Editorials

Best of luck THE new Legislature will face many old problems that previous lawmakers, in previous election years, had promised to solve or at least to “address.” These include funding for PSS, CHCC, medical referrals and the court-mandated payments to the Settlement Fund. Also on the list: governme…

Unaffiliated THE Covid-19 pandemic remains a huge and serious global concern, and it continues to rage, seemingly unabated, on neighboring Guam where the number of accumulated cases is now approaching 5,000. Governments around the world, GovGuam included, are doing their best to prevent the spread …

As American as apple pie “I welcome the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands into the American family and congratulate our new fellow citizens.” — President Ronald Reagan, Nov. 3, 1986 THE CNMI is part of the U.S. The local people are U.S. citizens. The armed forces that many of them have j…

Questions for new candidates A problem without a solution isn’t a problem, it’s simply a fact. This is the nature of politics generally…. — Jonah Goldberg IN every election year, there will always be concerned and educated citizens who “want to make a difference” by seeking political office. Then a…

White elephant  THE judicial branch continues to function even though Guma’ Hustisia, the judicial building, was shut down about 31 months ago.  Meanwhile, the local economy has cratered and the government’s revenue base has shrunk and may continue to shrink in the next several months.  Yet it appe…

On the one hand, on the other THE alternative to not passing the FY 2021 budget bill was a partial government shutdown that would have inflicted immediate and additional hardship on government employees considered “non-essential.”  For a lawmaker, there ought to be another way to address whatever c…

Budget magic THROUGHOUT CNMI history, the complaint about giving the governor 100%  reprogramming authority is usually heard from his political opponents — whose tune is likely to change if it’s their governor who’s in charge. In any case, reprogramming authority is granted to the governor because …

Can or cant THE delay in the release of PUA payments is — understandably — resented by the affected eligible applicants. The funds are supposed to help them in this time of dire need. Many of their friends and/or relatives have already received theirs. But some say they have been waiting for their …

Pretty please IN light of a global pandemic, international travel restrictions and a nationwide shortage of healthcare workers, we’re hoping that the relevant federal authorities would allow 18 CHCC healthcare workers on CW-1 permits to remain in the CNMI while they go through the renewal process. …

Pay up THOSE who know how their government works are aware that whenever CUC and CHCC send each other letters or memos regarding the hospital’s unpaid utility bills, the two autonomous agencies are actually appealing to the administration and the Legislature to do something. CUC and CHCC are, argua…