Columnists

ON behalf of the Northern Marianas Sports Association, we are extremely proud and thankful for the leadership of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, the NMPMG 2022 Games Organizing and Oversight Committees, and all who stepped up for the successful staging of the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022. Watch…

I DON’T have any problem with welcoming the Lt. Governor back and wishing him “good health” but the concern that WE the People should ALL have is “WHAT work is he and his running mate Apatang are talking about.” I’m glad he recovered and is even making positive changes in his lifestyle.  But his re…

THE recent vandalism incidents in Koblerville involving juveniles reminded me of a front-page story we published over 44 years ago: “Crime Is Our Number One Concern.” The CNMI’s first governor told Variety that “reducing the crime rate will be the major priority” of his administration. “We want not…

ONE of the MOST important legacies of Dr. King has been the “GIFT of a Dream” that he had for ALL Americans and especially for the People of Color which includes Chamorros & Carolinians, as they would have gone to school with me during Segregation. I’ve been in the CNMI for over thirty years an…

CONTINUING from last week, here is the conclusion of Kathy John Bowles’ thoughts on leadership in higher education.  “How a president deals with a crisis — how swiftly, how professionally, how ethically and transparently, how compassionately — is crucial. A president must know the law and have exce…

WHEN the Covid-19 pandemic started over a year and a half ago, the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers tasked the Commonwealth Ports Authority to produce a Tourism Investment Program or TRIP proposal to present to the Marianas Visitors Authority Board of Directors. TRIP aimed to allow for the p…

THE garment industry and Jack Abramoff’s lobbying efforts in the 1990s remain highly contentious subjects in the CNMI (or even in the U.S., among those who may still remember those long ago events). As in most controversies, your opinion about it  usually depends on your politics. We begin, in any …

I’M sure many in the community are glad to see the Medical Referral Program is finally being addressed to make it “fiscally responsible, sustainable and always functioning as the last resort to assist patients.” The Audit done on the program clearly PROVED that a “few hundred million was literally …

AS gas prices skyrocketed this spring, Chuck Graff heard rumblings from the frustrated customers of his St. Anthony, Minn., gas station and service center. Some told him they were scaling back summer travel plans to their Northwoods cabins. They didn’t understand why prices were rising so fast, and…

KATHY Johnson Bowles is a major figure in higher education who, among other things, wrote a compelling piece on leadership.  Read what she has to say and see if you agree with her: “A minister, a police officer, a psychologist and an executive walk into a university auditorium. The head of the facu…