Northern Mariana Islands
2023; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 35; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/cp.2023.a924468
ISSN1527-9464
Autores Tópico(s)Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
ResumoNorthern Mariana Islands Zaldy Dandan (bio) In the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the period in review was highlighted by (1) the local government's efforts to revive the tourism-based economy amid a global pandemic and (2) the political drama of impeaching a governor in an election year. On 1 July 2021, Marianas Variety reported that the CNMI and its main tourism market, South Korea, had established a "travel bubble" to resume air travel between the two jurisdictions while complying with covid-19 restrictions and safety measures (mv, 1 July 2021). The following day, the biggest news was the appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations of a police officer assigned to provide security for first lady Diann T Torres. The Democrat-led House panel was investigating Republican Governor Ralph D L G Torres's public expenditures. A few days later, it was a Department of Finance official's turn to face the House committee, which asked her about the governor's off-island travels (mv, 5 July 2021). In the next committee hearing, the lawmakers discussed the governor's utility bills with a Department of Finance official (mv, 7 July 2021). The House committee said it would issue more subpoenas to other police officers and government officials (mv, 9 July 2021). On 15 July 2021, Governor Torres announced that he would seek a second term in the November 2022 election. He said he was running again "because he believes that the [End Page 255] people of the CNMI want to see the Commonwealth continue moving toward recovery and prosperity. 'We have come too far to abandon the progress we made in the face of unprecedented disasters for our islands and our world'" (mv, 16 July 2021). Asked about the ongoing House investigation, Governor Torres noted that the lawmakers were looking into the documents provided by his administration in the previous year. "They did this a year ago," he added, "and they still have the same information. They're asking questions about the same information again. They're concerned about, I mean, so many different things. So, for me, at the end of the day, they're going to realize that everything that I have done has not violated any law" (mv, 21 July 2021). Before the end of July, two prominent members of the local community passed on. Representative Ivan Blanco, the forty-five-year-old Republican leader of the House of Representatives, died of an apparent stroke, while historian, author, and educator Samuel F McPhetres, eightytwo, passed away at the local hospital (mv, 26 July 2021). McPhetres was a former regular contributor to The Contemporary Pacific. On 15 August 2021, Governor Torres, forty-two, announced that Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F Sablan, forty-three, would be his new running mate. Sablan said they would "run their campaign with positivity" (mv, 16 Aug 2021). Torres's running mate in the 2018 election, sixty-fiveyear-old Lieutenant Governor Arnold I Palacios, told reporters that he and Saipan's Republican mayor, David M Apatang, seventy-three, would "likely" run for governor and lieutenant governor. Palacios said he had a "little issue" with his health two years ago but had already recovered from sciatica pain thanks to a successful surgery in Arizona. He said he was disappointed that some of his fellow Republicans cited his health issues to "rationalize" his exclusion from the gop (Grand Old Party, ie, Republican) ticket (mv, 20 Aug 2021). There was good news in September 2021. According to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, the CNMI was only 0.5 percent away from reaching its 80 percent herd immunity goal. As of 7 September 2021, the corporation said, 79.5 percent of the eligible CNMI population, or 33,715 individuals, had been fully vaccinated (mv, 8 Sept 2021). In politics, however, "a dark cloud is hanging over the CNMI," as Lieutenant Governor Palacios told the House committee investigating the governor's public expenditures. He agreed with most of its members' statements regarding Torres's alleged extravagance, misuse of public funds and resources, questionable awarding of sole-source contracts, and approval of overtime pay for cabinet officials, among other controversies. But Palacios...
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