FLASHBACK MARCH 12, 1999-2002

FAS bill gets backing
[/B] Thousands of citizens from the Freely Associated States eat up a huge chunk of the government medical assistance program and incur millions of dollars in expenditures from public schools in the Northern Marianas amid shrinking financial grants from Washington, officials said. The situation has been compounded by continuous plunge in government revenues that has forced drastic cost-cutting measures implemented by the Tenorio administration over the past few months to meet its various financial obligations. This is the contention of the Department of Public Health and the Public School System which have joined other government agencies to express support on a proposed legislation seeking to restrict the stay of Micronesians on the island ahead of a scheduled public hearing on Monday.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry John Tenorio yesterday assured travel professionals and media representatives from Japan that the Northern Marianas is a safe destination for tourists as CNMI officials continue to create and maintain better facilities to ensure that guests enjoy their stay on the island. Although the CNMI has been affected by the ongoing crisis in the Asian region, MVA believes that the future of tourism in the commonwealth remains bright. Only three hours away from Japan, the island will remain an attractive destination for Japanese travelers because of its tropical climate and crystal clear waters, Tenorio said.

CUC cuts power in govt offices[/B]

Power and water services in several government offices on Rota and Tinian have been ordered disconnected today due to the Administration’s failure to reach an agreement with the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation. CUC had hoped to collect past due utility bills or at least reach an agreement with the CNMI government that would guarantee meaningful monthly payments. The utility corporation even went as far as delaying disconnection of utility services on Rota and Tinian government offices to give the Administration enough time to settle its delinquent account. Disconnection of government accounts on Rota and Tinian were originally scheduled for March 7, but CUC allowed a 24-hour delay, hoping to reach an agreement with the government. The 24-hour reprieve expired sans the benefit of an agreement.

Suspected savings scam perpetrator Mei-Yen Ying appeared for a bail hearing Friday in connection with complaints that she conned over 100 Chinese garment workers of their hard-earned savings amounting to some $700,000. Police Commissioner Charles W. Ingram Jr. deployed extra police presence within the Susupe courthouse to prevent enraged victims to the savings fraud from possibly laying a hand on the suspect. But the scores of Chinese nationals who trooped to the courts to witness the local judicial system try to bring justice to their clamors surprisingly followed the legal proceeding with patience.

Aliens mob asylum forms
[/B] A mad scramble among aliens—mostly Chinese and Bangladeshi—broke out at an American Memorial Park meeting Sunday night, as they struggled for possession of limited asylum application forms that may be their key to permanent residency in the “Land of Milk and Honey” and a possible American citizenship. “When I came, I was told by an observer that there was like a mad rush to the stage, and they grabbed the applications,” said lawyer Joseph Aldan Arriola, who was a guest at the gathering. “One observer said there were 50 applications, and they were all gone.”

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce is urging the Babauta administration to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and retain the services of Washington lobbyists who could help the CNMI protect its interests in Washington D.C. In a letter addressed to Gov. Juan N. Babauta, Chamber president Richard A. Pierce said that, although the Murkowski bill has been removed from the Senate calendar, thus removing imminent threats of a federal takeover, a similar bill may be introduced through the Senate Judiciary Committee, where immigration matters rest. “The revival of a similar bill in Sen. Ted Kennedy’s committee could threaten the CNMI anew from a different angle. Holds there would not be as easily attained and this could end up another real threat to the CNMI’s immigration authority,” said Pierce.