For more than 30 years we registered voters on Guam, who cannot vote in the U.S. presidential election, have nonetheless found the names of the major party candidates on our ballot every four years.

An oil industry executive stationed here many years ago once commented that the existence of a symphony orchestra in a community made it easier to recruit top management talent.  He agreed that schools, medical facilities, lifestyle, and housing price and availability were probably the major things looked at by someone deciding whether to accept a transfer to Guam.  But a symphony could be the tipping point.

AFTER spending thousands of dollars and doing a lot of work, the folks at the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Theater, which is part of the Department of Education, have been informed by the Fire Department that it wasn’t enough. The curtain will not go up on this weekend’s planned production, "The Mousetrap," a murder mystery by Agatha Christie. The GATE Theater building cannot pass inspection.

THE Majority leader of the 31st Guam Legislature, Sen. Rory Respicio, has written to the Guam Election Commission expressing the hope that the voting process will not be as problematic as it was in 2010.

GOV. Eddie Calvo made an unexpected one-day trip to Saipan last Friday; and while he was gone, Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio, apparently the acting governor for the day, vetoed a bill that would have put some competition back into the process of deciding which company should provide health insurance for GovGuam employees.

SOMETIME during this past night, while most of us were asleep, Guam welcomed the one-millionth visitor to our island for this year. We’re on track to top 1.3 million by Dec. 31, the best year we’ve had since 1997.

AS THE administration and the Legislature discuss measures to cut some $70 million to $100 million from the current GovGuam budget, it’s surprising that the members of the 31st Guam Legislature have not stepped up to voluntarily reduce their pay and benefits.

GUAM'S economy is not creating enough job opportunities for its young people, and that’s a long-standing problem.

IT DIDN'T take long for the governor and the Legislature to back away from proposals put forward by the Retirement Fund that would reduce earnings for government of Guam workers.

AS POLICY makers struggle with the need to cut approximately $70 million out of the current government of Guam budget, a classic tug of war has developed between Gov. Eddie Calvo, the executive branch and the Guam Legislature.