Volunteers should meet at the Yigo Racetrack.  Garbage bags, gloves and water will be provided.

Please contact leevin@weareguahan.com if you are interested in volunteering or have questions.

Let’s stand together to protect our lands, ocean, and culture!
Bring your signs, family, friends and good spirits.

In response to the Joint Guam Program Office’s plans to turn the Pågat area into a firing range, We Are Guåhan is hosting a community event on Route 15 this Friday, July 23 – the day the Final EIS is scheduled for release.

So far, JGPO has outlined plans to restrict access to the Pågat Village site for 39 weeks out of the year, and condemn the Yigo Raceway and other properties.

We Are Guåhan and the community of Guam worked together to submit thousands of comments on the Draft EIS last December and January. Many of those comments submitted other option sites for the firing range. With JGPO’s publicized plans, it has become clear that the voices of the people of Guam were not taken into consideration.

We Are Guåhan will be peacefully lining Route 15 to send a strong message to the CEQ and military officials who will be visiting Pågat that day that Guam is united to save our island and protect our future.

The community action will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Parking will be available at the Yigo Raceway with shuttle services to the Pågat trail head.

After concerted action from the community, the legislature, the Governor and the Congresswoman, JGPO and the DOD still plan to take Pagat and the 4,000 year old village and burial ground there as a firing range.

• Widen the back road to a 6 lane road
• Pave over land for parking lots
• Create “safety zones” that reach to private lands
• Pave “access trails” to the ancient village area
• Active firing use 39 weeks out of the year

For more information about the importance of Pagat Village and the efforts of the Guam Preservation Trust, please go to:
http://www.savepagatvillage.com/

Also, please take a moment to sign the petition to save Pagat Village at:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/preserve-and-protect-pagat.html

Pagat, Yigo, Guam
Home to the Chamorro people, the island of Guam has struggled to maintain its cultural heritage, which has been traced back thousands of years. This site was once a Chamorro Village. Along with other parts of the island, it is threatened by the United States military’s announced plans to build on the island.

See the photo and read the full story at:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1989913_2138849,00.html

PNC recently aired a story on The Grey Paper: GHURA on Housing.  The story is available at:
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5140:grey-papers-discuss-negative-impacts-to-housing&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156

What are the government agencies saying about the buildup? What did the DEIS say about the buildup?
Read The Grey Papers. Short. Straight. In Their Own Words. compiled by We Are Guåhan

This issue: Housing

Download: The Grey Paper – Housing here (file is 5.6Mb).

A copy of GHURA’s Comprehensive Housing Study can be found at:
http://tiny.cc/k0z9s

A copy of GHURA’s comment on the DEIS can be found at:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0Bwc3h-AXLqFPNDdiMzk4NzQtZDA1Yy00MjczLTkzMWUtZWExZGQ2NTg2MmU3&hl=en

Download a pdf for print here:

http://weareguahan.com/greypapers/housing.pdf

Summary:

• The predicted shortage of housing through 2014 will drive housing prices up, increasing homelessness, overcrowding and illegal housing units.
• The predicted over-supply of housing after 2014 will also likely result in many more abandoned buildings.
• The DEIS is “deafeningly silent” on how DoD will mitigate the impact on Guam’s housing market.

People have a right to make an educated choice about their future. Share The Grey Papers with your family and friends; faculty, staff, and student by forwarding this email or downloading a copy of the pdf from our website and printing it for distribution.