FLASHBACK October 30, 2000-2002

Wendy’s closes shop today[/B]

In what appears to be a strong indication that the island’s economy has been persistently rallying weakly, international food chain Wendy’s Restaurant is closing its doors to Saipan customers beginning today. Wendy’s International has acknowledged that there is no assurance that such growth will occur or that international operations will be profitable although it has developed the support structure required for international growth. Company officials were not immediately available to comment on the reported closure, but employees confirmed the restaurant will be closed from today on.

House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial on Saturday expressed relief over reports that the U.S. Congress is deferring action on legislation that would raise minimum wage in the CNMI at par with the federal level. But he said the island government would not relax its efforts to block any federal takeover attempt, noting any legislative action in Washington D.C. favorable to the Commonwealth is a result of its lobbying campaign. Reports from the nation’s capital have indicated that measures hiking minimum wage across the country, including the CNMI, are not expected to be passed in the next few weeks because of next month’s U.S. elections.

House rushes budget to Senate[/B]

Reflecting grim predictions of plunging revenues next year, the House of Representatives literally scraped the bottom of the barrel yesterday for a dollar here and a dollar there to pass the revised $206.97 million budget measure for fiscal year 2002. This came about yesterday afternoon, even as the Legislature races against the November 3 elections. Unlike previous budget measures where cuts and increases were substantial enough to matter, House Bill 12-423 largely reflected the submission made by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio on October 24, with cuts on some programs and agencies amounting to no more than a thousand or so. In some instances, the cuts were only a dollar or two.

Authorities have been scouring the King Fisher cliff line and its surrounding areas since Sunday night in search of a man who was reportedly swept into the water by strong waves. A witness, Felix Palacios, told police that he and his friend, Herberto Guillermo Hipolito, were standing by the King Fisher cliff line when fierce waves pushed them into the water. Though Palacios made it back to the cliff line, Hipolito has unfortunately not surfaced since the October 28 incident. Police officers Anthony Diaz, Stanley Patris and Patrick Togawa, in a preliminary report, said they responded to the distress call and combed the As Teo cliff line waters on board the Department of Public Safety vessel Zodiac II.

Mayor to endorse AT Awareness Month[/B]

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela will endorse November as Assistive Technology Awareness Month during a ceremony scheduled at 9am today at the Multi-Purpose Center, the CNMI Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities announced yesterday. AT project coordinator Celia B. Lamkin said a series of activities that would benefit individuals with disabilities, as well as senior citizens, will be held during the observance of the AT Awareness Month. Lamkin added that the events would also raise awareness on the importance of assistive technology equipment and services for children, students and elders with disabilities.

The woman who nearly drowned at the waters off the Bird Island Sanctuary Saturday was seriously injured that she had to be admitted at the Commonwealth Health Center’s intensive care unit, police said yesterday. The woman, identified as Emerenciana D. Chinen, reportedly had water in her lungs and was suffering from lack of oxygen flow to the brain as a result of the drowning incident. Police spokesman Lt. Pete Muna said the victim and her companions were walking on the reef to the island when a strong current caused her to fall onto the waters.
A companion tried to grab the victim’s hand but failed to immediately rescue the victim. Another companion, a certain Dani Hosek, jumped to the waters and held the victim who was floating face down, police said.