Flashback – May 19, 1999-2003

[B][U]May 19, 1999[/U][/B] [B]Fair Wage Act tossed back to Legislature[/B]

Rejecting claims of differences with the private sector over its regulations, the Department of Labor and Immigration yesterday tossed the pressing issues to the Legislature which must amend questionable provisions of the existing laws. DOLI Sec. Mark Zachares said legislators must deal with the concerns raised by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce against some government policies since they are responsible for passing laws that may not be suitable to doing business in the Northern Marianas. “If they do have problems with the law that instead of running after the executive branch, they should probably address their concerns to the legislative branch,” he told reporters.

[B]Repatriation program suspended[/B]

The Department of Labor and Immigration has suspended a repatriation program for displaced foreign workers in the Northern Marianas as funds set aside to compensate them have been used by the island government for some 500 illegal Chinese immigrants taking refuge on Tinian. Mark Zachares, labor and immigration secretary, said yesterday the department will resume the program once expenditures are reimbursed by the U.S. government. He did not disclose any specific date as to when they will get refunds, but said the White House has assured the Commonwealth of the reimbursement of all expenses resulting from CNMI’s handling of the immigration crisis.

[B][U]May 19, 2000[/U][/B] [B]CUC prods govt to cut utility expenses [/B]

ROTA—The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation has prodded Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to implement drastic conservation measures in an effort to cut government utility costs amid its failure to settle unpaid bills that now stand at over $12 million. Despite the governor’s earlier pledge to pay about $1.4 million every month to CUC, finance officials have only offered $250,000 per quarter—a proposal that will not effectively reduce the government overall debt, according to CUC Board Chair Jesus T. Guerrero. “Utility bills will continue to mount as the proposed payments on the outstanding balance will not be sufficient to liquidate the debt anytime in the near future,” he said in a letter to Mr. Tenorio.

[B]‘Market demand dictates flight frequency’[/B]

The sharp reduction in tourist arrivals to the Northern Marianas was not caused by the elimination of all nonstop Continental Micronesia international flights to Saipan but by more pressing economic factors, airline executives told the U.S. Department of Transportation. In its response to the protest filed by the Commonwealth Ports Authority to DOT, Continental Micronesia president Bill Meehan said the slowdown in the number of Japanese tourists to Saipan has, in fact, forced the airline to streamline its operations on the island. Meehan pointed out that Continental Micronesia’s decision to drop all nonstop flights to the CNMI could have been an opportunity for other foreign carriers servicing the islands to expand their operations if there was a demand for more airline seats.

[B][U]May 19, 2003[/U][/B] [B]’BoS had poor loan documentation'[/B]

The Bank of Saipan had a long-standing pattern of poor loan underwriting and documentation, and there were times when it did not comply with appropriate procedures. Prosecution witness David Burger admitted this Friday in his testimony at the U.S. District Court, during the cross-examination by Bruce Berline, lawyer of Bert Douglas Montgomery. This was Burger’s third day on the witness stand in connection with wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Montgomery, DuSean Berkich and former BoS president Tomas Aldan. The three defendants allegedly conspired and defrauded the bank of several millions of dollars.

[B]Dandan pilot reading program improves[/B]

Dandan Elementary School’s reading program has significantly improved this year, according to the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. “We’ve seen a wonderful growth in students based on our assessments,” said CNMI PREL program coordinator Jean Olopai. DES was awarded a five-year pilot reading program by the U.S. Department of Education through PREL about two years ago. The program initially focused on kindergarten through third grade, but it was extended to upper level covering grades four to six this year.