The name must reflect Guam/NMI history, culture or language.
Entries should include a paragraph giving the significance of the chosen name and contact information
The chosen name will be on bathymetric/geologic maps.
The winner will also get to ride on the UnderWater World’s float in the Liberation Day Parade with a banner proclaiming the winning name.
Submit entries to [email protected]
Deadline to submit: July 14.
Special Mass for Ginoza at Kristo Rai
(MVA) — Friends of the late Choken Ginoza are inviting the public to a special Mass in memory of the honorary ambassador of the Northern Marianas.
The Mass will held on Tuesday, June 30, at 9 a.m. at the Kristo Rai Church in Garapan, Saipan.
A long-standing and influential supporter of tourism in the NMI, Ginoza died on June 22, 2009, in Okinawa.
He was responsible for bringing thousands of visitors to the islands of Saipan and Tinian from Okinawa through his affiliation with the Micronesian Repatriation Association of Okinawa, an association of Okinawans born in Micronesia during the Japanese era of administration.
The association returns annually to the NMI to pay respects to the dead and pray for world peace.
The mass is expected to be attended by family members, NMI dignitaries, business associates, students who have participated in cultural exchange programs Ginoza helped organize, and personal friends.
A member of MRA since its establishment in 1948, Ginoza was also involved in building the memorial Tower of Okinawa in Saipan in 1968 and Tower of Okinawa in Tinian in 1978.
He became managing director of Micronesian Repatriation Association of Okinawa in 1970 and has served as chairman since 1986.
Ginoza was named the NMI’s first “honorary citizen” by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in 1990.
In 1998, he was named an honorary ambassador by the Marianas Visitors Authority.
Ginoza’s other lifetime recognitions include an appreciation certificate from the governor of Okinawa prefecture in 1990 for his contribution to the Micronesia memorial service and international friendship between Micronesia and Okinawa, an appreciation certificate in 1994 from the Okinawa of Bereaved Families Association, and a diploma of appreciation from the governor of Okinawa in 2005 for his devotion to Micronesia Memorial service mission.
Federal court hires 6 NMI students for summer job
(U.S. District Court for the NMI) — A team of summer employees at the U.S. District Court for the NMI are making history, or at least making it available for online research.
They are scanning paper case files of criminal, civil and bankruptcy court cases from 2005 back to the court’s inception in 1978, converting them to online PDF documents so that all cases will be searchable on the Internet.
These six federal employees are college students from the CNMI, who hired-on for a June through September project at $12.97/hr.
Working in pairs with high-speed scanners and computers, they are making fast progress toward the estimated 80,000 documents that need to be scanned.
Upon conclusion, attorneys and the public will be able to research every case filed in federal court, and review every “docket sheet” online.
The full text of recent documents will be available through the Internet, and older documents — before parties were notified that their documents would be published online — can be read and searched at public computer terminals in the courthouse.
Live fire releases on Farallon de Mendenilla
(EMO) — The U.S. military will conduct live fire releases on Farallon de Mendenilla from June 30 to July 1, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Due to the danger imposed by this activity, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is strongly advising the general public, especially fishermen, commercial pilots and marine tour operators, to stay away from this area during the time and date indicated.
Should you have any questions, contact the Emergency Management Office at 322-9528, 322-9529, VHF marine channel 16 or through HF single sideband radio on 5.205.0.
Continental to celebrate 75th year
HOUSTON (Continental Airlines) — Continental Airlines announced that it is taking delivery of another new Boeing 737-900ER, which is painted with a retro livery to commemorate the airline’s 75th anniversary on July 15.
The new aircraft’s retro livery, which was originally used on aircraft beginning in 1947 and is called
The Blue Skyway, was selected by Continental employees.
Continental will fly the new aircraft to its three hubs for anniversary celebration events for employees and retirees.
The aircraft will make an appearance at Houston Bush Intercontinental on Thursday, June 25, and at New York/Newark Liberty and Cleveland Hopkins on Friday, June 26.
“I am proud to celebrate this exciting occasion with the Continental team, including both our current 43,000 co-workers, as well as the many retired co-workers who paved Continental’s history and made the airline what it is today,” said Larry Kellner, Continental’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Not many 75-year-olds believe their future will be longer and more vibrant than their history, but that’s exactly what we’re looking forward to at Continental.”
Shikogakuen group visit Saipan
SHIKOGAKUEN, a religious group, arrived on Saipan for a memorial service, a media release stated.
About 40 members of Shikogakuen were on island last Friday.
This year marks the 23rd anniversary for the group’s pilgrimage.
Their last visit was in Nov. 2008 with around 150 members who commemorated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a memorial monument on Banzai Cliff in Marpi.
Over the weekend, the president of Shikogakuen, Masakazu Kawakami, led about 40 members and held a memorial service in front of their monument.
Some members also visited Tinian, and others enjoyed various sightseeing activities on Saipan.
They were scheduled to depart Saipan today.
(Emmanuel College) — Another graduate of Emmanuel College has passed the National Licensure Examination for practical nurses, bringing to a hundred percent the passing rate of the region’s first private institution offering an 11-month comprehensive nursing program.
Jian Teng, 27, could not hide her emotion upon learning that she passed the NCLEX for vocational nurses, fulfilling a dream that was marked by tough challenges when she first arrived on Saipan six years ago.
Hers was an inspiring story. Teng juggled work with studies, having enrolled then with pre-nursing program at Northern Mariana College.
The demand of the daily work — then employed with a now-defunct garment factory — took a toll on her studies until Emmanuel College opened on Saipan, to meet the growing demand for nurses in many healthcare facilities here and in the mainland United States.
“I was excited to know I passed the NCLEX exam. All my family and friends are happy and proud of me. And I proved to myself I can do it,” Teng gushes, as she tried to hold back her emotions. “I have been studying vocational nursing at Emmanuel College for 11 months and it helped me a lot to prepare me for the licensure examination.”
She took the licensure examination on May 22 and received the good news on June 15 from the Commonwealth Board of Nurse Examiners.
In Nov. 2008 she was part of the 20 locally educated and trained practical nursing graduates of Emmanuel College.
She attended and completed the free two-week NCLEX Review Program provided by the institution.
The CNMI government has endorsed this program seeing its potential in harnessing and training residents to be highly-skilled nursing professionals. It is now the newest industry for the CNMI.
Today, there remains a major need for nurses in the commonwealth.
Approved and accredited by the CNMI Board of Nursing for a total of 1,564 hours of theory and clinical training for entry-level employment in hospitals and other healthcare settings, Emmanuel College remains committed to be the paragon of nursing professionals in the CNMI.
With immense employment opportunity and exceptional financial and professional advantages awaiting, graduates of Emmanuel College are keeping their options open whether to work for the government-owned Commonwealth Health Center or at any private medical clinics on island — opportunities both rewarding for the island community now facing shortage of highly skilled and trained healthcare professionals.
“To all who wanted to be a nurse: take this opportunity; grab this chance and be confident and be proud that you will be healthcare professionals. You will never regret your choice,” said Teng, who hails from Qingdao City, Shandong, China.
Emmanuel College is now set to graduate its second cohorts on Aug/ 8, and is still remains committed to recruit, educate, and assimilate individuals into the nursing profession.
The average licensed nurse in the U.S. earns between $43,370 and $63,360 annually, while some even earns as much as $113,000 a year.
