Ray Gibson hosts new radio show
Long-time Guam radio personality Ray Gibson returned to host a new news-talk show, The Ray Gibson Show, on The Point, 93.3 FM. Gibson’s show, which premiered Feb. 1, airs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday to Friday.
The Point 93.3 FM is a Guam news-talk station simulcast on 1350 AM which features both locally produced and nationally syndicated shows by radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, Michio Kaku and George Noory.
The log-in page of the Pay GPWA app.
Guam Power Authority launches mobile pay
Guam Power Authority announced that residential customers can now use the Pay GPWA mobile app to make payments starting Feb. 12. The app can be used by both GPA and Guam Waterworks Authority customers to make payments and view account balances. Features planned for the future include the ability to view payment history, track usage and receive updates on outages. The app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
MVA uses bloggers to reach China travelers
The Marianas Visitors Authority announced it has launched an effort to leverage influential bloggers to reach travelers known as free independent travelers — also known as FITs — from China in a Feb. 16 release. According to MVA, FITs comprise a growing number of visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands and are choosing to make their own travel arrangements versus booking a tour package.
MVA held a tour for influential bloggers Song Jun, Dong Lei, Vivi Lan and Shang Li, who have more than 2.4 million followers combined on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent to Facebook. So far, posts from the tour have received over 10,000 retweets, comments and likes. During a five-day New Year in The Marianas trip, the bloggers visited Fiesta Resort & Spa, scenery spots including Grotto, Mañagaha, Bird Island Lookout, Micro Beach, Kalabera Cave, Forbidden Island and Mt. Tapochao. They also used the Jetovator, visited SeaTouch marine animal encounter and MVA member shops including Avis Rent a Car, Country House Restaurant, International House of Pancakes, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., I Love Saipan and T Galleria by DFS.
Japanese hip-hop group releases song for MVA
Japanese hip-hop group Doberman Infinity released “Lookin’ For,” a song recorded to promote the Northern Mariana Islands, at the Marianas Visitors Authority media reception in Tokyo on March 2.
More than 120 media representatives attended the press conference and media reception. In addition to the song release, Doberman Infinity will have a familiarization tour to film a promotional video in the NMI. The song is included in the group’s third album, which was scheduled to be released on April 18.
MVA wins Korean travel industry awards
The Marianas Visitors Authority’s Korea Office won two industry partnership awards in January. MVA won the 2017 award at the 8th Korea Travel Times True Partner Awards on Jan. 17 and an appreciation plaque from Jeju Air during its 13th anniversary celebration on Jan. 25.
GVB accepts leading Chinese travel agency award
Ctrip, China’s leading online travel agency, selected Guam for its Best Overseas Self-driving Tour Destination award based on online votes from more than 25 million Ctrip users and a professional panel of judges. Guam Visitors Bureau accepted the award during a March 6 forum at the Shanghai Ploy Grand Theater.
UOG launches mobile app
The University of Guam launched its first official mobile app, TritonGo, for Apple and Android devices. The app features mobile versions of online UOG resources such as WebAdvisor and Moodle, UOG news and updates and games. The app is free to download and available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The homepage of the TritonGo app.
Hyatt named one of Fortune’s 2018 “100 Best Companies to Work For”
Hyatt was named one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” on Feb. 15, making it the fifth consecutive year Hyatt was named to the annual list. Hyatt ranked number nine this year, jumping 86 places since it debuted on the list in 2014.
Rankings are based on survey responses from more than 310,000 employees rating their workplace culture on more than 50 elements which include trust in managers, compensation, fairness, camaraderie and workplace traits linked to innovation. The ranking accounted for the experiences of all employees including women; people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual individuals; employees of various generations and employees with disabilities.
NMI wins awards in Guangzhou
The Northern Mariana Islands won the Most Popular Island Award at the 2018 Guangzhou International Travel Fair, which was held March 1 to March 3 at the China Import & Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. The fair attracted more than 37,000 attendees, with 1,029 exhibitors from 53 countries and regions.
The Marianas Visitors Authority received the 2017 Most Popular Tourist Island Award from the Guangzhou Daily Star during a ceremony on March 7. The Guangzhou Daily Star is a major newspaper in southern China.
Guahan Waste Control president featured in trade periodical
Guahan Waste Control President Robert Perron was featured in the January-February edition of MSW Waste Management Magazine, a trade periodical dedicated to the municipal solid waste industry.
Perron’s opinion on the Solid Waste Association of America’s remote testing and certification system and is identified as the only SWANA member to be certified in nine courses.
Winners announced in Toyota Dream Car art contest
Atkins Kroll Inc. awarded nine students who participated in the 12th Toyota Dream Car Art Contest on March 17 at the Comete plaza next to Underwater World in Tumon. The students’ art pieces, depicting their “dream car,” were judged on message, uniqueness and artistic quality in three age categories.
Winners for the under age 8 group were:
• 1st place: Luke Galang, age 5, for his piece, “The Bubble — An Ecofriendly Car”
• 2nd place: Selina Jacob, age 7, for her piece, “The Helpful Car”
• 3rd place: Malia Paulino, age 7, for her piece, “Jellymarine”
Winners for the 8 to 11 age group were:
• 1st place: John Moore IV, age 9, for his piece, “M.A.R.S. Interstellar Automotive”
• 2nd place: Crystal Maniego, age 8, for her piece, “Toyota Dream Car”
• 3rd place: Jed Bejado, age 9, for his piece, “Jev Concept Art”
Winners for the 12 to 15 age group were:
• 1st place: Olivia Wen, age 15, for her piece, “The Explorer”
• 2nd place: Jasmine Sun, age 13, for her piece “Car of Nature”
• 3rd place: Chelsea Martinez, age 13, for her piece, “Let’s Have a ‘Brake’ from Pollution”
All awardees were presented with UnderWater World and Sea Grill Restaurant gift certificates. First place winners were awarded Ocean Safari and Dinner coupons, second place winners won Ocean Safari and Lunch coupons and third place winners won Treasure Hunt packages.
The Toyota Dream Car Art Exhibit was displayed from March 10 to March 16. All of the winning entries for Guam and Saipan will be sent to the Dream Car Art Contest global competition in Tokyo, Japan
NMI governor challenges Bloomberg article
Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres issued a statement challenging the accuracy of a Bloomberg article about Imperial Pacific International’s influence in the Northern Mariana Islands on Feb. 16. The article, entitled “A Chinese Casino has Conquered a Piece of America”, was published on Feb. 15 and alleges labor abuses and reports multiple claims of corruption. Gov. Torres denied any improprieties and attached a document with his responses to several questions from Bloomberg.
