Flashback: July 2006-July 2008

July 1, 2006
CPA and MVA work out plan for Rota flights
Faced with a likely loss of international reservation system, ports and tourism authorities are mapping out a plan to convince Continental Micronesia from suspending its flights to Rota in October this year. Commonwealth Ports Authority consultant Carlos H. Salas said yesterday that a meeting among local officials is set on Monday, July 3, on Saipan. “We’ll meet among ourselves first. We’ll decide what specific options we can bring to the table when we meet with airline officials,” said Salas. This meeting will be attended by the local delegation that flew to Guam last week for a dialogue with the airlines officials. On Thursday, July 6, the delegation will meet with the Continental and Cape Air officials on Rota.

Worker told to leave NMI
Department of Labor administrative hearing officer Barry Hirshbein has ordered a nonresident worker to depart the CNMI after she alleged, among other things, that she had paid money to get employment with a company and was treated unfairly at work. In his order issued Wednesday, Hirshbein said that complainant Li Jiang “appears willing to state whatever she believes will help her obtain her desired result.” The hearing officer pointed out that even with Jiang’s lack of credibility, even if she were believed in every respect, she has not stated any claim that supports a finding of any violation of the Nonresident Worker Act against respondent Michigan Inc.

July 1, 2007

NMI gets $1.13M DoJ grant
The Northern Mariana Islands will be receiving $1.13 million as its share of a $60 million-plus Department of Justice grant intended to help fight crime. The Justice Department announced yesterday that more than $60 million in anti-crime funding will be released to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, New York, West Virginia and the Northern Mariana Islands. The funds, provided through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program, will be used by the state and territorial governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and improve the criminal justice system.

Petition proponents to ratchet up their efforts
The citizen group is stepping up efforts to gather support behind a petition for enhanced legislative transparency, as the deadline draws near for initiative petitions. Organizer Tina Sablan said the group will hit the Liberation Day parade on Wednesday to collect more signatures for the initiative petition to extend the Open Government Act to the Legislature. Petitions to pass a law must be submitted by Friday, July 6, 2007, to the Attorney General’s Office for review. The AGO will check if the petition has met legal requirements in order to be put on the ballot. One of the requirements is that the petition must be signed by at least 20 percent of registered voters. Sablan said her group is getting close to the target of approximately 3,000 signatures.

July 1, 2008
La Fiesta eyed as adult biz complex
The CNMI Commerce Department is eyeing the now abandoned La Fiesta mall in San Roque as a potential site for a complex housing strip clubs and similar adult businesses. The La Fiesta property has remained eerily vacant ever since its doors shut in 2004 amid reports of severe financial problems by its previous owners. Yet Commerce in a proposal presented to the CNMI Zoning Board June 30 said the mall—three corridors of retails space totaling more than 37,000 square meters—provides an “ideal set up” for a so-called “adult business park” because it has design elements suited for the task.

Deployment of 32 personnel is affecting DPS’ operations
The scheduled deployment of 32 police officers and firefighters to the Middle East is beginning to affect operations at the Department of Public Safety, with some of these personnel already taking their leave. DPS Commissioner Claudio Norita told Saipan Tribune yesterday that as of last Thursday he already received copies of 20 deployment orders. “So we’re helping them process their military leave and annual leave. I think the order was for July 14,” Norita said.