Flashback October 29, 1999-2002

US Army engineers arrive[/B]

A Honolulu-based contractor hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin installing plastic sheets and crushed stones today to cover the area contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a cancer-causing chemical present at the Lower Base Cemetery.

According to Frank Ono, civil engineer of the Army Corps, installation of the temporary cap is expected to be finished on Saturday. Ono is here to oversee the work done by the contractor who flew in from Hawaii.

A day after Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio ordered the closure of the Lower Base cemetery, people still troop to the site to spruce up the graveyard of their relatives in time for All Soul’s Day.

It was a wish granted 50 years late, but for Juan Camacho Cabrera it was the happiest day of his life.

“I am very happy. I have been waiting for this all my life,” he said after being recognized officially by the U.S. government for his military service during World War II.

Cabrera was among 50 Northern Marianas civilians who finally got their dues during a ceremony held yesterday at the Legislature. A dozen other survivors and families of those who are no longer here to see this day attended the event.

CUC kills 60MW power plant project [/B]

It took a long time to die but on Friday, the proposed 60-megawatt power plant project on Saipan gave a last gasp and expired.

In a unanimous vote, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s Board of Directors voted to cancel the project in light of the worsening economic condition and the determination that CUC’s power needs can be addressed in a much less expensive approach.

The cancellation of the power plant project directly arose from the move of the board to accept the recommendations made by Burns & McDonnel, a power consulting firm, which was also the same company that initially recommended the power plant project in a 1999 study.

CUC Executive Director Timothy Villagomez said he commissioned the consulting firm to update the 1999 study, so that the Board will be able to act based on objective and professional advice.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio and the governors of three other US insular areas on Friday appealed to the US Senate that their territories be included in the $100-billion economic stimulus plan that was passed by the House on Thursday.

A joint letter from the CNMI, Guam, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands urged the Senate to address the insular areas’ unique needs in the stimulus package.

“Our islands have been especially hard hit by the downturn in the economy since the September 11 tragedy,” part of the letter read. “We do not have the safety nets the [other] states have to cushion the effects of the economic crisis.”

FAA takes over Saipan airport[/B]

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to officially implement its rollout program at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport midnight of October 29, 2002, as federal screeners take charge of all checkpoint areas at the air transport facility.

Security program at the Saipan airport is now 100 percent under the federal government, with newly hired screeners immediately dispatched at the airport’s departure area.

“The airport is now fully federalized and screeners handling the inspection are all federal government agents. The FAA is now in full control of the airport,” Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Carlos H. Salas said.