Flashback – June 2006-June 2008

June 6, 2006

Layoffs possible by July 1

The CNMI government is now looking at a closer deadline for the possible furlough of certain employees within the Executive Branch. Press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said yesterday that layoffs may take place by July 1, a month earlier than the target date initially announced by the administration. “Because of the severity of our financial situation, drastic actions are imminent. Such actions will be taken by July 1, 2006. The fourth quarter allotment will be drastically curtailed and furloughs are in order,” Reyes said.

CUC: Water wells drying up due to La Niña

The CNMI is now experiencing a very, very severe dry season because of the effects of the global weather phenomenon called La Niña, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. spokesperson Pamela Mathis warned yesterday. “The water wells are already drying up and not at the levels we get normally. So the plea to conserve water is just as great as a plea to conserve power,” said Mathis in an interview with Saipan Tribune. Mathis said she received Friday a bulletin about the effects of La Niña from the Pacific El Niño-Southern Oscillation Applications Center. La Niña is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in February this year the return of La Niña.

June 6, 2007

Pagan pozzolan: Only 12M metric tons of it

Only about 12 million metric tons of pozzolan remain available on Pagan, according to a mining expert working for the Department of Public Lands. This estimate by DPL consultant John W. Wilson is much lower than previous estimates regarding the quantity of pozzolan on Pagan, which ranged between 32 million and 200 million metric tons. In a statement, DPL said Wilson’s report takes into account the loose nature of the pozzolan deposit, and the erosion that has taken place since the first measurements of volume were reported in the U.S. Geological Survey’s 1984 report.

NMI Labor seeks feds’ guidance on wage hike

The Department of Labor has sought guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor as to how the new minimum wage law applies to domestic workers, fishermen, farmers, and tipped employees in the CNMI. Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas told Saipan Tribune yesterday that he raised the issues with U.S. Labor Wage & Hour Division assistant district director Terence J. Trotter in a letter he sent Thursday. Since the passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, San Nicolas said that Labor has been inundated with calls from concerned residents who are wondering how the law affects them.

June 6, 2008

Wage hike cuts into benefits

The recent minimum wage hike in the Commonwealth is forcing many businesses to scale back worker benefits to remain in operation, according to a recent survey of key business leaders. Proponents of the increased wages, set to rise again by 50 cents each year until they meet the federal level, have long said the hike is needed to ensure workers are fairly paid compared to their counterparts on the U.S. mainland. Yet the mandate for higher pay has left some local employers—who are also facing skyrocketing utility costs and decreasing revenues—with little choice but to cut benefits like housing, health care, transportation, meals and other amenities.

Federal officials to descend on NMI

Federal officials are expected to visit in the next few weeks to initial talks on the U.S. government’s imminent takeover of the local immigration control. Pete A. Tenorio, the Commonwealth’s resident representative to Washington, D.C., reported that various federal agencies have begun preliminary discussions about how the “federalization” of CNMI immigration will be applied. Tenorio said the Northern Marianas can expect a team of officials from the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Labor to visit next month to meet with the Fitial administration, the Legislature, and the business community regarding the new immigration law. Gov. Benigno R. Fitial also announced that Department of the Interior officials, including recently appointed.