FLASHBACK

MAY 17, 2005

AG: Stop land payment drawdowns

The Attorney General’s Office has instructed the Department of Finance to stop processing all land compensation drawdowns amid concerns over the Marianas Public Lands Authority’s handling of recent land compensation payments. In a letter to Finance Secretary Atalig, acting attorney general Clyde Lemons said that the AGO was reviewing drawdowns that MPLA had sent to the Finance Department. At least two drawdown requests were pending at the Finance Department as of May 9, 2005, which was the date of Lemons’ letter. Several other drawdowns are expected to be sent to Finance in the immediate future, Lemons said.

FIJI MIDWIVES SIGNATURE DRIVE GAINS MOMENTUM

A signature drive started last month seeking for the retention of Fijian midwives by the Department of Public Health is gaining support, with proponents claiming to have garnered more than a thousand signatures from the community. Christi Omengebar, who is spearheading the signature drive, said the more than a thousand signatures they have obtained acknowledges the contributions made by the Fijian midwives to the CNMI.

MAY 17, 2004

SEAPORT POSTS ZERO GROWTH

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has begun to feel the impact of the slowdown in the Commonwealth’s garment industry, with seaport activities recording zero growth in terms of revenue tonnage in the first seven months of fiscal year 2004. CPA executive director Carlos H. Salas disclosed Friday that from October 2003 to April 2004, seaport revenue tonnage was only 17 percent of last year’s record and posted zero increases due to slow garment activities at the Saipan harbor.

…AS DEPOSITS, LOANS SHRINK IN 1Q

Bank loans shrunk 12.6 percent to $210.4 million in the first quarter of 2004 compared with the same period the previous year, according to statistics obtained from the Banking Division of the Commerce Department. Although there is a growing demand for cash due to the worsening economic condition, officials said banks have taken a more conservative approach in their dealings with loan applications because of borrowers’ weakened ability to pay back.

MAY 17, 2003

LIMITED IMMUNITY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS?

Senate Vice President Jose M. Dela Cruz pre-filed this week a legislative proposal that seeks to grant a 90-day period of limited immunity to illegal aliens without fear of deportation or prosecution. The Tinian senator indicated that illegal aliens numbering approximately more than 5,000 are affront to the territorial integrity of the Commonwealth.

50 UNDERGO CLOSER SCREENING FOR SARS

Since implementing anti-SARS measures at the Saipan airport, the Department of Public Health and the Commonwealth Ports Authority have so far placed 50 arriving passengers under stricter screening as part of the monitoring activities against the entry of the disease. DPH Secretary James U. Hofschneider said Thursday all 50 passengers were eventually released because their clinical condition did not fit the SARS definition.

MAY 17, 2002

ABORTED SENATE COUP LEAVES ROILING WATERS IN ITS WAKE

In the wake of the fiasco arising from the Senate rejection of former senator Edward U. Maratita’s nomination to the Commonwealth Development Authority’s Board of Directors, Sen. David M. Cing wrote a letter to Gov. Juan N. Babauta that essentially said “I told you so.” In his letter to the Governor dated yesterday, Cing reminded Babauta that the Senate’s adoption of Standing Committee Report 13-30, which had recommended Maratita’s rejection, could have been avoided, had the Governor responded to his efforts to meet and discuss the nomination.

NMI BAGS 3 AWARDS IN NAT’L MOCK TRIAL TOURNEY

Tinian High School students who competed in the recently held 2002 National High School Mock Trial championship in St. Paul, Minnesota, bagged three awards and placed the CNMI on the 24th slot out of 44 schools that participated. Gov. Juan N. Babauta welcomed home the delegation yesterday at the Saipan International Airport upon their arrival from the competition, which was held from May 9 to 12. Babauta congratulated the team, led by coach Lucy Blanco and Chester and Kimberlyn Hinds.