No news in a while
It has been over a year since we've heard plans about the Monorail in the Grotto.
Success?
Success?
Labels: Grotto
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Another Letter of Support
Published May 11, 2007 in the Saipan Tribune:
No to monorail
I am strongly opposed to doing anything to the Grotto. I think it is a great place w/o commercialization. I went there many times as a young man and I tell everyone that goes to Guam that they have to make a trip to see the Grotto on Saipan. It is a treasure that would be ruined by a monorail.
Charles Patterson
Waianae, Hawaii
No to monorail
I am strongly opposed to doing anything to the Grotto. I think it is a great place w/o commercialization. I went there many times as a young man and I tell everyone that goes to Guam that they have to make a trip to see the Grotto on Saipan. It is a treasure that would be ruined by a monorail.
Charles Patterson
Waianae, Hawaii
Labels: LTE, Saipan Tribune
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
1000 Signatures and growing
Saipan Tribune, Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Anti-monorail drive gets over 1K signatures
By Marconi Calindas
Reporter
A signature campaign to block the approval of the impending monorail project at one of the tourist spots in the CNMI has already garnered over 1,000 signatories.
Environmental advocate Angelo Villagomez provided Saipan Tribune yesterday a copy of the names of the 1,000-plus individuals-tourists, business leaders, professionals, and Commonwealth residents-who have signed up to express their opposition to the proposed monorail project at the Grotto in Marpi, considered one of the best diving spots in the world.
Villagomez said the petition drive to “save the Grotto” started in June last year, initiated by Mark Robertson, an optometrist and underwater photographer. Villagomez said at least 25 CNMI residents started the petition drive.
Villagomez said the response from the community has been “very overwhelming.” Half of the generated signatures are mostly of Japanese divers who expressed that they want Grotto to remain as is, he added.
The group leading the signature drive continues to receive more online support through the website http://savethegrotto.blogspot.com. Villagomez said the website contains all news articles, letters to the editors and other related materials about the pending project for the Grotto.
“If they go through with this [project], expect a lot of people who will be against it,” added Villagomez.
The cover letter of the documents containing the names of the supporters contains the statement: “We the undersigned are aware of a proposal to build a mechanical monorail inside the Grotto. We are concerned that this project will inflict permanent damage to the environment and the local diving industry. We find the risk to this natural and cultural treasure unnecessary and unacceptable and oppose this project.”
Soken Home Saipan Corp., a Japanese-owned company, has been seeking approval from the CNMI government since June 2006 to build a monorail that would carry people up and down the Grotto's slope. The Division of Fish and Wildlife tentatively approved Soken Home Saipan Corp.'s plan.
The CNMI government has assured that the tentative approval is only intended to begin the permitting process, and should not be taken as a “go” signal for the project to begin.
Located in the Bird Island area, the Grotto is designated by law as a sanctuary and is under DFW management.
The Fitial administration expressed its full backing to the proposed monorail at the Grotto in August 2006, giving assurances that all environmental and legal concerns would be addressed.
“We will not railroad this project. We will look at all angles. There are pros and cons,” said Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez.
Villagomez said the Grotto and Managaha Island are two world-class tourist sites that should be enjoyed by everyone, including people who are physically challenged. The monorail would give them access to see the Grotto, he said in an earlier interview.
Underwaterphotography.com describes the Grotto as “a beautiful sunken pool connected to the ocean by underwater passages. The sunlight shining on the ocean outside the cave gives the water its amazing deep blue color with typical visibility of 100 plus feet. The Saipan Grotto is one of Saipan's best diving spots [and] considered by many as one of the best shore cavern dives in the world.”
Anti-monorail drive gets over 1K signatures
By Marconi Calindas
Reporter
A signature campaign to block the approval of the impending monorail project at one of the tourist spots in the CNMI has already garnered over 1,000 signatories.
Environmental advocate Angelo Villagomez provided Saipan Tribune yesterday a copy of the names of the 1,000-plus individuals-tourists, business leaders, professionals, and Commonwealth residents-who have signed up to express their opposition to the proposed monorail project at the Grotto in Marpi, considered one of the best diving spots in the world.
Villagomez said the petition drive to “save the Grotto” started in June last year, initiated by Mark Robertson, an optometrist and underwater photographer. Villagomez said at least 25 CNMI residents started the petition drive.
Villagomez said the response from the community has been “very overwhelming.” Half of the generated signatures are mostly of Japanese divers who expressed that they want Grotto to remain as is, he added.
The group leading the signature drive continues to receive more online support through the website http://savethegrotto.blogspot.com. Villagomez said the website contains all news articles, letters to the editors and other related materials about the pending project for the Grotto.
“If they go through with this [project], expect a lot of people who will be against it,” added Villagomez.
The cover letter of the documents containing the names of the supporters contains the statement: “We the undersigned are aware of a proposal to build a mechanical monorail inside the Grotto. We are concerned that this project will inflict permanent damage to the environment and the local diving industry. We find the risk to this natural and cultural treasure unnecessary and unacceptable and oppose this project.”
Soken Home Saipan Corp., a Japanese-owned company, has been seeking approval from the CNMI government since June 2006 to build a monorail that would carry people up and down the Grotto's slope. The Division of Fish and Wildlife tentatively approved Soken Home Saipan Corp.'s plan.
The CNMI government has assured that the tentative approval is only intended to begin the permitting process, and should not be taken as a “go” signal for the project to begin.
Located in the Bird Island area, the Grotto is designated by law as a sanctuary and is under DFW management.
The Fitial administration expressed its full backing to the proposed monorail at the Grotto in August 2006, giving assurances that all environmental and legal concerns would be addressed.
“We will not railroad this project. We will look at all angles. There are pros and cons,” said Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez.
Villagomez said the Grotto and Managaha Island are two world-class tourist sites that should be enjoyed by everyone, including people who are physically challenged. The monorail would give them access to see the Grotto, he said in an earlier interview.
Underwaterphotography.com describes the Grotto as “a beautiful sunken pool connected to the ocean by underwater passages. The sunlight shining on the ocean outside the cave gives the water its amazing deep blue color with typical visibility of 100 plus feet. The Saipan Grotto is one of Saipan's best diving spots [and] considered by many as one of the best shore cavern dives in the world.”
Labels: Saipan Tribune
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The mightiest pen in the CNMI
Ruth Tighe writes:
1/12/07
Some nightmares just never seem to go away. An enterprising Marianas Variety reporter unearthed the information that Tateishi Planning Co. Ltd., which is behind the move to install a monorail at the Grotto, is now willing to use electricity rather than a gasoline-powered engine to haul passengers up and down. What, pray tell, will be used to generate the electricity? And where will that generator be located?
The real point, though, is how far the CNMI should let outside forces degrade and destroy its natural resources, which are, after all, its primary asset. One of them, the Grotto, is world famous as an outstanding dive site, based on its unique, natural, setting and the clear marine environment below the surface. It deserves to be treasured, and preserved, as it is. Unfortunately, however, the Marianas Visitors Authority has already defaced the site with its ugly concrete viewing platform. But that doesn't mean the CNMI has to allow the site to deteriorate further.
In addition to despoiling a natural asset, it's highly unlikely that the Grotto monorail would be a money-making proposition. To be brutally frank, how many handicapped people come to the CNMI - or would come - to see the Grotto? And how does that compare to the tens of hundreds that come every year to go diving there?
Can't this nightmare be put to rest once and for all?
1/12/07
Some nightmares just never seem to go away. An enterprising Marianas Variety reporter unearthed the information that Tateishi Planning Co. Ltd., which is behind the move to install a monorail at the Grotto, is now willing to use electricity rather than a gasoline-powered engine to haul passengers up and down. What, pray tell, will be used to generate the electricity? And where will that generator be located?
The real point, though, is how far the CNMI should let outside forces degrade and destroy its natural resources, which are, after all, its primary asset. One of them, the Grotto, is world famous as an outstanding dive site, based on its unique, natural, setting and the clear marine environment below the surface. It deserves to be treasured, and preserved, as it is. Unfortunately, however, the Marianas Visitors Authority has already defaced the site with its ugly concrete viewing platform. But that doesn't mean the CNMI has to allow the site to deteriorate further.
In addition to despoiling a natural asset, it's highly unlikely that the Grotto monorail would be a money-making proposition. To be brutally frank, how many handicapped people come to the CNMI - or would come - to see the Grotto? And how does that compare to the tens of hundreds that come every year to go diving there?
Can't this nightmare be put to rest once and for all?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
And we're back!
Marianas Variety, Tuesday, January 9, 2007
DLNR: Grotto monorail will run on electricity
By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff
THE Japanese firm that wants to build the Grotto monorail will use electric power instead of a gasoline-powered engine, according to Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Ignacio Dela Cruz.
He said executives of Tateishi Planning Co. Ltd. were on island a month ago and have expressed a willingness to address environmental concerns regarding the monorail project.
Dela Cruz said air pollution will not be a problem since electricity does not produce the kind of pollutants that gas-driven equiment emits.
The project, he added, will take only two months to complete.
Tateishi hopes to start the project as soon as possible this year, Dela Cruz said.
The company conducted a noise test in June last year to assure the CNMI government that the $250,000 project would comply with all rules, and that the habitat in the area would be properly protected.
The noise test used state of the art equipment in measuring sound and was conducted after the Division of Environmental Quality said noise could be a concern for the wildlife in the area.
Some lawmakers threatened to take legal action to prevent the project which they believe will adversely affect the popular diving site’s ecosystem and cultural significance.
DLNR: Grotto monorail will run on electricity
By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff
THE Japanese firm that wants to build the Grotto monorail will use electric power instead of a gasoline-powered engine, according to Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Ignacio Dela Cruz.
He said executives of Tateishi Planning Co. Ltd. were on island a month ago and have expressed a willingness to address environmental concerns regarding the monorail project.
Dela Cruz said air pollution will not be a problem since electricity does not produce the kind of pollutants that gas-driven equiment emits.
The project, he added, will take only two months to complete.
Tateishi hopes to start the project as soon as possible this year, Dela Cruz said.
The company conducted a noise test in June last year to assure the CNMI government that the $250,000 project would comply with all rules, and that the habitat in the area would be properly protected.
The noise test used state of the art equipment in measuring sound and was conducted after the Division of Environmental Quality said noise could be a concern for the wildlife in the area.
Some lawmakers threatened to take legal action to prevent the project which they believe will adversely affect the popular diving site’s ecosystem and cultural significance.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
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