PSS Tells Board: $37.7M Submitted, $31M is the Floor Before Schools Shut Down
SAIPAN – The CNMI Public School System has been submitted for $37.7 million in the governor’s FY27 budget request, an amount that would lock in a 64-hour-per-pay-period austerity work schedule with no furloughs, the State Board of Education was told Wednesday during a special meeting at the Public School System’s Marina Heights offices.
Concrete Poles Arrive on Saipan from Guam
SAIPAN – A shipment of 68 concrete utility poles arrived on the Saipan dock Wednesday morning, six weeks after Super Typhoon Sinlaku knocked down power lines across the Commonwealth.
Rain Doesn’t Stop PSS Distribution as Week Two Gets Under Way
SAIPAN – The Public School System’s second-week Grab and Learn distribution got under way Wednesday morning with PSS staff setting up tents and keeping lines moving through morning showers across the islands.
COTA Tops 1,094 Transports as Medical Demand Drives Daily Volume
SAIPAN – The Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority has provided 1,094 transports for shelterees, first responders and residents with medical needs since activating its Super Typhoon Sinlaku emergency operation on April 10, with medical transports accounting for most of the 24-hour increase, the agency reported Wednesday.
CUC Board Calls Special Meeting Thursday on Finances, Recovery
SAIPAN – The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation Board of Directors will hold a special meeting Thursday, May 21, at 9:30 a.m., with an update on the utility’s financial condition and recovery status set as the central agenda item, the board said in a public notice signed by Chairman Allen M. Perez.
Trades Persist, High Rip Current Risk Through Thursday
SAIPAN – Partly cloudy skies, isolated showers and breezy easterly trades will continue across the Marianas Wednesday, with a high rip current risk in effect along east-facing reefs through Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service Tiyan Guam said in its 6 a.m. zone forecast.
Hunter: CNMI in Line to Land First Trans-Pacific Cable Under Google’s Pacific Connect
SAIPAN – The Commonwealth is working to land a Google trans-Pacific submarine cable in the CNMI by late 2026 or early 2027, a connection that would end the islands’ reliance on cables that all run through Guam, Broadband Policy and Development Office Special Assistant Glen Hunter said Tuesday on Good Morning Marianas.
DEQ Red-Flags Four Saipan West Coast Beach Sites for the Week
SAIPAN – The CNMI Division of Environmental Quality has issued a red-flag advisory for four locations along Saipan’s west coast for the week of May 19, advising the public not to fish or swim within 300 feet of the affected sites for the next 48 hours or until otherwise notified.
Tan Misses Own NMI 1,500 Record by a Quarter Second in Darwin
SAIPAN – CNMI distance runner Tania Tan ran 4:55.79 in the women’s senior 1,500 meters at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Australia, Tuesday, finishing seventh in the field and a quarter of a second off her own Northern Mariana Islands national record.
CNMI VOAD Activates Sinlaku Relief Helpline, Open Daily 8 to 6
SAIPAN – The CNMI Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster network has activated a Super Typhoon Sinlaku relief helpline available daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the coalition said.