Flashback — Jan. 2000 – Jan. 2004

January 26, 2000

DPH seeks more funds to match fed grants
The Department of Public Health is seeking a $33.9 million budget for Fiscal Year 2001 as the Medicaid Program continues to be under funded due to budgetary constraints. A huge amount of money for medical referral program has been saved with the hiring of specialists from the U.S. mainland but some of the cases that they have recently for treatment in U.S. hospitals have been serious illnesses which are very expensive. With the tight budget, DPH has been trying to maximize federal grants to offset the cost of implementing certain programs. Mr. Villagomez has made it clear that he does not want any disruption in its Medicaid and medical referral programs.

Gov’t cuts travel expenses by 22%
Overall actual travel expenses by the government exceeded its Fiscal Year 1999 allotment by a little over $1 million, although it dropped by 22 percent from $4.6 million in FY 1998 to $3.6 million, a report from the Office of the Governor showed. According to the report, government-wide allotment for travel during the last fiscal year was $2.507 million while overall expenditures reached $3.605 million. The executive branch managed to cut its travel expenses from $3.5 million in FY 1998 to $2.6 million last year, of which, 57 percent or at least $1.5 million was for medical referral. The government is hoping to realize further cuts in expenditures through careful scrutiny of the vehicle and travel requirements of each department and other public offices.

January 26, 2001

JAL arrivals climb 5 percent
Japanese visitors ferried by Japan Airlines to the island climbed five percent in December 2000, representing more than 900 tourists, compared with figures recorded during the same month in 1999. JAL-Saipan Sales Manager Yasuyoshi Kinoshita attributed the five percent increase in visitor arrivals to calmed fears over what has been overly-publicized “millennuum bug” during the 1999-2000 transition. According to JAL’s statistical report, the airline ferried 18,066 passengers from four cities in Japan in November 2000 , up from 17,538 passengers during the same period in 1999. He added that the tours yielded positive results that may spur more school trips here.

CHC hires new pediatrician
Dr. Judit Voros arrived on island last week and has signed a long term contract to provide full time Pediatric Neonatology services at the Commonwealth Health Center CHC. Dr. Voros joins Dr. Peter Untalan, Dr. Sydney Kometani, Dr. Ayesha Mirza, and Dr. Norma Ada in the Department of Pediatrics at CHC. Dr. Voros came to Saipan from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, Canada) and the world famous Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada). Dr. Voros has considerable training and experience in the field of Neonatology, the medical specialty for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the newborn. Dr. Voros is available for consultation in Pediatrics and Neonatology at CHC.
January 26, 2005

Hotels post record highs, lows in 2004
Saipan’s hotel room occupancy last year was the highest in seven years, while the average room rate was at an all-time low since the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands started collecting statistics in 1992. Despite this, the organization is upbeat about investments being made in the hotel industry and future potential for the market. According to HANMI, the increased occupancy with reduced room rates generally means that hotels brought their prices down to attract visitors. This doesn’t translate to good business because it strains resources—manpower, utilities and other operational expenses. Many hotels are still struggling to bring their earnings up to an acceptable level and some businesses are still in cost-cutting mode, said HANMI chairwoman and Century Hotel general manager Lynn A. Knight.

MVA asks for 1$M to promote the CNMI
The Marianas Visitors Authority is asking the CNMI government $1 million for its marketing campaign, particularly for the China market, on the heels of the Commonwealth obtaining Approved Destination Status from the Chinese government. During a membership meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at the Aqua Resort Club’s Raraina Restaurant yesterday, MVA managing director Vicky Benavente said the agency needs the funding support so it can adequately market the CNMI in this relatively new market. Chinese outbound travel has consistently soared in the past years, outpacing the growth in outbound Japanese travel. In 2003, outbound travel from China reached almost the same level as that of Japan, which registered at less than 20 million.