40 year old Joey Tyquiengco lives in San Francisco and Janet Liang lives in Southern California.

The 2 have been diagnosed with leukemia and are fighting for their lives at hospitals in California. Their lives can be saved if a suitable bone marrow match can be found from a donor of Pacific Island and Asian decent.

Governor Calvo devotes his weekly message to an appeal for volunteers saying: “Joey Tyquiengco and Janet Liang need your help … Maybe one of us will be that lucky match.  Maybe one of us will be able to help them beat cancer.”

Dr. Tom Sheih is leading the drive to find a matching donor hear on Guam. The initial test is quick and painless and involves only a simple cheek swab and filling out some papers.

The Bone Marrow Drive is being held this weekend the Guam Premier Outlets (GPO), February 10-12.

HEAR the Weekly Address HERE>>>02-06-12 weekly address_1-2.mp3

SEE the Governor’s Weekly Address HERE

READ the Governor’s Weekly Address below:

Helping Guamanians Win the Battle Against Cancer
By Eddie Baza Calvo

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To be eligible for the program, applicants must:

1. Be U.S.citizens who are residents of the Micronesian region;
2. Be high school seniors who are graduating in 2012 from an accredited high school with a 3.5 grade point average (copies of transcripts and SAT/ACT scores required);
3. Submit an original, numbered application due March 15, 2012 to Bank of Guam;
4. Submit three (3) letters of recommendation, one from a non-academic source;
5. Submit answers to four essay questions.

The scholarship will be available for use at any U.S. accredited college or university, and would be earmarked to those students pursuing degrees in business, finance, accounting, economics or related majors(can be multi-disciplinary).  10 Semifinalists will be selected by April 30 and will then be required to submit additional documents, including an acceptance letter to an accredited four year college.

Lou A. Leon Guerrero, Bank of Guam Board Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “In celebration of our 40 years of serving our communities, we are delighted to offer graduating high school seniors an opportunity to continue their education at an accredited college or university.  Given Bank of Guam’s longstanding service to higher education for its communities, we are proud to continue this commitment.”

Applications are available at all Bank of Guam branches and the Customer Service Department in Hagatna Branch Lobby.   They have also been distributed to Guam’s high schools.  Only originals will be accepted.

For additional information, please contact Jackie Marati at 472-5258 or jackie.marati@bankofguam.com. (more…)

On 6 February 1947, the governments of Australia, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States of America signed the Canberra Agreement that established the South Pacific Commission, now called the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers said, ‘Today SPC turns 65 years old — a milestone for any organisation. SPC was founded by six countries, which at that time administered the non-self-governing territories in the Pacific. Their intention was to facilitate cooperation among the colonial governments in administering their territories.  Since then, SPC has come a long way — our membership now comprises 22 Pacific Island countries and territories and four of the founding members – Australia, France, New Zealand and United States. Our work programme spans over 20 sectors including important cross-cutting priorities such as climate change, food security and gender. We assist our island members achieve their national development outcomes.’

This year marks another significant event: an independent external review to consider SPC in the context of its broader role in regional development. This review, which has already begun, entails examining SPC’s core business and other important issues, such as general governance and organisational efficiency.

Over the past 65 years SPC’s work has responded to the priorities of the members. Today, its work covers almost all the key economic, environmental and social sectors. These include natural resources (agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, forestry, water); human and social development (education, health, sanitation, culture, gender, youth and human rights), economic development (energy, ICT, infrastructure, transport); oceans and islands (coastal zone management, geological assessments, sea-bed mapping, maritime boundary delineation); cross-cutting areas (disaster risk reduction, statistics and demography, food security and climate change); and research, policy analysis and advice.   

Dr Rodgers added, ‘SPC will continue to work with and assist SPC member countries and territories to position themselves to respond effectively to the challenges they face and to make informed decisions about their future and that of the generations that follow.’

For more information about the anniversary of SPC, please contact Alisi Tuqa, Planning Officer, SPC’s Strategic Engagement, Policy and Planning Facility, SPC on email: AlisiT@spc.int (more…)

Seas are expected to rise to 10 feet, producing hazerdous conditions for the operators of small crafts for the next several days.

READ the NWS Small Craft Advisory HERE

The NWS advises inexperienced Mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, to avoid boating in these conditions.

If travel by boat is necessary, exercise caution, especially near reef lines and when entering or leaving harbors and inlets.

In addition the U.S. Coast Guard has issued a warning to Mariners about the hazerdous seas.

A release from the Coast Guard states:

Coast Guard Sector Guam warns boaters and beach goers to exercise caution in all waters across Micronesia through the week. The National Weather Service has issued a high surf and small craft advisory for all coastal waters surrounding Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan.

Before you take to the water, Coast Sector Guam advises mariners to consider the following:

For local National Weather Service advisories, visit: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/guam/

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Sat, Feb 4 2012

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s military has struck al Shabaab targets in one of the most devastating attacks against the al Qaeda-linked insurgents since it launched an operation in Somalia to crush the rebels last October, a Kenyan army officer said on Saturday.

Colonel Cyrus Oguna said two helicopter gunships hit a convoy of al Shabaab in Dalayat village in southern Somalia on Friday evening, following intelligence that the fighters were planning to attack Kenyan forces in nearby Bhadhadhe.

“This is one of the best attacks yet ever because we got them in their vehicles before they could disembark. Several al Shabaab were killed and many more injured,” Oguna told a news conference.

Military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said the force estimated that more than 100 al Shabaab fighters were killed in the attack.

Oguna said nine vehicles mounted with weapons, known locally as “Technicals,” and nine lorries were destroyed in the attack. There were no Kenyan casualties, he said.

Kenya began its military campaign against the rebels in southern Somalia after a series of cross-border raids by al Shabaab against targets on Kenyan soil, which threatened the east African nation’s tourism business.

Al Shabaab dismissed the military statements as propaganda.

“Kenya has not destroyed or even attacked al Shabaab strongholds. It is propaganda” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s spokesman, told Reuters.

The rebels said they attacked a convoy of Somali government troops on Saturday morning, near the border and close to El Wak town on the Kenyan side.

“We ambushed Somali troops near El Wak town today, then we fought them and killed one of their soldiers,” Abu Musab said.

Hospital sources on the Kenyan side confirmed they were treating injured Somali soldiers after the attack.

It was not immediately clear if Kenyan troops, who are fighting alongside their Somali government counterparts, were in the convoy. It was also not immediately clear if al Shabaab suffered casualties in the ambush.

Oguna said the capture of Bhadhadhe and Hosungow town, which was also taken this week, would remove sources of revenue for the rebels because they were used for trafficking goods.

“We expect to see more ground being ceded by al Shabaab because they are weakened,” he said.

The campaign against the rebels in the south, together with another by an African Union force in the capital Mogadishu, are aimed at stabilizing Somalia after two decades without an effective central government.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Additional reporting by Feisal Omar in Mogadishu and Noor Ali in Isiolo)

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The Navy will conduct training on FDM on the following dates and times:  

* MONDAY  Feb. 6 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
* TUESDAY Feb. 7 from 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy, Japan Air Self Defense and Royal Australian Air Force will conduct training on FDM on the following dates and times:  

* WEDNESDAY Feb. 8 from 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
* THURSDAY Feb. 9 from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Air Force and Navy will conduct training at W-517 on the following dates and times:  

* TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY Feb. 7- 8 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Air Force will conduct training at W-517 on the following dates and times:  

* THURSDAY and FRIDAY Feb. 9-10 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The general public especially fishermen, commercial pilots and marine tour operators are advised to stay clear from the area during the times and dates indicated.

The general location of the training on the island of Farallon de Medinilla training area will be on a 10 nautical mile radius on all quadrants. Farallon de Medinilla plays a special and unique role in national defense because its location provides access frequency that supports established training requirements. In addition, the air and sea space in the Farallon provides sufficient room for the many different attack profiles necessary to replicate training opportunities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

W-517 is an irregular shaped polygon comprising of 14,000 nautical square miles of airspace that begins south of Guam and extends south-southwest in international waters. W-517 supports surface and aerial gunnery, missiles, and laser exercises. This will affect fishing in the vicinity of Santa Rosa Reef and Galvez Bank. W-517 is contained within the following coordinates: 13° 10″N/144° 30″E, 13° 10″N/144° 42″E, 12° 50″N/144° 45″E, 11° 00″N/144° 45″E, 11° 00″N/143° 00″E, 11° 45″N/143° 00″E, 12° 50″N/144° 30″E. (more…)

When contacted for comment on the briefing she received from DoD and what she told the island’s Democrat Senators about it, Congresswoman Bordallo’s office would only release the following statement:

“Congresswoman Bordallo has been in contact with senior Department of Defense officials about their efforts to address concerns raised by the U.S. Senate with regard to the military build-up on Guam.”

Democratic Senators contacted by PNC News declined to comment on Bordallo’s remarks to them, but those familiar with the Friday meeting tell PNC that the Congresswoman revealed that she had been notified ahead of time by DoD that substantial changes were in the works for the Guam Buildup, although she did not go into details.

Bordallo’s comments to the island’s Democrat Senators Friday morning followed last Wednesday’s un-sourced Kyodo report that the Guam Buildup would be significantly reduced, but it preceded a more detailed Friday afternoon Bloomberg report which also quoted un-named sources as saying the Guam buildup would be cut nearly in half,  and that the movement of  Marines to Guam would no longer be linked to progress on relocating the Marine’s Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba called reporters to a special briefing in Tokyo Friday night and, Reuters reports, he specifically addressed the Bloomberg report saying:

READ the Reuters report

“The report [the Bloomberg report] may generate misunderstanding. We are in talks with the U.S. side, with flexibility in our mind, to seek ways to advance the relocation of Futenma airbase and the shift of Okinawa-based U.S. Marines to Guam, while upholding policy of reducing the burden on Okinawa in a timely manner and maintaining deterrent effects … nothing has been finalized.”

Late Saturday, the Kyodo News Service quoted un-named diplomatic sources from both Japan and the U.S. as saying that a deal has now been reached to revise the 2006 Guam International Agreement. Kyodo’s Saturday report generally confirms the Friday Bloomberg report.

According to Kyodo, the number now destined to come to Guam has been reduced from 8,600 to 4,700 and their transfer here has been delinked from progress on relocating the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station within Okinawa.

The official announcement of the revised deal is expected next week Monday, February 13th.

READ the KYODO below:

Japan, U.S. Agree To Delink Futenma Transfer From Marines’ Move

The 2006 accord stated the Futenma relocation would be completed by 2014. But in the face of difficulties, Japan and the United States agreed to drop the deadline at security talks last June between their defense and foreign ministers in Washington.

 

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$302-thousand dollars for Guam, $303-thousand for the NMI doesn’t sound like a lot, especially with all the miles of  beautiful beaches in the Guam and the CNMI,  but consider the competition.

HEAR Matt Kaye’s report HERE>>>02-04 beachmonitoringmoney.mp3

Alaska with the longest U.S. Coastline, although maybe not too many beaches, is eligible to apply for only $150-thousand.

But what about Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana on the Gulf Coast? Only Louisiana, at $316-thousand got more than Guam and the CNMI.

And then, there’s Hawaii,  just $322-thousand to monitor water quality along its luxurious beaches.

So, all in all, Guam and the NMI didn’t make out too badly—especially when the importance of tourism is considered.

The EPA says it looks at three factors to decide how to distribute some $10-million to help protect the nation’s swimmers, the length of the beach season, total miles of shoreline and coastal population.

Guam’s coastline is some 78-miles long, Saipan 54-miles and Rota and Tinian about 38-miles each.

Hawaii by comparison, has some 750-miles of coastline.

31 Guam beaches were monitored in 2010. 29 had at least one health advisory issued during that season.

But 40%  of  beach days were affected by a notification, compared with 4% in the NMI.

Guam officials reported, storm-related runoff possibly affects all the island’s beaches, though there were several reports of sewer line leaks or breaks during the 2010 beach season.

Separately, the EPA launched an improved website for beach advisories and closings. Users can find the most current water quality and pollution information for more than 6-thousand beaches. Called “beacon,” the website can update as often as every two-hours, based on data the territories and states provide on everything from advisories and closings to pollution data.

 

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