FLASHBACK February 12, 1999-2002

House OKs CIP plan
[/B] In a bid to jump-start the sluggish economy, the House of Representatives yesterday set in motion a plan of the CNMI government to tap millions of dollars in federal funding after members passed a legislation to appropriate close to $23 million for Capital Improvement Projects. This represents the first batch of projects under a recently drafted CIP master plan outlining 50 priority projects on Saipan, Tinian and Rota which will cost about $154 million over a seven-year period. House Bill 11-380, filed by Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes, has identified some $11.46 million from local revenues to match an equal amount provided by the federal government to finance the massive infrastructure development in the commonwealth.

The House of Representatives held its second successive session yesterday to follow up on unfinished agenda last Wednesday. Several bills were passed and resolutions were adopted. Because it is election year, a House joint resolution adopted during the four-hour session sought the creation of six additional full-time employees at the Board of Elections for the midterm elections in November. Rep. Heinz Hofschneider assured representatives that the adoption will not have a force of law as it will be up to the Tenorio administration whether to hire additional employees for BOE to properly perform its duties.

FAA cites need to install tighter security measures[/B]

Small islands like the Northern Marianas and Guam can be used by international terrorists as transit point to launch destructive activities in major Asian countries, as well as in Australia and the mainland United States. Federal Aviation Administration Security Liaison Officer Donald A. Slechta disclosed that although the Pacific Region is less likely to be the target of international terrorists, it can be the hopping point of agitators bound for other countries Terrorists who target bigger countries like the mainland US can easily travel from one island nation to another armed with fictitious documents and falsified travel papers.

It was an upbeat atmosphere at the Senate with the session hall gallery filled with spectators— which has not been the usual case—hoping to witness history unfold late Friday morning. An announcement from Senate President Paul A. Manglona minutes after the session was officially called to order transformed the upbeat mood into waves of frustrations and disappointments, as it rendered the gallery literally empty. The Senate has decided to delay the confirmation of lawyer David S. Wiseman’s nomination as Superior Court associate judge, pending the conduct of a public hearing by the he powerful Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations.

In accidental shooting, Benavente, 6 others charged[/B]

The Attorney General’s Office has filed formal charges against Anthony Tenorio Benavente and six other individuals who allegedly participated in a target shooting practice the day a seven-year-old girl was fatally shot on the head in Talofofo last month. Among the defendants, Benavente, 39, was levied with more serious charges, to include involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault and battery, resulting from the death of the accidental shooting victim, who happened to be his niece.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta yesterday announced a slew of new appointments and nominees to his official family, including four Cabinet-level nominees and two special assistants. The new Cabinet nominees are Commerce Secretary Frank Villanueva, who will be assuming a new post as Secretary of the Department of Finance; former congressman Thomas B. Pangelinan, who was appointed Secretary of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources; John L. Babauta as Secretary of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs; and former congressman John S. Reyes as Secretary of the Department of Public Works. All four will have to undergo Senate confirmation before their appointments become official. Rudolfo M. Pua was also appointed Director of the Emergency Management Office, while Florence Kirby was appointed Special Assistant for Youth Affairs.