FLASHBACK – Jan. 4, 2012

Jan. 4, 1999

Power project put on chiller

The Office of the Public Auditor has deferred action on pending protests lodged against the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation over the stalled power plant on Saipan following a decision to hire an independent engineering firm to re-evaluate various project proposals. But companies locked in a legal dispute with CUC have slammed what they claimed as unclear status of an agreement earlier forged with Marubeni Corp. of Japan and its U.S. partner, Sithe Energies, Inc. which has been the subject of the protests since last June. Lawyers for both Enron and a consortium of Alsons, Tomen, Singapore Power and Tan Holdings Corp. raised doubts that the deal has been called off in light of the new round of review to be conducted on the project in the next few weeks.

CDA to prioritize housing loans

The Commonwealth Development Authority vowed to prioritize housing loans this year to ensure that homeless people still get the chance to own a house despite the Northern Marianas’ economic difficulties, according to CDA Board Chairman Juan S. Tenorio. CDA’s allied agency, the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. or NMHC, will carry out the goal through its various housing loan programs. “Right now, I’m pushing for more housing loans. I think it would be to the community’s advantage to have an equity on housing loans,” Tenorio said. A housing loan borrower automatically builds up an equity. After 10 years, he becomes eligible to borrow at least 10 percent of the total value of his assets said Tenorio.

Jan. 4, 2001

Teno signs 2 local laws

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has signed two local laws affecting the island municipality of Saipan, including one that will allow its mayor to name his designee in acting capacity while he is away. Saipan Local Law 12-6 follows concerns raised by the Attorney General’s Office against Mayor Jose C. Sablan’s practice of picking one high-ranking municipal official to assume the post everytime he travels off-island. Before its signing, there is no law that authorizes the mayor to designate an acting mayor to carry out the duties whenever he is physically absent from Saipan.

Tanapag PCB remediation project resumes

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Tanapag PCB Remediation Project has resumed work following a break for the holiday season. The most recent phase of the project being done in Tanapag Village began in August. Since then, more than 12,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyl, commonly referred to as PCBs, has been removed from Cemetery No. 2 and other Tanapag village sites and stockpiled in nearby containment cells. Environmental Chemical Corporation of Aiea, Hawaii, a leading company in the PCB-remediation field, is doing the work under contract with the Corps.

Jan. 4, 2002

MVA wants own flag carrier for NMI

The Marianas Visitors Authority is seriously looking at the possibility of creating the Commonwealth’s own flag carrier, as it seeks the assistance of the Honolulu-based Aloha Airlines to jumpstart the plan. The MVA is in discussion with Aloha Airlines executives, with local tourism officials searching for the prevailing rate system and other information related to the plan. MVA Board Chair Dave M. Sablan said the proposed flag carrier will initially service the Northern Marianas and later expand its operations to Guam, Palau, and other Pacific islands.

New law frees up CIP money for PSS

House Bill 12-426 would probably go down in CNMI legislative history as one of the fastest bill that got signed into law, after making it through the legislative process in exactly a month. Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio signed House Bill 12-426 on December 31-or 31 days after the House of Representatives first passed the measure, which, in effect, would make the CNMI compliant with the grant terms of the Office of Insular Affairs and eligible once more for new grants. The measure-now officially known as Public Law 12-81-essentially transfers the responsibility for a classrooms project from the Rota High School to the Northern Marianas College. This is an amendatory measure on Public Law 11-7 that effectively relocates the site for the completed Architecture and Engineering building to Tatachog, Rota, and transfers the responsibility for the construction of a vocational shop and Junior Reserve Officers Training Course classrooms from the Rota High School to the NMC.