Take The Initiative

We would like to see Arizona make a law that boaters need licenses for driving any water craft on are waters there are to many senseless accidents on our waters namely little Isabella that is in critical condition in Las Vegas right now

NOW IS TIME TO ACT IF NOT NOW SOMEONE ELSE WILL BE HURT OR EVEN KILLED

We as local Bullhead City residents have see senseless accidents way to much

Nevada and California has licenses why don't we. There are more and more people coming and cluttering our water ways and the droughts keep making our water ways smaller and smaller

Please help the people who use our lakes and rivers be safe No one else should have to go through what the Bohannon family is going through

Please act now tomorrow is to late. Tomorrow there will be another senseless accident and we don't need that senseless act in our state so please let's stop it now

Nuestros familiares detenidos en Arizona y Louisiana sufren de varias cuarentenas debido a casos positivos de COVID-19, sus procesos se ven afectados por tal razón por lo que pedimos por favor sean liberados para continuar sus procesos en las cortes de inmigración en libertad. Nuestros familiares no son delincuentes solo piden una oportunidad en esta gran nación y se están viendo seriamente afectados por la situación dentro de estas jaulas donde corren peligro de ser contagiados por la pandemia y son afectados psicológicamente.


Our relatives who are detained in Arizona and Louisiana suffer from several quarantine because of positive cases of COVID-19, their processes are affected for that reason why we are asking for them to be released to continue their proceedings in the free immigration courts. Our relatives are not criminals just asking for an opportunity in this great nation and are being seriously affected by the situation inside these cages where they are at risk of being infected by the pandemic and psychologically affected. Please ask for your attention. Thank you

To support families who have children with special needs in Arizona please read through the attached letter and sign the petition to support our effort in making this much needed parent provider program permanent in Arizona.

Para asistir a las familias de niños con necesidades especiales en el estado de Arizona favor de leer la carta adjunta y firmar la petición para apoyar nuestra labor de poder lograr el programa de padres o tutores proveedores permanente en el estado de Arizona



February 2021

To whom it may concern,

This letter is written in representation of the collective voices of primary caregivers who have children with developmental disabilities in Arizona. Many thanks and appreciation goes to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Administration (AHCCCS) and associated Developmental Disability Department (DDD) for their extensive, robust and timely program adjustments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This prompt action anticipated the unique and ever changing needs that our loved ones with disabilities face.

One of the program adjustments stated that primary caregivers of minor children who received DDD hours could become certified Home and Community-Based Service Providers (HCBS) beginning March 13, 2020. Our disability community has experienced how effectively this program has met the needs of DDD members under the age of 18, and because of this, we are advocating for this program to become a permanent choice for families in Arizona who have children with disabilities.

Network Adequacy

We support the existing infrastructure of qualified HCBS agencies and vendors in our state. These agencies work hard to support and advocate for their members to ensure their needs are being met. We believe It takes a village, and we are proud of the systems Arizona has in place to support its special needs individuals.

Given the health and safety concerns with the ongoing pandemic, our experience this last year has shown that it has been difficult for agencies to find non-familial HCBS providers that will stay with DDD placements long-term. This is not an acute issue that has arisen through the duration of this pandemic, but was present prior to and we anticipate it to be an ongoing struggle moving forward. This gives us great concern around how DDD members' needs are currently structured to be met. While we do not have access to data and cannot speak to vendor and agency employee turnover rates or shortages globally, we can speak from our experience and say that many families in the disability community have experienced frequent loss of their HCBS providers during their years receiving DDD services.

Every individual DDD member's needs are different and because of that HCBS providers are required to certify in a variety of courses. The robust training put into place by DDD for HCBS providers is much appreciated and necessary. Due to the broad nature of the training HCBS providers must also receive extensive in-home training once they are selected to work with an individual DDD member. This in-home training is provided by the primary caregiver, and is often initially extensive requiring multiple full days of instruction. Continual updates to that training must also be given by the primary caregiver so that each provider is well informed and understands the current health and safety needs of the DDD member that they are caring for.

Through the swift action of AHCCCS and DDD, the emergency approval of parent providers during the Covid-19 pandemic DDD members and their families have experienced a solution to the frequent loss of HCBS providers that they previously experienced. Paid parent providers are their child’s expert and do not require additional in-home training.

Unique Financial Circumstances

In our collective experience we have found that many families in our disability community struggle financially. Due to the high volume of therapy appointments, care requirements, doctor visits and the unanticipated illnesses of our loved ones with special needs many families only have the ability for one parent or adult to work outside of the home. This becomes especially burdensome for single parent households.

Some DDD families have two adults in the household that can split the workload of financially providing and caring for their disabled child. But depending on the occupation or education opportunities, even families with two adults can struggle financially with just one source of income.

Having paid parent providers has created a unique opportunity not traditionally afforded to special needs families, creating a greater measure of financial safety and stability that many DDD members have been unable to experience previously.

Progress and Precedent

Members of our disability community have seen an improvement in their childrens’ habilitation outcomes because of the consistency of parent provider support. This program has created structure and accountability for primary caregivers to dedicate time towards the habilitation of their child with disabilities while providing HCBS agencies consistent documentation on that member’s improvement or struggles with their individual goals.

We recognize and understand the balance of being medicaid beneficiaries and also parent providers. This unique situation requires much consideration. Review of the current precedent showing that it can be put into practice permanently should be reviewed and considered. Other states have permanent parent provider programs in place for their members with disabilities under the age of 18. Some of these states include California, Colorado and Minnesota. We believe these programs show that such programs are needed nationally and should be implemented through state managed disability agencies like DDD.

Conclusion

As parents, it is our objective to surround ourselves with a team of friends, family, professionals and providers so that we can give our loved ones with disabilities the best possible support and life that we can offer. We acknowledge that parents cannot do it all, and our families require help in fulfilling the care requirements for our children with special needs.

The health, safety and risk assessment of each DDD member should be top priority in conjunction with their familial circumstances when making a decision to bring on a new HCBS provider. We are requesting that each DDD member and their family be given the flexibility to choose the provider that best fits their needs whether that be a parent provider, or a non-family provider.

We collectively urge you to extend the parent provider program indefinitely which would provide choice for Arizona’s special needs families.

We thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Arizona’s Special Needs Families

Approximately 13,000 babies are aborted in Arizona each year. Every life is precious and deserves a chance to live. I support an Arizona Heartbeat Bill so that the minute the heartbeat is detected, it becomes illegal to abort the baby. I am signing this petition in support of this type of legislation to be passed. Now is the time!

In Arizona, sexual assault survivors are not guaranteed to receive their civil rights. They are left to navigate a system with a patchwork of policies largely on their own. As reports of sexual violence have only increased in AZ and around the world during COVID, survivors in AZ need civil rights protections now more than ever.

Currently, there are two bills that have been introduced to the Arizona House of Representatives, HB2600 and HB2849, to ensure these rights in our state. Even though this bill has bipartisan support in the House and Senate, it must be heard in committee in order to be voted on and passed. Right now, the bill does not have a hearing date and the head of the Judiciary Committee, who can assign it a hearing, is hospitalized. The rules for this deadline must be suspended and this bill must be given a hearing. This is imperative as survivors deserve to have these rights ensured.

Arizona has the opportunity to pass a Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights that will guarantee comprehensive, common sense civil rights for survivors.

Rise’s Five Key Civil Rights:

1. The right to not have your rape kit destroyed before either 20 years or the statute of limitations has passed (whichever is longer).
2. The right to be notified of your civil rights related to a sexual assault.
3. The right to not be charged for your own rape kit examination.
4. The right to access your own medical record related to a rape kit examination.
5. The right to a copy of your own police report.

Over forty states have backlogs for untested kits. Some states do not cover the full medical expenses of a kit, leaving survivors to pay their own way towards justice. Most states destroy rape kits before the statute of limitations for the crime has passed. The lack of these rights has inspired us to act.

This is a crisis for 25 million survivors across America, and it's time for our legislators to do something about it.

Sign this petition, then learn more at our website -- and reach out to AZ legislators.

Horse racing has been a key economic driver in Arizona for decades – creating thousands of jobs, supporting hundreds of local businesses and generating millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues.

Now, horse racing needs our help.

Since 2004, Arizona horse tracks have seen:
· Parimutuel handles drop $55M a year
· Purses drop $5M a year
· Live race attendance drop 45%

Senate Bill 1794 will support Arizona horse racing and:
· Generate more than $100M million in new state tax revenues
· Create nearly 4,000 new jobs
· Lead to $300M in capital investments, including installation of a new turf course at Arizona Downs
· Increase purses from $80,000 to $300,000, attracting horses and revenues from California

Let our State Legislators know that you want them to vote "YES" on Senate Bill 1794 to save Arizona horse racing and support the hundreds of small agri-businesses that support the industry.
www.savearizonahorseracing.com

We cannot bring back gas chambers. It is the weapon of a long dead enemy and we do not need it. If we start justifying the use of nazi tech now it's going to evolve into something bigger, something much worse. Gas chambers need to disappear into history where they belong and never be used again. They were used in a time of hate and oppression and should be a reminder of what happens when nationalism goes too far, and in that regard I believe wholeheartedly that this is a part of history that should never repeat itself.

Please stop the use of your gas chamber and demolish the building or repurpose it but please never use it to kill. I am already against the use of the death penalty as well and this is beyond inhumane. We need to ask what could happen if more of these chambers are built in the future. What if some white supremacist in office gets the idea to start another ethnic cleansing? There are already concentration camps at the U.S. border and it doesn't matter what color they are or where they came from, the human beings held there are suffering and if the people running them decide that gas chambers are OK because they're following your example, there could be a disaster.

This isn't just about your prison and it isn't about nazis and it isn't about my opinion. It's about the people who are going to die under your administration using this thing you intend to use to kill, and it's about undoing another potential future holocaust before it has any chance to become a reality.

In 2017, about 43% of drug cases where comprised of the involvement with marijuana. Alabama spends around $22 million a year to criminalize marijuana drug possession. By directing the money elsewhere, it could pay for 191 classrooms, 571 teachers, and cover 8600 children in need of medicaid.Additionally, a marijuana arrest data report illustrated that between the years of 2012-2016, 88.9% of the individuals with marijuana charges where in possession. Therefore, the decriminalization of marijuana would free individuals in prison and many others with marijuana charges on their records.

The idea of daylight savings time has been outdated for years now. It was started in 1918 With the original intent to save fuel during WWI and help family farmers.
Now it is just a nuisance. There are no tangible reasons to continue.

Less daylight causes more depression , poor health and causes outdoor activities that are being done for exercise and fun to be cut short as well. Also a uptick in car accidents heart attacks, work place injuries and crime. Are a result of falling back an hour.
And as of 2020 the following states or territories do not observing DST.
Arizona, Hawaii, American Somoa, Guam, The Northern Mariana Islands ,Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

It is time Alabama did away with falling back an hour and stay where we are now.

To help with Aloha Stadium and state budget. We are asking Hawaii be allowed to play in Mega Millions and Powerball Lottery. Considering 45 of 50 states are allowed to play including Washington DC. Guam, Puerto Rico and other places. We feel Hawaii needs an income source damaged due to Covid-19.

MISSION: To improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, American Samoans, Micronesians, Tongans & Other Pacific Islanders by creating a WA State Commission on Pacific Islanders ensuring their access to participation in the fields of government, business, education, health, and other areas.

Revise WA RCW 43.117.010 to new legislative declaration

The Pacific Islanders of Washington State affirm that the public policy of this state is to ensure equal opportunity for all of its citizens. Furthermore, the Pacific Islander communities and the coalition of Pacific Islander Studies Institute finds that Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, American Samoans, & Other Pacific Islanders have unique indigenous histories, cultures, and special challenges they face around issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

It is the purpose of this resolution to request funding for a newly formed Commission on Native Pacific Islanders to improve the well-being of Pacific Islanders by institutionalizing equity & their access to participation in the fields of government, business, education, and other areas.

Governor Jay Inslee announced a $365 million equity policy package as part of his 2021-2023 state budget proposal in a press conference on December 15, 2020. This policy package directs state agencies and legislators to center budgetary decisions and legislation around equity.

We hope that the state legislature will govern for racial equity & become particularly concerned with the plight of those Pacific Islanders who, for economic, political, or environmental factors, find themselves disadvantaged or isolated from American society and the benefits of equal opportunity. We hope that the legislature will commit to enhance services to all Pacific Islanders so that they may achieve full equality and inclusion in American society.

The indigenous Pacific Islander Studies Institute 2010-2020 finds that it is necessary to aid Pacific Islanders in obtaining governmental services in order to promote the health, safety, and welfare of all the residents of this state. Therefore the legislature deems it necessary to create a commission to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

Expand WA RCW 43.117.020 - Definitions

As used in this chapter unless the context indicates otherwise:

"Pacific Islanders" include persons of Native Hawaiian, Chamorro, Samoan, Guamanian, Tongan, Maori, Marshallese, Fijian, Tahitian, Chuukese, Micronesian, Palauan, Rofalawash, and Pacific Island ancestry.
"Commission" means the Washington state commission on Pacific Islander Affairs in the Office of the Governor.
Native Hawaiians & Other Pacific Islanders were added to the US Census in 2000 and must be disaggregated to meet federal data compliance standards.
Revise WA RCW 43.117.030 - Request for a new Pacific Islander Commission established by 2021

There is a request for a new Washington state commission on Pacific Islander affairs in the office of the governor by 2021. The now existing Pacific-American advisory segment of the CAPA council shall become included in the commission upon enactment of this chapter. The council may transfer all office equipment, including files and records to the commission.

[1995 c 67 § 4; 1974 ex.s. c 140 § 3.]

Revise WA RCW 43.117.040 - Membership—Terms—Vacancies—Travel expenses—Quorum—Executive director

The commission shall consist of twelve members appointed by the governor. In making such appointments, the governor shall give due consideration to recommendations submitted to him or her by the commission. The governor may also consider nominations of members made by the various Pacific Islander organizations in the state. The governor shall consider nominations for membership based upon maintaining a balanced distribution of Pacific Islander-ethnic, geographic, sex, age, and occupational representation, where practicable.
Appointments shall be for two years except in case of a vacancy, in which event appointment shall be only for the remainder of the unexpired term for which the vacancy occurs. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
Members shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended.
Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business.
The governor shall appoint an executive director & based upon recommendations made by the council.
The executive director shall hire a Project Coordinator based upon the recommendations made by the commission.
Revise WA RCW 43.117.070 - Duties of commission—State agencies to give assistance

The commission shall examine and define issues pertaining to the rights and needs of Pacific Islander Americans, and make recommendations to the governor and state agencies with respect to desirable changes in program and law.
The commission shall advise such state government agencies on the development and implementation of comprehensive and coordinated policies, plans, and programs focusing on the special problems and needs of Pacific Islanders.
The commission shall coordinate and assist with statewide celebrations during the first two weeks of April that recognize the contributions to the state by Pacific Islander Americans in the arts, sciences, commerce, and education.
The commission shall coordinate and assist educational institutions, public entities, and private organizations with celebrations of Native Pacific Islanders day that recognize the contributions to the state by Native Hawaiians, Chamorros & Samoans in the arts, sciences, commerce, and education.
Each state department and agency shall provide appropriate and reasonable assistance to the commission as needed in order that the commission may carry out the purposes of this chapter.
Revise WA RCW 43.117.080 - Promotion of equal opportunity and benefits

In carrying out its duties, the commission may establish such relationships with local governments and private industry as may be needed to promote equal opportunity and benefits to Pacific Americans in government, education, economic development, employment, and services.

Expand RCW 43.117.110 - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

The legislature declares that:

April of each year will be known as Pacific Islander heritage month;
The first two weeks of April is designated as a time for people of this state to celebrate the contributions to the state by Pacific Americans in the arts, sciences, commerce, and education; and
Educational institutions, public entities, and private organizations are encouraged to designate time for appropriate activities in commemoration of the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Pacific Americans.
Facts from the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:

In May 2010, the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Alliance (NHPI) and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) issued joint guidance advocating that the preferred and appropriate reference to these communities should be Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI).
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has conducted outreach efforts to include all Pacific Islander Americans including Native Hawaiians, Chamoru, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Chuukese, Yapese, Kosraen, and others in the Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian Pacific Islander groupings.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Pacific Islanders include diverse populations who differ in language and culture. They are of Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian backgrounds.
The Polynesian group is the largest and includes Native Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, and Tahitians.
The Micronesian group, which is the second-largest, includes primarily Chamoru from Guam but also includes other Chamoru and Carolinian from the Mariana Islands, Marshallese, Palauans, and various others which include but is not limited to Pohnpeian, Chuukese, Kosraen, and Yapese from the Federated States of Micronesia.
Of the Melanesian group, which would include Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji, Fijian‐Americans are the largest in this group.
POPULATION
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 87 4,000 reported Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders, which account for 0.3% of the entire U.S. population.
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, as a group, experienced 2.4% growth between 2007 and 2008, third overall among race groups; Asians and Hispanics were second and first respectively.
Native Hawaiians are the largest Pacific Islander group in the U.S. followed by Samoan, and Guamanian, or Chamoru. These three groups account for 74% of the total respondents who reported belonging to a single Pacific Islander group.
LANGUAGE
There are at least 39 different Pacific Island languages spoken as a second language in the American home.
14% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have Limited English Proficiency compared to 9% of the general U.S. population.
MILITARY SERVICE
Proportionally, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are overrepresented in the U.S. Army by 249%, compared to 43% of blacks, 44% of whites, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives 53%.
In 2005, the U.S affiliated Pacific Islands of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, as a percentage of their islands' population, had a casualty rate of 36 deaths per million which exceeded that of any U.S. state. Vermont came closest with 16 deaths per million. The national rate is about 5 per million.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features, there were over 25,000 single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander military veterans.
A greater proportion of Micronesians age 16 and older work or are in the military.
HEALTH
Native Hawaiians are over 5 times as likely to experience diabetes between the ages of 1935 (11% vs. 2%) compared to non‐Hawaiians.
Native Hawaiians have the highest rate of death s due to cancer compared to any other ethnic group in Hawaii (229 per 100,000) and the third-highest rate in the country.
In California, Pacific Islander children have the highest rates among all children who are overweight or obese, putting these children at heightened risk for cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancers.
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders generally experience poorer health than the American population as a whole: they are more at risk for developing and dying from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.
According to the CDC, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders have the second-highest rate of diagnoses of HIV infection and the second shortest AIDS survival rate of all Americans.
POVERTY
Almost 20% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders Live in poverty while, over 16% lack health coverage.
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders living below poverty: 18% (U.S. average living below poverty: 12%).
Poverty rates are higher among Pacific Islanders who have a per capita income 27% below the national average.
Nearly 18% of all Micronesians in the U.S. live in poverty, compared to just over 13% of the general population. In California, the poverty rates are comparable, but in Hawaii, Micronesians have nearly three times the poverty rates of the general population across all categories except the elderly.
EDUCATION
15% of single-race Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander s hold at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 28% for the entire population and 5% hold a graduate or professional degree compared to 10 % of the entire population.
Pacific Islanders are half as likely to have a bachelor’s degree in comparison with 27% for the total population and 49% of the Asian American population.
Only 29% of Pacific Islanders between the ages of 18 and 24 are enrolled in a college or university, which is comparable to African Americans. In contrast, 39% of non-Hispanic whites and 57% of Asians in the age range are enrolled in college.
In 2005, 47.3% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI’s) were enrolled in community colleges. Between 1990 and 2000, AAPI enrollment in community colleges increased by nearly 73.3% compared to 42.2% in public four-year institutions.
Research has found that AAPI’s with higher socioeconomic status (SES) were three times more likely to begin college at a selective institution than those in lower SES, with Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders less likely than Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans to begin college at a selective institution.
The importance of disaggregation of data within the AAPI community can be seen in bachelor degree attainment rates among ethnic subgroups from a high of 69.1% for Asian Indians to a low of 9.4% for Samoans.
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Pacific Islanders were more likely to be in service occupations than the total Asian and Pacific Islander group, but less likely to be in managerial or professional occupations.
Pacific Islander families are less likely than all other ethnicities to have no workers in the home (9% compared to 13% for the total population).
HOUSING
Between the years 2007-2009, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders (628) have the third-highest foreclosure rate per 10,0 00 loans to owner-occupants which originated in 2005‐2008.
While Non-Hispanic whites represent the majority of at-risk borrowers, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders also show an increased likelihood of being at‐risk.
Pacific Islander renters experience consistent adverse, treatment at the rate of 21.5 percent, which is about the same as the level for African American and Hispanic renters.
Most Americans reside in an owner-occupied home while most Micronesians rent. This difference is especially pronounced in Hawaii.
Originally Authored By The Three Generations:

*Violeta Terese Tuncap, Grandmother (1957-2020)
Michael Tuncap, Father & Professor WA CTCs
Carmen Ramento Tuncap, Mother & Health MA
Elijah Gumataotao Ramento Tuncap, Grandson
Matua Gillett Manaba Acfalle Tuncap, Grandson
In Partnership and Solidarity With:

Pacific Islander Studies Institute (2010-present)
PIONEER (2001-present)
Guam Delegation to the United Nations
Northwest Association of Pacific Americans (2000-2018)
Faculty & Staff of Color Conference (FSOCC) PI Affinity Group
Students of Color Conference (SOCC) Pacific Islander Caucus
Matamai: The VASA in Us - a collection of PI arts (2010)
Prutehi Litekyan & Independent Guahan
UW Pacific Islander Student Commission (2001-present)
For Further Reading

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). “Fact Sheet: What You Should Know About Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI’s).” US Department of Education, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/asian-americans-initiative/what-you-should-know.pdf.

Briscoe, Charles, Castro, William M. and Celestial, Robert. The Blue Ribbon Panel Committee Action Report On Radioactive Contamination in Guam Between 1946-1958. from the offices of Senator Angel L.G Santos and Senator Mark Forbes. Hagatna, Guam. 1996.
Camacho, Keith, “Cultures of Commemoration: The Politics of War, Memory, and History in The Mariana Islands,” University of Hawai’i, 2005.
Creed, Barbara and Jeanette Hoorn, Body Trade: Captivity, Cannibalism, and Colonialism in the Pacific, Pluto Press, Australia, 2001.
Cristomo, Manny Legacy of Guam: I Kustumbren Chamoru, Agana, Guam Legacy Publications, 1991.
Diaz, Vicente M. 2001. "Deliberating Liberation Day: Memory, Culture and History in Guam" in Perilous Memories: The Asia-Pacific War(s), T. Fujitani, Geoffrey M. White, and Lisa Yoneyama, eds. Durham: Duke University Press,155-180.
Gailey, Harry The Liberation of Guam: 21 July- 10 August 1944, Corvalis, Oregon, Ballatine Books Inc, 1998.
Hattori, Anne Perez, Colonial Disease: US Naval Health Policies and the Chamorros on Guam 1898-1941. University of Hawai’i Press, 2005.
Leon, M. Consuelo “Foundations of the American Image of the Pacific,” in Asia/ Pacific as Space of Cultural Production, Duke University Press, 1994.
Lenson, Margo King. Pacific Voices Talk Story Volume III, Tui Communications, 2004.
Leon-Guerrero, Victoria “Legacies of War” in United Nations publication, 2006.
Pacific Daily News, “Guam Military Transfer Options Weighed”, Local section, May 22, 2006.Hagatna, Guam.
Perez, Craig Santos. Testimony before the United Nations 4th Committee on decolonization. New York City, NY. October 7. 2008.
Perez, Michael, “Contested Sites: Resistance to U.S Empire”, Ameriasia Journal, 2001.
Perez, Michael P. 2002. “Pacific Identities beyond US Racial Formations: The case of Chamorro ambivalence and flux.” Social Identities 8(3): 457-479.
Perez, Michael P. 2001. “Contested Sites: Pacific Resistance in Guam to U.S. Empire “Amerasia Journal 27(1): 97-114.
Political Status Education Coordinating Commission, Kinalamten Pulitikat: Sinenten I Chamorro: Issues in Guam’s Political Development: The Chamorro Perspective. Hagatna, Guam, 2002.
Rogers, Robert Destiny’s Landfall: A History of Guam, The University of Hawai’i Press, 1995.
Sanicolas, Brigida Acfalle Salas, Oral History Interview-“Hasso tempon guerra Amerikanu,” October 2003, Atwater, CA.
Spikard, Paul, Wright, Debbie & J. Rhondilla Pacific Diaspora: Island Peoples in the U.S., 2005.
Stone, Robert The American Experience: Radio Bikini, 1988.
Souder-Jaffrey , Laura and Underwood, Robert. “Chamorro Self Determination: The Right of a People, I Derechon I Taotao” Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam. Mangilao, Guam 1987.
Teaiwa, Teresia (s)Pacific Notions: US Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands in The Contemporary Pacific, Vol. 6, #1, Spring 1994, 87-109, University of Hawaii Press.
Trask, Haunani Kay From A Native Daughter: Colonialism & Sovereignty in Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. 1999.
Tuhiwai-Smith, Linda Decolonizing Methodologies: Research & Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books Ltd, London & University of Otago Press, New Zealand. 1999.
Palaita, David Ga'oupu, et al. Matamai: The VASA in Us. Matamai Foundation, 2011.

Shigematsu, Setsu, and Keith L. Camacho. Militarized Currents: toward a Decolonized Future in Asia and the Pacific. University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

*For questions on this research & policy initiative, please contact Professor Michael Tuncap at [email protected] or 206-214-8969

Guam law bans littering "upon" highways and land, and "into" water, but does not address balloons released into the air, what should be viewed as "delayed littering." Every balloon released is a piece of litter returned to the land and the waters in the form of rubbish or marine debris; essentially 'a meal for wildlife.'

No balloon is “environmentally friendly,” every released balloon becomes litter and has the potential to become harmful. Biodegradable (latex) balloons are not safe either as they do not decompose at a rate quicker than wildlife can consume them. Sea animals mistake these shiny, bright tatters of what was once somebody's celebration for food. They consume it and clog their digestive systems and eventually starve to a slow and painful death. Land and sea animals are getting tangled in the strings of balloons and cannot escape, causing them to become easy prey or, again, forced to starve to death.

The negative implications of balloons being released into the skies do not only affect the wildlife. Electric companies have reported power interruptions when strings from balloons entangle the power lines.The metallic/foil balloons that conduct electricity impose an even greater risk as they start interacting with power lines. These "mylar" balloons are made from metalicized polyester, which is dirty in both production and disposal.

Balloon debris also lands on public and private property, forcing residents to remove fallen debris which becomes a nuisance.

Here are some alternatives to releasing balloons:

1. Paint/decorate a coconut in honor of the celebrant and plant it somewhere meaningful. Guam can benefit from this as we already have a huge problem with the Coconot Rhinoceros Beetle depleting our coconut trees.

2. Release doves (for funerals) --they cause no problems and eventually fly back home, in turn supporting local.

3. Blow bubbles or fly a kite in honor of the celebrant; a kite that can be personally made by everyone involved which creates more memories and bonding.

4. Fly a banner and reuse or recycle the banner. Have everyone involved make a banner--great memories and great fun creating together.

Start a petition of your own
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Many states in America require trans people to have SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery) in order to change their gender on their birth certificates. I am trans and this terrifies me. It's a scary thought that I'll only be able to change my name and gender if I go through the whole thing.

I'm okay with top surgery, but bottom surgery horrifies me because there are so many risks and possibilities that are completely out of my control. I don't want to feel pain down there or get an infection. When you get the surgery, you will have scars and it may make you feel insecure.

My aunt died before I was born but she didn't want to have bottom surgery to get rid of her male privates. I found that out when I told my mom that I never wanted to get bottom surgery. It seemed as though I had a lot more in common with my aunt and it made me feel a little at ease about not wanting to get bottom surgery.

Surgery is expensive. Testosterone and hormone changes are expensive as well, but not as much as all of it put together. Top surgery is done by quite a lot of us, but some of us don't feel the need to have bottom surgery because the top and the changes that go with hormone and testosterone treatment are enough. People can't see our bottom privates and that's one of the reasons why I don't feel the need to get bottom surgery.

Some people have taken their own lives because they regret the surgery or they don't like the outcome. It's a serious decision and I don't think people should have SRS as a requirement to change their gender on their birth certificate. We just want to live and feel like any straight person, without invasive surgery that we are forced to have in order to change our names and gender.

Please help get this out there. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. I only just found out that I have to have SRS, which is scary, and now I don't know how I feel about saving money to get testosterone shots and top surgery because that's all I want to do but it won't be enough for my full change. Well, full to myself, but just not for the rest of the world.

You don't to go through the full transition to be transgender. You are valid no matter how you want to go through the process. It's your body and you can change what you want and shouldn't be told you have to do something you don't want to do if you don't want to. You shouldn't have to.

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Build and cultivate the skate community on island.

This petition has been created to consolidate support for a concrete skateboard park & pump track in Hagatña.

Skateboarders living in central and southern Guam and the surrounding areas need a dedicated, safe park to skate.

Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world right now. It is now an Olympic sport. There are many benefits of skateboarding that will help your child not only in their adolescent years, but as an adult. Skateboarding increases coordination, builds metabolism (burns calories), strengthens muscles, builds stamina and increases self-confidence! Personal growth and individuality are a core component of skateboarding culture. In today's pandemic environment, skateboarding is a sport that keeps with social distancing, as it is not a contact sport.

Skateboarding and its culture teaches kids about social etiquette, inclusion, empathy, perseverance and goal-setting. It also allows them the opportunity of artistic expression through style and tricks. Skateboarding is also FUN!

Please sign this petition to show support for a concrete skatepark in Hagatña, Guam.

Thank you!

Principal Ismael "Temo" Perez has been a fixture at Father Duenas Memorial School for years. He has supported the growth of the school and its students, and he has garnered the respect of FD Alumni across all classes. He has facilitated the educational and spiritual growth of thousands of young men, and he has supported the development of the school into what it is today. "Temo" received the Father Duenas principal position after the passing of Mr. Tony Thompson, and since then, has done a wonderful job not only maintaining the school, but ensuring its development for future students. Principal Perez also was able to guide the school through the COVID-19 pandemic, and took quick action to ensure the health and safety of the students.

This summer, Principal Perez's contract is up for renewal, and, despite all the work he has done for the school, the church, and the community, the archdiocese believes that it has not been enough to secure "Temo" his position next year. The FD community wishes to convince the Archdiocese to correct this oversight through overwhelming support for the renewal of his contract as FD principal.

As America’s war in Afghanistan comes to an end, many see the inevitable parallels to Vietnam - a long aimless war, a determined enemy ready to out bleed us, and now with word that the Department of Defense has begun planning, perhaps an evacuation reminiscent of the chaos of Saigon’s final hours.

As North Vietnamese forces bore down in a final assault on the dying nation of South Vietnam, American diplomats, spies, and the small remaining cadre of military advisors desperately mounted a last minute rescue. None of it was planned ahead of time. The fact that we were able to evacuate 130,000 of our Vietnamese wartime allies in such circumstances is a miracle. Most escaped via ships - the remnants of the South Vietnamese Navy and merchant fleet - sailed to Guam.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country - we do not have the luxury of an ocean and boats to aid us in the evacuation of the over 70,000 Afghan wartime allies estimated in need of rescue from certain Taliban death. We are not the Soviet Union - we cannot load everyone into trucks and drive north into Tajikistan now that our war is over. Should we choose to save our Afghan wartime allies, we are going to need the largest air lift since Berlin. Our allies destination of salvation? Guam.

Guam, solves all of our needs at once. It is US territory, so any Afghans housed there will allow for our immigration system to efficiently and appropriately vet them, while also significantly reducing the overall cost. Guam is also a single flight from Afghanistan - thus we would not have to stop anywhere to refuel along the way. Finally, the cost is eminently affordable - $700,000,000, or around $10,000 per person to move them from Afghanistan, house them on Guam, process their visa, and then move them permanently to the US. To put that cost in perspective, $700 million is the equivalent of an additional 8.3 hours in this year’s Department of Defense budget - an easy to make downpayment to keep Americans alive in future wars.

Most importantly, the people of Guam stand ready to support this mission and welcome the evacuation. The Guam economy depends on tourism, which COVID wiped out. Unemployment on Guam currently sits around 20 percent - their hotels sit empty due to COVID. Housing our Afghan allies in these hotels could serve a dual purpose of providing refuge to our friends while also giving a boost to the economy of Guam when they most need it.

We will not reinvade Afghanistan to save these people. Either we put our Afghan wartime allies on planes, get them to Guam, and then process their visas in safety, or stand back and watch the Taliban murder them. If we are to prevent this Never Again moment in the making we are rapidly running out of time.

Any lives we save now will prove to allies later that Americans keep their word and will not abandon our friends to our enemies. Our allies are in danger because of their service to the United States mission in Afghanistan. America must meet our commitment to them. Only President Biden can give the order. It's Guam or bust. Please, save our allies. Get them to Guam.

Plastic use throughout the world creates a devastating impact. Threatening our communities globally, plastic is harmful to every aspect of our environment. Whether it be wildlife or humanity, plastic is detrimental.

Plastic Bags specifically pose a major threat to wildlife. Many animals mistakingly deem Plastic Bags to be a source of food, leading to accidental consumption. These bags are ingested by animals, only to be stuck in their digestive systems. Making them feel full, these animals are led to starve to death. Other aquatic animals get stuck in these bags and suffocate. These bags often stay in our world for decades upon decades.

Our goal is to end the use of Plastic Bags in Point Pleasant Borough, NJ. Creating this seemingly small step can be deemed to preempt mass change. This action will directly influence our community, leading to everlasting effects that will help protect our coastal community and surrounding areas. The canals, other bodies of water, and the proximity to the ocean characterize the town that we all are able to call our home. It is vital to end the use of Plastic Bags to help protect our town from pollution and threat. We plan to make this situation aware to the Council of Point Pleasant Borough and push to create legislation change.

Please join us in getting involved in the end of Plastic Bags in our community. Please share this petition and follow us on Instagram to help follow our cause.

INSTAGRAM: @PointAgainstPlastic

For 150 years Drew University’s Forest Preserve - 53 acres of rare contiguous forest in Madison, New Jersey - has been a treasure for Drew University students and for many others in the surrounding area. Thanks to a 12-year effort by Drew and partner organizations, it has become a biodiversity hotspot and inspiring example of woodland habitat restoration.

Drew University, however, may seek to strengthen its financial footing by selling some of the Forest Preserve for development. A group of citizens has come together as Friends of the Drew Forest to work toward the preservation of the Drew Forest Preserve as articulated in Borough of Madison Drew Forest Resolution 156-2021 . We ask that you join us to help permanently protect the entire Forest Preserve and the countless benefits it provides and at the same time help Drew, known as the University in the Forest, continue its educational mission for years to come. This can be done with a combination of municipal, county and state open space funds, corporate or not-for-profit grants and donations.

This petition calls on the officials of Madison, surrounding towns, Morris County, the State of NJ, and Drew University to work together to achieve the goal of a permanently preserved Drew Forest.

If the Drew Forest Preserve or parts of it were to be sold for development, the benefits that would be lost or decreased include:

A publicly accessible natural area complete with wooded trails, ponds, wildflower gardens, and benches.
Large canopy trees that: moderate climate change through carbon sequestration; improve air quality and human health; modulate heat extremes, soil erosion and peak rain runoff.
A harbor for birds and critical pond, vernal pool, and forest habitat for amphibians and other wildlife.
Land providing Madison’s highest rate of recharge for the Buried Valley Aquifer, a major source of drinking water for 26 municipalities in four counties.
Over 22 acres where deer have been fenced out, invasive plants controlled, and thousands of native plants planted - a model of woodland restoration that won the Governor’s Award for Healthy Ecosystems Award in 2013.
A “living laboratory” for projects, research, and fieldwork utilized by Drew students and faculty. Also a refuge for contemplation and rejuvenation.
A recruiting advantage for Drew University.
Please sign our petition and share it with your friends and neighbors. We are NOT asking you to "Chip In" to Change.org! We hope that people who live in or near Madison, who are students, employees or alumnae of Drew, or who simply care about a better environment for people and wildlife, will join us.

If you are an alumnae of Drew U., please indicate the year you graduated or were last enrolled. If you’d like to hear from us, please provide your email.



To find out more and keep up with our progress, check our website: friendsofthedrewforest.org , and join us on Facebook @FriendsoftheDrewForest.

I am creating this petition in hopes to end the use of poison to hurt an animal . The bunnies eat the poison. The rats, mice and raccoons eat the poison . They leave feces in your neighbors yard. Their dog licks the paws that walked on that fecal matter. It’s a never ending cycle and animals are dying because of it. Please help me spread awareness as to why it’s unsafe, impractical and unkind! There are more holistic ways to repel wildlife from eating your tomatoes.