By Ron Wall
Wasted America Executive Producer
In March 2000, a rising star named Mariah Carey—yes that Mariah Carey—made a stop in Guam while returning from a promotional tour in Singapore. Carey had an odd fascination with Guam and wanted to see the island firsthand. She also wanted to know if she could help the islanders with what she had heard was a Biblical-style infestation of brown tree snakes.
During her brief layover in Guam, Carey didn’t see any tree snakes. She did however meet with then-Lt. Gov. Madeleine Bordallo. This was three years before Bordallo would become the first woman to represent Guam in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bordallo’s self-stated focus at the time was to “enhance Guam’s tourism-based economy.”
