Options laid out on dump

By Mar-Vic C. Muna_r Variety News Staff.

RU.SSEL Mechem, former chief of the Division of Envi­i·o~mental Qu.ality chief, has laid down several options from which the Task Force on Waste Management may choose to address Saipan 's unabated Puerto Rico dump problem.

Closing the dump is arriong the administration's list of pri­oritiesduringits first IOOdays.

Mechem, who is now based in _San Francisco, has been sent to Saipan by the Environ­mental Protection Agency to give technical assistance to the newly created task force as­signed to work on the closure of the Puerto Rico dump.

Mechem said capping ·the dump or sealing it off are two of the many options which the task force can easily explore .to reduce environmental risks. . Mechem, who was DEQ chief for six years until he left the island in 1995, was in­volved in several waste man­agement studies for Puerto Rico dump.

Bill Campbell, a formergov­emment ·lawyer assigned to deal .with the dump problem, said the past administrations had bungled previous plans for the dump.

"We had a free ride in 1993 to cure the dump problem," Campbell said.

Campbell recalled that the United Micronesian Develop­ment Association had offered to give the CNMI $26.8 mil­lion, and the U.S. Department of Defense, $15 mi 11 ion for a

Continued on page :ro

UNIVERSITY QF ~WAIi LIBRARY

arianas ~riet~~ Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 b&.,"1evvs

US panel quizzes CNMI on independence status

By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Staff

THE INTERIOR Appropria­tions Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives wants to know how the CNMI could gain independence, which Gov.

:J Pedro P. Tenorio has rcpcat­)J cdly described as a '"non-op­;] tion" for the Northern ~ Marianas.

In addition, the subcommit­tee is asking the CNMI govern­ment where it got the millions of dollars paid to consultants

Pedro P. Tenorio Diego T. Benavente Paul A. Manglona

and lobbyists such as Preston Manglona (R-Rota) and I-louse Interior's budget would con- receivedduringfiscalyear1995 ., Gates, and how the Common- Speaker Diego T. Benavente (R- tain Covenant funding and other to 1998, and on Interior's ac- " wealth expended federal funds Pree. 2, Saipan) said the subcom- provisions dealing with the tivities regarding the labor and earmarked for labor and imrni- mittee needs the information for CNMI. immigration ini ti ati ve with gration reforms. itsongoingrevicwofthe USinte- The subcommittee is also re- the commonwealth from

In a letter to the governor, rior Department's proposed fis- questing information on the total 1996 to I 998. .

, ... "~-e~n,~1~~, ... P,~~si~ent Paul·.,A·., -~~~,-~earl99~,~udg~~·.,., ~-. , ... :mountof_fe~~~a'.f~n~s.th~CN·~·I·" .-.. ·,,.:~:fi~~~~~~ Region takes united approach on airline issues

Carl T.C. Gutierrez

AGANA, GUAM-The leaders of the I I -member Council of Micronesian Chief Executives (CMCE) have agreed to take a regional approach to addressing air service problems in the re­gion.

According to Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez, the founding chair of organization, the decision was reached during Council's Third Annual Summit at Christmas Is­land.

"Although some of the planned changes in route strncture may

harm Guam to some extent, changes in service will cause major disruptions in some of the islands, which depend on Conti­nental Micronesia as a lifeline," said Gutierrez in a news release.

CMCE adopted a resolution at the meeting urging Continental to develop a "cooperative effort" with CMCE governments collec­tively to ensure a regional route structure that will benefit all of Micronesia as well as being prof­itable for the carrier.

The Council members consider

the air transp011ation issue to be so important that they have di­rected their Senior Policy Advi­sors (SPA) to meet in Guam by April 30 to develop ajointposi­tion in preparation for a joint council trip to Houston to meet with Continental officials.

In other actions, the Chief Ex­ecutives adopted the following resolutions:

• commending President Clinton for his quick action in providing emergency assistance

Continuea on page 2·0

CPA looks at tapping 5% from casino tax revenue

By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

TI-IECOMMONWEALTH Ports Authority is looking at the possi­bility of tapping a portion of taxes

· that would be collected from the casino industry on Tinian as addi­tional revenues to repay the pro­posed flotation of the bond for the rehabilitation and improvement of the island's airport.

But CPA executive director Carlos Salas said his office is still looking at how the proposed per­centage of the casino tax can be quantified into specific amounts.

mediately float a bond that would finance the expansion and im­provement of the West Tinian

Continued on page 20 F~~=,~~~~••=•~-=.c~•=·.o·.c.cc.c,· .. ·1 :i

WEAT~ER i:

Ourlook I

A Day in the Sun. 1998 Miss NM/ Universe Candidates Helene Lizama, Katrina Manning and Amor Sorius are all smiles during a day of water sports activities for the pre-pageant video. Tickets for the pageant are now on sale. (See inside for more info.) Photo by Lalla c. Younis

Tinian Chamber of Commerce president Phillip Mendiola Long suggested that the CPA may de­rive additional revenues from the tariffs that will be levied on the island's casino industry.

Long was urging CPA to im-

Partly cloudy skies with light rainshowers

PAC NEWSPAPER STACK~

i:MAR_Ij\NAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY- APRIL 8 1998

Japan economy on verge of collapse?

Energy Secretary Federico Pena holds his nine-month-old son Ryan while meeting with President Clinton in the Oval Office of the White House Monday. On Thursday, Pena, 51, the only Hispanic in the Cabinet announced his resignation, saying he will leave the adminis-tration at the end of June to be closer to his family. AP

SYDNEY, Australia (AP)- Most economists ,u-c holding fi1111 or have only slightly revised tl;eir economic growtl1 fon::casL~ for Australia ,m1id the latest bad news on the Japanese economy.

Despite the now seemingly con­stantstre,un of downbeat news out of J:1pan, most of the pmblems have ah-cady been focto1ed in to forecasts.

But economist~ wmn that if Japan, m1d Asia's problems persist, the down­side risk to growth increa~s.

After a se1ies of bad news last week, Moody's Investor, Se1vice downgradetl its outlook on Japan's country ceilings and domestic cur­rency rating to negative from stable.

This came as a key Bank of Japan sutvey found business confidence at its lowest level in more than three years, and as Sony Corp. chairman

Noiio Ohga said that Japan "is on the verge of collapsing."

Economists said Tuesday while event~ in Japan cou Id cause fu11her despondency there and in Asia, the affect on Australia would not be dra­matic.

"Keep in mind t!Jat Japan has been weak for all of this decade," ANZ senior economist Bernadette Scully said.

"We expect that the Japanese economy will contract this year by 1/ 4 percent mid that it is now in reces­sion," she said.

"But it is not like the Japanese economy has been growing by 5 percent and is now going to retract by 2 percent.

"Even though it is technically in recession. it is coming from a very low growt!J rate anyway," she said.

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In itsannouncementMoody'ssaid t!Je outlook downgrade reflected un­certainty about the ability of the au­thmities to achieve a policy consen­sus that would help promote a return to economic gmwth and fiscal bal­ance.

Jap,mese Prime Minister Ryutmu Hashimolo has denietl the economy is on the verge of collapse, and an­nouncetl tha1 he would convene a special panel, whichcouldseebigtax cuts, just after the 1998/99 budget is enacted.

Seu lly said ANZ had not fon11al ly revised down its growth forecasts for Australian grost domestic product (GDP)for 1998 because of the weak­ness in Japan.

"We took quite a pessimistic view last year and we are staying with that for the time being," she said.

"When t!Je Asian economic crisis hit in late l 997wewerequiteruthless in revising down our gmwth fore­casts and we cut around one per­centage point from those for 1998 - our total growth projections for this year are for 3 percent growth."

Bankers Trust Australia senior economist Peter Munckton said his institution had held a below average growth outlook for Japan for the past three or four months so recent figures on the Japanese economy were not a large sur­prise.

The institution's forecast on Auslralian GDP growth in the cuJTent year remains at 3.5 per­cent.

Munckton said that, but for Asia, economic growth for Aus­tralia would have been stronger.

.1"'1 ur1,.11. .ll.U.l"tja .

agreesio swap special ·envoys· with South . ·. By PAUL SHIN

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -Responding to new Sout!J Korean peace gestu1es, Nort!J Korea has ex­pressed willingness to exchange spe­cial envoys and discuss wide-ranging tension-easing measures between the two 1ival states, a South Korean news repo1t said Tuesday.

Seoul officials greeted the North's response a~ "hopeful sings" that in­tcr-Kmea 1elations would improve significantly, with the inception of the new South Kmean government, led by President Kim Dae-jung.

In a report to a political rally Mon­day, the Nortl1 's communist govern­ment voiced strong inte1-cst in re­

Continueo on page 2'0

'Morning after' pill to be sold in China BEIJING (AP)-A Chinese phar­maceutical company has developed a "morning after" birth control pill that once made wide! y avai !able could cut the number ofabo1tions each yem· by as much as 40 percent, 1he China Women's News reported Monday.

TI1e medicine, developed by the

Continued on page B

! I

I

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' I

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VJEWS-3

u11fazed by 'sluillp' By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

JAPAN Airlines remains unfazed by the dwindling Japanese economy, standing firm on its original plan to increase seating capacities of all its flights to Saipan from the Kansai Airport.

JAL is upgrading the present Boeing 767 planes to DC- I 0.

Citing the increasing awareness of Japanese tourists about the Northern Mariana Islands, JAL officials said the airline company is not planning to downsize its Saipan operations.

JAL officials made the assur­ance amiust recent reports on the Japanese economy's setback, with the US dollar soaring to a six-year high against the yen.

Tokyo stocks also stumbled af­ter a credit rating agency sig­na Ice.I it may downgrade Japa­nese government debt because of the country's weak economy.

Hideo T omioka

Analysts said the present fi­nancial situation in the country may affect tourist aJTivals to the Northern Mariana Islands since majority of Saipan visitors are from Japan.

A higher dollar would mean weaker buying value of the yen which is expected to discourage tourist movements since travel­ing requires spending in dollars.

Micronesian leaders to address disasters .together

By Mar-Vic C. Munar Variety News Staff

LEADERS of Micronesian governments have agreed to develop plans that will enable each island state to respond quickly to any future man-made or natural disasters.

During the third annual summit held recently in Kiribati, the Council of Micronesian Chief Executives passed a resolution in which the I I member islands agreed "to develop a cooperative effort" by sharing experiences, Disaster Preparedness Plans and policies "to strengthen their individual expertise in responding to disasters."

In passing the resolution, the chief executives noted tliat the Micronesian region is prone to disasters such as typhoons, drought, earthquake, epidemic diseases, and bridge collapses.

The most recent disaster took place on Guam which was wrecked by super Typhoon Paka last December, causing over $500 million in damages.

"Through its disaster preparedness efforts and with assistance and support of other members of the council, Guam's recovery efforts were realized within a record-breaking seven-week pe­riod," the resolution said.

At present the region is facing the onslaught of El Nino, which threatens to cause severe drought conditions in the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, the CNMI and Guam.

"These disasters have caused severe impacts to the economic and social well-being of the various peoples and cultures qf Micronesia," the resolution said.

As a result of these disasters, the resolution added, "each member government of the council has found it necessary, from time to time, to assist other member governments in the after­math and recovery of such disasters."

The council members said that since the islands are expecting lo experience more disasters in the future, it is necessary for them to pool their resources and expertise.

ButJALexecutives remain op­timistic about the future of tour­ism indusuy in the CNMI, stressing that there will be no changes in the airlinecompany'sSp1ingflightsched­ule.

"No changes ... No problem," said JALdistiic! manager Hideo Tomioka when a~ked if the compm1y is pl;m­ning to adjust its flight scheuules with the ongoing downturn of the· Japanese economy.

The airline has direct Japan­Saipan-Japan flights everyday,

which have been very effective in encouraging more tmvels among Japanese tourisL, to the Northern Marianas.

Officials said thecomp;my is guided by the 30 principle "and our own expe1ience tells us u1is principle is really wmking on our favor."

The 3Ds stand for Direct, Daily and Daytime operation.

JAL is now se1ving two key cities in Japar1 - Osaka and Tokyo - from where the big bulk of Japanese tour­ist, to the NMI are coming.

Airline officials explained that Osaka, being the second largest city in Japm1, is surrounded by several cities, making it one of u1e major poinL, of towist traffic in the country.

JAL stmted increasing the airline company's seating capacity last April I. which me;ms ,ITT additional -23 percent avai !able seats in the company's Osaka flighL,.

The airlines' Saip;m-Tokyo route remains unch,mgeo, with JAL still using B747, which ha, 430 available scat,.

PRIZE WINNERS. Prize winners of the GED science class poster-making contest pose with Northern Marianas College officials and staff. Shown standing, from left to right, are NMC President Agnes McPhetres, first prize winner Rhonda Hix, Adult Basic Education Program Administrator Fe Calixterio, contest judge David Cooper, second-prize winner Rebecca Smith, and Instructor Raul Sim1fara. Kneeling is third-prize winner James Villagomez. Photo by Rick Alberto

Bill to take $4 from daily car rentals to help fund road improvement

By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

REPRESENTATIVE Jesus T. Attao has introduced a bill seeking to charge car-renting consumers $4a day to finm1ce road projects on the island.

Attao, in a phone inte1view, sai.d he filed the bill "just to make sure our roads are paved." "New cars will last long ifwe have better roads," he said.

Directly to be hit by Attao's move, if ever enacted into Jaw, are tourists, whose anivals on the is­bnd have recently been noted to be on a decline.

Thi;: Commonwealth has already been receiving funds from the fct.t­c:ral government for road project

concerns. The Saipan Mayor's Office too,

has an existing road. repair pro­gram.

ButAttao explained that the fed­eral funding only covers primary roads.

He added that he may "prob­ably" amend the bill at the commit­tee level to have the redundancy concerns with the Mayor's Office add1essed.

According to House Local Bill 11-8, the surch,u·ge will be imposed 011

ecu- r-cntals of not mmc tl1m1 30 days. 'lk funds generated, tl1c: bill stated,

"me to be used for tl1e constnrction ,mu 1-cpairof p1immy ,md sccond.uy mat.ls within the Thirt.l Scnatrnia\ Disnicl."

Collected money will be remitted each month totl1e firnmcedepmtmcnt which may "presc1ibe fom1s to ac­company such remittance to provide details of surchm·ge col lcction.''

The money will be deposited into a Third Senatmial District Road Func.J AccounL

'The owner of tl1e motor vehicle rental business or agency shall be responsible for the accurate remit­tance of the surcluu·ge,'" accoruing to the bill.

A!tao said his bill will be re­ferred to the Saipan Maym's Of­fice for Possible public hearing,.

No estimates on th<: amount that may possibly be aCl\Uircd from the surcharge were readily available as of prcsstime yesterday afternoon.

CDA chair urges hotels: Consider lower room rates By Rick Alberto Variety News Staff

WITH the average hotel room rate on Saipan being higher than on Guam, the local hotels should consider lowering their room prices, the board chairofthc Com­monwealth DevelopmcntAuthor­ity said yesterday.

"The room rates of hotels here are too high," Juan S. Tenorio said.

He said the average room in a four-star hotel here costs $160 per day, whereas in Guam it is $135.

Tenorio said that it should be the other way around since the minimum wage and hotel room tax here arc lower. There is also no property tax here, he added.

"The investors here should look into stretching the return of eq­uity, say to 10 years like what Guam is uoing, so that the (room) price would be reasonable." Tenorio saiu.

Because of the downtrend in tourist arrivals brought about by the Asian economic crisis, the occupancy rate among the major hotels belonging to the Hotel As-

Juan S. Tenorio

sociationofthc Northern Mariana Islands has dropped within the

60s percentage range. Tenorio saiu that in contrast

Guam hotels arc still enjoying from 75 ro 80 percent occupancy.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio him· self has requested the lower­ing ofroorn rates, and 111\NMI has been responsive.

The problem. according HANMI Prcsiucnt Ronald Sablan. owner of Paci fie Gar­ucnia Hotel, is that it would take up to four months to ad­just the room rates since these were quoted by Japanese tour agents six months in advance.

Tenorio said the high n1c1111 rat cs a 11 d Sa i pa 11 to u ,. pacbgL'S.which an· I 5 pcrCL'lll higl1er than (iua111 tours. 11nL' ne:lled by the h11hhk ccomir11_1 i 11 the rcccn t years.

··The buhbk cco1w111y is rw longer here," Tc1wrio said.

Tenorio said tour agents price their packages high because of· the high hotd room rates.

'"'With the increase in Con­tinental Airl incs fares coupled with the high hotel rates, how can we attl"act tourists tl1 comc"1" Tenorio said.

rrr;ac. ... _,_;. .. ·.,.·:::: -' i,yi "'-".·••·•••.••••···••·•••• · Mar~Vic c: Munar

intrusion.of.privacy@cyberspace I WAS so naive. I was almost ready to say that coffeemaker was the greatest creation of the twentieth century until this monstrous Internet sprung out, seemingly out of the pages of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four.

Click the mouse and in a flash you're in a stranger's homepage, snooping into his personal business. We 're in the midst of a global interconnection that is taking place much faster than building roads and bridges a century ago.

In the future everyone will get wired. Post offices will be phased out. Can you imagine the world losing the poetry of the traditional mail? Sothesby and Christie's would probably have fewer brittle and handwritten letters from famous people to auction in the future.

We can't, however, be ungrateful to the awesome convenience offered by this incomprehensible. technology. It makes global information more accessible, communication much quicker, and shopping a lot easier. No wonder we netizens are more than willing to give out information about ourselves. But it's stupid to do that.

Cyberspace is a world that no one controls and rules-not even Bill Gates. And being a lawless planet, the cyberspace can be dreary. Small scale privacy atrocities take place there everyday.

My e-mail box is sometimes glutted with a bunch of disgusting chain letters, as well as unwanted catalog and ads for crazy things such as Rollerblades and, for God's sake, insect terminator. But that's not worse than finding out that your e-mail messages are siphoned off to unintended destinations. How can you help your paranoia?

Consider my own cyber-anecdotes: I didn't know how a confidential Preston Gates memo popped

up in my e-mail box. Late last year, a friend in Indiana attached an article to his e-mail

message, telling me that for some reason the piece reminded him of me. When I downloaded the attached article, I was totally surprised. That un­bylined piece- um, masterpiece- should indeed remind him of me because, damnit, it was my ruticle and heaven knows how it landed in his e-mail box. I remember having sent that article to only four people, one to my editor, one to Cookie Micaller of the Tribune, and two friends in New Jersey. Now I'm a little forced to observe self-censorship as anything we write may be sent for universal consumption.

Dilemma. I don't want to be cut-off from the world, but I'm trying to cling on to my privacy and intimacy in a global village of ten millions.

If things seem crazy now, think how much crazier they will be when everybody else is wired just as predicted in 1970 by Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock and Third Wave. If, in real life, hackers were real omnipotent evil like fictional hackers, there would probably be worse ways they could encroach on our privacy. They could sabotage our credits, siphon off our e-mails, break our re\atiom,hips, and crack our secret societies. Be careful: Big Brother Is Watching You.

Maybe I'm being too alarmist, but God, this partoffutureshock is breaking my heart.

P.O. Box 231, Saipan MP 96950-0231 Tel. 1670) 234-63411757819797/9272 Fax: (670) 234-9271

Member of -· _l'he Associated Press (APl__ IIIIIIM8£R Gl,-iC( IU.5

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Do NoW?

A 'Flood' of medical info

By William L. Flood, MD Pediatrics, Saipan Health Center

Children and Day Care HERE in the CNMI, as all over the world, many mother's need to work outside of the home. And this means someone else needs to help take care of the children.

While some families have a full-time care­taker in their homes, perhaps here more than many places in the states, others find that group day care is the only available option.

While their are many important benefits from day care, there are also risks, especially the risk of exposure to many different infec­tions.

The "average" child cared for at home has about 40 "sick days" a year.

A little over a month. Chi idren in small home day care settings had al most 80 sick days, and those in group day care centers had almost 100.

That's over 3 months, sick, every year. What can you do to minimize this number, or to

keep infection risk low for your child? When is it safe to allow a sick child to return to

school, and when should you keep them home? Respiratory "nu" or colds arc the most common,

and most toddlers have 6-9 of these infections a year.

These infections are spread easily by drop­lets sneezed or coughed into the air.

Since infants don't use handkerchiefs or cough politely into their hands, it is pretty much impossible to prevent the rapid spread of these infections in day care.

Happily, most of these infections are mild and go away without treatment.

"Stomach flu", most commonly vomiting and diarrhea, is also a special risk in clay care.

These infections are spread from the hands to the mouth.

Toddlers and infants are still in diapers, ·and changing a messy diaper can transfer a lot of germs to the caretakers hands.

Hand washing is the single best way to prevent the spread of these diseases.

Caretakers and day care workers should be compulsive about hand washing before h_an­dling any food, and after wiping noses or changing diapers.

When should a child be kept home? • Fever. If your child has a rectal tempera­

ture greater than I 02 degrees. • "Sick". If your child acts unusually sick,

tired, or uncomfortable. • Diarrhea or vomiting. A child with wa­

tery bowel movements, or vomiting, should be kept home until you are sure they are not "catchy".

• Pain. Any child with unusual pain -earaches, belly pain, whatever- should be kept home and be seen bv their doctor

• Rashes. C:hildre~ with rashes ~1ay have infec­tions and should be kept home until your doctor says it is OK to be out and around.

• Sore throat or sores in mouth. .111ese infections are often quite catchy and need

to be treated. If your child has "strep throat" he should stay

home until he is on antibiotics and the fever is gone for 24 hours. ~

It is also a good idea to call your day care provider to let them know your child is sick.

This way they can alert other parents to what is going around in the school.

LETTERS to the editor must carry the full name of the writer and signature, with a telephone number (in case of faxed or mailed letters) for verification. Letters addressed to other publications or to third parties and · those endorsing particular political candidates are discouraged. All letters are subjected to editing. The Variety reserves the right to reject any letters. Name withheld and unsigned letters will not see print.

. ' . ~'. ' ,' - . ' ' . ' . ----- ---- ------------ - -----------·----· WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VJEWS-5

Fee waiver to cut CPA revenue By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

PLANS to waive the airport land­ing fees may affect the repaying capabilities and the annual rev­enues of the Commonwealth Po1ts Authority, it was learned yester­day.

Ports Authority executive di­rector Carlos Salas said there may be other options that could be provided airline companies than scrapping the airport landing fees.

Sal as said the proposal wa1·­rants a deeper discussion since any move to suspend the landing fee wou Id affect the Ports Authority's revenues, and its eli­gibility lo repay the $54.6 million bond.

"We haven't had any meeting yet. It wa1rnnts discussion to know what is intended in the proposal," he told Variety.

He said he is trying to set an appointment with Lt. Gov. Jesus Sablan who suggested the tempo­rary scrapping of airport landing fees to boost the Commonwealth's dwindling tourism industry.

Sablan said only a partnership between the private sector and the government could help alleviate the effects of the economic de­pression.

He has said CPA must consider suspending the airport landing fees as an incentive to airline com­panies like Continental Micronesia, Nothwest, and Japan Airlines.

But Salas said that for February al one, the Pmis Authority has gen­erated close to $165,000 in rev­enues from landing fees alone.

"This figure includes fees col­lected from both big and small aircraft.," he said.

fo1· the Piscal Year 1998, the Ports Authority has projected some $1.9 million in total rev­enues and Salas said this will have to be taken into consideration during his meeting with Sablan.

I le pointed out that another

Carlos Salas

thing which has to be considered during the discussion is the CPA 's capabilities to pay its service debts, with the recent release of the $54.6 million bond.

Proceeds from the floated bond would be used to finance existing projects like the $7.6 million dredging work at the Saipan Sea­port and the corTidor expansion project at the Saipan International Airport, as well as other federal­funded projects that require a 10 percent share from the contract price.

The landing fee suspension pro­posal came as the CPA stumbles, trying to identify revenues that may be able to pay the planned separate bond notation for the West Tinian Airport.

The CPA has rejected propos­als from the Commonwealth De­velopment Authority [CDAJ to increase the bond to $80 mi Ilion to accommodate the expansion of the Tinian airport, stressing de­clining revenues.

Salas said CPA is looking at getting separate financing fo(the Tinian airport, adding that his of­fice is still working out some de­tails in terms of repaying the bond that has to be floated to finance the pro jcct.

The Ports Authority originally soughtto float$ 140 mi II ion. most of which would have funded the expansion and improvement or both Tinian air and sea ports.

Bond rating may suffer if landing fees scrapped

By Rick Alberto Variety News Staff

THE chair of the Commonwealth Development Authority board yesterday said the proposed scrapping of the airport landing fee would imperil the rating of the Ports Authority bond.

Juan S. Tenorio said in an interview that part of the payment for the bond debt will come from revenues derived from the landing fee.

111e landing fee scrapping was proposed to the CPA by acting .. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan to stimulate the slumping tourism industry.

"I'm getting scared because that (landing fee) is part of the payment coming in (for the bond)," Tenorio said.

"I think that's going to hurt the rating of the bond," he added. The $54.6-million bond was floated late last month and the CPA

has been able to draw funds from the bond proceeds. Tenorio said the bond has not been rated yet. A downgraded rating would "cost us more money for payment,"

Tenorio said. Tenorio wondered where the CPA would get the funds lost with

the elimination of the landing fee to pay for the bond debt. The CDA, being the government financing institution and tasked

with the stimulation of the island economy, approves all bond flotations including that of the CPA.

Tenorio said the.airlines themselves are not complaining about the landing fee but about the overtime payment.

Asian a Airlines, for example, reportedly pays $15,000 monthly in separate overtime cargo fees to the Customs owing to its nighttime flight arrivals.

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6-M:\RIANA~ _Y ARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-W].[)NE~DA Y - APRIL 8 1998

DOLi fines 2 employers Fund to set aside $1.8M for Tinian, Rota offices

By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

AT LEAST two employers, who agreed to hire 19 ille­gally r~cruited B:mgladeshis last \·car. were fined close to SI 0:000 and permanently baned from hiring new non­resi(.knt workers.

The matter stemmed from their alleged failure to pro­vide jobs to the workers who were instead allowed to seek illegal employment.

Linn Asper. Labor and Im­migration Administrative He:iring Office Supervisor. in his ruling. said the depart­ment granted transfer em­ployrn;nt to the workers. all part of the close to 200 gypped by Filipino cab driver. Segundino Ubongen. in the interest of providing jobs to the victims.

The employers, a certain

Linn Asper

Guadalupe Eugenio who runs Victory Management, and Daniel Eugenio. owner of D.T.E. E,;terprises, said Asper. "'proved to be unsuit­able."

None of the employers, ac­cording to Asper's findings, filed the required Labor per­mit applications for the work-

Suit filed over fatal accident on Rota

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Sta ff

THE AUNT of an eight-year­old bo\· who died during a vc­hicula;· accident on R'ata in 1996 filec.l yesterday a civil suit Jemanding damages a;:ainsr the driver. -Teresita A. Santos. aunt of

Joseph Naputi" Castro. named Joaquin l. Nori ta as defendant in the suit before the Superior Court for alleged negligence.

Santos. thro-u!.!h c;un~~el G. Anthony Long,\aid on April 7. 1996 she and Castro were ric.ling bicycle on a public road in conformity with the traffic laws.

Long said Norita. who was operating a motor vehicle in a

reckless and careless manner, struck and killed the boy.

"Defendant owed a duty and obligation to the minor and Santos to operate the motor vehicle. He breached his duty by operating the vehicle he was driving in a careless, un­safe, and reckless manner," Long stated.

Tl;c lawyer said on Dec. 20, 1996 Nori ta pleac.lcd guilty be­fore the court of the charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving in connection with the boy's-death.

"Seeing such an incident caused Santos t; suffer emotional dis­tress. harmful anguish. anc.l other harm am! injury.:-: Long stated in the complaint.

a "JJ" Sibetang 'We ~ ~ tire kMi C ffl/J./1.e bi. COMe,

'We kwe ~ C qoJ IJe,u ~·

/ Read to your child everyday. I

ers. Worse, they failed to pro­

vide jobs and instead " ... left (the workers) to find their own i lie gal employment."

The workers, failed to con­sult the department on their plight "and most continued to work without authorization" by government.

"As a result of their Labor law violations, Guadalupe and Daniel Eugenio should be fined $500 for each of their employees and permanently barred from the employment of nonresident workers in the Commonwealth," Asper ruled.

Fourteen of the workers

who managed to attend a re­cent c.lcpa~tment hearing on their case were given a "last and limited opportunity to transfer to legitimate employ­ers.

The remaining five were re­ferred to the department's im­migration division for depor­tation due to their failure to be at the hearing.

It is believed that close to I 00 of the original 191 ··ubongen Bangladeshis" are still on the island and have acquired jobs illegally or through government-facili­tated transfer employment.

Variety tried but failed to reach the Eugenios.

Murder suspects allegedly beat up fellow inmates

By Ferdie de la Torre Van'ety News Staff

1WO murder suspects reportedly beat up a fellow inmate at the Division of Corrections of the De­partment of Public Safety Monday night

Public 'Safety Infonnation Of­ficer Maj. J. J. Castro said the victim, Tommy Fred Kirie\, was treated by emergency medical tech­nicians for minor injuries.

Castro said the attackers were Gerald C. Sablan and Peter C. Cabrera, both suspects in the death of Alan M. Obak last Nov. 29 in New Dandan Home­stead. The murder case is pending in court.

Kiriel told the police that while he was in the cell of detention extension facility Sablan ap­proached and suddenly punched

him on the left eye. Kiriel said when he fell down,

Cabrera kicked him several times, but he managed to block them.

The case was placed under fur­ther investigation.

In another police report, a seven­year -old girl was allegedly sexu­ally molested by two unidentified men in a grassy area in Chalan Kanoa Monday night

The giri conf essedabout the inci­dent when tl1e mother noticed she was bleeding, police said.

The case was under investiga­tion.

In Kagrnan, Jesus M. Castro, fonner director of DPS Fire Divi­sion, reported that unknown per­son's stole six l 00-foot dripping hose from his farm Monday morn­ing.

No arrest was made yet

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

THE NM! Retirement Fund will be spending$ l .8M of its own funds planning to con­struct its own office build­ings on Tinian and Rota.

Fund Deputy Administra­tor Fred F. Camacho in an interview yesterday said the Board of Trustees is antici­·pating to establish an identi­cal two-storey building with 7,500 square feet office space for the two islands.

He explained that the MD Group presented to the Board three designs for the build­ings.

With just minor changes in the chosen design, the deputy administrator said, the Board will then finalize such projects.

Hopefully, Camacho addec.l, the ground breaking will be in September.

"It's part of the investment scheme by the Board ofTrust­ees. They see it as an oppor­tunity of generating money ... anc.l it also saves us money from renting office space. But its more into making addi­tional revenues for the Re­tirement Fund," Camacho pointed out.

The Saipan Fund's office in Capitol Hill, on the other hand, is 50 percentcompletec.1 and may open either June or July, he said.

Sablan: Cabinet appointments await Teno's return from. US

By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Slaff

THE NAMES of Gov. Pec.lro P. Tcnrnio 's secreuu·ies of Labor ,uiJ Immigration.Public HealthSc1vices. Public Works ,Uld Commerce me expected to be announccc.l this week, according to his acting spokesperson Fr,uik S. Ros,uio.

M:ut Zacharcs is expected to be n:ui1cd :Ls Lahar ,md Immigration secretary. while Dr. Joseph K. Villagomez will heaJ Public Health Sc1viccs.

'I11e two,ue cum::ntl y acting sccn:­uuies of the deprntmenL,.

I lowevcr, the names of the Public

Works :uid Commerce &c1et:u·ics ,u-e not yet available, Rosrnio saic.l.

!3emadita T. Palacios is cu1Tcntly tl1eacting Commerce &c1-et,uy, while John B. Cepeda is the acting Public Works sec1-euuy.

In a separate inte1vicw yestcrJay. Tenorio's senior adviser Dr. Jose T. Villagomez said tl1e governor is now 11.:ac.ly to name his Cabinet appointees. including the juc.licial nominees.

For his p,ut. acting Gov. Jesus R. Sabhm saic.l the administrntion can concenu~1te on its 1-eorgrn1ization plm1 for the executive branch now tl1at tl1e US Senate committeehe,uing on· 'fed­eral takeover" legislation is over.

Befo1e leaving for Washington, D.C. in the latter pmt of Mm·ch, the govemor,u1nounced tl1enominations to his CabinetofDr.JackA. Tenrnio, Lucia DLG. Nielsen rn1d 1l1om,L, A. Tebuteb.

Dr. Tenorio w,L, named scc1etmy of Lane.ls mid Natural Resources.

Nielsen, the Marim1,Ls Visitors Bu1cau compUu!ler, W,L, namc<l sec­n:t,uy of Fi1@1cc, while Tcbutcb 1-e­tums to tl1e Dqxutmcnr or Cultural ,me.I Community Affairs. which he heaJcd c.lu1ing tl1e previous ac.lminis­u~1tio11.

'n1e nominations requite Senate confiimation.

Nominee declines.Parole Board seat . . . By Zaldy Dandan Variety News Slaff

ACTING Gov. Jesus R. Sablan has recalled the nomination of Edward I. Sablan to the Parole Board upon the request of the nomi­nee himself, citing "personal rea­sons."

''It's a private matter anc.l we respect his privacy," the acting governor saic.l yesterday.

The nominee is the brother or former Hawaii liaison officer Ilerny I. Sablan.

The Vm·iety was told yesterc.lay by legislative aides that the new administration nominee for the Pm·ole Board is Edward C. Sablan, who used to work for the Division of Revenue and Taxation.

However, the acting governor said Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio will name the new nominee to the Pa­role Board.

Tenorio was expected to return to Saipan last night.

Meanwhile, Sablan said the ad­ministration has declined the re-

quest of Parole Board member Pete Itibus to step down.

"We asked him to remain be­causewenccdaquoromsotl1e(seven­man) bomtl could have parole hear­ings," Sabl:m said yesterday.

Befo1e Tenorio left for Washing­ton, D.C. late last montl1, he nomi­nated M,unetto M. Ayuyu and law­yer Peny B. Inos to serve on the Parole Bmu-d.

If confirmed by the Senate, Ayuyu and !nos would also serve a six-year te1m.

···-----.---__ rrr-.. 'I I

-------·------·-· ·-------------------WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-7

Industry to clean up m.ess By Mar-Vic C. Munar Variety News Staff

SAIPAN's gmTI1ent mm1ufacturers, who me being blamed for the labor mess in tl1e CNMI. vowed yesterday to "clem1 up d1e industry" and "elem· tl1eir nmnes."

"We've got a lot of work to do," said James Lin, chaiiman of Saipan GrnmentManufactu1ersAssociation.

··we believe violators of both and federal laws should be prosecuted ,md, if needed, be closed dowrnmd no longer pe1mitted to opemte in the Commonwealth," he added.

LinshrnestheconfidenceofCNMI officials who have saic.l that victrny belongs to them after last week's

\ \

James Lin

hemingatthe U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Naturnl Resources.

CHC intensifies campaign on women empowerment

By Aldwin R. Fajardo Variety News Staff

STRESSINGthewomen'srightto decide on concerns affecting them, the public health department yes­terday bared plans to intensify cam­pai 1:,'ll to promote reproductive health.

"Access to knowledge about health and healthy lifestyles are importmiton the overall well-being of the woman," said Acting Public Health deputy director David Rosario.

Rosario said women have the right to make decisions on their health mid utilization of available resources including medical and fimmcial aspects.

He said local women must bun about the importance of early p1-e­natal care, the benefits of bretL~tfeeding, good nutrition, in­fimt care imd the importance of immunization.

He pointed out that the general

health of a womrut rutd her lifestyle choices can have an important im­pact on her health during preg­nancy and on the well-being of her unborn baby.

·Women must be able to easily access information on the risks as­sociated with potentially· hannful habitssuchastobacco,alcoho\con­sumption and drug abuse that can cause complications for women and their unborn child.

Women exposed to cigarette smoke are vulnerable to early meno­pause and to cancer of the ute1ine cervix, according to recent srudies.

Women smokers are also found to have difficulty getting pnegnant because the smoke affects the fallo­pian tubes.

Rosario said majority of preg­nancies are trouble free, as much a~ gestation is a time of constant changes, but added that some of these changes can cause problems for mother or her unborn baby.

Susp_ect in stabbing falls . .

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

A MAN who allegedly stabbed rn1J woundec.l ,motl1erperso11 with a knili: at the Saip,m Bowling Center in S,m Jose Saturday fell in tl1e hanJs of authorities.

An-ested was 23-yc.u--old Carlie Id Aguon Sabhmaka. C:utf vlJ A Sabhm :m~l G:u"llcld A. Sabl:m. o1·Kohlc1villc.

Assistant i\ttv. (,en. Ramona V. Manglona charged Sablan with :1g­gravarcd assault and battery. :md :1s­sault with a d,mgerous weapon.

Mm1glona in the complaint said Sabl:u1 ,Lssaultcc.l Joseph John Aguon Sablw1 with a kni fc.

Coult documents showed tlmt a woman called the p:ilice SaturJay at 3 a.m. repo1ting about a fight at J's Rcstaumnt located in the Bowling Center.

Police gathe1ed tl1at after the vic­tim played poker in the center, he went to tl1e backsic.le whe1e J's Res­taurantemployeeswe1ese1vingfood.

1l1e suspect confronted the victim what was his problem. niggering an ,u-gument.

A man pacified the two, but he was told to leave them alone.

1l1c victim and the suspect st.'Uted fighting outside at the front ena·ance of the restaunmt.

During the fight, thesuspectstabbed the victim with a knife several times then fled the m-ea.

The victim suffered four stab wounds to different pmts of the body mid was utken to the Commonwealth I lcal th Center.

A 1cstaurrn1t employee said she w,LS serving f()()(] at the western sec­t ion of the ~eSL'.llll~lllt when she saw several 111c11 r:u1 outsic.lc ,mJ strntcd lighting.

s am !lilfill re !!ie:: z ~ m«ne out off vour dav

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(670) 235-8808

1l1e committee, chaired by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska). hc,ml the Deprntment of Interior's chrn·ges that labor abuses_. human righls viola­tions, and textile u-ade frauc.l were rampant in the CNMI's gmment sector. DOlear·lierreponcd tlmtsomc fl)anufactw-ers in tl1e CNM! we1-e engaged in u-ansshipmentof clothing

pnx.lucLs to the U.S. via Saip,m. Lin said. like tl1e local ,md federal

governments. SG MA is cquall y con­cerned with the problems causec.l by "few 111mmfactu1ers."

"Maybe even more so, since we have the most to lose," Lin added.

MembersofSGMA,Linalsosaid. "will not 1-est in their pursuit to clean

up rhc g,urncnt indusl!y. clc,u· their names and create betternppo1tunities for their employees mid the CNMI community."

CNMI officials beliL:vc the pro­posals to fcderaliz.c local immigra­tion and labor have been temporniily offae1aftertJ1eM:u-d13 I Senatche,u-­ing.

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8-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VJEWS-WEDNESDA Y- APRIL 8, 1998

Local healers called to preserve 'dying art' By Laila C. Younis Variety News Staff

;\ nt:w non-profit organization is calling upon local heaJ..:rs. also known in Chamorro as "suiuhanu" or··suruhana". to help preserve the "sacred knowledge·· of local medicine. according to Indigenous Affairs Director and Proj~ct member Noel Quitigua.

to have that avail:1ble for the fu­ture ... he said.

··sac.Jly, local healing is a dying art. The younger generations do not seem interested in traditional pr:1ctices. This project is the larg­est of its kind and our aim is to get everyone exposed to it, .. he added.

said Quitigu:1. "I was quite shocked to find out

1hat a popular plant among many international physicians is one that can be found right here, in our own back yards,~· he said.

"Our office has always been involved in recording this kind of information and now we are tak­ing a step further with this project." he said.

Quitigua also pointed out that the project aims to "pro­mote greater interest. promote dialogue between th.:! healers

and western medical practi­tioners, and serve as a founda­tion for further studies."

"We need to get as much literature and information as we possibly can find and put it together ... said Quitigua.

::Practicing local 1;1cdicinc is the oldest tradition in our cultures, passed down through families for centuries." he said.

"We have to do what we can to preserve it before it fades away. We would like to share

it with others and expose it to the community. And that is why. for the local healers, we need your help," he added.

The group is having its first meeting, according to Quitigua. at the Joeten-Kiyu Library on Thursday, April 9th {ram 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m ..

Local healers and anyone in­terested are encouraged to at­tend. For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Lamar at (CHC) at 234-8950 or Noel Quitigua at 664-2408.

"We arc in the process of for­mulating a non-profit organiza­tion where local healers and intcr­csccd individuals can meet and help Jocumem the art of healing :111d loc:il medicines." saiJ Quitigua.

"There is really no comprehen­sive Jocumcntation on who are the local healers and what arc the local mec.Jicincs. We would like

The organization. c:illcd "Medici;e Grot1p for the People of the hhlnds", was made possible by a grant from the Humanities Council, and Dr. Daniel Lamar spearheaded the effort. according to Quitigua.

"Dr. Lamar is interested in documenting local medicines, as even the- global trend is gearing towards herbal cures,"

CCAC to hold first floral exhibit

Tickets available 1 for NMI Pageant

THE 1998 Miss NMI Universe Pageant.is just around the corner, and according to the Northern Marianas Beauty Paoeant Association. tickets are now available to the gen-

~ . . ~

era! public. There arc less than a hundred tickets on sale; and the

pageant will not be aired on television, so take this only chance to witness one of the CNMI's most exciting promo, tional event live.

The tickets are priced at $25 per person and are available at the following locations: Liberty Plaza and First Floral. Or you may contact NMBP A President Becky P. Cruz at 322-7814.

THE COMMONWEAL TH Council for Arts and Culture will be sponsoring the first annual CNMI Floral Exhibition on Fri­day, May I from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 2, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. atJoeten-Kiyu Library Con-

.!

ference Room. 1l1is first ever floral exhibition

will feature the art of flower ar­ranging, traditional flower weav­ing (mwar) and artwork depicting the beautiful flora of the Northem Marianas and elsewhere.

Interested florist, artists, floral shops and nurseries are asked to contact Angel Hocog or Tina Wabol Foster at the Arts Coun­cil at 322-9982 or 322-9983 for more information or regis­tration forms.

The Pageant is scheduled for April 19th, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Nikko Hotel Theater Hall. Please come and show your support and enjoy a night of fun and exci tment. Marianas High School Art students work on a wall mural recently as part of a program aimed to beautify the

school's campus. Pholo by Laila c. Younis

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CUC-RFP-98-0014

April 8, 1998

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) is soliciting competitive proposals from responsible Architectural/Engineering firms capable of designing new electrical overhead 7.97/13.8 kV distribution lines and secondary services in the Marpo and Carolinas Agricultural Homestead areas.

The Scope of Work may be picked up at the CUC Procurement & Supply Office in Lower Base, Saipan, between 7:30 a.m. to 11 :30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Government observed holidays.

Offerers shall provide a certification signed by a principle of the company stating that the company has in the past. and is currently, in compliance with all applicable CNMI and federal labor laws. Should the company be unable to provide such certification, the company must provide a w~itten explanation as to why, including a description ol any violations of such labor laws and any remedial action taken. FAILURE OR THE COMPANY 10 PROVIDE l'HE CER11FICA1\0N OR EXPLANATION IS GROUNDS TO REJECT THE ENTIRE PROPOSAL.

Proposals will _be evaluated and selections made based on Bid price - 50 points, Past Experience - 25 points, Expenence of Personnel Assigned to Project - 20 points, Design Schedule - 5 points.

Six (6) sets of the proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked CUC RFP 98-0014, to the CUC Procurement & Supply Office, P.O. Box 1220, Lower Base, Saipan, MP 96950, no later than Friday, April 8, 1998 al 2:00 p.m., local time. Late submissions will not be considered.

Discuss_ions may_be conducted with responsible offerors, who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of betng selected for award, for the purpose of clarification and to ensure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, solicitation requirements. Offerers shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and such revisions may be permitted after submission and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining the best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors.

~UC_ reserves the right to reject any or all proposals lor any reason and to waive any defect in the proposals tf. 1n its sole opinion to do so, would be in its best interest. All proposals shall become the property of CUC.

For further information please contact Greg Castro, Deputy Director, Tinian, at (670) 433-9261.

TIMOTHY P. VILLAGOMEZ Executive Director, CUC

· Saipa.n·IJash Holls.e··-. st!hequ}e~ Dleeting._ ..

THIS JS to inform all interested pmties that the Saipan Hash House Harriers will meet at 6 p.m. this coming Saturday, April I 1, only, for full moon rnn.

'Morning . . . Continued fron:, pa~~ 2

State F,m1ily Planning Resern-ch In­stitute ,mu Beijing No. 3 Phwmaccu­tical PlrnH, cw1 be safely wken after u11p1'0lcctcd sex 1op1'Cvent p1-cgn:mcy. the reprnt said. It did not provide d~tails about tJ,e pill's chemic.~ con­tcnL\.

"!lie Chinese government allows most urlxm couples to have only one child. and su-ongly discom:1gcs 111ral l;1111ilics fium having 11101-c thw1 two

Drink Don't Drive Drive Don't Drink

The meeting place remains the same-at the Bank of Guam in Garapan.

For further information. call Bobbi al 322-9464.

childnn Abrntions ,u-c widely used to slop unauthrni7.cd or unww1tcd r1-cgn:mcics, putting tli<: hcaltl1 ot' m;my women at 1isk.

·11,e 1epo11 said that each ye:u· ,L, m,my ,Ls half of all abo1tions in China w-c pe1f 01rned because couples fail to use contraccrtion or because the con­u~1ccptivcs used prove ineffective.

Chinese authrnitics :u-c u-ying to encourage couples to choose smaller families through bcucrcontrnception, hcalth education :md lin:mcial inccn­tiws, to help p1-cdudc the use of lines ,u1d forced abo1tions.

t /• ~.:: .

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-9

CNMI needs local scientists By Rick Alberto Variety News Staff

THERE is a dcrn1h of local scienrists ,Ls studcnLs prefer to major in business adminisu~1tio11, tl1e p1-csiuent of tJ1e No11l1em Marianas College said Mond,1y night. "

Agnes McPheui:s. add1-cssing the ho;t session of m1 adult basic educa­tion class in science, said science is the foundation of a lot of our learning.

"It opens up a lot of doors," she said.

McPhen'Cs said the CNMl needs a lot of scientists espccially in the field of agriculture.

While there are many Ph.D.s in agiiculture here. not one comes from

the CNMI. the college president la­mented.

She told the 18 members of the d,L,s that they had done the first step.

"in the nem· future, we could have scientists, especially in ag1iculture," she said.

She said ve1y few studenlo; at the NMC major in science. Many prefer to major in business, she added.

-~111rough your participation, we hope to create the futun! scientisto; in the CNMJ," she addressed the stu­dents, who exhibited their individual science posters.

The award for the best science poster went to Rhonda Hix, the sec­ond-best to Rebecca Smith, and the

third to James Villagomez. ABE program adminisn·ator Fe

Calixte1io told McPhen-es that the student, ";u-e yourfulure college stu­dent,."

Calixteiiocredited the studenl, for "doing a great job."

"What is exciting is the fact that you p,uticipated," she told the cla,s.

Insuuctor Raul Simiuu-a, for his p:u1, told his studenLo; that although it was their la,tday in cla,s, their educa­tion is a continuing process.

The students are scheduled to take the General Educational Develop­ment tests. which they have to pass to be able to get a high school diploma.

At left, John Schwarz, General Manager of Micro/ Corporation accepts a recent "Golden Marketing Award" for the company's #1 Sales Performance for the past 14 years from Toyota Motor Sales (Oceania Dept.) General Manager M. Arai.

NLRB attorney addresses HuID.an Resources group THE Commonwealth's chap­ter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the major national personnel organization, wi 11 be holding its monthly mem­bership meeting this Thurs­day, April 9, the chapter an­nounced in the news release.

David Biggar. an attorney with the National Labor Rela­tions Board temporarily de­tailed to the CNMI, will ad­dress the membership on the topic of the National Labor Relations Board.

He will also answer any questions Society members and guests might have about its functions. Alt members and interested individuals arc in­vited to attend the meeting and p1·esent any questions they might have on this subject.

The CN MI Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management is a new. but growing. forum for discussion anu training in personnel mat­ters. Over the past several

months, personnel profession­als from a variety of indus­tries, large and small. recog­nizing a need for a local soci­ety for professionals in the personnel field, have joined together to found this local branch and have also affili­ated ii with the national orga­nization.

"The CNMI chapter of the Society wants to have an im­pact on personnel management in the Commonwealth," com­ments Frank Gibson, President of the Chapter.

"Many of the problems that are presently gaining interna­tional attention can be re­solved, or at least alleviated, by proper personnel action," he said.

According to Ron Lerner, Vice President. the local SHRM chapter was formed to promote fellowship and an opportunity for cooperation between human resources pro­fessionals, and to form a bet­ter understanding of the mu-

tual problems affecting those engaged in human resource work from a variety of indus­tries.

Chapter membership meet­ings are not limited lo mem­bers. Prospective members and companies or individuals interested in the discussion topic arc invited to attend. This week's luncheon meeting will be held at the Giovanni Room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel :.11 11 :30 on Thursday, April 9.

"All personnel or manage­ment staff, at any level, from any industry, are urged to at­tend. The only cost for the occasion is the meal," invites Kate Nunez, Chapter Secretary. "Leaming more about the NLRB should be of immediate interest to all personnel staff in the CNM!. We arc pleased that Mr. Biggar will be able to join us."

Members, and others inter­ested in a11ending this lun­cheon discussion, should call Kate Nunez at 322-6201 to make reservations.

The Around the Islands seclion covers community stories, local even1s, and cultural activities. Should you have a story you would like to share, or an event that needs to ·

be covered, contact Laila at 234-6341

4 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced 2 cups cheese sauce (sec helow) 1 tablespoon grated coconut

fresh pineapple, peeled cored and sliced 2 tablespoons chopped spring onions 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheese Sauce: 1 tablespoon butter

heaped tablespoon flour 2 heaped tablespoons grated cheese 11/, cups milk 1/4 teaspoon salt

pepper lo taste

Grease a baking dish. Arrange in layers. sliced pineapple, sliced swecl po1a10, grated coconul and spring onions. Spread cheese sauce. Rcpeai layers unlil all swccl polalo and pineapple have been used. llake in a hol oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot as a vegetnble wi1h cooked me,:it or fi~h.

To prepare clzee.fie sauce: Melt butter, stir in flour using a wooden spoon. Cook over gentle heJt for 3 minutes ,vithn.ut browning. Remove frnm heat and grnduatly s1ir in half the milk. stir until well blended. Return to

he:ll, cook s\0,1.!Jy until snucc thickens. stirring all the tirm:. Gradually add

remaining milk. Bring to the boil. Add gr:.ned t:hecse and salt and rcppcr to taste, mix well. Makes 2 cups.

Anisa Kony/CHUUK - This recipe is from the "Pacific Islands Cookbook" complied by ADAP

PSS Early Childhood Grant hearingsscheduled · THE public hearings for the Public School System's Fiscal Year 1998-2000 early intervention grant application in Rota and Tinian are being rescheduled to be heldat the Rota-roundHouse, Ap1il 14 at 6:00 pm to 7:30pm and at.the Tinin.n-head Start Cafeteria, April 15, 1998 at 6:00 prn to 7:30 pm.

Please call Candace Meyers at 664~3754 for any. questions. .· '' '. ,.

NOTICE Pursuant to the requirements of the Dcpartmem of Commerce, Of/ice of the Insurance Commissioner as per Commonwealth Insurance Act 4 CMC, D1v1s1on 7 regarding Capital Increase, herein below is a copy of !he resolution of the stockholders of PREMIER INSURANCE COMPANY !NC., to serve as public notice '

RESOLUTION OF SHAREHOLDERS AND DIRECTORS OF

PREMIER INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.

RESOLVED, Aniclc four, Sec1ion I of the corporation's Anicles ol Incorporation be and hereby is amended tu include the following purposes.

(a) To act as an insurer, as insurance agent, :md as a rcinsur:mcc agent.

(b) To write insurance policies, including without limitation, policies for the insurance of workers under the Workers Compensation laws, general liability policies, special liability policies, and employee bonds except life insurance.

RESOLVED, Article Six of the corpcration's articles of incorporation be and hereby is amended to raise the capital oi' the corporation to One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) consisting of One Hundred Thousand Shares of common stock, par value One Dollar ($1.00) per share.

The Secretary was then ordered by the Chairman IO prepare minutes of the mcc1ing and Articles ofArncndrncnls and record such minuies and Articles of Amendment wilh Commonwealth Recorder's Oflicc, aflcr obtaining lhc signalurcs of Ihe shareholder and the directors. V. ADJOURNMENT

The being no furl her business, upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned.

Dated: March I 0, 1998

Directors and Shareholders

ls/JESUS D. DELOS SANTOS /s/CIRILA C. ORALLO

ls/CAMILO A. ORALLO ls/DANIELS. BUNIAG

::K.eep Sa_i.pa_::n.. C1ea-I1 &. Bea..-.....ti.f-.....1

10-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY-APRIL 8 1998

Att ~k!l&N!WAliiliOtiiUilta US disaster aid !:§M~~!r~~~,~~ onJ!!::,~!~, for FSM okayed junction with the upcoming eel- • 60 percent of men and eight Western Pacific Region. ebration of the World Health Day percent of women in the Western • illness and deaths from 1998, the FSM Department of Pacific Region smoke. ischaemic heart disease are rising Health, Education and Social Af- • women and young people are due to hypertension, smoking, un-foirs. urges all citizens to take a being targeted as new growth mar- healthy diets and obesity. few moments to observe the im- ket for tobacco. • injury and trauma are becom-portance of good health. • each year, 3 million deaths ing major public health concerns,

Emphasizing a well balanced are caused by smoking and by brought about by road accidents diet. exercising, staying away year 2025, this will rise to l O and poor enforcement of safety from tobacco and alcohol, find- million deaths per year. precautions such as the use of ing time with the family, engag- • of today's children and teen- seat belts and crash helmets. ing in meaningful work. availing agers, 300 million will even tu- • suicides, substance abuse, ac-of preventive health services. ob- ally die of tobacco-related illness. cidents, domestic violence and serving safety precautions and • over 700.000 individuals in child abuse are increasing. taking time out for health- are the Western Pacific Region arc This information is brought to simple things one can do to stay infected with HIV and this num- by the World Health Organiza-hcalthy. according to WHO. ber could more than double by tion 1998, to be celebrated on

A look at the state of world's the year 2000. April 7, 1998. health. statistically: • per capita alcohol consump-

• more than J 00 million indi- tion is increasing rapidly in most viduals in the Western Pacific countries of the region. Region are physically or men­tally disabled from conditions that

• cardiovascular diseases are among the 3 top ki lie rs in 28 of

Gov't unions refuse plans to cut salary HONIARA (Pacnews)-Pub­lic sector unions in Solomon Islands have refused to accept a government proposal to cut pub­lic officers' salary by 15%.

President of the Solomon ls­lands Public Employees Union Wilfred Hatigeva confirms that Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu was informed on the decision duri.ne. a meeting last Saturday, S !BC reports. -

Hatigeva says following the stand-off the Prime Minister has proposed another option, to cut 4 days out of the total of 14 days of which public officers

are paid per fortnight. He says the two parties also dis­

cussed the submission by the unions and were informed by the Prime Minister that some of the options in the submission have been ac­cepted with some already being implemented.

Ulufa 'alu says an example is the government's plan to reduce the number of ministries, although this is yet to be implemented.

Hatigeva says there are areas which will be subject to funher discussion between both par­ties at a meetin~ scheduled for this Saturday. ~

. . . .

Tonga · asks people to· cooperate.·

NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews)­Tonga's health ministry i~ appealing to people particularly in the Nuku'alofa area to cooperate in the effrnts to reduce the mosquito den­sity.

This is in view of the World Health Organisarion'sconcernovertheheavy concentration of the aedesegypti typ! thatspread thedenguefeverepidemic in the country, Radio Tonga reports.

WHOconsultantDrishimorimade the warning to local health authorities that unless a major clean-up cam­paign is taking place, dengue fever would affect a lot of people in the country.

Health officers have urged the pub­lic to heed the warning, and get rid of possible areas which arc ideal breed­ing places for mosquitoes.

Kristo Rai Catholic Church Garapan, Saipan

Holy Week Services Holy Thursday, 9 April • Confessions .....••••••••••.•••.........••.••.•..••••••.•••..••..• 4:00 p.m. 0 Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper ................... 6:00 p.m.

Good Friday, 1 O April • Confessions •••••••••••.••.•............•.•...•.....••.•••••••••.. 10:00 a.m. • Siete Finiho ....................................................... 12:00 noon • Stations of the Cross ........................................ 1 :00 p.m. • Celebration of the Lord's Passion ................... ., 2:00 p.m.

Holy Saturday, 11 April • Confessions ····························a.························· 5:00 p.m. • Vigil of the Lord's Resurrection ........................ 8:00 p.m.

Easter Sunday Morning, 12 April • Eucharist .•.••••..•••..••••...•••...•.••.•.••...•••.•..•••.•.•. 9:30 a.m.

HONOLULU(Pacnews)-United States President Bill Clinton has ap­proved federal disaster aid for the Federated States of Micronesia to help alleviate the effects of a severe and prolonged droughtresulting from the El Niiio weather phenomenon.

Drought conditions began in the FSM more than a year ago.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director J arnes lee WittsaidPresidentClintonauth01ised the assistance, eligible through the United States-Federated States of

Micronesia Compact ofFree Asso­ciation, under a major disaster dec­laration issued Friday.

Immediately after the president's action, Witt designated more than 50 islands and atolls in the FSM states of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap to be eligible for federal funding.

The U.S. eovemment will pay 75 per cent of the costs for emergency se1vices related to the drought, in­cluding the provision of potable water supplies.

UN to send observer team to Bougainville PORT MORESBY (Pacnews)-TheUnitedNationswill shortly be despatching a five-mem­berobserver mission to Boueainville to monitor, supervise and ov~rsee the current peace process on the island.

The observer mission is being sent attherequestofthePapuaNewGuinea government, The National reports.

It will become part of the Peace Monitoring Group PMG, but with a different role.

The PMG will replace the cu1rent Truce Monitoring Group TMG, whose term expires on April 30 after

the permanent ceasefire takes effect Foreign minister Roy Yaki said

Friday on the eve of his departure on a four nation tour that the international community has sup­po11ed the cum:nt peace effrnts on Bougainville.

He said the UN general secretmy 's acceptance of PNG 's request to send theobservermissionwasanendorse­ment 9f the Lincoln Agreement.

Y aki is visiting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu to hold bilateral discussions on the arrange­ments to set up PMG.

PM offers to have his salary cut by 20% HONIARA (Pacnews)-Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Bartholomew Ulufa 'alu has offered to have his salary cut by 20%.

Speaking in parliament Monday, Ulufa'alu said the offer shows the government is serious about its refonn programme, SIBCreports. ·

Ulufa' alu challenged other members of parliament to do the same as an example to others.

He said the countty needs to come up with solutions to be imme<liately applied to ease the financial problem facing the country.

Member of parliament for Rcndovaffetepari, Danny Philip agreed to a 10% salary cut for all members of parliament

He added that government minister pay their water and electricity bills and that all overseas trips be stopped unless really necessary.

Kiribati telecom report presented to the gov't

TARA WA (Pacnews)-An evalu­ation and problem analysis repo11 on Kiribati's telecommunication upgrnd­ing on the outer islands, funded by the European Union from I 980- I 996h,L, been presented to the government.

National Authorising Officer Kianteata Teabo says the 15-year project prepared by Tele Den­mark, covered the Lome I to 3 fundingswhicharnountedto$Aus 15 million ($US9m), Radio Kiribati re-

ports. Teabo says the government will

scrutinize the report before com­menting on it.

Meanwhile, Kiribati has also prepared another five year na­tional indicative programme in­volving the second financial protocol of Lome 4 fundings that commences from 1996 to 2000.

The pmgramme is again focussed on telecommunication.

Vanuatu hit over currency plan MELBOURNE (Pacnews)­Vanuatu 's former finance minis­ter, Willie Jimmy, has criticised the country's new government for cancelling a decision to devalue the Vanuatu currency, the Vatu.

The devaluation was announced three days before the new govern­ment took office, but was cancelled and the vatu revalued as soon as the

. new coalicion took control, Radio Australia reports.

Jimmy says the new Vanuatu gov­emmentcarnpaigned on good gov er-

nance and transperancy but imme­diately broke its standards by inter­fering in what he says should have been the Reserve Bank's own in­dependent decision.

He says the action raised con­cerns about whether the Vanuatu govemmentwill allow government institutions to operate indepen­dently.

Jimmy says the devaluation would have helped Vanuatu rebuild foreign reserves and bring in much needed foreign exchange earnings.

i -'., .. )

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-11

Marshalls drought relief due By Giff Johnson eludes dozens of water tanks

MAJURO- Airlifts of emer- water delivery trucks, flatbed !ency water mak!ng un.it~ we'.·e water trailers, and pumps. ccxpected to begm arnvmg 111 Enough to fill a Russian-the Marshall Islands Tuesday, made Antonov 124 cargo as the first wave of $6.5 mil- plane, the largest aircraft in

. lion in United States-sup- the sky, and s;veral Hercules ported El Nino drought aid. transport planes. T~~ .revers~ osmosis water ··we're bringing the equip-

punfymg urnts that can pro- ment in on the Antonov be-duce a total of more than cause we couldn't get it into a 175,000 gallons of fresh wa- 747," said John W. Heard ter daily will arrive this week Brown and Root Service~ and .be in operation. by the Corporation's project manager April 16, according to for the disaster relief in the Marshall Islands public assis- Marshalls. tance officer Andrew Bilimon. The Houston. Texas-based

Funded by the U.S. Federal company that provides Joois-c ,:, 10mergency Management tical support to U.S. military Agency (FEMA) following operations around the world PresidentClinton'slateMarch is carrying out the $6.5 mil-disaster declaration, the U.S. lion contract with the Marshall emergency drought aid in- Islands and FEMA. Heard

Nena to help Chuuk on its water problem

said. But Hawaii officials refused

to give a one-time noise waiver to the Antonov aircraft for refueling the plane in Ho­nolulu Wednesday enroute tu

• 5 SPEED

Majuro, instead forcing it to travel far north to Alaska to get from the U.S. to the Marshall Islands, according to Heard.

Despite the intervention of ranking U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and FEMA personnel, Hawaii of­ficials wouldn't grant the plane an exemption from noise rules so it could take the most direct route through Hawaii.

Rerouting the plane through Alaska "will delay the arrival a bit,"" Heard said adding that they're doing their best ~ot to let the setback delay opera­tions more than necessary.

The huge cargo plane is ex­pected to land at Majuro on Thursday afternoon.

Even so, Heard expects to be pumping fresh water for Marshall Islanders well before next week's contract de:1dline for having the water makers up and running.

Hercules cargo aircraft will

• AIR CONDITIONING Jacob Nena

PALIKIR(FSMIS)-President Jacob Nena has informed Chuuk Governor Ansito Walter that based on information he received on Chuuk's Water problems, he is taking a numberof steps to help Chuuk with the problems.

• AM/FM CASSETTE

• DUAL AIRBAGS • CLOTH INTERIOR .. FULLY CARPETED • SITLISH WHEEL COVERS

also be shuttling emergency water equipment and person­nel from the U.S. to Majuro and K wajalein atolls through­out this week.

The Marshall Islands has had only trace rainfall since

the beginning of December. In Majuro, the capital, where

half the 60,000 population re­sides, city water is being re­stricted to one day every two weeks as the main reservoir is virtually dry.

Millenium celebrators plan to visit the South Pacific PAGO PAGO (Pacnews)-A plane load of millennium cel­ebrators from Austria will wit­ness the first light of day in the Year 2000 in Fiji and then cross the dateline to repeat the experi­ence in Samoa.

According to Austria's am­bassador to the United States, Dr Helmet Tuark, the Millen­nium South Pacific tour was being organised by Austrian companies and about 300 tour­ists have been booked.

Dr Tuark who was in Ameri­can Samoa last week says the South Pacific is a new choice for

Austrian holidaymakers who usually travel to the Caribbean states.

American Samoa is not on the itinerary but during Dr Tu ark's visit there's been some ann twisting to get the territory on it.

Lieutenant governor Togiola Tulafono, is urging that the Austrian tourists make a stop­over in Pago Pago after Samoa.

DrTuarkhas assured that they will try to convince the tour organisers that a visit to Ameri­can Samoa will be worth their while.

Nena sent National El Nino Task Force Chairman T. Lam Dang to assess the Chuuk Water si,uation and report his findings to him for action.

$10,995 less $2748.75 DOWN at 11.75% APR for 48 months.

Nena also urged the commence­ment of well drilling in Weno and its rehabilitation programs to get underway immediately.

The FSM Department of Trans­portation, Communication and Infrastructure estimate the cost to be S35,0CJO. an amount which was already available in P,1blic Law No. I 0-53 for Weno. Nena urn:ed Governor Walter to seek the ~as­sistance for Senator Roosevelt Kansou.

rinally, Nena informed Walter he is sending a ship to transport water to 1he outer islands of Chuuk.

Not exactly as shown

• 2-WHEEL DRIVE

• 5 SPEED • AMIF M CASSETTE • POWER WINDOWS • POWER LOCKS • AIR CONDITIONING

I lowcvcr, he requested Chuuk to take rcsponsibil ity over fueling of the ship with either with the funds appropriated under P.L. No. 10-53. or from the state's Disas­ter fond. $15,995 less $3,998.75 DOWN at 11.75% APR for 48 months.

AIRPORT

+ Buckle-Up . . .

KEICO .NIO'iORS LOCATED ON AIRPORT ROAD ACCROSS FROM ISLAND APPAREL

ISLAND Airport Rd. APPAREL !HERMANS!

~E1co I Tel. 234-0173

:'11.-\:\ILA, Philippines (AP)­A slowin!: of fnod :md fuel p1ice incr1.':L,cs -helped lower Philippine inlbtinn in M:u'Ch to 7J pe1cent from :1 ye:u e:u·\icr. the g,lvcmmcnl saiJ i\ londa\'.

·111c \ l:t1\·i1 ti gun.:: h1ings in!lation 1,,1· J <)'-)X s,l t:u· 107.01-.:rccnt. co111-1t111:1b1' bdo\\" the gm i:111111cnt ·s t:U\!Cl i,r "/ .5 tc) S.5 pi:rcern for tl1e ye:~-. the :btional St:ttistil-s Otlice ,aid.

As food, fuel price increases keep on slow_ing down Inflation in Febm:u)" w,L, 7.4 per- Food p1ice rises in March dipped ~hiefeconom1stAlv111AngsmdcuL,

cent ye:u·-on-yc:u-. :ui I 8-montl1high. year-on-year to 4.5 perc~nt from ~-9 111 certain o'.I product pnc,es, ~ffe_ci,1ve It h:L, n::maincd at single-digit levels percent in Febrnary. while fuel pnce Tuesday will help modeiatc mllat1on since mid-1996. incn::L,es slowed to 8.4 percent from 111 coming mo~ths.. .

0

_ •

l) · · -I - d · ti 1- '\' 1·----·' 9 7 =rc•'nL But he warned that h1.:)1c1 demdnd nccn~sso,,e 111 1c"~- UV\.l. ·-r ~ . , . ·a11 Lx:,·cr:i;!es,mdtobacco.,mdfucl.light 1l1e March data were bet1er~1an t_orconsum~r goods, ,Uld esi:x:c1 . Y :md \l',Uercommodity groups. which 1mmym1alysL,expected.but~rov1ded loodstuffa. 111 tll_e 1111::ur_ to the _M,'.Y haw acornbinedwei!.!litin!!o(u-ound no fillip to domestic fin,mcwl mar- l _l gener,!l elecl!ons Is likely to stoke

· tJ - - • ,, 1-c''s ht"her pnces. 60 percent m 1e crnmnner pm~ " ~ · 0 . • f index. All Asia Trnst mid Capital Corp. Economists believe tile months o

Gov't cuts prices of socially-sensitive gas produc~s \ · · .· CaltexPhilippinesinc.,asubs1d1ary MANILA, Philippines (AP) llie board IS still authorn.:ed l~ peso. . . V ' anies to ofCaltexPen-oleumCorp.,whichis

- The Philippine government detcrn1111c; thc_'>':holes_alc pnces ot ~e ~1dc1 allO\_ s co;p. g the a joint venture between Texaco Inc. ·rnnounceJ Monday lower socially scnsltlve oil products, set t1eir own p~1:es u~m ~vholcsak prices for three so- which m·e widely used by the gen- five-month tr~nsll1lI0n p_eU~IOd,od ex- an~h= ;JT~QU]ar oaroline

· · l d ·· l bl. despite the deregula- ceptforthesocw ysens1 vepr - , b e cially sens1uve petro ~um pro - e_ia pu ~c,. . , . . - willcost9.4077p::rosperliter,down uct, - reuular !!asolme. kero- t1on oflht: ml mdustl) last mo.nth. ucls. fro 9 9491 sen~ and liquefied petroleum Philippine President F.1del The board's order follows re- Ki:~sene ~1~i1 to 6.2009 pe-gas. Ramos signed an_orderon March centeutsinpricesbythecountry's 1· f 6 6499 pesos - · " h fi ti t n three major oil companies - sos per 1ter rom . , The Energy Regulatory Board 1_4_cuttmg_s ort a iv~-mon 1 ra - while Ii uefied peu·oleum gas said the reductions, which take s1t10n _period pres_cnbed under a . Petron Corp., partly government- w·,11 droqp to 5.4658 pesos per

d J I owned and an affiliate of tile Saudi effect Tuesday, were made pos- new oil. eregu ation aw. Arabian Oil Co.; Pilipinas Shell liter from 5.6158 pesos. sible by lower international He said the move was prompted Th d II d 38 634

· l · l by decli·n1·ng world 0 1·1 prices and Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of e o _ardd aveMraged · crude oil prices and re alive Y - ay stable foreign exchange rates. the relativ~i)' stable Philippine the Royal Dutch/Shell Group; and pesos at m1 ay on ·

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Apiil and May will see tlle inflation rate peaking tllis year.

ING Bank's head of investment b:mking strategy. Manuel Lim, said he expects !he central bank will keep policy tight in an effort to contam inflation pressures.

Lim noted tliat Treasmy bill yields :m: already close to tl1cir floor, witl1 tl,e bcnchmm"k 91-day papcraverag-ing 15. 777 percent. . .

11iis is used by b.u1ks to pnce their loan 1~1tes.

.. Given the pressure on tl1c rest of /\sia for intciest rates to 1ise at the moment, I don't sec much scope for rates to decline in the Philippines," he said.

Supporters of Mrs.Marcos . urge· cour~ . __ - -to reconsider -graft ruling

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -SuppoitersoflmeldaMarcosbcgana hunger suike Monday in front of tlle Supreme Cou1t, seeking a reversal of the fom1er first lady's 1993 graft conviction.

In Janumy, a five-judge Supreme Cou1t panel upheld a 12-yearpiison tcm1 for tlle widow of fo1merdictator Ferdinand Marcos, but allowed her one more appeal to the entire court.

The case is the only one in which Mrs. Mm-cos, 68, has been convicted of graft, altl1ough she faces numerous other c1i111inal mid civil case~ n:latcd to her husb,und 's 20-yem· mle.

Rey Fajm·do, spokesm,m for about 150 protesters in front of tl1e cou11, said tl1e hungersuike would continue indelinitely.

He accused the govemmentofp1es­suiing tl1e Supreme Comt to 1ule against Mrs. Mm-cos to dern.il her c(undidacy in May national elections.

She is one of 11 crnididatcs hoping to succeed President Fidel Rrnnos, who is constitutionally b,mned from re-election.

Mrs. M:u·cos, cum::ntly a member of Con!lress from her home province of Lcyu: in tl1e central Philippines, is given little chm1ce of winning tl1e clccti011. Reccntpopul:uitypollshave given her about 2.3 pe1-ccnt of the l'lltC.

She :u1d her late huslxmd have ken accused or stealing billions of dollars during his presidency.

ll1ey we1eousted ina l 986"people power .. 1evolt :md M,u-cos died tl1rce years later in exile in Hawaii.

Fajm-Jo said the demonstration was not intended to .. intimidate tl1c Su­preme Comf· into deciding in favor of Mrs. M,u-cos.

In tl1e gnift case, Mrs. Mm·cos was convicted of having gr:mtcd lc.L,;eson government-owned l:md at improp­;rly low rates to tl1c Philippine Gen­eral Hospital Foundation, which she headed.

·n,c \,md was tl1ensublct lo anotllcr compm1y at much higher mtcs.

Mrs. Mm·cos insisb she did not personally bcndit from the deal and used tl1c money to help finm1ce con­strnction of tl1e Phi lippinc I-lem1 Cen­ter.

·n,e Supreme Coull h:.L, up to two years to decide on the appeal.

T WEDNESD/\Y, APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-13

Ramos on his US visit:

'Domestic woes not forgotten' ~IANILA. Philippines (AP) -President Fidel Ramos said Mnn­dav his U.S. visit this week will noi der.ii i ~ovcrnment efforts to solve a ho;! of problems. includ­ing forest fires and massive food shortages in several provinces.

prolonged drought bl:1111ed on the El Nino weatherpheno111cnon also have caused food shortages af­fecting 111ore than 97,000 families in thrc'e southern Philippine prov­mccs.

The Philippine leader also said he plans to discuss with President Clinton the possible return of his­toric church bells seized by U.S. soldiers in the Philippines a cen­tury ago.

Ramos, accompanied by Cabi­net members and a trade delega­tion, was to leave Monday night for a four-day visit to Washington in his last scheduled foreign trip before his six-year term ends in June.

The constitution forbids him from seeking re-election.

The Philippines has been hit in recent weeks by forest fires that destroyed about 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of grassland and forests and killed at least three people.

Massive crop failures due to a

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -President Fidel Ramos on Mon­day pardoned a leading action movie star who was sent lo prison in 1994 after he was caught car­rying unauthorized handguns and rines after a traffic accident.

\Robin Padilla, whose actual first name is Robinhood. was one of67 prisonersconditionally par­doned by Ramos,

Two others were given full pardons. while I 35 were given lighter prison terms, a presiden­tial st,itcmcnt said.

Padilla. who campaigned ex­tensively for Ramos in the 1992 elections, was sentenced to 18 to 21 years in prison for violat­ing a dccn:c used by former Pr~sidcnt Ferdinand Marcos to imprison dissenters when he: declared martial law in I '072.

The law later was amended to reduce penalties to six to eight years in prison and fines ot 15,000 to 30,000 pesos ($ 394 to S 789), with the heavier pen­alties required for weapons of more than .38-caliberof9mm.

Padilla rose to fame in roles patterned al"ter llollywood 's James Dean.

His real-life run-ins with po­lice, and the many women linked to him-including Kris /\qui no, daughtcro( f ormcr Presi­dent Corazon /\qui no-th,: ranks or his mostly male fans.

I le wa~; caught with the weap­ons when pc;lice stopped hi111 after he drove away from a traffic accident in which he sideswiped a street vendor in /\ngcles City, north of Ma­nila.

Ramos said a Cabinet commit­tce will oversee measures against the problems while he is away.

Govcm111ent troops and Red Cross volunteers began transport­ing rice Monday to families in some affected areas.

Ramos said he will urge U.S, officials to return even -one of three church bells /\mcrican troops seized in 190 l in Balangiga in central Samar Island during an attack avenging the death of U.S. troops at the hands of local revo­lutionaries.

Two of the bells are now dis-

played at an :iir base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as a memorial to the U.S. troops.

"This is a very important sym­bolic gesture that can be made by the U~ited States to remove the hurts and the wounds that have existed over the years," Ramos said Sunday.

Philippine revolutionaries de­clared independence from Spain in 1898 and then fought the United States, which reph;;;ed Spain as the country's colonial master.

Ramos said he would also use his U.S. visit lo invite American and foreign businessmen to in­vest heavily in the Philippines. which is recovering from the Asia­wide financial storm.

He said he would also discuss improved access for Philippine

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.

Fidel Ramos

products to U.S. markets. ..We are preparing the country

for the 21st century and every opportunity that we have to rein­force or stren!!then our better per­formance in the future must be

availed of." Ramos told report­ers.

llie United States is the Philip­pines' largcsttrading partner. Phil­ippine exports to the United States in January totaled $ 721.5 mil­lion, while U.S. sales here totaled $ 565.5 million, representing some 20 percent of the Philippines' to­tal imports.

During the visit, Ramos is also schcdul;d to meet with World Bank President] a mes \Vo\fenson and with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Michel Camdcssus. to finalize a$ I .4 billion standby credit sought by the Philippines.

n,e Philippines intends to use the funds to bolster il.s foreign reserves only if Asia's financial crisis wmscns. Ramos said.

14-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY-APRIL 8 1998

Crowds rush to Jakarta banks By HARIS SY AMAUN

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)- In­donesia will ;mnounce on Wednes­day te1111s of a revised economic re­frnm pmgr~1m worl,;ed out with the Intemational Monet;u-y Fund. the >!O\'e111men1 said Mondav. - TI1is weekend. Ir1c.Jon;sia mid the IMF ,,rnppcd up tJm:e weeks ofotl ks

aimed at getting a suspended $43 billion aid package back on track for the nation's shattered economy.

The IMF had halted a second dis­bu1;;ement of $3 billion because of concerns that President Suhaito was shirking tough snucturJ.! changes to end Ind~nesi:1 's worst economic c1i­sis in 30 yem,.

Indonesia, in tum, said the IMF was ignoring the 1isk of wide social unrest if auste1ity measmes we1e implemented too swiftly.

Indonesia ·s top economic minis­ter. Ginandjai· Kartasasmita, said the two sides had agreed to disclose the results of their negotiations on Wednesday.

Concerned depositors queue up at Bank Danamon, one of the seven banks put under Indonesian Bank Restructunng Agency (/BRA) supervision, in Jakarta Monday. With depositor's money guaranteed by the government, seven other unsound banks were closed by the government as a measure to return the Indonesia's bankir.g system to health as quickly as possible. AP

__ .......... ~ NORTHERN MARIANAS HOUSING CORPORATION () ~t7

:•Gi;'N:o~;?.)~ 2nd AMENDED REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 6i~tAHr°J~W~

The B_oard ol Directors ol \he Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (NMHC), represented by Mr. Juan S. Ten~no, .chairman, and the Department of Public Works are soliciting sealed proposals for the Installation of Lighting of_the Baseball Field in Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Proposals m d.upl1cate, will be _accepted at the NMHC Central ~ffice in Garapan, Saipan until 2:00 p.m., local time, April 22, 1998, at which time and place all proposals will be opened and read aloud. Any proposals received after the above time will not be accepted under any circumstances.

A bond ~f 15% of the t.otal bid price must accompany the proposal. This security may be Certified Check, Cashiers Check, or Bid Bond, made payable to the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation.

The proposer is r_equired to submit with the proposal: 1) a copy of a current CNMl-issued business license; 2) updated financial statement; 3) listing of existing and past projects including completion dates; 4) certification of ta~ compliance from the Department of Revenue and Taxation; 5) written confirmation from a repulable bonding f~m ~s to ,lhe ~ompany's capab(lity lo obtain b_ond insurance and performance and payment bond; 6) copy o, Swider s Risk and Workmen s Compensation coverage; 7) listing of manpower with copies of CNMl-1ssued work permils; and 8) listing of equipments.

Plans and Specifications of the project are available from the Technical Services Division, Department of Public Works, Sa1pan, on or after February 25, 1998. A non-refundable payment of $150.00 is required for each set; payment made payable to the NMHC.

Attent(on is call_ed to Section 3 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1968 which requires the pro~1s1on of tra1n1ng and employment, and the awarding of contract for work on the project, to low income pro1ect area res1denls and b~siness concerns. NMHC also notifies proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that. in 'iny contract entered 1n_to pursuant lo _this_ advertisement, minority and women's business enterprises will be accorded full opportunity to submit bids m response lo \his RFP.

Attention is further called to the Labor Standards Provision for Wage Rate Determination of the Commonwealth, Classification and Salary Structure Plans, and payment of not less than the minimum salaries and wages as set forth in the Contract Document, must be paid on this project.

The Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive any imperfections in the said proposals, if in its sole opinion, to do so would be in the government's best interest. All proposals shall become the property of the Commonwealth Government.

/s/ JUAN S. TENORIO Chairman of the Board Northern Marianas Housing Corporation

JOHN 8. CEPEDA Aeling Secretary of Public Works

HERMAN SABLAN Acting Director, Procurement & Supply

February 13, 1998 Date

February 17, 1998

February 17, 1998

He spoke after he and other top economic advisers met Suharto at the presidential palace.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, IMF deputy managing director Stanley Fischer said Monday a deal with Indonesia could still be a week away.

Fischeralsosaid thatdisbursement ofthe$3billionloancouldtakeweeks more a, the IMF will obseive a ··pe­Iiod of testing" of Indonesia's com­mitment to 1~fo1111 befme rele,t~ing the funds.

Fischer left Indonesia on Sunday after spending several days there to put final touches on the agreement.

The bailout was first put together in la~t October mid then was revised in Janua1y. Now, after montl1s of ten­sion, both sides me believed to have compromised on the pace and scope of how they want to fix the Indone­siai1 economy.

In a move that drew prnise from the I1v!F, Indonesia announced Sarurday that it had shut seven iasol vent banks. Anotherseven bankswithmajorprob­lems will stay in business under the

management of a govemment-ap­pointed restrucruring agency.

The IMF, which pushed vigor­ously forthedismantling of monopo-1 ies that benefit Suharto's family, has indicated it will allow delays on re­moval of subsidies for food and fuel. Earlier this year, deadly Iiots broke out over rising piices.

At a new, conference, Ginandjar also said President Suharto had re­ceived a letter from Singaporean Piime MinisterGoh Chok Tong con­foming that Singapore will provide $3 billion to help Indonesia over­come its trade financing problems.

l11e presidentalsoreceived a prom­ise from the Malaysian government to give $500,(XX) in aid to Indonesia.

In Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minis­ter Ryutaro Hashimoto said Monday that Suhaito ha, assu1ed him Indone­sia "will by all means live up to the agreements it ha, made" on eco­nomic refonn.

The rupiah has fallen about 70 percent since Southeast Asia's finan­cial crisis hit Indonesia last July.

Leak strands bullet train in Japan undersea tunnel TOKYO (AP) - Water leaking through the ceiling of a tunnel caused a short circuit that stranded two of Japan's bullet trains under the sea for three hours, a railway spokes­man said Monday.

The trains, which carried about 800 passengers, came to a halt as theywerepassingthroughan 18.7-kilometer(l l.6-mile)under.;eatun­nel linking Japan's two most popu­lous is lands.

Passengers stranded inside the tunnel endured steam-like heat as power failed inside the trains.West Japan Railway Co., which operates that section of the nation's bullet train network, said no ·one was in­jured.

It was the first time that such a leak has shut down Japan's fa~ Shinkansen bullet trains, said Masaru Mukaigawa, a spokesman for the railway company.

The tunnel that sprung a leak runsconnectsthesouthernislandof Kyushu with the biggest island, Honshu, at Shimonoseki, 828 kilometers (5 I 7 miles) south­west of Tokyo.

Japan's first bullet train went into service in 1964, initially linking Tokyo and the western commercialhubofOsakaandnm­ning at speeds up to 200 kph ( I 25 mph).

In 1975, that line was extended past Osaka to Hakata, Kyushu's largest city, 900 kilometers (563 miles) westofTokyo. Bullet trains on that line now run at speeds up to 300 kph (186 mph).

The leak occwred at a point 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) from the eastern entrance of the Shin Kamman Tunnel.

After the short circuit, railway officials found thatachunkof con­crete the sire of a phone book had dropped from the ceiling of the tunnel ru,d on to a section of track, Mukaigawa said .

The piece was located near one of the drainage pipes and appar­ently came loose due to water pressure, the official said.

Mukaiga wa said railway offi­cials will soon check all 142 tun­nels on the affected line. Most are cutthroughmountainsondry land. Only the Shin Kamman tunnel runs beneath the sea.

The inspections for leaks will be conducted every two weeks, com­pared with the previous pace of three per year, Mukaigawa said.

lnthelate 1980s,newbu11ettrain lines were added from Tokyo to Morioka, 462 kilometers (289' miles) to the north, and Nlioata, 256 kilometers ( 160 miles) n~rth­west of the capital.

Twp of four newly born Bengal Tiger cubs with white and black stripes play at a Lahore zoo Sunday. The pair of cubs were born last March 25. AP

-~ ---- ---· ---------

Depositions shed light on Japan war crimes

By CHESTER DAWSON TOKYO (AP) - In statements for war crimes trials in China 42 years ago, senior Japanese mili­tary officials provided detailed admissions of biological warfare, poison gas attacks and sexual sla­very.

The depositions, to be pub­lished Thursday in the May edi­tion of the Japanese magazine Sekkai, fill in some chapters of a history that Japan has been reluc­tant to acknowledge.

!none account, Masa111 Uesaka, a major general, tells of a May 1942 poison gas operation that killed more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians in north China's Hebei province.

In another excerpt. Hiraku Suzuki, a lieutenant general, re­calls ordering the abduction of Chinese and Korean women to serve in front-line military broth­els and the use of cholera as a biological warfare agent.

In a copy of the magazine ob­tained by The Associated Press, a freelance Japanese photojournal­ist says he obtained the material from a war criminal detention center in northeast China's Liaoning province.

In all. the depositions of 45 ranking Japanese milita1y offi­cials and bureaucrats were re­leased. Most of the Japanese in­volved in the 1956 trials were released before the end of their

Hashimoto: Suharto vows for reforms TOKYO ( AP)-J apanese Prime Minister Ryu taro Hashimoto said Monday that President Suharto has assured him Indonesia "will by all means live up to the agree­ments it has made" on economic reform.

Answering questions in Parlia­ment, Hashimoto also said he felt that "Indonesia has established the groundwork for building in­ternational confidence."

Hashimoto said he 1alked with Suharto by telephone while at­tending a summit meeting of Asian and European leaders in London. The second annual Asia­Europe Meeting ended Saturday.

Indonesia and the International Monetary Fune.! are renegotiating terms for a $43 billion bailout, which stalled amid doubts about whether Indonesia was imple­menting the sweeping reforms it promised.

Hashimoto told summit partici­pants Friday that Suharto also told him Indonesia was about to agree to a new bailout plan with the IMF.

Hashimoto also told lawmak­ers in Parliament that the IMF and Suharto had agreed on terms in all areas except Indonesia's fiscal policy_

sentences or died in prison. Scholars said the depositions ap­peared to provide accurate ac­counts of the Japanese army's activities.

"What is most striking is the detailed descriptions of the com­plicity in these acts by high-rank­ing officials," said Yoshiaki Yoshimi, a history professor at Tokyo's Chuo University.

In recent years, the Japanese government has confirmed the existence of once secret military operations such as brothels and Unit 731, a detachment that con­ducted biological weapons ex­periments on prisoners of war and civilians.

But Japan has declined to de­tail the extent of these activities, in many cases saying records no longer exist.

have become increasingly vocal recently in defending the actions of Japan's troops during the war.

The April edition of another monthly magazine, Shokun, fea­tured an article titled "Why is the (Japanese) Foreign Ministry si­lent about deceitful, anti-Japa­nese books?" The story criticized the depiction of Japan's military in books such as the recently pub­lished 'The Rape of Nanking."

A number of Chinese who say they were subjected to mistreat­ment by the now-defunct lmpe­tial Japanese Army have filed suits against Japan.

The government has contended, however, that all wartime claims were settled in its postwar peace treaties.

The issue remains sensitive for many Japanese.

While historians have docu­mented most of these incidents, some Japanese commentators

Japan has offered privately do­nated money to all surviving sex slaves, but many victims have turned it down, demanding that compensation and an apology come directly from the Japanese government.

Actor Ma.sah1ko Tsugawa speaks at a news conference in Tokyo Mo.nda.y about a movie titled "Pride" in which he played Gen. Hideki TOJO who was hanged by the Allied war tribunal in 1948 for leading Japan in World War II. AP

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16-MARIANAS ·v ARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY- APRIL 8 1998 - -·- --- ---· -------- ----- --- --~

2.3M pilgrims flock to Mecca By TAREK AL-ISSAWI

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) - !\-lore than 2 million Muslims stooJ in prayer MonJay at Arafat. the mount 01 erlooking Mecca when: the Prophet MohammcJ Jcli1·crcd his last sennon 14 cen­turies ago.

The rirual cli 111:ixing the annual pilgrirn:1ge. or hajj. marks ons: of the most sacred days of the Is­lamic caknJar.

The pilgrims-all in seamless white robes symbolizing purity - chanteJ in unison: ··o Gml. I answerei.l Your call .... There is no GoJ but You ...

difference between then and now astonished him.

''There was nothing here but desert back then," he remembered. ''There was no electricity, no streets, no wa­ter. We had to get our own water tanker from Jiddah. Now, eve1y­thing we need is provided for us, almost ftee of charge."

Host Saudi Arabia, the world's lm·gest oil exporter, takes p1ide in providingforthe pilgiimsasa way to further iL~ stature among the world's l. I billion Muslims.

But with huge crowds, tragedies have occun-cd.

The hajj so for has been inci­c.lent free, unlike previous years that were maITec.l by fires anc.l stampedes. and the Saudis have gone out of their way to keep it that way.

An aerial view of thousands of musfim pilgrims standing on Mount Arafat during the annual Muslim pilgrimage, or hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia Monday. More than two million Muslims stood in prayer Monday on Mount Arafat, climaxing the annual pilgrimage which marks one of the most sacred days in the Muslim

Last yem·, a fire broke out among piigiims' tents, killingmorethc111340 people and injuting 1,500.

In I 994and I 990,stampedes killed scores of pilgrims, and in 1987, 402 people, mostly Iranians, were killed and 649 wounded in Mecca when Saudi security forces clashed with Inmians staginganti-U .S. demonstra­tions.

Helicopters hovered over the throng. and ambulances stood by to assist anyone overcome by heat or emotions.

The 2.3 million pilgrims. who came from some I 00 countries. begc1n making their way to Arafat on Sunday from Mina. a lent city

calendar. AP

on the plains outside Mecca It produced a moving sea of white.

Many canied umbrellas to protect themselves from a scorching sun and temperatures of 38 degiees Celsius ( I 00 Fahrenheit). The Saudis set up mist-makingmachinesalongtheroute to try to cool down the crowd.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce Ann0unccs an opening for the position of

Executive Director qualil'1cd i1.,J11·1duah may suhmit a resume and application to the Saipan ( h:imbcrnl Commerce otr1cc. Isl !loor Family Building in Garapan. Contact numhers :ire. pho11e: c,3-7 I 50. fax: 133-715 I. C·mail: chamber@netpci.com. The Excrnti1c Director is a salaried position, and hours will vary including e1c111ng and 11cd,cntl work. Salary will depend on experience and qualifications. :S:o phone intcrncws please. Application Deadline: 5:00 PM Wednesday, April 8. 1998.

Th<,,; ~uc-.·L'.'isful ~tpplicant will have lhc following minimum qualiilcations:

\Lisi.crs Jc~rcc 111 Business Administration. Economics, Communications ur rcLttcd i'1cld. 1This requirement may be substituted !"or two years of m:111~\~cmcnt cxp~ricncc :ind zi B..ichclor·s degree in Bu~incss Atlministrntion, b.·01111m1c:,.,. C'ommunicllions. or related ficiJJ. S1~rnh.:anL m~rn::~cm~nt c.xpi:ric-nc1,; in husint..:~s and/or in administration 1;1Llud1nt'. ...,L~r!' .... upl'r\1-.iun. rcsponsihility f<.)f budgt.!t planning and m:1n:1g1.;111i:nt. ;h wdl :1:-. ,~:i-pc:rknct.! in marketing and public relations. E,pcr,cnc·: ;me\ Pnil1c1c'nc·y with Computer Systems and Software (office '-( 11, t,i. ;ire ~rnll pr11t,r:rn1ming r1,;btinn~1\ d:nabascs. financial ~oflwci.rc. desktop puhli:-hing. anLI di..:ctroni..: communications). Prmcn shilily \0 communicate well and relate wilh l'arious constituent publics 11.c.: Cham her mcmhcrs, business and government sectors).

The Sa1pan Cl1amhcr of Commerce is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Commonwealth Ports Authority

JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT The Commonwealth Ports Authority (CPA)

is looking for

2 (Two) Ports Police Officer/Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter I

and 1 (one) Weather Observer

for the West Tinian Airport. The minimum qualification is any combination equivalent to graduation from a high school or GED or trade school with at least two years of experience in airport operations. Application forms are available at the West Tinian Airport. Applications must be accompanied by an updated police clearance. The deadline for submission of applications is 4:30 p.m., April 10, 1998. For more information, please call the Commonwealth Ports Authority at the West Tinian Airport at telephone number 433-9296.

Some pilgrims, in a display of pi­ety, made !he 14-kilometer (9-mile) journey on foot But most were fer-1ied in hundreds of buses and can; to Arafat. Thousands of Saudi police­men directed the crowds.

Every able-bodied Muslim who nm afford it must pe1form the haij at le,L,t once in a lifetime. It is an obser-v:mce packed with symbolism and 1itual that isoneofthe come1,tonesof the Islamic faith

Onrn1iving in Mecca, the pilgiims circle the Kaalx1, a cubic stone sll1.1c­tu11~ inside the Grand Mosque mid Islam's holiest site. Muslims tum to­w,u·d the Kaaba five times daily to pray.

TI1e stm1c.l at Arnfot is consic.lered the zenith of tl1c h,uj.

'Ilic <lay at Arafat is sixnt reading the Kor,m, tl1e Muslim holy cook. ,u1J praying.

In a sermon dclivcreJ at Arafat, /\bJcl-Aziz bcn Ali al-Sheik. the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Jccricc.l Muslim extrem­ism.

..Nation of Islam cvetywhere. be­w,ui:cxtrcmism:· al-Sheik said. "Ex­ui:misrn is the liuit of imonmcc and misconception. Exu-cn;isL, ,ue a poi­soned dagger in the backs of tl1e Muslims."

He did not mention specific Mus­lim insurgencies-such as those in Algeria, Egypt or Afghanistan -but wmned: "He who kills a Muslim and spills his blood deliberately will have hell as his reward.''

Some of the pilgrims have waited a decade or more to come to Mecca. To keep the pil~~image man­ageable, Saudi Arabia allows each

co1.1111Iy a quota of 0.1 percent of its Muslim population.

"I applied in 1985 to come for the hajj," said Hussein Talibian, a 70-year-oldfarmerfromthelranianprov­ince of Isfahan. '"Eve1y year for 13 years, I watched television in the hope of hearing my registration nu m­ber being read out, and this year it was."

Talibian said that he perfonned haijoncebefore.in 1974,and that the

The Iranian pilgiims this yearnum­ber about 80,000. Iran's moderate president, Mohammad Khatami, has called on pilgrims lo tone down their.political protests. But hard­line clerics have said such pro­tests are an integral part of the pilgrimage.

In preparation for the upcoming Passover holiday, an ultra-religious Jew dips kitchen utensils in a vat of boiling water Sunday to cleanse them of all unleavened foodstuff. All leavened food such as bread are forbidden to Jews during the week-long Passover holiday to com-memorate the Israelites' hasty departure from Egypt. AP

Turkish PM warns Islamic radicals ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -In remarks issued for a major Muslim holiday, Prime Minis­ter Mesut Yilmaz warned Islamic radicals Monday not to challenge Turkey's secular system.

Under pressure from the staunchly secularmilitary, the gov­ernment ha5 been canying out a crackdown on radic.al Islam.

"Noone should make a mistake like threatening"Turkey's secular traditions, said Yilmaz in a state­ment to mark the Muslim feast of sacrifice, a national holiday. ''We can't allow Twkey to be dragged baekwanl"

Yilmaz'swamingcameatatime

when security forces were preparing to help a pro-secular association col­lect sheepskins during ritual sacri­fice, a move intended to cut off a big source of income for radical Islamic institutions.

In recent yean;, radical Islamic groupshave beencollectingtheskins, whose overall sale brings in about$4 miJlion.

The Justice Ministry has ordered prosecutors to strictly enforce a law which calls for up to six months in prison for unautho­rized collections.

The Islamic daily Akit said Monday that police warned Is­lamic institutions throughout the

country Sunday not to engage in sheepskin collections.

Muslimsusually slaughter sheep, cows and camels in a ritual to commemorate the slaughter of a ram by Abraham.

The slaughter coincides with the closing days of the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy site of Mecca.

Turkey, oveiwhelmingly Mus­lim, has pursued a secular system for the last 70 years.

But with the growth of pro-Is­Iamic political movements in re­centyears, the military has stepped in to guarnntee there will be no change in the secular traditions.

1.: /i

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS /\ND VIEWS-17

Strike paralyzes Nepal KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -A truck driver defying a general strike was killed Monday and I 5 others were injured, as com­munist groups seeking an end to Nepal's constitutional monar­chy forced traffic off the roads and paralyzed commerce.

The home minister said 212 people were arrested for attack­ing shops or vehicles and in­timidating people to obey the strike call. . Most offices and schools were closed and roads were empty during the strike called by the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist).

The Maoists have been wag­ing a guerrilla war in midwest Nepal for the past two years that has resulted in the deaths of nearly 140 people.

Activists targeted seven buses and three trucks that had dis-

Til>~tans .. begin hunger strike outside s .. · Indiapftice .. · -. -NEW DELHI, India (AP)- Bud­dhist monks led 200Tibet.m pro1est­e1, in a den10nsU,1lion ouL~idc the Unitcc.l Nations office in New Delhi Mone.lay to muster suppo1t for six activist, who have not eaten for 27 days, seeking UN intervention in tlieir Himalay,m homel:.u1d.

Stepping up tl1e campaign, the pro­testers said they wou Id fa,t for 36 hours out,ide tl1e UN office. when they would be 1-cplaced by ,mother group to continue the strike.

Police took no immediate action lo b1-cak up the unautl10tized demon­stration, but stood by witl1 buses to hau I away the protesters if orc.lc1-cc.l to c.loso.

ll1e protesters, incluc.ling c.lozens of elderly men and women, squaned outside tl1e ollice ch:.u1ting slog.ms ,me.I singing the Tibct,m rn1them :.u1c.l a prayer composed by tl1e D,tlai Lama, tl1e exiled Ti bclrn1 leudcr.

ln anotherpa1t of the city, six acti v­

is ts led by 71-yc:.u·-o\d Kun Sm1g entered the 27tl1 day of tl1eir indcli­nite hunger suikc. 'Ilic suikers a11: living only onagl.L,sof watcrcach in the morning anc.1 evening.

111<:y ,m: c.l<:m,mding tl1e United Nations discuss Chincse-conu·ollctl Tibet in tl1e General Assembly, ap­point a special rep1-cscntativc to in­vestigate alleged hum,m tight~ viola­tions, :.u1J mui1e a special envoy on Tibet.

"W c ,ui: appealing to the UN not to let these people die," said Dolma Gymi, one of the leadt:1, of the pro­test.

China sent ib mrny into Tibet in 1950, claiming it his101ically wus a Chinese province, whilcTibctrn1ssay tl1ey were independent for ccntwics.

In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet dUting a failed ,mti-C:hina up1ising ,md fo1111ed tl1e Tibctm1 govemmenl­in-exile in Dhmrnsala in nrnthem In­dia.

He h,t~ been followed by tens of thousands of his followers. most of whom live in diffel'Cnt prnts of India.

obeyed the strike call, said Home Minister Khum Baha<lur Khadka.

The driver of a truck heading towards Katmandu was injured and died on 1h·e way to hospital. The buses were heading toward Katmanc.lu on their schedulec.l night runs.

A petrol bomb was hurled at a parked truck in Katmandu, in­juring four people sleeping in­side.

The Jriver was reported in critical con Ji tion.

On Saturday, the residence of a parliamentarian was attacked and his vehicle damaged. and six people were arrested, Khadka said

The Maoists c.lemand the in­stitution of a republic, an end to what they cal I the feudal system

n y '{\P

1-;t/ J

Tibetan refugees in exile in India march past police through New Delhi's busiest thoroughfare Thursday to demonstrate support for six activists who are on a hunger strike to protest alleged human rights violations by China in their Himalayan homeland. AP

•

of land ownership and a redis­tribution of land to the poor, and releasing farmers from any bond or loans.

Nepal is one of least devel­oped nations in the world wi1h the per capital of S3 I 2 a year.

It was the first wave or inci­dents in Katmandu since the Maoist campaign began two years in the remote and umlc­veloped districts of them id west.

"The paranoia cr~ated by the Maoists might make the strike a success but there is no reason to fear," said police official Bhuvanclrnnd Bhalla. "We have taken all the security mcasurt:s needed ...

Meanwhile, the Imme minis­ter renewed a cal I for the leftists to begin a dialogue with the government over their demands.

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18-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY-APRILJi..1.298 ____ _ -- - - ... . . - - - - - ~ - - - . '

Ban on 'virtual casinos faces 'tough' Congress

Joined by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, left, and unif'?rmed police officers m the White House Rose Garden Monday, President Clinton gestures to reporters after issuing an executive order to keep certain foreign-made assault rifles out of the U.S. The order permanently bans importation of 58 assault weapons that were modified for sport shooting in order to get around tne 1994 ean. AP.

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Bv LAURENCE ARNOLD WASHING TON (AP) - Law­makers who want to ban '"virtual casinos" on the Internet are finding some unusual obstacles in their patb.

Casino operators and gambling opponents, normally at logger­heads, both suppo11 a federal crack­down on computer-linked gam­bling.

But interest groups representing the horse-racing industry, Indian tribes, computer businesses and even fantasy baseball leagues have stepped forward with objections, clouding the legislation's future and underscoring the wide reach of both legalized gambling and the Internet.

The h~rse-raci~g industry has raised concerns about whether the ·ban would affect off-track betting. Indian reservations that offeronline

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betting are raising tribal sovereignty issues.

Fantasy spol1s leagues are fret­ting that the ban could cunail their contests.

Software makers and non-casino gambling businesses formed the Committee for Freedom of the Internet and hired a major Wash­ington lobbying fom. Preston Gates Ellis and Rouvelas Meeds.

The offshore Internet companies targeted by the legislation have hired their own lobbyists to push for regulation rather than a ban.

At the veiy least, the objections have slowed progress of legisla­tion that once appeared headed for clear sailing on Capitol Hill.

"On its face, it looks like good­govemment, election-year legisla­tion," said Bill Jarrell, a lobbyist at Preston Gates. "But in fact it has a lot of problems and people ,u-e start­ing to poke holes."

Sponsors insist the legislation remains on track.

Sen. Jon Ky! of Arizona, the chief Senate sponsor. hopes to bring the measure to a floor vote in sev­eral weeks, said his spokesman, Vince Sollitto.

Opponents say their arguments are making headway in the House of Representatives, where Repub­lican Reps. Bob Good latte of Yir­oinia and Frank Lo Biondo of New Jersey are leading 1he push for the ban.

LoBiondo, whose districl in-

eludes Atlantic City with its legal­ized casinos. said the mounting calls to change the legislation are not a sign of weakness.

LoBiondoandothersponsorssay the legislation simply updates the decades-old prohibition against in­terstate gambling. Last month, fed­eral prosecutors twice used the I 96 I wire act to charge offshore compa­nies with illegally taking bets on professional and college spo11s.

Kyl's office says the legislation · will make sure that the 1961 law covers "viitual" games such as on­line roulette and use of new tech­nology lik'e satellite communica­tion.

"Our objective is to delay the Ky! bill," said Larry Weitman, ex­ecutive vice president of Gaming Lotteiy Corp., which is launching an Internet casino site, "GalaxiWorld," that will not be open to U.S. players initially.

Weitman believes the federal government will eventually give up tI)'ing to ban Internet gambling and regulate it instead.

By then, he said, '"we will have positioned ourselves as a veiy at­tractive takeover target" for a ca­sino company.

Fornow. the casino industl)' sup­po11s a ban on cyber-gambling. Frank Fahrcnkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, snid casinos might ;ant toenterthe m,u·ket, but not until a regulatory system is in place.

Leader of Colom.bia rebel group is dead

By PAUL HAVEN BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -More than 30 years after ex­changing his priest's collar for a gun and leaving his origins in Spain for a rugged life in the Andes mountains, the leaderof a Colombian rebel group has died, another rebel leader said Mon­day.

Mrumel Perez, 62, who for de­cades led the National Liberation Army, or ELN, the nation's second leading 1dx:l gmup, died on Feb. I 4 at a jungle hideout. said Francisco Galan, a jailed rebel leader.

'The death of Commander M,mud Perez Mmi.inez is difficult to take," Galan told Radionet radio from his maximum-secu­rity cell at the Itagui prison, 155 mi Jes (250 kilometers) n011h west of the c;ipital, Bogota. "But he left us many teachings."

Galan did not say how Perez died. The army had no immediate com­ment

Perez was defrocked after he took up arms, but still wentbythenomrne de guerre "Cura Perez" or "Father Perez."

After he arrived in Colombia, he lived and worked in the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, preaching to the poor.

In a 1991 telephone interview with The Associated Press, the warrior priest said being Span-

ish did not disqualify him from leading another country's in­surgency.

'"I was born in Spain, but I now feellikeapoorColombian,"hetold the interviewer. "I feel exploited in this oppressed Colombia."

Despite his background in the church,Perez'sELN guerrillas did not spare the clergy. They shot and killed Bishop Jesus Emilio Jaramillo of eastern Arauca province on Sept. 3, 1989, and later admitted it was a political mistake.

Violence caused by the rebels, as well as right-wing paramili­tary death squads that emerged in the 1980s to fight them, claims thousands of lives each year mid ha~ made Colombia one of the world's most dangerous countries.

It is not clear how Perez's death will effect the future of possible peace talks between the ELN and the goverrm1ent.

Rebel andgovemmentrepresen­tatives were to meet in June to begin talks, but the ELN called for a postponement until after the June 21 second round of presidential elections.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the nation's largest rebel group, has so far refused to take part in the talks and has stepped up attacks in recent months.

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WEDNESDAY. APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VJEWS-19

Australia may be in for early elections

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By ALAN THORNHILL

CANBERRA, Australia ( AP)­The Senate on Monday check­mated Prime Minister John Howard's attempt to restrict Ab­original land claims, moving Aus­tralia closer to an early election based on racial issues.

The Senate, which the govern­ment does not control, voted to make Howard's proposed native title legislation subject to a law that forbids racial discrimination

. in Australia. It did so even though one of

Howard's top lieutenants, Sen. Nick Minchin, had warned that the government would not accept this proposal.

'The amendments presented to the government on the racial dis­crimination act are not able to be supported by the government," Minehin said.

Democrat Sen. John Woodley spelled out just what this meant. "This is in fact a trigger that we are voting on," he said, meaning a trigger f;r an early election tl~at Howard can call whenever he wants.

If key legislation is rejected by Parlirn11ent, the prime minister has the power to call an early election to resolve the impasse.

ustralia 's next regular election is not due ti II March next year.

But the threat of an early elec­tion on racial issues. which oppo­sition Labor Leader Kim Beazley warns wou Id damage the nation· s reputation, has been hanging over the country since late last year.

That was when the Senate first presented Howard with amend­ments to his legislation to resolve native title iss~es that he regards as unacceptable.

The two houses of Parliament

John Howard

have been deadlocked since then, and an early election might be needed to break that impasse.

The issues arose from two judg­ments of the country's most pow­erful judicial body, the High Court.

The court ruled in the 1992 Mabo case that native title to land can still exist in Australia more than two centuries after white settlement in 1788.

In doing so, it overturned the legal ficti;n that Australia was an empty land when the first white settlers arrived.

Scientists have since estab­lished that the country's Aborigi­nes have lived here for at least 40,000 years.

In the 1996 Wik case, the court ruled that native title can co-exist with the leases on which the country's ranchers hold their of­ten vast properties, though it added that in the case of a conflict the rancher's rights would prevail.

Howard described these judg­ments as "unworkable."

He responded with legislation that his Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer bluntly admits al­lows '"bucket loads of extinguish-

Radiation risk from nuclear testing feared in Kazaksta.I1 ALMA TY, Kazakstan (AP)­Nine yea.rs after nuclear testing was halted at Semipalatinsk in northern Kazakstan, scientists arc still not able to determine which areas of the former test­ing site are safe for habitation.

i\.t a news conference Mon­day, scientists said that 3,500 analyses of soil and plants car­ried out in the 18,000 square kilometer (7,300 square mile) regio11 did not reveal the full consequence of nuclear test­ing.

"Given the small number of analyses on such a large ten·i­tory, it is still not possible to give any reliable information about the share of the land with higher radioactivity," said Gerhard Schmidt, an environ­rnentalistfrom the German Oko­Institut.

He said some areas of the test site were more radioactive than

others, with levels depending on where the tests were canied out and in which directiori ra­dioactive particles were blown by the wind.

From 1949 to 1989, a total of 445 nuclcm·tcsts were conduct<.:d at Semipalatinsk, according to Alfred Diebold, head of the German

Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Kazakstan. He said 116 of the tests were above ground.

The sprawling test site, which was officially closed in 1991, extends across the Tc­

gions of Semipalintinsk, Pavlodar and Karaganda.

According to government estimates, around 500,000 people lived in and around the Semipalantinsk area during the 40 years of testing and were exposed to radiation.

Environmentalists say the number is closer to 1.5 million.

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ment" of native land rights. The Aborigines. now a tiny mi­

nority of just 386,000 in a mostly white population of more than 18 million, were incensed. They have been campaigning hard for the defeat of Howard's point plan.

Debate in the Senate is expected to cont

inue for two more days before the proposed-andheavilyamended­govemmcnt legislation is sent back to the lower !-louse of Representatives, where tl1e government has a ma jotity of more than 40 seat,.

With the two rejections required by law for an early so-called double dissolution election on native title in his pocket, Howard could then call an early election any time.

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20-MAR!ANAS VARIETY_NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY- APRIL 8 1998 ___ ~--------------------- ____________ _

Region . .. Continued from page~-

i 11 thc wake of El Ni iio cond i lions: and

• c·alling for regional cooper:1-tion in l'ombating El Ni110 and ,1th er rnanmade aml natural disas­tc•r in the future (sec r.:btcd story C11l p:i~l~ J)

The· kadns also cn1111nendcd h,1st country Kiribati for its plans 10 ,1hsern~ the rum of 1he mi I lcniu m :1.s the first i11 icronesian rnu111ry which will gr.:ct the 21st century.

The Council and its SPA group also held \\'iuc ranging Jiscus­sions on ;1 1·;1riety of ma\\crs. in­clu,ling t\1c dc1 c\011m..:m of a r..:­gional \·isibi\ity 11rngram in Wash­ington. Guam's Community r\c-1i,1n Policing Progr:1111. fisheries anJ other common prnbkJlls.

"C!\·ICE has coJlle of age." de-

us ... Continued from page 1

The CNMI's answers to issues raised by Insular Affairs Allen Slayman were likewise requested by th.: subcommi\\ee:

"(Stay111an) has stateJ ... that the \ 5.()(10 gut.:st worker jobs in the (]oc:tl l garment industry prob:1bly come at the c.xpensc of 15 ,()()()

jobs for :\merican citizens." states the subcommittee's questionnaire.

"\\'ha1 is the basis for the claim''"

Further, "The (Clinton) admin­istration has recommended legis­lation th,il would require that al kast 50 percent (US or \l.li,ronesi,111) labor is employed in order for products to can)' the 'Made in America· label and re­c,:i\·e duty-free access to the US market. I low many of the CNMI

clared GutietTez. who noted the chairmanship now has been held. in tum. by chief executives of a U.S. territory. a freely associateu state and an indepemknt country.

rive of the 11 members of the C'MCE arc full members of the Unitcu Nations as well.

Cc1n !'c1-..~nce host Teburnro Ti to. Pesidcnl of Kiribati. took O\'CI' as C/\ICE ch:1irman al the meetin!!. wirh Republic of the Marshall!~­lands President Jm,11a Kabua o/'­fe1·ing to host next year's summit.

"The problems we foce such as air service, climate chan!!es anJ disaster preparedness, do ~lot rec­ognize western stykpolitical bor­ders. By laying aside western style protocol to address our common needs anJ aspirations as Micronesians. people to people. "c ha\'C proven we can al I bcnefi t by working together." concluded C,uricrra.

garment factories currently fail lo 111cel this standard1 Whal would be the immediate impact of such a

change'?" Questions were also raised on

the CNi\ff s neeu for a new prison facility anu crime lab. as well as the unused S90 million in Ceucr:il CIP funds.

The subcommittee. moreover. wants to know the composition of the CNtvII's population, the num­ber of garment factories anu the total tax revenue received by the coJllmonwealth govemmcnt from these factories.

Manglona and Benevante, to­gether ;vith Resident Rep. Juan N. Babauta, met recently with Chris Topik, a subcommittee pro­fessional staff member. in Wash­ington, D.C. where the three CNMI \callers and the !!Ovemor testified before the US Senate commi1tec hearing.

Options ... Continued from page 1

Jump-cleanup project. "But UMDA 's lease was uni­

laterally Jefaulte<l by the last ad­ministration. and they also signeJ off all the defense department's liability on April 27, 1996," Campbell said.

"Due to incptituuc, we're back to square one; and it remains to be seen if this administration will do any helter," he added.

Mechem. meanwhile, said the task force is now exploring all possible solutions.

Covering the Jump, he said, wou lJ he Ip rcuuce the prouuction of leachate, a kind of harmful waste prouuce<l by the mixture of snlid waste and liquid.

Laechate is produced when rain­waters permeate the <lump; some of the solid wastes arc dissolved and mix with the liquid, which

CPA ... Continued from page 1

International Airport. lk said the Ports Authority can

levy a casino departure tax, which will be assessed from the taxes charged the casino industry.

The casino industry will pay an 18 percent tax to the government. At least 13 percent of this figure will go to the municipal govern­ment while five percent will be earmarked for the central funJ.

"CPA can levy a casino depar· ture tax for every passenger. The Ports Authority can tap five p rcent from the central funJ," Lon tolu Ya

iety.Hc explained that Tinian s economy. as it stands right n w without the casino, is giving fi

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beloved one.

Daily mass will be offered at San Jose Church, Tinian, from April 09 to

April 17, 1998 at 6:00 a.m.

On the final day, Friday, April 17, 1998, Breakfast will be served after the

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then nows out of the Jump and into the nearby lagoon.

"Putting a cover over it would limit the ability of rainwater to sip into the dump and mix with the waste,'' Mechem explained.

Another way to reduce leachate formation is to seal the dump off the lagoon by putting a sea wall around it and underground.

The sea wall. Mechem ex­plained. should be designed "in such as way that leachate cannot go through it."

Mechem said the task force may also look into other options such as either transfering the dump to another part of the island, or mov­ing it off-island.

Bringing the waste off-island may not be economically feasible for the CNMI because that option could be extremely expensive. Mechem said.

Finuing another site on the is­land is equally hard, Mechem audeu.

e percent to the central fund in total taxes. adding that the CNMI govemment is getting aduitiorrnl five percent when the casino opens.

"That's an additional five per­cent strictly coming from the ca­sino industry that goes to the cen­tral fund, if CPA can tap into that five percent that's alt·eady com­ing to the central funu, that wi II be another way for the CPA to come up with money," he said.

Salas said the proposed five percent casino departure fee is vi­able but adued that there is still a need to qum1tify the figure into dollm"S to determine if this will enable the Prn1s Autho1ity to repay the lxmd that h,L, to be floated for the Tinim1 airpolt expm1sion.

In m1 em·lier inte1view, Sahl, ad­mit(eJ that the CPA does not have immediate capabilities to pursue the improvement of the WestTinimi Air­po1t, even as he agrees with Conti­nental Micronesiathatil'i prcscntcon­Jition will not be able to supprnt non­stop flighl, to the isLmd.

He said the Tinian airport is not

North . . . Continued from page 2

opening government-level dialoh'l!C with South Korea "as soon :L, pos­sible" to Jiscuss rapprochement, South Korea's semiofficial Nacwoe Press said.

"We admit that North-South dia­logue must beheld tl~ soon as possible ... "Nae woe quoted Kim Yong Sun, a secret,uyofthe Nolth'sruling Work­Clo' Pmty, as saying.

Kim's statement was carried by Pyongyang's radio reports, moni­tored in Seoul, said Naewoe spe­cializing in communist affairs news.

Kim Yong Sun, a close confi-

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"There are a number of restric­tions and different obstacles, one is that this is a fairly small island," Mechem said.

For example. he said. it is not allowed to build a landfill within I 0,000 feet from the airport.

"The reason is that sometimes birds go to the waste facility; there's always a danger birds can interfere with planes," he ex­plained.

Selecting a new site, he said, is also hampered by "the land-use conflict."

"You don't want to put up a dump close to residential houses or in the middle of conservation sites. but you also can't build it very far from the population area," Mechem said.

The task force has yet to come with a final output.

"This is going to be an ongoing task force,'' Mechem said. 'Tm only guiding them through giving them technical assistance.'

in any capacity to accommodate large aircraft, citing the facility's "decaying and deteriorating run­way."

But Salas said the aircraft can land on the Tinian airport "de­penuing on the load capacity," aJJing that airline companies are looking.at what kind of load fac­tor they can handle when they fly to Tinian.

At the same time. Salas said CPA has remained committed at improving the facility. Ile said the Ports Authority is working closely with the Tinian legisla­tive delegation for possible ways to finance the needed repair and irnprovcmclll of the airport.

He added that feasibility stud­ies with regarus to how the ports agency will be able to pay the proposed bond flotation for the air facility's rehabilitation.

"We are still looking at how much we can borrow ~md if it requires aJJitional security when the funding comes,'' Salas said, auding that CPA revenues has remained stagnant.

dm1t or leauer Kim Jong II, is the top Nrnth Korcim policy-maker mid strat­egist on South Korea.

1l1e North's response came hours after South Korea had ac­cepted a Pyongyang proposal to reopen government-level talks to discuss economic aid and "other matters of mutual concern."

In a major policy shift, North Korea proposed last Saturuay that vice ministerial-level officials of the two siues meet in Beijing next Saturday.

South Korea accepted the Nolth 's proposal Monday but suggested that the meeting take place inside the Korean peninsula, a proposal pre­viously rejected by Pyongyang.

The talks, if held, would be the first government-level contact since 1994. North Korea had re­fused to talk with South Korea's previous government, which it denounced as "anti-national, anti­unification."

Deputy prime ministers of the two countries met in 1994 to pre­pare for the first ever inter-Korea summit.

The summit was canceled a few weeks before it was to be held because of the death of North Korean leader Kim II Sung.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, I 998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND YIEWS-21

~tfttarianas %rietr~ /DEADLINE: 12:00 n·oon the day prior lo publication .

/ NOTE: If some reason your advertisement is incorrect. call us

. Classified ·A.ds ··Section · limmed1ately to make the necessaiy corrections The Marianas Variety News and Views IS responsible onry for one incorrect insertion. We reserve the right to edit, refuse. reject or cancel any ad at any time.

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01 CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRE­SENTATIVE·Salary:$3.50 per hour Contact: NAPU INC. OBA GET COV­ERED SURF dba Surf Turf Tel. 235-7883(4/22)W26127

01 CIVIL ENGINEER-Salary:$1,500.00 per month Contact: SOURCES DIRECT/MARIAN SABLAN Tel. 235-3237(4/22)W26131

03 COOK-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact:WAH LI, INC. Tel. 235-1268(4/ 22)W26129

13 MASSUSE-Salary:$3.05 per hour 01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:S3.05 per hour 01 MAINTENANCE [BUILDING RE­PAI R)-Salary:$3.05 per hour 03 WAITRESSES-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact: 1-DEV. - INVEST INT'L, INC. dba Ceasar Health & Fitness Service Sauna Tel. 234-10D5(4/22)W26128

01 PAINTER-Salary:$4.00-5.00 per hour Contact: SAIPAN SUNSET CRUISE, INC. Tel. 234-8230(4/22)W71640

01 SALES PERSON-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact: FENG HUA ENTERPRISES, INC. dba Feng Hua Mart Tel. 235-9147(4/22)W26123

02 SCUBA DIVING tNSTRUCTOR-Sal­ary:$800.00 per month 01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary:$700.00 per month Contact: BLUE HORIZON ENT., tNC. dba MSE Diving Tel. 233-7871(4/ 22)W26132

01 FORWARDING AGENT (FREIGHT)­Salary:$3.05-5.00 per hour Contact: DOLPHIN PACIFIC (SAi PAN), INC. Tel. 234-6331 (4/22)W26134

01 CARPENTER-Salary:$3.05-3.20 per hour 02 MASON-Salary:$3.05-3. 15 per hour Contact: M.S. VILLAGOMEZ INCOR­PORATED dba MSV Construction Com­pany Tel. 234-6108(4/22)W71663

01 MANAGER-Salary:$ 1,500.00 per month 03 WAITRESS-Salary:$3.05 per hour Contact: CHANG HYUN CORP. dba Club Market (Karaoke) Tel. 288-7891(4/ 15)W26D59

. -- - - -- - -- - -·-· ---- --- --- --- --

MICROL INSURANCE, INC. Needs

MOTOR CLAIMS ADJUSTER Successful candidate must have sound mechanical knowledge, office skills and able to work within a team environment. Insurance experience preferred.

ACCOUNTING CLERK Successful candidate must have 4 years accounting experience, office skills and able to work within a team environment.

Please submit your resume at Micro I Insurance office at Ground Floor Lim's Office Bldg., cor. Beach Road, San Jose. Saipan. ' No phone calls please.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

FOR RENT One Bedroom Apartment, Fully Furnished, 24 hrs. water, Ample Parking, Near C.K. Post Office, $400.00 per month Call: 234-6138

NOW HIRING

SU8UAAINE TOUR GUIDES JAPANESE LANGUAGE - REQUIRED SALARY COMMENSURATE WITH EXPERIENCE

Please contact:

PACIFIC SussEA SAIPAN, INC.

PHONE NO. 322-7734 ATIN: FRAN CRENSHAW

IMMEDIATE OPENING

$3.50-4.00/HOUR Knowledge with Ught & Heavy Equipment, Gas & Diesel Mechanic preferred. Must be able to work 5 days a week/8 hours a day. Must be able to work weekends & holidays as scheduled.

M1

Apply in person at Ute 2nd Aoor BASIC -t '-...,r CONSTRUCTION_,,, SUPPLY

Chalan Laulau, Sai an.

NAG R ' '. " LOCAi~ HIRE '.-· .. · ',', - ; ·. w/ EXPERl·ENCE . .

Offering Good Salary Call: Ador for appointment at Tel. 322-6130

WANTED BEAUTICIAN CONTACT:' INT'L. HAIRPOR

235-2888 Attn: RHEA

• Two Bedrooms • Localed at Navy Hill •Furnished with Ain:on • 24 hrs. waler supply • Quiel Neighborhood

Con lac!: Tel. 322-3607 after 5 :OOpm weekdays or anytime on weekends. Or page at 236-1023

1990 Toyota Corolla AT, AC $3,500 1991 Toyota Camry AT, AC $4,500 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero-Std, AC $12,000 1995 Toy Camry XLE V-6 $12,000 Please Contact Rudy at Tel 235-1242

CENTRAU. Y LOCATED INGARAPAN

3 Bedrooms, S8ml-furniShed, Washer & Dryer, 24 hrs. water, Private fenced yard.

For more Into. Call: 322-n33 or Beeper 236-1374

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE COMMONWEAL:rtt OF THE NORTHERN

MARIANA ISLANDS

MARIANAS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, PlainliH, vs. AIR MARIANAS, INC. and the unknown adminislralors, successors, assigns and personal represenlalives of the above named defendant, Defendants. Civil Ac1ion No. 98-0069C

FIRST AMENDED SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION

TO: AIR MARIANAS, INC. and lhe unknown adminislralors, successors, assigns and personal represenlatives of the above-named defendant

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon Carlsm,th Ball Wichman Case & lchiki, pla,inliff's attorney's, whose address is Carlsmith Building, Capitol Hill, P.O. Box 5241 CHRB, Saipan, MP 96950, an answer to the Complaint to Quiet Title which is hereby served upon you on or before April 30, 1998. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be taken against you for the reliel demanded in the Complaint. You may oblain a copy of the Complain! at the Commonwealth Superior Court in Susupe, or by contacting Carlsmtth Ball Wichman Case & lchiki at (670) 322-3455. Dated: March 16, 1998 is/Deputy Clerk of Court

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN

MARIANA ISLANDS

In the matter of SHINYO KOEKI,. LID. Plaintiff, vs. CHUNG HYUL YOON and P& Y CORP., dba HAPPY MARKET Defendant. Cil'il Action No. 96-1054

NOTICE OF EXECUTION SALE By virtue of a judoment entered on

February 14, 1997, Pfainliff obtained a judgment against Defendants Chung Hvul Yoon and P&Y Corp., dba Happy MarKet, jointly and severally, in the amounl of one hundred ciehty-four thousand one hundred ninerecn dollars and 1wo ccnls (S 184, I 19.02), plus intcresl thereon, al !he ralc of nine percenl (9%) rcr annum. from !he date of Judgment unti the same is fully paid.

In said judgmem. the Court also foreclosed the lien interest of Plaintiff, in lhc real property described below, that was crealed by a Lease Agrccmenl on said property.

By virtue a writ of execution oul of this Court on November 6, 1997, as a result of said judgment, !he Court dircc1cd and authomcd the leasehold interest described below to he lcvicJ upon and sold by wav of public auc1ion. On ,\larch 3. 1998, J lci·icd on and seized !he al'orcmcntioned leasehold interest of P& Y Corp., dba Happy Market and more pcntieularly described as:

That certain Lease AKreement entered into on March 16, 1990, filed with the Commonwealth Recorder's Office as File No. 90,1099 on March 19, 1990, between Vicente V. Torres and Primitiva DLG. Torres, Lessors, and P&Y Corporation, Lessee, for real property described as:

Lot No. KA. 124-A-1·2, containing an area of 2,414 square meters, more or less, located in Garapan, Saipan, Commonwealth oflhe Northern Mariana Islands.

Notice is hereby gi1Tn that at a public auc11011 Ill be held al I :Txl o'clock pm on April IO. 1998, at 1hc Pacinc ~kdia110n Ccnler. Second Floor, Union Bauk Bldg., San Jose Village, Saipan, Commonwcallh of the Nor1fiern Mariana Islands, the aforemenlioncd leasehold inlerest will be sold byme pursuant to 7 CMC Section 4202. c, 10 the highest bidder for cash. The minimum bid offer shall not be less than $40,000.00.

Dated, this 10th day of March, 1998.

ls/John B. Joyner Lcvv Officer

.. 22-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY - APRIL 8, 1998

EEK & MEEK® by Howie Schneider THE.'{ Ft!T THE

AMER.ICA/.J DRE"AV\ CiJ 11-\E ~W /,u(()f

WEB ...

Garfield® by Jim Davis

PEANUTS® by Charles

,I\~'{ DAD AND I WENT TO ANOTHE.~ f.{QCKE'i' 6AME LAST Nf61-lT..

STELLA WILDER

IT15 AMAZING I-IOU.I

FAST Tl-lE PLAYERS SKATE UP AND DOWN

THE COURT..

YOUR BIRTHDAY WEDNESDAY

BORN today. you arc not always \\'hat you seem to be. Just \\'hen others may count you out and 110 long~r comid~r you .1 major fac­tor. \'OU arc Ii kc I\' tucDmc lhrou l!h witl-1 lhc kind or"pcrformancc tl{al changes things t'orcl'cr: such is your a bi Ii t y tu Jo whal is n:qu ired. no matter \\'hat th<.: odds. You seem to m,1rch 10 the beat of a different drummer. but make no mistake - th:rt drummer is you' You insist on bein!! true to vour instincts tlll"OU!!h tl;ick and thin. and you never insist that ,111yo11e else follow you. though you might suggest it is strongly advisable'

You kno\\' ho\\' tu 111.rke an im-

pact both in the spoll ight and in the shadows: working in the back­ground often giws you the gr·cat­cst orportunity to do \\'hat needs lo he Jone. You arc so far from !wing egocentric that you have been known to lei others take the crc:dit for \\'ha! you ·\'c Jone.

To sec what is in store for you tomrnrnw. find your birthday and read the corresponding paragraph. Let your birthday star be your daily guide.

THURSDAY, APR. 9 AQUARIUS (Jan.20-Feb.18)

-- One particul,11' development to(fay may prove more interesting than any 01hcr- and it is neither good nor lxrJ until you study it mort: closely.

PISCES (['c:b. I 'J-March 20)­You ,m:: w~\\ Dn vnur \\'i.l\' tu !'in­ishing something that oth~rs have lll'\'L"r done. Today. t;1\.,;c the: ti me lo c·nsure that ncrything is being done right.

ARIES (\larch 21-April J())

- You rn:1y h,1\'c lmuble "ith g:1dgcts and tedmic:rl Jevin:s 10-

J.iy. \Vhen you can. do things ll'ilhout any kind of electronic ;1ssis1;1ncc.

TAURUS (April 20-:Vlay 20) - I\ Jo-it-yourself project sud­denly may become much more complicated today than you had anticipate ti. S ti 11. you can finish it on schedule.

GEMINI (May 21-.Junc 20) - You will want to take a few extra precautions today. You may not know what the dangers really are, but you do want to be pre-

t>cnu,z

NEXT WEEK WE'RE GOING TO A

BASKETBALL RINK

pared. CANCER (June 21-July 22)

- You must guard against being kft out today. Put yoursdfwhcre the action is. and stay there! Be sure you have al I the up-lo-date in formal ion.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)- It is not enough just to make contact with someone far from home; you must be willing to put a little extra effort into the message you send.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Scpt. 22)­Your idea of how things ought to be clone is likely to prove quite differcm from the way a close friend sees things. Strike a corn­prornise.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-0ct. 22) -You can have what you w;rnt to­day. but you must be sure that you really want it bdme going to the effort to acquire i I. You can't give it l1;1c\,;I

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-!'\ov. 21 J -1\n unusual rncssa~e rnav co11-1:1i11 a hidden meaning oi 1wo: you' I I \\';mt to spend time looking :rt it rrom as many different angles ,rs possible.

SAGITTARIUS (:\'or. 22-Dcc. 21) - Why do you think you 're on the spot 1oday·1 The foci is, you may be the only person who is 11·cating you in such a w;ry; ease up on yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -Someone in a supervisory position may not take to you right away. You arc going to have to trust that your work will win him or her over. Copyright 1998, United Feature Syndicate-, Inc.

I CROSSWORD PUZZLER J ACROSS

1 Female ruff

41 Opera singer Price ID

42-Ma Answer to Previous Puzzle 4 Fringe ol hair 9 - constrictor

12 Swilch positions

13 TV's Winfrey 14 Beard of

grain 15 Good luck

figure 17 Took a break 19 Goddess of

dawn 20 Build 21 Feudal slave 23 Mature ID 24 Actor Nick -27 Hwy.

43 Norwegian sea inlet

45 Cushion 46 Aid an

enemy of 48 People

related by blood

51 Anger 52 Evaluates 54 Make a baby

sound 55 Mr. Danson 56 Conceiled

individuals 57 Large bird

28 Appear 30 Man's name 31 Negative

DOWN 2-25 © 1998 United Feature Syndicate

prefix 32 Longed (for) 34 C-F linkup 35 Tropical nut 37 Counlry of

Asia 38- milzvah 39 Disorderly

1 CD-2 Spanish

queen 3 Ancient

Jewish ascelic

4 Expresses disapproval

5 Suilable

KidSPC!>t~ THE~

0-IRISTMAS SJ..IOPPING FoR /v\E 5WULD BE EA5 Y ~OR YOU. YOU'LL AND OUT'M--!Y Wl--lEN YOU COMPLETE Tl-IE SENTENCE BELOW. USE 77-IE CLUE5 7D REARRANGE Tl-IE LETTERS TO FORM WORDS. READ n--lE CIRCLED LETTERS.

6 Riddle ID 7 Actress Teri 8 Martin or

Charlie 9 Skirmish

10 Be in debt 11 In addition 16 Runner

Sebaslian -18 Chastise 20 "Wizard of

oz· city 21 Aulhor Jong 22 Mr. Thurmond 23-

parmigiana 25 At present 26 Winier month,

in Madrid 28 Selenium

symbol 29 Alphabet

sequence 32 -Arafal 33 Is (Sp.) 36 Raised 38 Corsage 40 Flies high 42 Sweet polalo 44 An O'Neal 45 -!he hal

(collect money)

46 Horse's moulhpiece

47 Before (poelic)

48 Valenline's Day mo.

49 Aclor Herbert

50 "Mad About

53 As far as

by Dick Rogers

11 I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING CE I G DO ETN

WSA TNA ( CARPEIJTER'S TOOL,) ( PlCNIC PEST) - _o CCfJ.'/ ~~~

© 1997 UnitOO Fealure Syndica1e, Inc. r2/z4

,."lN\fM 1,NOO I .. :sN\f

FINALS DAY

~~$WO~ lHJ~(UJ~f§lffi_l Wed, Thu, Fr, 7:00 Sat 12:00-4:00-8:00 Sun 12:00-4:00-8:00

j 'I i

1

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS~·23

Magic over 76ers, 113-92

Philadelphia 76ers' Allen Iverson leaps to try and block the pass by Orlando Magic's Derek Harper in first period action of their game in Orlando, Fla., Monday. AP

By Fred Goodall ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Nick Anderson scored 34 poinL, and the Orlando Magic kept pace in the East­ern Conference playoff race Monday night with a I l 3-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The triumph snapped a three-game losing streak and kept the I 0th-place Magic remained within striking dis-­ranee in iL, three-way battle with New Jersey and Washington fortheeightl1 playoff spot in the East.

With six games to go, Orlm1Jo trails the eighth-place NcL', by I 1-2 games and are one-half game behind Washington, which beat Orlando to

take sole possession of ninth on Sun­day.

/\nderson hit his first seven shots ,md finished I 3-for-20, including 6-for-9 on 3-point anempts.

DcrckHarperscored2I poinL,and Horace Grant had 15 JX)inL, and 11 rebounds for the Magic.

Allen Iverson led Philadelphia with 23 points. Tim Thomas had 19. points and Joe Smith scored 12. most of them after Derrick Coleman was ejected early in the third quarter when he drew two technicals for ,irl!uing a flagrant foul call. - - -

The Magic led 52-49 at the time

and increased the lead to 20points in the last I 0:44 of the period.

Grant began the surge with two free throws awarded after Coleman shoved hi 111, drawing the flagrant foul, after Gram set a hard screen on Iverson.

Iverson had 17 points aml Phila­delphia overcame a I 0-point sec­ond-quarter deficit before falling behind 50-46 at the half.

The Magic pulled away again in the third quarter, getting a pair of3-pointers from Anderson early in the period and eight points from Harper in the closing minutes to build the lead to 85-65.

Blazers dull Spurs, 79-75 SAN ANTONIO (AP)- Rasheed Wallace scored 28 points, including two key free throws down thesu-etch, as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 79-75 Monday night.

Wallace hit I O-of-12 shots in tl1at firsthalf,ended up 13-of-21 from the field, while his free throws put the

· Blazers ahead 78-75 with I :02 left. After JarenJacksonand Vinny Del

Negro missed 3-pointers that would have tied the game, Damon Stoudamire hit one free tl1row with 5.5 seconds left to clinch the win.

The Blazers (42-33) moved three games ahead of Minnesota for sixth place in the Western Conte1-ence.

San Antonio (52-24) w..is only two games ahead of Phocn ix for fourth place and the home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs head­ing into the Suns' game at Seattle on Monday night.

The Spurs' next three games m-e against Western pacesetters Utah,Se­attle ,md the Los Angeles Lakers.

San Antonio, which had won five in a row, is I -6 against those teams.

The Blaze rs set the toneearl y, bui Id-

ing a 15-point lead in the second quarter and shooting 63.2 percent in the first half against a team that leads the NBA in field goal de­fense ( 40.5) and scoring defense (88.5).

Isaiah Rider added 14 points and Brian Grant 13 for the Blaz­ers while Stoudamire had 15 as­sists, one more than the entire Spurs team.

Tim Duncan fed San Antonio with 24 points and 15 rebounds while David Robinson had 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Wizards' Webber, Howard investigated for assault WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington Wizards forwards Juwan Howard and Chris Webber are being investigated for an alleged sexual assault against a woman during a party at Howard's suburban Mary I and home, authorities said Monday.

Investigators at the Montgom­ery County police department searched the homes of the two teammates after a woman de­tailed the allegations in a call to

Coetzer . .. Continued from page 24

thespeedyCoetzer, who ran down just about everything Spirlca of­fered.

"I know she's got a really good drop shot, so I was expecting that," said Coetzer, a South African na­tive who spends about half the yearo'n Hilton Head. "I think I got to a few and that put a little pres­sure on her."

She won $ I 50,000 in the season's first clay-court event and gave the crowd its first hometown champion in the event's 26 years.

"If I had to pick one title that I would want to have my name on, this would be the one," said Coetzer, who had never made it past the quarterfinals in eight pre­vious tries.

Coetzer survived what became an exodus of top players at the Family Circle.

Former champions Conchita Martinez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario were gone by Wednes­day, Mary Pierce was dumped

authorities early Monday, police spokesman George Luddington said. No charges were filed.

Pol ice also are interviewing people at the party who may have witnessed the alleged incident.

Billy Martin, an attorney for Howard, said on WTIG-TV in Washington no warrants were pending for his client.

Howard described the allega­tion as "a big distraction" and told the station 'Tm speechless about

Thursday, and Spirlea took care of Davenport and Seles during the weekend.

Coetzer wasn't even sure she'd come, feeling her game was not ready for the clay season. "I thought, 'Let's just get ready and get a few matches under my belt,"' she said.

Coetzer was pretty much for­gotten about as she won her five matches in straight sets. She was forced to play twice on Thursday and Saturday when rain washed things out. And she came to Sea Pines without her longtime coach Gavin Hopper, who agreed this week to work with Se/es.

"I think it forces you to re­evaluate things," Coetzer said. "I really didn't have time to doubt things here."

Spirlea's game came apart al­most from the start. She hit 50 winners to beat Davenport but made 55 unforced errors against Coetzer.

Spirlea 's drop shot, which con­tinually confounded Se/es in the semifinals, was easily solved by the quick Coetzer.

it." Both players. fom1er teammates

at Michigan, are in Chicago, where the Wizards are scheduled to play the Bulls on Tuesday night. Luddington said authorities would probably wait for the players to return to the Washington area before interviewing them.

Webber was arre;ted Jan. 20 by police in Prince George's County, Md., another Washington suburb, and charged with speeding, as-

Cubs. ~ . Continued from page 24

on Tony Wornack's single. Rich Loiselle got tl1e final twoouL,

for his second save, suiking out Matt f'r.mco to end tl1e game with nmners at the comers. ~

Tiger . . . Conti_nued from page 24 competitor.

And if the strain of aying to join Jack Nicklaus ,md Nick Faldo as the only men to win consecutive Masters was weighing on Woods, he didn't show it.

On No. 9, his caddie Mike· 'Fluff' Cowan placed the tlagstick on tl1e green in fiont of the hole - never lookingbackatWoods-butWoods went ahead and putted over the stick, almost making the putt as both men laughed.

Later, Woods tried a putt with so much break it was like a trick-shot clinic as he putted the 35-footcr (11 meters) almost away from the hole

saulting a police officer and pos­session of marijuana. He is await­ing trial.

Howard was charged with driv­ing under the influence of alcohol in 1996 after his Mercedes was spotted speeding away from a Washington nightclub.

The charges were dropped after he agreed to enter an alcohol edu­cation program.

Howard, one of the highest­paid players in the NBA and

Astros 13, Rockies 4 In Houston, Jeff Bagwell drove in

three rnns with a grounder and two­run homer, and Houston overcame DanteBichette 's5-for-5pelforrnance.

Houston, whichouthittheRockies 15-13, wonthreeoffourgamesagainst Colorado, outscoring tl1c Rockies 37-13 and outhitting them 51-38.

and then smiled broadly when the gallery broke into applause as the ball stopped just inches( centimeters) from the cup.

Woods was so comfortable on Monday it was as if he had come home - and maybe he had. That level of comfort was certainly no accident.

His victmy lastyem·wasa tribute to Woods' ability, but it was also a tribute to Hmm on' s g,m1e p/,m. Local knowledge at Augusta is so imJX)r­tant, Hmmon wm1tcd to make ce11ain Woods hadcvc1y oppo1tunity to soak up evc1y bit of infrnmation possible.

"There is a route around Au­gusta," said Faldo, a three-time winner. "You just have to find it and follow it."

known for his charitable work around the Washington area, scored I 2 points in the Wizards' 88-85 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.

The Wizards are in ninth place in the Eastern Confer­ence and playing just over .500.

A Wizards spokesman re­ferred calls for comment to gen­eral manager Wes Unsefd, who was not available immediately.

Colorado, 35-45 on the road last season and 47-34 at Coors Field, finished its first road trip 4-3.

Mike Hampton ( 1-0) improved to 5- I against Colorado, allowing two nms and nine hits in seven innings.

Justin Thompson ( 1- l) was pounded for nine runs and 12 hits in SIX tlllllllgs:

In search of that route, Woods played practice rounds with Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and otl1er Masters champions.

"That was my main purpose in those practice rounds - to have him play with people who know how the greens break, know where the pins will be on Sunday, know what spots you have to flit on the green to have the ball funnel to the hole," Harmon said.

Harmon was the peii'cct school­master, setting up the curriculum and selecting the best teachers who shared their insight willingly. And in Woods, he had a pupil whose learning curve is as impres­sive as his tee shots.

....

·-

1 •

---~-~·--··-·-·---

24-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-WEDNESDAY- APRIL 8 1998

Guam readies SPG venues PREPARATIONS are underway for Guam's hosting of the 1999 South Pacific Games and orga­nizers are looking at possible sites for both the games proper and the athletes' village.

The LiHeng-Ta area has been mentioned as possible site for the SPG Village, where athletes from the region will stay. On the other hand, the SPG Commission is awaiting approval from the US

Air Force for the use of • Andy South' for the Games.

"We have some other sites to consider, but one large vii age area would streamline a number of considerations such as transporc and security," said SPG execu­tive director Ed Fortier in a media release.

About six thousand atheletes and support personnel are ex­pected to come to Guam for the

Games. In an effort to welcome all VIPs

and delegations and process their entry as quickly as possible, the Guam Airport Authority is ex­pecting all airport staff to be in­volved as the visitors arrive.

Customs and Quarantine will be making special arrangements to facilitate the arrival of the ath­letes.

"We will be providing the

Cubs win 6th straight CHICAGO (AP)-Pitcher Mark Clarkhitago-aheadsinglewithtwo outs in the sixth inning, and the Cubs won their sixth straight Mon­day, 3-2 over the winless Montreal Expos.

Chicago, which lost its first 14 games last season, is an NL-best 6-1. Montreal, which purged most of its veterans to save money, is the onlywinlessteaminthemajorsat0-6and set a fomchise record for worst start.

Clark(2-0)gave up both runs and six hits in eight innings. Rod Beck finished with one­hit relief for his fourth save in four chances.

Carlos Perez (0-2) scat-

tered nine hits in a complete game.

Brewers 8, Marlins 5 In Miami, Jeff Cirillo tied a

club record with three doubles and Milwaukee completed its first series sweep in the National League, winning its fourth straight against the World Series champi­ons.

Milwaukee has won five in a row, while the Marlins have lost six straight since an opening-day victory.

Steven Woodard (2-0) allowed one run in 3 1-3 innings, and Doug Jones pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Felix Heredia (0-2) allowed seven runs - five earned - in 4 2-3 innings.

Pirates 4, Mets 2 In New York,FranciscoCordova

(2-0) allmyed five hits and struck outeightin seven innings, and Pitts­burgh avoided a four-game sweep with some help from a disputed balk. .

With New Yorktrailing2-0,Mets manager Bobby Valentine was ejected in the fourth inning by crew chiefFrankPulli after Bobby Jones (0-1) was called for a balk for a pickoff throw to first with John Olerud a few steps from the base.

Baseball rules say pitchers can't throwtounoccupiedbases. Keith Osik went to second on the balk, took third on a grounder and scored

Continued on page 23

American Jim Couri1::r celebrates his victory over Russian Marat Satin in the first round of the Davis Cup to help advance the United States on Monday at the International Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga. Courier won 0-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. AP

needed officers for any arriving flights and reserving an area to process athletes and visitors," said

· Asst. CustomsChiefMaj. Ignacio Perido.

Meanwhile, Fortier met with Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrezand P.ub­lic Works Director Tony Quinata to discuss plans for the Guam Sports Complex in Dededo which is due for completion in· March 1999.

Apart from the new sports com­plex, Guam will also be con­structing the Harmon Loop Access Road, to be finished around the same time as the complex and in time for the Games.

"The Governor wants to be kept informed on progress of our projects in general," said Quinata, "and in particular as they affect the Games."

Defending Masters champion Tiger Woods hitsfrom the tee box on the fourth hole at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Monday during practice for the 1998 Masters. Tournament play begins on Thursday. AP

Tiger Woods has returned to A,ugusta as Masters champ

. By RON SIRAK ~UGUST A, Georgia (AP)-Tiger Woods returned to Augusta National Golf Club the way he left it a year ago- in a class by himself.

For the first three years that Woods came to the Masters, Butch Harmon made certain that his star pupil played practice rounds with former· champions.

On Monday, Woods came to Augusta as one of those former champions and played his practice round alone. It was symbolic of the way Woods finished last year at the Masters - 12 strokes ahead of his nearest

Continued on page 23

ii'Coetz~r does VVhat .. otb;~~ -~~;;;t:~·,;1~;-d~~~Spi;1~~-ii 1•1 By PETE IACOBELLI the young after another. If NHL star Sege1 Fedorov. like I can relate really well to the d · h S r .. · .. ·j1'

I. HILTON HEAD ISLAND ' · · A · , urmgac angeoverattheU .. ;il • , s_omeone s not pra1_smg us~ra- But 26-year-old Coetzer 1sn t younger players because I feel Open last ear _ was the . , ~ South Carolma (AP)-For a lian Open champion Martma ready to concede the sport to the likemygameisstillprettyyoung" k' yf be . L' d .. _·.·.·1

k A d H. · h ' k' f h · . , wee s star a ter atmg m - 1 wee , anyway, man a mg1s,t ey reas mg ort ese- youngergenerat1on,especiallynot Coetzersaid D d M .

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oetzer too t e wor s ocus ere s o 1pton wmner enus a ter eatmg Irma Sp1rlea 6-3, 6- With none of the tennis teen S I

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' o -r:en tennis; h. d I ia;:. suc~ess, or t.? ':"?n- . orth~ ;m1J ire eCupcham- queens at Sea Pines Racquet Club, Butherdropshotsandrocket { ; he wbomen s tour t I~ sea-f Rer ~ a As gomKg on ~kit nsmgct p1?."1·s ipl un ay.. . the 24-Y,ear-old Spirlea - best forehands had little effect on i

~l son as een one coronation o ussian nna oum1 ova an ve a ways said ma way I feel known for bumping Williams ._..,.-------.,,,------,,-----~~ .,=.=;-,~~=·"",,.,..,,.,~~.-,,--.-~.,.-, . .,,~.=,.,...-·=-= !: Continued on page 23

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