Columnists

MANY of us complain about “politics” in government — as if they don’t go together. (Spoiler alert: they do.) And usually, to minimize “politics,” we turn to…politicians. That will be the primary consequence of the legislative initiative, S.L.I. 23-02, to “authorize the election” of a public auditor…

Christopher A. Concepcion THIS Saturday — Dec. 2 — over 150 cyclists from Asia, Europe, and the region will take to Saipan roads in a race that has been hailed as one the toughest of the Pacific — the Hell of the Marianas. Competitors, both pros and amateurs, are arriving from South Korea, Japan, R…

THE TRUTH of the matter is the Governor is struggling to repair the catastrophic damage to our Economy by former Governor Ralph, Nature and a Pandemic but the reforms and synergy needed to create a booming economy have yet to materialize. Why does the Governor have to go public to plead with CPA to…

BC Cook IT is not too often that we get to use this column’s heading.  “A new mountain?” you ask.  But wait. This mountain was found in a most private spot.  The following information appears courtesy of The Maritime Executive: “A team of researchers with the Schmidt Ocean Institute has discovered …

AS history has shown to those who care to see, pandering and plunder are features — not bugs — of politics. Populism, moreover, could be the oldest trick in a politician’s bag of tricks. (See for example, the politics of ancient Rome.) “Vote for me and I will make your life better while going after…

73rd Bomb Wing on Isley Field. Dauntless Dotty SINCE the beginning of the Pacific War, General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Commander, 20th Air Force, had dreamed of the day he would have enough B-29 Superfortresses on hand to bomb Japan into surrendering.  However, production of the huge and technically co…

IT is no surprise that the nations most directly affected by rising sea levels are the island nations of the Pacific. Communities in Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshalls and elsewhere have already begun the painful work of relocating villages to higher ground. But that will only go so far. Some island n…

At the Dr. Torres Memorial Hospital, Nov. 1973. THE Doctor Torres Memorial Hospital was named after Jose Diaz Torres, who trained in medicine at a small hospital on Saipan during the German era (1899-1914), and later “received one year of formal medical schooling in Japan,” which took over the Nort…

THE Chinese have found a shipwreck in deep waters of the South China Sea.  That reminds me of a story of a colleague of mine who recovered the remains of a coastal trader five miles off the coast of Vietnam.  It was a tricky operation, given that the war had only ended a few years before and everyo…

THE TRUTH of the matter is the recent Bill to increase taxes of 5 cents on each soft drink and alcoholic beverage container has given pause for a lot of opposition, which tells me there should have been a Public Hearing before taking this desperate measure.  While I understand and even appreciate R…