Flashback July 04, 2000-2002

[B]July 04, 2000

Teno hikes FY 2001 budget[/B]

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday hiked up spending level of the courts and the Legislature for the next fiscal year after chopping off initial appropriation for repayment of the anticipated $60 million bond by the government. Because of the increase, total funding for government operations for FY 2001 is now pegged at $217.25 million which is up by one million dollars from the initial budget proposal submitted by the governor last April.

[B]Enron, CUC to finalize deal[/B]

Negotiations between the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation and Texas-based Enron on a final deal on the controversial Saipan power project are expected to begin in the next few weeks as CUC concludes its search for legal counsels. The government-owned utility firm has also begun addressing protests lodged against conditional grant of the estimated $120 million contract to Enron with letters sent to other bidders informing them of the development, according to officials.

[B]CPA seeks FAA help on flight pattern concerns[/B]

The Commonwealth Ports Authority is seeking the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration in resolving concerns raised on the takeoff and landing patterns of aircraft flying between Saipan and West Tinian International Airports. “We are in the process of consulting with FAA through Guam CERAP and the Flight Standards Office on this matter. Correspondingly, our ability to resolve these concerns depends on their answers,” said Ports Authority Executive Director Carlos H. Salas.

[B]July 04, 2001

NMI faces higher power rates
[/B] The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is considering raising power rates, as it continues to suffer from an operating deficit of nearly $3 million. The deficit, which CUC claimed to be triggered by rising fuel prices, has weakened its financial position by $6 million compared to the same period last year.

[B]Guest workers can stay longer in CNMI[/B]

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday gave a significant pre-Liberation Day present to all non-resident workers in the Commonwealth-the suspension of the three-year stay limit law. After months of anticipation, and public pronouncements about his intention, Tenorio yesterday signed into law the bill suspending the implementation of Public Law 11-69 to permit a thorough assessment of its potential impact on the Commonwealth.

[B]Headstart may take kinder pupils[/B]

The CNMI Headstart Program is willing to absorb students from the Kindergarten Program but would need the Public School System to provide necessary mechanisms to support the undertaking. Headstart Program Director Dino Taitano, in an interview, yesterday expressed support for a plan by the Board of Education Fiscal and Personnel Committee to transfer five-year-old pupils to Headstart in the event that the Kindergarten Program is terminated in school year 2001-2002.

[B]July 04, 2002

LibDay festivities all set—unless Chataan intervenes[/B]

It’s a celebration of freedom today as the CNMI commemorate the 56th year of the Northern Marianas’ liberation from almost 400 years of colonial rule. “The liberation of our people 56 years ago is a significant milestone. It marks a beginning, after almost 400 years of colonial rule, that we, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands were afforded the opportunity to determine our own political destiny,” said Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente in their official public message.

[B]PSS bares baseline data from locally-drafted Reading test[/B]

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita H. Inos said the Public School System now holds baseline data that’s seen to erase “guessing” in the PSS’ continued efforts to improve student achievement-with the newly released results of the locally-made standards-based Reading assessment conducted on 4th, 8th and 11th graders. The PSS Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Office briefed the Board of Education yesterday on the results that illustrated both the strong and weak points of students in the selected grade levels.