FLASCHBACK – Feb. 23, 2012

Senator wants to realign projects in CIP bill[/B]

A crucial legislation setting in motion millions of dollars in capital improvement projects in the Northern Marianas may get derailed in the Senate as members have expressed dismay on the appropriation measure that sets aside funds for certain infrastructure plan of the government. Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez said he would amend the bill passed by the House of Representatives early this month to transfer funding from various village youth center project into a road improvement project in San Vicente. “We will need to look into the measure before we pass it in the Senate” he told in an interview.

A bill that will provide up to $3,000 in unpaid compensation and repatriation cost for nonresidents awaiting awarded monetary damages was signed into law by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in another attempt to soothe angry guest workers seeking back wages and derail a federal takeover of local immigration and labor. The measure, hastily approved by the Legislature and the governor Friday, was put into motion upon recommendation of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the House Resources Committee, during his visit last week. A group of alien workers, mostly Chinese, Bangladeshis and Filipinos, told Young and members of the committee in a meeting that they have yet to collect unpaid back wages provided for in administrative awards.

Fitial: Strengthen existing CNMI industries[/B]

With signs of new types of investment remain far from sight, the CNMI government is left without immediate choice but to retain and strengthen existing industries which have grown to be the islands’ economic lifeline. House Speaker Ben Fitial said economic problems faced by the Commonwealth could have been worse sans the resilience of the garment manufacturing sector while the Asian currency crisis was crushing the islands’ tourism industry. Mr. Fitial mentioned a report prepared by the U.S. General Accounting Office which bared that 85 percent of the CNMI’s economic activity and 96 percent of its exports come from tourism and apparel manufacturing industries.

Two employers who were convicted of hiring illegal aliens yesterday filed an appeal before the Supreme Court. Superior Court Associate Judge Timothy Bellas sentenced Jong Choun Song to three years imprisonment, all suspended except for 60 days. He will also perform 100 hours of community service. On the charge of failure to pay wages, Song was also ordered to serve a one-year sentence. These two sentences will run concurrently.

ACT speaks out for teachers[/B]

CNMI teachers were represented at the Feb. 15 meeting of the PSS Board of Education by veteran Hopwood Jr. High School teacher Ambrose Bennett, treasurer of the Association of Commonwealth Teachers, along with ACT president Sapuro Rayhand, Marianas High School representative to ACT Franklin Keiper. They spoke to the Board about the need for closer communication between the teachers, and the BOE and PSS administrators. The immediate concerns exist because a number of PSS employment policies may interfere with providing quality education to the children. ACT has been actively soliciting input since its reorganization last year with the overall goal being to assure no interruption in the delivery of first rate education for the children of the CNMI.

In an effort to receive input from businesses, public agencies, industrial organizations, and other educational institutions, the Northern Marianas College is holding a series of Focus Group Meetings with key representatives from the private and public sectors. Feedback that will be provided by the meetings will be included in a new Community Development Plan that will detail the role of NMC in economic and professional development in the CNMI. The Community Development Plan will also help outline new programs and services that will be offered at the college. The first of three meetings will be held on Saipan at the Pacific Gardenia Hotel’s Flores Gardenia-1 Conference Room beginning at 9am.