FLASHBACK – November 26, 2011

Illegally occupied public lands may be assessed[/B]

The House of Representatives cleared two measures yesterday involving administration of public lands, including proposing fees for encroachment by private entities. HB 12-105, offered by Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho, will require the Division of Public Lands to identify as well as to assess fees for all public lands which are being used by private individuals or establishments without any lease agreement. According to the House Committee on Natural Resources, there is a need to establish a specific framework to generate income from unauthorized use of public lands. While DPL has carried out steps to address this problem, the absence of legislation does not compel the agency to resolve the issue with urgency, the committee said in its report.

The State Board of Education will push through with original plans to construct the proposed Kagman High School on a 3.9-hectare land reserved for the school project despite clamors to build the campus on a larger piece of property. BOE Vice Chair Roman Benavente said yesterday the board had to pass on a House Committee on Education offer to relocate the public high school’s construction site to an agricultural land due to an ongoing mitigation project around the proposed area. “Not only will the construction disrupt the flow of the existing projects being handled by the Dept. of Lands and Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers, but it will also create some setbacks for the contractors,” said Mr. Benavente.

Benavente: Nurture existing industries[/B]

The Commonwealth should nurture its existing industries—garment manufacturing and tourism—by continuously blocking any federal takeover attempt, which is believed disastrous to the local business community. Lt. Gov.-elect Diego T. Benavente made this statement as he reiterated the incoming administration’s opposition to a federal takeover of local immigration and minimum wage controls. The garment industry accounts for over $20 million in annual government revenue generated through taxes. The 34 garment factories on Saipan provide more than 15,000 jobs in the Commonwealth, aside from the industry’s multiplier effect on the economy. “Changing and federalizing immigration control here would not help us economically,” Benavente said.

The US Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers immediately to stop the use of the product Lipokinetix, marketed as a dietary supplement by Syntrax Innovations, Inc. Lipokinetix has been implicated in a number of serious liver injuries. The FDA has received multiple reports of persons who developed liver injury or liver failure while using Lipokinetix. Lipokinetix is marketed for weight loss. It contains the ingredients norephedrine (also known as phenylpropanolamine or PPA), caffeine, yohimbine, diiodothyronine, and sodium usniate.

Saipan mayor receives DOJ grant[/B]

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela yesterday announced that his office has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Justice to host a regional terrorism seminar that will be participated in by all Guam and CNMI mayors. The Mayoral Seminar on Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Incident Preparedness will be held on Saipan on December 6. The event will gather 11 mayors from Guam and the Commonwealth’s four municipal chief executives. The seminar seeks to provide the mayors with strategies and executive level issues and challenges relating to weapons of mass destruction and terrorism incident preparedness, as well as to share proven strategies and policies.

The Senate yesterday wrapped its Christmas present to Commonwealth taxpayers by echoing the lower House’s support for the administration’s bid to borrow $19 million to pay overdue refunds and rebates. All nine senators backed the House Resolution endorsing the $19 million loan, after being appeased over concerns raised regarding the move’s constitutionality. Pam Brown, counsel to the Governor, assured that the move is legally sound and consistent with separate opinions reached by the legal counsels of the House, Senate, Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office.