Columnists

SO much negativity has been said, on social media, about my personal decision to endorse the Torres/Sablan gubernatorial ticket for the runoff election. Certain members of my former party mates even accused me of stealing and lying.   So, let me address these two very libelous issues before my lawy…

EARLY voting is now in full swing, and runoff election day is Friday, November 25, the day after Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving coincides with one of the meanest, most rancorous political seasons many of us have seen in the Marianas — and also one of our most important elections in a generation. I…

The author made the following statement at the joint meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee this week: THE Secretary of Finance was quoted in the papers saying there is “nothing to hide” in the BOOST program. We have certain…

THIS will likely upset many of my closest friends including some of my immediate family members who generally feel much stronger about politics than I do and are staunchly opposed to one side of the runoff showdown — they have their reasons. To put it simply, I am on the fence as to who I will vote…

WE have known for a long time that a speck of American territory — the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, just north of Guam — has a foreign-worker-dominated labor market, more akin to a Gulf emirate than to any American jurisdiction. We now have fresh data to prove that generalization. …

WE live in an era when the word “journalist” has become a punchline.  Fair, honest, non-partisan reporting has become rare.  But that is not entirely the case.  If you care about the ocean and you are looking for good investigative journalism, I have a recommendation for you. Ian Urbina, a journali…

THE Office of Planning and Development, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the Garapan Revitalization Task Force,  Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, and CNMI leaders broke ground last week on the much-anticipated Garapan Revitalization Project. I a…

THE NMI is a remote jurisdiction with a small local population. Labor shortage has been a major concern here since at least the Japanese era. (Japan “solved” the problem by bringing in tens of thousands of Japanese, Okinawan and Korean workers.) Under the U.S.-administered Trust Territory administr…

THE Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers wishes to express its appreciation for the leadership of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in establishing the strongest linkage with the Marianas’ private sector and for the collaboration that has resulted from it over the last two years. GCEA was created in 2020 in…

FROM start to finish, the month of November celebrates key themes that are near and dear to my heart. We are afforded the opportunity to exercise  our civic duty in support of democracy by voting, we pause during the holidays to celebrate loved ones and express profound gratitude, and now Governor …