Flashback November 15, 1999-2001

Legislators slam Woodruff [/B]

The Senate balked at an attempt by its legal counsel to press approval of a resolution that will authorize him to take legal action against any court decision disqualifying lawyer Joseph Arriola from representing private defendants due to the latter’s contract with the Legislature.

Senate legal counsel Steve Woodruff was admonished by some senators for his insistence to push the legislative measure, noting that it contains provisions which may create “more conflict” with the executive branch.

Woodruff told a session Friday that “time is off the essence” in adopting the resolution in light of the court’s inclination to grant the Attorney General’s Office’s motion to disqualify Arriola from defending clients charged with illegal gambling.

Outer Cove lease faces termination[/B]

The House transportation committee will propose termination of the current lease on the controversial Outer Cove Marina in a move intended to bail out Marine Revitalization Corp. from its present financial woes.

Committee chair Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho said a bill is set to be filed within the next few days mapping out the plan following review of pending legislation.

The forthcoming measure will be a substitute to the proposal regulating boat traffic in the Saipan lagoon which was introduced in the lower house amid disputes between MRC, boat owners and tour operators.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio approved changes to the recently-signed law against spousal abuse and family violence, clarifying questionable provisions raised earlier by Superior Court Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan.

Key amendments he favored as provided under Public Law 12-30, which he signed yesterday, included elimination of clerical assistance by the court in filing motions like restraining order as well as reinstatement of court fees in seeking such judicial relief.

These, however, are not expected to deter the implementation of PL 12-19, otherwise known as the “Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Act of 2000,” which the governor signed last September, according to advocates.

NMI delegates in NY for bioterrorism conference[/B]

Ten CNMI delegates to this week’s bioterrorism conference in New York were among the victims of an anthrax scare before their boarded plane took off from Honolulu to the US mainland.

But Health Secretary Joseph Kevin P. Villagomez immediately said that none of the delegates were infected with anthrax since the suspicious substance on the plane turned out to be just a spice used in Indian delicacies.

“The flight got delayed by about an hour or an hour and a half,” Villagomez said. “When the substance was checked, the laboratory personnel confirmed that it was from a spice from some Indian recipe.”

Stung by allegations that it is not qualified to take on the Marpi Solid Waste project, Pacific Drilling Ltd. insisted that it is more than qualified to handle the infrastructure work.

PDL General Manager Ravindra Gogineni told reporters yesterday that, contrary to the statement issued by the legal counsel of the Western Equipment Inc.-DRC Pacific Inc., PDL meets all the necessary and minimum qualification to handle the proposed landfill.

PDL, in consortium with Dick Pacific Construction, is competing with WEI-DRC for the landfill project. The Division of Procurement and Supplies had already announced its intent to award the project to DPC-PDL. WEI-DRC had protested, bringing the matter to the Office of the Public Auditor. On November 9, the OPA issued its report, granting in parts the appeal filed by WEI-DRC and remanding the case back to P&S.