FLASHBACK -Apr. 5, 2012

Apr. 5, 1999

Govt scraps bonus pay for FY 2000

Retirees from the government service are in for another long wait for their 30 percent retirement bonus after the administration scrapped plans to earmark $2.2 million in new funds to pay out the benefits. In a letter to the Legislature seeking approval of the fiscal year 2000 appropriation package, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio explained that funding for the bonus was excluded from the $206 million budget proposal, along with several other requests, because of CNMI’s tight fiscal condition. Because of the anticipated decline in revenues to be collected for the next fiscal year, Tenorio lowered 2 percent from $210 million the annual spending plan and suspended various independent programs to allow him realign funds for critical government service.

MVA discusses drop of Osaka route

Marianas Visitors Authority board Chairman David M. Sablan has expressed concern that the termination of Osaka-Saipan direct flights would severely hamper efforts to increase the CNMI’s market share in Japan. Sablan said he is planning to meet with Continental Micronesia executives this week to discuss with them their plans for the Northern Marianas amid the continuous reduction of flights. “We would like to work with them but we want to know if they plan to cut further the direct flights to Saipan so that we can adjust our marketing plans,” he said.

Apr. 5, 2000

CUC revamp has Teno backing-Guerrero

The planned revamp in the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation has drawn the support of top CNMI officials, including Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, according to its board chairman, Jesus T. Guerrero. But he said the re-organization will take some time as the board needs to scrutinize every problems facing the government-owned utility corporation, including the procurement of a new power plant on Saipan. CUC officials have met with the governor as well as members of the Legislature to discuss the revamp which has been kept under wraps since the ouster of former Board Chairperson Rosario M. Elameto and election of new set of officers in the policy-making body.

SGMA meets with DEQ on water quality

Forty representatives from all 30 members of the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association (SGMA) met with Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) officials recently to review new water well testing requirements. Meanwhile, SGMA executive director Richard A. Pierce participated with other private sector representatives in a group meeting Friday morning with environmental experts and officials of the South Pacific Regional Environment Program. SGMA agreed to cooperate fully with DEQ’s water well testing plan, saying there is a tremendous need to ensure that safe water is available for factory employees and the community.

Apr. 5, 2001

Fate of 3-year limit law known today

The controversial law requiring non-resident workers to leave the CNMI after three years of continuous employment in the islands is up for deliberation today at the Senate even as the hotel industry reiterated its call for an outright repeal of such a statute. “We really do not see the logic of not repealing it, when our economic situation dictates policy flexibility is needed. The restriction does not really serve a purpose, except for politicians during an election year,” said Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands [HANMI] president Ronald D. Sablan. He called the law, Public Law 11-69, a “self-serving policy that is not at all in the best interest of the CNMI.”

NMI science teacher gets $10K grant from Toyota

At a time when education is receiving unprecedented attention from the nation’s capital, Toyota is helping change the face of education one town at a time. Via the Toyota TAPESTRY program, the company is rewarding educators who have demonstrated excellence, creatively and vision in their approach to teaching environmental and physical science with grants to fund innovative classroom projects. At the top of this year’s winners list is Saipan. CNMI science teacher Marie Pierre Lamkin has been awarded Toyota TAPESTRY grant of nearly $10,000 for her project titled, “Study and Repopulation of Saipan’s Inter-tidal Zone and Coral Reef.”