Flashback – March 2000-March 2002

Mar. 14, 2000

Hillblom heirs settle $1.5M claims

The heirs of the late business tycoon Larry Hillblom have settled claims of a lawyer suing for arbitration and bad faith litigation, agreeing to pay him and his clients over $1.5 million. Junior Larry Hillbroom, his guardian Naoko Imeong, Milagros Feliciano, her mother Mercedita; and their lawyers reached the settlement agreement with James E. Hollman, who is guardian to claimant Vo Minh Tan, according to the U.S. District Court. Federal Judge Alex R. Munson approved the deal yesterday, but ordered to keep the settlement reached with Junior Larry under seal.

CRM opposes proposal on hotels’ ‘exclusive rights’

The Coastal Resources Management has opposed the passage of a proposed measure which would allow the hotels to have “exclusive rights” to their beachfront. In a letter to the Rep. Dino Jones, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, CRM acting Director Peter J. Barlas said all activities within the “beachfront property” zone fall under the jurisdiction of his agency. “All activities in this zone will require a CRM permit, hence, no development rights may be inferred or granted with any lease,” said Mr. Barlas. Currently, all hotels are under the supervision of CRM since all the permits granted to these establishments were given conditions in their permits requiring them to maintain the shoreline and dispose of trash and refuse everyday.

Mar. 14, 2001

CUC stands pat on disconnection order

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has reiterated that power supply in all government offices on Tinian and Rota will remain disconnected unless payments are made. This came in a form of a directive addressed to utility officials on Tinian and Rota, who were reminded that CUC regulations require that payments should be made before any service is restored. As a result of this directive, government operations on Rota and Tinian remain interrupted until yesterday despite commitments made by the finance department to set aside $800,000 monthly flat-rate utility payments.

New Taiwan scholarship fund for Pacific students

Pacific Islands students are to benefit from a new scholarship scheme funded by Taiwan/ROC later this year, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding today at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva. “This scholarship scheme recognizes the important role of education,” said the Secretary General of the Forum Secretariat, Mr. Noel Levi, CBE, during the brief ceremony. Mr. Levi told the head of Taiwan/ROC’s trade office in Fiji, Mr. C.K. Ning, that the scholarship scheme would benefit the region by enhancing its ability to meet the challenges of modern life.

Mar. 14, 2002

Ada: CARPI fund issue not decided yet

Rep. Martin B. Ada strongly denied a news report (not Saipan Tribune), which quoted him as saying that members of the Commonwealth Association of Retired Persons Inc. cannot sit on the NMI Retirement Fund’s Board of Trustees. Ada, who is chairman of the House Committee on Judicial and Government Operations, said the panel has no specific position yet on the matter as House Bills 13-28 and 13-18 have both been tabled by the committee and are still under review. House Bill 13-28, authored by Rep. Andrew S. Salas, seeks to reserve one seat in the seven-member Board of Trustees for the CARPI, while House Bill 13-18, introduced by House Floor Leader Jesus T. Attao, aims to increase the number of Board seats to eight to accommodate a CARPI appointee.

Embezzling lands ex-director in jail

A former Labor and Immigration director was sentenced Tuesday to three months imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty before the US District Court to having used government resources in placing overseas personal phone calls amounting to over $16,000 between 1998 to 2000. Chief Judge Alex R. Munson, during a sentencing hearing, further ordered former DOLI-Tinian resident director Antonio Boki Evangelista, 39, to pay $19,683.96 in restitution to the Division of Revenue and Taxation. As part of his sentence, the defendant will undergo three years of supervised release. Last August 2001, Evangelista, aided by court-appointed counsel Brien Sers Nicolas, agreed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enter a guilty plea on one count of “theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.”