Editorials

Budget questions SOMEONE in the Legislature should ask the administration why it believes its proposed budget for FY 2026 adds up. Actually, it is the Legislature’s job to do so. The government missed its first-quarter revenue projection by $2.7 million. Visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy rates a…

For starters THE governor’s cover letter for his FY 2026 budget submission gives us the impression that there are two sets of CNMI realities: one for this administration, and the other for the rest of us. The administration wants to frame the issue entirely as one of “narratives.” As if the persist…

Deal or no deal IN his recent letter to the CNMI delegate, the governor stated that “establishing the CNMI as a regional hub for health and education in the Pacific should remain a priority.” This proposal was part of the 2001 platform of the local Republican Party, which swept that year’s election…

Consequences cannot be avoided THE main problem with the governor’s “pivot” policy is not its intent, however dubious its premise is. (It seemed as though the conclusion was decided first, and then the rationale was constructed around it.) No. The core issue is the lack of corresponding action to c…

The here and now NOT only are arrivals down, but they continue to drop. Why? Because the CNMI, which once had three viable tourism markets, now relies solely on South Korea, which is facing economic and political uncertainty. We are also competing with other less expensive and/or more well-known de…

Take it easy NO one among the China hawks is saying — not yet anyway — that Chinese tourists should not be allowed to visit the CNMI. What they demand is for these tourists to get a U.S. visa like their compatriots who want to visit the States or Guam. To be sure, the U.S. government has legitimate…

A good idea THE elimination of zoning was one of the many recommendations of the 2020 Fiscal Response Summit. Due to the Covid restrictions that shut down the CNMI’s only industry — tourism — the Commonwealth was facing a budget deficit of $64.8 million (!) and $85.2 million (!!) in FYs 2020 and 20…

Hard sell IN his remarks at the recent IGIA meeting in the nation’s capital, the governor reiterated his “pivot” policy, for which he has no mandate and, two years after announcing it, has not delivered the desired result of securing a federal bailout. The not-so-subtle message behind the pivot is …

The long and short of it FOR ordinary citizens, the key question in the case of CNMI vs. Shayne Blanco Villanueva was whether CNMI law trumps the U.S. constitutional right to remain silent. The case wasn’t about the alleged corruption involving the BOOST program. The defendant was charged with cont…

Piecemeal ‘transparency’ IN its latest financial report to the Legislature, the administration provided additional information about the pension obligation bond it issued, which was unknown to the public at the time. Now we’re told that the loan agreement was signed in December 2024, and the amount…