The Breakfast Blog

Heads Up Guam Article

2009-05-28T07:28:00.001+10:00

Click above for the story read about how we need to be taking the North Korea threat a lot more seriously.

Archdiocese releases their decision on Friary Mass

2009-05-16T13:34:00.002+10:00

ANNOUNCEMENT%20ON%20FRIARY%205-16-09.pdf

Looks like the prayers have worked and the faithful can return to the Friary for Mass. Restrictions apply wih regard to other intentions and sacrements. Looks like "alls well that ends well"

Presidential Defense budget numbers

2009-05-08T08:12:00.001+10:00

President Obama Releases Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Details

$787 Million for Military Construction on Guam

$2 Million for Local Infrastructure Improvements through OIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 7, 2009 – Washington, D.C. –

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today announced that $787 million in military construction projects for Guam are included in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget submission released by President Barack Obama early today. The documents released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as each respective agency provide greater detail on the larger budget figures that were released in February. The entire federal budget proposed by President Obama for Fiscal Year 2010 is more than $3.4 trillion.

“The robust military construction funding programmed for 2010 signals the beginning of major construction on Guam to prepare for the military build-up,” Congresswoman Bordallo said today. “The funding targets key initial infrastructure to support the military build-up. Of particular importance is the $48 million in Defense Access Roads funding that will be used to improve the haul and access road network on Guam. Additionally, the Department of Defense (DoD) has programmed $259 million to begin construction of a more modern Naval Hospital that will ultimately provide better health care facilities and increased specialty care capacity.”

The President’s budget also includes $2 million for the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs to assist the Government of Guam in financing upgrades to infrastructure in 2010 by leveraging funds from Rural Development loan and loan guarantee programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. This funding is programmed to support the local infrastructure requirements resulting from the increase in population as a result of the military buildup on Guam.

“The two million for the Office of Insular Affairs will go towards infrastructure improvements in support of the military buildup on Guam. I am working with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to protect the funding for Guam contained in the President’s budget proposal and to ensure it remains intact as the budget process continues.”

A more detailed chart of the Fiscal Year 2010 military construction budget is included below:

Service	Project	Cost
Air Force	Andersen AFB - Commando Warrior Operations Facility	$4,200,000
Air Force	Andersen AFB - Northwest Field Perimeter Fence and Road	$4,752,000
Air Force	Andersen AFB - Northwest Field Combat Support Vehicle Maintenance Facility	$15,500,000
Air Force	Andersen AFB - Electrical Infrastructure Hardening	$33,750,000
Defense Logistics Agency	Agana Naval Air Station - Gas Storage Facility	$4,900,000
Army National Guard	Barrigada Readiness Center	$30,000,000
Navy	Marine Aviation - AAFB North Ramp Improvements Phase 1	$88,797,000
Navy	Marine Aviation - AAFB North Ramp Utilities Phase 1	$21,500,000
Navy	Apra Harbor Wharves Improvement Phase 1	$167,033,000
Navy	Consolidated Training Facility	$45,309,000
Navy	Defense Access Road Improvements	$48,860,000
Navy	Military Working Dog Relocation	$27,070,000
Navy	Torpedo Exercise Support Building	$15,627,000
Navy	Family Housing - Replace N. Tipalao Phase 3	$20,730,000
Defense Health Programs	Hospital Replacement Phase 1	$259,156,000
Grand Total		$787,184,000

MZB responds to Pentagon article

2009-05-08T08:09:00.001+10:00

Congresswoman Bordallo Responds to

Comments by U.S. Marine Corps Commandant

General James T. Conway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 7, 2009 – Washington, D.C. –

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today responded to the comments made by Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway at a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs hearing on Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

“I have been reassured by officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) that the military build-up on Guam is on track,” said Congresswoman Bordallo. “In particular, I was reassured that the Commandant was trying to address larger training as well as command and control issues that will be considered in the Congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and numerous other policymakers have all pledged their commitment to the realignment of U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan to Guam.”

# # #

JIGPO's David Bice responds to article

2009-05-08T08:08:00.000+10:00

Ray,
I've read the transcript of the Commandant's testimony and the article is off in a small, but important way. DoD will be conducting a Pacific-wide review of training and other related issues. However, the rebasing of Marines from Okinawa is NOT, repeat NOT, being reviewed. Greater theater-wide training for the Marines (and other forces) will be studied. Those greater issues also have costs that are not part of the rebasing. The Commandant stated same, and it appears the reporter mixed the thoughts. I met CW Bordallo this morning with the Deputy Asst Secretary of Defense for East Asia and he reaffirm to Mrs Bordallo DoD's and Govt of Japan's commitment to complete the rebasing. Appreciate the opportunity to clarify.
Regard,
D. Bice/

GBB and WTE..Thats right! GBB

2009-04-29T09:36:00.001+10:00

read up on GBB's review of WTE in a letter written by Harvey Gershman to President Obama.

GBB%20letter%20to%20President%20Obama.pdf

Nick Captain on the Breakfast show

2009-04-16T10:55:00.002+10:00

Click here for the radio interview to hear Nick's high altitude view of the Real Estate market. The moratorium and global financial meltdown are slowing things down, but the prospects for the future continue to look bright. So why are things so slow? Sellers are holding out. Read his email newsetter here:
News_from_Captain.pdf

Carlos Taitano and friends

2009-03-26T07:05:00.000+10:00

Help Guam! Keep Tony Babauta in DC!

2009-03-25T11:42:00.002+10:00

The story below outlines the nomination that Tony Babauta has received. It's not a done deal and your support of his appointment will only mean good things for Guam and the NMI. Send in your letter today:

Guam residents who would like to write personal testimonies in support of Tony Babauta should be addressed to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, according to Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo's office.

Interior's mailing address:

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20240

E-mail: webteam@ios.doi.gov

Bordallo's Guam district office in Hagåtña will also accept such letters of support, which will be forwarded to Interior. The letters should be addressed to Salazar. Call the district office at 477-4272.

White Paper from Treasury

2009-03-24T07:12:00.001+10:00

This outlines the plan that Secy Geithner unveiled today which is largely responsible for a huge kimp on Wall Street. From Frank to me to you. Enjoy!
ppip_whitepaper_0323091.pdf

Tony Babauta in the running for office of Insular Affairs

2009-03-10T07:55:00.001+10:00

Former Christensen Staffer On Deck for Office of Insular Affairs
by David S. North

March 8, 2009 -- Tony Babauta, once a Congressional staff member reporting to Delegate Donna M. Christensen, is generally expected to become the next head of the Office of Insular Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior.
As with most political appointments, this report runs ahead of any official announcement by the Obama Administration.
Babauta currently serves as the majority staff director of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives Committee on Resources, Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. In 2007 and 2008 he reported to Christensen in her role as subcommittee chair.
Before the Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2006 elections, Babauta had served several years as the subcommittee's minority staff director. He has often come to the territory on congressional business.

Babauta, a former resident of Guam, is reportedly supported for the OIA job by Christensen; Delegate Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, the current subcommittee chair; and Delegate Gregorio Sablan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), who was elected as an independent but sits with the Democrats. Another key supporter is said to be Congressman Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia), the chair of the full House Committee on Resources.
Christensen, though no longer chair of the Insular Subcommittee, remains a member of it. She relinquished the chairmanship in connection with her appointment to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which she has said is one of the three most important committees in the House, along with Appropriations and Ways and Means. Health policy is one of several items on the committee's agenda.
There is at least one other reported candidate for the OIA position, Cooper Brown, an attorney now practicing in suburban Washington. His resume contains an element unusual for a candidate for a political appointment in a Democratic administration -- he was the Republican candidate in 1980 against Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii). The Senator is chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is the second most senior member of the Senate.
When asked about his prospects, Babauta said modestly, "You hear a lot of rumors around town." He would say nothing further on the subject. At this writing, he remains on the staff of the House of Representatives.
If appointed, Babauta would become the principal official in the Obama Administration dealing with the four island territories (American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and the Virgin Islands), as well as the three freely associated states in the central Pacific (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau). Puerto Rico is not within the ambit of OIA.
Babauta's appointment would also follow a relatively new tradition in Washington: the appointment of a political leader for OIA who actually knew something about the islands before the appointment. Throughout the Reagan and Bush 41 administrations, and into the first years of the Clinton Administration, the position was filled through a process critics called "an equal-opportunity appointment." For years the job had been filled by Hispanics from either the mainland or Puerto Rico, while in the early Clinton years the incumbent was an African-American from the mainland.
These individuals were prominent in their communities, but came to the office with no contacts in the islands and with no prior service to the Interior Department.
"They were a lonely bunch, initially with little sense of the islands and without much power in the administration," said a longtime islands observer.
The pattern changed in the first Clinton term when Al Stayman, formerly the U.S. Senate staffer for island affairs, came into the job. (Full disclosure -- this writer worked for him for a couple of years.) Stayman's successors, including the Democrats' Danny Aranza (who grew up in Guam), and the Republicans' David Cohen (with his Samoan connections), were deeply versed in island matters.
It will be interesting to see the title given to the new ranking islands official. Until the early 1990s it had been that of assistant secretary, and thus the appointment needed confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The Secretary of Interior at that time, Bruce Babbitt, found himself facing a cutback in the number of assistant secretary slots assigned to the department, and opted to make the head of OIA a deputy assistant secretary, a position that can be filled without Senate action.
For the time being, OIA is headed by Nik Pula, a Samoan and a longtime career Interior Department staff member. He is expected to stay as a major official in the office after the new political leadership arrives.

MZB on the Daily Show

2009-03-02T07:30:00.001+10:00

Monkey Business takes over the House last Monday, same day they passed the WWII Loyalty Recognition Act.

Hot Rod Car show Video on You Tube

2009-03-02T07:13:00.002+10:00

Here's what you missed from Saturday's first ever Hot Rod show

The RealAge Life Expectancy Quiz....How long will you live?

2009-03-02T07:11:00.003+10:00

According to the site, I'll finally check out in my late 90's. Good luck to you!

MARC

2009-02-21T19:42:00.002+10:00

Please check your calendar and see if you have time to learn more about MARC and honor one of our favorite historians...

An easy lesson on the Free Market that everyone should know

2009-02-21T19:16:00.002+10:00

There is a fact still more astounding: The absence of a master mind, of anyone dictating or forcibly directing these countless actions which bring me into being. No trace of such a person can be found. Instead, we find the Invisible Hand at work.

Bice' response to Keatings interview

2009-02-09T08:00:00.001+10:00

After we read the Reuters story on Keatings interview, I sent a copy to General David Bice for his comments. They follow:

Ray,

Thanks for the note. Not sure exactly the context of Adm Keating's statement. Several months ago he made a similiar statement re: date construction complete, which we acknowledge is an aggressive schedule.
Costs will certainly be higher as our planning has always been in 2008 dollars. Bottomline, construction is still set to begin in 2010; US-Japan target for completion remains 2014; cost planning (for Marines
only) at $10.2B in 2008 dollars.

Jayne Flores' Tribute to Joe Murphy

2009-02-09T07:07:00.002+10:00

In case you haven't heard, Jayne Flores is writing editorials again. She's commented on Matt Rector's ethical compass bearings and 50 plus LOST educational days at GW/JFK. Here most recent column pays homage to Joe Murphy and his contribution to our media landscape. See it and her other recent columns at http://viewsfromthetrench.wordpress.com/

Once there Control-D bookmarks it!

Keating Speaks

2009-02-06T08:12:00.001+10:00

Awaiting word from General Bice and Local JIGPO officials. meantime, here is the Reuters story:

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A key part of a major realignment of U.S. forces in Japan in which 8,000 Marines would be shifted from Okinawa to Guam, is likely to be delayed beyond its 2014 target date, the commander of U.S. forces in Asia and the Pacific said on Thursday.

"We are behind a timeline to achieve that goal of 8,000 (Marines) down to Guam, and we don't have enough money to make it happen right now," Navy Adm. Timothy Keating said.

"I don't think it will happen on time. I think it will be more expensive," he told Reuters in an interview.

The Hawaii-based commander stressed that there had been no change under the new Obama administration to the major overhaul plan, unveiled in 2006 and formally called the Defense Policy Review Initiative.

Analysts say key elements of the plan to shift troops away from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa have been held up by wrangling between the central government and the local government on the densely populated southern island.

Okinawa plays host to the bulk of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan under a bilateral treaty and islanders have chafed at military accidents and crimes such as rape committed by U.S. servicemen.

Keating played down the impact of any delay.

"A case can be made that a more measured, longer-term approach approach ... could be beneficial," he said.

"It could be reassuring to our friends and allies in the region that we're not abandoning Japan, we're not rushing to judgment," Keating said.

Guam, the largest of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, is a U.S. territory and is home to a number of military bases. (Editing by Eric Walsh)

Additional loan docs worth reading

2009-02-04T08:05:00.002+10:00

The following docs are associated with the 20.1 mill loan BJ refers to in the post below. Some interesting lawyering going on here....

Bank%20of%20Guam%20First%20Revision%20Agreement%20-%20signed.pdf

Bank-of-Guam-Loan-Agreement%20Landfill.pdf

Sen BJ Cruz' letter to the AG

2009-02-04T07:21:00.002+10:00

BJ_letter_AG.pdf

This is the letter I've been talking about lately, I may post additional documents later, so check back. Think he's got something here?

Matt chimes in on the Dump

2009-01-28T20:40:00.001+10:00

OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS SHOULDN'T SUFFER PAYING $1M/WEEK FOR THE DUMP

Our public servants and their families should not bear the burden of getting a pay-cut to pay for the dump. Our wages are already so low that our working families are in critical financial situations. What more for a pay-cut? Cutting hours in labor will only do more harm. It doesn’t help our economy grow because there isn’t enough money to spend and it lowers productivity which harms our public service to the people of Guam in areas of safety, healthcare, education, etc. We need to stop taking money away from our workers and start generating money from corporations that are exempted from paying taxes. Why should our working families have to suffer and not the rest of the businesses, military, and everyone else on island who use the very same dump our working families are forced to pay? Save your families! Talk to your senators and let them know this is not the solution.

Now, is he saying this as GFT President, an elected public servant, a private citizen or all three?

Petition Online against DanDan

2009-01-23T08:38:00.001+10:00

Dave Barry's best of 2008

2008-12-28T10:44:00.002+10:00

Funnyman Dave Barry takes the year apart bit by hilarious bit...download and save! If you want to read more Dave Barry, I dropped off my entire collection at the Nieves Flores Memorial Library. I hated doing it, but I needed the space.

Here is Mr. Obama's pick for the next Secretary of the interior

2008-12-17T20:01:00.003+10:00

Former Colorado AG, Ken Salazar has been announced as President-Elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Interior. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for the territories since delegates last week announced their support for someone else.

This is the most recent picture I could find of him

(Mr. Salazar is the one in the cowboy hat...)