FLASHBACK – July 28, 2012

July 28, 1999

PSS to restrict school bus use

Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos said yesterday the Public School System considers minimizing its school bus operations by limiting the transportation service only to students who live long distance away from their schools. Inos said limiting the school bus use may be a more acceptable alternative to a proposal seeking to charge students for the ride. Board members Anthony Pellegrino and Marja Lee Taitano earlier proposed that PSS charge students 25 cents each per bus ride as a way of raising additional revenues for the education agency.

DOLI bars entry of PROC nationals

Labor and Immigration Sec. Mark Zachares yesterday issued fresh instructions to halt the issuance of new entry permits to all nationals from mainland China, following refusal and delay by Beijing to accept returning workers from the Northern Marianas. In a memorandum addressed to all airlines, labor and immigration offices and ports of entry, the DOLI chief also canceled Authorizations to Board or ATBs to PROC nationals, which means that airlines are prohibited from admitting passengers from China to bring onto the island. The order applies to all new entry permits, including new workers, replacement workers, tourists and short-term business, 90-day business, long-term business, special industry, students and immediate relatives.

July 28, 2000

New FTZ bill faces risk of veto again

Legislation creating free trade zones in the Northern Marianas is again at risk of getting vetoed by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio as lawmakers have insisted on some provisions that he has found problematic when the proposal was first enacted last year. The House of Representatives yesterday accepted Senate amendment to HB 12-11 allowing mayors of Rota and Tinian control over public lands that can be designated as special economic sites, citing the need to expedite passage of the much-delayed measure. But this move was precisely the main concern raised by the administration when the original bill sponsored by Rep. Diego T. Benavente was disapproved as Mr. Tenorio believed it violates constitutional provisions granting such authority solely to Board of Public Lands.

DOF: CNMI’s fiscal house now in order

More than two years since the Tenorio Administration inherited an enormous budget deficit amidst dropping government revenues, the Commonwealth’s finance managers revealed the CNMI’s fiscal house has been fixed although earnings continue to be lower compared with the 1997 level. Finance Secretary Lucy Nielsen said the CNMI is starting to reap the fruits of measures installed since Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio assumed the gubernatorial seat in 1998, through stabilizing revenue collection and prompt release of tax refunds and rebates this year. She noted the administration’s ability to restructure the government’s overall spending, from close to $270 million in Fiscal Year 1997 to only about $207 in 1999, representing a drop of a little over $60 million.

July 28, 2003

MPLA to OAG: Apologize, withdraw complaint

The Attorney General’s Office must withdraw its complaint against the Marianas Public Lands Authority and issue a public apology by tomorrow over its recent decision to intervene for the Marianas Public Lands Trust in its pending lawsuit against the lands authority. This was the gist of a July 21, 2003, letter that MPLA’s independent legal counsel Matthew Gregory wrote to the AGO on behalf of his client. “My client has asked me to request that you withdraw your complaint and apologize to MPLA in the press.We expect your office to withdraw its complaint and publish an apology by Tuesday, July 22, 2003, at 5pm,” said Gregory in the letter that was addressed to assistant AG James Livingstone and Benjamin Sachs, who earlier joined MPLT as a co-plaintiff in its case against MPLA.

Prison financing bill is now law

A day after the Senate gave the thumbs-up to the sixth version of the Saipan prison financing measure, acting Gov. Diego T. Benavente signed the sixth version of the bill into law late Friday afternoon, ending months of political brinkmanship at the Legislature. The new law sets aside $2.5 million to complete the construction of the Commonwealth’s prison facility and $2 million for the Rota and Tinian dialysis centers. In an interview just prior to signing the measure, Benavente said his staff is reviewing the measure and he expressed hope of signing it on the same day.