MBJ_NOV12_2018_medres.pdf - Marianas Business Journal

Sizing up Archway opens new warehouse

PAGE 4

And the race is on. The U.S. Navy contracting office

is seeking sources for a new contract for the Guam Base Operating Support services. By Nov. 6, Naval Facilities Engineering Pacific aims to have established a list of interested parties for the contentious contract.

In its Oct. 15 posting, the Navy emphasized, “This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement.”

The Navy said in its post on fedbizopps.gov that the contract “may include” management and

administration [of ] port operations, ordnance, supply material management, facility management, facility investment, facility services, utility management, electrical, wastewater, steam, water, chiller, base support vehicles and equipment and environmental support.

A questionnaire for interested parties is posted on the Navy’s electronic commerce online site — NECO.

The re-bid was one of the options stated by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in its opinion released March 29. The court granted injunctive relief to DZSP 21 LLC — the incumbent

Real estate investment com-pany Grand Harvest Inc., a sister company of Alpha Insurers, is finalizing Phase I of its first com-mercial venture, scheduled to be complete by the end of November.

The compa-ny’s newly renovated building is located in Upper Tumon next to American Medical Center and will house Alpha Insurer’s Dededo office beginning in mid-December. The office will occupy approximately 2,000 square feet on the first floor of the total 10,000 square feet of space constructed in Phase I of the project, Jeffrey Hsiao, CEO of Alpha Insurers told the Journal. The addi-tional 1,000 square feet of space on the first floor will be home to a new café — although further details on the café are yet to be announced, he said. Three units on the second floor will be available for rent for around $2 to $2.50 per square foot.

Grand Harvest purchased the lot, previously occupied by Jack Peters & Co., for $2.1 million in mid-2017 and began construction by late 2017. Although final details for Phase II are not complete, Hsiao estimates construction cost to come to around $4 million for a total project

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA Journal staff

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On the marketInvestment company finalizes first commercial project

Volume 16 No. 14 www.mbjguam.com November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018

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Here they go againSources sought for Guam military mega contract

BY MEGHAN HICKEYJournal staff

As luck will have it

Image courtesy of Alpha Insurers

Grand Harvest Inc. will complete the first phase of Alpha Insurers’ new office building — the Honukai Center — in Upper Tumon by the end of November.

t INDEX

Time to reignRoyal Cargo sets sights on growth

PAGE 6

Hsiao

PLAIN ENGLISH ................................................2

EDITORIAL ............................................................8

OPINION .................................................................8

COMMENTARY ...................................................9

EDITORIAL CARTOONS...........................8, 9

QUOTABLE ............................................................9

JAPAN .............................................................11, 12

MARSHALL ISLANDS .................................12

CORPORATE GIVING ..................................13

PALAU ....................................................................16

LEGAL BRIEFS ................................................17

BRIEFCASE .........................................................22

FOCUS ........................................................... 24, 25

DATABANK .................................................29, 30

2 November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018 www.mbjguam.com Marianas Business Journal

You know what they say: fling enough mud and some of it will stick.

Maybe that’s why I some-times get releases out of England. Typically the person they are writ-ing about is British, or the business is located in the U.K. …

I figure there is probably a list on the Dark Web of Brits in Media. And that the list says next to my name, “Sometimes replies if you are polite.” …

Richard Branson was featured in four of these releases.

(We actually had Richard Branson on the Front Page of the Journal once, together with the CEO of Delta.) …

So a release enticingly titled “The Puffle Shuffle Story,” revealed that the founders of a cold weather clothing company had been backed by none other than Sir Richard on “Shark Tank.”

The clothing business was inspired by a spontaneous climb-ing trip to Potrero Chico, Mexico. Therefore, the company was do-nating a portion of its profits to

drill clean water wells in Central America.

And the founders have three boys — twins un-der the age of two and a third baby born right af-ter Christmas. I have no idea why the in-formation on their offspring crept into the re-lease. I wanted to ask, along with how do you take “a spontaneous climbing trip” — let alone to Potrero Chico — but I did not. …

Sometimes perseverance in the PR world will get you a foot in the door. Along came more news of Richard Branson — twice.

He is joining a diving venture in Belize with multiple submersibles at the 407 foot Blue Hole in Belize, one of which he will captain himself. …

I’m sure all the divers are pay-ing attention now, as well as fans of

Richard Branson.We get a lot of hits on the web

site when we mention Richard Branson, so I’m hoping the above headline will cause some excitement.

But the person who really drew reader attention off the chart was Leonardo Dicaprio, pictured with the president of Palau. …

If only I could get Meghan Markle in the paper; it would do wonders for our web numbers. The Duchess of Sussex is totally the ce-lebrity of the day.

I toyed with the idea of a head-line for this column that said, “Richard Branson, Leonardo Dicaprio and Meghan Markle” (and maybe increasing the size of the headline just this once) but I thought “emerald sea” etc. might work better on a dull day for some readers. …

You may have heard that MBC,

which the Guam Visitors Bureau said is one of Korea’s top broad-casting groups, is bringing five K-pop groups to perform on-island on Dec. 1. In part of the release about the event, MBC describes

our “beautiful natural environ-ment and an emerald-colored sea.” I checked a couple of times, and the sea was aqua, azure definitely — but never emerald. …

To continue the watery part of the column: there is a couple from Canada whose query about arriv-ing by cruise ship to Guam popped up in my news feed.

They had heard “it takes several hours for everyone to get through the customs and immigration lines and that everyone on the ship has to disembark and go through customs.”

Would they make a rendezvous with the car rental, they wanted to know. And did they need a special visa to enter Guam?

I thought about replying but I decided that would prompt more questions — even if I could have asked them the color of our sea as they got closer. …

— Maureen N. Maratita is publisher of Glimpses Publications, which comprise Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal, Guam Business Magazine, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas and Drive Guam.

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Maureen N. Maratita

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Marianas Business Journal www.mbjguam.com November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018 3

An up-and-coming online com-merce platform geared for Guam and Micronesia will help connect local consumers with big-box retail products and other items that would otherwise be difficult to bring into the region.

Tobikogo is like Amazon, but on a local level. The drive behind the new company is to expand and sim-plify buying options for consumers as well as promote entrepreneurial growth by opening doors for busi-nesses to reach other islands in the region.

“We’re going to make it really easy for anyone to go on our web-site, look for a product to buy and get it shipped to them,” said Gary Sung, co-founder and managing partner of Tobikogo. Sung is also the creative director of Ideal Advertising and a managing partner of The Hive Guam.

The business officially launches on Cyber Monday on Nov. 26.

Local online shoppers may al-ready be familiar with the hassle of products not being able to ship to Guam because of location. Tobikogo cuts through this complication with a sophisticated network of logistics and programming, according to Co-Founder and Managing Partner Patrick H. Sherman.

“With my background in logistics and operations and Gary’s back-ground in marketing, advertising and technology, we got together and figured out the best way to provide this link between the supplier and the consumer,” Sherman said.

Together with company President Richerson Chen, a Seattle native, and a team of outsourced programmers and logistics special-ists, Tobikogo has developed an automated system that coordinates back-end shipping and logistics to lessen the headache of having to connect routes manually. Chen said this system is patent pending.

“Basically, we try to provide the most expedited and cheapest route for the consumer,” Sherman said.

A look on the website, tobikogo.com, shows an array of sup-plies and products from fresh meat to construction materials. Furniture from Ikea, which doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar set up on Guam, can also be purchased on the website in easy steps: “Click. Shop. Ship. Go,” as the company’s tagline conveys.

This is just the beginning, how-ever, as the founders look forward to expand their selection based on the interest of their consumers. For them, any product is possible — big-box retail items from Walmart, BestBuy and Costco, for example,

and even items from local business-es looking to boost their reach and sales. The website will be updated every day with new items, Sherman said.

“When young entrepreneurs are trying to start their business, they find that the back-end of the shipping process can be compli-cated and convoluted to the point where they’d have to be an expert on it. They shouldn’t have to wor-ry about that,” Sherman said. “The focus should be on their business — marketing, selling and business development.”

Existing businesses can also ben-efit from the website, Sherman said.

BY JOHN I. BORJAJournal Staff

E-commerce business creates endless opportunities for entrepreneurs

SEE OPPORTUNITIES ON PAGE 27

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(From left) Tobikogo President Richerson Chen and founders and Managing Partners Patrick H. Sherman and Gary Sung are the masterminds behind the online commerce platform company.

Photo by John I. Borja


Infusion Coffee & Tea has experienced remarkable growth in the past year.

The chain opened three additional locations in 2018, taking its total number of outlets to nine. Infusion’s plans aren’t stopping there with at least one additional restaurant in the works.

But positive growing pains have accompanied the expansion.

The chain’s kitchen and inventory have been crammed into 1,000 square feet of space under the Horse & Cow in Tamuning that do not meet its increasing needs.

Richard Chan, president of

Archway Inc., which does business as Infusion, The Beverage Source, I Love Guam and Go Play, told the Journal that Archway will move to a new warehouse with significant benefits for the group.

Archway is prepping to open its 12,000 square foot warehouse space, offices and more at the former Ben Franklin property.

“By the end of November we will be fully operational,” Chan said.

Aside from space for inventory, the property gives Archway space for The Beverage Source, which sells to and services a number of hotel facilities with coffee bars. “We have our own machine room now,” Chan said.

The investment in the building, he said is “definitely five figures.”

Driving the price upwards is 1,000 square feet of kitchen space in the warehouse, which will allow Archway to prepare food at the warehouse, as well as develop new offerings. “We can prepare everything here — even cakes,” he said. The delivery strategy will help busy staff at the locations, Chan said. “The cafes will only have to focus on customer service and presentation.”

The additional space opens up further possibilities, he said.

“We will experiment with ‘grab and go’ food,” Chan said. Party catering may be part of the business, too. “There’s an opportunity to do that. We have to take care of our stores first before we do anything else,” he said.

Archway has 140 employees and will add to that. “We have a whole warehouse team and a maintenance team,” Chan said.

The office will encompass not only expanded office space, but an employee lounge and generous conference room. “I want the staff to feel at home here,” Chan said.

Archway Inc. began business in 1996. It was the recipient of the Guam Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Excellence Award for 2018. mbj

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITAJournal Staff

Where now? Chain to move and expand to new facility

Chan

Archway Inc.’s new 12,000 square-foot warehouse space, offices and more will be fully opera-tional by the end of November.

Photo by Meghan H

ickey

FREELANCEWRITERS NEEDED

Send resumes to

[email protected]


investment of around $6.1 million. “We’ve been renting for the past

30 years. … It was time for us to find a home in Dededo,” Hsiao said. “We’ve been looking for the past eight to 10 years for a prime lot that would suit our customers’ needs and always on the frontage of Marine Corps Drive, which is not easy to find in that prime area. We were very lucky to come across this lot for sale.”

Alpha Insurers’ 10 employees in the Dededo office will transfer to the new location and Hsiao estimates that two new claims personnel will also be added to the team to help fill the larger space. The company’s Hagåtña office’s 32 staff members will remain at their current location.

AMC, among others, has already expressed interest in securing some of the rented space due to the com-pany’s proximity and potential to utilize parking at the new center, Hsiao said. “There’s already been in-terest in the Phase I project so once Phase II gets going, I’m sure we’ll be getting a lot of inquiries,” he said.

The company has already applied for a building permit for Phase II of the project, which is scheduled to be complete in August 2019 and will include 20,000 square feet of com-mercial space for rent. The 15 to 16 units will have some frontage space,

which Hsiao hopes will be filled with anchor restaurant tenants. The back units can also be utilized for restaurants or office space, he said.

The building, which has been named the Honukai Center — honu meaning green sea turtle, which is lucky in the Hawaiian culture, and kai meaning ocean, according to Hsiao — is designed by Daniel Byeon from S.G.D Architectural Design Services and constructed by Xing’s Construction. The exterior of the building will use all alumi-num panels, to include a cutout of two turtles with surrounding waves as the central fixture and awnings along the roof. The aluminum de-sign, although a costlier investment, is easy to maintain, which will see cost-savings for the company long-term, Hsiao said.

“We took some inspiration from modern museum designs and also from the Philippines … there is a building in the beachy sea area that has these groove lines engraved in the panels,” Hsiao said. The inside of the similar groove lines on the Honukai Center will be lined with LED lights, he said, to illuminate the building at night.

“It’s going to be quite unique — I don’t think anyone else has something like that,” Hsiao said.

The interior will also feature a more open, contemporary concept.

A total of 80 parking spaces will

PROJECTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The interior space of Alpha Insurers’ new office was designed to be open and contemporary.

Image courtesy of Alpha Insurers

be available for customers in the front and back sides of the building.

Grand Harvest completed at the beginning of 2018 a 16-unit apartment building — Haleokoa Apartments — located behind Pay-Less Supermarket in Dededo, of which the company has already filled to 50% capacity, Hsiao said. The building includes 12 two-bed-room units and four three-bedroom units, with a construction invest-ment of $2.7 million. (See “Ensuring the future: Group invests in apart-ments and office” in the Oct. 16,

2017 issue of the Journal.)Grand Harvest also complet-

ed in 2015 Hoku Villa, a second 16-unit apartment complex next door to Halekoa Apartments, for $2.5 million. Hoku Villa has 12 two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units. The building is 100% occupied.

“We’re always looking for other projects to do,” Hsiao said. “If this one goes well, which we anticipate it will, then we’ll hopefully look for more commercial and residential projects.” mbj


operator — after it sued the Navy. The case was brought by PAE — a majority partner in the DZSP joint venture.

DZSP has held the contract since 2005. Following a protracted bid process of protests after the re-award to DZSP in 2014, Fluor Federal Services LLC was awarded the contract in October 2017.

DZSP then sued the federal

government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

DZSP confirmed its intent to respond to the solicitation. Fluor declined comment.

Upon issuance of a Request for Proposals, the award process is likely to take months — particularly if protests follow an award.

DZSP 21 will likely see a sole source bridging contract awarded to it.

The Guam BOS contract, which encompasses management at

Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, is the largest U.S. base operating contract, worth nearly half a billion dollars. Any RFP and resultant site visit opportunities are likely to see a flood of the biggest U.S. military contractors seeking the award. Previously, the Navy whittled down multiple bidders to a short list before awarding the contract.

In other military contracting news, NAVFAC Pacific issued

• a solicitation for housing and maintenance for the Guam bas-

es, with bids due Nov. 8; and• a solicitation for architectural

and engineering services for its area of responsibility, with a due date of Oct. 31.

The bases housing and maintenance contract is presently held by Wolf Creek Federal Service Inc. Wolf Creek — a subsidiary of Chugach Alaska Corp. — was awarded the contract in 2014. The contact is worth about $131 million, according to Journal files. mbj

CONTRACTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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John D. Selleck, managing director for Guam and Micronesia, aims to use his background and skills in the shipping and freight forwarding industry to increase market share for Royal Cargo Guam LLC.

“My mission is helping to bring more options and innovative solutions to businesses here, in Saipan and in Palau,” he said. In addition, he aims “to bring those choices to the smaller businesses,” he said

Ranked third worldwide, Royal Cargo has a similar position in Guam, he said. “In Guam we are

definitely second or third tier. The hope is to grow.”

S e l l e c k recognized the competitiveness of the industry, but said his c o m p a n y can boost its business. “I think Royal Cargo has a lot going for it and a lot of potential.”

Selleck said one advantage is Royal Cargo’s competitive cost structure.

“We offer — as far as I can tell — the best rates in the market.” With shipments arriving constantly,

he said, “The fact that we have a warehouse is advantageous.”

The company has its warehouse and offices in Dededo. As a freight forwarder, Royal Cargo can deal in Less Than Container loads, and is a Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier, acting as the carrier and also handling documentation.

Royal Cargo has strong financial backing and backroom support. “We’re well-positioned to use all the carriers in the trade and well-positioned to offer savings in the rates compared to what the larger forwarders can offer,” Selleck said.

Aside from growing the client base in Guam and Micronesia, one area of growth could be the balikbayan box industry — goods

sent to the Philippines by its citizens living overseas.

“We were just named general sales agent for PAL [Philippine Airlines] for outbound cargo from Guam,” he said.

That relationship opens up additional markets, he said. “We’re looking at opportunities for the Philippines and onward.” Clients will be able to use the PAL network for onward delivery from the Philippines, he said. Additionally he said, “We’re working with the funeral homes to move loved ones to the Philippines for burial.”

Royal Cargo will also be shipping goods to Guam for the

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITAJournal staff

Cargo company aims to offer clients royal treatment

SEE CARGO ON PAGE 10

Selleck


the form of two upcoming staff members — Jonathan Ichihara and Peter Miranda. Both are currently in training to become the general manager and assistant general manager for the restaurant.

TGI Friday’s is preparing to tempt taste buds with a “revitalization” of its traditional American bar and grill cuisine in June 2019.

The updated menu stems from the TGI Friday’s franchise international division’s aim to adhere to a millennial audience by bringing healthier and more local food to the table, Lerma Aquino, Guam business director for Watami USA Guam, which does business as TGI Friday’s, told the Journal.

Prototyped in Taiwan, one of the main components of the new menu is that most food items will be served piping hot on a skillet, including steaks, Aquino said. This preserves the freshness of the food, and ensures it still holds the proper temperature when it is served to the guest, she said.

Healthier menu options introduced will include the Beyond the Burger, which is the franchise’s first vegetarian burger, as well as acai bowls and kale and apple salads. “It’s about really adding more to the American bar and grill,” Aquino said.

The local franchise is also revitalizing some of its classic local favorites, such as the buffalo wings and TGI Friday’s famous potato skins. “We’re adding more pizazz to it,” she said.

Menu prices will remain similar to now, with sandwiches ranging from $12 to $15 and steaks ranging from $19 to $36.

The total investment for the new menu is around $25,000, Aquino said. “It’s a big investment,” she said, because a majority of the restaurant’s produce will be required to be sourced locally. The company is already working with local farmers to provide much of the restaurant’s lettuce, and other local items include the “cooking banana,” which will be featured in a new dessert item and the star fruit, which will be incorporated in a new beverage offered.

“We are lucky enough that on Guam we are able to get all those products with the local [farms], which makes us really excited as TGI Friday’s Guam, because now we can really help the community. We’ve been here for 20 years and … with these changes it’s also helping out [locally].”

In addition to the restaurant’s

New menu, management for restaurant veteran; investment on horizonJuly 2018 investment into biodegradable to-go items and no straw policy — offering only paper straws upon request — TGI Friday’s will also continue to work toward a reusable container goal, and in-house dishes will be served on wooden slates carved by a local wood-craftsman. The slates will be carved from avocado wood with an olive oil finish and will be purchased from the craftsman for approximately $30 apiece.

TGI Friday’s will continue to source the rest of its products from local wholesale partners Micronesian Brokers Inc. and Quality Distributors.

With the new menu will also come new management, in

BY MEGHAN HICKEYJournal Staff

Menu items will be served on locally-crafted wooden slates made of avocado wood with an olive oil finish.

Photo by Meghan H

ickey

New drink menu items will be made with local starfruit.

Photo courtesy of TGI Friday’s

Aquino

SEE NEW ON PAGE 10


Editorial

There is no doubt that Guam is a unique place to do business, and that’s no different when you’re talking about the business of campaigning.

With the culmination of Guam’s general election following Nov. 6, there are endless conclusions that can be made about the campaign season, right up to Nov. 7 when unofficial results were announced. There were moments that brought much needed dialog to light in our community, and there were moments when Guam was not at its finest (although not abnormal for any political campaign season).

But one thing that stood out particularly was a factor that truly makes Guam’s election process unique. No matter what candidate, party or issue being discussed, it’s not philosophical, it’s not political — it’s personal.

On Guam, whether you’re in business, politics or anything in between, everyone is your neighbor. There’s a fine line between a competitor and an ally, a line that many learn to maneuver as part of their education. During the election process, allegiances are pulled and families gathered to add an entirely new aspect to the equation.

The United States is the only country in the world that allows write-in candidates for its election. Such candidates have won primaries and elections at the state and local level, but typically a write-in vote is utilized instead to “disrupt” a general vote — known that it doesn’t have much chance of winning, but instead hoping to sway the vote one way or another.

Yet on Nov. 6, almost one-fourth — a jaw dropping 22.88% — of Guam voters wrote in a third name on their ballet, the majority of which was for Sen. Frank Aguon, creeping surprisingly close to the 26.41% vote for Lt. Gov. Ray S. Tenorio. The winning vote, which needed 50% plus one vote to count, landed at just 50.7% for Governor Elect Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero.

That’s close. It’s personal. And it will continue to be as we enter new government and leadership in January. The key now will be to use that same trait to the advantage of the community. mbj

Let’s get personal

Opinion

In today’s world, most people who will live a full-life into their 70s and beyond will not undergo what previous generations experienced of being employed in one single place or in a solitary career.

Rather, they will work at multiple places and experience changing careers.

I want to address what processes an adult individual should consider when changing a career during the life-cycle stages of early adulthood, adulthood or middle adulthood.

Firstly, when considering a career change, a great place for obtaining clarity on where to begin is to identify the natural talents you possess that could be applicable as a foundation for developing a career that you could derive a living from. Most people possess more than one natural talent and it’s not uncommon that many people are working in careers where certain natural talents they hold are not even being utilized at all — leaving those individuals feeling lost, meaningless or incomplete in some way, shape or form.

Secondly, the person seeking a career change needs to identify how his/her natural talents correlate with a specific v o c a t i o n a l work calling in life — in other words, where he/she has a destiny of purpose that will honorably serve community and self at the highest level of returns.

Thirdly, most people that have natural talents have a passion for utilizing those talents. Choosing a career change should capitalize on this fact, which will ensure a greater sense of psychological well-being going into that career transformation.

Fourthly, considering a career change should be predicated upon factual information as well, such as doing research on the prospective career in reference to level of education and experience required, remuneration rewarded

the physical and psychological demands of a particular position, etc. One compelling and accurate way that such information about a particular career can be obtained is by interviewing people who are working in a profession.

Fifthly, it’s necessary to comprehend that it’s not abnormal in this day and age to recognize the beckoning social and psychological need to change careers for multiple reasons. For instance, as adults evolve from early adulthood to middle adulthood, many change factors are related to people’s maturation process that demands greater levels of responsibility, more opportunities to express personal passion, more opportunities to mentor and manage younger workers, greater pay to assist family members, etc.

The desire for a career change should not be ignored and the above areas of consideration should be applied as part of the process.

However, it’s wise to work toward making the transition a smooth one by examining current income

In anticipation of the holiday season, my thoughts turned to tur-keys and pumpkin pie, rum cakes and reindeer. Reindeer segued into caribou, which segued into bull cart trails.

Bull cart trails fall under Traditional Rights of Way in the Guam Code. They are grouped with any roads, trails or easements that were in place during the Spanish ad-ministration and which were ceded to the U.S. government on the day the Treaty of Paris was signed.

The Guam Code Annotated states: • § 65104. Traditional Rights-of-

Way, Vesting. The legislature recognizes that over the years the

public has made fre-quent and uninterrupt-ed use of certain trails and bull cart roads p r o v i d i n g access to the ocean shore and recog-nizes that such use has been legally sufficient to create rights or easements in the public through dedication, prescription, grant or otherwise, and that it is in the public interest to protect and preserve such public rights or easements as a permanent part of the public domain.

• § 65105. Traditional Rights-of-Way, Maintenance. (a) It shall be unlawful for the owner, lessee or tenant of any lands adjacent to or abutting the ocean shore to block, impede or interfere with the public use of any traditional right-of-way. (b) It shall be unlawful for the Territorial Planning Commission to approve or permit any develop-ment of land which will result in the blocking, impeding or inter-fering with the public use of any traditional right-of-way which provides public access to the ocean shore. Nothing in this sec-tion shall prevent the Territorial Planning Commission from approving the development of land wherein an alternative per-

BY THOMAS D. SHARTS

Process considerations for a career change

Sharts

Access and bull cart trails need due diligence

SEE ACCESS ON PAGE 11

BY KIM ANDERSON YOUNG

Young

SEE PROCESS ON PAGE 10


Quotable

“Here on Guam, we still don’t have proper theaters. … That’s something that I’d like to see in my lifetime. Don’t you think it’s a bit sad that theater has been here for so many years and it’s hard to name a proper theater?”— Benjamin “Jojo” Urquico, artistic director for World Theater Productions and Step Up Entertainment & Dance Co.’s production of Rent, discussing with the Journal a chal-lenge he sees in the advancement of the theater industry on Guam.

E d i t o r ’ s note: Benjamin “JoJo” Urquico is the artistic director for World Theater P r o d u c t i o n s and Step Up Entertainment & Dance Co.’s production of Rent, scheduled to take place Nov. 28, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 at Sandcastle Guam. Rent Guam is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International for the benefit of Guam’s Alternative Lifestyles Association Inc.

Urquico is a Filipino/German actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for playing the role of Uy in Miss Saigon in Germany and Switzerland as well as on the Asian tour. He also performed in Göteborg Opern’s production of Miss Saigon in Sweden.

Other notable roles include Angel in the German production of Rent, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, King in King and I and the Young Syrian in Oscar Wilde’s Salome. Urquico also performed in Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Do You Hear the People Sing and was a soloist at the Oper Stuttgart Production of König Blaubart. He appeared in several TV and movie productions in Germany, Singapore and the Philippines, the latest entitled Five Ways to Kill A Man, which was

an entry for the Berlin Film Festival, produced by a German film company and directed by South African director Christopher Bisset.

Urquico was awarded the Most Outstanding Theater Performing Artist in the 26th Asia Pacific 2015 Excellence Awards.

Q: How did you begin your career in acting, singing and dancing?

A: I started in school and in the very first production I don’t think that they cast me necessarily be-cause I could sing, but because they needed an actor who could go in the buff — but it so happens that the part required the actor to sing as well, and that is how I was discovered.

There were a couple of theater people in the audience and they suggested that I should audition for what was at that time the Cultural Center for the Philippines, which was looking for actors who could sing. I auditioned for that, did a couple of musical productions in the Philippines locally, and then I got cast again for another play called Death in the Form of a Rose — which I had to be in the buff for again. Of course, I didn’t always just want to be naked on stage, so I thought, “Okay, how many Miss Saigon’s and King and I’s are there in the world?”

I was recommended to audition to play a composer for a company in Singapore, and that was the very first production out of the Philippines that I did. In 1994 I went back to the Philippines for a Shakespeare festival and then that’s when I auditioned for Miss Saigon. It was my best friend who put my name on the list, and after a few days I got a call with

an invitation to fly to Germany — and the rest is history.

I stayed in Europe for almost 20 years doing productions after that.

Q: What are some of the most sig-nificant difficulties of being in show business?

A: I wouldn’t say difficulties, I would rather say challenges. In the past, they used to typecast people, but now we’ve passed that. Nothing is impossible if you’re really passionate and you really want it.

That’s something that I learned being an Asian actor based in Europe — you cannot allow yourself to be in one corner and be gray. If you want it, nothing is impossible, so nothing is really difficult. If you know your instrument you know that you will have a show the following day and if you know you want it, you will do everything to get it.

Of course, there is no guarantee what you will be doing after each production, which is what I tell my actors. You need to be ready, because you never know when an opportunity will come. Nothing is difficult if you’re always ready.

Q: What elements do you need to consider when moving to a dif-ferent city for a show? How does performing differ from one location to the next?

A: I think it’s just the culture we have to consider. For example, here on Guam its very Catholic, its very conservative — so we have to be careful with language and vis-uals that we use in the show.

Also, logistics. There’s talent everywhere, but logistics is

something we have to consider — whether [materials] are available or not. With the experience here on Guam, for example, we don’t have many theaters — I mean real theaters. In Europe they would build theaters only specifically for a certain show but here I can only name one, Southern High, and that’s not even functioning as we speak. So, I think that’s something that we have to consider as you move from one city to the other.

Q: As a director, how do you bal-ance the needs of the show with the reality of the business (i.e. cost, tick-et sales, revenue, etc.)?

A: I would say that quality has nothing to do with money, not always, and quality doesn’t have to cost so much. I think my job is to ensure that the quality of the show is really good. On the busi-ness side of it, perhaps that would help us sell more tickets, but re-ally as the director I try to stay away from that as much as I can because I like to focus on the crea-tive side of it.

Q: Do you prefer stage or TV/movie performances? What are the main differences?

A: I prefer theater, only because in theater you are always on the guard. If you [mess] it up you’re [out of luck]. There’s no way to redeem yourself and you can only redeem yourself the following show. Unlike doing TV or movies you can do 20 takes or 2,000 takes. You can do it again and again and again until perfect but in theater there are no take twos.

Q & A

Urquico

Commentary

SEE Q&A ON PAGE 28


newly-formed Tobikogo, which aims to import products to the region (see story on Page 3).

“We’re handling that — Ikea in Carson, Calif. is right next to us,” Selleck said. “We have freight already moving.”

For inbound cargo, he said, “We have a weekly container from [Los Angeles] and a weekly container from Guam to Saipan.”

The military buildup offers further possibilities, Selleck said. “We are well-positioned for that. We have our service from the West Coast to Guam.” Projects often require specialized equipment, such as cranes, that it does not make sense to keep on-island permanently, he said. “We’re

working with the contractors to possibly bring over some of that equipment as needed.

“As these projects start to move forward there’s a lot of opportunity for the freight forwarders in logistics.”

In addition, Royal Cargo can help with links to manpower agencies, he said.

Selleck recognizes the dependence of the islands on the shipping and freight-forwarding industry. “The need for imports is always there.” Royal Cargo also has about 7,800 square foot of warehouse space to support clients. “Right now it’s more than adequate,” he said.

The field is a service industry, he said. “The basics are logistics — how soon can you arrive, how frequently can you ship, what’s

the cost of shipping? After that it’s customer service.”

Selleck joined the Guam office of Royal Cargo Inc., a multinational freight forwarder and cargo agent, shipping by sea and air on Aug. 1.

He praised the Royal Cargo staff, but anticipates job growth. “There’s a really good team — dedicated and smart. We are going to be looking to add a few positions.”

In Saipan, Royal Cargo works through an agent and has been busy sending containers of relief supplies there. “Our agents are doing their best to facilitate as much as they can,” he said, though the warehouse was damaged during Super Typhoon Yutu. “We’ve been consolidating for shipments out,” Selleck said. “The challenge right now is getting things cleared in Saipan. The port seems to be

operating fine now.” In Palau the office has two

employees and can ship to the country from the Philippines.

Selleck said, “Palau has a lot of potential. Right now it’s small, but the Palau office is one of the things I’m excited about. There’s some new hotel development going in.” The growing hospitality industry in Palau is stimulating business, he said. “There are people asking for rates and building materials and so forth.”

Founded in October 1978, Royal Cargo has 30 offices in the Philippines, with its headquarters in Paranaque. Its Asia Pacific offices besides Guam include those in China and Hong Kong. It has additional offices in Europe. The group has more than 2,000 employees worldwide according to its site. mbj

CARGOCONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

TGI Friday’s has seating for 430 people, including outside patio and smoking areas, and is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Aquino said that Watami Co. Ltd., the mother company to Watami USA Guam, also plans to invest in a new restaurant concept to be located in either Tamuning or Hagåtña. Kuniaki Schimizu, president and CEO for Watami Co., will be visiting in January to tour locations and decide which of the company’s six Japanese restaurant concepts will be the best fit for Guam.

The restaurant will most likely be an izakaya, or family restaurant, Aquino said, and will focus on yakitori and drinks with seating for around 200 people. The potential investment is estimated to be around $500,000.

“If we can find the right location, we are hoping [to open] in the end of the year of 2019 or early quarter of 2020,” Aquino said. mbj

NEWCONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

versus current debt, prioritizing family needs, understanding your own level of physical and psychological strength and assuring there is enough savings or funding to undergo any requisite education or training. If all such considerations and wise behavioral responsibilities are applied, then making that career change will most likely be a constructive and fruitful choice for an individual astute enough to know that such a timely and requisite change is needed. mbj

— Thomas D. Sharts is a professor of sociology at Northern Marianas College. He may be reached at [email protected].

PROCESSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8


Okinawa to hold referendum on Marine relocation

TOKYO — Encouraged by the new governor, Okinawa Prefecture has voted to hold a referendum on the plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ personnel and equipment from Futenma Air Station to a U.S. military facility at Henoko, on the north-east coast of the prefecture.

The proposal was passed by a large majority in the prefectural assembly and the vote will be held before next spring. The outcome of the prefecture-wide referendum will

have no legally binding power over the national government’s position on the transfer of the U.S. Marines.

Denny Tamaki campaigned strongly on the issue of U.S. bases in the run-up to the gubernatori-al election in September, which he won with a substantial majority. For most residents of the prefecture, the future of U.S. military facilities is one of the key issues, if not the most important.

The national government appears unmoved by the pre-fecture’s decision to hold a

BY JULIAN RYALLJapan Correspondent

18-FHB-EmployeeBenefits_Sept-Oct_MBJ_Size7.5"X10"Color.pdf 1 9/6/18 1:59 PM

petual right-of-way or easement in favor of the public and allow-ing access to the ocean shore has been duly recorded in the form and manner provided by law. Occasionally a property owner

will challenge the right of way creat-ed by a bull cart trail through their property and the result is usually that the owner must provide an alternate route for access. A good example is the old bull cart trail along Tumon Bay. Hotel developers worked with the Territorial Land Use Planning Commission to realign bull cart trails running along with the beach to make the best use of the hotel site for our visitors, while retaining the rights of access to the beach for the public.

And speaking of access, if you can drive to a property, it has access, right? Well … maybe not.

It is not uncommon for the phys-ical location of the driveway to a property to differ from the legal access. Keep this in mind when con-sidering the purchase of a house or lot. A map of the property that will normally show the legal access, but it may not be the road you take to get there. In most urban subdivisions it is easy to determine legal access, but if the property is a little off the beat-en path, you may need to consult a surveyor to determine the location of the legal access to the property.

If the physical access and legal ac-cess are not the same, you may need to consider the cost of installing a road to the property within the legal access boundaries.

Access, also called ingress and egress rights, fall into a number of categories, the most common of which are:

Public Roads. These roads are owned by GovGuam and are main-tained by GovGuam. Bull cart trails are unique to Guam in that they provide legal access (and physical access) to many otherwise land locked parcels.

Private Roads. Families or devel-opers sometimes reserve a road as a right of way for ingress and egress and utility services within a private subdivision and are disclosed by the subdivision map of the property. Maintenance for these roads will ul-timately be the responsibility of the homeowners.

Easements. An easement is the right to use property that belongs to someone else. A right of way falls within the definition of an easement in that it allows another person to travel over your land. Easements and rights of way are usually created by a Grant of Easement instrument, or by a covenant contained in a deed.

In the case of private roads and easements, it is very important to read and fully understand the rights granted. Some may contain restric-tions or reversions that may limit or

prohibit your free access and use of the easement.

Unless a specific exception to title is taken, an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy guarantees your right of ac-cess to your property. And if there is a problem with access, a title report will disclose the issue so that you can deal with it prior to purchasing the property.

Be confident when dealing with real estate transactions. Order a ti-tle report showing any easements, rights of way or bull cart trails that might affect a property you are inter-ested in purchasing. mbj

— Kim Anderson Young is the president of Security Title Inc. She can be reached at [email protected].

ACCESSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

SEE RELOCATION ON PAGE 19


MAJURO, Marshall Islands — Marshall Islands President Hilda C. Heine faces her biggest challenge on Nov. 12, the scheduled date for the first vote of no confidence against her government. With Heine’s coalition and the opposition at virtually equal numbers in the 33-seat parliament, the vote will turn on two or three key members of parliament who could vote with either group.

In January 2016, Heine was elected with a 24-vote majority. But she has seen her support dwindle as she dropped two members of her first cabinet and forcefully opposed a Rongelap Atoll Local Government initiative with outside backers to create an investor haven by establishing a special administrative zone. The proposed legislation for the Rongelap zone violates the Marshall Islands Constitution, the laws of the country and international financial transparency agreements that are keeping the country off international tax and anti-money laundering blacklists.

Heine is the first and only female head of state of an independent Pacific island. She is one of three women in the Marshall Islands parliament.

Eight senators introduced a motion of no confidence in parliament against Heine on Nov. 5, the last of 50 sitting days for the parliament session this year. The constitution requires a vote be held between five and 10 days after a no confidence motion is lodged in the Nitijela (parliament).

Speaker Kenneth Kedi set Nov. 12 for the vote, which will be preceded by debate on issues behind the move by the opposition.

At the Nov. 5 session of parliament, Nemra read a list of criticisms of the Heine administration. Nemra, in his first term in parliament, was briefly president in early 2016 before he was unseated by Heine in a no confidence vote three weeks after his election in January that year.

Nemra said the Heine administration’s plan to establish a digital currency as legal tender had tainted the country’s reputation internationally and generated

BY GIFF JOHNSONMarshall Islands Correspondent

Marshalls president faces no confidence move

Military opinion anticipates war

TOKYO — A poll by the Military Times has shown that nearly half of all U.S. troops currently in uniform believe they will be at war within the next year, with China and Russia identified as their likeliest enemies on the battlefield.

Should a conflict break out with either Beijing or Moscow, Guam’s military facilities and strategic po-sition in the western Pacific will inevitably thrust it into the front line. Naval and air assets operating out of bases here would be tasked with supporting attacks on key mili-tary facilities in China or Russia and against enemy units operating in the Pacific.

According to the poll by the U.S. armed forces’ newspaper, fully 46% of activer-service troops expect to be at war within the next 12 months, a sharp increase from just 5% in a similar poll conducted in September 2017.

In the earlier poll, 67% said war with a major power is either very or somewhat unlikely. This year, that figure has fallen to 50%.

Asked to identify the most sig-nificant threats to the United States,

71% of the anonymous respondents to the poll identified Russia, up 18 percentage points from last year. Some 69% of troops replied that China poses “a significant threat,” up 24 points from the earlier study.

North Korea, however, has fad-ed from troops’ concerns, with 46% naming Pyongyang as a danger, down from 72% one year ago.

That shift reflects a vastly improved diplomatic rela-tionship between Washington and Pyongyang, with President Donald J. Trump shifting from mocking Kim Jong-un as “Little Rocket Man,” to holding a summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore.

In that same period, howev-er, relations between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated. Suspicions linger that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered interference in the U.S. election and he has been publicly proclaiming advances in his nation’s military ca-pabilities. Trump has also infuriated Beijing by declaring a trade war with Beijing, further fraying ties.

Trump has in the last year re-peatedly underlined the need for the U.S. military to be ready to face growing threats from enemies

BY JULIAN RYALLJapan Correspondent

SEE WAR ON PAGE 15SEE CONFIDENCE ON PAGE 19


The Guam Reef Olive & Spa Resort in collaboration with the Guam Running Club held on Oct. 28 the 12th Annual Guam Reef Costume Run/Walk To Wishes. The race raised funds for the granting of children’s wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and the CNMI, according to resort management.

The Pay-Less Markets Community Foundation on Oct. 15 announced the 2019 Kick the Fat 5K/10K Run/Walk & Community Fair to be held Jan. 26, 2019. This is the 23rd annual Kick the Fat and this year’s beneficiaries are Ayuda Foundation, Farm to Table, Guam Animals in Need, Guam Memorial Hospital Volunteers Association, Rigalu Inc., St. Dominic’s Senior Home Care, and Victim Advocates Reaching Out. Interested par-ties can register online at paylessfoundation.com.

Bank of Guam employees, led by Yap Operations Manager Jamie P. Gilmar donated more than $300 to The Yap Living History Museum on Oct. 15 for upkeep of the museum grounds and other maintenance ex-penses, according to a release from the museum. Current upkeep pro-jects include installation of lighting for evening events, the development of a booklet that will serve as a vis-itor’s guide and the construction of a climate-controlled building for ad-ditional space for artifacts, historic photos and other material displays.

KUAM Careforce announced that it will be coordinating on Nov. 27 its annual #GivingTuesday to benefit shelters across Guam includ-ing Guma San Jose, Alee Shelter and G.A.I.N. animal shelter.

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communi-ties and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate gen-erosity worldwide. The KUAM Careforce began participating in #GivingTuesday five years ago and have coordinated an annual day of giving that have benefitted many lo-cal organizations since.

Pay-Less Supermarkets on Oct. 24 presented checks totaling $6,000 to the four winning schools of its 5th Annual Bag Your School Contest. First place schools received $2,000 and second place schools received $1,000. The four winning schools are: George Washington High School, first place in the Large School cate-gory, Simon Sanchez High School, second place in the Large School cat-egory, Agana Heights Elementary, first place in the Small School cat-egory, and Bishop Baumgartner Memorial School, second place in

the Small School category.The contest, which ran from Aug.

6 to Sept. 30, is part of the Mission: Zero Bags initiative, which aims to reduce the use of plastic bags on the island and also aims to educate and encourage green habits in the younger generation.

The American Cancer Society Guam Chapter on Oct. 30 held its second annual Real Men Wear Pink of Guam Pink Party for a Purpose & Top Fundraiser Announcement at the Atkins Kroll Inc. Chevrolet Showroom in Tamuning. The cam-paign collectively raised $22,580 this year for the American Cancer Society’s mission to save lives from breast cancer. The winner of this year’s campaign was Joel Rubio, di-rector of clinical services at Health Partners LLC, having raised $6,501.

Area leaders who participated in raising awareness and dona-tions by wearing pink every day of October in 2018 were: Dr. Felix T. Cabrera, chief medical officer, Guam Regional Medical City; Jon Nathan Denight, president and CEO, Guam Visitors Bureau; Tom Garcia, senior sales consultant, Chevrolet, Atkins Kroll; Glen Noket, general manager, Hafa Adai Specialist Group; Steven Pangelinan, social services supervi-sor, Department of Education; Rubio; Joseph San Agustin, compliance inspector I, Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation; and Francis E. Santos, director, Global Healthcare Inc.

Dr. Thomas Shieh, obstetrician,

gynecologist and owner of the future Shieh Clinic & Associates sponsored Lauren Santos and Marko Germar, two off-island dancers originally from Guam who were scheduled to run a two-day inspirational dance clinic on Nov. 10 to Nov. 11. with lo-cal dancers.

Triple J Enterprises Inc. and the University of Guam participated as drop off locations for the Alee Shelter’s Nene Care Diaper Drive from Oct. 22 to Nov. 2 in honor of Domestic Violence Aareness Month. The drive was for a Women & Gender Service Project by UOG students CJ Joab and Yvonne Johnny along with their professor Deane Jones.

Bank of Guam on Oct. 25 an-nounced a partnership with Ayuda Foundation to air express needed medicines and medical supplies for the Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan, Rota and Tinian. Through an agreement with MAP International, an Inter-Emergency Health Kit for 10,000 patients was sent to the NMI for a value of $15,000.

BOG has worked with Ayuda and MAP on past regional disasters and

Corporate Giving

is able to offer a unique response by focusing resources on helping hospi-tals struggling with recovery efforts.

BOG also on Oct. 26 began accepting cash or check contribu-tions for relief efforts in the NMI and began offering a 90 day loan payment deferment program to NMI loan customers due to dam-ages incurred as a result of Super Typhoon Yutu with the usual loan revision fee waived for consumer, credit card, mortgage and commer-cial loan customers.

BankPacific and the Ayuda Foundation initiated a “We Are All One” relief drive for Saipan and Tinian to aid in relief efforts from

Super Typhoon Yutu.The Guam Contractors

Association collected materials from its members for construction materials and emergency supplies to assist those in the Northern Mariana Islands as they recov-er from the devastation of Super Typhoon Yutu. The association aimed to collect at least 100 hammers, 10,000 nails, 100 flash-lights and 1,000 candles from its members.

Community First Guam Federal Credit Union collected donations to assist the group Sons of Saipan in

Photo courtesy of EXPPhoto courtesy of H

otel Santa Fe Guam

(From left) Sen. William M. Castro, 34th Guam Legislature, and Robert J. Marks, Western Pacific manager, EXP with the EXP donation of hammers and nails given to Victor Hamling, project manager at One Marianas – CNMI Relief Coordination Office for typhoon relief ef-forts.

(From left) Ruben Munoz, security; Melvin Yamaguchi, engineering manager, both at Hotel Santa Fe Guam; Victor Hamling, project manager at One Marianas – CNMI Relief Coordination Office; and Bartley A. Jackson, co-owner of the Hotel Santa Fe Guam.

EXP donated 100 hammers and 10,000 nails to the One Marianas – CNMI Relief Coordination Office for typhoon relief ef-forts. Hotel Sante Fe Guam also donated construction materials to One Marianas to aide in typhoon disaster rebuilding.

Three One Marianas boats left for Tinian on Nov. 4 with 10,000 pounds of goods.

SEE CORPORATE ON PAGE 14


providing relief for those affected by the damages of Super Typhoon Yutu. Sons of Saipan aimed to fill a 40-foot container with canned goods and supplies to ship to the Northern Mariana Islands. Donations were accepted at any Community First member service center in Hagatna, Tamuning, Dededo or Mangilao.

The Marianas Young Professionals through its disaster relief arm United 4 Saipan set up a Gofundme campaign to help cov-er the immediate needs of those in Saipan. The Gofundme collected more than $66,400 as of press time.

GTA offered free calls and texts to GTA wireless, prepaid and land-line customers from Oct. 26 to Nov. 9 to help make communication eas-ier for families on Guam to stay in touch with loved ones impacted by Super Typhoon Yutu. GTA partnered with the Guam Daily Post and the Guam Fire Department to accept donations to support relief efforts in the Northern Mariana Islands through Marianas Strong Relief Drive. Drop off boxes are placed at all GTA retail locations from Oct. 26 to Nov. 16 and are accepting bat-teries, flashlights, tape, tools, tarps, nails, rope, mosquito coils, insect

repellant, cleaning supplies, adult/baby diapers, wipes, toiletries and personal hygiene items.

Bank of Hawaii initiated several financial assistance programs to help Guam and Saipan residents af-fected by Super Typhoon Yutu. The programs provide access to cash via special loan programs or getting re-lief on existing Bank of Hawaii loans through loan extensions or forbear-ances and includes low interest rates on loans, loans with no payments for first three months, fast approval and quick funding, reduced payments with loan terms up to 63 months and loan amounts up to $25,000. Funds may be used to provide cash relief for emergency supplies and living essentials; repair homes and/or vehicles, replacement of living es-sentials, or to bridge working capital needs; and to receive forbearance and/or extension on loans for exist-ing BOH clients.

Matson Navigation Co. on Oct. 27 pledged $125,000 in in-kind and cash support, as well as donat-ed bottled water and ice to help with emergency relief efforts in Saipan and Tinian as a result of Super Typhoon Yutu.

Matson is additionally work-ing with community organizations in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii and the U.S. West

“East Island Tinting made it easy for me when I needed some tint for Meskla, my resturant. On top of the options that they gave me, they were fast, friendly, informative, and the quality of their work is excellent! The best part is that they guarantee their work! It was a pleasure doing business with them.” Peter Duenas

Owner

East Hagåtña 477-TINT (8468) / [email protected]

Across Micronesia Mall, Route 16 647-TINT (8468) / [email protected]

Coast to collect donations for Yutu relief efforts in Saipan and Tinian, including Ayuda Foundation and Guam’s Rotary clubs, to transport donations from Guam to Saipan in the coming weeks. Matson also held an employee donation drive that will match donations from Matson employees with equal contribu-tions to American Red Cross of the Northern Mariana Islands. The program started Oct. 25 and is sched-uled to continue through Nov. 15.

First Hawaiian Bank on Oct. 27 began providing its customers with a number of customizable options that can provide payment relief in relation to Super Typhoon Yutu on existing loans or quick access to cash for emergencies as need-ed, including fast approvals, up to 3 month loan payment deferral, no maximum on loan amounts (limits based on standard qualifications), up to 3 month waiver on credit card interest and fees and up to 3 months payment forbearance on existing mortgages.

Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian and The Haya Foundation in col-laboration with Star Marianas sent approximately 3,000 pounds of typhoon relief cargo aboard three planes to the Tinian Women’s Association, according to an Oct. 28 release. The groups also arranged a shipping container to Saipan. The groups are work-ing in partnership with Inetnon Amut Natibu and Tinian Women’s Association who are distribut-ing the items on ground in the NMI. Community members were able to drop off supplies at the Health Shack, Guma Yo’åmte, San Vicente School and the Tamuning and Agat Mayor’s Offices.

The groups additionally coordi-nated with Matson Navigation to help load donated items on Nov. 1 onto a vessel to arrive in Tinian on Nov. 2.

The Bank of Hawaii Foundation on Oct. 29 announced contribu-tions totaling $25,000 to help relief efforts underway in Saipan due to Super Typhoon Yutu. The American Red Cross, Pacific Islands Region received $15,000 and $10,000 went to The Salvation Army-Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division.

76/Circle K accepted donations of household products, clothing, bedding, emergency supplies, baby supplies, non-perishable food items, pet supplies, and toi-letries at all its locations. SPPC/76/Circle K additionally donated four pallets of Circle K Water, one pal-let of SPAM, one pallet of Vienna Sausage, one pallet of Kellogg’s Snack Pack Cereal and one pallet of Shelf Stable UHT Milk to the Sons of Saipan for relief efforts.

Foremost Foods Inc., Coca-Cola Beverage Co. (Guam), Glimpses of Guam Inc. and Nakicos Corp. em-ployees on Guam participated in a donation drive from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Donated items were requested from and delivered directly to com-pany employees in need on Saipan.

IT&E opened on Oct. 31 a text-to-donate line for its Guam subscribers to support Super Typhoon Yutu relief. Donations can be made until Dec. 31 by texting the following to HELP (4357): GIVE1 to donate $1; GIVE5 to donate $5; and GIVE10 to donate $10. Funds raised will go to the American Red Cross to help rebuild the lives of those affect-ed in Saipan and Tinian.

APL on Oct. 31 shipped four containers of food, water and equipment donated by partnered organizations to Saipan in aid of re-covery efforts on the Super Typhoon Yutu-battered island. The shipment was to be received by the American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency who provide immediate resources for necessary food and water across Saipan.

Members of the Society of American Military Engineers Guam Post on Nov. 1 began a Typhoon Relief Fund Drive to ben-efit the American Red Cross Guam Chapter for Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu efforts.

The Salvation Army Saipan Corps volunteers, with damaged fa-cilities, using limited resources have prepared and served over 2,300 hot meals to victims and relief workers in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yutu, according to a Oct. 30 release.

The Ysrael family and group of companies donated $100,000 to The Ayuda Foundation CNMI for CNMI Typhoon Relief Fund. The Ysrael group of companies is one of the biggest businesses on Guam and includes the Outrigger Guam Resort, the Dusit Thani Guam Resort and the Plaza in Tumon.

Docomo Pacific Inc. is offering free mobile, internet, television and home phone services to new and existing customers in Saipan, Tinian and Rota from Oct. 29 to Dec. 31. During this period, no subscriber in the Northern Mariana Islands will be disconnected for non-payment. An automatic monthly credit will apply to November and December invoices for all existing customer. New customers can get a new SIM card for $9.95 and receive the free services.

Docomo is also partnering with GTA to offer Cell On Wheels for Docomo to utilize in Saipan to help

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SEE CORPORATE ON PAGE 15


with coverage while recovery efforts continue. Docomo is offering GTA subscribers to roam for free on GTA network in Saipan.

Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17, Docomo will be accepting donations to retail stores to help families affect-ed by Super Typhoon Yutu and also launched a fundraising initiative ac-tive until Nov. 17 so that postpaid customers can donate money by texting 5 to “HELP (4357)” to donate $5 to the American Red Cross relief efforts in Saipan and Tinian.

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. received water and hygiene supplies from the from the World Health Organization in the amount of 32,000 water purification tablets and 1,000 collapsible jerry cans, according to a Nov. 2 release.

The tablets and jerry cans will be distributed into the villages on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, the release said.

The CHCC also released a state-ment encouraging members to apply for financial assistance to dialysis pa-tients through the American Kidney Fund. AKF opened its Disaster Relief Program on Nov. 6 to dialysis patients in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Disaster Relief Program provides financial assistance for up

to $125 for each dialysis patient that affected by Super Typhoon Yutu.

The Commonwealth Advocates for Recovery Efforts reiterated on Nov. 2 its commitment to build a more resilient community and to identify, facilitate, and deliver resources and long-term support to address the unmet needs of in-dividuals and families impacted by disaster in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu. CARE works with national partnerships through National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, local partner-ships through the CNMI VOAD and other nonprofits, federal resources, local government resources, part-nerships with the private sector.

Macy’s Inc. announced the launch of a Round Up Campaign lo-cation with the help of its customers and associates to assist the com-munity’s immediate needs. From Nov. 4 to Nov. 30, Macy’s Guam will offer customers the oppor-tunity to round-up their in-store purchase to the nearest dollar (up to 99¢) with all proceeds benefit-ing the American Red Cross of the Northern Mariana Islands’ Super Typhoon Yutu Relief Efforts.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Guam and the Guam Chinese Association partnered to

support Saipan and Tinian from the Guam Chinese community. The associations secured a container and accepted supply donations or monetary donations to purchase water, canned goods, non-perish-able food items, personal hygiene items and more.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Guam Clinic in collaboration with Royal Cargo Guam, Ching Brothers and American Grocery donated butane stoves, butane, emergen-cy lamps and emergency fans to Saipan residents for Super Typhoon Yutu relief efforts.

Personal Finance Center is al-lowing customers to defer loan payments for three months as of Nov. 2 to support recovery efforts.

Pay-Less Markets Community Foundation is hosting a “Typhoon Yutu Relief for CNMI” drive at all store locations from Oct. 25 to Nov. 28. Customers can make monetary donations of $1, $5, and $10 upon checkout at any Pay-Less store. All change placed in the coin boxes at each register will also go towards relief efforts. PMCF will match the community’s monetary donations in stores up to $10,000. Monetary donations will be donated to the Håya Foundation to work direct-ly with people on the ground in

the Northern Mariana Islands to purchase the necessary goods for ty-phoon victims.

In addition, Pay-Less is accept-ing non-perishable food products at the stores that will be given to the Ayuda Foundation to be shipped to the NMI.

The Guam Procurement Technical Assistance Center col-lected donations from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 for items in need by those affected by Super Typhoon Yutu in Tinian. Drop off locations are at Guam PTAC University of Guam, Bank of Guam Upper Timon and Guam Economic Development Authority offices. mbj

CORPORATECONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

overseas, whether in the form of terrorist attacks or rival foreign governments.

Pentagon officials have support-ed that narrative, publicly calling for the forces to be ready for a conflict with a “near-peer” adversary.

In December, General Robert Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, told troops taking part in an exercise in Norway that they needed to be ready for a major engagement. mbj

WARCONTINUED FROM PAGE 12


KOROR, Palau — Retailers in Palau will have to remove their “reef-toxic” sunscreen from store shelves after President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr. signed on Oct. 25 a proposed measure that will ban sun-screens containing chemicals that are harming the corals.

The sunscreen ban is in the new Responsible Tourism Education Act 2018 which banned the sale and im-portation of “reef-toxic” sunscreen effective Jan. 1, 2020.

The law stated that retailers im-porting or selling banned sunscreen will receive a $1,000 fine, while sun-

screens found carried by tourists will be confiscated.

“The power to confiscate sun-screens should be enough to deter their non-commercial use, and these provisions walk a smart balance between educating tourists and scar-ing them away,” Remengesau said to leaders of Palau Congress when he signed the bill into law.

Sunscreens that are containing chemicals including oxybenzone, octocylene, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor and parabens and triclosan will be banned in Palau.

Remengesau said that there will be regulation issued before the ban takes effect and is hopeful that by then, retailers will be able to weed out the toxic sunscreens from their

stores and have found alternative products that will not kill the corals.

Under the law, the government will consult with experts during the drafting of the regulations on identi-fying reef-toxic sunscreen.

Remengesau said the corals are very important to the country, which relies heavily on the environment for its tourism and economy.

Palau follows Hawaii legislation, which early this year announced a ban on reef toxic sunscreens by 2021.

Craig Downs, executive director at the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Hawaii said Palau leads the world in protecting coral reefs.

“It’s the first country to ban

these chemicals from tourism. I think it’s great, they’re being proac-tive,” he said.

The Responsible Tourism Education Act of 2018 also addresses plastic pollution with a requirement for tour operators in Palau to pro-vide their customers with a reusable alternative to disposable plastic or polystyrene cups, water bottles and drinking straws.

The bill also will require tour op-erators to provide customers with reusable meal containers.

The new law also mandates aircrafts and vessels assist the country in notifying the passen-gers either through distribution of

For Chef and Managing Partner Dylan Saad, the opening of Primo Pizzakaya is the culmination of an ambition that began when he real-ized how much he wanted a culinary career.

“I discovered I really liked cook-ing; I liked cooking for people too,” Saad told the Journal.

Partner Richard Hawes said nur-turing Saad’s vision and career is part of the pleasure of investing in a restaurant — a departure from his retail holdings.

“What I like is working with a young entrepreneur … who’s a bit like I was. You can incubate something when someone’s got a passion,” Hawes said. He said other restaurants could follow. “This is the beginning.”

Saad’s journey has come full circle, he said. “My first culinary po-sition was in Austin, making pizzas.” Saad studied in Quezon City at the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management and continue to earn a 2011 associate’s degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

He then spent hands-on time working in the U.S. mainland spend-ing almost four years in Colorado. “Colorado was a wonderful experi-ence. I got to open two hotels; I did banquet work. That’s where I got my chef’s coat,” he said. He returned to Guam in 2015.

Saad started on-island as the chef at Crust Pizzeria, developing the res-taurant and preparing it to open. “It was a great learning experience and great working with that team,” he said. He then spent two years at the prestigious Roy’s Restaurant at the

Hilton Guam Resort & Spa. “I could influence it in a positive way and showcase myself as well,” he said. “Roy’s was my coming out party in Guam.”

It was also where he and Hawes first met and began a discussion on going into business together. The discussion continued when Saad moved to Alfredo’s Steakhouse at the Dusit Thani Guam.

“I had my heart set on opening a restaurant in Guam. It was always something I wanted to do.”

Last year Saad conceptualized the restaurant. “It was always meant to be a pizzeria.” However, he said, the cuisine is a melding of Italian and Japanese cuisine, influenced by his experience and the Asian in-fluence on Guam. “I wouldn’t call it a fusion — it’s more like a pairing — an Italian cuisine delivered on a Japanese platform.” He said the cuisines have certain similarities in their approach and emphasis on ingredients.

The atmosphere at the restaurant is equally important to the part-ners. “We want this to be social and friendly,” Saad said. “We’ll be happy to see you.”

The restaurant will focus on food and atmosphere, its partners said.

“It’s always about the food and the product,” Saad said. “If you lose touch with that, you lose touch with what the whole reason for doing this was.”

Aside from a new dining experi-ence and an emphasis on customer service, Hawes said the atmosphere at the restaurant will reflect the per-sonalities of the pair. “That’s what we want to do; we’re people persons.”

The restaurant is named for Saad’s late beloved pet dog, Primo, and incorporates the idea of a Japanese izakaya.

Palau bans sunscreen for action to aid responsible tourism

Pizza restaurant to pair Italian and Japanese cuisines

BY BERNADETTE H. CARRIONPalau Correspondent

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITAJournal Staff

Given its location — in Sun Plaza on Pale San Vitores Road oppo-site the Westin Guam Resort — the restaurant will inevitably attract tourists.

“That’s not our market base,” Saad said. He said there is a market for eating well late on Guam that is not being met, also for hospitali-ty employees as they finish work. “I wanted to give the option to the community, to my peers in the hos-pitality industry,” he said.

Primo Pizzakaya will therefore open from 5 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It will of-fer casual dining, without taking reservations.

Aside from pizzas with toma-to or cream bases, menu items will include appetizers or chesas, pasta, entrée-type dishes of steak and fish and desserts. “The menu is priced so you can try multiple things,” Saad said, with prices ranging from $6 to $12 for appetizers, $12 to $16 for pizza and $12 to $22 for entrees. “Even the beer and the wine are de-

signed for sharing,” Hawes said. Along with the pairing of the two

cuisines, Primo Pizzakaya has devel-oped its own local pizza base starter, with wild yeast. “When we make our dough, we don’t add packaged yeast,” Saad said. “It brings a com-pletely different flavor and makes the crust crispy and bread-like.”

The restaurant includes a mix of new and refurbished equipment and has been redecorated. Hawes said the investment is “close to a quarter of a million when we’re all done.” The work was significant. “We didn’t change the structure, but we changed everything else,” Saad said.

Primo Pizzakaya was due to hold its grand opening on Nov. 10. Formerly the Bangkok Café, the restaurant will employ eight to 10 people, with Marcie Castro manag-ing front of house, and will seat 44 at tables or bar seating.

Hawes is also managing director of the Gemkell Group — a subsid-iary of Tan Holdings, which owns and operates 19 boutiques in Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. mbj

(From left) Chef and Managing Partner Dylan Saad and Partner Richard Hawes of Open Ocean LLC, which does business as Primo Pizzakaya, shown in the restaurant on Nov. 6. They are standing in front of a mural by local artist Lee San Nicolas. The restaurant features red and black and wood in its décor, as well as local art.

Photo by Maureen N

. Maratita

SEE BAN ON PAGE 18


Local IT company Halo Tech plans to open a retail brick and mortar location in the early part of December, according to Owner and CEO Jaron Middleton.

The company is looking at leasing a 600-square-foot space at 1340 North Marine Corps Drive in Upper Tumon to get the business started. “It’s a little small for what we had planned, but it’s still a great start,” Middleton said.

When Halo Tech started, it was because the company saw a need for IT support for small to medium sized businesses — which is what Middleton believes most of Guam’s business community is made up of. “There were either large companies supporting enterprise level/big businesses or small fly by night shops that did small things,” Middleton said.

In two years of business,

Halo Tech has seen such a s i g n i f i c a n t increase in the demand for products and service that a separate retail location is necessary. “At first I’d just have customers tell me what they need and have them meet me at the office, but it’s to the point where I get so many requests that it just makes sense,” he said.

The company currently staffs five full time employees, but with the opening of the new retail location, Middleton is looking to hire more technicians. “We’re actively recruiting for at least two more full-time employees for the new retail location and maybe one or two additional field technicians,” he said.

“The new store will be stocked with roughly $100,000 worth of inventory at all times,” he said. “I don’t see us selling much in the way of consumables. I want to stick to

Middleton

BY JESSE C. BABAUTAJournal Staff

Halo Tech to open retail location

SEE HALO ON PAGE 18

Legal BriefsGuam Shipyard trial to be moved to later date

A trial to determine the fate of a lawsuit against Guam Industrial Services, which does business as Guam Shipyard, relative to a mass termination of employees has been pushed back due to the una-vailability of an expert witness.

Five former employees of Guam Shipyard filed the class action lawsuit in January 2014, alleging more than 150 employees of the company were terminated with-out reasonable notice in advance. The plaintiffs are requesting the District Court of Guam to certify the complaint as class action — meaning other employees affected but not named in the lawsuit can apply themselves to the result of the case — and that they are res-tituted for lost wages and benefits with the total exceeding $2 mil-lion, among other requests.

The complaint also requested a jury trial. Most recently, a trial for the case was set for Nov. 8, but the plaintiffs had asked to continue trial at another date because their expert witness was unavailable at the time. Defendants didn’t object to a changed date, and a schedul-ing conference is set for Dec. 4.

Propacific Builders sues Perma-Liner Industries

Local contractor Propacific Builders Corp. on Oct. 29 filed a lawsuit against Florida-based man-ufacturer Perma-Liner Industries LLC alleging failure to perform in a Guam Waterworks Authority sewage project the two companies were working on.

The contract, which GWA awarded Propacific, included reha-bilitating old underground sewage lines in Santa Rita and Talofofo. Propacific hired Perma-Liner to de-liver materials and equipment for the project, along with the training needed to operate them. Propacific alleged the performance that Perma-Liner said it would deliver did not live up to its expectations and caused major delays in the completion of the project, accord-ing to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges more than 20,000 hours of labor and super-vision, or roughly $450,000, was spent on remedying the issues brought upon by Perma-Liner’s ma-terials and equipment. Propacific also said it will incur costs exceed-

SEE LEGAL BRIEFS ON PAGE 18


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hardware — things like monitors, CCTV security systems.”

The expansion comes with potential for rebranding, “There is a possibility of rebranding and just keeping Halo Tech as a business entity,” Middleton said.

Once open, the new location will serve primarily as a retail outlet and intake for computer repair, although Middleton — who used to manage GameStop — said he has a soft spot for the gaming community and would like to continue catering to them. “When I see these young kids with all of this expensive equipment and they’re just missing that one thing … it’s become a niche of ours and I’d like to keep that going,” he said.

The main reason for the push to open a retail location in the next few weeks is the Christmas rush. “When I managed GameStop, we’d make 20% to 30% of the year’s revenue in the fourth quarter … so to be able to generate some revenue would give us a great start for the new year,” he said.

Middleton attributes much of Halo Tech’s success to being able to provide customers with products that are extremely hard to get at a price point that is still very affordable. “We’re able to sell equipment at a price similar to what you’d pay shopping on Amazon — except you don’t have to wait for your products to arrive because they’re available on island,” he said.

Some of Halo Tech’s current clientele include Docomo Pacific, Pacific Rim, Triple B Forwarders, GFS/Ruby Tuesday’s, Pacific Solar and Photovoltaic and the Micronesian Divers Association dive shops.

If all goes well with the new expansion, Middleton plans to open another location on Saipan. “We do a lot of business in the NMI and they also have a huge need for affordable products,” he said. “If we do open a Saipan location, we’re looking at launching that around this time next year.” mbj

HALOCONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

literature, playing of video or oth-erwise of Palau’s environmental protection, cultural preservation or other policies.

Remengesau stated that Palau’s environmental policies will be con-sistent with the Palau Responsible Tourism Policy Framework.

The president said Palau’s policy should revolve around a “high value, low volume tourism” and defined it as a “strategy that is character-ized by smaller- and medium-scale operations emphasizing local and authentic experiences.” mbj

BANCONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

ing $1 million in having to create a new pump station and a new by-pass sewer line around the project, which was not part of the contract. The company also anticipates in-curring costs of $1,000 per day past the targeted completion date of the project. Propacific asks the court to determine a justified amount for Perma-Liner to pay back.

Contractors file contempt motion against feds

The Guam Contractors Association and nearly a dozen construction and contracting com-panies on Nov. 1 filed a contempt motion against the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services on grounds that the federal depart-ment has not acted on an order handed by the District Court of Guam.

On Jan. 24, the federal court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, which meant USCIS cannot cast a blan-ket denial over temporary foreign skilled labor worker petitions fol-lowing that date. The department also had to reconsider its previous decisions to deny petition under the same pretense. However, no action has been done on this, according to the plaintiffs’ latest filing.

As of Nov. 5 USCIS had not filed a response to the contempt motion.

OPA dismisses TakeCare appeal on health insurance contract

The Guam Office of Public Accountability on Nov. 5 dismissed without prejudice an appeal made by TakeCare Insurance Co. Inc. on the government of Guam’s fis-cal 2019 Group Health Insurance Program. TakeCare agreed to drop its protest after the Department of Administration decided to redo the bidding process.

TakeCare protested the bid and stated the government illegally re-quired participating companies to include the Guam Regional Medical City, a private hospital, in their bids. After DOA denied its protest, TakeCare sought an appeal from the OPA. However, with the OPA’s decision, the health insur-ance contract for the government will now start over.

IPI employee alleges underpaid wages

A Singapore citizen hired by Imperial Pacific International as a VIP host on Sept. 18 filed a lawsuit against the company on allega-tions of being underpaid and not being compensated for overtime hours.

Shirline Loh was contracted as a VIP service host at the casino,

which included providing food and drinks to guests and tidying the VIP area among other related tasks, from October 2015 to August 2016 and she worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week, court doc-uments state. She was paid $2,300 a month.

The lawsuit alleges Loh was not paid minimum wages and overtime wages during her em-ployment at the casino and tips she received from guests were taken by the company. Loh is re-questing that the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands grant relief by ordering IPI to pay her the sum amount of wages, overtime compensation and share of tips she allegedly did not receive during her time of employment.

As of Nov. 1, the district court extended the deadline for IPI’s response to the complaint for a second time.

Odd lawsuit demands ‘zillions’ from financial institutions

Two unusual lawsuits filed Oct. 15 by Jaydeen Catherine Dela Cruz are demanding payment from a majority of Guam’s banks and credit unions to the amount of “$980 zillion thousand” after al-leging violations of civil rights, fair labor standard, discrimination and injunction.

Bank of Guam, BankPacific, Bank of Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank are named in one lawsuit while Coast360 Federal Credit Union, Community First Federal Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union and Pentagon Federal Credit Union are named in the other. Court documents do not in-dicate whether or not Dela Cruz was employed at any of these in-stitutions or if she had applied to work for them.

“Washington D.C., Seattle City Manufacturing Inc.” is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuits and Dela Cruz claims that she is a senator “through the legislature appointed by the U.S. District Court of Guam and the local government authori-ty.”

The District Court of Guam’s clerk’s office said it does not have authority to refuse filings and these cases are still handled by a judicial officer, who eventually recommends dismissal of the case due to lack of jurisdiction. Dela Cruz had filed a similar complaint in 2016, which was dismissed by the chief judge, according to the clerk’s office. mbj

LEGAL BRIEFSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 17


referendum, suggesting that it will ignore the outcome.

A previous referendum was held in 1996 on the question of U.S. bases, with voters asked whether they supported or op-posed a reduction in the number of U.S. military facilities within the prefecture and a review of the Status of Forces Agreement. Nearly 60% of eligible voters took part in the referendum, with more than 89% in favor of reducing the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.

The result of the vote had no im-pact on the policies of the national government.

Tamaki continues to promote his plans to reduce the number of U.S. military personnel in Okinawa,

and on Oct. 31 met with William Hagerty, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, to reiterate the prefecture’s opposition to the relocation of troops to an enlarged U.S. base at Camp Schwab. Hagerty replied that the U.S. “is aware” of the issue.

Tamaki has also expressed his anger at the Japanese government’s decision to resume landfill work at Camp Schwab, where two retaining walls have already been built out to sea over a coral reef. When the landfill work is completed, the new area will serve as the foundations for two new runways for U.S. mili-tary aircraft.

The governor said resumption of the work “goes against the will” of the majority of local residents and he called on Tokyo to respect the will of the people of the prefec-ture. mbj

RELOCATIONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

criticism from major financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Treasury Department. He also criticized Heine’s administration for what he described as unequal government service to outer islanders and removal of postal ballot voting privileges for Marshall Islanders living outside the country. Nemra said the government had not been transparent in explaining what happened and who is responsible for the theft — subsequently reimbursed by the U.S. bank managing the fund — last year from the Marshall Islands Trust Fund. The only reason leaders knew about the situation was from a report by the Marshall Islands Journal. In addition, he said the behavior of cabinet ministers violated the rules and spirit of the Nitijela.

While the government’s quick passage earlier this year of legislation to establish digital currency as legal tender has been a flashpoint for opposition criticism of government, it is the unmentioned issue of the Rongelap special investment zone that looms large in the background. The Rongelap proposal, known officially as the Rongelap Atoll Special Administrative Region, gained momentum in April when proponents held a launch for the plan in Hong Kong with much fanfare and media coverage. While announcing the plan for creating a high-tech investment area in the Marshall Islands in Hong Kong earlier this year, proponents had not established the legal framework to allow it to happen.

A 41-page legal review by the Office of the Attorney General of the proposed legislation to create RASAR concluded that the legislation “is not fit for presentation to the Nitijela.” The attorney general’s review said the proposal for a special administrative region was unconstitutional “given that the only form of political entity recognized under the constitution, albeit with limited law-making powers, are local governments. The constitution does not recognize the establishment of special autonomous regions, with political autonomy, as proposed in the draft bill.”

Heine and her cabinet’s refusal to support the RASAR proposal has angered proponents, who say the Marshall Islands needs to change its thinking to attract outside investors to boost the economy. In response to the proponents, the president reportedly had government legal advisors draft legislation for a “special economic zone” that was offered to RASAR proponents as

an alternative concept a few days before the motion of no confidence was introduced.

In the meantime, the Heine administration’s engagement with donors has seen grant funding to the Marshall Islands skyrocket over the past two years. The World Bank alone now has more than 10 projects in progress or in the pipeline worth more than $100 million.

Heine has also championed accountability in government and called for improved government performance since taking office nearly three years ago. One of her first moves was to establish an “Agenda 2020” listing 10 priority areas for government action to guide her administration. This was the first development plan of its kind by a government here since the late 1990s. mbj

CONFIDENCECONTINUED FROM PAGE 12


Summer Towers at Oka Point, Tamuning on Nov. 1 officially opened its second tower of high-end condominiums and within five days, 13 of the 44 units were already reserved.

A development with four high-rise buildings, Summer Towers achieved full occupancy of its first tower — 51 units divided among 13 floors — which prompted the opening of its second set of con-dos. The second tower has 11 floors, with each floor consisting of two three-bedroom units and two four-bedroom units.

“Tower Two is a step up and i m p r o v e m e n t from the first tower,” said Juno Eun, pres-ident and CEO of Core Tech D e v e l o p m e n t LLC. “As we continue our d e v e l o p m e n t , we always try to improve our conditions.”

Notable differences between the first and second towers include changes to the second tower’s til-ing, windows and air conditioning, as well as better quality materials used throughout the unit spaces. Some of these changes were made as a result of concerns drawn by tenants of the first tower, includ-ing problems with water leaking through windows and air condi-tioners breaking down. Eun said fixes were made to the first tower after these concerns were heard, but the developer also took it as a lesson to apply to its remaining towers.

With better conditions in the second tower come slightly high-er pricing than the first tower, but Eun assured that overall, both tow-ers are renting at a price lower than the original price recommended by marketing experts.

“We asked a professional out-side broker what the average price should be on the market, but Core Tech tends to start a bit lower. We do this because we want tenants to stay for a long time,” Eun said. “Rental units on Tower One are about $500 lower than the rec-ommended pricing. Tower Two is about $150 lower.”

That’s a $350 difference applied to the first tower’s rental units, which range between $2,200 and $3,000.

“Our tenants range from corpo-rate executives, military officials and even local residents who are looking to sell their homes and opt for a simpler yet comfortable space with a great view,” he said.

Meanwhile, the third and fourth towers are still under construction and are expected to be complet-ed sometime next year. Eun said at least one of these towers could serve a slightly different function; instead of long-term rental units, a tower would be used in the same sense as a hotel where individu-als can stay for a few days up to a month.

Core Tech is also building 16 villas along the nearby coastline, but building will commence once all four towers are complete. mbj

More luxury condominiums up for rent in TamuningBY JOHN I. BORJA

Journal staff

Eun

Summer Towers in Tamuning is now renting its second set of luxury condominiums.

Photo courtesy of Core Tech Developm

ent LLC



Bank unveils refreshed logo HAGÅTÑA, Guam — Bank of

Guam’s new logo features “a simpli-fied and modern font and [a] stylized carabao” according to an Oct. 26 re-lease. The Bank has used a carabao in the logo for its 46 years of doing business.

Contagious virus circulating in FSM

KOLONIA, Pohnpei — The

Division of Public Health announced that chicken pox, or varicella, is cir-culating in the Federated States of Micronesia, according to an Oct. 30 release from Yap. Chicken pox re-sults in a distinctive skin rash and blisters and is contagious.

Another house flipping company pitches Guam

LINDON, Utah — Affluence EDU is inviting Guam residents to learn about the potential of house “flipping,” this time using the name of Scott and Amie Yancey of the for-mer show “Flipping Vegas” on the A&E network, though the couple will not be present. Attendees are offered meals at the Hyatt Regency

Guam on Nov. 17, the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort on Nov. 18 and the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa on Nov. 18. A $250 coffee voucher is attached to the invitation sent by post, with monthly coffee costs re-deemable up to $20 per month by mailing receipts. House flipping has gained in popularity due to a variety of television programs (see “House flipping gains momentum” in the May 29, 2017 issue of the Journal).

Shipper launches Hawaii to Majuro service

HONOLULU — Matson issued a news release on Oct. 31 confirming the launch of its direct service from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands (see

“On the horizon” in the Oct. 1 issue of the Journal). The service will call at Kwajalein, Ebey and Majuro. The maiden voyage was due to arrive in Kwajalein on Nov. 3.

GDOL mobile app launched for jobseekers

HAGÅTÑA, Guam — The Guam Department of Labor and the American Job Center announced the agency’s first mobile application: HireGuam, the mobile version of the hireguam.com website. The mobile app is part of the Reemployment and Systems Integration - Dislocated Worker Grant that was awarded to GDOL/AJC in 2016. $80,940 of those funds went into the design, produc-tion and maintenance of the app, DOL said in an Oct. 30 release.

GMH to receive island maternity patients and others

DEDEDO, Guam — The Guam Regional Medical Center announced Oct. 31 that from Nov. 2 it will no longer accept in-patients for mater-nal-child health services — which include labor and delivery, general pediatrics, pediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care. All such services will be handled by Guam Memorial Hospital, with the ex-ception of emergencies. GRMC will expand its adult specialty care ser-vices, the release said.

In other GRMC news, the hos-pital announced Oct. 29 that it will begin to implement visitor badging.

Airport AARF facility project starts AB WON PAT INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT, Guam — Guam’s airport hosted a “ground washing” at the beginning of construction of the 30,000 square foot Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Building on Nov. 1. The airport received a $15.9 mil-lion grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to fund the building, which was announced in August, according to Journal files. The grant was part of $616.9 million in air-port infrastructure grants, as part of a total of $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program funding for airports across the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Briefcase

SEE BRIEFCASE ON PAGE 23


es so the branch can make room for incoming mail.

Daily charter flights launchedTUMON, Guam — The Guam

Visitors Bureau announced Nov. 7 that Ken Real Estate of Ken Corp. in partnership with Jeju Air launched on Oct. 28 its daily non-stop charter

flights from Narita, Japan to Guam (see “Lifting off: Hotel group to fly tourists to Guam” in the Aug. 6 issue and “Jeju Air to open Narita-Guam flights” in the Sept. 17 issue of the Journal.)

The charters contribute to the 471 total charter flights that Guam will receive through the end of this

calendar year, as well as more than 600 scheduled total charter flights in 2019, bringing in more than 119,000 seats, according to the release.

Archdiocese to file bankruptcyHAGÅTÑA, Guam — Archbishop

In other GIAA news, the air-port announced Nov. 1 that it had received a 100% compliance score on its annual Federal Aviation Administration certification inspec-tion for the third year in a row.

United, airlines relocate to Terminal 3 in Manila

NINOY AQUINO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — United Airlines relocated to Terminal 3 at NIA on Oct. 28, ac-cording to a release from United. Terminal 3 is the newest terminal at NIA and is expected to house more international airlines as they move from Terminal 1. The air-port has four terminals. Terminal 1 and 3 serve international flights, Terminal 2 houses Philippine Airlines and PAL Express and Terminal 4 houses local and re-gional carriers.

More than 30 airlines use Manila airport as a destination and 2016 the airport handled 39.52 mil-lion passengers, according to NAIA.

Saipan residents encouraged to check for packages

CHALAN KANOA, Saipan — The U.S. Postal System Saipan Branch scanner system is down so tracking information is unavaila-ble for residents to track delivery of packages, even if delivered. The scanners will be sent to Guam for repair, according to an Oct. 30 release from the Office of the Governor. USPS asked residents to check their post boxes for packag-

BRIEFCASECONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

G r a p h i c Center Inc. has expanded its focus from the corporate to consumer mar-ket with the opening of Island Color and Copy — a new printing and cop-ying operation in Tamuning. Already opera-tional and open to customers, the company will hold its grand opening for corporate clients on Nov. 16.

“It really takes us into a new market,” Christopher Biolchino, vice president of technology, told the Journal. “In the past people would stop by our office and say,

‘Can you make a copy of this?’ … our employees could make you 10,000 copies, but one copy — here at Graphic Center that really isn’t our forte.”

The new center will allow the company to cater to those smaller consumer requests, while focusing on what Biolchino described as the “from birth to death” needs of the customers. The main feature of the operation will be a showroom with displays of the sample work avail-able to customers for events from the birth of a child to sports teams, school features, weddings, memori-als and everything in between. The operation will also provide copiers for consumers to come in and make smaller, immediate copy requests.

“It’s hard to say exactly what [the product] will be … but it’s definitely attractive for engineering, tradition-al, banners and other wide format printing,” Biolchino said.

Five new employees will man-

Graphic Center launches consumer focusBY MEGHAN HICKEY

Journal staff

BiolchinoIsland Color and Copy is located in Tamuning in the old Mark’s Sporting Goods store building.

Photo by Meghan H

ickey

age the operation, led by Manager Kevin Camacho.

Island Color and Copy is locat-ed next to Graphic Center’s current building in Tamuning in what used to be the Mark’s Sporting Goods store. The building is on long-term

lease to Graphic Center by MV Pangelinan Enterprises Inc.

The newly renovated consumer space will encompass approximate-ly 3,000 square feet of the total building. “It was definitely a five-fig-ure renovation,” Biolchino said. mbj

Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero on Nov. 6 emerges from voting at John F. Kennedy High School. Leon Guerrero and her running mate Joshua Tenorio won the majority of Guam’s votes.

Photo by Meghan H

ickey

Lou and Josh win race for Adelup, Democrats take legislature, Congressional seat

Unofficial results of the 2018 General Election show the Democratic gubernatorial team of Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero and Joshua Tenorio won the majori-ty of Guam’s votes, setting Leon Guerrero to be the first female gov-ernor of Guam.

Guam Election Commission tal-lies on all 67 precincts indicate Leon Guerrero and Tenorio earned 50.7% or 18,081 votes while Republican challengers Lt. Gov. Raymond S.

Tenorio and former Sen. Vicente “Tony” Ada received 26.4% or 9,419 votes. Write-in votes accounted for almost 23% or 8,161 votes.

Sen. Michael F.Q. San Nicolas beat Republican candidate and for-mer Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks for the delegate seat in Congress, with 19,053 votes over Brooks’ 15,263 votes. In the race for attorney general, Attorney Leevin Taitano Camacho beat former Attorney General Douglas B. Moylan with 23,802 votes over 11,344 votes.

For the 35th Guam Legislature, 10 Democrats and five Republicans

made up the 15 spots, with acting Speaker Therese M. Terlaje, Sen. Telena Cruz Nelson, Sen. Joe S. San Agustin, former senator Tina Rose Muna-Barnes and Sen. Mary Camacho Torres earning the top five votes. A recount will likely be done to verify the 15th rank be-cause of how close the votes were between Jose Terlaje, Celestin Cruz Babauta, Adolpho Borja Palacios and Jermaine Alerta — all Democratic candidates. The 35th Guam Legislature will also go down in history as the first female majori-ty legislature.

SEE BRIEFCASE ON PAGE 28

The Guam Korean Chamber of Commerce held an inaugural mixer on Oct. 29 at Tumon Sands Plaza.

Photos by Meghan Hickey

(From left) Jae Seung Park, president, Pacific Produce Corp. and Pacific Petroleum Trading Corp.; and Kil Koo Yoon, president and CEO, Younex International Corp.

(From left) R. Marsil Johnson, attorney, Blair Sterling Johnson & Martinez Law Firm; John Selleck, managing director for Guam and Micronesia, Royal Cargo Guam LLC; and Patrick H. Sherman, co-founder and managing partner, Tobikogo.

(From left) Hannah Cho Iriarte, public relations director, Dreamstorm Productions, Sue Lee, owner, Napu Mart; and Sen. Michael F.Q. San Nicolas.

(From left) John Paul L. Manuel, chief of staff, office of Sen. Michael F.Q. San Nicolas; and Rick San Nicolas, Lexus sales manager, Atkins Kroll Inc.

24 November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018 www.mbjguam.com Marianas Business JournalFocus

mbjguam.com

The Guam Contractors Association Excellence in Construction Awards was held on Nov. 2 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.

(Standing, from left) Jester Abucay, project engineer; Timothy Reek, superintendent; Tommo Temma, cost manager; Todd Cooper, quality control manager; and (seated, from left) Jared Williams, superintendent; Aaron Snyder, construction manager; Bradley Hinson, project manager; Kevin Kruger, senior project manager; Hide Fukami, general manager; and Taimei Matsumoto, accounting manager, all of Granite Construction-Obayashi Joint Venture.

(From left) Albert Smith, group managing director; David McCallum, civil projects manager; Scott Reed, superintendent, all of Smithbridge Guam Inc.; Nixon Mercado, president and manager, Techni-con Inc.; and Graeme Ridley, contract manager, Smithbridge Guam.

Photos by Justin Green

Marianas Business Journal www.mbjguam.com November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018 25Focus

mbjguam.com

The Indian Community of Guam held a Diwali Festival of Lights event on Nov. 3 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.

(From left) Joy Ambrale, nurse, Guam Regional Medical City; Buffy Hespelt, nurse, Yuan’s General Hospital;and Pramila Sullivan, executive director, Guam Medical Association.

(From left) Daniel Holms, quality control manager, Contrack Watts Inc.; Erin Holms, data pro-cessing manager, Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Division; Selina Ashland, general manager, Marianas Gas Corp., which does business as Island Equipment Co.; Joe Burke, precast superintendent, Contrack Watts; Jack Hanson; and Jackie Hanson, communications specialist, University of Guam, and wife of Jack.

Photos by Justin Green

(From left) Marney Schaumann, founder, Soap Cycling Guam; Ranjna Dewan Beaman, owner, Javani Beauty, realtor, Edge Realty and president, Indian Community of Guam; and Connie Hong, president, Base Corp.

(From left) Graeme Ridley, contract manager, Smithbridge Guam Inc.; Joonu Thomas; and Vinitha Thomas, guests of the Indian Community of Guam.


While some Palau politicians continue to express concern over diplomatic pressure from China affecting the economy, the Taiwan embassy in Palau reaffirms that it will continue with efforts to help benefit the island republic’s industries.

Palau National Congress Speaker of the House Sabino Anastacio and Senate President Hokkons Baules have been vocal on their stance for closer relations with China, contrary to President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr.’s resolve to maintain relationships with both China and Taiwan.

“The economy has improved a lot because of the Chinese coming in. Now there seems to be a bit of a round turn,” Anastacio said.

But Taiwan sees things differently.

“We believe the quality re-lationship between Taiwan and Palau is beneficial for both countries’ sustainable national de-velopment,” a spokesperson for

Taiwan Ambassador Wallace Chow told the Journal.

Taiwan and Palau officially be-came partners in 1999, but even before then the former initiated sev-eral programs to assist with Palau’s fishing and agriculture industries. Since then, the aid provided by Taiwan has increased measurably.

“The Taiwan government has been cooperating with the Palau government in the fields of educa-tion, medicine, agriculture, fishery and infrastructure to foster a better environment,” the embassy said.

Recent projects Taiwan is work-ing or has worked with Palau on include a pig slaughterhouse which opened in February; the installation of solar power systems in various government buildings, schools and the Belau National Hospital; medical and public health services and sup-plies to support the local health care industry; and vocational training projects and workshops, scholarship opportunities and Mandarin lan-guage courses.

The embassy hopes to further the programs in these various industries as diplomacy continues between the

CAPITOL HILL, Saipan — Days after Super Typhoon Yutu ravaged Saipan and Tinian the night of Oct. 24, the two islands are beginning to overcome multiple challenges.

Many essential private sector businesses are re-opening, but with reduced and daylight hours — some accepting cash only. Businesses were reminded to issue transac-tion receipts by the Department of Finance and the Division of Revenue and Taxation. Gas stations initial-ly saw long lines and some are still inoperable.

Many major hotels on Saipan remain open under independent power and water systems. Coral Ocean Golf Resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Aquarius Beach Tower and Saipan World Resort are closed, leaving Saipan with nearly 75% of hotel rooms open. Emergency responders and residents are occu-pying rooms, according to the Office of the Governor, which said Oct. 31 that the airport will reopen on Nov. 15. This will be two days after the Northern Mariana Islands election, postponed from Nov. 6 to Nov. 13.

Government offices resumed work on Nov. 1, albeit with reduced hours. Saipan and Tinian public

Amid pressure, Taiwan still hopeful with Palau diplomacy

Recovery moves forward in typhoon-hit NMI

BY JOHN I. BORJAJournal staff

Storm Brief

Palau developments proposed in fiscal 2018Development Owner/contact Cost Rooms Status

Palau Aimeliik Resort

Sea Sky International

$60 million

807 Phase 1 approved by the Board with amended permit for the reduction of number of rooms, Phase 2 pending board decision

Chief Garden Hotel

Pacific Tourism Development Inc.

$1.12 million

40 Permit issued

Grand Palace Ocean Villa

Better BC Holdings $5.05 million

50 Pending

Ngellil Nature Island Resort

Saburo Isike $2.78 million

9 Construction complete

Palau Blue Gold Hotel

Eric Kuo $48.69 million

342 Permit issued

Palm Springs Resort

Shallum Etpison $66 million

60 Permit issued

Source: Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board as of Nov. 7

two partners, it said.Because of the “One China” pol-

icy, the People’s Republic of China refuses to support nations that view Taiwan as an independent entity, and the country has applied pressure on Palau by cutting down tourism opportunities to the island republic.

Palau is still receiving Chinese visitors, however, and though there is a downward trend in numbers, China remains the top visitor mar-

ket for Palau, according to data from the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Immigration and the Ministry of Finance’s Bureau of Budget and Planning. For fiscal 2018, 50,211 Chinese visitors came to Palau, with Japanese visitors next in line at 24,437.

While the tourism ban has definitely impacted numbers, it’s unclear how the ban is being admin-

SEE DIPLOMACY ON PAGE 31

SEE TYPHOON ON PAGE 27Super Typhoon Yutu ravaged Saipan and Tinian the night of Oct. 24.

Photo courtesy of EXP


Tobikogo extends service beyond Guam to the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia so businesses can sell their products to those mar-kets. The website can also serve as a supply chain for businesses as they replenish their inventory.

The business’s name derives from the Japanese word tobiko, or flying fish roe. Sung explained that a flying fish’s versatility to swim quickly and seemingly take flight is much like Tobikogo’s model of ship-ping goods and products either by air or sea.

“We want to take advantage of e-commerce’s growing trend. It’s everywhere else; I don’t see why we shouldn’t be growing this platform here,” Sung said.

The team is open to feedback on items they can provide to the com-munity. Those who wish to inquire about items or offer suggestions can do so on their website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram under the us-ername @tobikogo or via email at [email protected].

As a way of giving back to the community, Tobikogo will be donat-ing a portion of the proceeds from its Cyber Monday sales to a local nonprofit organization. mbj

OPPORTUNITIESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

schools suffered varying levels of damage and have a “conditional opening target within seven weeks,” according to a Nov. 5 release from the Public School System, with possible double sessions at some schools and adjustment of the school year. Gregorio “Kilili” Camacho Sablan, NMI delegate to Congress, said in an Oct. 31 release the Public School System would decide which schools to repair or rebuild, and that any supplemental appropriations leg-islation for typhoon and hurricane

stricken communities could in-clude PSS funding. The Northern Marianas College campus was also badly hit by the typhoon.

Numerous national and re-gional entities and non-profits have galvanized donations and man-power to help in Saipan and Tinian (see “Corporate Giving” on Page 13). Guam National Guard personnel are in Saipan and Tinian. Government of Guam employees and resources were sent from the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam and the Guam Power Authority, which announced the departure of an

SEE TYPHOON ON PAGE 28

TYPHOONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 26


Michael Byrnes announced Nov. 7 that between mid-December and mid-January the Archdiocese of Agana will file a Chapter 11 reor-ganization proceeding in the U.S. District Court of Guam.

Byrnes made the decision in

consultation with the Archdiocesan Finance Council and the College of Consulters priest advisory group. Parishes and schools will continue their operations after the bankrupt-cy has been filed, and it is anticipated that there will be a notice process al-lowing all victims of clergy abuse to have their claims resolved in a fair process. mbj

BRIEFCASECONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

Q: What is your favorite role and why; and your favorite location you’ve performed in and why?

A: Every role is special to me, and that is one of the things I love about being an actor is that I get to live 1,000 lives in one lifetime. So, every role is very important to me. When I did Saigon I thought Uy would be my ultimate dream role, and then when I got to play Angel in Rent. I decided that every role is important, and every role is my favorite.

Q: What is the significance of di-recting and performing the show Rent on Guam this year?

A: I think it’s that Rent is com-ing back home to Guam because it was here 10 years ago, so I think that’s one. And for me, it’s coming home to Rent as well, because I did it 10 years ago in Germany — but this time not as Angel but as the director.

It’s also World Theater Productions first year anniversary show and no better place to do an anniversary show than Sandcastle. I think it will be the very first musical production that will be staged at the Sandcastle, so I think those three factors are very significant.

Q: How do you see this perfor-mance standing out amidst the rest of the shows you’ve directed?

A: Rent is very realistic. It’s very challenging because we have to make it relevant still. But that shouldn’t be a problem because all the issues are happening still

in the society … they’re based on real stories, but it’s complex.

There’re so many layers of context, it’s difficult. But the goal is to make the subtext and context become one. Every acting choice, every choice that we make whether acting-wise or directorial has to be well thought out.

Q: What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of Guam’s entertainment industry and what do you think it has the oppor-tunity to leverage/improve on?

A: It’s the dedication of our ac-tors on the island. It’s always that. I think craft and talent are good to have, but if you’re not dedicated then talent is not enough.

It’s so easy to be complacent on the island, because the same people get the chance to play the lead, and in our profession it’s so easy to be carried away with the applause of the audience every night. So, it’s so easy to be complacent and to think that they’ve already peaked — and that’s the danger of this.

That is something that I hope they will continue to learn — dedication and commitment.

Q: Is there anything about your work we didn’t ask about that you feel would interest the business community?

A: One of our visions for WPP is to bring international artists to the island so that our local artists get to work side by side with them. That’s the best way to learn — by doing. I think it will be a good ex-perience for our local artists to work side by side with them, so they know and see what it is like in mainstream theater. mbj

Q&ACONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Private chef, cooking instructor and author Becky Selengut visited Guam to share her recipes.

Photo by John I. Borja

Seattle chef shares sustainable food recipes with GuamFisherman’s Cove at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa from Oct.

22 to Oct. 27 welcomed seasoned private chef, cooking teacher and award-winning author Becky Selengut to share some of her recipes from her book, “Good Fish.”

Hailing from Seattle, Selengut often travels especially to Japan, to not only share her recipes and teach but also to be inspired by the vari-ous kinds of cuisine she tries along the way. Selengut said she’s been a staunch advocate of sustainability, foraging and Japanese food and she incorporates these in her recipes. She said she has been active in the restaurant industry for more than 10 years.

At Fisherman’s Cove, Selengut shared four of her tasty seafood recipes: celery root tart with caramelized leeks and caviar, Dungeness crab mac and cheese, coffee and spice rubbed salmon tacos and agedashi (deep-fried bonito flakes) salmon with asparagus.

Selengut also co-wrote “Washington Local and Seasonal Cookbook” and “Not One Shrine” and wrote “Shroom” and “How to Taste.”

additional 26 employees Nov. 1. Additional help with utilities was offered Nov. 4 from Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Palau and Rota, as well as support from the Department of Defense – Army Corp of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. medical teams have visited community shelters. Some 800 res-idents were displaced in Saipan and Tinian according to the NMI administration.

Representatives of the admin-istration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration be-gan disaster assessment on Oct. 28

SEE TYPHOON ON PAGE 31


Business and government alike have joined forces to send much needed supplies to typhoon victims in Saipan and Tinian.

Photo courtesy of EXP

Marianas Business Journal www.mbjguam.com November 12, 2018 - November 25, 2018 29Data BankInformation you can use to build your business

mbjguam.com

Guam new car registrations for September

MakeCars Light Trucks Vans SUVs

Total Percent of overall Previous year Month differential

Comp Mid Size Full Coupe / Sport Comp Mid Size Full Size Mini Van Full Comp Mid Size Full

Acura 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0.4% 11 -81.8%

BMW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 4 -100.0%

Buick 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 8 1.5% 17 -52.9%

Cadillac 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

Chevrolet 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 7 1.3% 17 -58.8%

Chrysler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.2% 0 #DIV/0!

Dodge 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.4% 2 +0.0%

Ford 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 10 1.9% 26 -61.5%

GMC 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0 0 0 3 0 16 3.0% 25 -36.0%

Honda 13 8 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 15 1 0 46 8.8% 46 +0.0%

Hyundai 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 3 0 37 7.0% 19 +94.7%

Infiniti 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.4% 3 -33.3%

Jeep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 7 1.3% 1 +600.0%

Kia 12 5 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 0 0 26 5.0% 25 +4.0%

Land rover 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 0.8% 2 +100.0%

Lexus 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 16 3.0% 38 -57.9%

Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 1 -100.0%

Mazda 23 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 49 9.3% 45 +8.9%

Mitsubishi 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 18 3.4% 42 -57.1%

Nissan 32 16 0 1 0 9 1 0 5 16 3 0 83 15.8% 90 -7.8%

Scion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

Subaru 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 6 1.1% 6 +0.0%

Suzuki 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

Toyota 29 7 0 0 0 71 2 0 0 31 27 0 167 31.8% 247 -32.4%

Mini 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

Fiat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

OMSC Ford 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.6% 10 -70.0%

OMSC Dodge 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 1.0% 3 +66.7%

OMSC Jeep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 0.6% 2 +50.0%

OMSC Chrysler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

OMSC Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0 #DIV/0!

AK BMW 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1.1% 0 #DIV/0!

“OTHER” 1 0.2% 3 -66.7%

Totals

137 48 4 10 0 88 19 16 5 142 52 3 525 100.0% 685 -23.4%

199 107 21 197

26% 9% 1% 2% 0% 17% 4% 3% 1% 27% 10% 1%

Source: Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation

Top 20 commodities exported from guamJuly — September 2018

Country of origin

Commodity Dollars($) Hong Kong FSM Japan Marshall Islands

Palau All others

Jewelry articles of precious metal 1,986,225 1,942,333 14,750 29,142 0

Beer made from malt 1,370,083 486,521 844,523 39,039 0

Printed books, brochures and other 1,364,883 1,364,883

Tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and cigarillos 1,052,978 956,601 19,475 73,902 3,000

Fish, live, chilled or frozen 949,906 943,383 6,523

Perfumes and toilet waters 681,807 466,676 215,131 0

Trunks, suitcases and other similar bags 451,735 451,735 0

Motor cars designed for transport of persons 409,023 162,744 76,504 118,645 51,130

Petroleum oils and gases 202,078 44,000 25,571 82,555 49,952

Wrist-watches, pocket watches or other 163,941 106,539 33,540 23,862

Ethyl alcohol, undenatured, liqueurs and other 139,720 83,728 22,572 33,420 0

Water, containing sugar 126,623 110,581 16,042 0

Sunglasses, spectacles, corrective or protective 125,220 74,589 41,060 9,571

Aluminum waste, scraps, tubes or fittings 120,000 19,200 100,800

Carton boxes of paper 113,426 113,426

Stone, plaster or asbestos 88,384 88,384 0

Wine 87,367 55,053 25,080 7,234

Copper, stranded wire, waste and scrap 82,596 82,596

Imitation jewelry 69,600 69,600 0

Lead, waste and scrap 54,780 54,780

Source: Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans


Northern Mariana Islands new business licenses for June - July 2018Applicant Given to Mailing address Business description

OKEANOS TRADITIONAL SAILING FOR FUTURE SOLUTIONS RAMON A. TEBUTEB P.O. BOX 502179 SAIPAN MP 96950 BOAT OPERATIONS

CAMILLE JOY C. TORRES P.O. BOX 5136 SAIPAN MP 96950 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

JOJO M. FALLER PMB 314 PPP BOX 10000 SAIPAN MP 96950 RETAIL GENERAL MERCHANDISE

LU'S AMERICAN EAGLE CORP. GUO RONG XU P.O. BOX 504243 SAIPAN MP 96950 TAILORING SHOP

PACIFIC SUBSEA HOLDINGS INC. STEPHEN J. NUTTING P.O. BOX 5093 CHRB SAIPAN MP 96950 HOLDING COMPANY

RGB GROUP LLC P.O. BOX 503881 SAIPAN MP 96950 FOOD MANUFACTURING

SAIPAN AGRICULTURAL FAIR ASSOCIATION CALLER BOX 10007 SAIPAN MP 96950 FARMERS

DANBURITE LLC MICHAEL W. DOTTS P.O. BOX 505979 SAIPAN MP 96950 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

GRANDCITYNINE (CNMI) LLC MICHAEL W. DOTTS P.O. BOX 505979 SAIPAN MP 96950 JUNKET OPERATOR

ANDREW MCCLURE P.O. BOX 506399 SAIPAN MP 96950 RETAIL

JOE'S OWN LLC PO BOX 500748 SAIPAN MP 96950 IT CONSULTING

BOLTON & CO. P.O. BOX 6030 PASADENA CA 91102 INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT

DENTON-JOE O. PANGELINAN P.O. BOX 5084 CHRB SAIPAN MP 96950 PHOTOGRAPHY

GRAND APARTMENT LLC JORDAN C. SUNDELL PMB 149 BOX 10001 SAIPAN MP 96950 APARTMENT RENTAL

U.S. CHENG HAI INTERNATIONAL SAMUEL I. MOK PMB 888 BOX 10002 SAIPAN MP 96950 REAL ESTATE AGENCY

CNMI RUGBY TEAM STANLEY T. IAKOPO P.O. BOX 506513 SAIPAN MP 96950 SPORTS ORGANIZATION

BIBONG CORP. SUNG JOON AN PMB 37 BOX 10005 SAIPAN MP 96950 TOUR AGENCY

CARL LOU Q. ESPINOSA P.O. BOX 520007 TINIAN MP 96952 CONSTRUCTION

PACIFIC MEDICAL UNIVERSITY CORP. MOON HWAN PARK P.O. BOX 502843 SAIPAN MP 96950 RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

ALVIN MATTHEW & ANITA MAE A. SABLAN P.O. BOX 503838 SAIPAN MP 96950 ONLINE MARKETING

SAIPAN TOUR STAR CO. LTD. JIN KOO CHO PMB 1363 BOX 10003 SAIPAN MP 96950 TOUR AGENCY

GN CONSULTING CORP. SUNG SOO LIM P.O. BOX 500440 SAIPAN MP 96950 CONSULTATION AND MARKETING

LEE & SONS SAIPAN CORP. P.O. BOX 500440 SAIPAN MP 96950 CONSULTATION AND MARKETING

MARICON ANNELLE O. BRICIA ALLEN P.O. BOX 506330 SAIPAN MP 96950 CRAFT (INTEGRATED SCENTED ITEMS)

R & E CNMI CORP. CARMELITA G. RANAS P.O. BOX 504280 SAIPAN MP 96950 FLOWER SHOP

COLBY C. OGO P.O. BOX 1446 ROTA MP 96951 JANITORIAL SERVICES

EVERETT C. GARCES P.O. BOX 1080 ROTA MP 96951 GROUND MAINTENANCE

JUANICIA VILLANUEVA P.O. BOX 503500 SAIPAN MP 96950 COMMERCIAL SPACE RENTAL

TISHA LYN C. SANCHEZ P.O. BOX 25287 BARRIGADA GU 96921 APARTMENT RENTAL

ALMANDINE LLC MICHAEL W. DOTTS P.O. BOX 505979 SAIPAN MP 96950 RETAIL SALES

PARAISU CORP. THOMPSON LAW LLC PMB 465 BOX 10003 SAIPAN MP 96950 CRYPTO CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND CONSULTING

DEAN JEROME SABLAN PANGELINAN P.O. BOX 501035 SAIPAN MP 96950 SCUBA DIVING INSTRUCTION

FWY CORP. KETANG FENG PMB 22 BOX 10003 SAIPAN MP 96950 RESTAURANT

MARIANA TRENCH CO. LTD. SEONG BIN LEE PMB 682 BOX 10005 SAIPAN MP 96950 ACCOUNTING SERVICES

PALETTE TRAVEL LLC ZHAO SHUI HOU P.O. BOX 10001 PMB 305 SAIPAN MP 96950 CAR RENTAL

RIANA KRISTIN MC CALE P.O. BOX 506621 SAIPAN MP 96950 RETAIL

SOPHIA E. PEREZ PMB 326 BOX 10001 SAIPAN MP 96950

Data BankInformation you can use to build your business

mbjguam.com

Source: Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation

Guam new business licenses for May - June 2018

Business name Issued to Address VILLAGE Zip code Description

CAFE N' PLAY ZANAVI CORP. P.O. BOX 4337 HAGÅTÑA 96932 CHILDRENS INDOOR PLAYGROUND

DUENAS, GORING T. DUENAS, GORING T. P.O. BOX 2296 96932 EDUCATION CONSULTANT

KADIASANG, SCOTT T. KADIASANG, SCOTT T. P.O. BOX 4813 96932 GENERAL BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES

TAN SU INTERTRADE INC. TAN SU INTERTRADE INC. P.O. BOX 12165 TAMUNING 96931 HOUSE RENTAL 1 UNIT

MARIUR, JULIA RAPA MARIUR, JULIA RAPA P.O. BOX 12533 96931 HOUSE RENTAL 1 UNIT

DELA CRUZ, JOSEPH AND MARIEBETH

DELA CRUZ,JOSEPH AND MARIEBETH 10908 CORRE CORDORNIZ SAN DIEGO 92127 HOUSE RENTAL 1 UNIT

FISHERMAN'S EXPRESS PREMIER KEN GUAM, LP P.O. BOX 11199 96913 SALE OF FOOD AND NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

CAFE N' PLAY ZANAVI CORP. P.O. BOX 4337 HAGÅTÑA 96932 SALE OF CLOTHING ACCESSORIES TOYS

R U GAME HOEBING LLC P.O. BOX 23714 96921 GAME ROOM

PLEADWELL, ROSANNE PLEADWELL, ROSANNE 540 NORTH SABANA BARRIGADA 96913 (ON-CALL) BUSINESS AND EDUCATION

QUAN, VANESSA A.T. QUAN, VANESSA A.T. P.O. BOX 11427 YIGO 96929 ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

UPDREAM ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

UPDREAM ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

865 S MARINE CORPS DR.. SUITE 201 TAMUNING 96913 ENTERTAINMENT PROMOTERS

CHARGUALAF, CHERYL LYNN TORRES

CHARGUALAF, CHERYL LYNN TORRES 137 FERNANDEZ CT. 96915 MASSAGE THERAPY SERVICES

ZAHNEN'S PROPERTIES ZAHNEN III, ROBERT M. P.O. BOX 11429 96929 HOUSE RENTAL 1 UNIT

Source: Northern Mariana Islands Department of Finance


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Glimpses Publications include Guam Business Magazine, Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas, The Real Estate Journal and Drive Guam.

Marianas Business Journal, Volume 16, Number 14 — November 12, 2018. Entire contents copyrighted 2018 by Glimpses of Guam Inc. Marianas Business Journal is published biweekly by Glimpses of Guam Inc. 161 US Army Juan C. Fejeran St., Barrigada Heights, Guam 96913. (671) 649-0883; Fax (671) 649-8883. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Marianas Business Journal, P.O. Box 3191, Hagåtña, Guam 96932. Send e-mail to [email protected]. All rights reserved. Subscriptions, 6 months $60 1 year $120. Payment must accompany order. No material may be printed in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher. Printed by Guam Daily Post LLC, on Guam, contact Marianas Business Journal at Glimpses of Saipan Inc., 2nd Floor Transpac Business Center, Middle Road, Gualo Rai, Saipan, MP 96950, or call (670) 235-7645; Fax (670) 234-1801. Send e-mail to [email protected].

PUBLISHERMaureen N. Maratita

BUSINESS EDITORMeghan Hickey

LIFESTYLE EDITORJesse C. Babauta

REPORTERSJohn I. BorjaWayne Chargualaf

JAPAN CORRESPONDENTJulian Ryall

MARSHALL ISLANDS CORRESPONDENTGiff Johnson

PALAU CORRESPONDENTBernadette H. Carreon

CREATIVE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORVikki Fong

DESIGN & PRODUCTIONConrad CalmaKeisha Marie GozumLuisa Joy Castro

GENERAL SALES MANAGERKen Duenas

PRODUCT REPRESENTATIVEVince Guerrero

ADMINISTRATIONJanice CastroCarmelita McClellanJenalyn Aguon

MANAGING DIRECTORMarcos W. Fong

istered. The president’s office told the Journal it has never received official communication from China regard-ing the ban or what it affects. The Journal reached out to the Chinese Department of Foreign Ministry for clarification on the ban but did not receive a response as of press time.

Chinese visitors to Palau rocketed in fiscal 2014 and reached a peak in 2015 with 91,174 arrivals. Since then, the amount has dwindled: 70,741 in fiscal 2016, 55,491 in fiscal 2017 and down nearly 5,000 to its fiscal 2018 count.

Anastacio pointed to the con-tinued diplomacy with Taiwan as a factor in the tourism decline and has alluded to a negative impact on for-eign investment as well, although he admits this is more of a hunch and not based on economic data. But he said he has noticed delays or paus-es in Palau developments, most of which are poised to add more rooms

to support tourism growth.When asked if he would recom-

mend cutting ties completely with Taiwan, he said, “I don’t know how to solve it, but if you continue to be iso-lated from the biggest tourist market in the world, we’re going to lose some foreign investment. For me, I say we have to follow the current. If the current is that most of the countries in the world are with the People’s Republic of China, I don’t under-stand why we continue to stay with Taiwan.”

Palau doesn’t seem to be lack-ing in opportunities for major developments, but the timeline for these projects to come to fruition ap-pear to grow longer.

Six permit applications for new hotels, resorts and a bungalow were submitted to Palau’s Environmental Quality Protection Board in fiscal 2018, bringing the total number of planned major developments in the republic to 42 in the past five years.

As of Nov. 7, only 10 of the 42

projects have completed construc-tion. The rest are still pending, under review or have just started construction, according to data from the board.

The developments proposed in 2018 have an overall cost of $183.6 million for 1,308 rooms. So far, Ngellil Nature Island Resort has finished construction of its nine rooms; Palau Blue Gold Hotel and Palm Springs Resort received their permits to begin laying the ground-work for construction; Phase 1 of the ambitious Palau Aimeliik Resort was given approval to pro-ceed and the Grand Palace Ocean Villa is still pending review. Palau Aimeliik Resort and Chief Garden Hotel are Chinese investments and Ngellil Nature Island Resort is a collaboration between Chinese and Japanese investors

The Environmental Quality Protection Board is tasked with ensur-ing projects don’t disturb or destroy Palau’s environmental assets. mbj

DIPLOMACYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

on Saipan, Tinian and Rota, with a presidential major disaster dec-laration in place from Oct. 26. The NMI and FEMA announced Nov. 8 implementation of a Temporary Emergency Tent and Roofing Installation Support program for residents, supported also by mil-itary manpower. A shelter relief program for displaced residents at Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School and Tanapag Middle School has provided more permanent re-lief since Nov. 7.

The NMI Department of Labor Workforce Investment Agency received $2.8 million through the National Dislocated Worker Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training

Administration, according to an Oct. 31 release from the Office of the Governor. The grant is for em-ployment in disaster cleanup and assistance for U.S. citizens in the NMI who became displaced or un-employed for six months or more as a result of the Typhoon Mangkhut on Rota and Super Typhoon Yutu on Saipan and Tinian.

Recovery is in full swing with tourism sites being cleared by volunteers from the industry, ac-cording to a Nov. 8 release from the Marianas Visitors Authority. Mobile distribution of relief goods and wa-ter began in villages and to some residences Nov. 4.

The Office of the Governor announced Oct. 31 that typhoon vic-tims may qualify for local tax relief. Bank of Guam, The NMI Retirement Fund, Bank of Hawaii and First

Hawaiian Bank are offering loan re-lief. Aetna International Insurance will give temporary waivers for any preauthorization or precertification for members requiring medical treat-ment, assistance with lost receipts for reimbursement or prescription refills and counseling, according to an Oct. 29 release from the ad-ministration. Disaster assistance is also available for dialysis and other needs patients. Guam Animals in Need also sent a team to Saipan and Tinian according to a Nov. 8 release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Oct. 29 against a variety of scams to solicit money, as well as to avoid clicking on links that may contain comput-er viruses. Suspicious solicitations or websites can be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. mbj


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