Flashback – June 2000-June 2002

Jun. 20, 2000

BOE pursues honorarium for traveling members

The State Board of Education is currently looking into possible changes to its own by laws with regard to a board policy which does not specify that board members are entitled to receive honorarium while on official travel status. Citing a certain provision in the BOE by laws, Public School System Legal Counsel Tim Connor said that though it is not against existing BOE rules to provide honorarium to any board member traveling under PSS-related business, existing practices dictate otherwise. Mr. Connor commented the practice is somewhat “discriminatory” especially for non-Saipan board members since most board meetings are held here.

SBDC urges businesses to give emphasis on customer service

While there are a variety of available schemes a business may utilize to attract customer patronage, it takes so much effort to keep them coming back. In fact, concerns on the quality of service customers receive or, in some cases, do not get have consistently been topped the list of issues local businesses have been eagerly wanting to promptly and effectively address in order to improve sales. The Small Business Development Center of the Northern Marianas College is making it easy for local entrepreneurs to improve relationship with their patrons through a workshop aimed at improving the delivery of services to customers, considered the lifeblood of any investment.

Jun. 20, 2001

BEH: Food stores obey sanitation standards

The Department of Public Health yesterday said that majority of food establishments on Saipan maintain good sanitation. “In general, establishments on Saipan are clean,” said Ed Camacho, Professional Support Services Unit supervisor of the DPH’s Bureau of Environmental Health. Camacho made the statement in a phone interview following a week-long sanitary inspection of business establishments on Saipan, which began last June 10.

Shipping firm donates to MVA

Ambyth Shipping donated $1,000 to the Marianas Visitors Authority to help defray some of the expenses incurred for meeting and greeting the various military ships that pulled in and use the CNMI as a rest and recreation port. MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio accepted the donation from Fred Taitague, manager for Agency and Logistics at Ambyth Shipping, the husbanding agent for the US Naval vessels that use Saipan as a port of call. “We recognize MVA’s efforts of welcoming all the military ships that visit the CNMI periodically and we appreciate the huge contributions they make — from the entertainment to the information tables set up at the port,” said Taitague.

Jun. 20, 2002

Banking commissioner OK’d sale of BoS stocks: O’Connor

Accused of allowing alleged “crooks” from Texas and California to purchase some $3.5 million of the Bank of Saipan’s shares, BoS shareholder, the Calvo group, through lawyer Robert O’Connor, returned the blame on the CNMI Banking Commissioner for allegedly approving the sale to the businessmen without conducting background checks on the prospective buyers. Counsel for the Banking Commissioner, Assistant Attorney General Allan Dollison, told Superior Court Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama yesterday that the BoS board of directors accepted $3.5 million from the so-called “crooks” for the purchase of the bank’s shares. But O’Connor refuted the government’s contention, clarifying that the sale was never consummated.

Bill seeks to ease CUC’s obligation

Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero has filed legislation seeking to approve the waiver of all accumulated interest and penalties owed by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to the Commonwealth Development Authority on the government firm’s outstanding loans. Once passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor, Guerrero’s Senate Bill 13-59 forgoes the accrued interest and applicable penalties to the utility firm’s outstanding loans from the CDA, which amounts to $51.5 million. “The Legislature finds that the CUC has several loans outstanding with the CDA. The purpose of the loans was for CUC to undertake major capital improvement projects in the Commonwealth,” S.B. 13-59 reads.