PHASE 1 of the Garapan revitalization project should have been completed in April, but is still ongoing. Phase 1 includes Paseo De Marianas, Plumeria Road, Micro Beach Road, Ginger Avenue, Coconut Street, Coffee Tree Mall, Cpl. Derence Jack Road and Royal Palm Avenue. As for Phase 2 of the Beach Road improvement project, Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul said it is unlikely to be finished by January. Contributing to the delay, he added, is the rainy weather. It also didn’t help that the project “lost access to an archeologist,” which means that the “digging aspects” are suspended until the contractor, GPPC Inc., can find a new archeologist.
Phase 2 of the Beach Road Improvement Project begins at the Chalan Piao traffic light by Mobil Chalan Piao and extends north, ending at a short distance past the Beach Road-Chalan Monsignor Guerrero intersection.
In memoriam
Ross Manglona
Ross H. Manglona, the resident executive of the Office of Indigenous Affairs, passed away on Nov. 27, 2023. He was 47. “Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang and I mourn the loss of a friend and a dedicated public servant who tirelessly championed the cause of protecting and preserving indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian culture and heritage,” Gov. Arnold I. Palacios said. Manglona was appointed to the position in February of this year. Prior to serving as IAO resident executive, Manglona was the director of the 500 Sails Cultural Maritime Training Center, and director of continuing education at the Northern Marianas Technical Institute.
Public feud
RB Camacho
At a press conference on Oct. 12, Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB”Camacho criticized Department of Public Lands Secretary Teresita Santos for not allowing him to collect an adequate amount of course materials at the quarry sites on island. He needed the materials for road projects. Their disagreement stems from competing interpretations of DPL’s temporary occupancy agreement with Construction Management & Supply for a Kannat Tabla quarry site. Under the temporary occupancy agreement, CMS is obligated to provide 100 cubic yards of base course to government agencies for “public benefit.” The first 100 cubic yards are available without charge. There are six quarry sites the mayor’s office may extract material from, meaning that Mayor Camacho has access to 600 cubic yards of quarry material in total per year. But he said 600 cubic yards of material per year are insufficient for the needs of island residents. He does not believe that the mayor’s office should be limited to only 100 cubic yards of material per quarry per year.
Asked to estimate how much he needs, Camacho said: “I cannot say all I need is 1,000 cubic yards, [and then] once I finish that, because I committed myself to 1,000 cubic yards, [I can’t get] 2,000. Just open up the quarry for the mayor.” He said when his office repairs roads it is for “public benefit.” But according to DPL Secretary Santos, the Saipan Mayor’s Office cannot have unlimited, no-cost access to quarry materials from around the island. She said giving the mayor’s office unlimited access to quarry materials could be detrimental to the Marianas Public Land Trust, which must hold and invest prudently the revenue from public land leases it receives from DPL. “Interpreting…public benefit contribution to require quarry permittees to provide an unlimited amount of materials to government agencies would significantly reduce the revenues DPL can collect…and would similarly reduce the amount of funds to be remitted to MPLT,” Santos said. CMS has sued the Saipan Mayor’s Office for nonpayment of quarry materials.
No-cost medical and ancillary care
Comprised of U.S. service members, Innovative Readiness Training-Wellness Mission 2023 brought over $980,000 worth of no-cost medical and ancillary care to the Northern Marianas last summer. Col. Hugh West, the mission commander, said from July 12 to 16, U.S. military personnel treated 1,482 patients on Saipan, 364 on Tinian, and 357 on Rota. As for veterinarian services, West said they treated 258 veterinary patients on Saipan, 63 on Tinian, and 46 on Rota. West said their data showed that dental services comprised the largest cost of services on the three main islands: $164,066 on Saipan; $173,737 on Tinian; and $104,038 on Rota.
No-cost public transportation
The Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority will its first-ever dual-directional bus route, the Blue Line, on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.
The federally funded Blueline 1B bus route was launched by the governor’s Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority on Nov. 24 to provide no-cost public transportation for the rest of 2023. CNMI Transit will collect a $1 fee from most passengers beginning Jan. 1, 2024. But the manamko’, students, people with disabilities, veterans and their families will pay 50 cents only. The northbound bus route begins in Koblerville, across from Tottotville Estates, and travels through San Antonio, Chalan Piao, Chalan Kanoa, Susupe, Oleai, Quartermaster and Garapan. Major northbound stops include the Koblerville basketball court, the NMI Soccer Training Center, Pakpak Beach, the Pacific Islands Club, Hopwood Middle School, Mount Carmel Cathedral, Joeten Susupe, the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Hardt Eye Clinic, Marianas Eye Institute, Kristo Rai Church, T-Galleria, I Love Saipan, Crowne Plaza and American Memorial Park. From the park, the Blue Line 1B route heads to Paseo De Marianas, Hotel Street, Crowne Plaza Resort, Joeten Garapan, Garapan Fishing Base, the TSL Plaza and back to Tottotville Estates. For a full list of stops on the Blue Line 1B route, visit transit. cnmi.gov/.
<p style=”text-align: center;”><strong><em>”CMS has sued the Saipan Mayor’s Office for nonpayment of quarry materials.”</em></strong>
