Flashback October 15, 1999

[B]October 15, 1999

CUC allots $28 million for fuel[/B]

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation has increased its budget by some $1.4 million in FY 2000 over last fiscal year to meet increasing fuel costs brought about by high oil prices in the world market, according to officials. Over $28 million or roughly 41 percent of the total fiscal year’s budget of $68.4 million have been allotted by the government-owned utility corporation for the purchase of fuel alone to run existing power generators.

[B]Tourist arrivals jump 13 percent in Sept.[/B]

Visitor arrivals for the month of September totaled 40,087, or a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in 1998, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority. However, the increase was due to the lower base in September 1998 because of the strike by Northwest Airlines pilots (Aug. 13-Sept. 16, 1998). Overall visitor arrivals in Fiscal Year 1999 slid 7 percent compared to FY 1998, or a total of 491,602.

[B]Lawmakers to drop bill backing Marubeni-Sithe[/B]

Lawmakers will scrap a proposed measure seeking support for Marubeni-Sithe’s bid on the Saipan power project after independent experts ranked higher competing companies in a latest report that countered earlier findings by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.
Rep. David M. Apatang, chair of the House Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee, said that by dropping the legislation, it is now up to the CUC Board to choose a contractor to build the 80-megawatt plant.

[B]October 15, 2001

Home no haven for abused mothers[/B]

An increasing number of households are slowly changing the image of home as a place where love and understanding overflows. Around 70 cases of domestic violence are reported each month to the Department of Public Safety, or about 630 incidents from January to September this year.

[B]New opportunities lay ahead for NMI farmers[/B]

A new policy released by US Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman promises vast opportunities for the CNMI’s farming sector, offering local farmers a wider market to sell homegrown products beyond the islands’ confines. Natural Resources Conservation Service Director Joan Perry delivered the message to CNMI leaders and guests during Friday’s unveiling of the new USDA one-stop service center in Beach Road.

[B]Strong quake rocks Marianas[/B]

An earthquake was felt on Saipan at about 1:02am Saturday, but there were no reported damages or casualties as of press time. Yesterday, the Emergency Management Office’s operations center said they have no weather bulletin for release, including a forecast for a possible tsunami following the quake.

[B]October 15, 2002

Rebate payout deadline nears[/B]

Troubled over the trickled and turtle-paced payout of rebate checks amid the fast approaching deadline, the House Committee on Ways and Means yesterday asked the Office of Public Auditor to conduct an audit on the Special Rebate Trust Account. Rep. Stanley T. Torres, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, formally requested Public Auditor Mike S. Sablan to look into the matter, in a letter dated Oct. 14, 2002.

[B]New name for Saipan airport[/B]

The Saipan International Airport is now the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, after Gov. Juan N. Babauta signed into law yesterday morning the measure renaming the airport to honor the man who pioneered the modernization of the CNMI’s lone international air facility. Babauta signed House Local Bill 13-24 in the presence of Ada himself and his immediate family, as well as the lawmakers who sponsored the bill. Ada, who is the CNMI’s very first Lt. Governor and was District Administrator when he initiated the airport project, said yesterday prior to the signing of the bill that he feels honored over the naming of the airport after him.