Flashback — Aug. 1999-Aug. 2001

MHS gets full accreditation[/B]

The Marianas High School, the only public high school on Saipan, has received a six-year term accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accrediting Commission for Schools. Six years is equivalent to a full-term award, the longest that a school can get from WASC. Another public school which recently received a full-term accreditation from the commission was Garapan Elementary School. “This is the first time MHS has received such an award,” according to principal Jim Denight. “It is evident that MHS students, faculty and staff are among the best in the region. MHS will continue to offer every opportunity to improve the quality of education for its students,” Denight added.

The Bank of Saipan, executor of the Hillblom Estate, seeks to end its responsibilities over the multi-million estate left by Larry Hillblom, the American millionaire who died in a 1995 plane crash. Attorneys for BoS notified the court about the Executor’s plan to file a comprehensive plan to close administration of the Estate, which involves, among other things, the distribution of all remaining noncash and cash assets according to the Heirship Settlement Agreement. “All remaining claims by and against the Estate either have been resolved or in the case of Bassam Jabr Prince Saud, should be resolved shortly,” BoS said in a petition filed in the court Friday.

Gov’t seeks funding to pay health providers[/B]

Local officials are racing against time to come up with the much needed amount to settle its unpaid account with two health providers im Hawaii amid threats that the latter will no longer accept patients referred by government’s insurance group. The NMI Retirement Fund’s health insurance owes Honolulu-based Straub Clinic & Hospital and Queen’s Medical Center $2 million and $1.8 million, respectively, for the services they have rendered over the years. The two health providers have warned that they will refuse patients from the Northern Marianas unless the Fund’s health insurance immediately pays its debt. But while the Fund is hoping to raise money to settle the account, the government’s health insurance has detected some discrepancies in the billings provided by Straub.

The Department of Public Health has lifted the tuberculin skin testing requirement for school children following the recommendation by The American Thoracic Society, Center for Disease Control and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “Screening of low-risk persons is discouraged because it diverts resources from activities of higher priority. In addition, a substantial proportion of tuberculin-test-positive persons from low-risk populations may have false-positive skin tests,” the national guideline on tuberculin testing said. However, the immunization program requiring children to take vaccinations in polio, measles, influenza, etc. on the island remains unchanged.
[B] Aug. 23, 2001

$200K approved for road projects[/B]

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday approved the appropriation of $200,000 for various road projects in Precinct I identified under House Local Bill 12-37. Tenorio said HLB 12-37, now Saipan Local Law 12-17, can expeditiously provide for the improvement projects following confirmations made by the finance department that there is an adequate money to fund the projects including the paving of As Perdido Road to Leon Camacho and Andersina Villagomez Roads. The $200,000 allocation will be taken from the fees collected under Saipan Local Law 12-17 or the Local Poker Fees.

The CNMI government has been asked to initiate programs that would build up a strong local labor force to pave the way for a reduced cost of doing business in the Northern Marianas, thereby, helping the Commonwealth mitigate current investor climate constraints. According to a government economic report, building a local labor force would minimize the islands’ dependence on skilled nonresident workers. The report said although labor cost in the CNMI, as seen by American investors, is low, Asian businessmen who are more likely to infuse fresh capital into the CNMI looks at current figures as high.