FLASHBACK – Dec. 19, 2011

PSS-GBI settlement talks in limbo[/B]

Public School System officials have opted to discontinue settlement talks with Guerrero Brothers Inc. without the presence of lawyers from both PSS and GBI parties, after exhausting discussions on Tinian over the weekend failed again to yield a compromise agreement on the pending Tinian High School project. Officials from the State Board of Education and the Tinian Legislative Delegation engaged in a heated debate with Mr. Pedro Guerrero of GBI, who reportedly would not budge to PSS’ offer that the construction company accept the settlement amount and release the project to PSS.

The Child and Family Services has outlined under its 2000-2004 state plan five principal areas of priority to include parenting, volunteerism, response-centered advocacies, system-wide policies and procedures, and staff development and training, in renewed efforts to carry out effective social services reforms to the local community. The five-year state plan, one of many momentous contributions of recently retired Division of Youth Services Director Eloise Furey to the social services sector, began as early as 1996 and was completed based on common concerns raised by community members during the 1999 Family Symposium.
[B] Dec. 19, 2001

Bid loser loses anew[/B]

The Office of the Public Auditor has denied the appeal filed by Hawaiian Rock Products Corp., after it lost out in the bidding for the paving of the Susupe Sports Complex parking lot and a road in Capitol Hill. This was the second time HRPC lost out in its appeal in connection with its failed bid for the two projects. The first time around, Division of Procurement and Supply Director Herman S. Sablan denied HRPC’s protest that Western Equipment Inc. should not have won the bidding, prompting the firm to elevate its protest to the OPA. In its appeal, HRPC had insisted that Sablan improperly rejected HRPC’s claim that it was low bidder. At the same time, HRPC argued that Sablan’s decision not to disqualify WEI was contrary to the bid instructions, and that WEI was not a responsible bidder.

The latest episode in the saga that is called Public Law 12-54 is that the incoming 13th Legislature is now considering amending it to clip the broad powers it gave to the Office of Personnel Management. Plans are now afoot, particularly in the Senate, to have the law amended, despite the fact that it was just passed in June, effectively transferring the OPM from the jurisdiction of the Office of the Governor to the Civil Service Commission. According to Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, he discussed the matter with Senate legal counsel Tony Cabrera yesterday morning, and Cabrera will soon be coming up with the corrective amendments to the law.

$2M loan for Rota rehab OK’d[/B]

The Legislature has moved to authorize another government loan, this time amounting to $2 million for the rehabilitation of Rota’s physical infrastructure that were shattered by supertyphoon Pongsona. The House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously and simultaneously approved the legislative initiative to secure public debt for the repair and replacement of infrastructure systems in the First Senatorial District. The bill’s author, Rota Rep. Daniel O. Quitugua, said the $2 million will be used to speed up the reconstruction of essential public facilities such schools, the hospital and fire and police stations.

Financing company Wells Fargo collected three boxes of toys that will be distributed to Rota children this Christmas, an effort that hopes to uplift the morale of the island’s residents during the holidays in light of a natural calamity. Wells Fargo assistant manager and “Toys for Tots” coordinator Norma Sablan handed out the toys to Karidat Executive Director Angie Guerrero and administrative officer Judy Pangelinan yesterday afternoon. Sablan said the toys were collected during the annual Toy for Tots drive undertaken by the company, which began in November. “We hope that we collected enough for everybody.” Wells Fargo, a lending company, has been collecting toys for children of needy families for four years now. Its sister company in the mainland U.S. has been undertaking the same Christmas drive for the last nine years.