ON the front-page of Marianas Variety’s Aug. 19, 1983 issue: “14,549 July tourists smash NMI record.” The figure marked a 50% increase over the July 1982 arrivals. At the time, the tourism industry was still in its infancy, and the CNMI government was still getting a significant amount of federal funds for its operations. (Recently, MVA reported that there were 25,089 visitors in July 2023, a 142% increase compared to 10,367 visitors in July 2022. In pre-pandemic July 2019, however, there were 45,570 visitors. Today, the CNMI government is much bigger than it was in 1983, and has more pressing financial obligations.)
In other old news, Northern Marianas College held its second graduating ceremony at Chamorro Village, and awarded nine bachelor of arts and 14 associate of arts degrees. Outgoing NMC President Kit Porter “welcomed everyone to the ceremony.” The guest speaker was Governor Teno, who reminded the graduates that the “future of the Commonwealth depends upon the quality and skills of its citizens.”
On Capital Hill, two House Democrats opposed the Republican House speaker’s proposal to increase the number of House members to 15 from 14 by adding another seat for Saipan, which at the time had 12 House members. (Rota and Tinian had one each. They still do. Today, Saipan has 18 House seats.) In a press release, the two House Democrats said they were for a smaller, unicameral legislature, “but realized that the constitutionally mandated two-house system would be politically difficult to change at the present.” (Still true today.) According to the House Democrats, “the existing legislature is already too big and expensive for a small community like the Northern Marianas…and costs about $140,000 [worth about $429,000 today] per legislator.” The total cost of having 14 House members and nine senators in 1983 was $3.22 million or 9.8 million in today’s U.S. dollars. (Based on the revised FY 2023 budget, today’s Legislature with 20 House members, nine senators and a Legislative Bureau costs $7.1 million.)
The 1983 House Democrats, in any case, said legislative costs “could be better spent serving local residents.” They also noted that “by creating more political offices, the Legislature is helping more people to make careers out of politics. Instead…people should be encouraged to become private entrepreneurs.”
This, from Democrats.
In police news: burglaries and thefts, including those involving juveniles; reckless or negligent driving; traffic accidents; rock-throwing; two individuals alleging they were assaulted by the other; a man who said he was slapped “three or five times on the face at a rosary in Chalan Kanoa District 3”; a woman who said she was beaten up by her sister’s maid; and a legislative staffer who said he was slapped by a lawmaker.
On Aug. 17, 1983, the governor signed the Planning and Budget Act which the House speaker said was a “most important piece of legislation.” It would “definitely put an end to the budget battles between the two branches,” he added. Right. (See also: anti-littering, minor curfew, blighted properties and other similar “important” laws.)
In a letter to the editor, the Marianas Visitors Bureau’s managing director said: “Your reporter make it sound like it is very easy to increase flights to our islands,” which, he added, was limited by the number of flights permissible under the U.S.-Japan bilateral agreement, and the limited number of hotel rooms in the CNMI.
In his weekly column, the MV editor said it was too bad that “the juiciest letters [that] cross my desk [are] unsigned, because it’s our policy not to print them. The reason? I don’t want people to think that I made them up; other papers in this part of the Pacific do just that, you know.” He said one such letter accused CNMI senators of using their offices for “personal gains at the expense of the public. The Senate committees ae overly staffed and overly paid. Reimbursements are made for Lord-knows-what. Lump sum payments for accrued leave is given to people who are still…working. Most senators withdraw their annual salaries and allowances in advance. This is strictly against the policies of good government, or any business.” The MV editor asked, “Why doesn’t this [letter-writer] want credit for his thoughts? Something about the Senators’ ability to ‘crucify’ anybody who tries to disturb their ‘tranquil and serene lifestyle.’ ”
Happily for the young Commonwealth, its new public auditor — young, highly educated and very qualified — would “save the island from financial ruin,” according to an MV editorial. The public auditor’s goal was “to be a ‘checks and balance’ mechanism for the government, to point out financial failures, and to require departments by law to mend the error of their ways.” The MV editor was “confident” that the public auditor would “get our government back on the right track, financially…. Finally, someone who cares is getting tough.”
Finally.
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