Flashback – Dec. 2002 – Dec. 2008

December 11, 2002

Agencies clear Saipan of Pongsona’s garbage
Different government agencies collectively held an island-wide clearing operation to clean different sites affected by supertyphoon Pongsona, two days after the Emergency Management Office declared the CNMI safe. Yesterday, the Marianas Visitors Authority dispatched teams to the Beach Road and other tourist areas to trim and chop down uprooted trees and to collect other garbage brought on by strong winds during the weekend. The Department of Public Works also deployed teams to Garapan, the Middle Road, and parts of southern Saipan to clean up the typhoon mess that had accumulated during the three-day nonstop downpour.

Rota awaits presidential disaster declaration
With Rota still in total blackout, authorities fear that an outbreak of diseases may result from drinking water that may be contaminated by bacteria and other microorganisms. This comes amid efforts by the CNMI government to have President Bush declare not just Rota but the entire Commonwealth as a major disaster area, after receiving reports that typhoon Pongsona also wreaked havoc on Anatahan in the Northern Islands. “We also need to include Anatahan so we’re not seeking for individual islands, but possibly for the entire CNMI to be declared [a major disaster area],” the Governor said.

December 11, 2011

Fund: Judicial building loan arrears at $1.2M
The board of trustees of the NMI Retirement Fund directed on Friday its administrator, Richard Villagomez, to discuss and clarify once and for all issues about the judicial building loan with the Fitial administration before the board starts deliberating on the foreclosure option, which will be the board’s last resort to collect its investment. Fund chair Sixto Igisomar made this clear during the board meeting Friday after learning that the government/judiciary has not been remitting payment pursuant to the loan agreement for 10 months now. Villagomez reported that the outstanding arrears from the agency is approximately $1.2 million as of Nov. 30 this year, or an expected monthly remittance of $120,000.

Bank counsel: Flores’ claim for $200K lacks common sense
Saipan Mayor Donald G. Flores’ claim that he purchased Certificate of Deposit in the amount of $200,000 in 1993 from the now defunct Union Bank as a long-term investment defies common sense, according to a lawyer for Union Bank of California. Attorney Elyze McDonald Iriarte, counsel for Union Bank of California (UBC), said for that long-term investment, Flores purchased a certificate of deposit that matured in a very short 32 days, with interest “payable at maturity” and made no demand for 15 years. Flores also admits having “common knowledge” that the First Hawaiian Bank moved into the same building Union Bank had occupied, meaning that he was aware Union Bank no longer operated in Saipan after 2011, said Iriarte in UBC’s reply in support of First Hawaiian Bank’s motion to dismiss Flores’ lawsuit.

December 11, 2008

Fitial asks OIA for $3.8M to fund CUC repairs
Gov. Benigno Fitial has written to Office of Insular Affairs director Nikolao Pula requesting $3.8 million to rehabilitate engines at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp’s main power plant. In the letter Fitial details the plan and process CUC will undergo to fix the engines and why more funding is necessary. In September Pula had written Fitial asking for a more detailed plan on the use of funds. “To clarify, CUC’s request for additional $3.8 million to fund continuing rehabilitation efforts for Saipan Power Plant 1 engines is prompted by CUC’s inability to fund major repairs of PP1 engines from its own limited working capital resources,” Fitial wrote.

Continental’s flight attendant gets car for perfect attendance
A Continental Micronesia employee who posted a perfect attendance from January to July this year received a car for her dedication and reliability. Guam-based flight attendant Irene Redona-Carle, a 14-year veteran and Japanese language speaker, received an invitation to Houston to meet with Larry Kellner, Continental Airlines chief executive officer and chairman, and Jeff Smisek, Continental Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer. Continental officers drew Redona-Carle’s name and eight others from among the thousands of qualified employees entered in the Perfect Attendance Drawing.