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Tina Rose Muna-Barnes (Incumbent - D) and Benjamin J. Cruz (D)
Ken Wetmore (KUAM): Good evening and welcome to this edition of at issue, joining
me in-studio are former chief justice of the Supreme Court and a Democrat, B.J. Cruz
and also current senator Tina Muna-Barnes, also a Demcorat and incumbent. Welcome,
its good to have you both with us! I have a few questions I'd like to ask to the two
of you, dealing with the environment. If you drive around our island it won't take
you any time at all to notice rubbish and graffitti. There's a train of thought out
there that's known as the broken window theory, the theory goes that a broken window
can lead to greater crimes within a society because the small things add up to big
things. If you are elected senator or re-elected what would you do to solve the graffiti
and litter problems on Guam?
B.J. Cruz: Well, one of the things that I have been thinking about is that I thought
that as it relates to the litter problem Id like to empower more of the villages to
be able to address that within themselves. I think that if each and every village
took pride in the way that it looked and we provided them with some assistance to
be able to address the littering problem by providing them with additional manpower
through AHRD or department or labor or even just volunteer then I think we'd be able
to address the litter problem. The graffiti problem I think is a little harder to
address than that, because I'm not sure if its part of our animal instinct or something
of needing to spray to mark territory but I've noticed that even when I was on the
family court bench that even the laws as it relates to buying cans of spray paint
hasn't really addressed the issue.
KW: Chief Justice, I'm going to have to cut you off in the interest of time. Senator?
Tina Rose Muna-Barnes: I think it's real important Ken, that we have a community effort
in this matter. I was a part of an anti-graffiti litter task force in the previous
administration and Ken it's very important I share the same sentiment as the Justice.
A community effort needs to get together the cleanup needs to get done there's a lot
of projects that are going on that will educate the community to help clean up and
when everybody is involved; it makes for a better Guam and the other thing that's
very important to on the graffiti part when folks are being arrested for graffiti
and vandalism those need to be come to the forefront. A suggestion that was made was
that all those arrests that were made, put them on top of the superior court cycle
and not wait three years, because there's a long waiting list to get those cases.
We've got to nip it.
KW: Every week a number of Guam's beaches list are listed as polluted, people can't
feel free to swim in these waters off of these beaches. What do you think is causing
the pollution problems and what can be done to address the problem?
TMB: Again, Ken, as far as the problems on Guam, a very important ad campaign has
got to go out into the community and it's got to start within the families. Our beaches
get polluted because there's a lot of trash. We've got to be able to take the stand
and make the difference to make our island more clean and more beautiful. That effort
is through even public education, promotional ad campaigns. The media plays a big
part an important part in helping keep our island clean.
KW: Do you think its through legislation though?
TMB: there's a lot of legislation in place right now as we speak, what we need to
do is enforce teeth to that.
BC: Actually as it relates to the pollution in the waters itself as opposed to litter
on the beaches, the important thing that I think that we need to address is how GWA
in its wastewater operations handles the overflow either coming from up on the hills
straight down from NAS and into the ocean or from some of the underwater streams into
the ocean. We've got to address ways (1) the wastewater doesn't get into the ocean
by buying a better sewer system and (2) I think we need to follow up with what the
good Senator was saying and their needs to be an ad campaign that you don't just dump
certain things out, you don't just throw down gasoline or oils into the water cause
that will eventually seep out through the lens and into the ocean. That I think is
the pollution in the water.
KW: Guam is finally going to open a new landfill, it's come down through court decree.
Three sites have been identified, which one would you pick, if it were your decision
to pick? BC: I know that there were three sites that were being considered and it
would seem, and this is even closer to my backyard. I'm sure I'll get grief for it,
but the site closest to Asan Lonfit seems to be...if you're going to have it in an
area nearby to contain it in that area that one of the three possible sites, it seems
rather than to spoil two new sites maybe just expand the area that its currently under
is being used. They'll have to take extra care to make sure the Lonfit River doesn't
get polluted because that gain will get out into the ocean.
TMB: You know Ken, there's a saying that "Nobody wants a dump in their backyard" and
what I think with the sites that are given now there's a public comment period that's
going on as we see it today. I think education is going to be really important. People
talk about the Inarajan site, the Asan site and the Sabanan Batea site. It's important
that everybody gets an equal share in choosing the site because nobody....
KW: If you had to choose which one would that be?
TMB: Somewhere that's not near the community at all, where there's nobody in that
area, and that area looks like down south. The opinion is that nobody wants it in
their backyard and I think more public education needs to be addressed, I would pick
down south in Inarajan.
KW: I have five yes or no questions for you. Unless I ask otherwise, I'd like you
to answer yes or nor to them. My first question is do you support legalizing casino
gaming in Guam?
TMB: No.
BC: No.
KW: Do you support raising taxes. If the answer is yes, which taxes specifically?
BC: If it is necessary to support operations of the government and after we do a...I
would have no objection to raising taxes. The taxes that I think ought to be addressed
which haven't been addressed, the property taxes.
TMB: If we had to do it again, yes, I would look into the real property taxes and
fees.
KEN: Do you support raising the drinking age?
TMB: A definite no.
BC: A definite yes.
KW: Do you support a part-time legislature?
BC: Yes.
TMB: No.
KW: Do you support the plebiscite, if so which option?
TMB: Yes, commonwealth.
BC: I have always supported the plebiscite and I would probably go Freely Associated
States.
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