Flashback October 10, 2000-2002

[B]October 10, 2000

Investors pledge $25M on shooting resort[/B]

In what could be the biggest tourism investment in the Northern Marianas after so many years, a newly-formed business corporation comprised mostly of Korean business players is embarking on its first multi-million dollar project to develop an international shooting resort in the CNMI. Union Rich Saipan, a development company that’s also planning to build major commercial infrastructures on the islands, is prepared to invest over $25 million for the construction of “shooting resorts,” said its company Chief Executive Officer Se-ung Kim.

[B]Garment industry pours $80M into CNMI coffers[/B]

The garment industry provided over a third of the total revenues of the government in 1999, or nearly $80 million of the taxes and fees collected in the CNMI, according to the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association. Based on preliminary statistics, SGMA said of the total amount, $42 million were collected in users fees paid by garment manufacturers as well as $17 million in wage and salary taxes.

[B]Independent public lands’ office proposed[/B]

Due to potential conflict in administering scarce land resources by the government, lawmakers have moved to grant greater autonomy to the Division of Public Lands and the Board of Public Lands under legislation amending existing law. The House of Representatives last week paved the way to separate the two key agencies from the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, citing “inherent conflict” with the current set-up.

[B]October 10, 2001

Teno: Don’t be afraid[/B]

With alert levels at their highest since the Gulf War, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio sought to assure people in the CNMI that steps are now being taken to ensure their safety and security, in the wake of the US attack on Afghanistan. “I would like to assure the members of the community that we’re working very closely with the Department of Public Safety and all the other agencies here in the CNMI and we also continue to meet with officials of federal agencies to update us on what is going on,” Tenorio said.

[B]US Navy: No imminent threat of bioterrorism in the Pacific[/B]

The United States Navy yesterday said there is no imminent threat of a biological weapons attack by terrorists in the entire Pacific region, including the CNMI. This, even as the CNMI was placed on the highest level of alert after local law enforcement officials met with Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio Monday, right after the US and its allies launched their attacks on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, which reportedly coddles terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

[B]PSS’ student-teacher ratio high at 21:1[/B]

Public elementary schools are thriving on an average of 21:1 student-teacher ratio this school year, according to a newly-released report by the Public School System’s Human Resources Office. Based on the PSS’ latest staffing data prepared by Human Resources Officer Charlie Kentey, there are 21.5 students per one teacher in public grade schools as of October 3, 2001.

[B]October 10, 2002

Senate ‘raid’ raises questions FBI involvement[/B]

Still stunned a day after FBI agents raided his Saipan Legislative Office over allegations of misconduct, Rota Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig had lingering questions he wants answered: One, why was the FBI involved? And two, why were he and Tinian Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz singled out among other Senate members? Atalig, who was on Rota when federal agents searched his Saipan office, expressed confusion over the foray, saying if the investigation was really about the employment of Dela Cruz’s daughter, then why was the FBI in the picture?

[B]Exemption from ports strike sought[/B]

Hours after a federal judge approved President Bush’s request to reopen West Coast ports, local political and business leaders agreed to write separate letters to the president, the Department of the Interior and the dockworkers’ union to ask for an exemption for the CNMI from the strike. At the same time, the Babauta administration is asking the business community and the public to refrain from price gouging and hoarding as these will only further deepen the impact of the ports lockout on the fragile CNMI economy.