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Local
NMHC confirms in writing 2-year funding commitment to school project By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor avz@mvariety.com Variety News Staff
THE Northern Marianas Housing Corp. has provided the Public School System an official correspondence indicating the NMHC board’s decision to set aside two years of federal funding for the school project. Newly appointed NMHC corporate director Jesse Palacios said, “We provided PSS a letter that we are going to commit the two program years’ CDBG funding.” Palacios said PSS requested that the housing agency “memorialize” its approval. He said PSS wanted to get the commitment prior to getting price quotations. In previous meetings, the NMHC board committed Community Development Block Grant funds worth $659,490 for program year 2011 and $793,489 for program year 2012. Initially, NMHC was given an estimate that the construction of the school would cost around $8 million. T h i s prompted the Jesse Palacios housing agency to look into whether the CNMI could apply for a Section 108 loan which would commit five years of CDBG funds to the project. In a recent report by NMHC planner and grant writer Jeannie P. Mafnas to the board, she said that if PSS would go for a two-story classroom with toilets, construction of the usable facility would cost $975,000, excluding the $500,000 they expect to spend for parking. Variety asked Palacios if Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has exercised the government’s power of eminent domain to convey to PSS the three lots in Koblerville bought by NMHC for the school project. Palacios said Assistant Attorney General James Stump is still reviewing it. Variety earlier reported that time was ticking for the agency to put to eligible use the property it bought using federal funds. Otherwise it has to pay back the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development the close to $1.2 million in CDBG funds it used to acquire the property. NMHC has five years from the acquisition of the property in 2011 to put it to eligible use that meets the CDBG national objective. MV 8-31-12.indd 24
FRIDAY - AUGUST 31, 2012 - MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS
September is Childhood Cancer & Childhood Obesity Awareness Month By Raquel C. Bagnol raquel.bagnol@mvariety.com Variety News Staff
THE Division of Public Health and other participating agencies will lead the CNMI-wide promotion of September as National Childhood Cancer & Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. This morning, acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos is scheduled to sign a proclamation in the governor’s conference room at the administration building on Capital Hill to encourage organizations, localities, schools,
nonprofit organizations, businesses and the people of the CNMI to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities which promote healthy eating, physical activity while raising awareness about childhood cancer and obesity. Inos will encourage all individuals to cook healthy meals and participate in exercises with their children.
Public Health, for its part, will conduct a series of activities for the whole month of September under the “Let’s Move campaign” initiative of first lady Michelle Obama: America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids. The CNMI’s theme and subtheme are “Let’s Move Marianas! Yengyung With The Kankung.” The committee members of the
Let’s Move Marianas are inviting everyone to join the Let’s Move Marinas Expo which will be held at the Ada Gym track and field on the morning of Sept. 29. The event will feature over 2,000 children, parents and teachers who will dance to the beat of the localized version of the “Let’s Move” dance steps. Businesses and organizations interested to learn the dance steps and join the Let’s Move Marianas Expo can email letsmovemarianas@ gmail.com for more information.
MPLT investment consultant Daniel Roland reports to the trustees and officials during Friday’s board meeting on Capital Hill. Photo by Alexie Villegas Zotomayor
MPLT investments up in July By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor avz@mvariety.com Variety News Staff
THE investments of the Marianas Public Land Trust have performed better in July with 1.4 percent returns for the two trust funds. MPLT board consultant Bruce MacMillan told Variety, “July had a good return of 1.4 percent. For fiscal year to date, we got 8.97 percent overall.” MPLT handles two trust funds: the general fund and the American Memorial Park fund. Both trust funds, MacMillan said, had an identical 1.40 percent rate of investment returns as of July. For the general fund, it beat the benchmarks for the fiscal quarter 1.4 percent versus 1.32 and 0.63 percent. Its ending market value as of July 31 was $66.318 million. MacMillan explained that the uptick in the investments was due
to the equity market’s rally. “Dow has been hitting new highs recently,” he said, referring to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an important index that indicates how well the overall stock market is performing. Back in July, MacMillan said the Dow breached the 13,000 mark. “The market at the end of July was high,” he added. MacMillan said the allocation was stable for the month. Based on the report, MPLT’s general fund allocation by asset and manager was core fixed income (Richmond), 39.2 percent; convertibles (Mackay Shields), 9.6 percent; emerging markets (Lazard), 3.1 percent; emerging markets (Newgate), 2.4 percent; large cap core (MetWest), 10.1 percent; global fixed income (Templeton), 12.2 percent; high yield fixed income (SEIX), 8.4 percent; CNMI advance, 6 per-
cent; CHC loan, 4.6 percent; and NMHC loan, 5.4 percent. The money managers for the trust funds, he said, had a good showing. He cited the equity manager’s 11.21 percent return for fiscal year to date. Emerging markets manager Lazard was above the benchmark at 2.7 percent. He said the high yield, fixed income manager posted a 2.17 percent investment returns for the same period. “Everything’s up for the month,” he said. In general, MacMillan said both equities and fixed income had a strong showing in July. In his report to the board, investment consultant and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney senior vice president Daniel Roland said that for the American Memorial Park trust fund, “returns for the month are exactly the same as
the general fund.” But for fiscal year to date, returns were higher. “We had higher equity exposure,” he explained. For both funds, Roland told the MPLT trustees last Friday, “Your fund is doing very well.” He said the MPLT investments were better positioned when the trustees adopted a more fixed income strategy. “You had a lot of value in bonds,” he said. Bonds are performing better than stocks, Variety learned. For the American Memorial Park fund, fiscal year to date investment returns were 10.96 percent and with an ending market value of $8.336 million as of July 31. Combining both trust funds’ ending market value for July, the MPLT’s invested assets totaled $74.65 million. 8/31/12 12:48:10 AM