Hillary Clinton takes random poll here By Jun Velasco THERE was a time when movie actor James Dean – he with the signature sideburns, standing collar, cigarette in mouth -was the rage of the young here, there and everywhere. . That “idol” image created a cult, believed responsible for the…

Progressive Policy By Gonzalo Duque LET’S salute President GMA for her progressive policy on education and other programs of government that all of us hope would lead to the country’s unimpeded socio-economic national development. She has ok’d and is expected to preside over the summit meeting of the country’s top…

PhilRice was well worth the investment By Sosimo Ma. Pablico AS A PUBLIC R&D [research and development] investment, PhilRice [Philippine Rice Research Institute] was well worth it, according to a team of experts who made an external review of the Institute’s impact. Consisting of retired IRRI deputy director general Dr….

“Destabilization” By +Oscar V. Cruz It is not a secret that according to the spirit of the times and in line with the changing mood of the people in the country, there are words and terms that become the season’s flavor of the mouth. This is exactly the case of…

Drawn and hooked By Kristine Oineza I was born and raised in La Union but I, as I believe majority of us Ilocanos are, have strong Pangasinan links. My father is from Bani. I have an aunt from San Fabian and another from Natividad.  We never really went on family…

Public highway system here distressing to balikbayans By Gerry Garcia THE state of our concrete or paved highways here in the province has not escaped the critical eye of my balikbayan friend whom I had invited to ride with me in my car for a tour of the countryside. On…

Fish pens are anti-poor By Jun Velasco MAYOR  Sammy Rosario of  Binmaley  has endeared poor fishermen  in his lovely town for  completely  stopping the operations of  fish pens, calling it anti-poor. Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Eleazar Quinto has commended him for it, adding Sammy simply replicated what they started…

A great man flew into town By Gonzalo Duque A GREAT man quietly came to town recently. You who have been following the national news are familiar with this rare breed of a Filipino. Antonio Meloto, winner of the world-famous Ramon Magsaysay Award for providing millions of houses to millions…

In search of San Fabian’s identity By Marifi Jara MY town’s fiesta has once again come and gone. It was the usual routine. Some program and ballroom dancing in the evenings, catered to various groups – barangay officials, the market community, balikbayans, civic organizations. Then there’s the perya at the…

Outstanding fruit varieties for the Ilocos Region By Sosimo Ma. Pablico Four outstanding fruit varieties have been identified by researchers of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac, Ilocos Norte to perform well in the Ilocos Region. Already released as varieties for commercial production, these outstanding varieties are the…