Columnists

IF you’ve been paying attention to local news for the past, say 50 years, you may have noticed that the following catchphrases are uttered, every now and then, by government officials and/or politicians — and they usually say them like it’s the first time they’re being said: “Right-sizing” governme…

JOURNALIST Emma Bryce has done some good work in her article “The Invisible Pollutants Harming the Ocean — and Us.”  I wanted you to benefit from what she has to say, so I have condensed her considerable article down to a manageable read.  I hope you will be inspired to digest her full work.  In th…

GOVERNOR Palacios has appointed his former high school classmate, Simon A. Sanchez II of Guam, to serve as CUC board member. A former Guam senator, Mr. Sanchez is also a businessman and, since 2003, a member of the island’s Consolidated Commission on Utilities,  an autonomous body with five elected…

AS I sat down to scribble a message this Mother’s Day, memories of my mother came flooding back. The loss of my mother six years ago left a gaping hole in my heart that will never fully heal. But even in her demise, her love continues to be a powerful force in my life. Through her passion, sh…

LAST week, around 100 frontline conservation advocates met in Washington, D.C. for meetings organized by the America the Beautiful for All Coalition. Participants came from across the U.S. — Maine to the Marianas, Alaska to Puerto Rico, and everywhere in between. The America the Beautiful for All C…

THE Pacific is a busy place these days, which is a good or bad thing depending on your point of view.  In the interest of leaving you on a positive note, let’s take them in the order of bad news/good news. The bad news is: • Korea. Once again, the Korean peninsula is arming for a showdown.  North K…

ON July 6, 2022, the House utilities committee met with CUC officials to discuss an “emergency”: the ever increasing Fuel Adjustment Charge (a.k.a., FAC!) and how lawmakers seeking reelection could placate irate voters. The CUC officials were led by their new deputy executive director, Chretien Voe…

ASAN, Guam — On Thursday April 27, we witnessed democracy in action when the Guam Legislature voted to override the Governor’s veto of Bill 12-37.  The introduction of this new legislation effectively stopped a potential lease of federal land for a new civilian hospital and medical complex.  I firm…

THE TRUTH of the matter is the CNMI create the Cannabis Tourism Industry but we tied our hands failing miserably in growing the industry. How can there be a Cannabis Tourism Industry and there is NOWHERE for tourists to smoke — it’s beyond ridiculous and bordering on being brain-dead from the effec…

CAMOUFLAGE is found everywhere in nature.  Walking sticks are bugs that resemble twigs, fish take on the color of the sand under them and so on.  But have you heard of the curious case of the ship that looked like an island?  Here is what happened. During the Second World War, as the Japanese conqu…