6 Weeks Left: Poll Results

The results are in for my third round of Governor and Mayor polls. The polls ran for one week. The results of the third Governor poll are:

Who are you voting for CNMI Governor this Election?
September 24-30

Benigno Fitial
This week: 33.3%
Last week: 28.4%
Percent Change: +5.9%

Heinz Hofschneider
This week: 32.3%
Last week: 43.2%
Percent Change: -10.9%

Juan Guerrero
This week: 22.9%
Last week: 22.7%
Percent Change: +0.2%

Ramon Guerrero
This week: 11.5%
Last week: 5.7%
Percent Change: +5.8%

For the second week in a row Benigno Fitial increased in popularity. He squeezed by Heinz Hofsneider who fell to a close second. The relative positions of Juan and Ramon Guerrero were unchanged.

The results of the third Mayor poll are:

Who are you voting for Saipan Mayor this election?
September 24 - 30

Angelo Villagomez
This week: 59.6%
Last week: 50.6%
Percent Change: +9.0%

Juan Demapan
This week: 9.1%
Last week: 11.2%
Percent Change: -2.1

Marian Tudela
This week: 7.9%
Last week: 2.5%
Percent Change: +5.4%

Joe Sanchez
This week: 7.1%
Last week: 1.1%
Percent Change: +6.0%

Donald Flores
This week: 7.1%
Last week: 9.0%
Percent Change: -1.9%

Roman Benavente
This week: 6.1%
Last week: 13.5%
Percent Change: -7.4%

Lino Tenorio
This week: 5.1%
Last week: 5.6%
Percent Change: -0.5%

Candido Taman
This week: 1.0%
Last week: 1.1%
Percent Change: -0.1%

Antonio Camacho
This week: 0.0%
Last week: 0.0%
Percent Change: 0.0%

Candido Taman, Antonio Camacho, Donald Flores and Angelo Villagomez maintained their positions with steadfast consistency, while the other candidates saw some big changes in terms of relative position. The biggest mover was Joe Sanchez who jumped three places from eight to fifth, while Juan Demapan jumped up one place and Marian Tudela jumped two. Roman Benavente fell four places from second to sixth and Lino Tenorio fell one place from sixth to seventh.

The results from Week One can be found HERE.

The results of Week Two can be found HERE.

I am going to put up a new poll with the same question every week until election day and I am going to track changes in the popularity of the candidates.

The polls for this week are posted below and on the sidebar of this blog. Please vote!

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

Tropical Storm Melor

Tropical Storm Melor is heading towards the Marianas. Stay up to date on the progress of the strom on the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Subscribe to the Angelo for Mayor email list

This blog is syndicated in several places, including Facebook. If you are reading the RSS feed on another website besides blogger, you will not see the box asking you to join the Angelo for Mayor Email list. If you would like to subscribe to my email updates to know the latest news on my campaign to become Saipan's next mayor, please visit http://jetapplicant.blogspot.com and fill in your name and email address in the form right below the donkey banner.

After you submit your information you will be sent a confirmation notice to the email address you used. Please open that message and click on the link in the body of the email. You will only be added to the list after you click on the confirmation link.

If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, every email I send has a link to do so with the click of a button.

Yard Signs

One of the reasons for today's Weenie Roast was to have a place where people could come pick up yard signs, t-shirts, and bumper stickers. Mission accomplished. You should start seeing my signs around the island now.

Dear Mr. Angelo Villagomez

There was an open letter in today's Marianas Variety addressed to me. I will let the letter do the talking.

YOUR letter of introduction to the editors of our newspapers struck me with peculiar force. I arrived on Saipan as a teacher in 1963 and had the good fortune of being your father’s teacher and associate from that point on.

Your grandfather, who I do not recall meeting, was a farmer in San Antonio.

He gave your father an intense belief in making Saipan a better place to live, the “Spirit of Saipan” which you allude to in your letter. Your father also had a well-developed work ethic even in the eighth grade when we first got to know each other. He was a member of a class of students that were English speaking and most challenging for a 25-year-old teacher from Miami, Fl. I remember all of them with great fondness.

But your father was more than just my student. I actually was your father’s science teacher. In those days the student population and teacher population was small. As a result I had the same students in several science classes such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Ramon Garrido Villagomez became my laboratory assistant and would help me after school to keep the lab ship shape. He also did a great deal to help me understand this new culture I had been thrown into.

I know your mother and may have attended their wedding. In those days there were few haole teachers on Saipan and so I got invited to many christenings and weddings. It was a wonderful time and instilled in me the “spirit” to which you allude, the “spirit” which has kept me here, teaching ever since.

I congratulate you on your decision to enter the public arena and carry on in your father’s footsteps. Hopefully, we will meet in the near future to get to know each other better. E-mail me at ludwick@itecni.com When I read your letter, it was as if your dad, the judge, was nearby.

ROGER N. LUDWICK
Sadog Tasi, Saipan

Saipan mayoral bets at Chamber meeting

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce will have it next general membership meeting on Oct. 7 at Pacific Islands Club - Charley's Cabaret. The group has invited all of the Saipan mayoral candidates to join Chamber members at this meeting and will provide them an opportunity to address members. The Chamber will be hosting senatorial and gubernatorial debates in October, but no mayoral debates.

The Saipan mayoral candidates are Roman C. Benavente, Antonio M. Camacho, Juan S. Demapan, Donald Glenn Flores, Jose DLG. Sanchez, Candido B. Taman, Lino S. Tenorio, Marian DLG. Tudela, and Angelo O. Villagomez.

Registration and lunch will begin at 11:30am, and the meeting will begin at noon. The meeting is $15 for members, $20 for guests of members, and $25 for general public.

Angelo for Mayor 5K Family Fun Walk & Run

The Committee to Elect Angelo O'Connor Villagomez is hosting a fundraising Angelo for Mayor 5K Family Fun Walk & Run this Saturday morning. Registration begins at 6 AM and the race starts at 7 AM. The start and finish line is at 13 Fishermen Memorial.

The suggested donation is $15 and all participants will receive an Angelo for Mayor t-shirt.

The Angelo for Mayor Weenie Roast will take place a few hours after the 5K finishes, also at 13 Fishermen Memorial. The suggested donation for the Weenie Roast is $5 and includes (1) hot dog and soda.

7 Weeks Left: Poll Results

The results are in for my second round of Governor and Mayor polls. The polls ran for one week. The results of the second Governor poll are:

Who are you voting for CNMI Governor this Election?
September 16-23

Heinz Hofschneider
This week: 43.2%
Last week: 75.9%
Percent Change: -32.7%

Benigno Fitial
This week: 28.4%
Last week: 12.5%
Percent Change: +15.9%

Juan Guerrero
This week: 22.7%
Last week: 8.8%
Percent Change: +13.9%

Ramon Guerrero
This week: 5.7%
Last week: 2.7%
Percent Change: +3.0%

The percentages changed a little, but there was no change in relative position.

The results of the second Mayor poll are:

Who are you voting for Saipan Mayor this election?
September 16-23

Angelo Villagomez
This week: 50.6%
Last week: 33.5%
Percent Change: +17.1%

Roman Benavente
This week: 13.5%
Last week: 49.8%
Percent Change: -36.3%

Juan Demapan
This week: 11.2%
Last week: 2.5%
Percent Change: +8.7

Donald Flores
This week: 9.0%
Last week: 3.9%
Percent Change: +5.1%

Marian Tudela
This week: 7.9%
Last week: 2.5%
Percent Change: +5.4%

Lino Tenorio
This week: 5.6%
Last week: 3.9%
Percent Change: +1.7%

Candido Taman
This week: 1.1%
Last week: 2.0%
Percent Change: -0.9%

Joe Sanchez
This week: 1.1%
Last week: 1.5%
Percent Change: -0.4%

Antonio Camacho
This week: 0.0%
Last week: 0.0%
Percent Change: 0.0%

The positions of five of the candidates, Antonio Camacho, Joe Sanchez, Candido Taman, Donald Flores, and Marian Tudlea, remained unchanged relative to the other candidates. The biggest mover of the week was Juan Demapan, who jumped up three positions. Angelo Villagomez jumped up one position into first place. Roman Benavente fell one place in second and the biggest drop of the week was Lino Tenorio who fell three positions, from third to sixth.

The results from Week One can be found HERE.

I am going to put up a new poll with the same question every week until election day and I am going to track changes in the popularity of the candidates.

The polls for this week are posted below and on the sidebar of this blog. Please vote!

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

Here to stay

Regular readers of my blog will recognize my letter to the editor published in today's newspapers. I wrote I Found the Jinja in the Jungle several years ago and posted it on my blog. On the advice of Senator Maria Pangelinan I touched it up a bit and submitted it to both newspapers. I'll be watching the comments section of the Marianas Variety to see what people's reactions are.

I am the Democratic Nominee for the Mayor of Saipan. This is not the career path I chose for myself years ago when I was in college, however having been asked by family and friends to run it is something that I promise to give my best effort to for the benefit of our island and our people.

This November the voters of Saipan will choose between me and 8 other candidates who will be their next Mayor. I want to give voters the opportunity to know who I am and what makes me tick before I ask for their vote.

I have been back in Saipan for just under four years now. I was born here, but lived in several other countries for many years before returning. I would like to share with voters the story of how I returned to the island and why it is I stay even when there are opportunities for me elsewhere.

First of all, there is a special feeling I get from living on Saipan. It can be difficult to sense, but I find it when I am able to get away, able to find a quiet place. Sometimes it is when I am with family, sometimes alone. It is the feeling that makes it difficult for many of us to leave the island no matter the economic hardships we are facing. You can call this special feeling what you want, perhaps religious or spiritual, but I think this feeling comes from a connection to the past and to something greater than myself.

I will be the first person to tell you that returning to Saipan was never in my life plan. My mother left Saipan with her two little boys when I was three years old. My brother Alex had not yet had his first birthday.

After he divorced her, my father started a new family while my mother raised Alex and me as a single parent. I received the occasional letter from Dad, but saw him no more than once every few years. Although raised by my mother, I still managed to visit Saipan five times during my childhood and I have fond memories of fishing and hiking with my father and brothers. I have always considered Saipan my first home, but when I was about to graduate from college, no one was asking me what I was going to do when I returned. I am not sure if anybody really even considered me coming back.

In my final week of college, my father, the late Justice Ramon G Villagomez, suffered a massive heart attack and was evacuated to a hospital in Honolulu. I flew to Hawaii to be with him, his wife, my four brothers, and my sister. I missed my college graduation so I could be there with them. It was worth it though; it was the last, and only the second, time my father's six children were all together. I don't know if that will ever happen again.

When he stabilized, we brought him home so that he could die on Saipan. We didn't expect him to live long; I thought he was going to die on the plane, but he hung in there for five and half years. During that interval, I went back to America, earned another degree and continued on with my life. Alex and I had an unspoken understanding that we would go back for his funeral and then would probably never return to Saipan.

Well, that changed.

I made plans to visit Saipan in 2005. I was moving to Japan and before my job started there, my girlfriend at the time and I decided that we wanted to pay a visit to Saipan and my family. We were scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2005.

I moved to Japan at the end of November 2005. It was an exciting time; I was living in a new place and things were going very well. Then my world turned upside down.

On the morning of December 1, 2005, I woke up and opened up my laptop. I immediately started getting chat requests from Alex in Florida. I plugged in my camera, accepted the chat invitation and noticed that Alex was crying. My father had died the night before. Alex already had a ticket to Saipan. I told him I would meet him in the Narita airport.

Now, if my father had died at any other time, I would have purchased a ticket to Saipan, stayed for one week, buried him, and I would have left Saipan behind forever. But he didn't die at any other time. He died 17 days before I was going to see him for the first time in half a decade. So instead of coming for one week, I stayed for one month.

After burying him, I was able to rediscover Saipan. I was able to see this island for the first time as an adult and I discovered that special feeling I get from being here.

A few months later I was living on Saipan for the first time since I was three years old.

And you know what I have realized since that day?

I belong here.

Photos of Alamagan Devastation

I happened across the blog of a Navy Wife living in Guam whose husband flew the helicopter that evacuated the residents of Alamagan to Saipan. The media reports here say that the islands up north have been devastated. It is hard to visualize exactly what that means until you see the photos.

Look at those trees. That used to be a copra plantation. Almost all of the leaves have been ripped off the trees. What must it have been like to live through that?

Kudos to the US Navy for flying up there to help our people. Just look at those trees. There is nothing up there to sustain a family anymore. I wonder how long it will take to grow back?

This is a picture of the famous two day old baby that was born right before the storm hit. That kid is going to grow up hearing some crazy stories about Typhoon Choi Wan!

On our recent trip to the Northern Islands we did not stop at Alamagan, but I have some pictures of the island taken from the boat posted on Facebook.

Beautify CNMI announces slogan and bumper sticker contest

Beautify CNMI is looking for a new slogan following the successful “What we do on the land can affect our marine environment” campaign started in 2006.

In order to find a new slogan, Beautify CNMI is looking to the community for help.

Artists are being asked to come up with a slogan and to design a bumper sticker that goes along with their slogan. The winner will receive $150 cash and fifty of their winning bumper stickers to give out to friends and family.

The contest is open to all residents of all ages of the Commonwealth. Guidelines for the slogan contest are:

• must be original
• must be relevant to the actions and mission of Beautify CNMI.
• The bumper sticker can be square or horizontally rectangular.
• Artists and participants can submit more than one design and more than one artist can work together on a single submission.
• Designs may be by free-hand sketch, drawing or computer generated, but must be in electronic format to be considered.
• Entries must be submitted by noon on October 24, 2009 and must include the artist's full name, mailing address, telephone number and email address if available.

A brief statement explaining the design and slogan may accompany entries.

All entries will become the property of Beautify CNMI and can be used freely by Beautify CNMI and must be received on or before Thursday, October 24, 2009 at noon. Entries are to be submitted via email to angelovillagomez@gmail.com.

Beautify CNMI reserves the right to modify the winning logo at any time but when possible, Beautify CNMI will work with the original artists to make these changes.

Beautify CNMI reserves the right to correct any information that appears in this contest in error and is not responsible for omissions.

For inquiries contact Angelo Villagomez at 670 285 6462

10 Easy Steps to help elect Angelo for Mayor

1. Talk to 10 people in person and ask them to vote Angelo for Mayor
2. Email 10 people to visit www.AngeloVillagomez.com and ask them to join my mailing list
3. Drop off 10 Angelo for Mayor flyers at houses in your neighborhood
4. Sign up 10 supporters to display an Angelo for Mayor yard sign in front of their house
5. Send 10 texts to friends asking them to visit www.AngeloVillagomez.com
6. Find 10 friends to display an Angelo for Mayor bumper sticker on their car
7. Donate $10 to my campaign via PayPal
8. Sell 10 tickets to one of my small fundraisers (the Weenie Roast on Saturday is only $5 per ticket)
9. Bring 10 friends to a campaign event
10. Invite 10 Facebook friends to support Mayor Angelo on Facebook

Saipan Korean Association Football Tournament

Today's Angelo for Mayor Weenie Roast was postponed due to inclement weather. I really didn't want to cancel it, but at 11:15 AM everything was wet and it didn't look hopeful that things would clear up. I'm glad we canceled because it rained on and off until 4:00 PM. Nobody wants to go to a weenie roast in the rain.

One reason we held the Weenie Roast at Kilili Beach (besides its convenient central location and ample parking) was that the Saipan Korean Association was hosting a football tournament across the street. I wanted to have a big showing of support for Angelo for Mayor and I thought that in addition to my supporters coming to pick up yard signs and bumper stickers, I could have some of the players coming over for hot dogs and sodas throughout the day.

Well, the rain dashed those hopes. We still managed to play some great soccer, though.

I provided shirts for my team, the Independents, for the tournament. I simply took some of my campaign shirts and added numbers to the back.

We had a great run today. We played two games of regular play, did well enough to make it to the semi-finals, then eeked out a 2-0 win against a team from Guam to make it to the finals where we played MP United.

Our regular central defender couldn't play with us today so I played every minute of every game as central defender. I had a lot of help defending the goal from the giant puddles of mud created by all the rain. The ball would skip over the water sometimes, or it would just come to a complete stop as you were trying to dribble.

Then there were those moments when three attackers and four defenders would swing at the ball and it would only move two or three inches because the water was so deep. These pictures don't do the splashing justice.

Or maybe they do.

With a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation play we went to penalty kicks...and we won! This is the first time the Independents have won a tournament. It must have been the Angelo for Mayor t-shirts!

Our first place trophy now proudly sits on the beer shelf at Wild Bills Bar & Grille right next to a string of second and third place trophies...

First Photos of International Coastal Cleanup

Since the Commonwealth lies 10 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, our day starts hours before your does. That means that the 600 or so volunteers participating in this year's International Coastal Cleanup on the islands of Saipan and Tinian were some of the first participants on the planet. Go us!

Saipan and Tinian had 19 adopted sites this year, our first year participating in this annual international event. We organized our cleanups the same way we organized last April's Island Wide Cleanup. Groups adopted a spot, recruited their own volunteers and set their own time, and the Beautify CNMI coalition supported them with free supplies and help hauling the garbage away.

As the Director of Community Service for the Rotary Club of Saipan I adopted and organized a cleanup of Tank Beach in Kagman. Tank Beach is a north facing beach and on Saipan that means that trash from the ocean washes up on it constantly; We mostly found rope, discarded fishing gear, small bits of plastic, and hundreds of water bottles. Unlike the beaches on the western shore of Saipan, we weren't finding plates, plastic forks, or dumped household garbage.

We spent about two hours scouring the beach for bits of plastic. When we were done we had amassed quite the pile of trash. I'm always amazed at how much trash you get from a seemingly clean beach when you pick it all up and put it in one place.

We'll know by Monday what the combined efforts of all 600 people are. Many hands make light work and with over 600 volunteers I expect that the amount of trash we picked off our beaches this morning to be in the thousands of pounds.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's event with special thanks going to Bridge Capital for funding our cleanup supplies and the Division of Environmental Quality for being the central organizers.

I have posted more photos on the Beautify CNMI Facebook Fan Page and other volunteers have posted photos on their profiles from cleanups at Jeffries Beach, Paupau Beach, and on Tinian.

Bota

Today is a busy day. I've got t-shirts, bumper stickers, and a yard sign permit to pick up and I've got to get ready for tomorrow's International Coastal Cleanup.

Weenie Roast on Sunday

This advertisement will appear in both newspapers tomorrow.

Come on out to the Angelo for Mayor Weenie Roast on Sunday. Please RSVP via Facebook.

8 Weeks Left: Poll Results

The results are in for my first round of Governor and Mayor polls. The polls ran for one week. The results of the first Governor poll were:

Who are you voting for CNMI governor this election?

75.9%
Heinz Hofschneider

12.5%
Benigno Fitial

8.8%
Juan Guerrero

2.7%
Ramon Guerrero

The results of the first Mayor poll were:

Who are you voting for Saipan Mayor this election?

49.8%
Roman Benavente

33.5%
Angelo Villagomez

3.9%
Lino Tenorio

3.9%
Donald Flores

2.5%
Marian Tudela

2.5%
Juan Demapan

2.0%
Candido Taman

1.5%
Joe Sanchez

0.5%
Antonio Camacho

I am going to put up a new poll with the same question every week until election day and I am going to track changes in the popularity of the candidates.

The polls for this week are posted below and on the sidebar of this blog. Please vote!

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

All's Clear

Typhoon Choi Wan is history. We got a lot of rain and my neighborhood lost two Flame Trees, but that's about it.

Angelo for Mayor Weenie Roast

I will be handing out campaign yard signs over the weekend. You can pick one up on Sunday, September 20 at Kilili Beach across from Ada Gym during the Angelo for Mayor Weenie Roast from 12:00 - 5:00 PM. The suggested donation for the Weenie Roast is $5 and each ticket is good for a hotdog and soda. As for the yard signs, they are free, but donations are always welcome. I will have t-shirts, bumper stickers, and campaign handouts available, too.

Let me know if you would like to buy some tickets and I will figure out a way to get them to you. Tickets will also be available the day of the Weenie Roast, but buying them ahead of time gives me an idea of how many hot dogs and how many sodas to purchase.

You can RSVP for the event on Facebook.

Kickoff Fundraiser

Today was a productive day for the campaign. Not much door knocking was to be had, though; Most of today's work was done in a meeting with my campaign manager and then on the computer.

I'm planning two, possibly three community events (all different from your typical fundraisers) in the next two to three weeks and I'm getting ready to launch an online fundraising campaign. I think the online fundraising campaign is pretty ingenious. We'll see how it goes. I also ordered more bumper stickers and t-shirts this morning and my yard signs are due to arrive tomorrow (although I think Typhoon Choi Wan will cause them to arrive late).

I set up an online email database today, too. I have it set so that when you log into this blog, a form pops up for you to sign up to my email list. An email is automatically sent to you after you sign up letting you know that you've been added. The welcome Email has links to my Facebook, Twitter, Homepage, and PayPal donation page. I will be using this list to send out periodic updates on the progress of the campaign.

My campaign webpage should launch sometime this week, too.

My campaign to this point has been funded by small contributions of $10, $20, and $50. I do not have the backing of large corporate donors and I am depending heavily on my generous supporters to help me win.

Last week's kickoff fundraiser at Aqua Resort Club was a great start, but it was only that, a start. I am still in need of people to support my campaign with a small donation.

Donations to my campaign can be made online via PayPal or by mailing a check or money order to:

Angelo Villagomez for Mayor
PMB 360 BOX 10001
Saipan, MP 96950

Click HERE to donate via PayPal using a credit card.

If elected I promise to continue my work beautifying our island. I will focus on having clean and safe villages and well-maintained tourist sites. I will support community programs that aren't getting the support they need now and I will build an affordable and humane animal shelter. I will work for better island planning, a system of parks and trails, a comprehensive solid waste management plan, and the paving of roads that are negatively impacting our coral reefs. Finally, I promise to restore accountability, honesty, accessibility and openness to the Mayor's Office.

More photos from the Kickoff Fundraiser can be found on Facebook.

16 Foot Waves Tonight

The National Weather Service is doing a great job of keeping us updated on the storm. Looks like there might be 16 foot waves tonight. I wonder what Beach Road is going to look like in the morning?

...NEW INFORMATION...
THE EYE OF TYPHOON CHOI-WAN IS NOW CLEARLY EVIDENT ON BOTH VISUAL AND INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY AND BEGINNING TO MOVE WITHIN RANGE OF THE GUAM WEATHER RADAR. THIS MEANS THE MOVEMENT OF THE TYPHOON WILL BE TRACKED WITH GREATER ACCURACY. CHOI-WAN IS A CATEGORY ONE TYPHOON AND IS EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY TO A CATEGORY TWO TYPHOON... WITH WINDS IN EXCESS OF 100 MPH...AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE ISLANDS.

THE TYPHOON WILL PASS CLOSE TO SAIPAN TONIGHT. HOWEVER...TYPHOON FORCE WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO IMPACT TINIAN AND SAIPAN UNLESS A MAJOR CHANGE IN FORWARD MOTION OCCURS. FORECAST MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A SLIGHT TURN TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST...WITH THE TYPHOON PASSING THROUGH THE NORTHERN MARIANAS NEAR ANATAHAN LATE TONIGHT.

...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
FOR TINIAN...SAIPAN...AGRIHAN AND ALAMAGAN...THE GOVERNOR OF THE CNMI HAS DECLARED TROPICAL STORM CONDITION ONE FOR ISLANDS IN THE CNMI FROM TINIAN NORTHWARD TO AGRIHAN. THIS INCLUDES SAIPAN. NOW IS THE TIME TO RUSH TO COMPLETION PREPARATIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. SMALL CRAFT REMAIN IN PORT. CLOSELY MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL NEWS OUTLETS FOR OFFICIAL STORM INFORMATION. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE FORECAST AS DESCRIBED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

&&

...WINDS...
AS CHOI-WAN PASSES SLOWLY THROUGH THE NORTHERN MARIANAS...SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM-FORCE WINDS WILL OCCUR BETWEEN THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. FOR TINIAN AND SAIPAN...WIND DIRECTIONS WILL BE NORTHWEST THIS EVENING...TURN WEST TONIGHT THEN SOUTHWEST TUESDAY. FOR ALAMAGAN AND AGRIHAN... WIND DIRECTIONS WILL BE NORTHEAST THIS EVENING...TURN EAST TONIGHT THEN SHIFT TO SOUTHEAST TUESDAY. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED ON ALL FOUR ISLANDS. WINDS WILL OCCASIONALLY GUST TO NEAR TYPHOON FORCE AT SAIPAN AND ALAMAGAN TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

...STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDE...
STORM SURGE AND INUNDATION OF 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE HIGH TIDE IS POSSIBLE AS CHOI-WAN PASSES...WITH HAZARDOUS SURF OF 8 TO 12 FEET ALONG WEST FACING REEFS THIS EVENING...BUILDING TO 13 TO 16 FEET TONIGHT. HIGH TIDE IS EXPECTED AROUND 5 PM TODAY.

...OTHER STORM EFFECTS...
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS LIKELY WITH RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 8 INCHES POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY EVENING.

Bumper Stickers and Yard Signs

100 yard signs should be in my mail box tomorrow morning...

300 more bumper stickers will be ready by the end of the week...

Typhoon Choi Wan

Choi Wan has been upgraded to a typhoon.

I am seeing messages on Facebook that all public schools are closed and that all non-essential government employees are not to report for duty until further notice.

Bearing down

It is Monday morning. It's raining.

BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM CHOI-WAN (15W) INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 7A
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU WP152009
500 AM CHST MON SEP 14 2009

...TROPICAL STORM CHOI-WAN CURRENTLY DRIFTING SOUTHWESTWARD...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TINIAN...SAIPAN AND AGRIHAN.

A TYPHOON WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TINIAN...SAIPAN AND AGRIHAN.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN CONJUNCTION WITH A TYPHOON WATCH MEANS TROPICAL STORM-FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED...AND TYPHOON-FORCE WINDS OF 74 MPH OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN 24 HOURS.

AT 400 AM CHST...1800Z...TROPICAL STORM CHOI-WAN WAS CENTERED NEAR LATITUDE 15.6 DEGREES NORTH AND LONGITUDE 148.5 DEGREES EAST.

THIS IS ABOUT 290 MILES SOUTHEAST OF AGRIHAN
225 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ALAMAGAN
190 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF TINIAN AND SAIPAN
245 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROTA AND
290 MILES NORTHEAST OF GUAM.

TROPICAL STORM CHOI-WAN HAS SLOWED IN FORWARD SPEED DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS AND IS MOVING WEST-SOUTHWEST AT 4 MPH. A GRADUAL TURN TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. CHOI-WAN IS EXPECTED TO PASS A LITTLE NORTH OF SAIPAN LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE 70 MPH. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 120 MILES FROM THE CENTER IN THE NORTHEAST SEMI-CIRCLE AND 60 MILES FROM THE CENTER IN THE SOUTHWEST SEMI-CIRCLE. CHOI-WAN IS EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY AND MAY BECOME A TYPHOON DURING THE NEXT 12 HOURS.

Tropical Storm Choi Wan

The storm looks as if it is moving North, but a typhoon watch remains in effect for Saipan.

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

Stay up to date on the typhoon heading our way via the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Right now it is called Tropical Depression 15W, but I'm sure it will get a name once the winds pick up speed.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

I asked the question, "Do you remember what you were doing on September 11, 2001?" on Facebook the other day and recieved 29 responses. Anyone else care to chime in?

Koko Jabrian

yes I was at Saipan seaport taking care of a cargo that came from Tinian,and my cousin called me from LA to tell me about that happened,

Yesterday at 11:24am · Delete

Juanette Villagomez

i was in school.lol

Yesterday at 11:25am · Delete

Joann Pangelinan Tajalle Aquino

Yes! can't forget it was the day before my sons (Matt) birthday and I was watching TV and I saw the plane hit the tower...It looked sooo real that I asked Danny how the heck does Hollywood spend so much$$ destroying equipment, buildings etc..expensive .THEN REALITY SUNK IN.....IT WAS REAL!! :(

Yesterday at 11:27am · Delete

Boni R. Pangelinan

Getting ready for work, sitting in front of the TV in utter astonishment.

Yesterday at 11:28am · Delete

Brad Ruszala

Working at Bank of America as an Investor Accountant in New York when Patty (last name escapes me) told me she just heard on the radio that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center.

I called the radio station (96.9FM known better as 97 Rock) to ask the jocks if they were playing around and they said they weren't.

I called my mother and asked her to turn on the TV. She asked, "What channel."

I responded with, "If this is true it should be on all of them."

Unfortunately, I was right. Bank of America had three floors in the World Trade Center that housed just about everything, including our servers.

Little more than an hour later, our network disappeared along with three of our coworkers and 2,749 other innocent people in the towers.

Yesterday at 11:29am · Delete

Norman del Rosario

Got an early morning call from my former boss and ask me to go to work asap to help prepare verizon phone cards to hand out in the saipan international airport for stranded passengers.

Yesterday at 11:40am · Delete

Rick Vaughn

Working in Receiving at Hotel Nikko. None of the other staff at the hotel seemed all that concerned, really. One man actually told me that it would not really affect this small island in the middle of nowhere.

Yesterday at 11:46am · Delete

Virginia Odoshi Mettao

all my fav. channels went to all the medias....but had to tag along w/ all the disbelieve I saw! Everytime,Everyday almost the same but different pix. Devastations, Smokes, Missing familys, mixed emotions,no t.v. just live reports....

Yesterday at 11:58am · Delete

Karen Alla

I was cashing out my register at GIG when the news came on.... tragic eARLY MORNIN FOR saipan...

Yesterday at 12:03pm · Delete

Robert Henry Hunter

Kind of the same story as Joann. It was late at night, I was flipping channels and flipped by channel 5. There was a plane flying into one of the towers. I thought it was some 70's airplane movie and continued flipping. A few channels later, I realized I wasn't near any channel that normally runs movies and flipped back. The first tower had just been hit. Called family members and then sat there until the next morning watching it all unfold.

Yesterday at 12:03pm · Delete

Connie Cabrera

i was just waking up and thinking about what id'e do at schol and heard the news and my thout was the whole world at war, so glad it did't come to that or at least the way my mind saw it

Yesterday at 12:10pm · Delete

Sean Gordon

I was at work, I remember the first plane hit and everyone thought it was an accident. Then the 2nd plane hit and it was "oh shit, we're under attack"

Yesterday at 12:25pm · Delete

Dan Teich

In Columbus, sunny, quiet morning. Then the neighbor below began to scream.

Yesterday at 12:29pm · Delete

Melena Slaven

Absolutely...who could forget?

Yesterday at 12:36pm · Delete

Norito Irei

I was at Rollins College :)

Yesterday at 12:37pm · Delete

Jay Solly

I was evacuating the Hall of States next to the Senate Office Building because we thought the Capitol was next and watching smoke plumes across the Potomac...

Yesterday at 1:26pm · Delete

Bobbi Grizzard

I was in bed, asleep, when I got a call from a friend in California telling me to turn on CNN. Never did go back to sleep that night.

Yesterday at 1:36pm · Delete

Liz Maher

I was at work in the Pentagon, 4th floor, C Ring in the section that was hit. Plane came in on the first and second floors - I guess it just was not my time...

Yesterday at 1:40pm · Delete

Angelo O'Connor Villagomez

I was in Florida. It was my day off. We were going to go to the beach in Sarasota that day. When I woke up I flipped on the TV and every channel had the smoking remains of the fallen towers on. I tried calling my friends in New York, but couldn't get through. Every line was busy.

Yesterday at 1:43pm · Delete

Tamara Hunter

I was at home, here in Saipan, in bed with my now x-bf PS...For some reason I woke up and started flipping channels..i landed on fox news just as the first plane was heading toward the towers..I watched the entire events unfold the rest of the day...

Yesterday at 2:34pm · Delete

Matt Meyer

Been married a month, sitting in our one bedroom basement apartment wondering if i'd ever get a job as a lawyer, and I turned on the tv...

Yesterday at 3:37pm · Delete

Derek Chambers

In bed in Fairbanks, Alaska, listening to NPR at about 5:00am, as newscaster announced that a small plane crashed into the WTC... My boss was caribou hunting (via float plane), and was stuck in the bush for three more days because planes could not fly.

Yesterday at 3:44pm · Delete

Diane Villagomez

On the phone with Governor Babauta trying to contact my boys in the military to make sure they're safe. I had him use his red phone. It was torture!! It was so nice of him to check on me every hour during that night. Big thank you to my boss Liling. He helped too.

Yesterday at 4:38pm · Delete

David Keddie

I was mowing the lawn on a beautiful Scottish summer day. My Mum called me in saying a plane had accidentally flown into one of the towers and then the other plane hit while we were watching. Obviously we realised then that this wasn't an accident. When the towers actually came down I knew that this was going to change a lot of things and probably not for the better.

Yesterday at 5:24pm · Delete

Tara DeVries

I was a Freshman in my first semester at Rollins, and I was rushing (late!) to my Women's Studies class... I walked into my crowded classroom where everyone sat, silently staring, disbelieving, what my teacher had turned on the TV. We talked about what had happened for a few minutes, then decided the best thing for us to do would be to push through our day until we could find out more information. What a mess that was....

Yesterday at 5:35pm · Delete

Dustin Andres

portland, or. woke up to terrified msgs from my family on the answering machine. I left nyc 3 months before the attack. I watched the second tower collapse from a local portland bar-- into the square where I used to watch chamber music and eat lunch.

Yesterday at 6:06pm · Delete

William Charles Raynor

I had just walked into the Australia Embassy in Pohnpei for a meeting, and everyone was crying. Then we ran up to Cafe Ole to see everything on CNN. Very memorble day - kind f like when Kennedy was shot (I remember my first grade teacher at El Granada Elementary in California running into the classroom crying and telling us the President has been killed, and then we were all dismissed from school)- sticks with you your whole life...

Yesterday at 6:34pm · Delete

Donna OConnor

I was in my office at Rollins, and spent the rest of the day frantically contacting all of my study abroad students to make sure everyone was OK.

Yesterday at 11:10pm · Delete

Mary E. Hanlan

I was working as a Travel Agent at AAA, wondering if I had put anyone on those planes.

Yesterday at 11:25pm · Delete