FLASHBACK February 16, 1999-2001

CIP Funds Cut[/B]

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has protested to Washington a plan that would decrease the FY 2000 infrastructure grants that CNMI will receive under a seven-year financial assistance agreement with the US in fear that such move may push the islands into economic instability. The 51 percent cutback in funding for Capital Improvement Projects was contained in the next fiscal year’s spending package President Clinton has submitted to Congress. Under the proposed budget, $5.4 million of the $11 million intended for the Northern Marianas will be diverted to Guam to cover the cost of hosting Micronesians by the neighboring island. The amount more than doubled the current level of capital improvement grants Washington extends to Guam from $4.6 million to $10 million to ease the financial impact spawned by the immigration of citizens from the Freely Associated States.

On the heels of relentless and damaging attacks on the Northern Marianas, several local lawmakers have prodded Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to hire a public relations firm or a lobbying group to defend the island and balance what maybe an irreparable stain on its image in the international community. The local tourism industry, already battered by the prolonged recession in Asia where major haul of its visitors come from, faces serious threat in view of the media firestorm that swirled around the recent lawsuits against Saipan’s garment business, according to Rep. Oscar Babauta. The chair of the House Commerce and Tourism Committee also warned against potential impact of the negative publicity in the efforts to attract foreign investments and help spur the local economy.

Tanapag residents poised to sue US[/B]

Two Texas-based law firms have signified interest in assisting the residents in Tanapag in connection with the planned class action suit to be filed against the U.S. Department of Defense for the widespread contamination of polychlorinated biphenyls in the village. Rep. Dino Jones declined to name the law firms pending the signing of an agreement with village residents. “We will be asking the people to sign the petition designating them as counsels for the case and also the fee agreement. The people will not spend anything while the case is ongoing,” he said. He however assured the people that one of the two law firms has a wide experience in handling toxic waste litigation while the other one took charge of the tobacco litigation in Marshall Islands.

The Senate yesterday stood pat on its plan to appropriate funds to a Small Business Development Center under the Northern Marianas College if the federally-financed program is transferred to the Commonwealth Development Authority. Senate Floor Leader Pete Reyes has firmly opposed the transfer of the U.S. Small Business Administration funded program from the college to CDA. He maintained that the SBDC should remain at the NMC even if it entails additional funding from the CNMI government. “If there is no way the transfer of the program from NMC to CDA can be stopped, the only remedy the Legislature can do is to find resources to fund another SBDC at the college,” Mr. Reyes said

NMI cancer patients’ treatment in danger[/B]

Treatments of patients with advanced cancer may be put in jeopardy if the Department of Public Health proceeds with its plans to cut its agreement with Hawaii-based Queen’s Medical Center due to continued medical billing discrepancies. Based on the updated status report for the Medicaid Agency, off-island medical referral patients only incurred an estimated $18,978.81 to-date but hospital staff continue to turn away DPH patients seeking highly specialized cancer treatments at Queen’s. Since October last year, almost $1.711 million worth of medical bills were settled to the Hawaii hospital but billings continue to pile up, leaving DPH officials wondering where payments had been diverted that settled hospital bills always fail to show up.