Welcome to the Office of the Governor of Guam

October 3, 2008

The Guam Community College received a two-year, $2,499,120 grant from the United States Department of Education to build a new Learning Resource Center at the Mangilao campus.

The grant was awarded under the Asian American and Native American Pacific Island Serving Institution for a new 20,000 square foot LRC building, which will more than double the size of GCC's existing 8,640 square foot facility.  "The overall goal of this grant is to increase enrollment, retention and program graduation rates by improving academic quality and student learning outcomes by expanding the quantity of learning resource materials available to our students and the facility in which such materials are housed," said Mary Okada, GCC president.

"We commend GCC for taking the initiative to seek outside funding to improve and expand the college's library," said Governor Felix Camacho. With ongoing discussions relative to Guam's military buildup, the college is looking at an increase in its enrollment as it takes on a significant role in training and educating Guam's workforce. "I am confident this new structure and the expanded inventory of resources will allow GCC to keep pace with national standards as well as ensure academic excellence in career and technical education," he said.

The new facility will improve student accessibility and make more resources available to the college. "I'm really excited to hear that we'll have new library facilities added to the campus," said Veleen Sampson, a second year Education major at GCC. "Since I started here a couple of years ago, GCC has made some really nice improvements to the campus."  The college recently broke ground for a 24,000-square-foot Allied Health Center that will house state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories supporting students majoring in the License Practical Nursing and Medical Assisting programs. The project is expected to be complete by August 2009.

Serving the community for over 30-years, the college has grown and diversified its course offerings so that students at the secondary and postsecondary environments are able to choose from a variety of career and technical education opportunities that meet the needs of Guam's growing workforce. 

For more information about the Asian American and Native American Pacific Island-serving Institutions grant, call 735-5638.

Acting Governor calls on volunteers and government workers to participate

October 2, 2008

Acting Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D. along with the Beautification Task Force will once again lead the effort to keep Guam clean. The upcoming Na'La Bonita Guam Clean-up is scheduled to take place on Saturday October 4th starting at 7 a.m. The clean up will cover major thoroughfares through the villages of Asan, Piti, Agat and key areas in the village of Hagatna.

"The Governor and I are calling on our cabinet members and their respective agencies to take the lead on this project, but we are also encouraging volunteers form the community to come out and join us in the civic endeavor," said Acting Governor Cruz.

Those wishing to volunteer are asked to meet at any of the eight locations this Saturday at 7 a.m.

    * Skinner Plaza, Agana
    * Asan Beach Park
    * Seaman's Club (Old USO)
    * Polaris Point
    * Agat Taco Bell
    * Apra Mobil Gas Station
    * Inn on the Bay
    * Agat Cemetery

For almost 6 years now, the Na' La Bonita Guam clean-up campaign has gathered thousands of volunteers from both the public and private sectors, to participate in the its quarterly clean-up. 

The event is being coordinated by the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Hagatña Restoration Authority. The clean-up will be held in tandem with the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association/Japan Guam Travel Association's Keep Guam Clean event in Tumon.

For more information please contact Joe Duenas at 475-6296/7.

Administration has numerous concerns within Bill 207

September 30, 2008

Acting Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D. signed the highly debated budget Bill No. 207 into law just one hour before the Government of Guam would have had to shut down.

"It is with reservation Bill No. 207 is signed into law as Public Law 29-113 with the time for proper review reduced from 10 days to less than 24 hours," said Acting Governor Cruz. "We will continue to analyze the impact of the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget moving forward.

One highly debated provision of the bill is the authorization to issue bonds for deficit financing. Although the idea of borrowing money to pay off long term obligations will provide immediate cash into our economy, current conditions in the market make this measure highly unfeasible.   

"While we acknowledge the authority to pursue a bond, the administration will not move in this direction unless bond conditions become favorable. We must proceed with caution and remain conservative and realistic with market conditions," said the Acting Governor.

The government's financial advisors warned that the market is currently frozen particularly in light of the global credit crisis and the failed passage of the $700B Federal Government bailout of Wall Street.

The Acting Governor discussed many details of the 231 page bill with Governor Felix Camacho, currently attending a U.S. Department of the Interior-sponsored Health Summit in Hawaii, and the Administration's finance team over the past 19 hours.

The budget of $520 million, a figure proposed by the Administration this past January, will set the budgets for the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the government for Fiscal Year 2009.

"We are not confident with the legislature's ability to produce a budget in the amount of time left in the fiscal year to avoid a government of Guam shut down if the budget bill was vetoed," said Acting Governor Cruz. "Senators must be reminded that the annual government budget is the single most important responsibility of the legislative branch."