Newsletters
Sometimes our work begins with a question from the community. Recently, members of our community raised concerns with me about whether radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear testing in the Pacific may have reached the Northern Mariana Islands and what that exposure could have meant for our people.
The week started with a visit to Mount Carmel School to speak with the students in Thomas Manglona’s journalism class.
I had the opportunity to visit Rota last week with Mayor Aubrey Hocog to get a firsthand look at the progress being made in the island’s recovery from
I’m proud to see two young athletes from the CNMI, Addalee Taflinger and Richard Zhao, representing our islands at the Patriot Games in Ohio. Addalee was recently featured in TIME, where she spoke about her desire to bring greater awareness to Saipan and the resilience of our people following devastating typhoons. I’m proud of both Addalee and Richard for representing the CNMI on this national stage and showing the country the talent, determination, and spirit of our young people. Congratulations to them both!
Congratulations to the Joeten Kiyu Public Library who has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The funding will support JKPL’s Families Reading Together: Planning a Sustainable Family Literacy and Indigenous Storytelling Initiative. This planning project will help develop family literacy programs that support parents in fostering their children’s reading development at home while incorporating Chamorro and Carolinian storytelling traditions.
While I am home this August, I want to take some time to report back to you on the work we have been doing and the progress we have made over the last year and a half. In this week’s Let’s Talk About It, I take a step back from individual issues and walk through the bigger picture. That includes the bills we have introduced, CNMI provisions we have successfully moved through Congress and into law, millions of dollars in new federal resources we are working to bring home, and some of the major priorities we are still fighting to advance.
Last week was jam-packed with... you!
On Wednesday, I met with the Northern Marianas Technical Institute (NMTech) to discuss workforce and technical education priorities in the CNMI.