Flashback December 31, 1998-2001

[B][U]December 31, 1998[/U][/B] [B]Year-end report: Is paradise lost?[/B]

In a downtown tourist strip where hordes of people used to descend on a beehive of stores and hotels, Mary Anne’s clothes shop remains one of the few that is still surviving by the day through the hard times gripping Saipan. Standing outside, she tries to wave passers-by streaming through the sidewalk into her store, its glass facade plastered with cardboard signs announcing sales discount of up to 50 percent. But few take notice or buy. If business remains bad, Mary Anne says she has no choice but to close shop like hundreds of others which have folded up in recent months on the sidelines of the worst economic contagion to hit this once bustling Pacific island paradise.

[B]Year-end report: Health-care system, 1998[/B]

The delivery of health care is the largest ticket item on any government’s budget and the NMI is no exception. As demands for more health care delivery expands by leaps and bounds, the local health care system finds itself in a bind when austerity measures came into effect this year. It meant more for less. Although the Department of Health and Environmental Services is one of three most important government agencies, it too suffered budgetary cuts when the administration imposed a 13.4 across the board reduction in departmental fund allocations. The department’s budget was reduced from $41 million in fiscal year 1998 to $33.9 million for the current fiscal year. The money contraction included severe cuts in medical supplies from $3.5 million in FY ’98 to $982,000 although there’s $2 million in Imprest Fund for emergency medication. It means the department must temporarily come up with creative means to ensure that medical supplies are ordered on a timely basis. Villagomez assures that he’s working out with the department of finance and the office of management and budget to set this matter in order.

[B][U]December 31, 1999[/U][/B] [B]Y2K bug: ‘Don’t panic. Be prepared'[/B]

With few hours before the New Year, government agencies are on top of the situation as they assure island residents of continuous service and uninterrupted utilities during the rollover into 2000. But experts advice the people to stock up on food, bottled water, candles and batteries; keep some cash on hand; and have emergency kits ready for the next few days just in case of any problem triggered by the so-called millennium bug. “The important thing is not to panic. It’s not a bad idea to go ahead and prepare the basic necessities that will last for at least three to five days,” said Tony Calvo, operations chief of the Y2K Task Force set up by the government.

[B]House bill eyes CNMI-wide recycling plan[/B]

The House of Representatives has begun steps to create an island-wide program aimed at promoting recycling of trash as well as reducing solid waste dumped in landfills by imposing disposal fees on materials being imported into the CNMI. Under House Bill 11-501 called the Commonwealth Recycling Act of 1999, the government will assess these fees on top of other government taxes to ensure that their disposal will be taken care of. The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Manuel A. Tenorio and Heinz S. Hofschneider, was passed by the lower house Wednesday and now heads to the Senate for action.

[B][I]December 31, 2001[/I][/B] [B]2002: Bumpy year for NMI tourism[/B]

The adverse effects of the Asian crisis and of the September 11 crash attacks on the United States will remain as the biggest stumbling blocks to the much hoped-for turnaround of the Northern Marianas tourism industry. The Marianas Visitors Authority is wary that that recession in Japan will not be over in the next few years, noting the need to immediately develop new markets for the local tourism industry, in order to generate revenue both for the government and private businesses. MVA Board Chair Dave M. Sablan mentions an ongoing discussion between tourism industry players and the incoming administration of Gov.-elect Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov.-elect Diego T. Benavente on a more extensive marketing strategies that would promote the Northern Marianas as a preferred destination not only to Japanese travelers but also to potential visitors from other countries in Asia like the mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.