News

Matson Inc. and Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. held a christening ceremony for the Aloha Class Vessel Makua, set to serve Guam in the first quarter of 2027, at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Philadelphia on Oct. 12.

The Department of Veterans Affairs signed a lease for a new Saipan VA Outpatient Clinic on Oct. 15.

Essential infrastructure, commercial fuel stations, and private health facilities across Guam are swiftly reopening following the passage of Super Typhoon Champi, with key transportation hubs and utility providers moving into full recovery status.

Just hours after Super Typhoon Champi passed south of Guam, President Donald Trump approved Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero's request for an emergency declaration, which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate emergency assistance.

Guam is currently experiencing a construction boom. Military construction alone is expected to reach $10.5 billion through fiscal 2027. Roughly $8.6 billion of that work is already underway or anticipated by the end of this year, with another $1.9 billion in requested funds for fiscal 2027 awaiting approval from Congress. This is in addition to the housing, infrastructure, disaster mitigation and recovery work Guam needs to have done or requires after every typhoon season. The question is not whether the work will happen. It’s already happening. The question is whether the working people of Guam will experience the full benefits of their labor and development, as it does.

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — For a growing number of Northern Mariana Islands entrepreneurs, a folding tent, a table, some inventory, and a few hours in front of a weekend crowd can be the first step toward something much bigger.

The two larger groups of hotels in Guam are preparing for Typhoon Champi as it approaches Guam.

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — In the 1980s and 1990s, when the world listened to music on vinyl records and later CDs and DVDs, there was a huge “underground” illegal industry that produced and sold what were known as “bootlegged” copies of the music of popular artists. In September, Majuro was hit with a flood of counterfeit food products, showing how the bootleg industry shifts over time.