Flashback – March 1999-2003

CNMI must mitigate bad publicity with PR: Wiseman[/B]

An official of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce yesterday urged members to decide infavor of a request to join a non-profit organization recently established to pursue the immediate hiring of a public relations firm that will defend the CNMI amid relentless attacks abroad which may bring irreparable damage to its image in the international community. Emphasizing the urgency of engaging the services of a PR firm, David Wiseman, chairman of the government relations committee, said this will counter the bad publicity brought about by the filing of a $1 billion lawsuit in California and Saipan. Garment factory workers who filed the case against manufacturers and buyers alleged rampant labor abuses here which led to the negative media publicity describing the CNMI as a slave island.

A public hearing will be held on a proposed legislation seeking to change the open migration policy on citizens of the Freely Associated States entering the CNMI which is viewed as an attempt to deal with growing strain on public funds and infrastructure. The town meeting comes on the heels of mounting support for the proposal from government agencies that have expressed concern on the impact of unrestrained entry of FAS citizens on the limited resources of the island. Rep. Melvin Faisao, sponsor of the bill pending before the House of Representatives, said the hearing is necessary to gather inputs from the people on potential implication of the proposal on existing laws as well as CNMI relations with other Micronesian islands.

Benavente named to ‘902’ talks[/B]

Gov. Juan N. Babauta has appointed Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente to represent the Commonwealth in the upcoming “Section 902” discussions with the federal government. In a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush dated February 26, Babauta also urged Bush to appoint his own representative who will speak for the President during the negotiations. It would seem, however, that Babauta was actually referring to Section 702 of the Covenant and not Section 902. In his letter, Babauta referred to Section 902 of the Covenant but on another part of the letter, he made reference to the continuation of the multi-year financial assistance to the Northern Mariana Islands.

An experimental partnership between the Mount Carmel School Theatre Club and the Seventh Day Adventist Real Christian Theater gave life to a simple but stirring production depicting Christian values in the backdrop of contemporary times. Dubbed as “Point of Impact,” the joint production staged at the Kagman Community Center over the weekend portrayed spiritual lessons that audiences were able to relate to. The four-act play written and directed by Sean Maycock and Galvin Deleon Guerrero sent audiences laughing and more importantly, reflecting on the unforgettable lessons interpreted by the actors on stage.

MPLA board drops lawsuit vs Atalig[/B]

The Marianas Public Lands Authority Board of Directors has decided to drop a land-grabbing lawsuit it filed against former judge and now board member Pedro Atalig. Government authorities said yesterday that the board has met and decided to withdraw the case, which was filed against Atalig prior to his appointment to the board. Atalig was appointed to the MPLA board during the previous administration despite the pending lawsuit. The current board’s decision came even as the trial on the case is scheduled to begin in August this year.

Dodd wants to be free

After spending almost two years in jail, Michael James Dodd—the former Oleai Elementary School teacher who was convicted last year of sexual child abuse charges—wants to be free. Dodd is initiating a new legal maneuver, this time by withdrawing his appeal from the CNMI Supreme Court and signifying his intention to secure a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioning for the writ is a procedure to get the court’s opinion on the legality of one’s incarceration. In federal law, the writ tests whether a conviction complies with the Constitutional mandate of due process. “The appellant’s relief relies in the fact that his confession, which led to his guilty plea, was obtained in violation of his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which applies the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and [a provision of] the CNMI Constitution,” said Reynaldo O. Yana, Dodd’s new counsel.