FLASHBACK – July 4, 2011

Government’s unpaid bills taking toll on CUC[/B]

The government’s failure to settle its $12 million debt to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is beginning to pinch the autonomous agency as officials yesterday expressed fear over its impact on their financial condition. Board Chair Jesus T. Guerrero issued anew his appeal to the Tenorio administration to begin payment of its CUC obligations in light of the recent financial report that showed slimming margin between expenses and revenues of the government-owned utility corporation. While rising fuel price has increased its operational costs, CUC largely blamed the financial strains to failure by the government to pay the overdue billings that have incurred since the last quarter of 1997.

Starting this school year, Marianas High School is set to adopt an alternative form of class scheduling intended to fortify student learning at Saipan’s lone public high school. Block scheduling, a scheme embraced by 50 percent of mainland schools, presents many advantages for both students and faculty, according to the MHS administration. This non-traditional form of scheduling allows students more hours to absorb knowledge they acquire in the classroom as they are given approximately 95 minutes to spend for one period.

Torres wants Wiseman impeached[/B]

As he had earlier promised, Rep. Stanley Torres provided the Legislature what he called the “smoking gun” in the alleged bribery case involving Superior Court Judge David Wiseman. During yesterday’s session, Torres distributed to lawmakers in the House of Representatives documents that allegedly showed that Wiseman was involved in a bribery deal with an employee of the CUC to bring down the electric billings of the former Surf Hotel, of which he was then its legal counsel. The unnamed employee was earlier identified as Jesus Sasamoto. Torres then urged his fellow legislators to impeach Wiseman, based on the documents. The 34-page packet of documents contained photocopied letters and reports of Acting US Attorney D. Paul Vernier Jr. to the Attorney General dated December 18, 1989 and September 4, 1990, where he said that his office has learned of possible violations by Wiseman of the Commonwealth Code Title 6, Articles §1601 (theft) and §3201 (bribery).

The US Department of the Interior urged the Federal Aviation Administration to work closely with brown tree snake experts to carry out a program that would help prevent interdiction of the reptile on Tinian. US-DOI Fish and Wildlife Service Field Supervisor Paul Henson asked FAA and the Commonwealth Ports Authority to coordinate with the CNMI Fish and Wildlife in instituting a comprehensive Brown Tree Snake Plan for Tinian. “Work closely with experts to ensure that the Brown Tree Snake Plan minimizes the potential for the snake to become established on Tinian,” said Henson in a letter to CPA Board Chair Roman S. Palacios.

NMI to get another anti-terrorism grant[/B]

Emergency response teams from different local government agencies yesterday attended a bioterrorism workshop conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This developed as reports reaching Saipan disclosed the CNMI would be receiving another form of assistance as part of the nation’s efforts to fight terrorism-this time from the U.S. Department of Justice. The justice department announced that the Commonwealth would be receiving $92,000 from its Office of Justice Programs. The grant is intended for the purchase of equipment to enhance local capability to respond to acts of terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction-whether biological or chemical agents, nuclear or radiological materials, or other explosives.

Sen. David M. Cing has described as discriminatory the recently passed local law that exclusively provides for the retroactive salary hikes of former and current government employees on Saipan. Cing urged Senate President Paul A. Manglona to correct what he perceives as the inequity of Saipan Local Law 13-8, or else he would single-handedly take on the task of fighting for the rights of the deserving employees on Tinian and Rota. Saipan Local law 13-8 increased the local license fees for pachinko and poker machines in Saipan by 200 percent, from $2,000 per machine to $6,000. The money raised from this would fund the salary wage adjustment of all eligible current and former CNMI government employees for the Third Senatorial District.