Flashback October 25,1999-2001

Automatic takeover[/B]

Legislation extending federal immigration laws to the Northern Marianas will be automatically implemented once Congress and the U.S. President approve the proposal, according to the amendments to the bill drafted by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The panel, which deals with island issues, scrapped provisions on Senate Bill 1052 that would have provided the island government a legal means to contest in the court a federal takeover of its immigration functions.

It also removed the authority granted to the U.S. Attorney General under the first draft of the proposal to investigate into the CNMI’s immigration conditions for one year prior to recommending extension of federal laws.

It was a two-hour breakfast meeting that did not really accomplish anything. Business leaders and Office of Insular Affairs Director Danny Aranza disagreed on the basic issue at hand—Washington’s move to federalize labor and immigration.

With the threat of a federal takeover hovering above their heads, the Northern Marianas will not be able to entice new investors and current businesses will hold off expansion plans, said Lynn Knight, vice president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

“We told him that businesses are dying and that the U.S. government’s policy is not helping us at all,” said Ron Sablan, president of the Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands.
[B] October 25, 2000

Local business group lobbies vs. wage hike[/B]

Pointing out the persistent instability of the Northern Marianas economy, a newly-established organization comprised mainly of indigenous businessmen has joined local efforts to block the proposed United States-wide adjustment of minimum wage.

The CNMI Indigenous Entrepreneurs, Incorporated raised its concerns on the anticipated adverse impacts of the proposed increase in minimum wage to business community in the Northern Marianas.

Businesses on the islands now suffer from slow return of investments due to changes in consumer spending habits spurred primarily by major decline in the visitor industry.

A group of CNMI officials and lawmakers is flying today to Tokyo to meet with Japanese officials and lawmakers in an effort to boost economic ties and bring more investments into the Northern Marianas.

“I hope this trip will produce some economic benefits for the CNMI,” House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial told reporters in an interview with reporters yesterday.

He said Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio will head the delegation that also includes members of the Legislature. The group is expected to return on Friday.

Among those scheduled to take part in the three-day visit are House Commerce and Tourism Committee chair Rep. Bobby T. Guerrero, Federal and Foreign Relations Committee chair Rep. Norman S. Palacios and Rep. Malua T. Peter.

82% of tour reservations canceled[/B]

Over 82 percent of tour packages originally scheduled for October and November had been canceled, painting a gloomier picture for the local tourism industry.

This, as Japan Airlines registered a 32 to 40 percent decline in load factor since the September 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Nikko Hotel-Saipan General Manager Kazuo Kinoshita said Japanese and Korean travelers—CNMI’s largest markets—have been advised to halt travel plans amid the growing terrorism scare.