American Samoa	Guam	Northern Mariana Islands	U.S. Virgin Islands	Marshall Islands	Federated States of Micronesia	Palau

U.S. Insular Areas And FAS Receive Historic Preservation Grants

January 8, 2008 – The Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, today announced the apportionment of $16.935 million for historic preservation grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Territories and the three freely associated states of Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
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CNMI Governor And Member Of Congress Visit
Office Of Insular Affairs

Pictured left to right at table: Pula, Domenech, Bowman, Fitial, Sablan, Sander Photo by R. Beffrey OIA.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009 – The Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), the Honorable Benigno R. Fitial, and the new Member of Congress from NMI, the Honorable Gregorio Camacho Sablan, and members of their staffs met today at the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) with Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech and OIA Director Nikolao Pula. They were joined by the Honorable Lyle Laverty, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, and his special assistant Randal Bowman.
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President Bush Creates Three New Pacific Marine Monuments in U.S. Pacific Insular Areas

White House Signing 1/6/09; Photo by Doug Domenech; Front Row (Left to Right): Ray Tulafono, American Samoa Dir. Marine and Wildlife Resources; Mr. EPA Administrator (rear), ASGov. official; President Bush; CNMI Gov. Fitial; Mrs. Josie Fitial.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 – Joined by Governor Benigno Fitial of the Northern Mariana Islands, President George W. Bush, under the 1906 U.S. Antiquities Act, has established the largest marine reserve ever by designating three Pacific Ocean areas as national monuments and preserving over 195,000 square miles of high seas to be barred from commercial fishing, mining and other uses.
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Guam map.[© Google]

DoD Opens PTAC on Guam

December 19, 2008 – The Department of Defense (DoD) has opened a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) on Guam. In fact, as announced by the Joint Guam Program Office (JGPO) this month, DoD has opened three new centers on Guam to help small businesses navigate the bureaucracy of the Department of Defense when attempting to obtain contracts during the anticipated military buildup.  More

This Month in the History of the North Pacific
(Guam PDN, Tony Palomo, December 7, 2008)

Pearl Harbour Picture

110 years ago – The Treaty of Paris of 1898 which ended the Spanish-American War, ceded Guam, along with the Philippines and Puerto Rico, to the United States. Spain later sold the other islands in the Marianas and Micronesia to Germany for 25 million pesetas (about $4.5 million). The other islands included Saipan, Tinian, and Rota of the current Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk of the current Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands. All of the above-referenced islands were inhabited at these times.

Actual signing of the 1898 peace treaty between US and Spain in what is now the White House treaty room

67 years ago - Seven Navy men from Guam were killed when the USS Arizona was sunk by Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The seven were Gregorio S.N. Aguon, Nicolas S. Fergurgur, Francisco Reyes Mafnas, Vicente Gogue Meno, Jose Sanchez Quinata, Francisco U. Rivera and Filomeno Santos. They were among a total of 45 Chamorro servicemen known to have been killed during World War II.