THE next leg of our journey took us down the west coast of Malaita in a small, motor-driven canoe past villages that have stood for hundreds of years, each a motley collection of straw huts, corrugated tin, and whatever building materials came along.  Several families made their homes in der…

IN the summer of 1984, the CNMI Senate was broke. A year before it was…bankrupt. Variety reported in July 1983 that “if no new money is appropriated or reprogrammed from other sources, the Legislature’s Upper House may have to close its doors and lay off staff within two weeks, according to …

EVERYONE’S excited about the upcoming Flame Tree Arts Festival — the longest running arts and culture festival in Micronesia — and there’s no better time than now to start a conversation about what draws visitors to our beautiful Marianas.

AUKI, a small town on Malaita, Solomon Islands.  This morning’s ferry ride across Iron Bottom Sound was rough.  The sea was choppy and huge waves rhythmically crashed over the deck, soaking the islanders who chose to stay topside.  There were enough seats inside, but some islanders are not c…

THE passing of Dr. Joyner has sent shock-waves throughout our community, as he touched the lives of so many in one way or another. His abilities are well known as an educator but it was his ability to “inspire” people that truly made him special, as I’m sure he was a mentor for many, seif-in…

IN July 1984, Variety reported that the CNMI Senate was “out of money.” The Senate “will be broke…next week and the July 20 paycheck for the Senate’s approximately 90 employees will be their last of the fiscal year,” according to the director of the Department of Finance. He said “he saw no …

HONIARA, a city on Guadalcanal, the capital of the Solomon Islands.  A boy in front of me finishes his cola and casually throws the bottle on the sidewalk.  It lands in a heap of 20 more bottles against a fence.  Across the street a man urinates against a building, then another and another u…

THE truth of the matter is Ralph Torres has made victims of us All in the CNMI in how he misused OUR money and now I’m (Ambrose M. Bennett) a clear targeted victim of Ralph & Sixto who conspired with the Legislature to make sure I could not be part of the Cannabis Industry. I made the mi…

1997 was a banner year for the CNMI economy. Tourist arrivals totaled 726,690 — the highest in Commonwealth history — and the government’s proposed budget amounted to an amazing $257 million, which is equivalent to $480.9 million today. (The projected revenue for FY 2024? $172.5 million.) Ba…

FIJI airlines operates one flight out of Honolulu per day, at midnight or whenever they feel like it, and my hotel pushed me out at 11 a.m.  Since the ticket counter will not open for another nine hours, I have nested at the local IHOP to eat and people watch.  Besides me on my laptop, every…

IT has been known for some time that the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, out in the Western Pacific, is dominated by foreign-worker-loving employers, and that the bulk of the territory’s private sector workers are nonimmigrant aliens with no prospect of citizenship.

BESIDES the hospital, CUC is the only other government entity whose closure is unthinkable. So many other government offices can shut down for days, weeks or even months, without anyone noticing a difference as long as their employees are still paid regularly.

IF in fact one could actually die of a broken heart (figuratively speaking), I don’t think I would have made it past the Summer of 1990 — teenage sweetheart problems at the end of my Junior and beginning of my Senior years in high school.  Of course, my heart was much stronger then, younger …

IT is three o’clock in the morning in Honolulu as I sit at the computer drinking coffee and reading the news of the world on my laptop.  I have crossed five time zones to get here, so my body thinks it is mid-morning.  I am destined for the Solomon Islands where I will participate in an ambi…

TWENTY-FIVE years ago, the newly sworn in administration was struggling to pay the government’s gargantuan obligations amid a severe economic downturn. The administration said it had to cut costs, starting with the government’s single largest expenditure: personnel. A government-wide personn…

NOT so long ago, the South China Sea situation seemed to be “quiet.” There were also many other hot spots in the world, so the public paid little attention to the South China Sea.

THIS harrowing account comes from the memoir of Captain Kenneth Ainslie, who was tasked with towing four old ships across the Pacific in 1947.  With no surgeon aboard his small ocean tugboat, he had to take matters into his own hands.

TWENTY-FIVE years ago, the CNMI was struggling to make sense of the sudden economic downturn caused by the Asian currency crisis. The financial contagion was global in scope and had weakened the CNMI’s two major tourism markets, Japan and South Korea.

ASAN, Guam — The island of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau are often referred to as the jewels of the Pacific. As I say farewell to the paradise island that I have called home for the last two years, I absolutel…

OVER the past few years we have witnessed hundred-year anniversaries for the Great War and seventy-five-year anniversaries for the Second World War.  2018 marked the centennial of the conclusion of the War to End Wars, while all over the Pacific, historic dates such as the attack on Pearl Ha…

IN June 1982, Marianas Variety published a report from the South Pacific Commission (now known as the Pacific Community) stating that “some of the Pacific Islands are now being used as staging posts by small ships and aircraft to facilitate the movement of [illegal] drugs.”

FATHER'S Day is an extraordinary occasion with a special place in our hearts. This memorable day allows us to express our gratitude and pay tribute to the unsung heroes who have significantly shaped our lives and provided unconditional love and support. While Mother's Day often takes the spo…

WHEN I moved to Saipan 15 years ago, Taeko Castro was one of the first people I met.  It is no exaggeration to say I could not have survived without her.  She taught me so much about islanders and life on Saipan and even about myself.  She was an extraordinary woman with an island-sized hear…