by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Port Authority General Manager Mary Torres did not attend today's Board meeting. According to her attorney Patrick Civille she was asked by the board to extend her current leave for six additional days so that acting General Manager Joanne Brown can resolve matters which Ms. Torres has recused herself from hearing. According to a statement from Attorney Civille, "By law those matters can only be addressed by the General Manager, and the Board asked Ms. Torres to extend her leave so that these issues can be handled by an acting General Manager." Meanwhile during this morning's meeting the board approved the Port's budget which recommends an across the board hiring freeze to pay for port employees increments.