Rota, also known as the "Friendly Island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the third southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. In early Spanish records it is called "Zarpana"; the name Rota may have come from the Spaniards possibly naming the island after the municipality of Rota, Spain. It lies approximately 40 nautical miles (74 km) north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam. Sinapalo village is the largest and most populated, followed by Songsong village (Songsong). Rota also functions as one of the four municipalities of the CNMI.
Rota International Airport, also known as Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport, is a public airport located on Rota Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), near the village of Sinapalo. The airport is owned by the Commonwealth Ports Authority. During WWII the Japanese constructed a single runway which the U.S. bombed out of commission. After the Marines took control of the island 300 men from the 48th U.S.Naval Construction Battalion made the airfield operational during Sept-Oct 1945 and extended to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The runway was then used as an emergency landing strip for Tinian and Saipan airfields. In modern times it used for short commuter flights to nearby Marianas Islands.
Northern Marianas College (NMC) is a public land-grant college in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The college was founded in Susupe in 1976. NMC today has three campuses on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The main campus on Saipan is in Fina Sisu. NMC is the sole public college within the Commonwealth and is accredited by the Senior College and University Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
The Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1 CMC § 3101, is the highest court of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), exercising civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction over commonwealth law matters. It should not be confused with the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, which exercises jurisdiction over federal law. The Supreme Court sits in the capital, Saipan, and consists of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices. The CNMI has no intermediate appellate commonwealth law court, which means that the CNMI Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial-level Superior Court.
Chalan Piao is a village on the southwestern area of Saipan. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It is bordered on the north by Chalan Kanoa, on the east by As Perdido village and on the south by San Antonio village. To the west is the Pacific Ocean.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System is a school district serving the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States territory.
Education in the Northern Mariana Islands is linked to the United States Department of Education as the Northern Mariana Islands form part of the United States Commonwealth. This encompasses the sectors of pre-K, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and college education. The main governing body in the region is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System whose headquarters are located on Capital Hill, Saipan. Currently, there are 20 schools operating within the CNMI PSS. There are also a number of private and home school systems operating in the region. The educational system follows a similar model to the United States educational system whereby children between the ages of 5-16 are mandated to attend formal school. All educational institutions, systems and budget are governed first by the US Board of Education, followed by the Northern Mariana Islands State Board of Education, which was established in 1988 as a requirement of the Northern Mariana Islands Constitution.
Mount Taipingot lies at the southern end of Songsong Village on the Rota in the Mariana Islands. It is connected to the main part of Rota by a tombolo, on which is the southern part of Songsong village. It is more commonly known as "Wedding Cake Mountain" because of its resemblance to a layered wedding cake. The areas in and around the mountain are conservation areas established to protect the native flora and fauna that thrive there.
The 2009 Northern Mariana Islands general election were held on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, 6 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, 4 mayors, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education. Additionally, a referendum was held.
Sinapalo or Sinapalu is a village on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands. The village is the largest settlement on the island, located south of the island's airport, Rota International Airport, close to the center of the island.
San Antonio is a settlement in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is close to the southwestern tip of the island. Once a separate village, it is now virtually contiguous with other nearby villages on Beach Road, including Susupe, Chalan Kanoa and Chalan Piao.
San Roque is a settlement in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is located to the north of Tanapag on the island's northwest coast, close to the point where the barrier reef protecting the Tanapag Harbor joins to the island. It is connected to Tanapag by the Marpi Road, which runs the length of the northwestern coast.
Rita Hocog Inos was a Northern Mariana Island educator, activist and politician. Inos was the former Education Commissioner of the Northern Marianas school system and served on the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents. Inos was a two-time candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, becoming the first woman to seek election to that particular office.
Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero is a Northern Mariana Islands politician and businessman. He has been a member of the Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands in the past, and ran for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands in 2009 as an independent, with Representative Joe Camacho as his running mate.
The 2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election were held on Tuesday, 4 November, 2014. The election coincided with the 2014 United States midterm elections. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, attorney general, 6 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, 4 mayors, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education. Additionally, a referendum involving changes to the constitution was held.
The Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha Sugar Mill is a former industrial facility in the village of Songsong on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands. Its ruins are a significant reminder of the South Seas Mandate period, when Imperial Japan engaged in large-scale sugar cane farming in the Northern Marianas, and are the only brick structure in the Northern Marianas. The sugar mill on Rota was one of the major installations of the Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha, the Japanese company responsible for economic development of the mandate area. Its Executive Director turned Board Chairman. Haruji Matsue, considered the Northern Mariana Islands, the best place to establish the sugar industry, and more especially since previous Japanese commercial enterprises tried their hand at growing and processing sugar cane, but failed. The Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha, was the most dominant economic force and being the largest Japanese Corporation, came to the Northern Marianas in 1921. Not unlike its predecessors, the NKK experienced a very tough few years, which almost forced the company to cease operations. Things started to take a turn for the better in 1926. By the early 1930s, Matsue proceeded to expand the company's landholdings and operations to Tinian and Rota, respectively. Rota had one mill and 38% of the farmlands had sugar cane growing. The remnants of this sugar mill, all that survived the Allied capture of Rota during World War II, are located on the north side of the peninsula that projects southwest from Songsong, and consist of fragments of brick and concrete structures. The most impressive single element is a brick and concrete tunnel 42.5 metres (139 ft) long, from which openings lead to the locations of other parts of the once-extensive complex.
The 2018 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, to elect the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Incumbent Republican governor Ralph Torres, who ascended to governorship in December 2015 following the death of Governor Eloy Inos, sought election to a full term.
Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School (RHI), formerly Rota Jr./Sr. High School, is a secondary school in Songsong on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, and a part of the CNMI Public School System. It is the island's sole secondary school.
Joeten-Kiyu Public Library is the State Library of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The 2001 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Saturday, 3 November 2001, electing the governor and members to the legislature. The 2001 elections marked the last general election that the dissolved Reform Party, which merged back into the Democratic Party in 2002, would appear on the ballot. Despite the economic hardships experienced under Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio's Administration, the apparent strength the 1999 general elections signaled that the Democratic Party and its splinter Reform Party had, and the newly formed Covenant Party which was formed as a splinter party from the ruling Republican Party, Republican candidate Juan Nekai Babauta won with a landslide in the four-way race. Benigno Repeki Fitial's newly formed Covenant Party landed a distant yet sizable second place. Jesus Borja of the Democratic Party won a distant third and Froilan Tenorio of the Reform Party placed fourth.
