Flashback May 06, 1999-2003

[B]May 06, 1999

Teno backs CUC[/B]

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio said yesterday he would fight plans that would seek to reduce existing power rates for commercial and residential use in fear that such move would further hurt the local coffers by subsidizing the utility company. The Senate has put forward a legislation seeking to cut by an average of 25 percent the cost of electricity as a way of helping residents and businessmen cope with the worsening economic conditions in the islands, a proposal strongly opposed by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.

[B]Court rejects Senate reapportionment[/B]

The U.S. District Court yesterday upheld the Senate composition of three senators from each island and denied the complaint earlier filed by former Representative Torres and lawyer Jeanne Rayphand. The “one person, one vote” provided for in the Fourteenth Amendment is not a fundamental right for citizens in the CNMI.

[B]No sweat shop conditions, says RP envoy[/B]

Marking his third day on Saipan, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Ernesto Maceda toured one of the island’s largest garment factories and found no proofs to support Washington’s concerns over the existence of sweatshops in the CNMI. “Based on what I have found so far, I haven’t seen any sweat shop conditions,” he said after the tour around the garment shop of Tan Holdings Corporation at Lower Base.

[B]May 06, 2002

Fire hits Puerto Rico dump[/B]

Fire broke out at the Puerto Rico dump in what was considered as one of the biggest blaze within the decades-old dumpsite that prompted emergency response teams from the government-including Public Works Secretary Juan S. Reyes-to rush to the site. The fire lasted about four hours even as firefighters from the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire responded to the scene. The Emergency Management Office also responded to the alarm.

[B]NMIRF says members with BoS accounts to get pension checks[/B]

To ensure that all retirees with Bank of Saipan accounts get their end-of-April pension, the Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund is urging affected members to immediately inform the Fund so they would get their money through a check that would be issued by the Fund. According to Fund legal counsel Kathleen Troy-Rucker, the Fund’s Board of Trustees made this decision during last Thursday’s board meeting, even as she pointed out that, like so many others with assets that remain trapped in the BoS, the Fund remains waiting for what will happen next.

[B]DPS: Keep a close eye on your money[/B]

Bank depositors making large withdrawals should pay extra attention to security and safety in the wake of a recent debacle that has reportedly left some individuals in the community feeling desperate, the Department of Public Safety warned Friday. DPS Deputy Commissioner for Administration Col. Franklin Babauta has advised the public to exercise caution in going about their bank withdrawal transactions and be wary of suspicious characters in the vicinity.

[B]May 06, 2003

OPA clears Cabrera of wrongdoing[/B]

A draft Office of the Public Auditor report has cleared Rep. Gloria DLC. Cabrera of any wrongdoing when she was photographed by the Marianas Variety playing poker at a Middle Road establishment. The two-page report obtained by Saipan Tribune said that Cabrera did not violate any provisions of the Government Ethics Code nor any other Commonwealth laws related to fraud, waste, or abuse of public funds.

[B]Asian visitors come in trickles[/B]

A myriad of factors that include the Iraq war and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Asia, Europe and North America pulled down visitor arrivals to the Northern Marianas by 13.83 percent in April 2002 from the previous year’s tally. A preliminary report from the Marianas Visitors Authority disclosed that tourist arrivals from the Commonwealth’s major markets in Asia-Japan, Korea, and even China-dropped during the period under review.