Saipan Writer

Voting on Initiatives--one by one-#3.

2009-11-05T12:12:00.004+10:00

Public Initiative to extend the Open Government Act (OGA) to apply to the Legislature. I don't have a link to the full text. If someone has that, please let me know.

This is the initiative spearheaded by Rep. Tina Sablan.
It changes the law as follows:

1. deletes the exception for the Legislature in the OGA
2. that means, the Legislature will have to prepare agendas, give notice 72hours in advance of sessions, allow public comment, and respond within 10 days to requests for public records;
3. there is an exception to the 72 hour notice requirement for emergencies, provided the reasons for calling the session emergency are stated in writing, 2/3 of the members agree it is an emergency, and there is an emergency agenda, etc. that eventually gets filed in the public record.

The pros are obvious--we get a more transparent government and greater ability to participate in our democracy.

There seem to be no cons in my opinion.

The OGA originally applied to the Legislature; there seems to be little reason it can't apply now.

The CEC brochure on the OGA initiative lists some cons that I'll address.

* The 72 hour notice would require new notice if discussion is continued over to another day. Really? I don't think so. I don't know of any legal opinion that supports this interpretation. In courts of law, when notice is required, if it's given and the matter is conintued, no new notice is generally required.

* If the Legislature mistakenly fails to give proper notice the act is null and void. Yes. This is not a con--this is good. We want all of our Legislators in on the process; we want the public to know about it. We want to stop secrecy and lies and quick deals behind closed doors that do not face public scrutiny.

* The 2/3rds rule may be hard to obtain in times of emergency. I think this could be true, but I also think that this rule is designed to prevent false "emergency" declarations--like we're seeing all the time from the executive branch. To me, this is not so much a "con" to the amendment as a reason to do some planning. I think the Legislature can and should prepare some contingency plans for dealing with emergencies, having participation by cell phone, etc.

* Requiring notice will decrease the likelihood that legislators will meet outside of committee members to discuss matters. This is pure B.S. The rule applies to official meetings--not informal discussions between legislators.

* The legislators and their assistants will have bigger workloads. Another piece of B.S. Paper or electronic notice is not significantly difficult; and the potential input from legislators who are prepared because they got notice, and from the public, means that we'll have a better chance to have good laws that won't need amending every few months.

For me, this is a really clear and very much needed amendment--This is a vote yes on the public initiative to extend the OGA to apply to the Legislature.

Voting on Initiatives--one by one-#4

2009-11-05T11:20:00.004+10:00

Yes, I know. I've skipped #3 (the Open Government Act initiative). I haven't gotten to it yet. But thought I should post what I can.

Senate Legislative Initiative 16-11 (S.L.I. 16-11) has the same number as H.L.I. but is entirely separate and different. Not to be confused by the 16-11--be sure to check out the pre-fix.

S.L.I. 16-11 amends Article VIII, section 1 of the CNMI Constitution.

It makes the following changes:

1. It changes the day of elections in the CNMI from Saturdays to Tuesdays.
2. It sets all elections in only even-numbered years.
3. It adjusts terms of elected public officials to make sure the respective positions are filled until the next election in an even-numbered year. It does this by adding a year to terms, where necessary.
4. The next regular general election would be in 2012. The next governor's election would be 2014.

As noted in the CEC pamphlet on pros and cons, this means the governor we elect in this election, will have a 5 year term, the legislators will have 3 year terms, senators will have 5 year terms, and mayors will have 5 year terms.

It also means that we will not be having elections every year; will save money on the cost of elections; will not be hearing election "music" every year; and will have our elections more closely to the same time as elections in the U.S.

I do prefer Saturdays for elections. I think they provide greater opportunity for people to vote. But nothing in this Constitutional provision prohibits the Legislature from passing some type of law that mandates that all employers give at least one hour (or more) during the work day to their employees for the purpose of facilitating their ability to cast a ballot in the election.

And the cost savings, along with less election hoopla, seems to me a real bonus.

I'm pretty sure the even years were chosen because of federal elections, and now that we have a federal delegate, this will also enable us to coordinate CNMI elections with that election as well.

(I may regret this, especially if Benigno Fitial or Juan Pan wins the governor's position, but) In general, I would vote yes on this S.L.I. 16-11.

Voting on Initiatives-one by one-#2

2009-11-05T10:45:00.006+10:00

House Legislative Initiative 16-11 (H.L.I. 16-11) Amends Article III, section 9 (a) of the CNMI Constitution. Introduced by Diego T. Benavente, Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, Ed Salas and Ray Yumul.

It makes the following changes:
1. deletes the language that provides for budget allocation at the same level as the previous year when no balanced budget is approved before the first day of the fiscal year.

2. provides that no money shall be drawn for government operations without a budget;

3. makes an exception to the no money rule for "certain government services and employees ...as provided by law... essential to the health safety, and welfare of the people... and to protect against damage to and destruction of property."

4. mandates that the Governor submit a balanced budget proposal to the Legislature by 4/1; and suspends his salary if he doesn't and until he does'

5. suspends the legislature's salary if they don't pass a balanced budget by 10/1 until they do pass one.

I've got to admit to having mixed feelings about this proposal. And to feeling that this type of issue is beyond my ability to figure out. Liberal minds differ on the need for this type of "balanced budget" requirement for state governments.

It seems extreme. It would also require quick legislative action to determine what essential services would remain in effectin the absence of a budget.

Is maintaining property a call to keep DPW workers on staff? What about parks and rec people? And the guys who hang out at the Multi-Purpose Center, sweeping the parking lot and making sure the building is clean?

Would the need to meet the deadline add more pressure for Saipan Senators to cave in to demands from the minority populations on Tinian and Rota?

It seems we have money problems, but don't we need more open government and transparency to see where the money is going, how much we've got from all sources, and some prosecutions for mishandling of funds? Would these tools provide the benefits we need?

Or do we really need this more drastic approach.

Part of me thinks the salaries should be held when people aren't doing their jobs. But what if the decision to vote against a proposed budget is made in good conscience?

I'm undecided on this H.L.I. 16-11.

EDIT: There is no link to the CEC pamphlet on pros and cons in this blog post because the CEC site doesn't have it up; their link is mistakenly tied to S.L.I. 16-11, not H.L.I. 16-11. But you can find the pros and cons for this H.L.I. 16-11 in the CEC's Voters Manual, at page 3.

Voting on the Initiatives--one by one-#1.

2009-11-05T09:37:00.006+10:00

If we're going to muck around with amendments to a document as important as the CNMI Constitution, we surely should know what we're voting on.

So in an effort to educate myself, I'm posting about these initiatives here. feel free to comment and add your own perspectives.

House Legislative Initiative 15-3. Introduced by Justo S. Quitugua. Passed in the house on 5/16/2007; in the Senate on 8/16/2007.

This changes Article XV of the CNMI Constitution as follows:
1. adds the language "high school student" as a defining criteria for one of the non-voting ex-officio members to the BOE.

The effect of this change is to exclude NMC students from the position. Is it better to hear from a high school student or an NMC student? I can see value in both. Without the language, either could be appointed. With it--only a high school student can be appointed.

2. deletes the language to select a teacher member from "an exclusive bargaining representative" within the "Department of Education" to just selecting one teacher from PSS; and adds that the selection process shall be established by law.

The effect of this change is to the selection process from one in the control of the teachers to a political choice. Presumably the Legislature could decide that the Governor should appoint the representative; or that the Commissioner of Education should do it; or that only former Teachers of the Year are eligible for the post. or any number of selection criteria could be included, including speaking indigenous language (I think this unlikely) or residency on island for a certain number of years or who knows what.

If the reason for having a teacher on the advisory board is to hear their perspective, it makes a lot of sense to let teachers have a voice in selecting that representative. It makes no sense to make it a political choice.

3. adds term limits to the elected board members. This means that no BOE board member may hold office for more than two terms. It's not clear if this means only 2 consecutive terms or two terms all together.

The effect of this change is to require new blood on the BOE; it also means that the voters have less choice because we can't vote for someone who has experience and is doing a good job if they've already served 2 terms.

4. adds that the budget shall be made "through an annual appropriation."

Duh. Do we need a constitutional amendment telling the Legislature that they have to do their jobs? And assume we had only a continuing resolution budget--if it provided for the 15% or greater amount called for by the Constitution, why would we need an appropriation? What is the constitutional value in this?

What about the PROS and CONS listed on the Commonwealth Election Site? It's quite obvious to me that niether the pros nor the cons actually address the CHANGES being proposed or deal with them in a deep, meaningful, or analytical way.

The pros?
The first pro-about guaranteeing 15 %--that's already part of the Constitution and nothing in the Legislative Initiative changes it or adds to it.

Term limits as a means to encourage new ideas and public involvement? They don't necessarily have that effect.

Giving responsibility to youth and getting their perspective? That's already possible; as noted above, the actual language forecloses choosing a college student, whose views may be equally valuable and needed.

The pros say the HLI ensures that one member is a public school teacher, but that's already assured. What is actually changed is the selection method.

The cons?
15% might not be enough? The Constitution as written provides for at least 15%, but not prevent more. Nothing in this part is changed by the HLI.

Limiting terms limits choices: agreed.

Requiring DOE rep to be a teacher may not take into considerations administrator issues. Um-the existing Constitution calls for a teacher rep; and so does the change. The only difference is in the selection process.

The change leaves the selection process undefined. agreed.

On the whole, I think this H.L.I. 15-3 is not in the interests of the CNMI, not necessary, and should be a NO vote.

Bullshit Feminism

2009-11-03T08:46:00.004+10:00

I'm a feminist. I promote equality and women's rights. When I went to law school, less than 1/3 of lawschool classes were women. I've protested against the values and practices that keep women out of political and economic power.

And I HATE it when women use feminist propaganda to promote anti-feminist practices.

Jacinta Kaipat is so outrageously wrong (saying that the regulation that we can't bring in foreign workers as personal maids is anti-women) that I can't think of a "punishment" bad enough.

1. Keeping women in low-paying jobs like maids is not a value of feminism. That women all over the world, and especially desperate women in third-world countries, hire themselves out as maids does not mean having maid jobs is a goal to aspire to.

2. Women can get into the workforce and be valuable and productive without personal domestic help.

3. The new regulation that would prohibit bringing in foreign domestic workers as personal maids does not mean that you can't have a maid. You can--just hire a U.S. citizen, a citizen from one of the Freely Associated States, a permanent resident. Of course, these people will expect to be paid at least minimum wage.

4. The new regulation respects the transition--if you have a maid and you aren't ready to join the rest of the world in the modern era and want to hold on to the past, renew her contract for 2 years. That will give you time to wrap your head around the reality of life.

5. Or you can incorporate and hire your maid through the CNMI-only worker program.

Wendy has a good discussion on all of this, too.

Of course, the community does seem to know that Jacinta Kaipat's opinion is utter nonsense, or, as one commenter at the Variety said, "pure drivel."

Election Choices? The Candidates.

2009-11-02T18:00:00.004+10:00

We have an election to vote in this week. The field is less inspiring that many of us would like. Nonetheless, it is important to vote, to choose the lesser of evils, the more capable, the more likely to lead.

The following are my OPINIONS only.

I've been in Saipan for nearly 25 years (that anniversary comes 11/30). I've voted in every election since I got here.

I hate it when any U.S. citizen who lives here talks as if she has no interest, right, or responsibility to vote in local elections. I hate it even more when they claim ignorance. (These are mostly haoles, like me.) It's important that we exercise this freedom, that we educate ourselves. And it's the lowest form of arrogance and lack of commitment to community that leads eligible voters to slack off and fail to vote. I guess, I feel more disgust toward the non-voters than I do toward even our worst candidate.

I also hear a lot of reasons from various people about what influences their decisions. Some try to guess in advance who is likely to win--they want to be part of the winner's circle. They want to back a winner. I think this is stupid and irrational. This is not a horse-race. It's not a popularity contest. And deciding to vote because everyone else is going that way is not much better than not voting at all. I think every voter should make up his or her own mind and follow his or her own conscience in choosing whom to vote for.

There is a strong pull to vote for family members. I understand this. Family members are people we love, people we know, people to whom we owe family loyalty and devotion and respect. And candidates do need to know they have family support, or they'll never be able to withstand the pressures and temptations of public office. So I don't think this concept should be discounted completely. But I do think it is just one factor to consider and shouldn't be the only factor, or even the most important factor. If all other factors were equal, then I could see choosing the closest family member.

But it's rare that all other factors are equal. What are those factors? This is a difficult list to comprise. I like intelligent and honest candidates; but I also want those who tend to lean in the same political direction that I do (which is toward the liberal side that respects civil rights, promotes equality, relies on education, and protects the environment, and places these considerations above personal wealth, which is often wrapped up in the name of the "economy," and ahead of personal ambition).

So my assessment of some of our candidates for office?

Governor-Lieutenant Governor:
Fitial-Inos. (Covenant) I see Fitial as intelligent but less than honest. He's in favor of shutting off public access to information about the workings of government. He elevates the needs of individual businessmen above the rights of workers. He has an angle with a profit motive for every problem. I don't see him as a leader so much as a profiteer who wants the power and position to increase his own wealth and situation. He would be at the bottom of my list for Governor; and there is nothing about Inos that makes me want to vote for the ticket.

Juan Pan Guerrero-Camacho. (Independent) Juan Pan is another businessman who has been very willing to take from the CNMI government whatever he could. His recruitment deals for his company Paras Enterprises have been riddled with questions, both for public agency deals and private recruitment scandals. His contributions to the Red Cross do not cancel or outweigh his history. I don't see him as friendly toward rights or equality or the environment. Running-mate JJ Camacho is smart and educated and has a public record of voting. He's been very good at sharing information and making the House record accessible, and this is his great contribution. But I disagree with nearly every vote he's made. He's a backer of Fitial's agenda. To me, a vote for this team is the same as a vote for Fitial-Inos. And that would be a no.

Ray Guerrero-Borja. (Independent) Uncle Ray is family. That said, in all honesty, I don't think he's got the imagination or ideas to address the challenges of the office. Recycling his old slogan is an example of how worn-out he seems. Borja is a bright spot on the ticket. I think he's intelligent and capable. But he's not enough. I'd rather see this ticket prevail, though, than either Fitial-Inos or Pan Guerrero-Camacho, despite the extreme unlikelihood of that happening.

Hofschneider-Palacios. (Republican) Heinz has been in the CNMI Legislature a long time and we don't have all that much good to show from his work. Same for Arnold. Heinz has brains, but often fails to listen to other intelligent voices. Arnold cares little for the environment and would just as soon see his own interests take precedence. Despite the weaknesses of this team, though, I think they offer the best of a bad lot. I think Heinz appreciates the need for open government; and both could work hard to balance the extremely divergent interests of our community.

Senator from Saipan We're supposed to vote for two:

CAMACHO, Paul William (Independent) I know very little about this candidate. Most notably missing from his webpage bio is his education. We need smart, educated public officials. Even his experience is a bit thin. I'm not impressed. This is a likely no for me.

CRUZ, Gregorio Sanchez (Independent) Greg has gained notoriety of sorts for his Taotao Tano. I admire his willingness to stick his neck out, to complain, to demand answers, to be a loud mouth. But there's also some question whether his opinions are his own, or whether he's just the puppet. And again, what educational qualifications do we have here? This is a likely no for me.

SABLAN, Christina Marie Elise (Independent) Summa cum laude from College of Santa Fe. A term of experience in the House. The ability to articulate issues and generate discussions on hot issues; the ability to listen as others speak; the ability to open doors and documents for public view; the desire and attention to public rights and the environment. We are so lucky to have Tina as a candidate. I hope she wins by a landslide. YES, YES, YES. (Can I give her both of my votes?)

TEREGEYO, Ana Sablan (Covenant) She's on facebook, but mostly she's from a generation that has retired. I respect Ana Teregeyo and know she's intelligent. I disagree with her politics and even where I don't, I think she's not going to bring the energy and vision we need to the CNMI Senate. For me-a no.

KAIPAT, Jacinta Matagolai (Covenant) She's educated (holding a law degree) and intelligent, and cares about the environment. She's on Facebook and has a unique grasp of both modern technology and the best of our cultural history. But she also supports Governor Fitial's vision of a segregated work-force, with foreign workers consigned to low pay and no rights--a two-tiered system that is a violation of civil liberties and an evil. And she's blind to the problems of this labor system. I can't support her candidacy.

QUITUGUA, Justo Songao (Democrat) He's intelligent and educated, and has been an educator himself. He has experience in the House and has authored bills promoting different kinds of education reform--a mixed bag in my opinion. The good being to promote vocational training in our public schools; the less good to give money to Tony Pellegrino for his private business ventures to do similarly. He failed to support the national marine monument; and he hasn't been much in favor of civil rights. He's a Democrat in name, and we could use a few more of those in our local politics, but I'm on the fence here.

REYES, Pete Pangelinan (Republican) He's intelligent and values education, giving us his intelligent and educated children. He's also been in the Senate a very long time, so knows the ropes. On the other hand, his very experience also counts somewhat against him--we need change. We need a different kind of leadership that depends less on entrenched politics and more on deep thinking and analysis. I'm on the fence here, too.

TORRES, Ralph Anthony Deleon Guerrero (Republican) Aack. He's young, intelligent, and educated--and more caught up in the old-boys network and hardening-of-the-arteries thinking than most of the old-timers. I see nothing positive from his time in the House and nothing that makes me think he's a leader. He's got a well-oiled machine, and there is nothing good I can say about that kind of politics. For me-a definite no.

Mayor of Saipan.
CAMACHO, Antonio Muna (Independent) Old style politician. Pleasant and friendly and smart. But too long out of the loop. Not my choice.

TENORIO, Lino Sablan (Independent) A lackluster career at DPS. Not my choice.

BENAVENTE, Roman Cepeda (Independent) Smart, friendly, and caring. A history of public service. If Angelo weren't in the race, I'd consider him for the job.

SANCHEZ, Jose Deleon Guerrero (Independent) I know little about him. He's a former educator, so I'm guessing he's intelligent, but not my choice.

DEMAPAN, Juan Sablan (Independent) Supports casino gambling in Saipan. Too much baggage of questionable nature. (I couldn't find the link to the Tinian school construction debacle.) A definite no.

TAMAN, Candido Babauta (Independent)Good singer. Opposed the national marine monument. I think he supports Fitial. We need a different kind of voice, imho. No for senate.

TUDELA, Marian Deleon Guerrero (Covenant) Intelligent. Director of Upward Bound; but bound to the Covenant party and Fitial's views. That would be a no for me.

VILLAGOMEZ, Angelo O’Connor (Democrat). Intelligent, educated, and dedicated to environmental concerns. He's got loads of energy and vision. He's done a lot to organize people and protect our environment. This would be a big YES in my book.

FLORES, Donald Glenn (Republican) Intelligent, educated. I sometimes like his letters in the newspapers. But I'm worried that he's going to promote business interests, not human interests. There's a difference. I'm not against business--but I think we need government to be on the side of people, or, at the very least, neutral when it comes to the differences between business interests and human interests and needs.

House-Precinct 5: Vote for 2
MENDIOLA, Joseph Muna (Independent)--I don't know much about this guy. He doesn't seem to have a lot of education or a track record that makes me want to go out and vote for him. Any one else have more details?

DELEON GUERRERO, Frederick Peters (Independent) He's too close to Covenant for me.

QUITUGUA, Daniel Ogo (Covenant)--Not my party. That would be no. And to be clear, I don't usually care what party a candidate is. I'll vote for whomever I think is best. But I see the Covenant party members as lining up behind Fitial's agenda, and I disagree with that so vehemently, I can't support any of these Covenant candidates (or the independents who are Covenant in disguise).

BASA, Ramon Sablan (Covenant)--Not my party.(See note above) That would be no.

BRUNDIDGE Jr., Willie Lee (Democrat)--He's got a job now. I see no reason to want him in the House.

TORRES, Jesse David Jones (Democrat). I love his letters to the editor in the newspapers and his support of community projects. I think he's got the brains, education, energy and values that I want in a Congressman. That would be YES!

DEMAPAN, Jose Sablan (Republican). Did he buy a counterfeit diploma from a Spokane diploma mill? I'm not otherwise sure of his background. DPW-right? I'm hesitant to vote for him.

SANTOS, Rosemond Blanco (Republican) Rosemond is definitely smart and educated. I'm disappointed in her performance this past term. Too many absences from voting sessions. Nothing much I agreed with, except her vote for the budget.

Well, express your opinions here--or at the ballot box where it really counts.

2009 Humanities Awards

2009-10-31T12:13:00.004+10:00

The Governor's 2009 Humanities Awards were given out last night (Friday). The lifetime achievement award was given post-humously to Dr. Rita H. Inos. (I wonder why she never received this during her lifetime.)

The Humanities Teacher award was given to Harold Easton. He teaches at MHS and NMC and is the man behind the success of the NFL, NJFL, PGFC and Thespian organizations in the CNMI.

Congratulations! and a heartfelt thanks.

STAGE DOOR-tickets on sale!

2009-10-23T08:33:00.004+10:00

The student Thespians of the Western Pacific Islands will be presenting the play "Stage Door" at PIC Charley's Cabaret on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 27 and 28, 2009 at 7 PM.

The play is a 1930's comedy, written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. (Another of their plays--The Royal Family-- is on Broadway now, in a new revival. And one of Kaufman's plays--Once In A Lifetime--is being presented this month in Los Angeles on stage and through radio theatre. So the Saipan students have a play that is very much in vogue. )

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. I'm selling. Leave a comment --PLEASE-- and I'll get the tickets to you.

Umbrella Permits-WIP

2009-10-21T17:29:00.004+10:00

There's been a lot of talk about umbrella permits, and lots of flak in the newspapers and on blogs. Opinions vary.

I want to weigh in on the subject. I want to be intelligent and perceptive about it. But it is impossible to do so because the legal basis for the "news" and the full terms of the Umbrella Permits are still a work-in-progress.

There is a CNMI "protocol" written by Howard Willens. I do not think this protocol has the force and effect of law; it is more like a guide or roadmap to help everyone understand how the CNMI administration is proceeding as to the transition to federal immigration.

The protocol, available at the CNMI Department of Labor's site does not mention the term "umbrella permit." Each of the immigration entry classifications is described, and a catch-all "other categories" classification is also included. None of these match up with the description of the "umbrella permit" as given so far verbally by Deanne Siemer.

And there is the whole question about Labor issuing permits that have any effect as entry permits.

I am studying it all. I am also awaiting the regs or whatever it is Attorney General Ed Buckingham is working on.

And I will have opinions, as well as analysis.

But I'm not going to give an opinion on the hot air that has been blowing all over Saipan. [EDIT: By this, I mostly mean Deanne and Maya's rah-rah talk. Wendy is just fanning it back as a means of getting some relief.) The hot air means nothing.

Let's wait for the fine print. Then we'll have something to talk about.

Blog Action Day--Climate Change

2009-10-15T12:00:00.003+10:00

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is Climate Change.

I think this blog post is supposed to be aimed at the need for environmental controls to stop the climate change we're experiencing with global warming and such. But that's not what I'm writing about. (What could I say on that subject that other's wouldn't say better?)

I'm writing about the need for "climate change" in the small local world of the CNMI as it relates to debt, debtors, and our courts. We are not following the laws that balance creditor and debtors rights. Worse, we have debtor's prison in the CNMI, and none of our esteemed judges and justices recognize it for what it is.

In the CNMI, what is supposed to happen according to our laws, is that once a person owes a debt and the court renders a judgment in the creditor's favor, then the creditor can execute on the judgment either by getting a writ of attachment of particular, identifiable, non-exempt property, or the court can enter an order in aid of judgment based on ability to pay.

If the debtor has non-exempt property to satisfy the debt, there are no problems. The real issues come up when the debtor doesn't have property or income to pay off the debt.

The court is supposed to fashion an order to pay based on a debtor's ability to pay, which, under our statutes, recognizes that people need to be able to keep whatever income is needed to support themselves and their family.

And in fact, there are debtors who do not have the ability to pay--either because they are unemployed, have jobs paying low wages, have large families to support, or face a combination of these factors.

What our Courts assume is that every person who works has the ability to pay, regardless of income and regardless of size of family and responsibilities of support. This directly undermines the Legislative balance of creditor and debtor rights and creates onerous orders for poor people to pay.

A legitimate debt does not cancel the law that protects a debtor's income for the purpose of supporting himself and his family. But it does in the eyes of the Courts.

And we need a climate change in the courts to recognize that debtors' rights exist, and some do not have the ability to pay.

Another issue, even more serious, is the repeated efforts by the court to order unemployed debtors to get work; and to make these orders under threat of jail. If an unemployed debtor doesn't go look for work to the court's satisfaction--usually 10 applications every reporting period, which could be a month or 2 or 3 (even if he's looked for work for years!), he will be put in jail for contempt.

You can read some good posts on MLSC's recent work trying to stop this practice at our DAY IN COURT blog.

It's all about climate change. It's about a change in attitude and mindset that recognizes the fundamental beauty of the U.S. Constitution's protections of liberty and freedom from involuntary servitude.

Should people be working? Yes. Should they look for jobs? Yes. But should the power of the state be used to enforce private interests and lock people up because they don't work? No.

Small encroachments lead to bigger encroachments. There is no good reason to be ordered to work to pay off creditors: this is debt bondage and it needs to be stopped.

We also need a better climate for employment that provides jobs, provides incentives to work, and balances human dignity and rights with economic gain and activity. Ordering people under threat of jail to go get jobs because they owe money won't take us in the right direction.

It's all about climate change.

NaNoWriMo CountDown!

2009-10-14T13:29:00.008+10:00

National Novel Writing Month begins on November 1, 2009. All around the globe, writers and wannabe novelists are getting ready to write.

And here is an inspirational cartoon from Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

And some rules of writing from William Safire:

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

Now go sign up at NaNoWriMo.

Legal Scuttlebutt

2009-10-13T09:22:00.002+10:00

The word going around the legal community is that Kevin Lynch was fired from the CNMI Attorney General's Office on Friday (October 9, 2009).

I have no other information. Don't know why. Perhaps he actually resigned.

He's been with the AG's Office a long time. I think this will not be pretty.

EMO issues tsunami watch for CNMI--well cancelled

2009-10-08T10:40:00.004+10:00

Our office received this notice. I don't know anything more, but it's a heads-up and means we need to be paying attention.

UPDATE:
The original notice says to expect waves about 1:23 PM local time. But this new bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancels that alert.

You can follow up for more information at the PTWC Pacific region site.

Books on my wish list

2009-10-05T17:28:00.004+10:00

We're heading into the end of the year already, and I'm thinking of all the books I want to read but haven't yet, and starting that great wish list in the sky, just in case the fairy godmother of Christmas (or the Twilight Zone) wants to send some lovely books my way.

So I accidentally come across this on Art Blog by Bob--the second time in a week my Google search has led me to Bob's blog, where I have gotten distracted to the point of forgetting what I was even researching to begin with!

Um, yeah. I write young adult fiction because I love reading it. Call me immature. So... I want to read it!

(I'd also take any of the recommendations on Art Bob's list here.)

20W -Melor

2009-10-01T13:32:00.003+10:00

Tropical Storm Melor (a/k/a 20 W) has been up-graded to a Typhoon.

Different tracking methods put it either between Saipan and Rota, on target for Saipan, or heading just north of us.

It looks like it's due to hit us about Saturday morning.

There's an excellent sidebar with advice, terminology, and a guide to storm conditions at the Guam PDN story on the storm.

Get Ready for Halloween with a ...WRITING Contest!

2009-09-30T20:00:00.001+10:00

WrittenWyrdd is sponsoring a writing contest. 1,000 words of horror (but not slasher stuff). A pile of green if you're the winner. Read details at the WrittenWyrdd blog.

Or you could try to win the $10,000 lottery at Gena Showalter's site, promoting the book INTERTWINED. That seems like a lot of money to give away to promote a YA book.

A stormy Pacific

2009-09-30T08:58:00.004+10:00

Wendy's been doing a good job blogging about Ketsana (a/k/a Ondoy), the typhoon that caused devastation in the Philippines.

Today Ken is blogging about a tsunami that washed over American Samoa as we slept last night. Western Samoa also got hit. Reports put an earthquake between 7.9 and 8.3 on the Richter Scale-and if I got this right, time would have been about 7 hours ago for the quake, a bit later for the tsunami.

Several people are already reported as dead or missing, and an entire village may be underwater, with more reports of greater damage and loss expected.

There was a Pacific-wide tsunami alert (already cancelled now), but no one I've talked to knew about it. We need a better warning system.

Angelo is tracking Tropical Storm Melor-heading this way.

Saipan-A Blogger's Paradise!

2009-09-29T09:05:00.010+10:00

Saipan is an interesting place to live. It is also a blogger's paradise! Lots to chat about in today's news.

CHC
You can read a good blog post at Ken's SOS site on Fitial's plan to take over DPH by declaration of a state of emergency. And Doctor Cornett's very small hammer rant(they're still not getting it) at the Tribune.

CUC
Fitial extends the state of emergency at CUC. He's had the state of emergency in effect since May 2008--that's 1 year and 4 months already.

This new emergency declaration seems to contradict earlier reports.

When the Aggreko generators were turned off, we were told CHC was in much better shape, that CUC's power generation could definitely replace what Aggreko had provided.

The Saipan Tribune reported, on September 1, 2009, as follows:

“Today, we can safely pronounce that the Saipan power production crisis is over,” Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said in a brief ceremony in the main control room of CUC's power plant in Lower Base yesterday.

And the entire reason for the state of emergency declaration in the first place was all about that power generation issue, wasn't it? Well, that was the original excuse, but in August 2009 Fitial said it's also about hiring adequate personnel.

Of course, CUC needs to hire adequate personnel. What or who is adequate personnel? The Legislature is trying to wean the CNMI government from its dependence on cheap foreign labor; and Fitial is addicted to cheap foreign labor.

So because he disagrees with the CNMI Legislature's policies and decisions for the CNMI (which limit how many foreign workers an agency or department may have), he declares a state of emergency at CUC?

We are all captives. Fitial is determined to prove that we need our fix; we have a right to cheap, foreign workers who are underpaid and get no permanent rights and are kept forever powerless. And we're all going to suffer power black-outs and worse if we don't buy into Fitial's view of the situation.

I have no problem with hiring technicians from foreign countries; I just think we need to pay them on scale with what we would pay for local/US hires. And then maybe there will be a greater incentive, a real incentive for our residents to enter the workforce, get skills, and do the work. And we'll be treating our foreign work force with the respect they deserve.

In the meantime, we're still in a state of emergency-which is to say that Governor Fitial refuses to follow the procurement laws, the hiring laws, and whatever laws the CNMI Legislature passes. First CUC, next CHC. Those "states of emergency" are convenient for grabbing power, neh?

OPA/AG
Then there's the bit about how the OPA has referred cases for more than $2.6 million dollars in misspent tax money for collection to the AG's Office.

1. $739,346 from Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission to UNNAMED CONSULTANT. (Why the hell don't we name names?)

2. $195,971 from Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission to "3 other individuals". (Why the hell don't we name names?)

3. $392,178 from Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission to ??? themselves??? for questionable travel expenses in 1996 to 2001.

Perhaps it should be called the Tinian Casino Gaming No-Control Commission?

4. $1.3 million from CNMI to "different professional service contractors." (Why don't we name names?)

5. $100,000 improper payments from CNMI??? to "a surveying contractor on Tinian." (Why don't we name names?)

6. $75,000 misused by former Finance Secretary (1995-1997). (Who was that?)

7. $$$ double payments from (now defunct) MPLA to "officials of...MPLA" for per diem, etc. 1992-1994.

8. $40,000 misspent by CPA.

9. $$$ unspecified overpayments to former officials of CUC.

NEARLY ALL of these are past the statute of limitations. The AG has said so specifically about #8 and #9. But the same can be said for #3, #6 and #7. So now we have to ask, when were these violations of law first reported to the Attorney General's Office? Why does the AG not proceed with diligent action (or are they always getting the cases too late to recover the funds)?

Why does it take so long for the OPA to find these misappropriations and misspent accounts?

And why aren't we at least identifying who is behind the problem at each instance, so we have names? And why do we want casinos when the Tinian Gaming Commission is one of the biggest drains on our limited tax resources?

Patrick Calvo
Found guilty on charges of sex abuse of a minor. His defense was that his 14 year old daughter was lying. This might work in some cases, but she's been a model student and otherwise fine person, and his other daughters came forward and testified against him also. For those victims from the earlier 2000 case who did not see justice when the case against Calvo was dismissed, this must be a small victory, too.

Writing
This is, after all, SaipanWriter! Walt Goodridge held a writer's workshop on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Joe (Mango) Race brought up National Novel Writing Month! Yay! Interested in spending a month noveling? It's happening here in Saipan, as around the world, thanks to NaNoWriMo. Sign up. We write in November. (I'm the municipal liaison. If you need more information, contact me.)

And then there's Swine Flu in Yap
It must be bad, because the schools have now closed for 3 weeks.

But what's not in the news? the Philippine disaster-typhoon Ketsana. Thanks to Wendy for highlighting this story for the past 2 days.

And my own little off-topic "flashback" contribution:
I just found this bit about George W. Bush's favorite painting. This is such a laugh! As Art Blogger Bob says--narcissistic and stupid.

What's In A Name?

2009-09-28T18:00:00.003+10:00

Today's Variety has a small article about medical referral at CHC. I read it, and saw the photo of the "manager for medical referral services" that accompanied it. Ronald D. Sablan.

Ronald D. Sablan? Have we forgotten?

Photo from Marianas Variety

This is the same man who borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from EDLF/CDA for the Pacific Gardenia and never paid it back. Never even tried to pay it back. By the time CDA got a judgment, the total, with interest and late charges, was $2.4 million owed by Ron D. Sablan!

At the time that CDA sued in 2004, they alleged a scheme of deception and mismanagement, all for the purpose of enriching Ron D. Sablan.

As of last Jan. 20, Sy's Corporation and its officers Ronald, Maria Ana, and Jeannette Sablan owe CDA over $2.4 million, and are more than five years delinquent in their payment, according to CDA's legal counsel.

“CDA's rights and interests.will be irreparably injured unless a receiver [or trustee] is appointed to take charge of the business affairs of Sy's [Corporation] and to take possession of its property until a final decision or order from this court is issued following foreclosure, selling the assets or otherwise disposing of this action,” attorney F. Matthew Smith said.

Court records showed that Jeannette Sablan-the sister of hotel general manager Ronald Sablan-has already agreed to the proposed appointment of a trustee on June 17.

In the motion he filed last week, Smith claimed that spouses Ronald and Maria Ann Sablan have been mismanaging the assets of Pacific Gardenia Hotel and Sunset Bar and Grill.

CDA, Smith said, has been informed that the Sablans are maintaining separate sets of accounting books and had presented fictitious books to CDA in the past. Sy's Corporation is reportedly operating without a CNMI business license due to unpaid taxes, and owes employees over $100,000 in back wages. Further, all checks payable to Sy's Corporation are being diverted and deposited directly into the personal accounts of the Sablan couple, Smith said.

Even his sister claimed he fraudulently mismanaged the corporation that ran the Pacific Gardenia. Her attorney, Bob O'Connor, also spoke on the matter.

“The obvious purpose in filing the petition [for bankruptcy] was to avoid the receivership and to allow Ronald Sablan to continue to siphon into his own pocket all of Sy's Corp's hotel and restaurant revenues,” O'Connor said.

And when Ron D. Sablan filed for bankruptcy, he conveniently omitted another mortgage debt. Attorney Bruce Mailman represented that creditor.

LPP lawyer Bruce Mailman accused Sablan and his wife of fraud, in connection with their filing of a bankruptcy petition in court in Nevada. In that petition, Mailman said the Sablans made no mention of its debt from LPP regarding defaulted loans originally obtained from the company's predecessor-in-interest, the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Ron D. Sablan not only cheated EDLF/CDA and his creditors, he also faced numerous complaints for cheating his foreign contract workers, failing to pay them.

According to attorney F. Matt Smith, Ron D. Sablan was to blame for this problem, as well:

Smith further maintained that the payment of back wages allegedly owed the former hotel employees was not the problem of the hotel's new receiver, but of Sablan.

“It is not the receiver’s responsibility to pay old back wages that cannot be verified and that were not accrued under his watch,” Smith said. “The fact is that since the receiver took over, Pacific Gardenia employees are finally getting regular pay checks."

He noted that Sablan negotiated the back wages with the Department of Labor and the involved workers without court approval and without guaranty that the amounts negotiated were accurate or in order.

“This is a Ron Sablan problem and not a receiver problem,” said Smith.

Ron D. Sablan resigned his position as chairman of HANMI (the hotel association). He filed for bankruptcy. And he appealed the judgment against him!

It took years to finally resolve the appeal; and finally Ron D. Sablan decided he could dismiss the appeal and let CDA have the properties it had foreclosed to try to recoup some of the money owed. But of course, by then, it became impossible for CDA to find any investor who wanted the Pacific Gardenia building and could pay a reasonable price for it.

The Pacific Gardenia building sits as an empty eyesore (one of many) on Beach Road in Chalan Kanoa.

And Ron D. Sablan, who has NOTHING to recommend him as a manager (and NO EXPERIENCE in the medical field, either, that I can find a trace of)--Ron D. Sablan, who in fact has A LOT to recommend against him ever holding any position of responsibility again--is now managing the CHC office for medical referral services?

I'm outraged.

I'm also wondering if he weren't a Sablan, would he have gotten this job?

I'm also wondering what date he was hired. And if there is any coincidental relationship between his being hired and Kilili's decision that we need to delay implementation of U.S. immigration here.
UPDATE: Apparently no connection here. Ron Sablan apparently was hired 2 years ago, before P.L. 110-229, the law for federalization of our immigration and creation of the delegate position.

And even if there is no connection, nothing worse than just an out-and-out hire of him, it still makes me angry.

CNMI's 2009 Election-some basic information

2009-09-25T13:24:00.008+10:00

The election will be on November 7, 2009, with polls open from 7 AM to 7 PM, according to the CNMI Election Commission. It's not all that easy to get comprehensive information about the election.

The CEC doesn't list all of the candidates on its website; nor do the CNMI newspapers. I've e-mailed to the CEC for a list of all candidates, and I'm waiting on their response. In the meantime, here's what I've put together so far from the scattered reports in the newspapers and the campaign advertising by the Covenant and Republican parties and the (Pan)Guerrero/Camacho and (Kumoi) Guerrero/Borjaindependent campaigns.

(Just click to enlarge.)

I'm sure there are mistakes and omissions. Please feel free to add information in the comments.

CNMI's Dialysis Center

2009-09-23T09:36:00.008+10:00

We're supposed to have a new dialysis center at the Commonwealth Health Center. With all of the change orders, it appears that about $22 million dollars of federal and CNMI money was spent building it.

Photo from of CNMI Public Auditor's 2007 Report.

But what we have is a structure that is "built" but not used for dialysis because it is unsafe. The Variety reports today that CNMI Secretary of Public Health Joseph Kevin Villagomez signed off on the project, certifying that the structure was acceptable because of instructions from the "facilities engineer." Who was that facilities engineer? The newspapers don't say.

Joe Kevin Villagomez's role in signing off, though, is being questioned. Shouldn't he have also exercised independent professional judgment?

The problems reported with the new facility:
1. The reverse osmosis (RO) system contains bacteria.
2. The water storage tanks of the reverse osmosis system may be carbon media tanks, not multi-media tanks. Labels on the tanks were changed to disguise the flaw.
3. There is a suspicion of irregularities in materials used in construction: PVC fittings and pipes of the RO system were glued so that excessive glue flaked into the system and would subject patients to possible harm.
4. Public Health officials has told lawmakers that the dialysis center's certification for the RO system was forged.
5. The CNMI sued the contractor Leo A. Daly Company for defective design, and have alleged the facility is useless for its intended purpose. (This lawsuit is only for $10 million, though.) One of the alleged defects (reported in August 15, 2009 Tribune article) is failure to meet stress tests for earthquakes.

And we don't have staff for it.

The CNMI Legislature recently convened two public hearings on the delivery of health services in the CNMI. The House Committee on Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) invited public health and private doctors to a daytime session, but no one came, according to the today's Saipan Tribune. In contast, the public hearing in the evening, open to the public, drew a small group of about 30 people.

Photo from CNMI Public Auditor's 2007 Report.
What I find interesting is the focus of the hearing: reported as a look at hiring doctors and the necessity of paying for head hunters. Perhaps it's an issue with reporting, but we certainly have much more serious problems than paying head hunters to find us doctors (even at $25,000 / doctor).

In a recent survey, several major problems at CHC were noted, including mismanagement, poor procurement practices, and inadequate billing/accounting and records procedures, along with a doctor shortage.

In Tuesday's KSPN news, Ralph Torres made some remarks that seem unclear: yes he wants to find an experienced person to handle the situation at DPH, and yes, joe Kevin Villagomez has experience. It's not clear to me whether he thinks joe Kevin would be up to the job, but for his health issues that have made him leave island for months now; or whether he was acknowledging that "experience" comes in different varieties and needs to be scrutinized, too.

It's not clear if he just does't like Pete Untalan, either. He reported that Pete said the dialysis center would be open in August and here it is September; but the August 15, 2009 Tribune has Pete saying it will be open in October, with a nephrologist due to arrive on September 23, 2009.

And think of all the earlier times when we've heard that the dialysis center will be opened!

I guess we need Legislative oversight of administration functions; but we also need to recognize that the Legislature's job is making laws, not carrying them out. It's unrealistic to expect the Legislature to take over this problem and fix it. Especially, when you consider that the Legislature's often repeated "solution" is to throw money at the problem, as Ralph Torres says we need to do here.

Nor is the Legislature to be relied on to get things done promptly. They've known about the problems with the dialysis center since at least September 2003, as this flashback from September 2, 2003 shows. The Legislature is a political body that changes with seasonal voting. They get involved with hot topics, but also can cool off before the work is finished.

What do we need to do?

I think we need to start at the beginning and review all that's been done.

So here's a summary of the history of the CNMI Saipan dialysis center, as taken from the newspapers (note, Haidee does a similar thing, in summer 2009, and the link is later, but rather than re-writing and analyzing, yet, I'm just giving the blow-by-blow):

1999-10-28:

"The California-based Transpacific Renal Network has given recognition to the renal hemodialysis section of the Commonwealth Health Center as one of the top units that provide quality care to patients undergoing dialysis.

Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez said such accomplishment shows the commitment of the hospital in making sure that the best possible care is provided to the people in the community....Dr. Hilmer Negrete, director of hemodialysis unit of CHC, said the team has to submit regular progress report to each patient undergoing dialysis treatment to Transpacific Network."

2000-03-06: 51 dialysis patients costing $5 million / year.

2001-09-07: In 2001, we have 2 nephrologists--Dr. Negrete and Dr. Zahid.

2002-06-11: Rota and Tinian to get dialysis centers at $1million apiece.

“We found out that, if you build a structure and the structure is certified by Medicare, then at least 80 percent of the operational funds will come directly from the Medicare and that is the federal funding we are eyeing. So, to ensure that we can tap these funds, we will make sure that the buildings for the dialysis centers are Medicare-certified,” he said.

Earlier, lower chamber lawmakers said that Rota and Tinian dialysis patients are presently inconvenienced by the need to travel to Saipan, the location of the nearest CNMI dialysis center, to receive treatment.

“Responding to the needs of dialysis patients in Rota and Tinian requires the construction of dialysis centers on these islands. By using the un-appropriated Public Law 12-64 funds on Rota and Tinian, patients need not make the arduous trip to Saipan to avail themselves of dialysis care,” said House Floor Leader Jesus T. Attao, the bill's author.

As broken down in the proposed measure, $1 million would go toward a new Department of Public Health Building and Dialysis Center on Rota and another $1 million for a similar building on Tinian.

2002-08-28: Saipan to get dialysis center; this project is estimated to cost $5.6 million.

"On the Department of Public Health building expansion, this will entail the construction of the extension that would house 24 to 25 new dialysis machine units at the CHC.

Bids for the project were received in April and a contractor has already been selected and notified that it would be awarded the project. However, a notice to proceed has yet to be issued pending the release of several construction permits.

“The government has been applying for the building permits and all the permits necessary to start the project, rather than have the contractor obtain the permits, to eliminate unnecessary delays in the project,” said Jordan."

2002-10-26. Project finally underway. Estimated cost for project between $5 and $6 million. Dr. Hofschneider as DPH secretary. Estimated completion date: 4/18/2004. Current situation: 90 patients.

Hofschneider said the project's contractor is AIC Marianas Incorporated, while the construction management contract has been awarded to SSFM, whose principal is John Gentry and whose fee is about $250,000... Jordan said the DPW released the Notice to Proceed to the contractor last Tuesday and the expansion project is expected to be finished in 540 days, with some additions and deletions to be made on the project.

... Although the budget for the project is between $5 and $6 million, Hofschneider expressed hope that some money would be left to be used as additional funding for the water needs of the building, parking and a new MSO building. This (sic) related projects are estimated to cost $4 million.

Note--this is going to lead to problems later.

2002-11-08: CNMI Government (through Chuck Jordan), keeping track of CIP projects including the dialysis center (CHC expansion) project.

2003-02-07. Groundbreaking for the dialysis center/CHC expansion project. Cost now estimated at $10 million. 93 dialysis patients. Estimated opening of new facility-2 years. That would be early 2005.

2003-06-10. CNMI starts new program for peritoneal dialysis. Now 96 patients.

2003-09-02. Problems about design noted. Change orders being sought. It appears that the issues are the inclusion of improved water system and parking lot, which were not part of the original plan.

What did I mention up above?

2004-01-31. Construction of dialysis center is on schedule, despite some design problems.

2004-03-04. Hofschneider asks U.S. Congress to provide $1.1 million to buy equipment for new dialysis center. Says CNMI only budgeted for building the facility, not equipping it.

2004-10-22. Kagman wastewater project funds reprogrammed to dialysis center.

2004-10-29. CNMI Congress considers reprogramming request; wants assurances. Information confusing; Leo Daly out-Tanuguchi Ruth in.

2004-11-02. Joint House and Senate Committee to probe dialysis center construction issues; Governor Fitial asks for Public Auditor's office examination, also. This article says $11 million given from Covenant 702 funds. Project 40% complete.

2004-12-24. Did we really pay $50,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review the construction of the dialysis center? Stanley Torres says so. Where is the Army Corps of Engineers report?

... And then this recap of the finances:

The reprogramming bill came following findings that the public health project's over $11-million funding had been depleted, even as construction work was only about 40 percent completed.

Originally, the government allotted some $11.8 million in Capital Improvement Project funds for the dialysis center. Of that amount, the Department of Public Health awarded a $5.6-million contract to AIC Marianas to construct the facility.

The contractor had repeatedly asked for change orders, totaling over $4 million, allegedly due to faulty design. About $2 million had been spent for two architectural and engineering designs, while other expenses reportedly went to administrative activities.

2005-08-03. In the meantime, CHC gets a few more dialysis stations.

2005-09-18. Also meanwhile, the CNMI provides competent care and exceeds average U.S. standards, according to Dr. Zahid. Good data here.

2006-02-04. Governor Fitial's administration asks for reprogramming of more funds for dialysis center. Project now 70% completed.

2006-04-11. DPH Secretary Joe Kevin Villagomez says dialysis center will open in October 2006.

“It's going very well. There's a lot of involvement in this project,” he said, adding that there would be medical staff that would be assigned to the new building.

2006-07-07. Dialysis center to be named after Dr. V. (It helps when you're the lieutenant governor and get to sign the law naming the facility after your father.)

2006-07-28. Opening delayed to November 2006, to secure Medicare certification.

2006-10-18. Cost of dialysis center now said to be $15 million. Joe Kevin Villagomez enlists political support, like this:

“Our money was well spent,” Rep. Manuel Tenorio said.

2006-10-19. The new building is used as bait to seek more funding for CHC! See, we did a great job and now need to upgrade the rest of the old building... or something like that.

2007-06-08. Inspector General's Report identifies management issues with the dialysis center project.

2007-07-11. Joe Kevin Villagomez says we should privatize the dialysis center building; it's still not open. (This sounds like a scam to me--some way to get a private business some additional cash at government expense.)

2007-10-05. Both CNMI nephrologists have recently left the CNMI; a Guam doctor will be visiting.

2007-12-20. Ribbon cutting and new dialysis center officially opens. Umm, does it?

2007 Public Auditor's Report at page 6 says this:

A joint evaluation of the Saipan Public Health Facility Project (Project) by the Department of the Interiors' Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and OPA showed serious deficiencies in the contracting process, including the failure to adhere to established procurement regulations and the lack of qualified and experienced officials to administer the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) program, which significantly affected construction costs and time frames.

2008-01-26. CNMI spending $8.8 million /year for 96 dialysis patients.

2008-02-07. Children's Clinic and immunizations moved to new dialysis center wing.

2009-05-18. CNMI once again without a nephrologist. Other concerns about CHC raised by Ed Propst.

2009-05-19: Untalan responds: Those concerns are just one person's opinion; Diabetes Prevention Program still operational.

In a recent letter by Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres to DPH Secretary Kevin Villagomez, the former asked for some information on several matters at the CHC.

These include updates on the status of nephrology, updates on dialysis machines to be replaced, local expenditure for Fiscal Year 2009, data as to the number of dialysis patients, the status of the Hemodialysis Center and other issues.

A copy of the letter was sent to Saipan Tribune. Secretary Villagomez has yet to respond to e-mail inquiries about it.

2009-05-23. Legislator asks for information from Secretary of DPH. See, the Tribune does read the letters submitted!

2009-06-06. FDA Certification for dialysis center forged. Information revealed in BUDGET HEARING!

Acting Health Secretary Pete T. Untalan told the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration certification of the reverse osmosis water system at the new dialysis center was “forged” by an individual previously connected with the U.S.-based Severn Trent.

Severn Trent supplied the reverse osmosis water system unit to Saipan Ice, which was one of the subcontractors of AIC Marianas, the main contractor for the construction of the new dialysis building in Garapan.

Saipan Ice's sales supervisor Lito Dizon and AIC Marianas project engineer Ding Lacap separately said in telephone interviews that they're not aware of the forgery and that nobody had told them about the issues that just came about.

Medicare requires the CNMI Department of Public Health to have an FDA-certified reverse osmosis water system for it to operate the new dialysis center, which has yet to open three years after its construction was completed in 2006.

“We found out just a few days ago that the reverse osmosis system is not FDA-certified,” Untalan told the legislative committee chaired by Rep. Ray N. Yumul (R-Saipan) during yesterday's hearing on DPH's Fiscal Year 2010 budget.

(This certification is needed for Medicare approval. Why did it take this long to figure this out? Weren't we seeking Medicare approval back in 2007?)

2009-06-08. Cost for dialysis center now reported at $22 million.

2009-06-09. CNMI Legislature to ask Public Auditor to investigate.
Have they read the existing OIG report or the OPA's 2007 report?

2009-06-12. CNMI to sue over $22 million "fiasco." Good review of situation here.

2009-06-16. The local newspapers finally catch up to the 2007 OIG/OPA report.

2009-06-16. Matt Gregory, former CNMI AG, now files suit as a private attorney against Leo Daly for $10 million on behalf of the CNMI.

We have an Attorney General's Office, but we use a private firm for this. Why? Oh, because the OAG is understaffed. But why not use the money and hire another Assistant Attorney General instead of paying private attorney rate fees? (OMG!)

In my opinion, Gregory should have brought this action while he was the CNMI AG. And his failure to do it then should be reason enough NOT to hire him and pay him more money to do it now.

2009-06-17. Haidee Eugenio continues to dig for the full story.

2009-06-19. The CNMI is not pursuing criminal charges for the dialysis center fiasco. And Juan Reyes at DPW identified as the "expenditure authority" (for at least some of the time? or all of the time?).

2009-07-21. Representative Ralph Torres says we'll have one full-time nephrologist for Saipan/CNMI next month (August 2009).

2009-08-15. Grand opening of dialysis center set for October 2009. It will be old before it is in use!

2009-09-19. Pete Reyes and Arnold Palacios think we need a law establishing a "corporation" as the solution!

The lawmakers said a bill establishing a corporation for public healthcare and related public health services will in the long-term provide a foundation for a high quality, efficient and market-oriented public healthcare delivery system.

Without any analytical basis; without reference to the real studies of the problems done; without regard to the problems we've had from corporations like MPLC. How is a corporate structure going to address the problems! Sheesh. Just like privatizing seems to be a method for economic graft, this is nothing but political graft--imho.

Somewhere in all of this was a report that there were three contractors/project designers(?) involved--Leo Daly, Tanaguchi Ruth, and an unnamed third. Who is the third contractor? Perhaps I missed that information somehow.

Where do we go from here?

CNMI FY 2010 Budget

2009-09-23T08:56:00.002+10:00

It seems that the Legislature has adopted a new method for the budgeting process--one that starts with a spending cap, so there is some basic agreement by all, and then moves to the final budgeting/parceling out the money.

The House finally introduced the budget bill, H.B. 16-275 this week for FY 2010 (beginning on October 1, 2009). Although this is a very late introduction, they've almost made up for the problem.

They have now passed it.

It pares down the budget from last year, but without following Fitial's plan for employee austerity Fridays.

It also provides for some payments to the NMI Retirement Fund, as required by the recent court ruling. Regardless of who is to blame for the mess, it's important that the mess be cleaned up, and this budget bill seems to begin that process.

The prompt passage by the House still gives the Senate a little time to review and vote on the budget, but not much. Let's hope the Senate acts quickly and responsibly.

On CNMI Immigration and Federalization of It

2009-09-17T08:46:00.003+10:00

Ken Phillips is blogging again at SOSaipan. Good thing. From him, we get this lovely observation:

"This whole transition to federal control has had a somewhat surreal quality, like a community theater production of Waiting for Godot under the palms."

And in today's Marianas Variety newspaper, we get Diego Benevente. His take is that 1) the federalization law will be beneficial "in the long run;" 2) but the time to prepare for it is too short.

Several thoughts come clashing into my head at once on reading this:
* we'll have had 1 and 1/2 years to prepare for it by 11/28/2009. If we can't do the job in that amount of time, more time won't help.
* when I say we, I mean we--both the CNMI and the U.S. The U.S. government is our government, just as the CNMI government is our government.
* The CNMI has done little to prepare for federalization of our immigration except complain and try to stop it.
* Diego Benevente and other CNMI politicians are in a position to criticize the U.S. government for not getting things done? The guys who took years to pass a budget? The guys who never corrected the CNMI's immigration issues in decades?

Diego Benevente complains about the uncertainty caused by the change to U.S. immigration. There is a simple solution to help address this concern. The CNMI Legislature can pass a law that grants the maximum status of two years to aliens who are here. This would protect our current labor force without violating the CNRA cap on new admissions; it would provide stabiilty and a means for planning for businesses and people; it would lessen anxiety.

It might even go a long way toward redressing some of the grievances our alien workers have against us.

Would the CNMI Legislature do something this simple? Something within their means? Or will they only be concerned about their image in the newspapers? Never mind the people who have lived here for many years and who may now be out of status due to circumstances. Never mind that we still have some control and the means to take precautions. Better to rant about the predictions of a coming storm than put up typhoon shutters and lay in stores of water and candles. Better to complain about the U.S. not doing what it needs to do; better to seek delay of what is "beneficial" to the CNMI!

Still Waiting for CUC...

2009-09-16T08:36:00.005+10:00

Typhoon Choi-Wan didn't hit Saipan. There were no reports of damages to homes. Some banana plants toppled, but, by all accounts, this was a mild storm, with wind and rain, but nothing terribly serious.

The electricity at my house went out during the storm--sometime Monday night. It's now Wednesday morning, and CUC has yet to even visit my house to assess the problem.

I've called. The trouble desk lines are almost always "busy" so you can't get through. On at least one occasion, the phone actually rang (no busy signal) and then rang and rang and no one picked up. On the few occasions when I did get through, the guys answering (Joe and Bill) were courteous, but had nothing to tell me. I have no idea where in the queue of complaints our little segment of San Vicente is. I have no idea when a crew might get to us. I'm still waiting for the promised --we'll call you when the CUC crew is coming--call.

I enlisted support from my family. My sister-in-law managed to learn a bit more--which neighbors are still without power--and she spoke with Tony Muna personally. But that's not much more than I already knew and still no idea of when; not much greater reassurance than the trouble desk provided.

Today's newspaper gives a sunny report that CUC is on top of the situation of power outages from the storm. But I think that is optimistic, and not entirely accurate.

What bothers me most about this power outage, besides the inconvenience and loss of food in the fridge, is that this was a MILD storm. If this is the level of response from such a minor weather event, what can we expect if we have a serious storm or typhoon that actually hits us?

Guam Hiring 20,000 Skilled Contract Workers???

2009-09-11T09:11:00.005+10:00

According to the Inquirer Global Nation, Guam is finalizing plans to hire 20,000 contract workers from the Philippines to help with the military build-up there. But thanks to the internet where comments can often be shared quickly, there appears to also be reason for skepticism and concern.

Emmanuel GeslaniSep 10
Every time DOLE/POEA officials announce that Guam will need 20,000 workers their public statements just give illegal recruiters more credence as they go around the country enticing people to work in Guam. Roque should stop talking about Guam as this has been old news since two years ago and up to now POEA hasn't come up with a standard employment contract. What's this I hear that POEA will select only 10 agencies to handle Guam deployment? Shades of Taiwan and Korea again--"money changing hands" to be selected.

We've seen our share of recruitment scams here in the CNMI. We've heard stories about government officials getting kick-backs on hiring deals. We know the CNMI's economic road is littered with broken promises.

We hope Guam doesn't drink from the same dirty puddle.

And for those hoping to get hired, or hoping for anything--REMEMBER: IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.