Flashback April 26, 1999-2001

[B]April 26, 1999

Fate of kindergarten program uncertain[/B]

While the Public School System has started its registration for the grade school level, the government isn’t certain whether funding is forthcoming to allow the kindergarten program to continue. Amid protests from the public, Health, Education and Welfare Committee Chairman Heinz Hofschneider admitted that the program may be suspended until appropriate funding has been identified.

[B]CUC may RFP for water desal system[/B]

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation may issue yet another request for proposal (RFP) on a water desalination facility for central Saipan after the initial project was dropped due to high costs and little support from residents. An in-house committee will review a new RFP on the long-overdue project for approval by the CUC board of directors, according to its executive director Timothy P. Villagomez.

[B]Duty Free break sought for Caribbean[/B]

Two pending legislation under review by the US Congress is seeking duty-free breaks to apparel made in countries on the Caribbean Basin subject to few conditions, posing yet another blow to the garment industry in the CNMI. The nation’s lawmakers are likely going to compromise on country-of-origin textile provisions in the twin measures introduced in both the House of the Representatives and the Senate in a bid to hasten its passage.

[B]April 26, 2000

Prisoners protest; set fire at DOC
[/B] A group of prisoners set a fire in the Division of Corrections’ main facility at around 8:45 p.m. yesterday to protest the temporary suspension of their privileges as a result of the prison lockdown imposed following the Easter Sunday jailbreak. Preliminary investigation showed that about four or five inmates started the fire in section A where 20 prisoners were being held, according to Maj. Clyde Norita.

[B]CPA employees to receive wage hike[/B]

The Commonwealth Ports Authority Board of Directors has approved the restoration of the annual five percent increment in the wages of the agency’s employees, after having been frozen for two years due to financial constraints. Board Chair Roman S. Palacios disclosed the five percent salary adjustment, which is equivalent to one step ahead under the Civil Service Commission rules and regulations, has been in effect beginning April 24, 2000.

[B]House rejects Senate changes to 2000 spending plan
[/B] The government will have to forego having a balanced budget for the current fiscal year. Lawmakers appeared headed into a deadlock on the FY 2000 budget proposal as the House of Representatives yesterday rejected as expected increases in funding level approved by the Senate for Rota and Tinian municipalities as well as other government programs. Due to inability to get support for its actions, the upper house may just abandon negotiation with its counterpart in to reach a compromise as it is already more than halfway into the fiscal year.

[B]April 26, 2001

New study on toxic wastes in Tanapag
[/B] The presence of other chemicals other than PCB on Saipan convinced legislators that an independent study must be undertaken to determine its environmental impact in the Tanapag Village. Legislators expressed concerns that agencies handling the federally-funded study of PCB contamination in Tanapag might not release exact and specific information on the extent of possible environmental risks.

[B]Court raises doubts on law’s constitutionality[/B]

A statute that ordered an autonomous government agency to render a prompt decision in connection with Saipan’s undisputed need for additional electric power sources is now under close scrutiny by the local court. Superior Court Associate Judge Timothy Bellas has placed under review Public Law 12-1, as enacted by the 12th CNMI Legislature, the very statute that the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation used as basis to award the 80-megawatt power plant project to Enron International Mariana Power Inc.