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Vol. 40 No. 138 © 2012 Marianas Variety

Tuesday • September 25, 2012

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Govendo says Fund withdrawal law flawed

More Filipinos taking less popular courses

Bill Clinton has ‘no earthly idea’ whether Hillary will run

‘Homeland’,’ Modern Family’ win top Emmy prizes

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More CHC chaos

By Tammy Doty tammy.doty@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

THE Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. appears to be in free-fall with no floor in sight.

Following on the heels of a critical week of inspections by surveyors from the U.S. Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Region IX that resulted in two separate status changes to

“immediate jeopardy,” the critical post of director of medical affairs was once again rendered vacant.

Yesterday afternoon, acting director of medical affairs, or DMA, Dr. Daniel Lamar, resigned the duties of the post in a pointed email to chief executive officer, Juan N. Babauta, and board chairman Jack Torres.

Continued on page 22

‘I blame Fitial!’

By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor avz@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

HE hasn’t slept in three days. He is frustrated and angry.

Kagman resident William Tracy, 45, stood at the corner of Isa Drive and Capitol Hill Road yesterday

to express his frustration over his inability to get his medications through Medicaid.

“I blame [Gov. Benigno R.] Fitial for not matching the funds,” said Tracy as he complained that Continued on page 22

Chalan Galaide Road ‘dangerous’

By Junhan B. Todeno junhan.todeno@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

Kagman resident William Tracy waves at passing motorists on Capital Hill across from the Emergency Management Office yesterday.

Photo by Alexie Villegas Zotomayor

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THE road that leads to Mt. Tapochau is passable but “dangerous,” says Heinz Staffler, one of the residents in the area, referring to Chalan Galaide Road.

It is used often by tourists who rent cars that usually get stuck on the road which has deep ditches, especially at the

portion below the Coral Island condominium, he said.

Another resident said the road is turning into a “riverbed.”

Staffler said the government has been promoting Mt. Tapochau as a tourist site.

“But what good is it…if nobody could get there,” he added.

Continued on page 22

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Local

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Govendo says Fund withdrawal law flawed

By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor avz@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

THE law that allows active members of the Retirement Fund to pull out their contributions is flawed, according to Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo whose 2009 judgment ordering the CNMI government to pay its now over $300 million debt to the pension agency remains unenforced.

During the reconvened meeting of the key players in the Fund’s collection lawsuit against the government in Superior Court on Sept. 21, Govendo pointed out that the law didn’t factor in the medical insurance.

“If you pull out of the DB Plan while you still work for the government, you still have your insurance.

As soon as you terminate working the DB people are pulling out won’t for the government, you won’t get a pension but they should have have insurance,” he said. a government health insurance if He said when people leave they qualify, if they put in enough the government service when years before they quit government they’re into their 60’s, service and the governno insurance firm will ment should pay for it.” accept them; if they do, He added, “That should insurance plans would be be put back in the bill. That expensive. is a major mistake.”

He also noted the uncerDuring the gathering tainties that go with the of retirees at the multiObamacare law and how it purpose center that Friday Ken Govendo night, Fund legal counsel may play out in 2014.

But to cut the people off Carolyn Kern described insurance is the major flaw of P.L. P.L. 17-82 as “vague.”

17-82, Govendo said.

She said under the law, the “I think that the Legislature has government will appropriate the got to take another look at it,” he money needed for current bensaid. efits and operating expenses as Govendo, addressing the mem- determined by the secretary of bers in the gallery, said: “Maybe Finance.

BOG

“My interpretation of that would be that they have to appropriate $70 million — that is what we are spending; that is the current expenses for paying the retirees and operating the fund,” said Kern.

For Kern, the Legislature has to appropriate $70 million for the Fund in this year’s budget pursuant to the law it has already passed.

“Do they know that? No,” said Kern.

The FY 2013 budget bill will appropriate $11 million only for the Fund.

Early Friday morning in court, Govendo told the retirees and other stakeholders that the difference between the U.S. Social Security and the CNMI Retirement Fund is that the local retiree has received 500 times more money than they

paid in and “they wanted it to last forever.”

“This Retirement Fund is generous from the start, and everybody knows that,” he said.

For Govendo, this is the collective fault of every trustee the Fund has ever had and every administration the commonwealth has ever had.

He said no one among the retirees complained that they were getting too much when it came time to receive their pensions.

Govendo said this was guaranteed to them by law and the CNMI Constitution.

He said the Fund should take care of the retiree only and the spouse and not the extended family.

He agreed with Commonwealth Retirement Association chairman Larry Cabrera that getting a U.S. Social Security check will be a “big shock.” The amount will be much less than what a CNMI retiree used to get from the Fund.

In discussing pension cuts, Govendo said, “If the government can’t do it, and the retirees can’t do it, we continue to march toward the edge of the cliff where there might not be any money for anyone.”

He suggested putting a cap on the amount of pensions a retiree can receive.

He also asked the Fund if it has complied with his order to ask the retirees if they can sustain a pension cut and by how much. Kern said the Fund began preparing survey forms before they filed for their failed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in April.

But the Fund, she said, has not yet distributed these forms to the retirees.

The court also discussed the Marianas House in Washington D.C. and whether the CNMI government should sell it and remit the money to the Fund.

“This is a mess,” Govendo said, echoing Federal Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood’s earlier statement.

“It just gets messier as you go deeper and deeper into it,” he added.

Current insurance Variety earlier reported that retirees were offered a choice between a low and a high option plan under the Group Health and Life Insurance.

For the low-option plan, the Fund pays $101.14 per pay period for single plan; $207.34, couple not including domestic partner; $101.14, couple including domestic partner; $323.65, family but domestic partner not included; and $222.51, for family coverage including domestic partner.

Under the low-option plan, retirees pay $101.14, $207.34, $313.54, $323.65, and $424.79 for the above-mentioned plan types.

The Fund spent $6.9 million on retirees’ premiums in the last fiscal year.

With the new contract, the Fund would be paying about $8 million Continued on page 22

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Local

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

CHC’s ‘spokeswoman’ leaves NMI wanted, and immediately became a lightening-rod for community frustration,” described a hospital FORMER KSPN reporter Jeannette source with detailed knowledge Rocher moved back to Canada last of the situation that unraveled week with her son, Caleb. quickly.

Rocher’s quick exit came as a Variety reviewed the RFP surprise to most as the Division that Rocher responded to and of Public Health recently hired it clearly listed communication her to perform public relations deliverables, none of which work due by end-October. mentioned CHC or PIO responRoxanne Diaz, division direc- sibilities. tor, said Rocher was awarded “She was known in the coma contract after a successful munity as a kind, fair-minded response to an Aug. 27 request person…unfortunately, Jeanfor proposal. nette tried to start a communi“Jeannette was the best choice cations consulting business to as she reported on public support her son but was health issues for three in the wrong place at years, knew the programs the wrong time,” said and had the skills we another CHC insider needed to communicate who also declined to be more effectively with the identified. public,” Diaz said.

Babauta told Variety According to Comlast week, “My underJeannette monwealth Healthcare standing was DPH proRocher Corp. chief executive cured Rocher’s service officer Juan N. Babauta, it was under a grant…the agreement his idea to “piggy-back” on the was done while I was in San division work-order and use Ro- Francisco and John Tagabuel was cher as CHC’s public information acting CEO.” officer.

Diaz said the grant funding Alvaro Santos, CHC’s chief was for combating non-comfinancial officer, described municable diseases, or NCD, Rocher as “the corporation’s and it came from the Secretariat spokeswoman.” of Pacific Community, or SPC, But sources said Rocher never based in New Caledonia. agreed to be the PIO, nor was she “Some 80 percent of chronic hired for the position, but wanted conditions are traceable back to help with CHC communication to NCDs such as diabetes…the efforts as time allowed.

SPC grant funding is for com“Before Jeannette realized munity education and we needed what was happening, she was Jeannette’s help on specific tasks thrust out front as CHC’s media such as developing a Website point person, which she never and an electronic newsletter,”

By Tammy Doty tammy.doty@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

stated Diaz.

Although each DPH communication task was assigned a deadline in the RFP the same cannot be said for payment to Rocher.

Sources confirmed that Rocher left island without having received any payments for completed work from CHC. The non-payment coupled with the stress of being thrust forward as CHC’s PIO at a time of severe crises was said to have played a major part in Rocher’s move back to Canada after three years on Saipan.

Other CHC sources stated they were told Rocher moved back to Canada to care for an ailing relative.

Variety requested comment from Rocher but was unable to secure a statement.

One former colleague of Rocher’s who asked to remain nameless lamented the loss of another island professional.

“The petty politics of these islands chews up good people and spits them out when we should be doing everything we can to take care of good-minded people like Jeannette and CHC’s doctors and nurses.”

As for DPH, Diaz explained it will continue the NCD communication plan with the in-house resources available.

“Circumstances change and we just have to be flexible…we’re disappointed at losing Jeannette but we have to stay focused on our objective of creating a healthier community.”

Trustee ad litem to hire new Fund counsel

By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor avz@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

WITH the departure of the Retirement Fund’s two in-house legal counsels, the trustee ad litem is pressed to fill the vacancies.

In an interview with Variety last Friday, attorney Joseph C. Razzano said, “The Fund will need an in-house counsel.”

In-house counsels Christopher Timmons and Carolyn M. Kern have resigned. Timmons moved to Northern Marianas College while Kern is relocating to New Zealand.

“Carolyn is going to be with us until Sept. 28,” Razzano said.

Asked if he has anyone in mind to replace her, Razzano said, “We are now preparing to actually ask the governor if we could hire an in-house counsel.”

If Fitial would not approve it, Razzano said they would have to make a public announcement to see if anybody is interested.

Asked why he has to ask the governor’s permission, Razzano MV 9-25-12.indd 3

replied, “We are researching that to address everybody‘s concerns,” right now.” he said.

He believes that the quicker He said they are still in the proway to fill the vacancy is to get cess of gathering information as to the governor’s concurrence rather the path the Fund is taking. than to issue a public announce“We are going to gather as ment. much information as we can. We He, however, said, in doing so, are going to try to make the best the Fund “would like to make sure decision,” he said. that we comply with the law.”

Asked if he intends to oppose the The two counsels had withdrawal law — P.L. a two-year contract with 17-82 — Razzano said: the Fund and were each “We don’t know yet. paid about $60,000 a We are trying to make a year plus benefits. determination whether it As for the ongoing is constitutional.” transition at the Fund, He said they may be Razzano said: “It has filing some pleadings in not been very difficult Joseph Razzano court and these should at all. Everybody has been nice reflect the direction the Fund is and accommodating.” taking.

He expressed appreciation to On Friday night, Kern explained the Fund’s acting administrator, to the retirees at the CommonLilian Pangelinan, and outgoing wealth Retirement Association Fund counsel Carolyn Kern for general assembly at the multikeeping him up to speed with the purpose center that Razzano was issues confronting the pension also looking into whether the agency.

Fund would join any legal action “We have met as many people as to delay the implementation of we possibly could. We are trying P.L. 17-82.

Kilili: NMI people are biggest losers in GOP budget from the U.S. House, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is urging CNMI voters to elect a delegate that THE biggest losers if the U.S. will align with the U.S. RepubRepublican budget proposal licans. becomes law are the people of In an email interview, Press the CNMI, according to U.S. Secretary Angel A. Demapan Congressman Gregorio Kilili said the governor is glad that Camacho Sablan.

Sablan “recognizes [that] he’s a But the Fitial administration loss to the commonwealth.” said the CNMI people will only “This is why it is important for lose when they are “weakly” rep- the people of the CNMI to elect resented in the U.S. Congress. a delegate that is one, aligned Sablan on Friday estimated with the Republican majority; that over $11.6 million in federal and two, a delegate that can fight monies, including capital im- for our interests and come out a provement project funds, would winner,” Demapan said. be taken away from the CNMI “He claimed to be able to work if Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s Re- with members from both sides publican allies in the U.S. House of the aisle. Obviously, we are succeed in cutting the federal witnesses to the contrary,” he budget for fiscal year 2013. added, referring to Sablan.

But because of the continuing Increases resolution to keep the federal Sablan, for his part, also government funding at FY’ 12 showed how the U.S. House level at least for six months from raised or maintained the budget Oct. 2012 to March 2013, the for the programs that benefit CNMI will continue to receive the CNMI. the following financial assisThe U.S. House increased the tance from the federal govern- HOME Investment budget from ment: $1.55 million for the Legal $1 billion to $1.2 billion or 16.7 Services Corporation; $50,111 percent. For this program, the for the John R. Justice School CNMI will get $354,780.

Loan Repayment Program; The Section 8 Tenant Based $75,000 for Juvenile Part B Rental Assistance fund also went Formula Grants; $27,413 up from $18.9 billion for the Juvenile Accountto $19.1 billion. Of this ability Block Grant; amount, the CNMI will $12,500 for Title V of get $3.7 million. the Local Delinquency Funding for the Byrne Prevention Incentive Justice Assistance Grant Grants; $580,174 for the Program went up from Coral Reef Conservation $370 million to $392.5 Gregorio Grants; $141,000 for the million with the CNMI Sablan State Energy Program; getting $243,854. $410,831 for the Historic PresThe Special Supplemental ervation Fund; and $122,787 Nutrition Program for Women, for the State and Tribal Wildlife Infants and Children funds went Grants. up from $6.6 billion to $7 billion Also, the National Assistance of which the CNMI will get $3.9 Program Block Grant for the million.

NMI would have been slashed by The Port Security and Home$1 million if not for the continu- land Security grants went up ing resolution. from $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion, Sablan said the continuing which includes over $21 million resolution also rejected the pro- for the CNMI. posed language in the federal No change budget bill authorizing the DeThe U.S. House also did not partment of the Interior to take change the funding for other CIP funds from jurisdictions that programs that benefit the CNMI. have failed to spend them .

These are the $7 million CommuThis means that the CNMI’s nity Development Block Grant $8.7 million CIP funds are not through which the CNMI will at risk of being redistributed to get $793,489; the $307 million the other territories.

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance The $4 million in State Tribal Grants through which the CNMI Assistance Grants and Drinking will get $350,000; the $8.4 bilWater State Revolving Fund and lion Transit Formula and Bus the $3.5 million in Clean Water Grants through which the CNMI State Revolving Fund set aside will get $157,000; the $189 milfor the CNMI in FY’12 were also lion Service Training Officers, spared from cuts.

Prosecutors-Violence Against Sablan said the list is not Women Formula Grant program complete but the amount of cuts through which CNMI will get that the CNMI avoided should be $614,669; and the $23 million more than $11.6 million.

Sexual Assault Services Program Align with GOP through which the CNMI will In order to avoid losing help get $19,229.

By Emmanuel T. Erediano emmanuel.erediano@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

9/24/12 11:25:04 PM

Local

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TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

9/24/12 11:25:04 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

New budget may not increase funding for PSS, CHC, NMC, Medicaid

By Emmanuel T. Erediano emmanuel.erediano@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

THE members of the bicameral conference committee will vote today on a compromise draft of the fiscal year 2013 budget that may not include additional funding for key public services.

The joint panel ended its meeting at 4 p.m. yesterday still divided on how to finalize the appropriation measure.

Some members wanted to cut the budget of other government agencies in order to provide additional funding for critical agencies and programs — $5 million for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.; $33 million for the Public School System; $5 million for Northern Marianas College; and $3 million each for Medicaid and the medical

referral program.

Basa said they need to find But other committee members $5.2 million for the priority apwanted to stick to Gov. Benigno R. propriation items: CHC, PSS, Fitial’s revised budget submission NMC, Medicaid and medical which will give CHC close to $2 referrals. million; PSS, $28 million; NMC, The first idea that the Sen$4.3 million; Medicaid, $1.4 mil- ate conferees supported was to lion; and medical referrals, $3.2 raise the government working million. Fitial also wants hours from 64 to 76 to restore the government or 78 only instead of employees’ 80 working 80 as proposed by the hours. governor.

In separate interviews, But the House conferthe bicameral committee ees insisted on 80 hours co-chairs, Rep. Ramon S. so the panel considered Basa, R-Saipan, and Sen. raising the income tax Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.- Ramon Basa by suspending the reRota, said they agreed to meet bates, but Lt. Gov. Eloy S.Inos at 8 a.m. today in the speaker’s told them the money was already conference room to finalize the committed to taxpayers. budget measure which has to be This led the conferees to the enacted on or before Oct. 1 to last resort: cutting the budget of avoid a government shutdown. all government agencies except

the priority services.

Taimanao said despite hours of deliberation, they still could not come to an agreement so they ended up with the governor’s revised budget submission.

“The budget that we are looking now reflects that of the governor’s revised version,” she added.

“We have to make a decision by voting whether we will retain the priorities and then cut from top down or just go back to the governor’s revised budget if we cannot find sources to fund the priorities,” Taimanao said.

“The Senate goes in there with an open mind, ready to compromise with our House counterparts.

Our ultimate goal is to have a balanced budget. But if there is no compromise, well, we all know what to expect.”

and Ignacia Saures as her third party custodians.

Assistant Attorney General Shelli Neal represented the government.

Olaitiman has denied the charges of two counts of assault and battery, obstructing justice, assault with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of disturbing the peace.

On Sept. 1, 2012, police ar-

ing session at their residence.

While a police officer was calming down Olaitiman, she suddenly tried to grab the officer’s sidearm, saying she would shoot her brother and brother-in-law.

Olaitiman managed to pull the handgun halfway out of the holster and squeeze the trigger twice. But the gun didn’t go off because the safe button was on, police said.

(Andrew O. De Guzman)

Court converts bail order to property bond in assault case SUPERIOR Court Judge David A. Wiseman has converted Rosa Maria W. Olaitiman’s $7,250 bail order into a property bond, covering an area of 933 square meters.

The court granted Assistant Public Defender Daniel Guidotti’s motion to modify Olaitiman’s bail during yesterday’s hearing.

The court also released Olaitiman, 45, to Mariana Olaitiman,

rested Olaitiman for throwing cans of beer at her brother and brother-in-law, and for grabbing a responding officer’s handgun during a disturbance incident in San Jose.

Police said Olaitiman pulled the trigger but the gun was on safe mode.

The victim told police that his sister, Olaitiman, threw several cans of beer at him during a drink-

Local

Goodbye Leli

By Andrew O. De Guzman andrew.deguzman@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

FELIX Borja Villagomez, also known as Leli, will be missed.

“He was a strong man, a loving husband, and worked very hard for his family,” said Jessica R. Limes, 38, referring to her husband Villagomez.

The 51-year-old Villagomez succumbed to head injuries on Sept. 17, 2012.

Limes said her husband, who loved to ride a horse, was on his way to his ranch, when he fell from a horse near the former Ladera International School of Saipan.

Villagomez had two children — fraternal twins — with Limes, and five children from his first marriage.

Herman’s Modern Bakery assistant Felix Villagomez general manager Annie G. Hayes described Villagomez as a diligent staffer.

Villagomez belonged to the bakery’s food service team, she said.

Villagomez was “very cooperative, diligent, and very quiet,” Hayes added.

He was an “easy going but a serious person,” she said.

Hayes said Villagomez had been on their staff for the past three years.

Today, Tuesday, Villagomez’s remains will be brought to Mount Carmel Cathedral for viewing and last respects.

Responso will be held at 8 a.m. while the Mass will start at 11 a.m. This will be followed by an interment service at the Chalan Kanoa cemetery.

US court to continue revocation hearing of woman convicted of immigration document fraud U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has rescheduled Rowena Agnes Urumelog’s revocation hearing for next month.

The court was supposed to continue Urumelog’s revocation hearing for Sept. 28, 2012, but it rescheduled it for Oct. 10, 2012 due to a scheduling conflict.

Yesterday, the U.S. Probation Office submitted its second supplemental declaration in support of the petition to revoke Urumelog’s pretrial release conditions.

On Sept. 7, 2012, Urumelog’s federal probation officer detected the odor of alcohol from her exhaled breath after she reported to the office as instructed.

Urumelog admitted that she consumed three glasses of wine the previous evening, according to court documents.

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During the Aug. 28, 2012 revocation hearing, Judge Manglona said Urumelog violated her condition of release by not reporting to U.S. Probation Office when instructed to do so.

On Dec. 7, 2011 federal jurors found Urumelog guilty of one count of immigration document fraud.

In Urumelog’s immigration petition for her second husband, a Bangladeshi national, she falsely declared that she had never before petitioned for him or another alien. But Urumelog previously filed an immigration petition for her first husband, also a Bangladeshi national.

Last June 8, 2012, Manglona sen-

tenced Urumelog to eight months imprisonment — four of which she was allowed to serve on home confinement — and three years of supervised release.

The court allowed Urumelog to remain at liberty pending notification by the U.S. Marshals Service of the federal detention facility where she will be imprisoned.

Urumelog, through her court-appointed defense attorney Mark Hanson, has filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Urumelog is appealing her conviction, sentence and final written judgment.

(Andrew O. De Guzman) 9/24/12 11:25:06 PM

Local

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Aging Center program coordinator Walter Manglona, left, talks with the manamko’ during an audition.

Photos by Junhan B. Todeno

Senior citizens pose before recording a Christmas song at the Aging Center.

Manamko’ to record Christmas CD

By Junhan B. Todeno junhan.todeno@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

SOME senior citizens at the Aging Center are about to become recording artists.

Yesterday, Walter Manglona, the center’s program coordinator, conducted an audition in preparation for recording a Christmas CD as part of its continued fundraising program.

“We have many very talented people here,” he said, adding that most of those who will join the project also performed at the recently held manamko’ talent show at the multi-purpose center.

Manglona, who runs the Jade Pro Studio, said he volunteered to use his own resources, including music engineering, the arrangement, music accompaniment and the recording itself.

The CD will have at least eight songs in English, Filipino, Chamarro, Carolinian and Chukeese versions, he added.

They are expecting to generate $7,500 from the sales of the CD which will be sold at $15 each.

“This is not about money,” Manglona told the manamko’.

He said the songs they will be recording will become their “legacy.”

Once the master copy is done, it will be sent to the Philippines for mass production, he said, adding that the CD’s should be ready by November.

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9/24/12 11:25:08 PM

Local / Pacific Islands

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Students get ready for Let’s Move Marianas Expo

By Raquel C. Bagnol raquel.bagnol@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

THE Division of Public Health along with choreographers from Saipan Music & Dance School have already visited nine schools in the past weeks to teach students the dance moves they will perform in the Let’s Move Marianas Expo on Saturday.

Esther Sablan of Saipan Music and Dance School said she and her two choreographers Kevin and Sai enjoyed teaching the students the “Let’s Move” dance routine originally performed by Beyonce.

Sablan said they added “local flavor” to the choreography.

They have already visited students at Mount Carmel School, Hopwood Junior High School, Saipan Southern High School, Koblerville Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, Tanapag Elementary School, GTC Elementary School, Whispering Palms and Green Meadow School.

“It is exciting to see the kids learning the dance routine at the schools,” Sablan said. “We will be visiting more schools this week with Public Health Director Roxanne Diaz and Let’s Move Marianas initiative chairwoman Amber Mendiola.”

All the participants will have a general rehearsal at the Ada Gym

MV Hapilmohol leaves Yap port COLONIA, Yap (Yap State Government) — The MV Hapilmohol 1 departed the port on Monday evening on a long field trip to the Neighboring Islands where it will drop off the remaining students and teachers who are returning back to their home islands for this school year.

The students and teachers could not be accommodated during the first leg which departed from Yap on Aug. 10, 2012 due to limited space on the vessel.

The Department of Public Works & Transportation was not able to book them on the same trip since the number of students and teachers along with medical referral patients who were also returning home at that time have far exited the capacity of the vessel.

This trip will also accommodate a team from the Department of Health Services which will do a follow up on the work that they did not complete during their last visit to those islands.

Other government staff and private passengers are also traveling on this trip.

The MV Hapilmohol is scheduled to return to Yap on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012.

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Choreographers Kevin and Sai teach San Vicente Elementary School students the “Let’s Move” dance routine.

Students at Tanapag Elementary School dance to the beat of “Let’s Move.”

Contributed photos

track and field on Wednesday and Friday.

The Let’s Move Marianas campaign is an effort to end childhood obesity in the CNMI and get more students physically active.

On Sept. 29, from 7 a.m. to 12 noon, the Let’s Move Marianas

cies will also set up booths to promote their services: the KKMP Foundation, the Division of Environmental Quality, the Commonwealth Cancer Association, Joeten-Kiyu Public Library and the Division of Youth Affairs.

Cooking demonstrations using

Expo will take place at the Ada Gym track and field.

Sablan said about 2,000 students, teachers, parents and community members will perform the dance routine that will be incorporated into a flash mob.

Partner organizations and agen-

healthy food will also take place.

Let’s Move Marianas is part of first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to raise a generation of healthier children.

For more information, call 2368638 or email letsmovemarianas@ gmail.com.

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TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Club 200 tickets sales ongoing THE American Red Cross-NMI chapter is calling on members of the community to purchase tickets for the 24th Annual Club 200 raffle and dinner fundraiser slated for Saturday, Oct. 6.

“Ticket sales usually move fastest at the last week before the event, but we encourage the community to buy their tickets now,” NMI chapter executive director John Hirsh told the Variety yesterday. “You can call us to deliver tickets to where you are if you cannot come to the Red Cross office or get in touch with any of our staffers who are selling tickets.”

He said so far, this year’s major sponsors are IT&E, IP&E Shell, Bridge Capital LLC, United Air Lines, Delta Air Lines and the Joeten Charitable Foundation.

“We are still expecting to hear from sponsors who have been our great supporters through all these years,” Hirsh said.

The popular Japanese country music group G GAP will be performing at the event which will be held at the poolside of Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 6.

This year’s theme is “Way Out West” and guests are encouraged to wear western and cowboy attires.

Tickets are $100 each and entitle ticket holders to a full buffet and bottomless drinks plus a chance to win the $15,000 grand prize.

For more information, visit the Red Cross office on Airport Road, call 234-3459, fax 234-3457 or log on to www.nmi.redcross.org.

(Raquel C. Bagnol)

Members of the Iglesia ni Cristo clean up the traffic island at the Microl intersection.

The traffic island is repainted.

Church members are seen near some of the trash bags as they complete their cleanup.

Church minister Manuel “Ka Manny” Jatulan, left, talks with church members during the cleanup.

Photos by Junhan B. Todeno

Iglesia ni Cristo cleanup drive gets thumb ups from motorists

By Junhan B. Todeno junhan.todeno@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

IGLESIA ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, members on Sunday concluded their clean and green program by beautifying the Microl intersection area.

The program, which is part of “INC Giving,” is implemented by

Northern Marianas College

Procurement & Property Management Office P.O. Box 501250 CK, Saipan, MP 96950 U.S.A. Tel: (670) 234-5498 ext. 2300/01/02 Fax: (670) 235-7601 E-mail: procurement@nmcnet.edu, Website: www.nmcnet.edu

INVITATION FOR BIDS NMC BID#: IFB NMC 12-007

JANITORIAL SERVICES, AS TERLAJE CAMPUS, SAIPAN

Iglesia ni Cristo members in the Pacific region.

Over 175 members participated during Sunday’s cleanup campaign which included the repainting of the traffic island, metal beams and guard rails, according to Noli R. Villacrusis, INC’s second head deacon.

He said they also painted the

traffic islands at the intersection of Msgr. Guerrero and Beach roads, and at Msgr. Guerrero and Middle roads.

During the cleanup, the church members collaborated with the Department of Public Safety in putting up traffic signs so motorists were properly guided. RNB Construction provided the traffic

Northern Marianas College

Procurement & Property Management Office P.O. Box 501250 CK, Saipan, MP 96950 U.S.A. Tel: (670) 234-5498 ext. 2300/01/02 Fax: (670) 235-7601 E-mail: procurement@nmcnet.edu, Website: www.nmcnet.edu

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NMC 12-001

SECURITY SERVICES, AS TERLAJE CAMPUS, SAIPAN

Northern Marianas College is soliciting competitive sealed bids for the procurement of Janitorial Services for the As Terlaje Campus.

Northern Marianas College is soliciting competitive sealed proposal for the procurement of Security Services for the As Terlaje Campus.

Specifications and Scope of Work packages may be picked up at the NMC Procurement Office, Bldg. L, 2nd Floor, commencing Friday, September 14, 2012, between the hours of 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Specifications and Scope of Work packages may be picked up at the NMC Procurement Office, Bldg. L, 2nd Floor, commencing Friday, September 14, 2012, between the hours of 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Bid Packages are due no later than 10:00 a.m., October 1st, 2012, at Northern Marianas College, As Terlaje Campus, Procurement Office, Bldg. L, 2nd Floor, Saipan, MP 96950.

Proposal Packages are due no later than 10:00 a.m., October 2nd, 2012, at Northern Marianas College, As Terlaje Campus, Procurement Office, Bldg. L, 2nd Floor, Saipan, MP 96950.

For Bidders located outside of the CNMI: you may request a copy of the IFB via fax (670) 235-7601 or email to Anita Camacho (anitac@nmcnet. edu).

For Proposers located outside of the CNMI: you may request a copy of the RFP via fax (670) 235-7601 or email to Anita Camacho (anitac@nmcnet. edu).

This solicitation does not constitute an offer and does not obligate the College in any way. The NMC reserves the right to reject any and/or all bids for any reason and waive any defect in said bids, or cancel in part or its entirety this IFB, if it deems, in its sole discretion, it is in the best interest of the College.

This solicitation does not constitute an offer and does not obligate the College in any way. The NMC reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals for any reason and waive any defect in said bids, or cancel in part or its entirety this RFP, if it deems, in its sole discretion, it is in the best interest of the College.

All costs incurred by the bidder to prepare a response to this solicitation and subsequent inquiries shall be borne by the bidder. All submittals shall become the property of NMC.

All costs incurred by the proposer to prepare a response to this solicitation and subsequent inquiries shall be borne by the proposer. All submittals shall become the property of NMC.

Approved by the following:

Approved by the following:

/s/ Anita Camacho NMC Procurement Manager MV 9-25-12.indd 8

/s/ John D. Guerrero Facilities Manager

/s/ Anita Camacho NMC Procurement Manager

/s/ John D. Guerrero Facilities Manager

cones and signs.

Motorists gave them the thumbsup sign, Villacrusis said.

They started their cleanup campaign on Sept. 16 from their church in Dandan to Airport Road as well as the entire stretch of Msgr Guerrero Road down to Beach Road.

Villacrusis said they will continue the regular cleanup and maintenance of the surrounding area of their church as part of the adopt-a-place program of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council.

Church minister Manuel Jatulan said he appreciates the willingness of church members to continue the cleanup drive.

“It’s also a big help if people will stop throwing their trash in public areas,” he said.

Jatulan said their activity was based on Proverbs 3:27 which states: “Whenever you possibly can, do good for those who need it.”

During the cleanup, church members wore a white shirt with the Biblical verse printed on it.

Church youth members, for their part, distributed copies of church magazines to the motorists.

Villacrusis said it’s part of the church’s program to propagate the word of God. The cleanup campaign started at 1:15 p.m. and ended at 6 p.m. with refreshments and prayers at Kilili Beach.

9/24/12 11:25:10 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Guam farmers want more support

By Louella Losinio louella@mvguam.com Variety News Staff

HAGÅTÑA — Part of the Buy Local initiative is to support local farmers by procuring more local produce instead of buying imported commodities. But the local farming community needs more support from both the public and private sectors in order to thrive.

According to 2012 data from the Bureau of Statistics and PlansBusiness and Economic Statistics Program, the island has imported a whopping near-$400,000 worth of vegetables and fruits for April 2012 alone.

The figure represents cumulative data on different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Bill McDonald, president of the Guam Farmers Cooperative Association, said data on specific vegetable imports are currently lacking on the island since the task of data-gathering was removed from the Guam Department of Agriculture.

“We are supposed to be able to catalogue what we import,” McDonald said.

This function, McDonald added, is vital to the sustainability of local agriculture on the island since the information would help them analyze the market and come up with data on what specific fruits or vegetables to produce.

“The data mixes up everything.

They are not reporting by product,” stated Dr. L. Robert Barber, farm management and marketing specialist at the University of Guam.

“It’s pretty safe to say that we import at least 90 percent of our produce. These include vegetables and fruits that can be produced locally,” Barber said.

Marketing is a big hurdle for local farmers on the island, McDonald stated. Part of the challenge is knowing where and who to sell the produce from the farm, he said.

Photo shows assorted locally grown vegetables sold at a corner store in Dededo, Guam.

Photo by Louella Losinio

“For many years, farmers have been hoping that a good harvest will come but when it does, they don’t know where to market it. Some of our farmers, they even give away their produce because there is no market for it. A couple of weeks ago, we had a farmer with a truck-load of cucumber. He had to put it back in the ground because it won’t sell,” McDonald said.

According to Barber, marketing becomes a real issue if the farmer does not get a price that covers all his costs.

If the farmer fails to make a profit for his produce, he said, the farmer will not be able to continue to farm.

“It is important to know that when you buy from a local farmer, every dollar stays on this island; and when you buy an imported product, 50 percent of the price you pay probably goes off-island,” Barber stressed.

Barber also emphasized the importance of consistently implementing the Buy Local policy and also encouraging government institutions such as the Guam Memorial Hospital and Guam Department of Education to consistently procure local produce.

He also emphasized the importance of strengthening the marketing

capacity of local farmers and the development of a consistent market chain — from the farm, to the distributor, and to the consumer — to increase confidence. Strengthening partnership between local farmers and wholesalers is also vital.

Making sure local wholesalers understand the seasonality of local fruits and vegetables will also contribute to improving marketing consistency.

“All of these guys who buy offisland should understand that during specific months, you don’t have to import certain types of fruits or vegetables because you are going to get a lot locally. Instead, they should communicate with the local farmers and buy from them,” Barber added.

Barber also said it is necessary to reduce importation of vegetables and fruits to keep the dollars within the economy.

“We are talking tens of millions of dollars. If we could change even just 5 to 10 percent local produce to 20 to 40 local produce — that would translate into a lot. I think for some crops we can even go 100 percent. We should be able to grow 100 percent of tropical fruits and vegetables.”

Guam / Pacific Islands

Questions raised over Pohnpei power contract award POHNPEI, FSM (FSM Petroleum Corp.) — A cloud of controversy surrounds the Pohnpei Utilities Corp.’s recent decision to unilaterally award a bid to Energy Infrastructure Global for the upgrade of electrical power generation systems on the island.

As part of the bid award, a hastily arranged MOU was signed with EIG requiring the state of Pohnpei to pay $275,000 for conducting various technical assessments. $75,000 has already been paid out. Over the last three months the state has been experiencing an increasing number of power blackouts.

The FSM Petroleum Corp., as well as all the other bidders, is now asking the question, “Were we given fair consideration under the bid review and award process as required by law?”

The review, assessment and award process were circumvented

by Executive Order 01-12, potentially eliminating the right of due process.

“There may be valid reasons to support the proposal from EIG, however, this project is likely to exceed $20 million, have a contract term of over 25 years, and will need to be recovered from a population of about 40,000 people,” said FSM Petroleum Corp. chief executive officer Jared Morris. “The impact of a poor decision is so severe that it demands a high degree of transparency and accountability by the decision-makers. It cannot be left to a weekend analysis or one viewpoint and a unilateral

decision.”

The FSM Petroleum Corp. participates regularly in international bids, and most recently won a competitive bid to operate and maintain the Guam Power Authority fuel tank farms on Guam.

As a result the corporation now stores, handles, and moves the most fuel in the northern Pacific.

How a local FSM company that is an existing major employer, a significant tax contributor at both the national and the state level, has a proven ability to deliver competitive prices, and can win international contracts could come out second-best to a foreign company with very little, if any, project implementation history in the region is a question that is on many P o h n p e i a n ’s minds.

These are questions that deserve to be answered, in an open and transparent manner, for the benefit of everyone involved.

“We are, like all Pohnpeians, an interested party. We are a significant taxpayer in the state, and it is our right to seek answers on how general funds are used, especially when they are to be used to fund activities under an MOU that may not have followed due process,” said Morris, in reference to the substantial payments being made to EIG. When questioned on what the next steps for the corporation are, the official position was, “We are currently seeking independent advice on the matter, and are considering both administrative and legal recourse on the issue.”

Islam group opens first mosque in the Marshalls

By Giff Johnson For Variety

MAJURO — History was made in Majuro Friday with the official opening of a newly built mosque for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Located in the downtown section of the capital, directly across the street from the courthouse, the new mosque was blessed and then people enjoyed food as part of the celebration.

The opening included reading from the Holy Quran and translations into Marshallese language.

Falah Shams, the national president of the Ahmadiyya, spoke and also led the group in prayer, and recently arrived Imam Matiullah Joyia read from the Quran.

The recitation of the Quran and Shams’ speech were translated to Marshallese by Billa Typhoon and Sannia Nena.

Both Shams and Joyia emphasized the message that the Ahmadiyya, from its founding in 1889, has explicitly rejected “jihad by the sword.” Instead, MV 9-25-12.indd 9

Inside the new mosque in Majuro, Imam Matiullah Joyia, at podium, reads from the Quran, while Falah Shams, national president of the Ahmadiyya Community Marshall Islands, at table, and others listen.

said Shams, the Ahmadiyya have promoted an “intellectual jihad of the pen to defend Islam.”

“Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the leading Islamic

organization to categorically reject terrorism in any form,” Shams said.

Rongelap Mayor James Matayoshi also spoke, recognizing

the religious group as one that “rejects violence.” He offered a “warm welcome” and thanked both the Ahmadiyya and its sister organization Humanity First that

History was made in Majuro with the opening of the first Islamic mosque in the capital.

Photos by Giff Johnson

has worked with both Rongelap and Enewetak local governments to establish computer centers and operate computer trainings for local residents.

9/24/12 11:25:12 PM

10

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

FORUM A Meeting Place For Our Opinions. . .And Yours. . .

Jane Mack

• Elizabeth Hamilton

Helping your child succeed Parental involvement is vital in children’s reading success HAGÅTÑA — Thirty years of research has demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between parental involvement and children’s success at school. In fact, a home environment that encourages learning is more important to student achievement than a family’s income, education level, or cultural background.

Of all academic subjects, research shows that reading is the most sensitive to parental influence. In 1994, the College Board established a positive correlation between reading achievement and parents’ support for their children’s reading efforts. Below is a simple quiz you can take to find out how you are doing in providing a supportive reading environment. Give yourself 5 points on each question if you feel you are doing “excellently” in that area; 4 – “very well”; 3 – “well”; 1 or 2 – “poorly”; and 0 points for “ very poorly.”

1) My child sees me reading something every day.

2) I read aloud to my child every day.

3) My children and I have our own library cards. We make regular trips to the library.

4) Things to read are easy to find in our home.

5) I talk with my child about what I am reading and watching.

6) My child often reads things aloud to me.

How did you score?

30 to 25: Excellent, you are right on track. Talk to your child’s teacher for some new ideas.

20 to 15: Good work, you could ask your child’s teacher for some suggestions that will raise your score or try some suggestions below.

14 to 0: You need to improve. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Read something every day • Read every day at a regular time.

• Read from a variety of materials like magazines, comic books, and newspapers in addition to books.

• Choose what is interesting to you and your child: sports, comics, or animal stories.

• Talk about what you read.

• Ask your child’s opinion about what he reads.

Have a library card and make regular trips to the library • Spend quality time with your child at the library.

• Encourage your child to look for many kinds of reading materials.

• Take advantage of story hour, computer usage, family night, summer reading clubs.

• Remember the librarian is there to help you.

• Use your school library as well as the public library to get reading material.

Have reading material in easy-to-access locations in your house • Turn off the TV and read regularly.

• Share stories at bedtime.

• Share your favorite childhood stories with your child.

• Talk about what Continued on page 11

Serving the Northern Marianas for 40 years Published Monday to Friday by Younis Art Studio, Inc. Publishers : Abed and Paz Younis Editor: Zaldy Dandan P.O. Box 500231, Saipan MP 96950-0231 Tel. (670) 234-9797/9272 Fax: (670) 234-9271 E-mail: mvariety@pticom.com URL: www.mvariety.com © 2012, Marianas Variety All Rights Reserved

MV 9-25-12.indd 10

Member of The Associated Press (AP) member Since 1985

National NewSpaper Association

OPINION

The great tax divide

By Thomas Sowell

THERE was a time when Democrats and Republicans alike could talk sense about tax rates, in terms of what is best for the economy, without demagoguery about “tax cuts for the rich.”

Democratic Presidents Woodrow Wilson and John F. Kennedy spoke plainly about the fact that higher tax rates on individuals and businesses did not automatically translate into higher tax revenues for the government. Beyond some point, high tax rates on those with high incomes simply led to those incomes being invested in tax-free bonds, with the revenue from those bonds being completely lost to the government — and the investments lost to the economy.

As President John F. Kennedy put it, “it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.” This was because investors’ “efforts to avoid tax liabilities” make “certain types of less productive activity more profitable than more valuable undertakings,” and this in turn “inhibits our growth and efficiency.”

Both Democratic President Woodrow Wilson and Republican Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush said virtually the same thing.

This disconnect between higher tax rates and higher tax revenues is not peculiar to the United States. Iceland and India both collected more tax revenue after tax rates were cut. In Iceland the corporate tax rate was cut from 45 percent to 18 percent between 1991 and 2001 — and the revenue from corporate taxes tripled at the lower rate.

It doesn’t always have to be this way. Everything depends on how high the tax rate is initially and how other things are going in the economy. But at least we can do without the claims that tax cuts are just ways of helping “the rich” or that we have to raise the tax rate because we have a deficit. We need more tax revenue, not higher tax rates that can backfire.

This has not always been either a partisan issue or an ideological issue. John Maynard Keynes said in 1933 that “given sufficient time to gather the fruits, a reduction of taxation will run a better chance, than

an increase, of balancing the budget.”

New York Times economics writer David Leonhardt recently took the “no panacea” approach to rebut the argument for tax cuts. Presidents Bush 41 and Bill Clinton both raised tax rates, and the economy continued to grow, while the economy declined after President Bush 43’s tax rate cuts, Leonhardt argued.

The 800-pound gorilla that gets ignored by people who use these talking points is the dominant economic factor of those years — namely the huge and unsustainable housing boom that led to a catastrophic housing bust that took down the whole economy on Bush 43’s watch.

Tax cuts are not a panacea. In fact, nothing is a panacea or else, by definition, all the problems of the world would already be solved.

Ironically, it was Leonhardt’s own newspaper that reported in 2006, “An unexpectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy is driving down the projected budget deficit this year.”

Expectations are of course in the eye of the beholder.

Rising tax revenues in the wake of a cut in high tax rates was a possibility expected by five different administrations, both Democratic and Republican, over a period of more than three-quarters of a century.

No one expected automatic and instant surges in economic growth. Both John F. Kennedy and John Maynard Keynes spoke in terms of the long-run effects of lower tax rates, not the kind of instant results suggested by Leonhardt’s graph of growth rates — least of all during a very volatile housing market in which American homeowners took trillions of dollars in equity out of their homes.

Back during the 1920s, when there was no such monumental economic factor as the housing boom and bust until 1929, there was a rapid increase in both tax revenues and jobs after the tax rates were cut. Today, the uncertainties generated by an activist and anti-business administration probably have more of a chilling effect on investments than the tax rate does.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of “The Housing Boom and Bust.” (Townhall) 9/24/12 11:25:16 PM

Forum

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

OPINION

The optimism cure

By Paul Krugman

MITT Romney is optimistic about optimism. In fact, it’s pretty much all he’s got. And that fact should make you very pessimistic about his chances of leading an economic recovery.

As many people have noticed, Romney’s five-point “economic plan” is very nearly substance-free. It vaguely suggests that he will pursue the same goals Republicans always pursue — weaker environmental protection, lower taxes on the wealthy. But it offers neither specifics nor any indication why returning to George W. Bush’s policies would cure a slump that began on Bush’s watch.

In his Boca Raton meeting with donors, however, Romney revealed his real plan, which is to rely on magic. “My own view is,” he declared, “if we win on Nov. 6, there will be a great deal of optimism about the future of this country. We’ll see capital come back, and we’ll see — without actually doing anything — we’ll actually get a boost in the economy.”

Are you feeling reassured?

In fairness to Romney, his assertion that electing him would spontaneously spark an economic boom is consistent with his party’s current economic dogma. Republican leaders have long insisted that the main thing holding the economy back is the “uncertainty” created by President Obama’s statements — roughly speaking, that businesspeople aren’t investing because Obama has hurt their feelings. If you believe that, it makes sense to argue that changing presidents would, all by itself, cause an economic revival.

There is, however, no evidence supporting this dogma. Our protracted economic weakness isn’t a mystery; it’s what normally happens after a major financial crisis. Furthermore, business investment has actually recovered fairly strongly since the official recession ended. What’s holding us back is mainly the continued weakness of housing combined with a vast overhang of household debt, the legacy of the Bush-era housing bubble.

By the way, in saying that our prolonged slump was predictable, I’m not saying that it was necessary. We could and should have greatly reduced the pain by combining aggressive fiscal and monetary policies with effective relief for highly indebted homeowners; the fact that we didn’t reflects a combination of timidity on the part of both the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve, and scorched-earth opposition on the part of the GOP. But Romney, as I said, isn’t offering anything substantive to fight the slump, just a reprise of the usual slogans. And he has denounced the Fed’s belated effort to step up to the plate.

Back to the optimism thing: It’s true that some studies suggest a secondary role for uncertainty in depressing the economy — and conservatives have seized on these studies, claiming vindication. But if you actually look at the measures of uncertainty involved, they’ve been driven not by fear of Obama but by events like the euro crisis and the standoff over the debt ceiling. (OK, I guess you could argue that electing Romney might encourage businesses by promising an end to Republican economic sabotage.)

You should also know that efforts to base policy on speculations about business psychology have a track record — and it’s not a good one.

Back in 2010, as European nations began implementing savage austerity programs to placate bond markets, it was common for policy makers to deny that these programs would have a depressing effect. “The idea that austerity measures could trigger stagnation is incorrect,” insisted JeanClaude Trichet, then the president of the European Central Bank. Why? Because these measures would “increase the confidence of households, firms and investors.”

At the time I ridiculed such claims as belief in the “confidence fairy.” And sure enough, austerity programs actually led to Depression-level economic downturns across much of Europe.

Yet here comes Mitt Romney, declaring, in effect, “I am the confidence fairy!”

Is he? As it happens, Romney offered a testable proposition in his Boca remarks: “If it looks like I’m going to win, the markets will be happy. If it looks like the president’s going to win, the markets should not be terribly happy.” How’s that going? Not very well. Over the past month conventional wisdom has shifted from the view that the election could easily go either way to the view that Romney is very likely to lose; yet markets are up, not down, with major stock indexes hitting their highest levels since the economic downturn began.

It’s all kind of sad. Yet the truth is that it all fits together. Romney’s whole campaign has been based on the premise that he can become president simply by not being Barack Obama. Why shouldn’t he believe that he can fix the economy the same way?

But will he get a chance to put that theory to the test? At the moment, I’m not optimistic. (The New York Times)

Parental...

Continued from page 10 you are reading together.

• Have books within easy reach.

Talk to your child about what you are reading or watching on TV MV 9-25-12.indd 11

• Ask questions about what you read.

• Talk about new words.

• Play word games like “I Spy.” Read aloud to and with your child • Read and reread favorite stories.

• Read with your child all

11

Letters to the editor Last letter LET me make this my last letter to the editor with regards to Dr. Demapan’s spokesman.

I don’t like wasting people’s time with a long and winding letter, so I’ll make this letter short.

If the CNMI was doing so great, why are we all suffering? Why, Mr. Spokesman? Just look at the headlines to see the suffering.

When you read about Congressman Kilili in the newspapers, don’t

you feel a little bit better when you read about him bringing more money to CNMI? The next time our people are lining up to get their food stamps; please be there to explain how Acha is going to help them get jobs.

I know that no matter what I say or do, you will never change your point of view. As such, go ahead and keep speaking for Acha. Make sure that when you do talk, you

better back it up with proof.

By the way, there’s a difference between personal use and selling for a profit. I can’t wait for Election Day to come so we can finally put an end to all this blabber.

Peace to you and God help the CNMI! JP ATTAO Suffering Victim Kagman, Saipan

Preventing active employee member withdrawals neither fair nor reasonable IT was reported in the papers on Monday, that attorneys representing parties with current cases related to the retirement fund, and possibly the fund itself, may go forward with legal action to attempt to prevent the implementation of Public Law 17-82.

Respectfully, how on Earth is preventing the return of garnished earnings of active employee members put towards a program that under even the best of circumstances will not be able to address the retirement promises made to them, fair in any way, shape or form?

There are no employees behind current active employee members who are paying into the fund, and the return on investments, and any realistic future return on investments, will not even cover a fraction of a fraction of the costs (estimated at over $1billion) that will be needed to cover the retirement of the active employee members. Active employee members will also be transferring to Social Security. So how can one argue with a straight face that their withheld earnings should not be returned to them? And how can anyone suggest that these withheld earnings not be returned as quickly as possible, so that active employee members can get the most out of alternative investments they will have to make in order to assist them with their retirement?

The suggestion that active employee members be paid from monies that do not exist (the uncollected $300 million), when their withdrawn earnings are available, does not sound like a very fair solution to me. When you’re not going to get the product you ordered…your refund isn’t incumbent upon the future collections of the company you ordered the item from. That they be kept to glean interest off of, preventing the ability of active employee members to use their funds to invest themselves, is also not a fair or reasonable solution.

I understand the serious concern of current retirees. But putting in jeopardy the investments of another group of members, simply to

guarantee retirement payments for an extra year, does not seem like a sound, reasonable or fair solution.

There is no way active employees who are new and enrolled in the DC plan or employees who have transferred to the DC plan will ever be transferred back to and contribute to the DB program again. There is no way that even the best returns on investments for years on end will ever raise enough funding to meet the future obligations of active employee member’s retirements. And there is no way the government will be able to raise the estimated amount of over a billion dollars that will be needed to cover future DB retirees.

The long and short of it is, there is no scenario one can concoct that will see active employee members benefit from the DB plan in the future. This is clearly understood by active employee members who have met to discuss this, and who after crunching the numbers and accepting the reality, opted to encourage the legislation leading to P.L. 17-82.

Getting the last active DB members off of the rolls, letting them reinvest their money elsewhere, transferring them to Social Security, and focusing efforts on meeting the funding needs of the current retirees, seems like the best beginnings of a solution considering the circumstances. And focusing efforts should not mean jeopardizing the funds paid into the plan by active employee members who will no longer be part of the fund, or jeopardizing their ability to reinvest their monies immediately.

As I stated in previous comments on this issue, the larger majority of active employee members of the fund have resigned themselves to the fact that they are now going to have to work many many years more than they originally thought they would, for a considerably more meager retirement. Many of us will have to work well into our old age, and probably until we kick the bucket. We understand that we are losing a lot by accepting a withdrawal of the earnings that

have been garnished from our pay towards the DB plan. That said, while we will not see even close to the benefits current retirees have seen, we will be able to take that pay and make investments that will best benefit our families when we are too old to work, or trying to make a living off of the $12-$14,000 a year we will likely see if we can work long enough from Social Security.

There is no way that keeping these withdrawn earnings tied up, or trying to transfer responsibility to funds yet collected, is in any way, shape or form, fair to those who will not benefit in the future from the DB plan, and who in the coming weeks, will no longer even be members of the DB plan.

On the contrary, keeping active employee members on the rolls, and not returning their garnished earnings, will only prolong the retirement issues indefinitely. It will take focus away from coming up with real solutions to see the current fixed group of retirees taken care of. And it will ensure litigation well into the future by current active employee members, who will be spending their old age trying to extract a little bit of what they should be getting right now. And it will see the inability of active employee members to reinvest their earnings now to aid them and their families in their golden years.

I would encourage the parties involved to consider seriously the ramifications of preventing the implementation of P.L. 17-82, before pursuing legal action to try and stop it. Stopping it will not save the retirement fund. Stopping it will realistically see the loss of the withholdings of a whole segment of DB plan members. Stopping it will not be conducive to seeing real funding solutions that will meet the needs of the current retirees. And stopping it will certainly not be fair to active employee members who have no hope of benefiting from the DB plan.

school year long.

• Read with your child in the summertime.

• Take turns reading pages or reading in unison.

In conclusion, the family’s role in children’s reading achievement is undisputed. If you are not doing so already, take your

children to the library, help them get a library card and find books on their interests and hobbies, provide a variety of reading material in the home, talk to them about what you are reading and watching on TV, and most importantly read aloud to them every day. It really is the single

most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading.

Elizabeth Hamilton, M.Ed, MA, is a teacher with 23 years of professional experience. You can write to her at successfullearner@yahoo.com with your questions or comments.

ROBERT H. HUNTER San Antonio, Saipan

9/24/12 11:25:17 PM

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Pacific / Asia

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Pacific Digest Fiji draft constitution before Christmas SUVA (Pacnews) — Hopes are high that Fiji will receive the best Christmas gift come December — the draft constitution.

Constitution Commission Chairman Professor Yash Ghai said Friday that hearing of submissions would come to an end on Oct. 15, which would give them ample time to draft the new law before New Year.

“It is very important that people view the draft document for any necessary changes,” he said.

Ghai said their only hope was to possibly get the new law out by the end of the year.

He said the draft document would be summarized on small pamphlets so it could be distributed to all people in Fiji.

“People are starting to raise issues affecting their daily lives, which we see is a good sign.”

Australian accused of PNG gunrunning PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) — An Australian expatriate based in Papua New Guinea will face a Melbourne court for alleged involvement in a gun smuggling racket in the Pacific.

Prominent PNG businessman Ian Chow was arrested in Sydney

by Australian Federal Police early last month.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the AFP had arrested a 49-yearold male Australian citizen in Chatswood.

“The man was charged with one count of aid, abet, counsel or procure the export of prohibited goods,” she said.

PNG has a strict embargo on weapons and ammunition importation due to high levels of violent gun crime and Chow, a licensed sports shooter, is alleged to have been involved in the illegal supply of ammunition via Lae Biscuit Company containers sent from Australia.

Chow is chief executive of Lae Biscuit Company and the regional director of the International Practical Shooting Confederation.

He is not new to controversy. In 2006, police charged him after a series of his homemade pornographic images circulated via the internet and caused outrage in PNG, where pornography is illegal.

Wu’s visit enhances Sino-Fijian relations

Then-Chonqing city police chief Wang Lijun, right, talks at a police mission to rescue people after a landslide in Wulong county, in southwestern China’s Chongqing city on June 10, 2009.

AP

Ex-top cop in China scandal jailed for 15 years CHENGDU, China (AP) — The “The sentence is considered norfallen ex-police chief who exposed a mal within Chinese law’s assessment murder by a Chinese politician’s wife for the scope of punishment,” said was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wang’s lawyer, Wang Yuncai.

Monday in a decision that sets the The scandal has been the messistage for China’s leadership to close est, most public one Communist a seamy political scandal and move Party leaders have had to confront in ahead with a generational handover decades, triggering bruising internal of power. jostling as the leadership prepares to Amid heavy security, transfer power to a younger the Intermediate People’s generation. In the scandal’s Court in the central city of wake, Bo was removed Chengdu sentenced Wang from the leadership, his wife Lijun after convicting him confessed to the murder of defecting, abuse of power and relations among the and other crimes to which leaders were strained. As he confessed at his trial last a result, arrangements for Bo Xilai week. Wang told the court he a party congress to install will not appeal, said his lawyer. the new leadership this fall were The sentence is lighter than the complicated.

20-year prison term suggested in After Wang’s sentencing, the sentencing guidelines and reflects leadership is expected to announce what prosecutors called his “major long overdue dates for the congress meritorious service” for cooperating and dispose of the scandal’s stickiest in uncovering the central element in issue — whether merely to expel Bo the scandal — the murder of a British from the party or hand him over for businessman by the wife of Wang’s criminal prosecution. Pronouncing former boss, once political high-flier judgment on Bo will allow the new Bo Xilai. leaders to take charge without the MV 9-25-12.indd 12

scandal’s overhang.

Wang’s trial and conviction mark the spectacular downfall of a publicity-grabbing police official who rose to nationwide fame by leading a high-profile but law-bending crusade against organized crime in the inland city of Chongqing until he was cast out by Bo, the city’s party chief.

According to an official account of his trial, Wang had grown close to Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, and after she confessed to murdering Briton Neil Heywood, Wang covered it up until his estrangement from her, and later Bo, drove him to flee to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, fearing for his life.

“When mafia members break up with their bosses, they can attempt to seek police protection. But in Chongqing and for the former police boss, there was nowhere to turn,” prominent editor Hu Shuli wrote in a commentary posted on the website of her magazine, Caixin. “And this perhaps encapsulates one of the greatest embarrassments of the country’s current legal system.”

SUVA (Pacnews) — China on Friday signed three agreements with Fiji to expand economic and technological cooperation and offer more favorable loans to the South Pacific island nation.

The two sides also agreed to boost infrastructure as well as agricultural and tourism collaboration, and to maintain communications on climate change issues.

The three agreements — one on favorable loans for Fiji’s Nabouwalu-Dreketi road upgrading project and two framework documents — were signed in the presence of China’s top legislator Wu Bangguo and Fijian military ruler Frank Bainimarama.

During a meeting with Bainimarama on Friday, Wu said that China considers Fiji a “good friend” among the Pacific island countries and would like to elevate Sino-Fijian relations to a new and higher level.

Wu said that Fiji was the first Pacific island country to establish diplomatic relations with China in 1975, and that good relations between the two countries are conducive to the stability and growth of the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Australia in last minute lobby for UN Security Council seat NEW YORK (Pacnews) — Australia will be counting on the 12 votes from the Pacific when the United Nations General Assembly votes in October for two non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Australia, which last held a seat in 1985-86, is competing against frontrunners Finland and Luxembourg for the 2013-2014 term.

The Pacific Islands Forum at its meeting in Rarotonga last month reiterated its support for Australia’s candidacy.

“Leaders recognized the importance of Pacific representation on the U.N, Security Council in ensuring that the council remained informed of international issues of concern to the region. In that regard, Leaders reaffirmed their strong and unanimous support for Australia’s candidature for the UNSC for the term 2013-2014 and New Zealand’s candidature for the term 2015-2016,” said the Forum communiqué.

Aside from Fiji, which is suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum, the other Pacific nations that are members of the United Nations are Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

9/24/12 11:25:19 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Philippines / Asia

13

More Filipinos taking less popular courses MANILA (The Philippine Star) — The Professional Regulation Commission has reported an increasing trend in the number of graduates and passers in licensure examination in what were previously identified as “unsubscribed” professions.

PRC commissioner Jennifer Manalili said they have observed growth in the number of examinees as well as those who passed in the licensure examinations for doctors, medical technologists, veterinar-

ians and chemical engineers.

“There was a marked increase in the passing rate in one of the unsubscribed courses like medical technology.

For physicians we have recorded a total of 1,860 board passers this year from only 800 two years ago,” Manalili said, adding that the passing trend for chemical engineering and veteri-

nary medicine is also increasing.

According to her, there was a slight uptrend in other medical-related professions such as dentistry, optometry and pharmacy as well as education.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said employment opportunity is getting brighter for the huge number of educa-

tion graduates as a result of the implementation of the new K+12 curriculum.

“The Department of Education announced that they will be needing 60,000 new teachers because of the new curriculum and that means there’s work waiting for the graduates,” she said.

However, Manalili said the PRC could not yet tell whether the shortage in certain unsubscribed courses has already been reversed.

“It’s too early to tell, but we

continue to work with the Department of Labor and Employment in career advocacy program so we could educate the youth on what professions are in demand,” she said.

The PRC earlier reported that the country is suffering from severe shortage of licensed mining engineers, optometrists, guidance counselors, psychologists, medical technologists, social workers, pharmacists, nutritionists and dentists.

Returned Vietnam diary gives son glimpse of father LONG XUYEN, Vietnam (AP) — Vu Dinh Son was 18 months old when his father left home to fight American forces in Vietnam, and just 2 when the man was killed in a foxhole encounter with U.S. Marines. But the son now has fresh glimpses into the life of the father he never knew thanks to a wartime diary, returned to him courtesy of the United States.

The pocket-sized book was brought to Vietnam in June by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who, in return, was handed a bundle of letters written by an American soldier that had been kept in Vietnam. The high-level exchange of artifacts symbolized a joint desire for closer ties by the former enemies, who now share concerns over China’s rise.

U.S. Marine Robert “Ira” Frazure took the diary from the chest of Son’s father, Vu Dinh Doan, in March 1966 and then took it home with him, presumably as a war souvenir. Earlier this year, he asked the sister of a fellow Vietnam vet to track down Doan’s family in Vietnam to return the diary. She did that with the help of the PBS television program “History Detectives,” which tracked down Doan’s family earlier this year.

“When my father left for the battlefield, I was too small to know anything, I was not even able to call out ‘Dad,’” Son said Friday after a tearful ceremony outside his house during which the diary was returned, along

Vu Dinh Son, left, cries as he is given a diary and other mementos of his father by army officer Nguyen Xuan Nang in northern province of Hai Duong, Vietnam on Friday.

AP

with a photo of him and two bank notes.

“Whatever he wrote in his small

A diary of Vu Dinh Doan who was killed in 1966 fighting the American Army in its doomed campaign in Vietnam is seen in Hi Duong, Vietnam.

AP MV 9-25-12.indd 13

diary will make us extremely happy,” Son said. “We are tremendously proud of him, and in our heart he is a tremendous hero.”

The red book is hard to decipher in places, but gives a flavor of the life of a North Vietnamese soldier at the beginning of the war: Entries talk of a 15-day march

by Doan, hunger staved off with a meal of rice, salt and shrimp paste, and a vow to destroy “eight planes and five tanks.”

The artifacts were placed during the ceremony next to a photo of Doan, whose body was recovered four years ago, in his uniform in front of burning incense. Above him was a photo of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. Afterward, the family went to pray at his grave, which is in a cemetery reserved for war dead a short drive from the family house.

The United States and Vietnam normalized relations in 1995, 20 years after the end of a war that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 U.S. soldiers. They have largely agreed to move on from the war, though tensions remain over effects of dioxide sprayed by the United States and Vietnam’s human rights record.

The U.S. relies on Vietnamese cooperation in its hunt for the remains of American soldiers in the country. The two countries have exchanged artifacts before, but never at such a high level.

Rarely, if ever, has the Vietnamese army invited the media to cover the events.

The United States is seeking to boost its military and economic ties with Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations, in a so-called “Asian Pivot” to contain China’s influence in the

region. Many of the countries, including Vietnam, share U.S. concerns regarding China and are looking toward Washington for diplomatic and military support.

Friday’s ceremony, which took place a short drive east of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, was attended by a representative of the U.S. military, but was organized

by Vietnam. Its army is keen to show that it is trying to track down the possessions of dead soldiers, not to mention their bodies. There are still some 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers whose remains have yet to be found.

“This is a chance to remind the country of its tradition of fighting foreign aggressors and liberating the country,” Col. Nguyen Xuan Nang said after the ceremony. “It reflects warming relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.”

9/24/12 11:25:20 PM

14

Nation

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Study: Voting laws may disenfranchise 10 million Hispanic US citizens WASHINGTON (Reuters) — New voting laws in 23 of the 50 states could keep more than 10 million Hispanic U.S. citizens from registering and voting, a new study said on Sunday, a number so large it could affect the outcome of the November 6 election.

The Latino community accounts for more than 10 percent of eligible voters nationally. But the share in some states is high enough that keeping Hispanic voters away from the polls could shift some hard-fought states from support for Democratic President Barack Obama and help his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.

The new laws include purges of people suspected of not being citizens in 16 states that unfairly target Latinos, the civil rights group Advancement Project said in the study to be formally released on Monday.

Laws in effect in one state and pending in two others require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

That imposes onerous and sometimes expensive documentation requirements on voters, especially targeting naturalized American citizens, many of whom are Latino, the liberal group said.

Nine states have passed restrictive photo identification laws that impose costs in time and money for millions of Latinos who are citizens but do not yet have the required identification, it said.

Republican-led state legislatures have passed most of the new laws since the party won sweeping victories in state and local elections in 2010. They say the laws are meant to prevent voter fraud; critics say they are designed to reduce turnout among groups that typically back Democrats.

Decades of study have found virtually no use of false identification in U.S. elections or voting by

President Obama waves as he is introduced during a campaign stop, Saturday, in Milwaukee.

AP

non-citizens.Activists say the bigger problem in the United States, where most elections see turnout of well under 60 percent, is that eligible Americans do not bother to vote.

Nationwide, polls show Obama leading Romney among Hispanic voters by 70 percent to 30 percent or more, and winning that voting bloc by a large margin is seen as an important key to Obama winning re-election.

The Hispanic vote could be crucial in some of the battleground states where the election is especially close, such as Nevada, Colorado and Florida.

For example, in Florida, 27 percent of eligible voters are Hispanic. With polls showing Obama’s re-election race against Romney very tight in the state, a smaller turnout by Hispanic groups that favor Obama could tilt the vote toward the Republican.

Romney promises to be more aggressive on campaign trail DENVER (Reuters) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney vowed on Sunday that he would campaign more aggressively in battleground states in the final 43 days before the November election.

The comments, made to reporters aboard his campaign plane, suggested Romney was taking to heart criticism from his own party about the amount of time he has spent raising funds versus speaking to voters.

“I think the fundraising season is probably getting a bit quieter.

I would rather spend the time in key states,” Romney said in his first comments to reporters since Monday.

Romney is about to kick off a week of campaigning in battleground states, starting with Colorado and Ohio.

In 2008, Obama won Colorado by 9 points over Republican John McCain. Before that, the state voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, with the exception of 1992.

He told reporters that Obama’s campaign consistently mischaracterizes his positions on issues like taxes and abortion, and voters would get a better chance to learn about his positions during debates that begin on Oct 3.

Heavy advertising by Obama has coincided with a slow but noticeable decline in Romney’s standing in opinion polls.

Although he is neck-and-neck with Obama in national track-

ing surveys, polls in specific battleground states like Ohio and Colorado, where advertising has been nonstop, show Obama with a slightly wider lead.

“I don’t pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day polls. They change a great deal,” Romney said. “And I know that in the coming six weeks, they’re very unlikely to stay where they are today.”

Sunday night’s event in Denver kicks off a busier week for Romney, who spent much of Friday and Saturday raising money in Nevada and California.

Romney will visit Pueblo, Colorado, on Monday and head to Ohio Tuesday after a brief visit to New York to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative, where Obama will also speak.

His comments on the plane echoed a vow made in an interview broadcast Sunday on the CBS show “60 Minutes.”

“I have to go across the country, particularly in the states that are closest and describe how it is I’m going to get the economy going, and how we’re going to restore the economic freedom that built this economy in the first place,” Romney said.

He defended his campaign as “very effective.” Most of his top aides were in Los Angeles Saturday and Sunday for meetings thought to include debate preparation.

Still, many top Republicans are clamoring for a change in schedule and in tone for Romney.

Bill Clinton has ‘no earthly idea’ whether Hillary will run WASHINGTON (Reuters) — If of Obama’s cabinet.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton has said she will step harbors ambitions to run for presi- down from her current job whether dent, she is keeping them under the president wins re-election to tight wraps. another four-year term on Nov. “I have no earthly idea what 6 or not. she’ll decide to do,” her husband, “She wants to take some time off, former President kind of regroup.

Bill Clinton, said Write a book,” her on CBS television’s husband said.

“Face the Nation” However, she is on Sunday. likely to remain an Although Hillinfluential voice ary Clinton went and questions down to defeat to about her political President Obama future will persist. in a close primary Clinton’s support Bill Clinton contest in 2008, among Democrats she has stayed in the public eye is firm, and some had hoped as the president’s top diplomat. In Obama would boost his re-election that role, Clinton, who had been chances by replacing the gaffea U.S. Senator from New York, prone Vice President Joseph Biden has built a reputation as a capable with her as his No. 2. stateswoman and a loyal lieutenant While she has remained gento the president. She is frequently erally outside the political fray rated as the most popular member during this election season, her MV 9-25-12.indd 14

husband has seized a prominent role in campaigning for the president’s re-election. Even so, Hillary Clinton, who was first lady when her husband was president from 1993-2001, is herself known as one of the Democratic Party’s most influential and best-networked insiders.

The former president said that no matter what, there would be a strong crop of Democrats interested in running for the Oval Office in 2016, including governors and members of Congress.

“We’ve got a lot of able people in our party who want to be president,” he said.

However, he said that with his wife’s experience in the White House, where she led an unsuccessful effort to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, on Capitol Hill, and in the administration, there would be no one more qualified than her to run.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at D’Evelyn High School in Denver, Sunday.

AP 9/24/12 11:25:22 PM

Nation / World

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

15

Iran says it could launch pre-emptive Israel strike

Signal Peak Energy president and CEO John DeMichiei, right, and mine manager Bob Hall pause for a moment in the Bull Mountain mine in Roundup, Mont. Bull Mountain and other export mines in Wyoming and Montana represent a bet that overseas sales could reverse the U.S. coal industry’s downward spiral.

AP

Coal fight looms, Keystone-like, over US Northwest

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Call it the Keystone of coal: a regulatory and public relations battle between environmentalists and U.S. coal miners akin to the one that has defined the Canadato-Texas oil pipeline.

Instead of blocking an import, however, this fight is over whether to allow a growing surplus of coal to be exported to Asia, a decision that would throw miners a lifeline by effectively offshoring carbon emissions and potentially give China access to cheaper coal.

Having long ago lost their bid to prevent the extraction of fossil fuels, environmental groups aim to close transport routes that bring those carbon fuels to market, pulling local and state politicians into the fight alongside regulators.

Mining interests won a battle last week when the Army Corps of Engineers called for a quick study of plans to open the first coal port on the west coast at Oregon’s Port of Morrow on the Columbia River, a review that will weigh impacts of hauling coal, not burning it.

Coal port skeptics say the ruling is ripe for challenge in the courts and they foresee a drawn-out fight over the review.

“I’m afraid that by choosing to perform a less stringent analysis today, the Corps will ultimately create a longer delay,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement. Wyden, who is due to lead the Energy and Natural Resources Committee if Democrats hold MV 9-25-12.indd 15

A coal-burning power station can be seen behind a migrant worker as he walks carrying his shovel on the construction site of a water canal, being built in a dried-up river bed located on the outskirts of Beijing, China on Oct. 22, 2010.

REUTERS

the Senate, has said he supports a full review of the project and is reserving judgment until it is completed.

Delay is something miners can ill afford.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc, one of the country’s largest coal producers, said last week it is cutting 1,200 jobs, roughly 9 percent of its workforce, as increased use of natural gas for power generation dents demand.

While coal foes in the Pacific Northwest can stymie the projects, the federal government will have the final say.

If President Obama wins a second term, the issue will likely test his determination to curb the use of fossil fuels blamed for cli-

mate change, especially since his policies are partly behind miners’ yearnings for Asian markets.

Tough new Environmental Protection Agency limits on power plant emissions are often blamed, along with low natural gas prices, for the drop in domestic coal use, but burning the black rock in Asia will have the same impact on the atmosphere.

No matter who wins the election, the intensifying fight ahead over coal ports is raising Keystone-like questions about energy priorities in a time when traditional fuels are still abundant.

About 40 percent of the country’s coal comes from the Powder River Basin — a high, grassy plain in eastern Wyoming and Montana

where the black fuel runs in seams near the surface.

With nearly 9 percent of U.S. coal furnaces set to go dark in the next four years and more utilities moving to natural gas, the 100 billion tons of coal still locked in the region need to reach new markets or face being frozen in the ground.

A Pacific Northwest coal port would aid mining giants such as Arch Coal and Peabody Energy Corp that dominate the basin and are in a worldwide race to meet Asian demand.

The United States holds the world’s largest coal reserves, but China, with the world’s third-largest share, is tapping more of its own reserves and boosting imports from Australia, Indonesia and even Colombia as its economy continues to grow. India, too, is hungry for coal.

U.S. coal exports have more than doubled in the past two years to reach a record nearly 29 million tons in the first three months of the year. Roughly a quarter of that already heads to Asia, mostly via Gulf Coast ports.

Analysts say Powder River Basin coal must cheaply reach Asia in the coming years to catch the strong demand in China, the world’s No. 2 economy, and the rest of the region.

“The United States has no unique advantage in meeting the Asia coal hunger, and that demand will not exist forever,” said Ailun Yang, a researcher with the World Resources Institute.

DUBAI (Reuters) — Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state was preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran’s state-run Arabic language AlAlam television.

“Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,” Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander.

Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger “World War III.” “We cannot imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America’s support.

Therefore, in case of a w a r, w e will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases,” he said.

“In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it could turn into a World War III.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made increasing hints that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear sites and has criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran getting the atomic bomb.

Tehran denied it is seeking weapons capability and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.

“The Zionist entity is militarily incapable of confronting Iran...the circumstances of the region do not enable it to wage war tomorrow or even in the near future,” Hajizadeh said.

“Our response will exceed their expectations,” he said.

“Their assessment of our missile capabilities is wrong. Our response will not only be missiles.”

9/24/12 11:25:24 PM

16

World

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Chavez’s record: A squandered oil bonanza

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — On the streets of Caracas, vast slums blanket the hillsides while squatters hang laundry in the windows of abandoned buildings. Trash-strewn alleys are riddled with potholes and lined with broken streetlamps. The city’s main waterway, the polluted Guaire River, is known more for sewage than swimming.

While oil has ushered in spectacular construction projects for glittering Middle Eastern cities, including the world’s tallest building in Dubai and plans for branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi, it’s brought relatively meager changes to Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country.

Venezuela has undoubtedly changed during Chavez’s tenure.

The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen.

Unemployment has dropped from more than 13 percent in 1999 to about 8 percent. The country has also achieved rapid improvement on the U.N. Human Development Index, which measures a range of indicators from living standards to life expectancy.

“We’re applying a successful program — successful politically, successful socially, successful eco-

People walk past campaign posters for President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Venezuela.

nomically,” Chavez said at a news conference. “With flaws, of course, but it’s successful. We’re laying the foundations of a historic project that will take our entire lifetime.”

All of which makes him a tough incumbent to beat in the upcoming Oct. 7 election.

Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat.

“It’s overwhelmingly clear that Venezuela has wasted the windfall,” said Francisco Monaldi, an economist and director of the International Center of Energy and the Environment at Caracas’ IESA business school. “You should have had much

greater economic growth, much greater reduction of poverty.”

Among Latin American countries, the economies of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina all have expanded more rapidly than Venezuela’s since Chavez took office in 1999, recording average growth between 3 and 5 percent a year.

Venezuela, by contrast, averaged a 2.8 percent annual increase of gross domestic product between 1999 and 2011, according to International Monetary Fund figures. By that measure, the country was outperformed by every other member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries except Libya.

Even war-torn Iraq posted higher growth.

Some Venezuelans, such as ten-

nis instructor Naybeth Figueroa, say Chavez has simply channeled money toward his “Chavista” supporters while neglecting deeply ingrained problems such as soaring murder rates, inflation, crumbling infrastructure and poor government services. Venezuela now ranks among the most violent and corrupt places on earth.

“The country is falling to pieces,” Figueroa said. “Where is the oil money going?”

On a rutted unpaved road in the countryside outside Caracas, unemployed housewife Moreli Gonzalez lives in a shack with a dirt floor and walls made of rusting sheets of zinc. She is thankful to Chavez that she now receives a $280-a-month cash benefit through

A man sells fried plantains at a market in Caracas, Venezuela.

MV 9-25-12.indd 16

AP

AP

a program called “Mothers of the Neighborhood Mission.”

“Now we have everything,” said Gonzalez, who credits a government education program with helping her learn to read — and a state-run grocery down the road that has made food more affordable.

“We eat better,” she said, showing off cupboards filled with bags of rice and pasta. “My children didn’t use to eat snacks. Now they eat well.”

The government programs for the poor are why Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez recently boasted: “This was one country before President Chavez’s government, and a different one afterward.”

He was referring to the more than $300 billion that the government has spent during Chavez’s tenure on “social development,” including health care and education.

It’s been made possible by oil prices that have shot up, sending more than $981 billion in revenues to the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, between 1999 and 2011.

Some economists say that given the boom, it’s little wonder Venezuelans living below the poverty line declined from 50 percent in the first half of 1999 to about 32 percent in the second half of last year.

“There are people here who are eating meat who didn’t used to eat meat. But is that due to Chavez?

That’s not due to Chavez. That’s the result of the changes in the price of oil,” said economist Angel Garcia Banchs, director of the consulting firm Econometrica.

The state oil company’s contributions to the government have more than tripled, from $16.5 billion in 2004 to $58.6 billion last year.

And it’s not all going to social programs. Chavez has spent billions on the military, buying up Russian-made fighter jets, helicopters and rifles.

University enrollment has also more than doubled. Low-income students now attend the tuition-free Bolivarian University, which was established on the leafy campus of a former state oil company office building.

One of the biggest expenses, though, has simply been supporting a growing bureaucracy. The number of public employees has ballooned during Chavez’s presidency, from about 1.3 million to 2.4 million.

And Chavez has made clear that if he’s re-elected, “that’s going to keep going up.”

When a powerful explosion rocked the Amuay oil refinery last month, killing at least 42 people, several experts swiftly blamed the country’s worst-ever refinery disaster on a lack of maintenance.

Last month, a deadly prison riot killed more than two dozen in an overcrowded penitentiary, the latest in a rising tide of bloodshed that left 560 people dead in the country’s prisons last year.

That disconnect, between falling poverty and worsening infrastructure, points to what critics say Continued on page 17 9/24/12 11:25:25 PM

Business & Trade

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

America’s hidden unemployed: too discouraged to count WASHINGTON (Reuters) — When Daniel McCune graduated from college three years ago, he was optimistic his good grades would earn him a job as an intelligence analyst with the government.

With a bachelor of science degree from Liberty University in Virginia, majoring in government service and history, McCune applied for jobs at the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies.

But after a long hunt that yielded only two interviews, the 26-yearold threw in the towel last fall, joining millions of frustrated Americans who have given up looking for work.

“There’s nothing out there and there probably won’t be anything for a while,” said McCune, from New Concord, Ohio. He has moved back home to live with his parents, who are helping him pay off his college debt of about $20,000.

“I don’t like it, it’s embarrassing.

I don’t want to be a burden to my parents,” said McCune, adding that he felt like a high school dropout.

Economists, analyzing government data, estimate about 4 million fewer people are in the labor force than in December 2007, primarily due to a lack of jobs rather than

Sheila Bird, right, waits in line for employment interviews at a job fair at City Target in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2012.

AP

the normal aging of America’s population. The size of the shift underscores the severity of the jobs crisis.

If all those so-called discouraged jobseekers had remained in the labor force, August’s jobless rate of 8.1 percent would have been 10.5 percent.

The jobs crisis spurred the Federal Reserve last week to launch a new bond-buying program and promise to keep it running until the

labor market improves. It also poses a challenge to President Obama’s re-election bid.

The labor force participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one has fallen by an unprecedented 2.5 percentage points since December 2007, slumping to a 31-year low of 63.5 percent.

“We never had a drop like that before in other recessions. The

economy is worse off than people realize when people just look at the unemployment rate,” said Keith Hall, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia.

The participation rate would be expected to hold pretty much steady if the economy was growing at a normal pace. Only about a third of the drop in the participation rate is believed to be the result of the aging U.S. population.

The economy lost 8.7 million jobs in the 2007-09 recession and has so far recouped a little more than half of them.

Economists say jobs growth of around 125,000 per month is normally needed just to hold the jobless rate steady.

Given the likelihood that Americans will flood back into the labor market when the recovery gains traction, a pace twice that strong would be needed over a sustained period to make progress reducing the unemployment rate.

Last month, employers created just 96,000 jobs.

Roslyn Swan lost her job in 2007 as a portfolio associate at a financial firm in New York. After submitting hundreds of applications, the 44year-old is taking a break.

Chavez’s...

Continued from page 16 has been a failure to address the underlying causes of many of the country’s ills. Yes, government food giveaways mean millions of poor people have more to eat, but critics argue that Chavez’s largesse has ignored basic remedies needed to modernize the nation.

While campaigning ahead of the presidential vote, opposition candidate Henrique Capriles has argued that more should have been spent to improve police forces, build water systems and invest in the oil industry instead of, among other things, “giving away” oil wealth through fuel deals with allies such as Cuba and Nicaragua.

Official figures support some of the criticism. The murder rate more than doubled during Chavez’s presidency. Dangerous slums have proliferated, with the number of homes deemed “inadequate” growing from 295,000 in 1999 to more than 404,000 last year.

Chavez defends his record, noting that Venezuela has invested billions in refinery maintenance, is building a new national police force and is starting to make revolutionary changes to “humanize” an overcrowded prison system.

Even in areas where Chavez has targeted spending, results have often been elusive.

For example, the president says he has revolutionized health care by setting up free clinics staffed by Cuban doctors in poor slums across the country. But hospitals have lagged behind, with officials figures showing the number of available hospital beds down from 28,000 beds in 2000 to 22,000 in 2010.

By some accounts, inadequate MV 9-25-12.indd 17

The Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela.

maternity wards have bumped women in labor from one public hospital to another. Opposition politician Carlos Vecchio posted photos on Twitter showing patients lying on the floor at a hospital emergency room in Maturin.

Despite more health care spending, the government’s programs have worsened due to “inefficiency, ineffectiveness and incompetence,” said Dr. Carlos Walter, a former health minister and director of the Center of Development Studies of Central University of Venezuela.

In his handling of the economy, Chavez has emphasized a bigger state role, and while he has expropriated businesses from cement plants to retail stores, economists say pri-

vate investment has suffered.

Even as it battles an 18 percent inflation rate, Venezuela remains perilously reliant on oil, which accounts for 95 percent of its export earnings.

“I think that in the long term, we’re headed for a situation of poverty. If oil income starts to run out, if the prices fall too much, there’s no productive engine here that can feed us,” said Margarita Lopez Maya, a historian at Central University. “But while the price of oil is so high, fantasies can be paid for.”

On the stump, Chavez is good at painting a glowing picture of a Venezuela undergoing nothing short of a nonviolent revolution.

He appears on television in-

AP

specting row upon row of new government housing and touts the hope he’s given the country’s poor. Venezuela has shown a new model is possible, he says, one that breaks from the profit-driven order espoused by the U.S. and its allies.

Chavez recently boasted to reporters: “Today, the model is working.”

For many of Chavez’s followers, that world is real. They’ve seen new public health clinics open in their gritty neighborhoods. They know that thousands of people will be able to move into new government housing.

“There’s been a vast improvement in the living standards of the vast majority of the country.

17

US gas prices come down for first time since July WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Gasoline prices in the United States dropped four-tenths of a cent over the past two weeks as crude oil prices fell, ending a long stretch of sustained price increases, according to a widely followed survey.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.8338 on September 21, down from $3.8376 on September 7, according to Trilby Lundberg, editor of the Lundberg Survey, which covers s o m e 2,500 gas stations nationwide.

While the decline is small enough to be considered “no change,” it ends a nine-week run of gas price increases dating to July 13, when the average gallon of gas cost $3.41, Lundberg said on Sunday.

The change was spurred by a fall in crude oil prices caused in part by signals that Saudi Arabia may be willing to supply more oil to the market to lower prices, Lundberg said.

That’s why they’ve won all those elections,” said Mark Weisbrot, an economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

Yet one thing Chavez hasn’t discussed on the campaign trail is the burden his programs have placed on the country’s treasury.

Despite the oil boom, the government has more than tripled its public foreign debt from $24.2 billion when he took office to $88.7 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Much of that foreign money has come from China, which has lent Venezuela more than $36 billion.

By contrast, other oil-rich nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Norway have saved billions in investment funds.

“If you look at how much money has come into the country, of course it looks like he hasn’t been a very good steward of that money,” said David Smilde, a sociology professor at the University of Georgia.

“They’ve done some good things and they’ve made some progress, but I don’t think they’ve done anything that’s very sustainable. So in that sense, I don’t really think it’s a successful model that anyone would want to replicate.”

Nonetheless, many Venezuelans are still prepared to support Chavez.

Conflicting polls showing him either with a double-digit lead or roughly even with Capriles.

Jose Gregorio Oropeza, a vendor who sells cold drinks from a roadside stand, raves about the free health services and the state grocery stores.

“Now that cash comes from oil,” Oropeza said. “My economic situation has gotten better in these years of President Chavez.”

9/24/12 11:25:27 PM

18

Lifestyle & Entertainment

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

• Ask Dr. Brothers

By Dr. Joyce Brothers

Teen’s parents are best buddies

Actress Claire Danes, winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for “Homeland,” and actor Damien Lewis, winner Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for “Homeland,” pose together backstage at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday in Los Angeles.

AP

‘Homeland’,’ Modern Family’ win top Emmy prizes LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — “Homeland” ended the four-year run of “Mad Men” to win the top drama prize at the Primetime Emmy awards on Sunday, while “Modern Family” reigned for a third year as the best comedy series on television.

“Homeland,” a post 9/11 psychological thriller, won best drama after one season on cable channel Showtime. It also took home trophies for best writing and best acting for its two leads, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis.

“Homeland” brought to an end the reign of AMC’s stylish 1960s

advertising show “Mad Men,” which left Sunday’s Emmy ceremony empty-handed.

“Modern Family,” ABC’s show about the chaotic lives of three related couples and their children, won best comedy series for a third year and supporting actor Emmys for Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen, as well as a directing award.

“Two and A Half Men’s” Jon Cryer was the surprise winner in the comedy actor category.

In what was seen as a tight race for lead comedy actress, Julia Louis-Dreyfus beat “Girls” star

Lena Dunham, Amy Poehler, “New Girl” Zooey Deschanel and Tina Fey for the Emmy for her turn as a frustrated U.S. vice president in the satirical HBO show “Veep.”

“Game Change,” the HBO story of Sarah Palin’s entry into the 2008 U.S. vice presidential race, was also a big winner, taking the Emmy for best miniseries, writing, directing, and acting for star Julianne Moore.

“The Amazing Race” won for the best reality series Emmy for the ninth time, while Tom Bergeron won best reality host for “Dancing with the Stars.”

Green Day frontman seeks substance abuse treatment

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist for the Grammy-winning rock band Green Day, is seeking substance abuse treatment, the group said on its website on Sunday, following his angry, guitarsmashing outburst on stage two days ago.

The statement, which apologized for the abrupt and acrimonious end to the band’s appearance on Friday, came as Green Day is due to launch on Tuesday an ambitious trilogy of albums, their first collection of new music since 2009.

Performing at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Armstrong, 40, suddenly quit playing and launched into an expletive-laden tirade when signaled mid-song that the band had one minute left.

“Gimme a ... break. One minute left? ... You gotta be ... kidding me,” Armstrong shouted from stage in seeming disbelief. “Let me show you what one ... minute means,” he finally said, before he and bass player Mike Dirnt smashed their instruments and walked off.

MV 9-25-12.indd 18

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs at the iHeart Radio Music Festival on Friday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

AP

Footage of the incident, which drew cheers of support for the band, was posted on YouTube.

Three weeks ago, the Green Day frontman was briefly hospitalized in Italy for what was later described by Dirnt as a severe case

of dehydration, forcing cancellation of a weekend concert. But Armstrong was well enough to perform with Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool several days later at the MTV Video Music Awards show on September 6.

Dear Dr. Brothers: My parents have always been a lot of fun, even though they kept us three kids in line. Now that we are in high school, our parents have known our friends a long time, and everybody is like one big family. Both my mom and dad love to hang out with our friends. I guess some of my friends think this is cool, but a few of them have made remarks that are sort of mean about parents trying to be buddies. How can I make my parents less embarrassing? — C.D. Dear C.D.: Just about all teens find their parents embarrassing some of the time. The friends who are making remarks about your folks may be hoping that you don’t notice the things that make them want to hide under a rock when their own parents come up for discussion!

It’s a time when you are yearning to break free, live your own lives and have your parents fade into the background. When you were younger, your parents forged relationships with the kids who spent time with you, and that was a good thing. Now it seems embarrassing.

But I bet you wouldn’t trade your parents for anyone else’s, so don’t take your friends’ rude remarks too much to heart.

That said, I wonder if your parents are in need of a gentle reminder about boundaries. It’s all fine and dandy to be friendly to kids they’ve known for years, but if there are lines being crossed when it comes to personal information, intrusive questions or trying to regain that long-lost youth of their own, you may want to have a little chat with them. There’s no reason to be mean or insulting, but you can let them know that they need to give your social circle a little more space. If they are the type of “buddies” who don’t set curfews, provide alcohol or enable sexual opportunities, they are going too far in their efforts to be liked by your friends.

***

Sister plans to marry elderly man Dear Dr. Brothers: My sister has had a hard time since her boyfriend left her with two kids and took off four years ago. Now she’s planning to marry this really old person, and I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. She never says she actually loves him, but she does say he will provide security for her and my niece and nephew. I don’t want to interfere, but I don’t see anything good coming from all this, except that she will not have to worry about money. Do I have a right to talk her out of it? — T.G. Dear T.G.: Of course you have a right to try to influence your sister’s life-changing decisions if you think she is about to make a huge mistake. There’s rarely a family situation where siblings are content to sit back and watch a train wreck when their own perspective tells them that people they love are going to be hurt. Just be aware that if she seems clear in her own mind that she is doing the right thing for her family, and she hasn’t asked you for advice, you may have some rocky times ahead if you try to intervene. No one likes to think that their family members are not happy for them and not fully supportive of the choices they are making.

Your sister may or may not be aware that she is operating out of fear, and that she might be about to sacrifice her need for the kind of love that a happy marriage is built upon. It is possible that she can grow into loving this man despite their age differences, or that settling for companionship and security for her children will be enough to satisfy her needs. She probably feels trapped by her circumstances, and if she had more resources for financial security, she would feel she had more options. If you can help her develop those paths, she may feel better able to continue on her own. If not, all you can do is be there for her, whatever she decides.

(c) 2012 by King Features Syndicate

9/24/12 11:25:28 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Three films cluster at top of North American movie box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Police drama “End of Watch” and horror thriller “House at the End of the Street” tied for the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, with Clint Eastwood’s “Trouble With the Curve” close behind.

Each of the top films brought in $13 million respectively at U.S. and Canadian box offices.

The gritty “End of Watch,” written and directed by the writer of 2001 crime drama “Training Day,” David Ayer, brought in $13 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices.

The opening by “End of Watch” was the largest for independent film distribution company Open Road, a 2-year-old joint venture between theater chains AMC and Regal. Its two other films this year, “Hit and Run” and “Silent House,” opened with less than $7 million apiece.

Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg said “End of Watch” was successful because it appealed to a wide swath of moviegoers.

Referring to “End of Watch” as a “smart action movie,” Ortenberg added that it is a prototype for the type of films Open Road hopes to make. Its next film, action ensemble “Breacher,” is another David Ayer project.

“House at the End of the Street,” which features Jennifer Lawrence in her first role since this year’s blockbuster “The Hunger Games,” also brought in $13 million.

The timing of horror thriller’s release capitalized on Lawrence’s “Hunger Games” fame, said Relativity president of distribution Kyle Davies. The film primarily targeted young females and did a large share of marketing through mobile-phone-based applications.

The audience for “Street” was

Lifestyle & Entertainment

EMPLOYMENT Tour Guide (1) At least five years job experience. Must speak fluent Mandarin and Cantonese.

Must be able to organize the hotel accommodation, food and activities for tourist and other related duties as tour guide.

Interested applicant please contact Hawaii Corporation at Cell No. 898-5169 or mail to PMB252 Box 10002, Saipan MP96950

“As Is” VEHICLE FOR BID 2008 Lexus LS 460L Color: Silver Mileage: 36,007 Interested bidders can pick up bid forms at our office, United Pacific Collection Agency, 2nd Floor Marianas Business Plaza, Tel # 235-2000.

19

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF: Paul Anthony Mendiola Lizama, Petitioner.

FCD-CN CIVIL ACTION NO. 12_0394(R) NOTICE OF HEARING

Notice is hereby given that the above-entitled matter is set for a hearing on October 19, 2012 at 10:30 A.M. in Rota, before Honorable Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho.

Bernadita A. Sablan Clerk of Court By: /s/ Deputy Clerk of Court

America Ferrera attends the L.A. premiere of “End of Watch” at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on Sept. 17, 2012 in Los Angeles.

AP

61 percent female, and 70 percent of filmgoers were under 25.

Baseball movie “Trouble with the Curve” was hot on the heels of the top films, taking in $12.7 million, according to box office estimates released on Sunday.

The film is Clint Eastwood’s first starring role in four years and comes less than a month after his headline-grabbing speech at the Republican national conven-

tion.

Rounding out the top five was the 3D re-release of “Finding Nemo” with $9.4 million, and “Resident Evil: Retribution” with $6.7 million. Both films premiered in theaters last weekend.

Futuristic action film “Dredd” disappointed with a mere $6.3 million on its debut weekend, failing to crack the top five and coming in below expectations.

SubmiSSion DeaDline All advertisements should be submitted 12:00 noon one day prior to publication. Advertisers are encouraged to follow the deadline or ad placement may not granted.

StanDarDS The publishers reserve the right to edit, refuse, reject or cancel any advertisement copy at anytime.

aDvertiSement errorS The newspaper(s) will not be responsible to errors noticed after the first day of publication of any advertisements.Such errors should called to the attention of the Sales/Advertising Department on the first working day after publication.

Copyright All advertisement copies designed and created by the YAS graphic artists are the property of Marianas Variety Newspaper. Advertisers agree that it cannot authorize the production of any such advertising copy, in whole or in part, for use in any other medium without the written consent of the publisher.

Contact us at (670) 234-9797 / 234-9797 / 234-6341 extension 226/233 or Fax (670) 234-9271 Email: sales@mvariety.com Michael Pena, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal in a scene from “End of Watch.”

MV 9-25-12.indd 19

AP 9/24/12 11:25:29 PM

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MV 9-25-12.indd 20

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

9/24/12 11:25:30 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

MV 9-25-12.indd 21

Sports

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9/24/12 11:25:30 PM

22

Local

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS

Wiseman orders Franklin Crisostomo to answer theft by deception charge

By Andrew O. De Guzman andrew.deguzman@mvariety.com Variety News Staff

SUPERIOR Court Judge David A. Wiseman has found probable cause that Franklin Concepcion Crisostomo Jr., 32, may have committed the charge of theft by deception on Aug. 24, 2012.

But the court dismissed the charge of counterfeiting during

More...

Continued from page 1 “Thanks Jack for clarifying your opinion on my role. John, I also thank you for making it clear to me in our conversation Friday afternoon that you do not now want me to have the authority and voting privileges of the DMA as an ex-officio CHC Board member, even though you continue to ask me to do the work of the DMA. I am insulted,” read Lamar’s notification email.

Torres responded to the issue by telling Variety, “It’s very disturbing that Dr. Lamar is putting the hospital in jeopardy by being more concerned with his own wants than serving the corporation.”

Torres’ reference of putting the

I blame...

Continued from page 1 service providers would not accept Medicaid because the CNMI government failed to match the federal Medicaid funds.

“The federal government has the funds. They have $14 million for Medicaid. Governor Fitial has to match those funds so that Medicaid can pay the providers — the pharmacies.”

Tracy said he has been on Medicare A and B, Medicaid and Part D Medicare.

“I cannot get Part D of Medicare because I have Medicaid. Medicaid is supposed to cover my prescriptions,” he said.

Medicare Part D, or Medicare prescription drug benefit, is a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. Tracy said he has been taking 400 medications a month.

“Those are for pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

In 1993, he was stabbed in the chest eight times on Guam.

“When I sleep I see the guy’s face that stabbed me. That is why I take

Chalan...

Continued from page 1 He said the road is used by tourists because a local map indicates that Galaide provides access to the island’s highest peak.

Some residents have already

Govendo...

Continued from page 2 in premiums.

Despite the 18 percent price increase, the plan promises an extended coverage for both enrollee and beneficiary and touts a no anMV 9-25-12.indd 22

yesterday’s probable cause hear- after the hearing. ing.

He is being held on Wiseman ordered $1,000 bail.

Crisostomo to appear for Assistant Attorney his arraignment before General Nicole Driscoll Presiding Judge Robert represented the governC. Naraja for Oct. 15, ment while Assistant 2012.

Public Defender BenjaCrisostomo was remin Petersburg served as manded to the custody David Wiseman Crisostomo’s counsel. of the Department of Corrections Detective Jeffrey I. Norita was

the government witness during yesterday’s hearing.

According to police, Crisostomo purchased several items at DFS Galleria using fake Russian rubles on Aug. 24.

Crisostomo’s vehicle was later spotted while parked west of Orchids Poker in Garapan.

When asked about the Russian rubles, Crisostomo told authori-

ties that his friend, John Sasha, handed him the bills to purchase items at DFS. Police recovered three more 5,000-Russian ruble bills from Crisostomo.

Police didn’t mention if the items purchased by Crisostomo from DFS were recovered or if they had also arrested John Sasha.

hospital in jeopardy refers to previous CMS citations for CHC not having a DMA. Although several DMA’s were subsequently appointed, the position has a high burnout rate.

Lamar was the third physician to hold the DMA position in the last year.

Dr. Michael Deary resigned from the post and subsequently CHC in March citing political interference in and indifference about the corporation’s decline.

CHC psychiatrist, Dr. Jeremy Richards, assumed the DMA position but he too resigned last August.

The official reason for Richards’ resignation was a lack of time for actual clinic hours because of the

vast amount of time required by DMA duties.

Unofficially, sources confirmed Richards’ frustration with the same issues cited by Deary four months earlier: too many political games and not enough focus on workable solutions to save CHC from imminent demise.

Due to the quick churn-rate in the DMA position, board chairman Torres told Variety that CHC was not interested in Lamar being an acting DMA. “The CEO offered the DMA job permanently to Dr. Lamar but he said ‘No’. By law if Dr. Lamar had accepted the DMA position he automatically becomes a voting board member…so I don’t know why he cited issue of ‘privileges’

in his resignation email,” stated Torres.

While there seems to be no agreement between the CHC leadership and Lamar on the circumstances surrounding the DMA situation, he was clear in his email concerning his focus.

Lamar intends to concentrate on his other responsibilities that include medical director of public health; medical director of the Tuberculosis control program; acting medical director of the Kagman Community Health Center; and medical referral committee member.

After explaining to Babauta and Torres in the email of his intention to return full-time to his medical duties, Lamar pointed out two other

critically important issues.

Firstly, Lamar advised the CEO and chair to notify CMS immediately of his acting DMA resignation so CHC makes no misrepresentations with federal authorities.

Secondly, he urged Babauta to immediately appoint a new DMA. The appointment was “imperative” in Lamar’s words so the medical staff have a voice and voting representation on CHC’s board.

When asked who is on the shortlist for DMA consideration, Torres answered in the abstract.

“We need a permanent, dedicated DMA that puts the interests of CHC first and not complain about small issues and authority,” Torres said.

Babauta was not available for comment by press time.

the sleeping pills. I haven’t slept in three days,” he said.

“I also have to take my medication for PTSD and bipolar disorder,” he added.

He said he was hospitalized for three days last month.

But again, he said, Fitial did not match the funds for Medicaid.

“The pharmacies didn’t get paid.

They cut off everyone’s medication,” Tracy said.

He can only buy some but not all of his medications.

“My life is kind of like roller coaster because I am off and on these medications. It is scary. You can’t tell what kind of mood I am going to be in,” he said.

He said some think he is “nuts” and was thrown into jail last month because he was protesting right across from the courthouse.

“I was laying on the futon and the police arrested me because I wouldn’t get up,” he said.

“They took me to the hospital, checked me for drugs and alcohol and they shot me with morphine and took me to jail,” he said.

He said his protest yesterday was his fourth.

Asked if someone else came over and talked to him, he said Commonwealth Health Center CEO Juan N. Babauta promised to help.

Tracy said someone from the Department of Public Lands dropped by and told him that he should get a permit which, he added, he would do as soon as he was done giving interviews.

Tracy said he has shared his situation online via Twitter and contacted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Fox News personalities.

Tracy, who has six children, said he receives a fixed income from the federal government.

“I get $751 a month from SSDI and $452 from food stamps.”

However, he said, his food stamp allocation was reduced to $370 a month last March.

“I am very frustrated and I don’t know what to do. I don’t have the extra money for medication,” he added.

A former commercial metal framer, Tracy said he used to earn $110,000 a year.

“I am asking the people of Saipan to say something about it. Let’s get

this problem taken care of,” he said, referring to the islands’ healthcare crisis.

Asked for comment, Press Secretary Angel Demapan said, “I don’t see how the governor is to blame here.”

He added, “The CNMI government disbursed $2.5 million in Medicaid payments a few weeks ago.

While the government has paid some of the smaller balances in full, payments for larger balances are being made in increments. Unfortunately, the government has reached the budgetary limits for local matching funds and thus needs to explore alternative sources of funding to cover the remaining balances owed to private providers. Discussions are currently ongoing with Medicaid to address these budgetary limitations and possible solutions that the government can avail of.”

Demapan said the Fitial administration has already expended the local matching funds for Medicaid pursuant to the limits prescribed by the current fiscal year’s budget act, as introduced and passed by both the House and the Senate.

Tracy said because of the admin-

istration’s new policy, he can go to CHC and private clinic but all he could get are prescriptions.

The pharmacy does not give him medications because, he was told, the local Medicaid office has not paid them.

Two months ago, the Center of Medicare and Medicaid’s regional office approved the Fitial administration’s revised plan for Medicaid.

This restricts Medicaid patients to the Commonwealth Health Center, the Rota Health Center, the Tinian Health Center and the Transitional Living Center on Navy Hill.

Medicaid patients can go to private clinics but only if CHC certifies that it can’t provide them the healthcare services they need.

“Medicaid is supposed to be helping us. Please give Medicaid the money to pay the providers. That is what we need,” Tracy said.

He said he went to the local Medicaid office but he was advised to go to the Legislature and ask the lawmakers to appropriate the local matching fund for Medicaid.

“That’s what they told me. All I need are my medications.”

(With Emmanuel T. Erediano)

sought the assistance of the Department of Public Works.

During the annual observance of the Holy Week, the Saipan mayor’s office usually repair the road in preparation for the residents’ annual trek to Mt. Tapochau.

When sought for comment yesterday, Henry Hofschneider, the mayor’s adviser, immediately sent out personnel to inspect the area.

The operation supervisor of the mayor’s field office, Dan Kintol, also discussed the problem with

DPW, which said it has no available equipment to fix the road.

Today, Hofschneider said they will level the road to make it safer for motorists.

He said they cannot fill it up with coral since they haven’t

started quarrying in the Marpi area.

The Department of Public Lands told the mayor’s office it can quarry in Marpi but the site is inaccessible to the mayor’s equipment.

nual maximum as opposed to the prevailing cap of $200,000.

It also removes the lifetime plan maximum ceiling of $1 million.

Dependents covered include those up to 26 years old regardless

if he or she is a student, resides with enrollee or is married.

The new plan also covers 100 percent in preventive care services when previously it was only 80 percent.

These services include routine

adult physical once a year, gynecological examinations (with one exam and pap smear per calendar year), hearing and eye exams (once in two years), mammography with unlimited visits per year, colorectal cancer screenings.

It also covers newborn testing and monitoring, routine well baby and child exams, immunizations.

For males over the age of 40, the plan covers PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) / Digital Rectal Exam tests.

9/24/12 11:25:30 PM

MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS - TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Lewis beats out Thompson at Navistar LPGA Classic

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Stacy Lewis is starting to feel right at home in Alabama, savoring everything from the Bermuda grass to the comfort of the familiar low-budget hotel where the staffers greet her by name.

Lewis won the Navistar L.P.G.A. Classic on Sunday for her third L.P.G.A. Tour victory in five months and second in the state, closing with a 3-under 69 to beat defending champion Lexi Thompson by two strokes.

Lewis parred the final two holes after a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 16 gave her the final cushion, and Thompson shot a 66 on The Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.

“Lexi was within one when we got to the 16th green and that’s the only time all day I actually knew what was going on,” Lewis said. “Making birdie there on 16 was huge to just kind of give me that cushion.”

Lewis won in Mobile in late April, edging Thompson by a stroke in that tournament. The former Arkansas star also won the Shoprite L.P.G.A. Classic in June.

The 17-year-old Thompson rebounded from a third-round 74.

She won the event last year at 16 to become the youngest champion in L.P.G.A. Tour history, a mark broken last month by 15-year-old amateur Lydia Ko in the Canadian Women’s Open.

Lewis finished at 18 under, one shot shy of the tournament record set by Australia‘s Katherine Hull in 2010. Lewis reclaimed the No. 2 spot in the world rankings and earned $195,000 — but still stayed at a $75-a-night hotel in Prattville like usual.

Now, she and Yani Tseng are tied for the tour lead in victories this year when Lewis has claimed three of her four victories. She also won the Kraft Nabisco Championship last year.

Lewis, who earned 30 points, leads Jiyai Shin by 56 points in the player of the year race. Shin skipped the Navistar after winning the last two events.

Lewis is trying to become the first American player of the year since Beth Daniel in 1994.

“It’s unbelievable,” Lewis said.

“Winning never gets easier. It might have looked easy out there but it was hard. Every shot was stressful and on this golf course with one swing you can make a double pretty easy. I had some adrenaline going at the end.”

Her previous best at the Navistar was a tie for sixth last year, but she still likes competing in this state.

“I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it’s the Bermuda grass,” Lewis said. “It’s kind of what I MV 9-25-12.indd 23

Stacy Lewis reacts after missing a birdie putt on the seventh green during first round play in the Navistar LPGA Classic golf tournament, Thursday, at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Prattville, Ala. AP

grew up on in Texas. I love playing these kind of courses where you just have to hit good shots. If you don’t hit good shots you’re not rewarded. I like that. It’s hard, and you can make birdies but you have to hit the shots.”

Lewis had a three-putt for bogey on No. 2, but birdied No. 5 and made a 15-footer for another on the ninth hole.

“That was kind of the key putt for me,” she said.

Thompson made quite a run with birdies on holes 10-12. She set up fairly short putts on all three, making a 6-footer, a 1-footer and a 10-footer.

Thompson missed birdie putts on three of the final four holes, making one on No. 17 to close

to within a stroke. Then she saw Lewis move to two strokes ahead when Thompson was on the final hole before enduring another nearmiss with a chance to turn up the pressure on the leader.

“I just got some weird putts that broke differently than I thought,” Thompson said. “Just total misreads. That happens. You get a few goofy putts but I was happy with the shots I hit into those holes.”

Both players are starting to feel Alabama is sweet home these days.

Thompson kept up her daily ritual with breakfast at the Waffle House — skipping the high-carbohydrate specialty — and handled the coin toss at a high school football game.

She high-fived two kids after her

birdie on No. 17 gave her new life but once again couldn’t overtake Lewis in Alabama.

“She’s played amazing this year,” Thompson said. “Everybody knows how great a player she is. Once I saw her go into the lead into today, I knew I would have to put up a good round.”

Thompson opened with a career-best 63, tying the tournament record. She came out with a mindset to erase thoughts of the rough Saturday.

“Pretty much just forget totally about (Saturday) and come into today blank-minded and just free swing,” she said of her approach.

“I have nothing to lose, just go for birdies. I bogeyed the first hole and I just went for it from there.”

Sports

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Dodgers beat Reds 5-3, keep pace for wild card CINCINNATI (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers off Homer Bailey on Sunday night, powering the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that let them keep pace in the wild card race.

The Dodgers remained three games behind St. Louis and a half-game behind Milwaukee for the final NL playoff spot. All three won on Sunday.

The Dodgers have dropped 11 of their last 17 games. They’re off Monday before starting a threegame series in San Diego. The Dodgers finish the season with six games at home — three against Colorado, three against NL Westchampion San Francisco.

The Reds rested several regulars a day after clinching their second NL Central title in three years. Manager Dusty Baker briefly visited the players in the clubhouse after his release from a Chicago hospital, where he was treated the last four days for an irregular heartbeat.

The 63-year-old manager became ill while the team was in Chicago last week. The Reds won the title without him on Saturday night, raising a toast to him in the clubhouse after their 6-0 victory.

Cincinnati Adrian Gonzalez is off on Monday and opens a three-game series against Milwaukee on Tuesday, giving Baker a day to rest. The Reds are a half-game behind Washington for the best record in the NL and the top seed in the playoffs.

Bailey (12-10) allowed five hits in 6 2-3 innings, including the two homers by Gonzalez, who has five in his career off the right-hander. His second homer started a four-run seventh inning that also featured Mark Ellis’ RBI double.

Shawn Tolleson (3-1) got the victory with one perfect inning in relief. Ronald Belisario gave up a two-run homer by Denis Phipps — his first in the majors — in the eighth inning. Brandon League pitched the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances with LA. After the loss on Saturday night, the Dodgers changed their pitching plans for the final game of the series, letting their 2011 Cy Young winner see what he could do. Clayton Kershaw hadn’t pitched since Sept. 11 because of a sore hip and probably wouldn’t have made another start if LA was out of contention.

9/24/12 11:25:32 PM

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TUESDAY- -SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER25, 25,2012 2012 - MARIANAS MARIANASVARIETY VARIETYNEWS NEWS&AND VIEWS TUESDAY VIEWS P.O. Box 500231 Saipan, MP 96950 • Tel. (670) 234-9272 • 9797 • Fax: (670) 234-9271 E-mail: younis@pticom.com • mvariety@pticom.com www.mvariety.com

P.O. Box 6338, Tamuning Guam 96931 • Tel. (671) 649-1924 • 4678 • Fax: (671) 648-2007 E-mail: admin@mvguam.com

PIC, Mobil still ahead of the pack for Emon Lodge

By Demalynn F. Sablan demalynn.sablan@mvariety.com For Variety

Pacific Islands Club did it again winning their fourth game in a row, 79-64 against Servitek last Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium for the Emon Lodge179 – Docomo Brotherhood Basketball League.

Brett Sutton was the player of the night, working the inside play with his strong rebounds and put backs. He also managed to score 24 points. Sutton’s jump shots were on point most especially in the second quarter, where he helped lift PIC from behind eight points to adding 10 points.

Serviteck started strong taking in the first quarter, 23-15.

Clayton Kenty moved swiftly across the court to get him his first eight points of the night. But they then lost it in the second quarter when Nico Salem was able to keep up with Kenty and stop him from penetrating the rim. Salem came off from the bench and got himself an easy 10 points. PIC had their pressure defense on and was able to rally in 27 points. They only allowed Serviteck to score only eight points.

PIC kept that long stretch throughout the rest of the game.

Third quarter was opened to a 22 point lead. Sutton was still

locking the paint down, being the power man on the inside and scored another eight points.

PIC still stands in the winner’s circle. Servitek now holds a record of 2-2.

Mobil 91, Ashley’s 80 It was a rough game between Mobil and Ashley’s hitting only a point difference in the end of the first half, 44-43, in favor of Mobil. But Mobil prevailed and won the game, 91-80.

Ashley’s was not too far behind in the first quarter.

The teamwork of Manolo Manalo and Eugene Mangali was working for Ashley’s. Together they made 12 points. They were, however, unable to stop Jomar Tumaquip, who has the right ball handling skills to maneuver around even a two-man defense. Tumaquip gained his first six points of the night. Having Badong Camacho and Ehrol Peredo on the inside was a big factor for Mobil as well.

Ashley’s caught up to Mobil’s game play and switched it up from running to the rim, to hitting the three point shots. Manalo was able to land three triples, while

Perry Inos sunk one in. It was all taken away from Ashley’s by Jun Estolas, who found his sweet stop behind the three point line and shot in one after the other completing three. Estolas bagged the highest game point with 25 points.

Scores: PIC 79 – B. Sutton 24, Bart.

Demapan 12, N. Salem 10, D. Barbo 8, J. Abuy 5, R. Babauta 4, B. Sublimente 4, K. Isip 4, J. Ricafort 3, W. Abuel 2, R. Bartolo 2, Bradley Demapan 2 Servitek 64 – C. Kenty 20, D. Morales 17, J.P. Jose 10, M. Ngeskebei 9, G. Cruz 6, G. Esconde 2 Quarterscores: 23-15, 42-31, 6846, 79-64 Mobil 91 – J. Estolas 25, M. Rabauliman 12, B. Basila 11, B. Camacho 10, J. Tumaquip 10, E. Peredo 9, A. Fernando 9, R. Gamboa 5 Ashley’s 80 – M. Manalo 13, E. Mangali 12, B. Aquino 12, P. Inos 12, B. Talania 8, J. Norita 8, R. Mungcal 5, M. Dedios 4, R. Paraiso 2, D. Cortez 2 Quarterscores: 23-18, 44-43, 70-60, 91-80

Rollers I and II gain victory in Rotary Marvin Rebauliman of Mobil takes a jumpshot in last Thursday’s game for the 2012 Emon Lodge 179 – Docomo Brotherhood Basketball League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

SLLB elects board members for 2013 season

By Demalynn F. Sablan demalynn.sablan@mvariety.com For Variety

THE Saipan Little League Baseball will be having a meeting on Oct. 13 at the Gilbert C. Ada Pavillion.

The meeting will be for the election of the new officers for the 2013 SLLB board members.

Meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. Also to be presented that day are the trophies for the 2012 SLLB Season. All managers, coaches, parents, and interested individuals are invited to MV 9-25-12.indd 24

participate.

The board members this year were Acting President Ray N. Yumul, Secretary Piding Tenorio, Treasurer Roman V. Reyes, Umpire Consultant James Miwata, Safety Officer Robert Magofna, Manager’s Representative Yvonne Tarope, Player Agent Annie Dlg. Flores, and Chief Statistician Remy L. Celis.

For more information, contact Piding Tenorio at 285-1024 or Annie Dlg. Flores at 2851219.

By Demalynn F. Sablan demalynn.sablan@mvariety.com For Variety

Rollers I blew away CK Saints in the Rotary Club Saipan 2012 Youth Basketball League last Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, 62-41.

Rollers I was on fire right on the start of the first buzzer making 15 points and leaving CK Saints 6 points behind. Eric Dela Rosa and his strong rebounds was a big factor in Rollers win.

With Dela Rosa’s rebounds, Rollers were about to complete numerous of fastbreak plays. Josh Norita and John Darag were just to two to assist Dela Rosa in lifting the team ahead early on making together seven points.

The points were stretched to an even bigger gap in the second quarter where points were at 3017. The game was kept at the big

of a gap throughout the game as Rollers kept with their pressure defense. In the third quarter, Rollers left CK Saints with only four points absolute to their score board. It was down easy street the rest of the final quarter for Rollers.

Rollers II 66, LD Prime 56 Rollers Basketball Club’s teams were on a roll for rotary as Rollers II also gained a win, 66-56, against LD Prime.

Rollers II’s Prince Factor was on fire stepping into the first quarter making nine points out of their total 17. Factor opened up the game with a clear layup and then shots just came naturally for him. He made a total of 22 points for the game.

Also joining Factor in the double digit mark were CJ Morales with 12 points and Iwrin Malonzo with 11.

It was not an easy win for

Rollers. First quarter was a tight game ending at 17-16, one points lead by Rollers. Not until second half where Rollers kept the game physical and the ball moving enough to get it out of the way of LD Prime.

Scores: Rollers I 62 – E. Dela Rosa 12, J. Morita 10, R. Francisco 7, R. Lansang 6, J. Darag 5, D. Salas 4, J. Lee 4, T. Caro 4, R. DL Guerrero 4, V. Manibusan 3 Saints 41 – T. Eubank 14, L. Reyes 10, J. Ray 4, R. Paul 4, R. Camacho 4, N. Nak 4, M. Buitz 1 Quarterscores: 15-9, 30-17, 50-21, 62-41 Rollers II 66 – P. Factor 22, CJ Morales 12, I. Malonzo 11, M. Toba 7, C. Cayading 6, E. Kwon 2, JP Iglecias 2, B. Floresca 2 LD Prime 56 – L. Larron 25, M. David 12, K. Quemado 8, C. Esteves 6, C. Aldan 3, N. Gunnacao 2 Quarterscores: 17-16, 38-21, 49-33, 66-56 9/24/12 11:25:38 PM