Editorials

‘He started it!’ EARLIER this week, the House leadership shared some good and bad news with the CNMI government retirees waiting for their (Christmas) holiday bonus. The good news is that — cue fanfare —  the House wants the retirees to get their bonus. The bad news is that the retirees won’t get t…

Not funny IT’S been three months since the governor announced that the retirees should receive their holiday bonus, preferably before Christmas. Lawmakers, including those who couldn’t (still can’t) wait to oust him, agreed. The retirees deserve a bonus, they said, repeatedly, as if they’re trying …

Forward, ever forward  THE Senate has approved the impeachment trial rules. What’s next? The rules say the Senate president may refer the articles of impeachment to the entire Senate “for hearing” — or he may refer them to a special committee “for a preliminary determination….” Let’s get it on then…

Don’t do this at home THE scene in the Senate chamber on Monday afternoon could have been a sight to behold  if only the protagonists were arguing over issues that truly mattered to many CNMI residents: the overdue bonus for the retirees; the government’s other massive financial obligations and how…

Lights! THE House session on Tuesday once again reminded “The People” (i.e., voters) that all lawmakers support giving retirees a bonus —  that lawmakers, in fact, want to double the amount that was first announced by the governor in mid-December. CNMI elected officials on Capital Hill — all of the…

The nerve LAWMAKERS opposed to the governor “investigated” his public expenditures, which the same lawmakers believe are excessive. Result? His office spends public funds on attorneys. And that’s even before the governor’s impeachment trial in the Senate. The House JGO went full “investigative” mod…

On and on IN the NMI, since the Trust Territory era, criticizing the  government for the supposed “lack” of local workforce development is like hitting a piñata without wearing a blindfold. Easy peasy. And yet the TT government relentlessly promoted workforce training, and so did every single gover…

The real ‘Macoy’ POLICE Officer Anthony Iglecias Macaranas, so the story goes, gave his own father (or mother), a ticket for a traffic violation. This tale has the ring of truth because in 1995 Officer Macaranas  pulled over the then-governor for speeding on Middle Road where the speed limit was st…

Plenty holidays ELEVEN days before Christmas, the governor asked the House and the Senate to adopt a joint resolution “that would allow the Department of Finance to provide $500 bonuses to CNMI retirees.” On Dec. 15th, the Senate unanimously adopted S.J.R. 22-5 which was then transmitted to the Hou…

And so it came to pass ABOUT 10 years ago, the politicians who wanted to impeach then-Governor Fitial did it the hard way — some may say the right way. 2012 was a (midterm) election year, and the opposition politicians told the voting public that if they were elected to the House they would impeach…