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BEING a Political Scientist, it was obvious to me that some real education was needed to address elkapitan’s comments that were as long as my last Sunrise Report on “eating pudding or slop.”  First and foremost, readers need to know that Politics is the ultimate “TEAM SPORT” driven by the majority,…

WE often throw around phrases like “those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it” and “to understand the present you must first understand the past.”  I just finished a book that breathes life into those words. Any student of Pacific history is likely to know the name Richard Frank.  I…

GENEVA — Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon declared that drug abuse was “public enemy number one” requiring a “tough on crime” approach in the United States and abroad. The “war on drugs,” which expanded in parallel with the global political, military, economic, and cultural hegemony of the …

THIS past week, the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers made a presentation in Tinian that further examines the potential of marketing The Marianas as a “Multi-Island Integrated Destination.” Gov. Ralph DLG Torres led the discussion as we shared our commissioned report with Tinian Mayor Edwin A…

THE bills and resolutions introduced in the Senate of the Sixth Congress of Micronesia, which convened on Saipan in Jan. 1975, included measures to 1) appropriate $10,000 (worth about $50,000 today) for improving the facilities of the Saipan Farmers Market; 2) appropriate $15,000 (75,000 in today’s…

BEING an African-American and seeing the official recognition of “Juneteenth” gave me pause to reflect and appreciate this small step forward in America for the evolution of African-Americans as being truly respected, appreciated and honored for their role in America’s History. But it’s just anothe…

WHEN I moved to Saipan 12 years ago, Taeko Castro was one of the first people I met.  It is no exaggeration to say I could not have survived without her.  She taught me so much about islanders and life on Saipan and even about myself.  She is an extraordinary woman with an island-sized heart. Taeko…

IN 1975, Marianas Variety was a three-year-old, weekly 12-page newspaper whose copies were sold for 10 cents each. On the front-page of the year’s first issue  was a news story regarding the Trust Territory Committee on Gambling’s request for a moratorium on the purchase and importation of slot mac…

THE Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers is on Tinian this weekend for its monthly meeting and the council’s Public Private Partnership project. Both events seek to actively engage Tinian in discussions about its important role in the efforts to promote the Marianas as a “Multi-Island Integrated…

AS a follow-up to last week’s account of our journey around the Keweenaw in Lake Superior, I wanted to share a particular aspect of our unforgettable run.  As Nathan and I pushed forward against the sea, sometimes benign and sometimes malignant, it always reassured us to see the next lighthouse.  T…