Virgin-Islands-On-Line's Coconut Telegraph

May 16, 2007

V.I. Tourism Gets Breath of Fresh Air

The St. Thomas Source is reporting:

"May 15, 2007 -- Upbeat, enthusiastic and excited would describe the atmosphere at the 14th annual USVI Destination symposium, which was held Tuesday at Frenchman’s Reef Marriott. “Do you know what that is in the air?” asked Rik Blyth. “That is the smell of fresh air.” Blyth is president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association and acted as emcee for the symposium. He said that that there was a whole new feel to the event, primarily because, “We are encouraged by the vision of our new administration and hope to be a partner in many programs designed to improve and promote our tourism product.” That feeling was held by many of the 150 attendees who warmly applauded Department of Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty, who said of the association, “They have spearheaded this remarkable event from its inception and continue to make a significant contribution to the growth of our tourism product and within the travel industry.”

More here.

Posted by afinta at 08:50 AM | Comments (1)

May 15, 2007

YES! YES! YES!

Our good friend and former colleague Beverly Nicholson Doty is the new head of the Department of Tourism. This can only mean good things for the USVI. From Travel Weekly:

USVI tourism commissioner lays out plans first year in office (05/14/2007)

St. Croix a top priority; tourist offices to go 'virtual' with mainland closures

By Gay Nagle Myers

Beverly Nicholson Doty, the commissioner of tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands since her nomination by the governor and approval by the USVI legislature in March, hit the ground running.

Her unofficial "coming-out party" is set for May 15 when she addresses tour operators, hoteliers and other private-sector partners as well as government representives attending the 14th Annual U.S. Virgin Islands Destination Symposium in St. Thomas where she will detail her top objectives and goals.

"As head of the Dept. of Tourism, I am mandated by law to increase overall visitor count, increase overall spending by visitors, develop relationships with the private sector and form alliances where we can partner together," Nicholson Doty said. "The legislature is very precise on this. In addition, we must develop branding for St. Croix and work to increase visitor numbers specifically on that island."

Good luck to Beverly and all of her new staff.

More here, but subscription (free) is required.

Posted by afinta at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2006

Crapo donations questioned

Associated Press
March 15, 2006

BOISE – U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, received more than twice as much money in donations from people in the U.S. Virgin Islands than from his home state last year, according to the Federal Elections Commission.

That prompted the Senate Majority Project, a Democratic interest group, to question Crapo's involvement in the islands, which have a population of 110,000 people.

Crapo had received $39,000 from Virgin Islands residents by the end of the 2005-06 election cycle, compared with just under $20,000 from Idaho residents.

Lobbyists for the islands are trying to reduce the number of days a person must remain on the islands to be considered a resident, an issue that could have tax benefits.

Currently, under a 2004 act of Congress, individuals must spend at least half the year in the Virgin Islands to be considered a resident for tax purposes. Lobbyists would like to see that reduced to an average of 122 days per year over a three-year period.

Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is looking into the issue.

"He's very much involved in the philosophy states should be able to determine states' business," Crapo spokeswoman Susan Wheeler told the Idaho State Journal. "And in the same vein, territories should be able to determine the tax benefits that bolster business and the economy."

Wheeler said that encouraging economic development in the islands would help reduce an illegal drug and slave trade.

"It's in the United States' best interest to have the Virgin Islands prosper," she said.

Posted by afinta at 06:36 PM | Comments (0)

Virgin Islands Donors Invest In Key Senators

BY MEGHAN CLYNE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
March 8, 2006
http://www.nysun.com/article/28712

WASHINGTON - Concern is mounting that Senate support for the U.S. Virgin Islands' efforts to reopen a tax loophole is being won with more than $235,000 in campaign contributions.

Five senators identified by USVI representatives as allies in their campaign - Senator Crapo, a Republican of Idaho; Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican of Oregon; Senator Baucus, a Democrat of Montana; Senator Thomas, a Republican of Wyoming, and Senator Talent, a Republican of Missouri - have each received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from scores of USVI residents in the last year, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Lobbyists for the USVI said yesterday that the donations resulted from fund-raisers held by the lawmakers during trips to the Virgin Islands.

As The New York Sun reported last week, the USVI is currently campaigning for Congress and the Treasury Department to loosen restrictions imposed in 2004 on the territory's Economic Development Commission - a program designed to spur investment in the territory with tax incentives for individuals and businesses.

As the Sun reported in 2003, the program's tax breaks were taken up by some of America's top money managers - including Richard Driehaus and Jeffrey Epstein, who keep high profiles in Chicago and New York but declare the USVI as their place of residence for tax purposes. The EDC loophole allowed some wealthy Americans to dodge almost 90% of their federal income tax bills.

According to FEC records, Mr. Driehaus last year donated, as a USVI resident, $2,000 each to the campaigns of Messrs. Crapo, Thomas, and Baucus.

In the October 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, Congress moved to curb tax avoidance abuse by stepping up the residency and income eligibility requirements for the tax breaks. In January, the Treasury Department codified the residency requirement by stipulating that individuals must spend at least 183 days a year in the USVI to be considered residents for tax purposes.

The USVI is now engaged in a campaign to get Congress to reduce the physical-presence residency requirement to an average of 122 days a year over three years. USVI representatives stress that the four-month-a-year average is a federal guideline used to determine taxpaying residency for foreigners, and should apply to American citizens living in an American territory.

Although spokesmen for the USVI government said yesterday that the tax-breaks eligibility requires a primary residence in the Islands and that a taxpayer should have no closer connection to any other locale, the new regulations would theoretically allow a taxpayer to spend a full year and a day in the islands, not set foot there for the remaining two years, and still claim USVI residency on tax returns for all three years.

As the Sun reported last week, the governor of the Virgin Islands, Charles Turnbull, identified Messrs. Crapo, Thomas, Smith, and Talent, as likely supporters of the Islands' efforts. The senators sit on the Senate Energy and Finance Committees, which have oversight of America's territories and taxation, respectively.

Campaign-finance filings, however, indicate that the USVI's hoped-for allies were also the beneficiaries of USVI private largesse. Mr. Baucus received $66,500 from 52 USVI contributors. Mr. Crapo last year received $39,000 from 27 USVI donors. Mr. Thomas received $21,000 from 16 USVI donors, and Mr. Talent received $38,600 from 30 USVI donors. Mr. Smith raked in $47,000 from 48 donors. The numbers were first published in the St. Thomas Source.

Contributions to Mr. Smith, in particular, have drawn fire from a Democratic interest group, the Senate Majority Project. The group, which notes that the USVI was Mr. Smith's fourth-largest donor base by geography after Oregon, Washington, and Virginia, alleges that Mr. Smith's support for reducing the EDC residency requirements contradicts past efforts to keep American business from moving to more tax friendly locales like Bermuda.

"Gordon Smith took a trip down to the Virgin Islands, and came back with $47,000 and a new position on offshore tax havens," the Executive Director of the Senate Majority Project, Mike Gehrke, said in a press release from the group.

A spokesman for Mr. Smith, Christopher Matthews, told the Sun yesterday that the group's allegations were "factually inaccurate"; that Mr. Smith believes in reviewing policies that would put an undue and unfair burden on the USVI economy; and that the donations had no effect on the senator's position. Moreover, he said, Mr. Smith has no intention of introducing legislation to implement the lower residency requirement.

The Washington-based USVI lobbyist who organized the fundraising trips, Kevin Callwood, told the Sun yesterday they were paid for by the lawmakers, not the Virgin Islands. Mr. Callwood, a Virgin Islander who said he netted $160,000 last year representing the territory's government, said yesterday the senators had visited the islands at the invitation of Mr. Turnbull - who has invited "a lot" of members of Congress to familiarize themselves with the territories, since the USVI has no voting congressional representative.

The fund-raising and visits, Mr. Callwood said, "are as kosher as it gets," adding: "Fund-raisers take place all around the country every day."

A spokeswoman for Mr. Crapo, too, said the fund-raiser had no connection to the Idaho senator's efforts in behalf of the USVI. The spokeswoman, Susan Wheeler, told the Sun earlier this week that Mr. Crapo wanted to visit the territory as part of his work on the Senate Finance Committee, but that Senate rules prohibit the use of Senate funds for individual senators' foreign travel, and that a visit to America's territories is considered foreign travel. Mr. Crapo's campaign, she said, paid for the trip, and held the fund-raiser in order to make up the cost.

USVI advocates stressed yesterday that the campaign to ease residency restrictions is not meant to help tax evasion, which the Islands' government opposes. Rather, they said, the government is concerned that the new requirements will remove the EDC incentive to invest in the Virgin Islands, adding that the program represents at least a fifth of the Islands' revenue.

Posted by afinta at 06:14 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2006

Virgin Islands Are at Center of Dispute on Tax Break

So the NY Times is now in the loop:

The United States Virgin Islands and several wealthy financiers who own homes there are working to persuade Congress to drop a new requirement that at least half the year be spent in the islands in order to get a tax break intended to spur their economic development.

The economic development program allows an effective federal income tax rate of just 3.5 percent for bona fide residents of the Virgin Islands. It has drawn wealthy Americans from the mainland and kindled an economic boom.

But the program, whose benefits have been available for decades, has also allowed some homeowners who spend little time in the islands to avoid federal taxes estimated at $400 million. At least one person, who lived in the islands less than one month a year and nonetheless claimed the program's benefits for income he generated selling insurance in Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to tax fraud.

The new requirement, adopted by the Internal Revenue Service under legislation enacted by Congress in 2004, is intended to crack down on the practice. The legislation followed articles that exposed how little time some of the beneficiaries spent in the islands and how little of their income was derived there.

The program has long required individuals who benefit from the tax break, as well as companies that do so, to commit $100,000 of capital, employ 10 local residents, buy goods and services from local suppliers and promise to make charitable donations. But until Jan. 31, when the new restriction took effect, there was no explicit residency requirement; the I.R.S. instead used a "facts and circumstances" test to assess eligibility. As a result of the change, individuals claiming the benefit must now prove that they have spent 183 days in the Virgin Islands during the year.

In response, the Virgin Islands Tax Working Group, which represents people who benefit from the break, paid $200,000 last year for lobbyists, according to records compiled by Political Money Line, a nonpartisan campaign finance tracking service. At least one senator, Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, has been saluted in the islands at a fund-raiser on his behalf attended by several beneficiaries of the program.

The government of the Virgin Islands is just as eager as the beneficiaries to have the new restriction eased. Donna M. Christensen, the islands' delegate to Congress, acknowledged problems with the program in written testimony submitted at a hearing held Wednesday by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the Interior Department and thus territorial affairs. But she asked committee members to lobby for a lightening of the residency requirement.

Ms. Christensen, describing the rule as onerous, wants Congress to reduce the requirement to 122 days over three years, or an average of a little more than a month annually.

"This is the No. 1 issue for us in terms of our economic prosperity going forward," she said.

The rule's opponents, whose efforts were first reported in The New York Sun, have asked Senator Michael D. Crapo, an Idaho Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, to propose an amendment in tax legislation now being negotiated. In a letter to Senator Pete V. Domenici, the New Mexico Republican who heads the energy committee, Mr. Crapo said the specific tax rules governing beneficiaries of the program had been changed without legislative hearings and without consulting the Virgin Islands government.

"As a result, we now see that the changes may have gone too far," Mr. Crapo wrote. "While the bad actors have been successfully removed from the program, these changes are also disrupting legitimate businesses and causing fiscal hardship."

Chris Matthews, a spokesman for Senator Smith, who sits on both the energy committee and the Finance Committee, confirmed that the senator attended a fund-raiser for him in the Virgin Islands last year. Mr. Matthews said Mr. Smith had subsequently chatted with some of his colleagues about his concerns that the tighter regulations were hurting law-abiding businesses.

You have to think the feds will eventually all but kill this program - unless they can be lobbied effectively by the multi-millionaires who are abusing the system.

Posted by afinta at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)

January 31, 2006

Some EDC news

The Source is reporting the following:

V.I. Officials Disappointed with New EDC Residency Regulations

Jan. 30, 2006 -- The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S Department of Treasury Monday made public the long-awaited residency requirements concerning Economic Development Commission companies. Delegate Donna Christensen said, "The only good thing we can say about this is that they are out, and the companies now know what they need to know."

She added, "This is not what we wanted or what we needed." The federal authorities did not budge much on the 183-day residency requirement. Christensen and others had advocated that an average of 122 days in the territory over three years be sufficient.

The final regulations do allow that time in the United States for medical reasons will not be applied against residency time. But here, too, Christensen has concerns. She says the medical days just cover in-patient time, and people often have to travel to the states and spend time that necessarily is not under in-patient care but is still medical.

The New York Sun also has an article:

"The Treasury Department and the IRS yesterday announced a final regulation that will go a long way toward plugging a loophole that allowed some very rich Americans to cut their personal income tax bills by 90% by declaring themselves residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Front-page New York Sun articles in August and September of 2003 highlighted the obscure tax break, which Virgin Islands officials touted as an economic development program. The Sun reported back in 2003 that prominent money managers such as Richard Driehaus and Jeffrey Epstein were availing themselves of the provision and that the provisions on who qualified as a Virgin Islands resident for tax purposes were vague."

You have to be registered to read the whole thing.

Posted by afinta at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2005

Protestors Stop Shoppers at Starfish Market

This just sounds very counterproductive:

Nov. 23, 2005 –– Truck driver Shaka Anthony was at Starfish Market Wednesday to join the checkout lane slowdown spearheaded by St. Croix activist Mario Moorhead and his followers.

"It's just the right thing to do," he said.

About a dozen protestors paid for bottled water with pennies at the slowdown, but Anthony did not give a concrete answer when the Source asked him what the issues were surrounding the event.

"I don't know. I'm just here," he said.

He said he lost a day's pay - usually around $450 per day - to attend the protest.

Moorhead was not one of the people who tied up the store's checkout lanes. Instead, he remained outside. He refused to comment on the issues, but St. John Administrator Julian Harley said later that the protest leaders met with the FBI via video conferencing. He said they wanted to know why the police had named suspects in the David Geiger murder case, but not in Esther Frett's alleged rape.

This is the second protest against Starfish Market, St. John's largest supermarket and by many accounts, a store that's extremely generous when it comes to donating food for community events.

More here from the Source.

Posted by afinta at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

November 18, 2005

Beach Bar raid

Okay - this is not factual reporting, but second and third hand rumor (that is what the Coco-Tel is for, no?). A raid did happen - was it IRS, FBI, DEA - I don't think we know that for sure. Here is some of what the Coconut Telegraph has heard (if you can add to this please do some in the comments or send me an email) - some of this has been redacted:

The IRS, FBI and possibly DEA raided the Beach Bar early AM with about 25 assorted officers from PR along with a big helicopter (also from Homeland Sec. in PR).

The owner is:

a) upstairs in his wharfside apt throughout
b) arrested and carried away
c) fled in his boat and being looked for

depending on who you talk to.

The Beach Bar just opened for biz and the bartender upon opening said
"First round is on me!"

Files, records and computers were all seized and carried
away in the copter which landed in the national park
ball field across from Mongoose Junction. One entire copter load was boxes of evidence. Second trip to pick up officers. Copter has being buzzing all over town since 7 AM.

and...

..the paper says IRS. Never heard of the IRS sweeping in with guns and helicopters. Heard the owners took off the night before.. ... (a friend) was sitting outside (St. Thomas dining spot) the night before and overheard a guy on the phone telling someone they need to leave by boat right away as the FBI was coming for them the next morning. The person told them to go to JVD and a boat would be there waiting for them and they should go to Cuba...

Posted by afinta at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2005

VIPA Denies New Ferry Company Fee Waivers

The St. Thomas Source is reporting:

Nov. 16, 2005 -- The V.I. Port Authority Board on Wednesday denied the Island Lynx's request to waive almost all local marine tariffs for the operation of its fast ferry service.

The waivers would have allowed the company to avoid pay pilot or wharfage fees, as well as ship dues, at VIPA owned boat terminals.

"The waivers are being sought to reduce the operating costs of the proposed ferry service during the critical start-up period and initial years of operation," R.C. Siebengartner, the company's manager, wrote to VIPA in early October.

Island Lynx, a new year-round, high speed, inter-island ferry, is scheduled to start service between the territory, Vieques, and Tortola in December--replacing the V.I. Fast Ferry Salacia, which has been whisking residents between St. Thomas and St. Croix for the past six seasons. Boston Harbor Cruises, Salacia's parent company, said they would temporarily pull their operation out of the territory, as Island Lynx could prove to be financially damaging competition.

Posted by afinta at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2005

Recent Crimes Casting a Pall Over St. John

That is a headline from the St. Thomas Source this morning. This is just very hard to read and even say out loud. The article has a run down of the recent strife. Roy Innis sounds like a man who has his head on straight - let's hope he can bring some sense to all of this.

Posted by afinta at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2005

Second Look at Sailboat Yields Big Cocaine Find

Hey now!

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (ICE) -- A second look at a cocaine-carrying sailboat intercepted by the Coast Guard in May and about to be auctioned off netted almost 1,800 pounds of cocaine.

ICE special agents, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and officers of the U.S. Virgin Island Police Department discovered 1,764.4 pounds of cocaine hidden within the walls of a 49-foot sailboat, the British-flagged vessel S/V Gio, docked at the Port of St. Croix.

More here.

Posted by afinta at 06:09 AM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2005

Feds deny full waiver for USVI charter boats

Who knows what the economic and long term effect will be of this law, but is doesn't sound very encouraging:

ST THOMAS, USVI: Congressional Delegate Donna Christiansen announced Wednesday that the US Department of Homeland Security will not grant a waiver to charter yacht boats in the Virgin Islands from the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) requirement that all vessels transmit a passenger and crew manifest to US Customs and Border Protection prior to arrival at a US port.

Delegate Christiansen requested the waiver when it became known that the regulation would soon be enforced. Charter yacht boaters who make trips to the British Virgin Islands are especially concerned about the requirement to transmit a manifest as early as 96 hours, but not later than 24 hours prior to departure.

In a letter to Delegate Christiansen, Asst. Homeland Security Secretary Pamela Turner wrote that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) "recognized a need to accommodate the industry you represent, as well as the industry in the Great Lakes and Southern Florida where multiple voyages can occur within a 24 hour period, CBP has instructed its ports to exercise prosecutorial discretion and waive the 24 hour turnaround time for vessels that are engaged in 'short-turn' voyages."

From CaribbeanNetNews - more here.

The physical realities of the proximity of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, make laws like this extremely inconvenient at the least. It is going to be a challenge to enforce. Let's hope it doesn't prove to be an economic burden too.

Posted by afinta at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

November 06, 2005

Archeologists at Fort Christian Discover Bodies

Here is an interesting story from the St. Thomas Source:

Nov. 4, 2005 – Archeologists excavating at Fort Christian on St. Thomas Friday uncovered the remains of one and possibly two people.

"We identified a tooth, which speaks to a small child," Historic Preservation Office director Myron Jackson said.

Archeologist David Brewer said the site also contains several bones.

"There's a definite possibility there may be more than one person buried," he said.

Brewer said the initial discovery was made by the agency's archeological technician, Patton Mulford.

Brewer said he and his team were working on test sites to see what existed when Friday's discovery revealed itself.

Jackson said all burials will be treated with respect and disturbed as little as possible.

More here.

Posted by afinta at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2005

Avoiding Taxes Harder As Scrutiny Increases

From BlackEnterprise.com

"The Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration has made its first demand for payment of overdue state income taxes from an unidentified Arkansan who claimed to be a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Posted by afinta at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

US Virgin Islands National Park access threatened

From Caribbean Net News (I can't say they are a news organization that I have full faith in):

ST THOMAS, USVI: Friends of Virgin Islands National Park (FVINP) president, Joe Kessler has released information on the organization's web site, detailing a 441 acre land deal involving, "...stretches from Maho Bay beach to Centerline Road, Mamey Peak and Ajax Peak."

Kessler states, "... potential buyers are in 'secret negotiations' with the heirs of the land's original owners and are, at the same time, trying to force the National Park Service to sell its share of the property in return for the designation of 80 acres as a conservation area."

The president of the 3,000-member group, with members each state of the union and a dozen foreign countries, went on to say, "The developer is also planning to divert North Shore Road in such a way as to make Maho Bay beach access more difficult and to build a private dock at Maho."

The potential buyers have been identified by FVINP as James and Marilyn Simons, of New York City. They are sponsors of the charitable, Simons Foundation, a non-profit organization chartered with the state of Delaware. According to Kessler, 44 acres would be allocated for the present Maho Bay Institute as a "think tank", 42 acres for the heirs' residential sites, and 89 acres for the family compound and (presumably) other residential sites.

Kessler pointed out that Maho Beach is the most accessible beach on St. John for both visitors and island residents with disabilities. People can be transported to within about 20 feet of the water and the beach, as well as the submerged, relatively flat land.

Recent tourism publications have highlighted the accessibility of the Maho Bay area for visitors with mobility disabilities. The area serves as a model, new initiative for the disabled, according to information released by USVI Tourism officials at the current, International, Caribbean Tourism Conference.

The developer also wants the right to clean and drain the wetlands area in Maho Bay, and open a permanent waterway. Kessler says the wetland area has kept Maho Bay clean for the last 50 years, and to do so would "environmentally devastate Maho Bay."

The organization's president released the following statement to Caribbean Net News, "The Jackson Hole Preserve (Laurence Rockefeller's Foundation) was donated to the US Government specifically for the establishment of Virgin Islands National Park," and "Furthermore, within the transfer deed was a 'reversion clause' which basically states that should the land donated by JHP no longer be used as a national park, the land reverts to JHP."

Posted by afinta at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

Caribbean Fears Storms Will Hurt Tourism

This AP article was filed from the US Virgin Islands - it is without a byline but I assume someone is there covering the CTC conference. It does raise and interesting and valid point though of guilt by association - consumers tend to think of the Caribbean as a whole, and bad news for one island can be construed as bad news for many:

"CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - Caribbean tourism officials are worried this year's record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season could scare away visitors who may falsely believe the entire region has been affected by the flurry of storms.

How to deal with the negative publicity surrounding hurricanes was one of several issues officials planned to tackle at the four-day Caribbean Tourism Conference that kicked off Sunday in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The meeting came as the record-breaking 22nd named storm of the season, Alpha, came ashore over the Dominican Republic and Haiti, days after a fierce Hurricane Wilma roared through the region before slamming Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Alpha later weakened into a depression.

Officials say the Caribbean's frequent association with storms only makes life harder for the region's fickle tourism industry, the backbone of many small-island economies. The region has seen a slow but steady rise in visitors since a drought in travel after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"People's sense of geography isn't as sharp as we would wish it to be, so the perception is that when one country is affected (by hurricanes), all are," said Hugh Riley, marketing director for the 32-member Caribbean Tourism Organization.

A spokesman for the tourism department of the British Caribbean territory of the Turks and Caicos islands agreed.

"If there's a hurricane off Barbados, we get calls (from abroad) asking if family members are OK in the Turks and Caicos," some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away, said Kingsley Been."

Click here for the rest.

Posted by afinta at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2005

USVI Delegate seeks waiver for Virgin Islands charter boaters

From Caribbean Net News:

"ST THOMAS, USVI: The US Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress, Donna M. Christensen, has announced that she is working with federal and local Customs and Border Protection officials to secure a waiver of the requirement of the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), 33 CFR Part 160, for small vessels operating in US and British Virgin islands waters.

The Aviation and transportation Security Act of 2001 and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 together mandate the collection of certain information on all passenger and crew members who arrive in and depart from the United States on a commercial air or sea carrier."

Click here for the rest.

Posted by afinta at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

Group’s St. John Protests Targeted Businesses

From the St. Thomas Source:

Oct. 10, 2005 – Many St. John residents remain puzzled as to why the St. Croix group, We the People for Justice, targeted St. John restaurants by holding sit-ins over the weekend.

St. John resident Ronnie Jones, who participated in some of the events, said the main purpose was to pressure law enforcement officials into providing information on the alleged rape of Esther Frett. No one has been arrested in connection with this case.

"It seems a long time to get any kind of response," Jones said.

He said that if someone had raped a "Caucasian lady, you know there would have been an arrest even if it wasn't factual."

Jones said the group also targeted Starfish Market because it was the "biggest business on St. John."

Click here for the whole story.

Posted by afinta at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2005

Abandoned historic building destroyed in blaze

From the VI Daily News:

"ST. THOMAS - A 150-year-old historic building on Bunker Hill that preservationists were hoping to turn into a museum was gutted by a fire early Friday.

St. Thomas-St. John Fire Chief Glenn Francis said firefighters from Hotel Company arrived at the Garden Street fire just five minutes after receiving the call about 6 a.m. Friday, but the building was entirely engulfed in flames.

"The fire was very intense," Francis said. "Because of the heat, we were unable to enter, and the roof and floor collapsed."

Francis said 15 firefighters from Hotel Company, Echo Company and some off-duty firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour to bring it under control. It took another hour to extinguish the flames, he said.

Containment of the fire was critical because it was close to other buildings, he said. No other buildings were damaged in the blaze, and no one was injured.

"Firefighters did a pretty good job," Francis said."

Always a sad day when St. Thomas loses another historical building. The rest of the article is here.

Posted by afinta at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2005

USVI march leader calls for blocking tourist dollars on St John

Here is another take on the march, with some more details, from Caribbean Net News:

"Leaders of the group would later say several charter boats canceled reservations once they learned the purpose of the group's trip; to lend a hand to the St. John community in calling attention to the lack of progress the FBI is making in solving the rape of a black woman by four white men on the island."

More here.

Posted by afinta at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

Many Calls for Unity at St. John Rally

So this is good news - it seems that the march on Saturday was a peaceful event. From the St. Thomas Source:

Oct. 1, 2005 –– Although Mario Moorhead threatened to do harm to Cruz Bay businesses if no one is apprehended in the Esther Frett alleged rape case, many people preferred to focus instead on the unity message at Saturday's Virgin Islands Unity Day march.

"After the rally comes the work," the Rev. Charles Crespo said.

Crespo, who shepherds the flock at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church on St. John, said the island needs to address issues like its racial dynamics, insufficient infrastructure, land grab, and accelerated over population.

About 250 people both black and white marched from the Winston Wells Ballfield through the streets of Cruz Bay. A rally followed at the ballfield.

The rest is here.

Posted by afinta at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)

October 02, 2005

U.S. answers V.I. letter on St. John hate crime investigation

The Virgin Islands Daily News is reporting:

In a letter responding to Gov. Charles Turnbull's plea for intervention, a U.S. Justice Department official said Friday that several of its agencies are "devoting substantial resources" to investigating hate crimes on St. John.

Turnbull sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in Washington, D.C., urging him to intervene, expressing concern about the lack of results in the federal investigation of reported hate crimes on the island.

In recent months a series of events - including an assault and reports of a rape, vandalism and several arsons - have resulted in a hate crime investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies.

The rest is here.

Posted by afinta at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2005

Turnbull Asks for FBI and DOJ to Speed Up Investigation and Answers

From the St. Thomas Source:

"Gov. Charles W. Turnbull took St. John's racial tensions to Washington, D.C. by asking U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to press for answers in the federal government's investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation into recent alleged racially-motivated crimes on St. John.

"The incidents have inflamed emotions in St. John and across the territory, resulting in a series of demonstrations and protest marches planned during the first week of October," the governor wrote to Gonzales.

He told Gonzales that the demonstrations are timed to coincide with the day residents commemorate Contract Day, "often referred to as the Fireburn, which is the anniversary of a slave uprising which occurred on St. Croix in 1878."

In fact, slavery ended 30 years earlier –– in 1848. The Fireburn was a workers' rebellion.

A rally, march and motorcade, a joint effort between groups from St. Croix and St. John, are scheduled for Saturday. A week of events including forums are also planned."

More here. Here's another snippet:

"However, Monique-Sibilly Hodge, assistant Tourism commissioner, said that so far, she's not gotten any reports from the territory's travel partners about the situation."

I mean, of course she is going to say that. No one in the industry is going to say anything, because it has the potential to be a very negative story for tourism, and the local economy. Unfortunately this doesn't seem like the kind of story that is just going to go away, or be ignored away. I am hoping that Saturday is a peaceful and calm day on St. John, for everyone's sake, but if things go bad, you can bet Ms. Sibilly-Hodge is going to be hearing a lot.

Posted by afinta at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2005

USVI mired in allegations of hate crimes

Well it isn't the NY Times or CNN or one of the networks, but there is a story out today on the web from Caribbean Net News about the "unrest" in St. John. I think the story has many problems frankly, and includes some very confusing paragraphs and inaccurate statements (so just imagined how it will end up once the main stream media does get a hold of it). It also names Esther Frett as the rape victim:

"The incidents escalated and came to a head on June 30 when Esther Frett was shoved by the storeowner who was subsequently arrested. On Aug. 30, news spread around the islands that Ester (sic) Frett had been kidnapped, raped and thrown into the sea."

From all I have read so far I don't think the police have ever identified Frett as the victim. The piece ends with this:

"Some residents are experiencing economic hardships and have, or are in danger of losing land that has been passed down from generation to generation as a result of wealthy people coming into the islands and purchasing land and building expensive homes thus raising the amount of taxes owed on the property."

Have the property taxes on vacant land on St. John really gone up that much that people are "losing" their property over it? I think this paragraph is a canard and totally wrong, if you think otherwise let me know.

Posted by afinta at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2005

Intentions Questioned

From the Tradewinds:

Some officials view the demonstration as a potentially positive opportunity as long as it remains peaceful and non-violent. “My concern is that although the stated intent is to show solidarity for the native people of St. John, there could be one or two or three or more people in Mario’s group who would have an intent to commemorate the Fireburn in a much more graphic and realistic method than he has been calling for on his radio program,” said Senator-at-Large Craig Barshinger, who said he asked Crucians three weeks ago on AM 670 to not come to St. John if they had any intention of violence. “I said St. John is Love City and we continue to invest the effort necessary to keep it the wonderful multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-racial community that it is,” said Sen. Barshinger. There is a “mixed message” circulating about the march, according to Sen. Barshinger. “On the radio, people are talking about coming in solidarity, but there is an undercurrent that it may be a reenactment of the 1878 Fireburn,” he said. “The question is: why are they coming?” said Barshinger. “My only concern is what is in their hearts; are they coming to affirm the right to be free from intimidation in one’s own home – if so, I applaud them and welcome them.” “But if they are coming with the intention of violence, either toward persons or property, then they should not come,” he added.

More here

Posted by afinta at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

Crucians Preparing to March on St. John

From the St. Thomas Source today:

"From Hurricane Hole to Cruz Bay, our people need to feel comfortable going from one side of the island to another," Kherishetapheru told the crowd.

Is that really true? Are St. Johnians really afraid to cross their own island? I have to question the language of the comment - when someone says "our people" and not "all people" or the "people of St. John" it so obviously feeds into the whole "us and them" mentality, and obviously the "us and them" that Dr. Kherishetapheru is talking about are black people and white people. Click here for the rest of the article.

Posted by afinta at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2005

March in Support of Fretts Scheduled for St. John

From the St. John Source:

Sept. 22, 2005 - Several groups and individuals from St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John are organizing a protest march on St. John on Oct. 1. According to organizers, the protest is intended to "show solidarity for the Frett family."

"We are coming to demand answers and put pressure on law enforcement to be more engaging to the community," Dr. Chenzira Kherishetapheru, one of the organizers of the protest march, said Thursday. Kherishetapheru said she expects the protest to be peaceful. "We are respectfully asking that anyone who is counterproductive not to attend the protest," she said. "We are within our civil and constitutional rights."

On Aug. 30, news spread around the islands that a St. John woman had been kidnapped, raped and assaulted. The woman, later identified as Esther Frett, had previously been the victim of alleged hate crimes. Someone had written racial epithets on the fence of the house she shares her husband, Jerry. There were also several drawings left on their car of a hangman's noose and stick figures of a woman.

Click here for the full article. I think I am so interested in this story because I see it as a microcosm of America, boiled down to this one tiny island. America is a racially and economically divided place - and now on St. John we are going to see a potentially dramatic event unfold (this planned protest) which could be a harbinger of things to come for the rest of the country.

Update: There is also an article in the Daily News today - "St. Croix group getting permits, making plans for St. John protest"

Posted by afinta at 07:43 AM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2005

The real root of our troubles

This was a guest editorial in the VI Daily News last week:

Peter Muilenburg Thursday, September 15th 2005

When my wife and I arrived here 37 years ago we were treated with respect and hospitality. St. John was a model of interracial harmony, a wonderful village to raise a child in, a Caribbean island owned and governed by Caribbean people.

Then things changed, slowly at first, then with frightening rapidity after 9-11. Whereas the early continentals saw themselves as guests and even the very wealthy ones satisfied themselves with modest homes, now more and more continentals came down, some of whom were impatient with the old island ways. People who didn't know "tun-tun" from tuna fish or Arrow from Sparrow were driving around like they owned the place - and guess what, they did!

They bought land which they proceeded first to strip mine, then to bury under tons of cement, erecting monuments to conspicuous consumption that were wholly out of step with St. John's style. The Grand Bay condos symbolize what went wrong with the island. How did that obtrusive monstrosity get approved by CZM? Those condos are selling for $900,000, (you gonna buy one?) selling St. John's beauty - selling it right down the river. Somehow they got permission to block that beauty from those behind them, who came before them and should have some rights. Human rights, born-here rights, live-here rights, raised-my-children-here rights.

Did we need this blot on the bay? No, nobody likes it. Then why was it built? Easy. Because a lot money was made off the deal by some high- finance "whup-whop man" who done the deal and gone.

People came to sail, or to drink cheap rum, for the world class beaches, or for the reggae or the fishing, or just for their piece of paradise. Believe it or not, some even came because the Caribbean culture was such a refreshing change from the uptight, materialistic mainland. And all of them were surprised, and some of them hurt when they first realized that, to increasing numbers of Virgin Islanders, they were the enemy.

The famous Japanese movie Rashomon explores how "reality" changes one incident, a rape, from multiple points of view to show how "reality" changes according to differing perspectives. The circumstances surrounding an East End rape are a case in point. For instance, barely a couple of weeks before the reported East End rape, a white woman in Coral Bay was robbed, bound and beaten in her home, then almost suffocated by taping her mouth and nose with duct tape. Two black men wearing masks were her assailants, she said. That incident barely made a blip on the local radar. The police treated it as humdrum, showed up late, didn't bother with forensics - just the way they have reacted to the spate of armed robberies on the island, unconcerned and useless. Nobody called it a hate crime.

Yet when a black woman claimed she had been raped by three white men half the Senate leaped onto the ferry to hold a meeting on St. John. Virgin Islanders were infuriated. Among the claims: the island was unsafe for native women and children because of white people; Coral Bay was an outpost of the klan and St. John another "Mississippi Burning," and the time was come to deal forcefully with white oppression.

Lost in the rhetoric was the fact that V.I. women and children are much more threatened by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting involving their own kith and kin than by a rampaging klansman. As far as rape goes, plenty of women have been raped in the Virgin Islands (open any newspaper) but does anyone remember a single instance where the rapist was a white continental? Not counting the "alleged" (as the police keep saying) East End rape.

To compare St. John with Mississippi back in the bad old days is dead wrong. It insults the memory of the genuine martyrs of the civil rights movement. Trust me on this one because I was there - I dropped out of college when I was 19 and spent most of 1965 working in Mississippi in the civil rights movement. I heard first hand the horror stories about murderous police and racist judges. I was privileged to meet the unsung heroes and heroines who laid their lives on the line and I saw with my own eyes - how hard to believe now - the signs on the bathrooms and water fountains in the county courthouse that said "Colored" and "White Only."

Here in the Virgin Islands virtually all the police, legislators, judges, commissioners (as well as the governor himself) are from these islands - and this has been the case for a long time. Case closed.

"Continentals are pushing Virgin Islanders off their land." That's one perspective. Another perspective might be: "Virgin Islanders freely sold off their birthright for the yankee dollar." But the most objective would be: "The laws of supply and demand are turning St. John into a high-priced commodity that only the wealthy can afford."

There's the root of our troubles.

Peter Muilenburg is the author of "Adrift On A Sea of Blue Light."

Posted by afinta at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2005

St. Croix group plans demonstration on St. John over rape investigation

From The VI Daily News:

"ST. CROIX - More than four dozen residents met at a Sion Farm ballpark on Sunday to plan an Oct.1 protest on St. John with the hope of pressuring police to find the suspects of a kidnapping and rape reported on that island in August.

Those who attended the meeting expressed dismay at what they see as the slow pace of the investigation and said the government must not let racial violence get a foothold in the territory. The group plans to march in St. John on Oct. 1, and some members said they will remain on the island until an arrest is made.

The protest stems from the reported kidnapping and rape of a woman on St. John on Aug. 30. Police have released little information in the case and have said that the FBI is heading up the case. The FBI is also investigating a number of other incidents described as hate crimes, including an assault, vandalism and several arsons."

The rest is here.

Posted by afinta at 06:42 AM | Comments (3)

September 14, 2005

Lewis Reveals Little on Investigation into Hate Crimes

From the St. Thomas Source:

Sept. 13, 2005 - Police Commissioner Elton Lewis said at a press conference Tuesday that significant progress had been made in the investigation of alleged hate crimes on St. John. He also said that he expected the investigation to be concluded relatively soon, but he gave no timetable or specifics.

He concluded his comments at the police station in Frederiksted, "I urge the public not to allow rumor and innuendo to divide the community."

The rest is here. This is a pretty strange story and it seems to me that there are intimations that not all claims at this point are true.

Posted by afinta at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2005

Harley Calls for Calm, Says Answers Are Coming

From the Source:

Sept. 9, 2005 – In the wake of St. John's recent racial tensions, island Administrator Julien Harley Friday called for calm and level-headedness. However, he said that he soon expects some answers from federal officials investigating the series of incidents that have inflamed St. John. "Hopefully, next week," he said. Harley said he sent out a press release Friday calling for calm to stop the innuendos and rumors that circulate like wildfire around St. John regarding the incidents. Additionally, he said that news about a possible Oct. 1 protest on St. John by people from St. Croix and St. Thomas helped convince him a press release was needed. Oct. 1 has its roots in the territory's history as contract day, the day when laborers were free to sign on with new employers if they so wished. In 1878, laborers' frustrations led to riots that resulted in the burning of many St. Croix estates. "What are they protesting?" Harley asked Friday afternoon.

I have the same question. Click here for the whole article.

Posted by afinta at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)

You can't make this stuff up!

From the AP:

U.S. agents arrest Virgin Islands woman

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands -- U.S. agents arrested a Virgin Islands woman for allegedly posing as an American ambassador, occasionally getting body guard protection and even riding in motorcades, an official said Friday.

Elena Lin Yee was arrested Thursday and charged with impersonating a U.S. government official and misuse of official documents, said Christopher Tremann, a special agent with the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security.

He said Yee used fake credentials to pose as a U.S. ambassador to Grenada, the wife of a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a U.S. ambassador-at-large.

She convinced U.S. and foreign government officials to provide her with body guards, motorcades and access to events, Tremann said.

He said the State Department had investigated Lee in 1996 for using false credentials, but no charges were filed.

He said her arrest came after she allegedly tried to bypass U.S. customs by using State Department credentials. The credentials were authentic but Lee had not been entitled to them, he said.

By posing as a U.S. ambassador-at-large, Yee also briefly held a seat on the advisory board of the National Society of High School Scholars, said Delle Driskell, vice-president of the Atlanta-based organization, which provides scholarships to high school graduates.

She was released on $10,000 bail. Yee, a longtime resident of St. Thomas, the largest U.S. Virgin island, could face up to eight years in prison if convicted. She will be arraigned Sept. 21.

Posted by afinta at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2005

Recent St. John Unrest

For those of you who have yet to hear we recently located to Florence, Italy (http://www.florence-journal.com/) after four and a half years in the Virgin Islands. Running Virgin-Islands-On-Line is still my number one business priority, and even though we are not "on the ground" we know that we will keep up via the web and by returning as often as we can (just like we did for the first 6 years of the site). The recent news out of St. John though has been a test of what kind of news you can get from the web and the feel you can get for a story that is unfolding thousands of miles away.

Anyway, after reading the Source and the Daily News, I finally got a couple of first hand opinions about the whole thing from some people there that have put the situation into more perspective for me (mainly, that it is a "mess" and that there are a lot of rumors and innuendos flying around). For everyone's sake it would be best that cooler heads prevail, and that this episode blows over. St. John is special to a lot of us for a lot of reasons. I never personally felt any "racial tensions" there as the press is so ready to label the recent goings on. Let's hope that the police and the FBI can make heads or tails of this situation and that a result that satisfies everyone comes about, without any more hate or violence.

Posted by afinta at 07:15 PM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2005

U.S. Virgin Islands Airline Says French Ban On its Flights Unjustified

From the AP:

"Air St. Thomas was among six carriers on a blacklist released by the French civil aviation authority Sunday in an attempt to allay public fears about flying after a recent series of deadly crashes. Although all the airlines had been banned in recent years, France had never before made a blacklist public."

More here.

Posted by afinta at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2005

The Battle of Belize

The Miami Herald takes a swipe at Jeff Prosser today:

The battle of BelizeThe government of Belize hailed the 2004 sale of the national telephone company to a U.S.-Caribbean corporation as a moment of promise and partnership. And the principal in the nearly $90 million deal -- Palm Beach and St. Croix entrepreneur Jeffrey J. Prosser -- declared he was ''proud'' to be part of the small country's development goals.

Click here for the rest (subscription required)

Posted by afinta at 10:48 AM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2005

Prosser Loses, Belize Wins in Miami Court

More on the ongoing saga of Jeff Prosser from the St. Thomas Source:

Aug. 16, 2005 -- A federal judge in Miami ruled Tuesday that she had no objection to the Belize government's seizure earlier this year of Belize Telecommunications Ltd. (BTL) from Jeffrey Prosser’s Innovative Communications Corp.

The judge affirmed the seizure; lifted a temporary injunction against the government of Belize (GOB), which she had issued earlier at Prosser’s request; and awarded "nominal" damages to ICC on a minor issue in the complex case.

ICC--which owns Innovative Telephone, formerly Vitelco--is one of the largest corporate employers in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Funds borrowed from Vitelco had been used by ICC in the Belizean phone company deal.

Prosser’s control of BTL had been based on a $28.5 million payment, the assumption of the debts of a failed Belizean telecom firm, and the issuance of a promissory note for another $57 million. When the $57 million was not forthcoming, the Belize government seized the phone company and Prosser sued in the Miami courts. Earlier, the Belize government had agreed to submit itself to the jurisdiction of that court in order to secure a loan, financing the deal, from a Florida bank.

Click here to read the rest.

Posted by afinta at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2005

Great...

American Airlines Increases International Fare Surcharges; Increase of $10 Each Way to Help Offset High Fuel Costs

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines today increased surcharges on fares to/from most of its international destinations, as well as to/from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The increase is $10 one way, $20 round trip, and is effective immediately. The increase will help offset the record high cost of jet fuel.

Posted by afinta at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2005

Gov. Turnbull Signs EDC Reform Bill Into Law

From the Source:

Aug. 15, 2005 -- Joining efforts to jumpstart the territory’s economy, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull signed into law this week bills designed to create reform within the Economic Development Commission and to promote the growth of small businesses within the community.

The EDC Reform Bill, passed by the Senate in early July, will effectively help to close loopholes within the existing law, therefore protecting against any future abuse of the system (See "EDC Reform Bill Clears Committee".) Additionally, the EDC law will:

-create opportunities for residents who want to open a business and receive higher amounts of EDC benefits;

-implement a tier system in order to improve qualifications for loans;

-enhance the opportunity for EDC beneficiaries to make loans to others;

-and reduces application and compliance fees for small businesses in order to encourage local entrepreneurs to seek EDC benefits.

Click here for the rest

Posted by afinta at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2005

Nancy Anderson Quoted in the NY Times

From The New York TImes:

Nancy Anderson has to work harder than do most real estate agents to keep her vacationing tenants happy. As the president of McLaughlin Anderson Luxury Villas in St. Thomas, which rents properties throughout the British and the United States Virgin Islands and in Grenada, she faces the dichotomy of trying to serve impatient clients on the islands - where patience is a necessity.

"Whether you are renting ski houses in Steamboat Springs or beach houses in Nantucket, the clients we are now all dealing with have sky-high expectations," she said. "Just trying telling a client that they can't listen to music by the pool because there is an islandwide power outage or that the Jacuzzi isn't working because we have to order a broken part from California."

Then there are the children, who, Ms. Anderson said, have their own expectations - including a DVD player and DVD's and access to instant messaging.

The whole thing is below the fold.

August 12, 2005 DVD's! Wi-Fi! The Race to Woo Renters With Extras

By JENNIFER CONLIN
LAST summer, Steve Messinger, owner of a two-bedroom summer lake house in Chautauqua, N.Y., decided to put a washer and dryer in the cottage that had once belonged to his parents so he could rent it out. "To me a washer and dryer qualified as amenities," said Mr. Messinger, who grew up spending summers in the house on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

Hardly. Had he talked to Joanna Dahlbeck, director of rentals at the Vacation Properties Group, which handles 155 condominiums and houses in the Chautauqua area, he would have quickly learned that a washer and dryer are now a requirement.

"Ten years ago, we had properties that had no television, no phones, no clock radios and no laundry machines," Ms. Dahlbeck said. "Basically, no creature comforts. Now, we ask all owners to have some kind of dial-up access for computers and a television, preferably one with a remote control. Since 9/11, renters want some kind of visual contact with the outside world.

"We don't insist on air-conditioning," Ms. Dahlbeck added, "but after this summer's heat wave that could also become more of a necessity."

Even Ms. Dahlbeck's list barely cuts it in today's rental-house market. "I have customers who want an espresso maker, extra cable channels, a gas - not charcoal - grill, nice china and a gourmet kitchen," said Joyce Nadeau, director of the Cape Cod rental division for Kinlin Grover GMAC. "The days of the old cape cottage with knotty pine are gone," she said. "And if the house has knotty pine, it has to be painted white."

Renters increasingly only want houses with the amenities of their own homes, particularly at $4,000 to $5,000 a week for a lake house, or in the case of many of Ms. Nadeau's clients, $12,000 to $15,000 a week to be on the ocean. "The high-end clients in particular want the upscale feel of staying in a hotel resort but the privacy and comforts of staying in a home," she said.

Luckily there are owners who live in the style to which many top-end tenants are accustomed. Don Wall, a retired data services salesman in Denver, rents out his 9-bedroom, 10-and-a-half-bathroom home in Beaver Creek, Colo., for about 18 weeks a year. The house, called Elk View, has a six-person Jacuzzi and a Finnish sauna, an exercise room, a heated boot room and a wine cellar and tasting room. It also has Wi-Fi; five TV's, including a 55-inch flat screen; Calphalon cookware; and a dining room that can seat 22. During Christmas week the house, which sleeps 20, costs $4,050 a night.

Mr. Wall, who bought the house in 1996 with his brother-in law, Patrick Morris, a retired executive in St. Louis, insists that their own families like the luxury touches as much as the renters do. "I like making the house grander and grander for our family," he said, adding that he would have put in a heated driveway had it not been so large. "But our renters appreciate it. I had one Big Cigar come by who wanted to rent it, and he said to me the moment he saw the master bedroom: 'I don't have to look any further. I have those same Charisma sheets on my bed at home.' "

Mr. Wall and Mr. Morris, who handle the renting themselves, also offer prearrival delivery of rental skis, groceries and liquor as well as complimentary transportation in Beaver Creek.

"We know everyone in town, so it isn't difficult for us to organize," Mr. Wall said. "And again, we do it for ourselves when we are here, so why not offer it to renters?"

Indeed, services like stocking the refrigerator ahead of time are becoming standard for high-end renters. "Easily, the biggest difference I have seen in the marketplace is the demand for concierge services," said Mary Connolly, who with her brother, Michael, owns Peak Properties in Vail, Colo., which caters primarily to executives and their families. "They don't just want the nice house, they want massages, dinner reservations, a ski instructor and a chef. We provide all of that," said Ms. Connolly, who in ski season has a staff of 20.

Nancy Anderson has to work harder than do most real estate agents to keep her vacationing tenants happy. As the president of McLaughlin Anderson Luxury Villas in St. Thomas, which rents properties throughout the British and the United States Virgin Islands and in Grenada, she faces the dichotomy of trying to serve impatient clients on the islands - where patience is a necessity.

"Whether you are renting ski houses in Steamboat Springs or beach houses in Nantucket, the clients we are now all dealing with have sky-high expectations," she said. "Just trying telling a client that they can't listen to music by the pool because there is an islandwide power outage or that the Jacuzzi isn't working because we have to order a broken part from California."

Then there are the children, who, Ms. Anderson said, have their own expectations - including a DVD player and DVD's and access to instant messaging.

IT often falls to agents to inform owners that their houses don't make the amenities cut. "It's a delicate situation to go into someone's house and say that Brady Bunch furniture has to go or your taste stinks," said Ms. Connolly of Peak Properties. "So instead we say to make money you have to invest money. You have to put a TV in every bedroom, put in the steam shower, install the granite kitchen counters."

Heather Maitre of Ramsey, N.J., who with her husband, Frank, owns a five-bedroom log home at Okemo in Vermont, knows the value of upgrading a house. During New Year's week, their newly built cabin, which has a game room with a mahogany pool table and two outdoor Jacuzzis with waterfalls, rents for $1,200 a night. "These days you can buy a new TV for $300, find beautiful bed comforters and sheets for $50 to $60 at Kohl's and purchase someone's old video library for next to nothing on eBay," Ms. Maitre said. "And then you can, of course, charge more for your home."

Some people, of course, opt out of the amenities race. Gail Rodgers owns a three-property compound on a large pond in Chatham on Cape Cod and rents out two of the two-bedroom cottages each summer. They do not have air-conditioning, fancy kitchens or outdoor showers. But she does leave a vase of flowers and a book filled with local information for each tenant. And while similar properties rent for about $2,000 a week, Ms. Rodgers asks no more than $1,800 for each of hers. "Many people tell me I could charge much more, but I like the people who come to me now and don't want to necessarily attract a higher-paying renter," she said.

And even though Mr. Messinger in Chautauqua hasn't put in a river rock fireplace, he hasn't had any trouble renting his house this summer for $2,500 a week. "Hey, it could be a lot worse," he said. "A guy down the road from us makes the renters change their own beds at the end of their stay!"

Posted by afinta at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

August 08, 2005

V.I. Government Moves to Take Lindqvist Beach

This is good news - of course the government screwed aroud for awhile and could have done this at a much better price, but the fact they did it is great. Personally I would like to see more effort put into this property and let the developers have what they want at Vessup Bay and the East End. There really isn't much to save there in my eyes, but Lindqvist could be turned into a beautiful park/beach.

Aug. 4, 2005 –– At 2 p.m. Thursday, Lindqvist Beach became the property of the Virgin Islands. Court papers were filed Thursday afternoon which –– after years of anxiety and public concern –– finally give the beach back to the community.

The pristine beach, which sits on 21 acres near Smith Bay, has been a well-loved spot for family gatherings, picnics and parties for years. Its sparkling white shoreline creates one of the territory's most desirable beaches.

Today's action, in effect, divests from the owners of the property –– Virgin Island Investments, LLC –– who were in the process of developing the last East End beach to the V. I. government. Elliot Mac Davis, solicitor general, said Thursday afternoon, "The action of eminent domain filed pursuant to the V. I. Code by virtue of filing the action exercises the government's authority under eminent domain."

Read the rest here

Posted by afinta at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2005

Negotiations for Developing Maho Bay Are Under Way

There is a story in the St. John Source about the possible development of Maho. I don't see any mention of a public school being built there, which only a few months ago seemed like a real possibility. One interesting paragraph:

"Dudley said that today, no agency would allow a road to be built that close to the shore, but when the North Shore Road was built in 1961, people were less environmentally aware."

From what I have heard (and I think there are pictures that can support this) Maho was one of the largest beaches on St. John - width wise. Now it is really quite narrow. The reason is that there was so much sand there that the Army Corp of Engineers took that sand to fill in the marsh at Cruz Bay where the Westin is. Back then what they didn't understand was how the beaches formed and assumed the beach would come back - it never did. So even though the road is close to the beach, it originally was probably much further from the water line.

Posted by afinta at 10:28 AM | Comments (3)

August 04, 2005

Innovative Threatens Action Against Belize Government

From the St. Thomas Source:

What a hoot - more Innovative shenanigans. How Prosser gets away with this stuff is beyond me. I am not going to be surprised the day the feds come after him.

Aug. 3, 2005 - Innovative Communication Corp. threatened about everything but invading the country if the Belize government passes a proposal to seize what ICC considers its own assets in that Central American country.

Rumors had been going through the country that the Belize Legislature was planning to pass legislation to cancel the special share of the Belizean phone company owned by ICC. The rumors became a news story on Tuesday as a TV station reported the action was imminent.

Virgin Islanders are concerned because the money used to buy other shares of the Belizean phone company was borrowed from the V.I. telephone company, formerly known as Vitelco, which is now owned by ICC. (See "Vitelco Still Waiting for ICC to Repay Loan".)

Click here to read the rest

Posted by afinta at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2005

WICO Head Looks to Strong Winter Season

From the St. Thomas Source:

Aug 2, 2005 – The perception that the Caribbean is a safe destination coupled with the strong value of the euro against the dollar means St. Thomas should have a good winter cruise ship season.

"We expect a 3 percent growth in the number of passengers," West Indian Co. chief executive officer Edward Thomas said Tuesday.

The cruise ship lines have already reported strong bookings, Thomas said, adding that he expects the growth to reach 7 percent the following year.

While the number of ships calling isn't on the upswing, Thomas said ships are growing in size. He said that when he took over the WICO helm 11 years ago, the average ship held 400 people. Today, on a day when three ships are in port, the number of passengers visiting St. Thomas could reach 10,000.

Click here for the rest:

Posted by afinta at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2005

St. Croix To Be Studied for National Heritage Status

From The St. Thomas Source:

July 28, 2005- Getting on board with efforts to revitalize St. Croix, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation on Tuesday to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing National Heritage areas throughout the island.

"I can think of no more fitting place that should be studied for possible designation as a National Heritage Area than my home island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands," Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen said.

According to a recent press release, Christensen pitched the island to national representatives by playing up its cultural and historical achievements. "The island of St. Croix has a long, distinguished and varied history, including being the site where Christopher Columbus first stepped onto what is now American soil," the delegate said.

Click here to read the rest

Posted by afinta at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2005

Red Hook Group Vows to Continue Vessup Beach Fight

From the St. Thomas Source:
The Red Hook Community Alliance has no plans to give up in its efforts at saving Vessup Beach -- a battle the nonprofit organization has been waging for more than a year. On Monday evening, the group met to discuss its next plan of action. Click here for the rest

Posted by afinta at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2005

Emile Griffith returns to the USVI: An exclusive interview

ST THOMAS, USVI: The first thing I noticed about Emile Griffith was his smile. It could definitely light up any room. He also has a firm hand shake, and a strikingly muscular stance. Dressed in 'stylish casual', the six time world champ wore a pair of gold boxing gloves on a gold chain around his neck.

With Mr. Griffith were his daughter, Christine, who owns a vending business on St. Thomas, and adopted son, Louise, who resides with him in New York. The four of us set out on foot for a short walk to a tattoo parlor near the Havensight cruise ship docks.

Click here for the whole story from Caribbean Net News

Posted by afinta at 01:05 PM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2005

Cruzan Rum

When I was in the states in April I noticed a markedly higher profile for Cruzan Rum - it was in the bar of an Asbury Park, NJ restaurant I was in and I also noticed it on North Carolina when my buddies and I were on a golf trip. When I got back to St. Thomas I did a little poking around and found out about the company that actually owns Cruzan now, and there pretty aggresive plans for marketing Cruzan and the other rums they bottle. Seemed like an interesting story.

Today brings this news:

TICKER SHOCK: CRUZAN INTERNATIONAL (RUM) MONDAY'S CLOSE: $26.31, UP $12.26

Investors of Cruzan International had reason to celebrate Monday after the company's shares surged 87 percent. Shots, anyone?

The West Palm Beach, Fla.-based company, which produces and distributes the Cruzan line of rums from the Virgin Islands, said late Friday that Sweden's state-owned liquor company V&S Vin Spirit had agreed to buy a controlling stake for $28.37 a share. That's nearly double the stock's price a month ago.

Wish I would have bought some of the stock!

Posted by afinta at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2005

Postman arrested for theft when wife unwittingly returns gold

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - Authorities arrested a U.S. postal employee who allegedly stole two gold bars from a package, only to have his wife unwittingly return the bars to the store that mailed them, court documents showed Friday.

The wife took the bars to the West Indian Creations Jewelry store in the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas, trying to have them made into jewelry, according to a statement by U.S. Postal Inspections officer Richard Santamaria.

The store employees recognized the unique-looking bars because they had accidentally been mixed with another metal and had been bent. The Attleboro, Mass. shop where the bars were to have been sent had called the previous day to report the package had arrived empty.

The employees notified postal inspectors, who set a trap for the woman's husband, Elmo David. The inspectors rigged a box of jewelry with a transmitter that would alert them if it was opened.

David was alone at the Air Mail Facility at Cyril E. King Airport when the transmitter went off Thursday morning, Santamaria said.

Posted by afinta at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005

WICO to shift night traffic to Crown Bay

The Daily News has an article today about the Crown Bay cruise ship dock.

"We will be shifting some of our night traffic into the Crown Bay port," Thomas said, speaking at a session of UVI's 11th annual Summer Institute for Future Global Leaders of the Caribbean. "The West Indian Co. will basically be a daytime operation." "

I think this whole project is in a bit of trouble - I have heard rumors that there are basically no tenants, and the rents are very high. If ships are not regularly scheduled how are the potential tenants going to survive? I want this project to work for the benfit of the island, but it seems to have a long way to go and a lot of hurdles in the way. Read the article here.

Posted by afinta at 12:36 PM | Comments (2)

May 23, 2005

All of Water Island is now officially part of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

From the Daily News:

Gov. Charles Turnbull executed the quitclaim deed for the territory to purchase the final 200 acres of the island owned by the U.S. Interior Department for $10 on Monday, St. Thomas-Water Island Administrator James O'Bryan Jr. said. On Wednesday, the document was officially recorded in the Tax Assessor's Office, solidifying the transfer.

"This is a proud and historic day for the people of the Virgin Islands as we have now taken full ownership of the fourth largest island which comprises the Virgin Islands," Turnbull said in a written statement issued Friday.

Water Island, at 500 acres, is the fourth-largest island in the territory and is located south of the Sub Base area. For years, the federal government leased land on the island to people who developed it over the years. Since the early 1990s, those tenants began purchasing the leased properties - 250 acres in all - directly from the Department of the Interior. Jurisdiction over the land purchased by those owners transferred to the territory when they were sold, and the territory has been receiving property taxes from those lands for several years.

In 1996, the transfer of remaining federal land on Water Island began with 50 acres - most of the island's roads, beaches and other public areas - switching hands from the Interior Department to the territory. The intent was always to eventually transfer all of the government-owned property to the territory, O'Bryan said.

Click here for the whole article.

Posted by afinta at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2005

Group Doesn't Want to Give Up Land for St. John

From the St. Thomas Source:

May 12, 2005 – Members of the Hassel Island Preservation Trust Inc. are concerned about a proposed land swap between the V.I. government and the V.I. National Park Service. The government is currently negotiating to exchange nine-tenths of an acre of land on Hassel Island for 10 acres of land near Maho Bay on St. John from the National Park Service for the construction of a high school. However, The Hassel Island Preservation Trust doesn't like the proposal because the Hassel Island parcel is the only remaining public land on the approximately 200-acre island, and it houses three historic relics – Cowell's Battery on Signal Hill, Fort Willoughby and the Garrison House. The National Park and individuals own the rest of Hassel Island. Rik Van Rensselaer, president of the Hassel Island Preservation Trust, said Thursday his organization was "disgusted" with the government negotiations. "It's all been done quietly," Van Rensselaer said. "We feel the properties on Hassel Island belong to the people, and if they're going to swap it, the decision needs to be made by the people."

There is more here.

Posted by afinta at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2005

This is good news for us

One of the few bright spots of the Department of Tourisms efforts in selling the territory was Martin PR out of Virginia, and especially the efforts there of Luana Wheatley. So what does the DT do? Fire Martin and go with a new firm. Their loss is the gain of the Hotel & Tourism Association (of which we are a member in good standing). This is from the Daily News:

Luana Wheatley, longtime manager of public relations for the V.I. Tourism Department, has taken a new position as marketing director with the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association.

Wheatley's move to represent the private sector comes one month after the V.I. Tourism Department announced it was changing public relations agencies.

The V.I. Tourism Department announced in February that it had replaced its public relations agency of nine years, Martin Public Relations, with M. Booth & Associates of New York after a comprehensive public relations account review.

Wheatley, who was the V.I. government's account supervisor with Martin Public Relations, took her new position working on behalf of the private sector on March 1.

"I am proud of my past work with the USVI and am happy to continue to participate in the marketing effort," Wheatley said. "The hoteliers have supported me since I was a fledgling in this industry and I am excited to use my experience to help promote our wide variety of products to the travel consumer."

"We are very excited that Luana has agreed to join our team," said Beverly Nicholson, President of the V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association. "She brings a wealth of experience that will assist the association with its strategic plan to market aggressively the accommodations, attractions, dining, activities and retail opportunities of the membership. Her appointment will allow us to expand our overall marketing and public relations efforts as she directs the plans of our Cooperative Marketing Initiative."

A Virgin Islands native, Wheatley spent the past nine years with Martin Public Relations. In that position, she managed the territory's strategic public relations efforts, including the distribution of updates to national and international media, press tours, special event planning, trade show coordination, photo and film shoots, crisis communications, and production of promotional materials. Before working in the travel industry, she spent years in radio and as a window dresser and event planner.

Posted by afinta at 02:47 PM

March 12, 2005

Underwater Explorer Returns, Finds Fewer Fish

From the St. Thomas Source:

March 11, 2005 –– While the reef structure still looks good, most of the big fish are gone, acclaimed oceanographer Sylvia Earle said Friday after she dove at Lameshur Bay, St. John.      "Nobody's home. I didn't even see a barracuda," she said.      Earle is in the Virgin Islands to help the Ocean Conservancy launch its book, "The State of the Coral Reefs of the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Click here for the whole article

While I don't doubt there are fewer fish around than there were 35 years ago, statements like this seem a little simplistic and silly. Who has snorkeled in the Virgin Islands and not seen a barracuda at one point? She goes down for one dive, doesn't see a barracuda and makes it sound like there are none left? Maybe it is just the quote standing by itself but it doesn't make a lot of sense to make statements like this.

Posted by afinta at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)

February 18, 2005

Former Saks Fifth Avenue Veteran Joins Island Capital Group; Affluent Lifestyle Destination Concept to Launch in U.S. Virgin Islands

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2005--Island Capital Group, LLC today announced that it has named former Saks Fifth Avenue marketing veteran Sheri Wilson-Gray to build the brand essence of its Yacht Haven initiative, a new lifestyle destination concept designed for the affluent customer drawn to the boating lifestyle.

Plans are underway for the first Yacht Haven in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands (USVI), where a world-class mega-yacht marina will be enriched by an upscale destination center including shopping, dining, entertainment and leisure activities for tourists, yacht owners and residents alike. The facility is directly adjacent to one of the busiest cruise-ship destination ports in the western hemisphere, where almost two million passengers per year come to visit.

"The St. Thomas location is the ideal site to launch our Yacht Haven concept due to its unique location at the very nexus of land, air and water transportation for the entire eastern Caribbean," said Andrew Farkas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Island Capital Group. "The strength of the yachting industry, together with an explosive growth in the mega yacht segment have created an opportunity to build a new lifestyle model around luxury marinas," said Mr. Farkas. Prior to forming Island Capital, Mr. Farkas was the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive of Insignia Financial Group, one of the world's largest real estate services companies that was merged with CB Richard Ellis in 2003.

Sheri Wilson-Gray, former Chief Marketing Officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, will create the core attributes of the Yacht Haven brand. With extensive expertise in building world-class brands, Ms. Wilson-Gray has joined as Executive Vice President and will direct all sales and leasing opportunities to ensure the right selection of stores, entertainment, and accommodations to meet this affluent consumer's needs.

Phase 1 of the Yacht Haven project is scheduled for completion during the first quarter in 2006 and will include approximately 80,000 sq ft high-end retail, 31,000 sq ft office, four waterfront restaurants and an exclusive private yacht club. Twelve luxury condominiums and a variety of marina services are also scheduled during phase 1. Ultimately, the Yacht Haven project will include a conference center, additional high-end retail and a 70-room boutique hotel.

"This is a new twist on the lifestyle destination concept driven by the need for new luxury experiences," said Ms. Wilson-Gray, who will report to Elie Finegold, President of the Yacht Haven project. "I am excited to build this concept with such an accomplished group of real estate professionals."

"We are thrilled to have attracted a seasoned veteran like Sheri with a track record of building strong relationships with luxury brands," said Mr. Finegold. "Sheri has an intimate understanding of this affluent consumer's wants and needs, which will be instrumental in the development of the Yacht Haven concepts."

About Island Capital Group, LLC

Island Capital Group, LLC is a real estate merchant banking firm specializing in real estate development, real estate securities and securitization. The company owns various interests in real estate and real estate securities with an aggregate capitalization in excess of $1 billion. The Company is developing luxury marinas in key locations around the world that will include commercial, entertainment and leisure activities for tourists, yacht owners and residents alike. The Yacht Haven project has been financed by a group of prominent investors led by Andrew Farkas.

Posted by afinta at 11:09 AM

February 11, 2005

Jeffrey Prosser Strikes Again!

From the AP:

Belize Seizes Telephone Company From U.S

Belize has seized control of a telecommunications company that it sold to a U.S. Virgin Islands firm last year, saying the private firm has failed to pay for controlling shares, the Belize government said Friday.

St. Croix-based Innovative Communication Corp, LLC has not paid $57 million for a 52.5 percent stake in Belize Telecommunications, Belize Prime Minister Said Musa said in a written statement.

The Belize government, which signed the deal with Innovative in March, is now offering to sell the shares to local investors, Musa said. Belize officials declined to comment further.

Belize Telecommunications provides about 108,000 fixed phones and cellular lines in Belize, making it the Central American country's biggest provider.

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for the St. Croix company, acknowledged Innovative did not make the payments but did not explain why. He said the company has invested or assumed obligations amounting to more than $75 million, expanding and improving services throughout Belize.

Davis said Innovative would try to reach an agreement with the Belize government to keep control of the company, however.

Belize government's actions "have no legal basis ... and are contrary to corporate governance rules," he said.

Innovative also owns companies controlling a media network that includes Innovative Telephone, Innovative Cable TV, and The Daily News newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The company employees 660 people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and provides telephone service to more than 73,000 people.

Posted by afinta at 10:29 PM

February 04, 2005

Lots of St. John real estate news

Our friend Frank Barnako has a run down on many recent happenings in the St. John real estate market. There is a new marina planned for Coral Bay, a new shopping center in Coral Bay (beginning to see a pattern here?), and a new housing development - in CORAL BAY! Hey, maybe it isn't too late to still buy real estate there. We have also heard via the coconut telegraph that there are plans for a second marina in... Coral Bay. You would think that a U.S. Customs check point, ferry service to the B.V.I. and more would follow... maybe they can stuff an airport out there somewhere?

Posted by afinta at 01:56 PM

V.I. anglers' outcry answered, restrictions eased

From the VI Daily News:

Local fishermen are calling last week's meeting of the Caribbean Fishery Management Council a preliminary victory in the battle over fishing regulations in federal waters surrounding the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The council had considered closing specific areas of the federal waters to all fishing, either all year or in certain months.

Among local fishermen, a bone of contention has been that the council used data from Puerto Rico in its draft document without considering 30 years of catch data from V.I. fishermen. The V.I. fishing industry relies on federal waters, which begin three miles offshore of the Virgin Islands, compared with nine miles off Puerto Rico shores.

Responding to those concerns, the council met last week in Puerto Rico and decided to recommend less-severe restrictions than those originally proposed.

"What we got was significant," said David Olsen, staff scientist for the St. Thomas Fishermen's Association, who attended the meeting in Puerto Rico.

Read the rest here

Posted by afinta at 11:01 AM

February 02, 2005

Here is an idiotic article -

From the Daily Californian comes this poorly researched article:

Pathogen of the Week: Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

By SHARON TANG-QUAN
Contributing Writer
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

The next time you’re at a ritzy seafood restaurant in the Virgin Islands beware: you could be the victim of Ciguatera fish poisoning. Contaminated tropical reef fish have the ability to cause symptoms within a few minutes of digestion.

Dinoflagellates are the microscopic sea plants that produce the ciguatoxins that result in ciguatera poisoning. The toxicity increases as a large fish eats the small fish that ate the dinoflagellates, thus the large predatory tropical reef fish usually contain the highest concentrations of toxicity. (there's more...)

Anyway - where does something like this even come from? Have you ever known of a "ritzy" V.I. restaurant that serves reef fish? This is just such a stupid commentary I don't even know how to explain it. I scratch my head when people write stuff like this.

Posted by afinta at 09:46 AM | Comments (2)

Address draws mixed reaction from both critics and supporters By TIM FIELDS and MEGAN POINSKI

From the Daily News:

ST. THOMAS - While some senators said Gov. Charles Turnbull's 2005 State of the Territory speech painted an encouraging picture of the government's financial future, most said the governor failed to address chronic problems such as crime, education and procurement.

Senate President Lorraine Berry said, "The governor was upbeat in his outlook, but I think he should be tempered by the challenges before us."

Sen. Terrence Nelson said Turnbull's speech was "very promising" and he looks forward to the implementation of the governor's ideas, especially promises to help St. Croix.

"I hope the governor is really serious about what he said about addressing our problems with us in a holistic way," Nelson said. "I've heard the same things before. I want to make sure he's not just talking and that he will pursue these things in a realistic way."

Sen. Neville James said Turnbull gave a heartening speech, and agreed with Nelson on the need for action.

"He is looking ahead. We need to act instead of react," James said. "I look forward to seeing what the executive branch will have to offer."

Sen. Craig Barshinger said Turnbull gave a brilliant speech, but hoped his words were not empty.

"He was even inspirational," Barshinger said. "I hope this is a speech for more than tonight. I hope each and every day for the next two years he wakes up and makes this a reality."

One thing missing from the speech, Barshinger said, was misuse of public funds

Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone also said Turnbull should have mentioned problems with the procurement code.

"That is the center of much of the corruption," Malone said.

Malone said Turnbull gave an "honest" assessment of the state of the territory from increasing revenues to concerns about how new federal tax laws will affect the territory's Economic Development Commission tax-incentive program.

Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste criticized Turnbull's statement that raises for government employees will be considered only after he knows the fallout from changes to the tax laws, while money to fund the new Virgin Islands Supreme Court is a top priority.

Though many senators appreciated Turnbull's call to arms to save St. Croix, Jn Baptiste said it is too little, too late.

"He's been six years in that office and now he's saying St. Croix needs urgent attention. Has he been fast asleep?" he said.

Sen. Liston Davis also questioned Turnbull's sudden activism toward St. Croix.

"Now he said he's personally addressing the charge to bring more cruise ships to St. Croix. Is that a voice of no confidence in the Tourism commissioner?" Davis said.

Davis listed a number of topics Turnbull did not address, including the homeless, school repairs, road repairs, relocating Vendor's Plaza on St. Thomas, improving mass transit and reducing traffic. Turnbull mentioned crime, Davis said, but offered no solutions for fighting it.

Sen. Pedro Encarnacion agreed that action is needed to fight crime.

"He indicated that you can see progress taking place, but safety isn't here. There is a rising crime rate. The rising safety needs should have been addressed," said Encarnacion, who is chairman of the Senate Public Safety, Homeland Security and Justice Committee.

Sen. Ronald Russell said that the lack of vocational and technical training in schools should have been addressed.

In his address, Turnbull became passionate in his disapproval of Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen's proposal to create a chief financial officer, much to Christensen's surprise. The bill does not take any power away from the territory, and she will not withdraw it, she said.

"The people of the Virgin Islands were very clear that this is what they want," Christensen said. "You have to listen to the people who elected you."

Sen. Louis Hill, Sen. Juan Figueroa-Serville and Sen. Roosevelt David said the people must have a say in formulating a territorial constitution. They issued unanimous disapproval of Turnbull's idea to convert the Revised Organic Act into a constitution.

David said he believes the Revised Organic Act is a "colonial" document and that "we've grown beyond that." Figueroa-Serville said that the constitution should be created and not just "handed to us."

Sen. Adlah Donastorg Jr. said Turnbull mentioned his concern about the environment and quality of life territorywide but actions speak louder than words.

"The true test of the pudding is in the taste. You have to produce," Donastorg said.

Sen. Celestino White Sr. had little to say about Turnbull's address.

White said he is still trying to digest it and that nothing stood out, "It was little bits of things that have been promised before."

Posted by afinta at 09:43 AM

February 01, 2005

State of the Territory Address tonight

A year ago, Gov. Charles Turnbull declared the Virgin Islands' economy in initial stages of recovery and said with "cautious optimism" that better times were ahead in his State of the Territory Address.

Turnbull trumpeted the Economic Development Commission tax-incentive program as one of the "key elements in our fiscal recovery plan." The program lures businesses to the islands with attractive tax breaks - up to 100 percent of personal income taxes.

"In addition to creating good paying jobs for our young people with business and accounting degrees and generating substantial revenues for the government, the EDC program is continuing to have a positive effect throughout our economy," Turnbull said.

What a difference a year makes.

In October, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a bill that brings strict new residency and source of income rules to EDC beneficiaries. The rules state that business owners must spend 183 days a year in the territory and that all money made on the U.S. mainland would no longer be eligible for the tax breaks the program provides.

Months later, the impact of those new rules looms as an ominous question mark. The territory is waiting on the results of an economic analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Turnbull, local politicians and EDC representatives have been in close contact with the federal government, hoping to persuade the U.S. Treasury Department to create exceptions to the new rules that are favorable to the program so that beneficiaries do not leave the territory. At least four businesses have indicated to the V.I. Labor Department they will shut down operations in the territory because of the changes in the law, according to documents released last week.

In tonight's State of the Territory speech, Turnbull is sure to address the economic impact of the changes to the EDC laws and may have numbers to back up his analysis. On Friday, Government House spokesman James O'Bryan Jr. was tight-lipped about what the governor may say, but he promised Turnbull will not beat around the bush.

"He is going to be straightforward and frank," O'Bryan said.

The territory's economic condition historically has dominated Turnbull's State of the Territory addresses, and this year should be no different.

In April, Turnbull presented a sobering budget forecast to Democratic senators. The analysis, prepared by Banc of America Securities, projected that the territory will have a $92.4 million deficit by the end of Fiscal Year 2005 - including a $9.5 million General Fund shortfall.

"Reliance on one-time revenue sources and long-term debt are not sustainable solutions," Turnbull wrote. "Tough choices must be made immediately to prevent acute financial distress in the future. We must substantially reduce the cost of government operations."

The FY 2005 budget attempted to do that, with Turnbull trimming his proposal to $565 million - $25 million less than he proposed for the FY 2004 budget. Three new taxes were included in Turnbull's proposal, all of which were taken out by the Senate.

The Senate passed a $607 million budget, which was signed into law - except for about $10 million for negotiated raises for unionized government employees and V.I. Legislature staff. With the uncertainty caused by the changes to federal laws governing the EDC tax incentive program, Turnbull said the territory may not be able to sustain the raises.

All of the financial news in the last year was not bad, however. The Federal Emergency Management Agency forgave the territory's $185 million loan for damages caused in Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, and Internal Revenue Bureau Director Louis Willis said that tax collections are improving.

With economic decline, increasing jobless rates, high crime, mixed messages on government tourism promotion and a perception among residents of government apathy, the future of St. Croix is likely to consume a large portion of Turnbull's speech.

Though many of the issues that face St. Croix are not new, voters in November brought the island's plight to the forefront. Four of the seven senators representing St. Croix are new, and the freshman at-large senator won his seat from St. Croix votes. The 26th Legislature is setting St. Croix's concerns at the top of their agenda, and talk of re-energizing the island is on the lips of the territory's policymakers.

Last year, Turnbull trumpeted more than $45 million in expected capital projects coming to St. Croix in his State of the Territory Address. Many of these projects, including road repairs and the restoration of Times Square, are under way or completed.

However, road repairs are not a solution to the island's flagging economy. According to the V.I. Bureau of Labor Statistics, St. Croix's unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in November - 2Â percent higher than that on St. Thomas.

Tourism, while slowly increasing on St. Croix, is nowhere near the volume on St. Thomas. The lack of a comprehensive plan from the V.I. government to bring more cruise ships to St. Croix - as they promised to provide to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association in 2001 - has raised suspicions about the government's sincerity in efforts to reinvigorate tourism.

Turnbull, a former Education commissioner, is sure to praise the territory's public high schools for being close to regaining accreditation.

In late 2004, two of the territory's high schools - Charlotte Amalie and Ivanna Eudora Kean - received approval for reaccreditation from a visiting team of academic professionals representing the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools. Central High School and St. Croix Educational Complex will host Middle States visiting teams this year.

While getting closer to accreditation is praiseworthy, educators, students and parents have loudly protested the physical condition of the schools and department-wide policies throughout the last year. The education community spent much of the last year trying to get Turnbull to notice their plight.

Most recently, protests over the condition of facilities shook Addelita Cancryn Junior High School. A written response provided completion dates for two short-term projects at the school, but left out several long-term problems - such as rebuilding classrooms destroyed by arson in November.

Cancryn is not the only school that has expressed problems to Turnbull. Educators and students from Kean marched on Government House in October to protest the lack of an alternative education program for troubled students. Several other schools had unscheduled days off this year because of sewage on campus or transfers of educators.

Turnbull is likely to mention the territory's ongoing war on crime but having recently v