INSIDE Babauta Wants House Seat, Good Communications
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Vol. 19 N o.# lo Saipan, MP 96950 © 1990 Manarnos Vari April 20,1990 Serving CNMI for 5 0 e M icro Beach Bill would declare said polluted NMI as ..'sovereign' Could be closed today T he problem is a "tim e By Dav· Hughs» bomb hot to just the Several bills introduced in tourism industry, but to “There were too many bacteria to count.. it looked like they Wednesday’s First Special Ses thehealthofalltheresi· sion of the Seventh Common were all growing right next to each other.” L o ra in e A ld a n dents of Saipan." wealth Legislature would limit the amount of interest which By Dave Hughes the beaches, and it will be his tor Ray Guerrero that unless could bechargedonloans in the DepartmentofEnvironmental decison to close the beaches, not something is done fast, Saipan’s CNMI, impose a $2.50 per day Control officials said Thursday the DEQ, she said. tourist industry could be in real utility tax on tourists, sctguide- afternoon that for the second Dosa Subsea President Jung danger of being flushed away. lines for hiring a permanent consecutive day coleform bac Euh Noh has joined in the in He said the problem is a “ .. executive director for the Com teria counts at Micro Beach and creasing clamor to do something .time bomb not to just the tour monwealth Utilities Cor the beach area near Martin’s Bar about the hundreds of millions of ism industry/but to the health of poration, and add new language exceed what they consider to be gallons of raw sewage which has all the residents od Saipan. As to the laws of the Common safe levels and they have to have flowed into Saipan’s lagoon over such it could explode at any wealth which allow the CNMI Rep. Diego T. Benavenle them declared as unsafe for the past months. His letter to time.” to declare that it can’t be sued swimming. Gov. Larry I. Guerrero this week Adding to the concern over under sovereign immunity. the NMI “have never at ant DEQ Lab S upervisor Loraine continues the call raised by the water qulaity in the lagoon was a Rep. DiegoT. Benaventefiled time, in any document, in Aldan said in a telephone inter Commonwealth Utiltities Com set of water samples taken by the House Bill 1-136 which would cluding the Covenant with view that the bacteria was so far mission Asst. Executive Direq- See: POLLUTED, Page 43 add a new section to Common the United States, waived over the unsafe level of 400 wealth Laws “ declaring thesov- their inherent right common colonies of fecal coleform bac CUC head says water creign immunity of the Com law, fundamental sover teria per 100 milliliters of water monwealth against federal ac eignty.” that “there were too many to tions; and for other purposes.” Basically, die bill says that count.. it looked like they were unsafe: pulls sewer plug Benavcnte’s bill would, if ap actions handed down by the all growing right next to each proved by the House, Senate federal district court and the other.” CUC Deputy Director Ramon S. Guerrero said in a Commonwealth and signed by the governor find Ninth Circuit Court of Ap Aldan said she and others Utilities Commission press release Wednesday that “the immediate that the CNMI and its peoples peals which said that the doing the testing at DEQ had no threat to our community is very real.” The press release was, accord are free and "always have been, „ Commonwealth, because it idea what’s cauing the super- ing to CUC, in response to comments made by the DEQ last week that despite colonial overlords, sov did not specifically include high count of bacteria, but if it dumping untreated sewage in the lagoon does not pose a health threat. ereign." the 11th Amendment of the continues that the beaches may Guerrero has also announced that until some way can be found to His bill also refutes the Sec United States Constitution have to be closed until further stop the sewage problems, he has ordered that no new hookups to the tion One of the Covenant which which grants such immunity, notice. sewer system will be approved. says the CNMI is “under the are no longer viable. Dr. Jose Chong, director of An article in the Marianas Variety last week quoted F. Russell sovereignty" of the United One of the preccdcnt-set- public health will be provided Mechem II, Water Resources Engineer chief, as saying the situation States, sayingthatthcpeoplcof S0e:8!LLS,Page19 with the data from tests made at See: GUERRERO, Page 43 INSIDE Police increasing Lighthouse, open bomb threat efforts after 40 years ¡,9 3 Saipan Chief of Police Jose M. Castro said Thurs day that the number of phone threats made to the Control tower Public School System over the last few weeks, needed on Saipan including two this week, are of greatconcem to him. Pega 1& He has ordered detectives to increase their efforts and to keep him posted on progress. NMI observes Castro was circumspect when asked if they had any idea who was making the calls, or where they Earth Day were coming from. He said that the department was Page 2 Speaker Pedro Guerrero and Congressmen Salan (right), Maritrta (left) Reyes and Sablan confer on bills during House recess. See:BOMB,Page 28 Babauta wants House seat, good communications BY DAVE HUGHES voting delegate to that body. received in Washington, especially since j Washington Representative to the “I’m concerned about the CNMI having U.S. policymakers perceive a better com United States Juan N. Babauta said direct influence on legislation that affects munication between his office and that of that his first three and one-half months the CNMI,” he said. governor Larry I. Guerrero. in office have been full of activity, and But, although Amendment 24 of the “It means a lot to the federal officials toi he hasdecided that the Marianas House Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas see a good working relationship between j location is much too far atfay'from the Constitution has already given approval the office of the Washington Representa Capitol to be an effective tool for the for its representative to be a member of tive and the governor’s office here,” hefi CNMI. Congress, Babauta said Wednesday in an said. “Because it made their experience! He also feels that one of his goals interview that if such an arrangement hurt very awkward in the past with my prede-g should be increase the the sovereignty of the CNMI he would not cessor and the governor here.” Commonwealth’s visibility and influ pursue it. During the Froilan Tenorio yearsg ence in Congress by becoming a non Babauta said that he has been well- See: REP SEEKING, Page 8 2 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - FRIDAY - April 20.1990 FRIDAY - Anril 20.199(1 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - 3 A Meeting Place For Our FORUM Opinions And Yours Lighthouse given new life JR’s Agenda One-time Japanese fortress opens with charity benefit By:O l m Johnf ^ L n DelΠ · Rosario The opinion expressed in this column are the personal opinion of the By Dave Hughes Marianas Public Land Corpora author and may or may not express the opinions of the newspaper. Yoshie Screen stood on the tion said no... “but they told me veranda of Saipan’s “newest” I could turn it into some sort of restaurant looking out over the commercial operation as long as Money needed for An issue which came under discussion in the it insists on the other hand thatwegenuflectand recite view which encompassed ev it didn’t destroy the building’s recently recessed 902 Talks revolved around the mea culpa anyway. It’s all very confusing. It erything from Garapan to Smil character.· the concept of self-government. I couldn’t seem s that though it wants less reliance on grant funds ing Cove and said that at last she “Originally I thought about agree more with Lt. Governor Benjamin T. on our part, it wishes not that we find means to support had “what I wanted over 20 years turning it into a museum,” she sewage problem Manglona that the so-called “administrative and decrease this reliance so that someday soon we ago.*» said, “but I didn’t think it would, exercises” became history in January of 1978 can free ourselves from the umbelical cords known as “Earth Day,” a world-wide recognized event enacted to remind While the restaurant facility is generate enough money to pay upon the installation of our constitutional gov U.S. Grant Funds. Who wants to go through years of everyone that the air, water and sea can be safe without pollution, new, with it’s official opening for itself.” ernment. grant funds rationing? Saturday, the building in which it celebrates its 20th anniversary this weekend. Screen said thatafterextended It appears that Interior has come up with a Yet we only know it too well that its commitment In the CNMI, April 22 has been proclaimed the day for recognizing is located is one of the most his negotiations with others who term which really has no value nor substance is now focused toward funneling billions of dollars to the need for a clear and clean environment at a time when millions of toric dating back to Japanese shared the same vision of restor but the fine trimmings of arrogance of the Lithuana, Estonia, Poland, Panama, the Philippines, gallons of raw sewage is finding its way to Saipan’s beaches.