Flashback July 21, 1999-2003

PSS bats for $48 million[/B]

Asking for a budget level that is more than what the administration said it can afford may be a struggle against defeat, but education officials are keeping their fingers crossed. At yesterday’s Board of Education meeting, officials agreed to try to convince the Legislature that the Public School System needs to get $48 million for fiscal year 2000.

The Public School System’s application for the Federal Communication Commission’s Universal Service Program, also known as the educational rate (E-rate), has been approved, a PSS official said yesterday. Federal program coordinator Bill Matson said PSS has been notified by federal authorities that the CNMI’s forms have been accepted, and that the “funding letter” would be out soon.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has asked Korea’s Ministry of Construction and Transportation to grant the request of Korean Airlines to provide a Seoul-Saipan direct service to boost traffic and revive the CNMI’s ailing tourism economy. Visitor arrivals from Korea drastically declined after the pullout of Korean Air in August 1997 due to the tragic crash on nearby island Guam and the plunge of the Korean economy amid Asia’s financial crisis.

Omnibus bill OK’d[/B]

Holding back-to-back sessions early last night, the Legislature finally cleared a compromise proposal on the Omnibus Labor and Business Reform Act which both houses hammered out with the Tenorio administration. HB 12-39 now heads to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for his signature, five months since the legislation, sponsored by Speaker Benigno R. Fitial, was introduced in the lower house as one of its key economic measures.

The House of Representatives yesterday began the process of reforming the islands’ taxation system with a bill introduced by Speaker Benigno R. Fitial seeking to implement a flat tax rate scheme similar to those being proposed in the U.S. Congress. This will help revamp the current local tax code which lawmakers describe as “complex, inefficient, unfriendly to the creation of new jobs and business, punitive to existing workers and businesses, and unfair in its multiple tax rate structure.”

DOF releases more rebate checks today

There is something Northern Marianas workers should be happy about: the second batch of rebate and refund checks will be released by the Revenue and Taxation Division of the finance department this weekend. Finance officials said some of the checks were mailed Thursday morning and should be in the post office boxes of the taxpayers by today. DOF last week released the first batch of 1999 income tax refunds and rebates, which total 9,213 ITRs.

CDC: NMI has 2 new AIDS cases[/B]

The CNMI has recorded two cases of AIDS this year, based on a latest report by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention. In its July 4, 2003, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Atlanta-based CDC listed two cumulative AIDS cases for the CNMI under 2003.

It’s back to normal for the Group Health and Life Insurance subscribers who are seeking off-island medical treatment. NMI Retirement Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes confirmed the good news Friday, saying that Group Health’s third-party administrator, Hawaii Pacific Medical Referral, has lifted the suspension of the pre-certification for members-a ne-cessary process for subscribers so that they would not be asked to pay up-front when they go to an on-island or off-island hospital. Reyes said that HPMR lifted the suspension effective July 1.

Reflecting a stunning recovery, the NMI Retirement Fund’s international investments grew to $325.49 million in June, ending the second quarter with $35.84 million more than the first quarter earnings. Investment figures provided by Merrill Lynch shows the Fund’s investments in June surging past the $289.64 million posted in March-the end of the first quarter-reflecting a 12.4-percent growth that outpaced all expectations.