In that same vein, I will follow my last post up with a post about Godfathers.

Does this picture not describe an average night at Godfather's? I'm looking forward to taking my 10 year old brother, Kevin, there for some chicken fingers and poki (the family gets here next Friday!).

:)

Just kidding, Mom.

Oh yeah, thanks for the shot, Scott.

Of the girls in this photo, one is getting married, one is dating a lawyer, and a third is single. Any guesses as to whom is who? But the real question should be, can they play Co-ed soccer?

Thank you, William

The dust is settling now that William's visit to Saipan is over.

In four short days we dragged him to over 20 formal and informal meetings to meet with over 300 people, not to mention going on the Harry Blalock Island Issues radio show and the John Gonzales MP 96950 TV talk show. He was also featured in print and on the local evening news.

While he was here he completely dispelled the rumor that Native Hawai'ians were against the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. When one of leaders mentioned the source of the rumor, William vowed to have a talk with that person when he got back to Hawai'i.

He also told our local leaders to demand a seat at the table. The Legislature, the Office of Carolinian Affairs, Taotao Tano, and even the Manamko', should demand an equal role in the creation of a Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. In Hawai'i they demanded a seat and they got one. Native Hawai'ians now play a role in the day to day management of Papahanaumokuakea.

There was so much that he left us with that it is near impossible to cover it all in a blog post. I'm still kind of distilling this whirlwind week myself, but in the meantime, I'm going to go play some soccer.

Thanks again, William.

BTW, Michael Moore is a cool guy, too. I just wanted to point that out.

Fundraiser Tonight

From Tony's Mom:

Please help me raise a few dollars to send TonTon to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He has worked so hard for this and really wants to use it as a way to get into a great music college in the future. He'll be part of a contingent of students from Saipan Southern High who were chosen to march in the opening ceremony with many other musicians worldwide.

I am so proud of the Manta Band from Southern and the kids who keep proving that they can do anything they dream. Please put $15 away and join us on May 24, 2008 at Porky's. You can call me at 287-6781 for tickets.

Mariana Trench Marine National Monument

NPR did a story today on an "Unprecedented Conservation Program." One of the areas under consideration for this proposed conservation program is the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.

The story corrobarates what we've been saying since day one, that the President is looking for Monuments that are non-controversial:

Conservationists say that CEQ officials last year invited a small number of ocean advocates to an unusual, closed-door meeting to discuss the idea. The White House asked them to help identify potential reserves in waters within the United States' "exclusive economic zone," which extends 200 nautical miles out from the mainland and U.S.-owned islands around the world.

The idea, says Sobel, was to highlight areas where President Bush could create "marine monuments" under the Antiquities Act of 1906. This law gives the president broad powers to protect areas of "historic or scientific interest" without congressional approval.

Administration officials said they wanted things they could do before they left office, says Sobel. "They [also] wanted things that they could do without tremendous political blow back … [but] would have a conservation impact."

The story also says that the White House is planning on having public hearings.

******
William Aila went home to Oahu this morning. Due to the location of our two islands on opposite sides of the International Date Line, he'll actually arrive home yesterday.

We had dinner at Aqua Resort last night with some friends. I'll post pictures later.

Nautilus Explorer: Pirates of the Internet*

Play this Youtube video and pay special attention to the music:

Hmmm...where have I heard that music before?

From the first and second Beautify CNMI PSAs!

The name of the company is Nautilus Explorer. Pirates*!




*Actually, I don't know where the music for the Beautify CNMI PSAs came from. As far as I know, we pirated the music from someone else. Arghhhhhhhh!

Info from the Chamber

The Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the public forum tonight. This is from them:

In an effort to further public understanding of, and facilitate discussion concerning, the Pew Environmental Group’s proposal for a “National Park of the Sea” in the area surrounding the three northernmost Northern Islands, Chamber Vice President Harry Blalock will be moderating a forum in the auditorium at the American Memorial Park museum this Thursday (May 22) evening at 6:00 p.m. This session will allow for a presentation by two individuals – Jay Nelson, Director of the Ocean Legacy Project of the Pew Environmental Group and William Aila, who participated in the creation and management of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument – and then for a question-and-answer period. I attach below brief CV’s, provided by Pew, of Messrs. Nelson and Aila. If you haven’t had an opportunity to engage in primary-source research regarding this proposal, this is your chance.

Jay Nelson

Director - Global Ocean Legacy for Pew Environment Group. Ocean Legacy originated as an outgrowth of work done by Pew in 2005–2006 to support the creation of a fully protected marine reserve in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Partners supporting Ocean Legacy include Pew, the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, the Oak Foundation, and the Robertson Foundation. Inspired by this success, the Pew-managed Ocean Legacy project is dedicated to establishing, globally, over the next decade, at least three to five large, world-class, no-take marine reserves. Ocean Legacy marine reserves will provide ocean-scale ecosystem benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage.

William Aila

William is a long time harbormaster on the Waianae coast of Oahu and commercial fisherman. He is well-known as an advocate for indigenous Hawaiian rights works closely with the group Na Imi Pono [sic]. In 2006 he ran for Governor of Hawai'i in the Democratic primary. William was intimately involved in advocating for the protection of the NW Hawaiian Islands for Native Hawaiian cultural and religious reasons from the late 1990's through today. He remains active in decisions about the management of the NW Hawaiian Islands today. William is very familiar with fisheries management in the Pacific through his more than ten year’s service on various Wespac advisory panels.

A Fish Story

Yesterday afternoon we stopped at Assins fish market so that William could see what kind of fish they were selling.

Inside the fish market was a poster on the wall showing how large certain fish species had to be before they reached sexual maturity. Jay noticed that there was a quote by William Aila at the bottom.

The quote read:

"If you claim to be a fisherman, be a proud fisherman, know the resource, take only what you need, get involved in management, and pass on this knowledge."

William signed and dated the poster for the shopkeepers.

******
We've been meeting with as people as possible in the short time that William is here. Our first meeting was with the Rotary Club at their weekly fellowship.

Then last night we went on the John Gonzales MP 96950 talk show. We can't tell how many people tuned in to watch, but the cable channel has about 12,000 subscribers, so we can assume the number was large.

We've also met with the Saipan Fishermen Association, the Marianas Visitors Authority, and the CNMI Senate, among others.

Our big meeting at American Memorial Park is tonight at 6 PM. This conversation is being sponsored by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and is being moderated by Harry Blalock.

Speaking of Harry Blalock, we went on his radio talk show this morning, too.

William will be on island for only one more day. If you are reading this, please make an attempt to come out and meet him.

William Aila is a cool guy

Cinta, Gus, some of the boys, Jay and I picked up William Aila at the airport last night. Cinta presented him with a mwaar when he stepped out of Customs.

We took him straight to his hotel where we had a reporter waiting for him. I sat in and listened.

Wow.

If you are reading this, I hope you can make it to one of our public meetings.

New Marianas Variety Website

Wow.

The Marianas Variety has a new website. After you register on the new website, you can leave a comment on any and all news articles, letters to the editor, and editorials.

This is going to be nuts. The Variety is going to become the most popular website in the CNMI overnight.

I've already signed up and left my first comment. I'm looking forward to some fun discussions.

Public Outreach Week

William Aila will be on island tonight. A lot of people have asked for more information about the monument in Hawaii and we invited him here to provide just that.

We have lined up meetings with the saipan fishermen association and some tourism leaders, among others.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a public forum with William on Thursday night at 6 PM at American Memorial Park. The public is invited.

We will also be on the John Gonzales MP 96950 talk show this Wednesday at 7 PM and the Harry Blalock Island Issues talk show Thursday at 7 AM.

Good Luck, Bev

Bev left Saipan today. It makes me sad when people leave. It seems like only yesterday that I caught her stealing my photos and reposting them on her blog. I'll miss you, Bubbles.

Good luck.

Barack N Roll

Anybody interested in putting together a fundraiser for Barack Obama? He should wrap up the nomination in June. Are there any liberal bar owners out there willing to host? Rick?

******
Taotao Tano has announced that they will endorse a candidate in the non voting delegate election in November. The Saipan Blog may or may not endorse a candidate, but I am going to create a questionnaire for the candidates. It will be environmentally leaning, with a dash of civic duty thrown in.

Killer on the loose

On Sunday, May 4, 2008 Grande Nonan was killed in a hit and run accident. The police say it was a drunk driver, driving along Sadog Tasi. The vehicle was apparently a brown or beige Sport Utility Vehicle.

If you know of a gray or champagne color SUV (for example: Pathfinder, 4 runner, Exterra, Expedition, Explorer, Montero, Rav4, etc.) with damage to the front portion of the vehicle, especially if those damages occurred on Sunday, May 4th, please contact the police and or Crimestoppers at 234-7272 (PARA). A reward up to $1,000 will be paid to the informant. Crimestoppers is anonymous.

I apologize for the inconsistencies in the colors of the SUV, I'm just copying what I read on the Taotao Tasi blog.

Online Monument Poll

There is an online poll at the bottom of the Saipan Tribune website today asking "Do you support the proposal to create a Marine Monument in the northern islands?"

Please vote "YES"

Thank you.

More Co-ed Soccer

Last week about 15 people showed up for our Co-ed pickup soccer game. We're stretching our legs and honing our skills for the upcoming Co-ed soccer league.

Come on out and play with us. Everyone is welcome regardless of skill level, just keep in mind that this is an adult league. Younger players are welcome, but be forewarned that Brenda Schultz has been known to drop the F-bomb every now and then. Really.

We'll start playing right after work on Thursday at 5 PM.

I'll bring my ball even though Michael Thomas made fun of it last week. If you don't want to play with my ball, which by the way is approved by the Korean Football Association, bring another one.

We're still looking for some captains. Norm and Dora Camacho, Greg and Mel Borja, and Angelo Villagomez (that's me!) and Meaghan Hassel-shearer (Irish?) are captaining three teams. We need three more pairs of captains if we are going to have six teams. Any volunteers?

Good Luck, Yoshimi

Yesterday afternoon one of Beautify CNMI's Champions left Saipan for good. Yoshimi Yanagasawa, a manager at Aqua Resort Club, was one of our biggest fundraisers and a dependable volunteer. She was also a great friend.

She moved back to Tokyo.

Good luck, Yoshimi.

Trying to keep up

The amount of chatter about the proposed Mariana Trench Marine Monument has reached epic proportions. In the last 24 hours we have seen comment from Mike Tripp (also on his blog), Jane Mack (also on her blog), Lil Hammerhead, and Jeff Turbitt. Yesterday there was a letter from Ruth Tighe. All are in support.

The newspapers also carry stories about RC&D supporting the Monument and the Governor of American Samoa, Togiola T.A. Tulafono, requesting George W. Bush to designate Rose Atoll as a Marine National Monument.

In less than 48 hours we'll know if the White House will begin looking into new potential monuments. If you are reading this and you want to help me keep the CNMI proposal on the table, I could use a support letter. Email me if you are interested.

The Empire Strikes Barack

I found this video while trying to find out if anyone in the world has ever run for political office with the Jedi Party. I don't think anyone ever has.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

I'll be celebrating with the Friends of the Mariana Islands later this afternoon. We're having a BBQ.

Oreo says hi.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is The Saipan Blogger?

The Saipan Blogger is Angelo Villagomez. Angelo is from Saipan, but lived in Japan, England, and the United States for 24 years before returning to the CNMI in April 2006.

Why is the url of this blog jetapplicant.blogspot.com?

Angelo started this blog when he was applying for the JET Program. He didn't get in. To make a long story short, he went to Japan for a little while, but moved to Saipan shortly afterwards. Read the archives if you want the full story.

What is a Chamaole?

Chamaole is a combination of the words Chamorro and Haole (pronounced How-Lee). Chamorros are the indigenous people of the Marianas and Haole is a Hawaiian word for foreigner (basically a white guy). I'm a little bit of both and I've seen Star Wars a few too many times, so I'm Obi-Wan Chamoale. My dog is Oreo Kenobi.

Who is the dog in the header?

That's Oreo Kenobi! Oreo is a 3/4 Maltese 1/4 Yorkshire Terrier mix. He likes grilled chicken and pooping on my floor.

New Look

My blog was down for most of the day today. I'm liking the new look.

Any comments?

There is a possibility that I'll switch up a few more things, in which case I'll take the site offline again.

Sorry.

Support the Marine Monument Petition

A group of students have started a petition asking the local and the federal government to look into the potential benefits of the proposed "National Park of the Sea." They went on KSPN 2 the other day to announce they they were going to start collecting signatures.

The petition reads:

WE, the undersigned, would like the CNMI Government and the Federal Government to continue studying the possible benefits of a Mariana Trench Marine National Monument in the waters encompassing a portion of the Mariana Trench and the uninhabited islands of Asuncion, Maug, and Uracas. Such a Monument could bring positive international media attention to our shores, create local jobs, lead to the construction of a world class visitors center, lead to increase in research and education, and most importantly, protect our islands for our people now and for generations to come.

The petition can be downloaded here. Each petition has room for 15 signatures. All that is needed is a name, a signature, and an email address.

I'll have information on where to drop off the filled-out petitions soon.

The petition is also online (see left hand column of this blog). If you would like to put a similar petition widget on your website, simply copy and paste this code into your template:

<center><div id="peSiteTargetDiv832460756"><a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/" style="display: block; width: 252px; text-align: center; font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com</a></div><br /><script src="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/js/widget.js?petitionID=832460756"></script></center>

Earthquake!!!

There was a