NEWS

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero is seeking the purchase of about 102 acres of ancestral lands in the Barrigada-Mangilao area for a new medical complex, a plan that has the support of the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission but would still require the Legislature’s approval.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has picked a new site for the proposed billion-dollar medical campus. After the highly-controversial, much-debated proposal to build at Eagles Field was dropped, she's now eying some-100 acres in Mangilao-Barrigada.

So far, there are 20 potential sites for missile defense facilities on Guam but the intent is to reduce the system to the smallest number of sites possible, according to Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, the outgoing commander for Joint Region Marianas. ... There was major debate over the Eagles Field area of Mangilao, where Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero wanted to house a medical complex, including a new hospital for Guam.

While several doctors testified in favor of building a new public hospital in Tamuning, Guam Memorial Hospital Authority officials stand opposed to utilizing Ypao Point, the Tamuning site talked about as a potential home for the new hospital.

Doctors and lawmakers on Wednesday questioned the need to build a large government medical campus, with physicians stating Tamuning is the best location for a stand-alone hospital to replace the current Guam Memorial Hospital.

HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Doctors testifying at Wednesday's oversight hearing on alternative sites for a new public hospital argued it should remain in Tamuning, where most medical officials already live, and essentially rejected the idea that the hospital needs to be part of a medical complex.

Last night's legislative oversight hearing on the viability of alternative locations for a new hospital wasn't the first such event considering the administration's proposed medical campus. From hearings considering the plight of original landowners to hearings looking into the Eagles Field lease with the military, its been months of disagreement between the administration and legislature over the controversial medical complex.

Last night's legislative oversight hearing on the viability of alternative locations for a new hospital wasn't the first such event considering the administration's proposed medical campus. From hearings considering the plight of original landowners to hearings looking into the Eagles Field lease with the military, its been months of disagreement between the administration and legislature over the controversial medical complex.

Doctors testifying at Wednesday's oversight hearing on alternative sites for a new public hospital argued it should remain in Tamuning, where most medical officials already live, and essentially rejected the idea that the hospital needs to be part of a medical complex.

The CHamoru Land Trust Commission on Thursday is scheduled to discuss the status of two pieces of Land Trust property, in Yigo and Tamuning. ... It also will discuss the Land Trust’s property at Ypao Point, which is now a potential site to build the island’s new $700 million hospital after a proposed lease for military land in Mangilao fell through.

About two weeks have passed since the deadline expired for the government of Guam to sign a lease with the federal government for the Eagles Field area of Mangilao, the land once identified as the preferred site for a new medical complex.

With Eagles Field no longer an option as the site for a new Guam Memorial Hospital and medical campus, lawmakers on Wednesday are scheduled to discuss the viability of other potential sites, including the former hospital site at Ypao Point, which was one of the top sites identified under the $1.48 million federally funded master plan.