FLASHBACK – Feb. 16, 2012

Feb. 16, 1999

Governor to launch own lobbying effort

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio is set to meet with Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) next week in Washington D.C. to lobby for support against a federal proposal that will set in motion the takeover of local minimum wage and immigration. Tenorio is leaving on Saturday for the US capital to attend the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association and the Pacific Basin Development Council. A meeting with Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has been scheduled on February 23 in another attempt to win the sympathy of the lawmaker against plans of the Clinton administration to introduce a new legislation on takeover.

CPA falls short in revenue target

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has failed to generate the needed revenue last month to meet debt service coverage for its $53 million debt as income from operations continue to nosedive. As of Jan. 31, 1999, the cash-strapped ports authority is short of $153,736 in servicing the airport bond. Likewise, it needs $27,705 to meet debt service requirement for the seaport bond for the same period. With its sinking funds, the ports authority has planned to raise airport fees to be able to repay its $53 million debt. However, the proposal has been strongly criticized by various sectors in the community claiming that the timing is wrong.

Feb. 16, 2000

NMIRF eyes record $56M budget for FY 2001

The Northern Marianas Retirement Fund board is reviewing a proposed budget of $56 million for its operations in Fiscal Year 2001, the biggest spending plan in the agency’s history. According to NMIRF Board Chair Vicente Camacho, the biggest chunk of the budget, or 87.8 percent, will be used to pay monthly pension of its members. Some $2.1 million has been set aside for the construction of Retirement Fund buildings in Rota and Tinian but implementation of such plan depends on the settlement of the CNMI government’s unpaid contribution now amounting to $30 million.

Teno vetoes propose conservation area

Saying he was disappointed to disapprove a measure to designate Managaha Island and its surrounding water as a Marine Conservation Act (HB 11-500), Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio on Monday two issues must first be resolved before he can sign the bill into law. The first one was the section about the Superintendent’s duties and responsibilities that raise separation of power issues. That section gives the Superintendent the power to oversee the operations, maintenance, and administration of the conservation area. He is also authorized to hire, terminate and provide for training ofConservation Officers. The bill placed the Superintendent within the Division of Fish and Wildlife, which is under the Department of Lands and Natural Resources. The second concern of the governor is with respect to reassigning of funds under Public Law 11-64 regarding the landing fees for Managaha Islands from a number of public service programs to Managaha research items.

Feb. 16, 2001

Golf course: $1.5M for fractured leg too much

Lao Lao Bay Golf Resort with co-defendants, Shimizu Corporation and the Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. has filed a legal motion asking the Superior Court to vacate a jury verdict that awarded local golfer Juan M. San Nicolas $1.5 million. San Nicolas sustained fractures to his right leg in a golfing accident on Nov. 6, 1995. Defense lawyers Randall Todd Thompson and Vicente T. Salas stated in the motion that the $1.5 million verdict is “against the weight of the evidence” and “grossly excessive by any conventional notion of valuation.”

ATM for garment workers installed

Garment workers can now fulfill their banking transactions without leaving the comfort and safety of their own factory. Tan Holdings Corp. and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. have joined hands in the installation of an Automated Teller Machine inside the premises of the company’s garment manufacturing plant in Lower Base. The new ATM facility, which was inaugurated yesterday, comes as an added benefit to employees of THC whose salary payments are now being made through the direct deposit program. THC employees have been provided an ATM card that allows them the convenience and flexibility of accessing their account through the new facility 24 hours a day.