IN June 1987, Variety reported that one of the island’s leading shopping centers lost $70,000 (about $186,000 today) worth of Rolex watches and jewelry “to a still unknown number of thieves.” There were two security guards on duty at the time of the incident. According to Variety, the thieves “may have posed as shoppers and hid themselves inside the store when it closed at 6 p.m. Sunday.” The theft was discovered and reported to the police on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the chief of the then-Division of Corrections, which was under the Department of Public Safety, was fired for instigating Corrections officers to “walk out and leave two people to guard 38 prisoners.”
The following month, DPS officials said their department “may have to shut down.” Police cars would stop patrolling the streets and other police services would cease if DPS “does not get money.” A police captain told Variety that there would be no fuel for police, “and we can no longer serve the public.” The DPS chief reiterated: “We will have no source of funds to operate.” DPS was lobbying for the passage of an appropriation bill to enable the department to continue operating up to the end of fiscal year 1987. DPS needed $420,000 which is equivalent to $1.12 million today.
In court news, the three-week jury trial of the killers of a Yakuza member ended with a guilty verdict:
“Hideki Hanada, 27, was found guilty of first degree murder. He was accused of strangling [Hideo] Shiragami in the early hours of Feb. 2.
“Koichi Yoneda, 24, was also convicted of first-degree murder. He helped kill Shiragami by hitting the 62-year-old Yakuza member on the head and body with socks filled with sand and stones.
“Eichi Kawano, 22, was found guilty of being principal to murder. He acted as lookout while Shiragami was being killed in a rented house in Chalan Kanoa….”
During a public hearing conducted by the House Committee on Appropriations, the Northern Marianas College president told lawmakers that over half of NMC’s proposed $1.2 million ($3.2 million today) budget would be used to pay past debts. NMC said it needed more full-time employees to cope with the increase in enrolment which also required additional funds for student financial assistance.
Also in the news: “The water. Boil it first.” Variety’s then-editor said anyone on Saipan “planning to use the water for almost anything but bathing or washing clothes has been advised to boil it first. A high bacteria count in the water supply has made the liquid unsafe to drink…. The water wasn’t ‘to the point it will kill you or anything, but it could make you sick to your stomach.’ ” There was also no chlorine in the water.
On MV’s editorial page, one of our local columnists extended his “condolences” to aspiring politicians who would soon encounter “collectors or political parasites.” These were the voters whose apparent goal was to empty a candidate’s wallet. This “bunch [of voters] has turned collecting beggar-type solicitations from politicians into one of their alleged ‘Bill of Rights.’ Very few come to realize that their very action is simply one of constantly cornering politicians to walk that thin and dangerously fearsome road we all know as corruption. Not only do they try to claim the candidate’s income, they act as though they have the right to do so.” Worse, not only “have they driven these poor fellows into financial bankruptcy, but they try [to send] them into intellectual bankruptcy” as well. Our columnist was referring to the “nonsensical arguments” of certain voters with whom “Mr. Candidate must endeavor to agree, even if he disagrees right down to the marrow of his bones. And it is a must that he agrees [because] to disagree is quickly translated to mean you’re the enemy. Well, we will someday grow up and be able to deal with issues with maturity. Hopefully!”
Right.
In his opinion column, our then-editor, the late great David T. Hughes, apologized for MV’s “computer woes.” A techie, David in those days was already tapping the Internet for foreign news and posting online. It was also David who converted MV to the Macintosh computer system. However, he said, “because of a software glitch (that’s computer talk for…I didn’t get it right) I had some lines [on some of the pages] that didn’t look exactly right. Plus, some stories were eaten in the computer….”
Good times.
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