Beautify CNMI!'s Year In Review Video

Well, if you haven't seen it yet, here it is -- the Beautify CNMI Year In Review Video that was shown at our One Year Anniversary Fundraising Banquet.

More volunteers helped out than were shown in this video, but it shows why Beautify CNMI! won a 2007 EPA Award in its first year of existence. There were 160 nomination and we were one of 39 winners and only one of two (Hawaii was the other winner) representing the entire Pacific! How cool is that?!

Don't forget to mark your calendars for May 5, which is this Saturday. Come to the Sabalu Market and make sure you get there before 11 a.m. receive the EPA Award. Congratulations, Everyone! Thanks to EVERYONE who contributed to us earning this Award.

And for those who haven't been infected with the "Beauty Virus," well, come on, what are you waiting for? :)

December 2006 Meeting Re Lau Lau Bay Launching Project

This was the December 2006 meeting I arranged with CRM officials to meet with Herman Tudela, the leader of the Traditional Fishermen's Group advocating that the government allow small fishing boats to launch from this Lau Lau Bay site.
View of the southern end of the Bay.
Kathy Yuknavage (CRM), Angelo Villagomez (RC&D), Herman Tudela (leader of Traditional Fisherman Group), Tim Lange (CRM), and Gen Cabrera (HPO).
Clockwise: Gen Cabrera, Kathy Yuknavage, Rep. Cinta Kaipat, Angelo Villagomez, Herman Tudela, Tim Lange
I invited CRM to this meeting for an informal informational assessment meeting to see if a compromise could be reached to enable the launching while complying lawfully with our regulatory agency regulations.

One of the things Angelo and I suggested to Herman Tudela in November when we first met was to gather all the stakeholders together (other potential users of the area, divers, landowners, etc.) for a public discussion on this. We said that there should be a "give and take" on this -- that, in exchange for allowing the launching, that the fishermen help discourage driving on the beach and littering, among other things.
Herman Tudela was enthusiastic about this approach and said he could get the local fishermen to go along with this proposal.
Everyone agreed that having a cooperative agreement between the public and government in which everyone agreed to abide by the rules was preferrable to legislation at this time. In fact, legislation would be a "last resort."
Back row: Herman Tudela, Tim Lange, Angelo Villagomez. Front fow: Rep. Cinta Kapat, Gen Cabrera, and Kathy Yuknavage. Thanks, team!
Note: Not pictured was John Starmer (CRM), who was present earlier. Thanks, John.

Coral Reefs Video with Olomwaay Music

Here's a project that brother Gus and I were very proud to be a part of. Our Coastal Resources Management (CRM) agency produced this educational video to help protect our coral reefs. The videographer, Curt Klemstein, who had worked with us before, asked to use Olomwaay music. We didn't have any instrumental music handy, but he played the rough-cut video for us and then we quickly composed the two instrumental tunes you now hear in this video.

I believe one of the original plans was to have this video played on the airlines heading to our islands to help educate our diving tourist visitors and others about our fragile coral reefs prior to their landing in the CNMI. Unfortunately, the airlines wouldn't go for it. However, this video plays everyday on Channel 3, our Visitors Channel, which is now owned by Flame Tree TV, our newest local channel on Channel 2.

In fact, this came in handy during a recent meeting of the Association of Pacific Islands Legislators (APIL), which the CNMI hosted last year (in 2006). As Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and as a member of Olomwaay, I was proud to share this video with our visiting colleagues from Hawaii and Micronesia. They enjoyed the video.

... and I hope you do, too!