Hafa Adai and Tirow sports fans, this is Leigh Gases with this week’s Sports Leigh-Out brought to you by Joeten Motors! THIS WEEK: -King-Hinds joins her 2nd Congressional Women’s Softball Game -Northern Marianas Jiu Jitsu Fed holds 1st meeting, lays out goals -Davy Laxa graduates from AFC Referee Academy -Send off held for NMI U17 Women’s National Team -PSS Athletic Programs wrap up 2nd week -Byron, Rosie lead 2026 BASA batters as of Sept. 13 #cnmi #marianas #sports #leighout #recap #highlights #sportsleighout

[advertisement] Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children under 14. Car seat safety is an act of love. Parents and caregivers can show their love by double-checking that their children are in the right seat for their age and size. Make sure your child is in #TheRightSeat at: NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat.

Austin Shelton, Director of UOG Center of Island Sustainability & Sea Grant, Camarin Quitugua of Guam Green Growth, Science Communications Fellow Thomas Manglona II, and Kyle Mandapat, Associate Director of Communications & Community UOG CIS and Sea Grant & Guam Green Growth, attend sessions at The Nest Campus during Climate Week in New York, where decision-makers across sectors gather to define and accelerate the resilience economy. Sessions cover topics such as energy and industrial transformation, A.I. and technology, supply chains, cities and infrastructure, food, water, nature, and health, and risk and finance

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a Climate Week event in New York City ahead of a panel featuring Moñeka De Oro of Micronesia Climate Change Alliance at The New School. MP’s Thomas Manglona II reports.

Torres-Jones gubernatorial team meets voters and business community in Guam. MP Guam Correspondent Eliseo Silverio III reports.

Listen to Kagman Elementary School Vice Principal Lareyna Camacho and Acting PSS Commissioner of Education Jacqueline Che on the first day back at the Kagman Elementary School campus on Sept. 22, and the work that went into safely bringing students back to their home campus after they had to start the school year at neighboring Chacha Ocean View Middle School. Che also provides updates on PSS-wide campus recovery efforts two months into the 2026-2027 school year. Leigh Gases reports.

Blue Ocean Law is preparing to challenge in court the federal government’s push to open waters near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to deep-sea mining, arguing federal agencies may lack the legal authority to issue such mineral leases. Blue Ocean Law founder Julian Aguon disclosed the planned legal action during a Climate Week panel held Sept. 22 in New York that brought together voices from across the Mariana Islands to discuss climate change and its impacts on Pacific communities. “The Trump administration is expediting a process, sort of like, I would say, questionably interpreting the relevant federal environmental statute,” Aguon said. He said the administration is using the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to claim authority to work with companies and allow leases covering large areas of ocean near Guam, the CNMI, and American Samoa. Aguon described deep-sea mining as “catastrophically dangerous,” saying Blue Ocean Law has followed the issue since 2010 and has raised concerns about potential ecological damage to the deep-sea marine environment. He cited potential impacts ranging from noise pollution to large sediment plumes that could harm marine life. “We have been part of many other groups like Earth Justice and others that have been filing comments with the relevant federal agency trying to slow down and or stop this process,” Aguon said.

Cafe Citrus has reopened its doors nearly five months after Super Typhoon Sinlaku damaged the Finasisu cafe, another local business getting back on its feet after the devastating April storm. Cafe Citrus general manager Sua Kim said the cafe reopened Sept. 14 after being closed since Sinlaku struck the CNMI. The typhoon damaged the cafe’s air-conditioning system, walls, ceiling, and lights, while leaks caused additional damage inside the establishment. Some of its solar equipment was also blown away during the storm. Kim said replacing the air-conditioning system was one of the biggest reasons the reopening took nearly five months. The cafe’s outdoor AC unit was blown away during Sinlaku, and replacement parts had to be brought in from Korea. “So, we had to bring all the parts from Korea to fix our air-cons and that took very long,” Kim said. Cafe Citrus also repainted damaged areas and replaced lights affected by leaks from the ceiling. Food supplies that could have spoiled during the prolonged power outage—including cream, cream cheese, and eggs—were discarded as a safety precaution. Getting replacement equipment and ingredients to Saipan presented another hurdle. Kim said disruptions to shipments following Sinlaku delayed supplies, including ingredients, packaging, and air-conditioning parts ordered from Korea. “All of them were delayed and delayed and delayed,” she said. Despite the lengthy closure, customers quickly returned when Cafe Citrus reopened.

Substance Abuse, Addictions & Rehabilitation Program manager Charlotte Flores said the sharp rise in methamphetamine-related illnesses and deaths in the CNMI is alarming, adding that the program at the HOPE Recovery Center in Marpi has also seen an increase in people needing help. “I was just really shocked to see the increase in numbers. I think it's really alarming. But we could also say at the Hope Recovery Center that we've also seen an increase ourselves,” Flores told Marianas Press in a phone interview last Sept. 24. The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. earlier reported that methamphetamine-related cases rose from 71 in 2022 to 78 in 2023 and 122 in 2024 before more than doubling to 252 in 2025. Through Aug. 31 this year, CHCC had already identified 179 cases. Between 2022 and 2026, CHCC also documented 612 emergency department visits involving patients with identified methamphetamine use, 509 instances requiring urine drug screening and 57 psychiatric interventions. CHCC said most substance-related deaths identified during the surveillance period involved adults between 30 and 59. Flores said SAAR is also seeing more troubling withdrawal symptoms among some participants compared with five or six years ago.

Moñeka De Oro with Micronesia Climate Change Alliance will be speaking at The New School for New York Climate Week at an event called “Climate Desk Live: AI, Energy, and Our Fight for Democracy and a Healthy, Affordable Future.” MP’s Thomas Manglona II speaks with her before she takes the stage today alongside other speakers, including Mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani.

DFEMS Public Information Officer Robert Mojica spoke with Marianas Press earlier today as they detonated unexploded ordnance in northern Saipan. MP Correspondent Leo Tsukagoshi reports.

​From the farthest reaches of the United States of America in the Pacific, panelists from the Mariana Islands present on the actions that must be taken to lessen the life threatening effects of climate change on islands. Unique cultural, political and environmental vantage points make the work even more challenging for a people often forgotten. Join us for an in-depth discussion that will surely bring new perspective to the focus on climate change.

​From the farthest reaches of the United States of America in the Pacific, panelists from the Mariana Islands present on the actions that must be taken to lessen the life threatening effects of climate change on islands. Unique cultural, political and environmental vantage points make the work even more challenging for a people often forgotten. Join us for an in-depth discussion that will surely bring new perspective to the focus on climate change.

[advertisement] Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children under 14. Car seat safety is an act of love. Parents and caregivers can show their love by double-checking that their children are in the right seat for their age and size. Make sure your child is in #TheRightSeat at: NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat.