June 20, 2003 – Cultural food patterns are passed from one generation to the next, a speaker at the Conference on Childhood Obesity held this week on St. Thomas said. But, she pointed out, "Culture is learned, and therefore can be unlearned."
Yvonne Bronner of Morgan State University focused on cultural and behavioral issues relating to obesity among African-American and other culturally diverse children in the United States in her presentation Thursday at the conference, held at the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort.
Bronner, who directs the master's and doctoral public health programs at Morgan State, defined culture as "the religious, social and behavioral rules that govern the way we live."
For example, Bronner said, the way a woman perceives her body weight has a lot to do with culture. Research indicates that compared to women of other races, African-American women identify a larger body size as "themselves" and the desired weight they would like to be.
In Africa, Bronner has found, body size is a factor of culture. People who are larger are considered powerful, and being larger is better when it comes to protection.
Other effects of culture on obesity relate to the way in which many children are raised, she said, citing the emphasis on "cleaning your plate of the food made available." She recalled her own experience: As a nutritionist she know well the wisdom of reducing portions so as to eat less. But while eating a large lunch, she found herself full but kept on eating and talking until the food was finished. "We are victimized by our habits," she said.
Another dietary situation within African-American culture is the emphasis on what are known as soul foods which are unhealthful, Bronner said. Among them: chitterlings, cornbread, barbecued ribs.
"Our goal is to limit those foods to celebratory events and change what we eat" on a regular basis, Bronner said.
Another factor, she noted, is the pervasiveness of "fast food" high in salt, sugar and cholesterol, especially in low-income communities and especially in areas frequented by children and young people. "It is very difficult for our students to walk to and from school without passing two or three 'opportunities,'" she said. "Any little gas station, any little convenience store are opportunities to have high-sodium foods."
With all this, Bronner said, there is hope – there are things that can be done about the crisis of obesity. "The industry is changing. Salads are available," she said "However, if you watch consumption patterns, people are not making the right decisions."
Establishing healthful patterns of food consumption can begin at the very beginning – when an infant is breast-fed, she said.
Today, 80 percent of mothers in the Virgin Islands breast-feed their babies – one of the highest rates in the nation, she said. This is highly encouraged by the Nutrition Education Program and the national Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program.
When breast-feeding ends, Bronner believes, the people who oversee the child's food consumption must take responsibility for a healthful eating program. This includes not just mothers and fathers, she said, but aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents — anyone who influences the child's eating habits.
The aim of the conference, which ended at noon Friday, was to raise the level of concern about childhood obesity as a high public-health issue, according to its organizer, St. Thomas nutritionist Edward C. Jones, who is pursing his Ph.D. in nutritional sciences at Cornell University. The program was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the V.I. Health Department and WIC
Another habit that should be encouraged is physical activity, Bronner said. "Any day that you eat, you need to exercise," she said. "If I can do it at 63, then you all can do it at your ages. Walking is a good place to begin. I am encouraged because I see families walking."
She cautioned that before beginning an exercise regimen, "you might want to check with your doctor."
Bronner has found that small changes can and do make a difference. A 10 percent reduction in body weight can reduce many health risks, she said.
But for the child to change, the family has to change, she said.
"We are the role models for our kids," echoed Judy F. Wilson, director of the nutrition services staff of the U.S.D.A. Office of Analysis, Nutrition and Evaluation. "We must practice what we preach and lead by example."
Wilson, whose staff has initiated many programs to improve nutrition among low-income people, said she realizes that it is a challenge. "We recognize that no one program can do it, including WIC.," she said. "To expand the reach of our efforts, we hope to create a synergy."
That's a relationship in which the collective efforts of several agents working together are greater than they could achieve working individually.
WIC officials have plans to increase the proportion of fruits and vegetables in its food programs, she said. They hope to have more salad bars in schools – with recipes to give the staff the ability to create palatable choices. She said she hopes to implement the plans by 2005.
Her division has created the Power Panther cartoon character with his own song, posters, brochures and theme – "Eat smart, play hard."
Bronner also said that it's crucial to enlist fathers in the fight against childhood obesity. While mothers make many of the food purchase and preparation decisions, she said, fathers do have an influence.
And who else? Just about everybody. "We need to get the young, the middle and the old working together so that we can have success," Bronner said. "It really does take a village to raise a child."

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As a Virgin Islander and a mathematician who studies the theory of voting, I read with great interest about the recent filing of a federal lawsuit challenging the current system of electing legislators in the territory. The argument brought forth by the plaintiffs, Robert Hoffman and Joe San Martin, is not new, but this is the first time that it has been so loudly stated here in the Virgin Islands.
The issues involved are very controversial for many reasons, not the least of which is the unease that many people, including myself, have with assuming that individuals from the same demographic group will share similar political views. In writing this article I have attempted to ignore the controversy and focus simply on the mathematics behind the argument.
The main issue in this debate is the concept of "fairness" to minority groups. What is generally meant by fairness in this context is that if a group (majority or minority) constitutes a certain percentage of the population, then approximately that same percentage of the elected legislators should represent that group. For example, if 10 percent of the population is Hispanic, then about 10 percent of the legislators should represent the Hispanic group.
For various reasons, measuring this kind of fairness is a tricky business. The groups are not always fully organized and identifiable (you don't register to vote as a Hispanic), individuals can identify themselves with more than one group (a person can be both Hispanic and black) or none at all, and it's not always clear whether an elected official "represents" a specific group even if he/she is part of that group.
Additionally, it's not always easy to translate from percentages to the exact number of representatives that a group should have. For example, it may be determined that 10 percent of the seven St. Croix legislators should represent Hispanics. But 10 percent of 7 is 0.7 and, since senators are people, the group can't be represented by seven-tenths of a senator. There are methods to determine whether the 0.7 should be rounded up to one senator or rounded down to no senators, but none of the methods is perfect.
With these types of difficulties and limitations in mind, what can we rationally say about the current level of fairness to white and Hispanic voters in the territory? All of the raw data used in this analysis are taken from the 2000 census, which showed 108,612 people living in the territory. With 15 legislators, there are about 7,241 people per senator.
Put another way, one senator constitutes 1/15th, or about 6.7 percent of the Legislature. So a demographic group constituting 6.7 percent of the population should be represented by one senator. There are 15,198 Hispanics of any race (14 percent), 12,275 non-Hispanic whites (11.3 percent), and 76,696 (70.6 percent) non-Hispanic blacks in the territory. These numbers suggest that the Hispanic group should have 2 representatives, the non-Hispanic whites should have 1.7 representatives, and the non-Hispanic blacks should have 10.6 representatives.
(Note: The numbers don't always add up, because 4,445 (4.1 percent) of Virgin Islanders belong to none of these three groups.)
Currently there are 14 senators who are black, one (on St. Thomas) who is white, and none that are Hispanic. The situations on the individual islands are quite different. There are 7 senators from each district, so in each district a senator constitutes 1/7th, or about 14.3 percent, of that island's legislative contingent.
On St. Croix there are 53,234 people, of whom 11,277 (21.2 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 4,707 (8.8 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 35,003 (65.8 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Croix Hispanic group should have 1.5 representatives, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 4.6 representatives and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.6 representative.
On St. Thomas there are 51,181 people, of whom 3,712 (7.3 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 6,012 (11.7 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 39,369 (76.9 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Thomas Hispanic group should have 0.5 representative, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 5.4 representatives, and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.8 representative.
On St. John the issue is moot because there is only one senator "from" St. John. It is interesting to note, however, that since the population of St. John is only 4,197, then this type of logic would suggest that the St. John group should have only 0.58 representative.
All of these results are very interesting because they show that the measured level of "fairness" differs depending on whether we look at the entire territory or at the individual islands. For the entire territory it would seem that the white group is probably under-represented, the Hispanic group is definitely under-represented, and the black group is definitely over-represented.
However, looking at St. Thomas and St. Croix individually indicates that the Hispanic group is under-represented on St. Croix, but that the group is not large enough on St. Thomas to expect to have a representative. For the white group it's worse, because on neither island is the group large enough to automatically expect to have a representative.
The black group is definitely over-represented on St. Croix, but on St. Thomas this group is only slightly over-represented, and one could argue that the level of representation on St. Thomas is reasonable. Since there does seem to be some measurable unfairness, especially for the Hispanic group, the next problem is to decide upon a remedy for the situation.
According to The V.I. Daily News, the plaintiffs in the recent lawsuit are "demanding that a 'reapportionment board' carve St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John into districts whose residents would elect individual senators." This is potentially problematic because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against using race as a factor in drawing political boundaries.
The two most recent attempts at V.I. election reform — numbered seats and reducing the number of legislators — would just make matters worse. The former because the elections would be reduced to single-winner races, and the latter because in that case only a very large minority group could reasonably expect to have its own representative.
Another alternative is a voting method called "cumulative voting," which was the topic of a recent talk given by a guest speaker at the University of the Virgin Islands Mathematics Seminar. This method has commonly been used in other locales to remedy this type of situation and is very similar to our current method.
With cumulative voting, a St. Thomas or a St. Croix voter would still have seven votes, but he/she could decide to give more than one vote to a single candidate. For example, if a Hispanic St. Croix voter really wanted to elect, say, Juan Figueroa-Serville and/or Robert Acosta, she could cast four votes for Figueroa-Serville and three votes to Acosta, or even choose to give all seven of her votes to Acosta.
Cumulative voting has been shown to do a good job of closely matching a group's voting power to the group's size relative to the overall population. No matter what change (if any) is made to our current system of electing legislators, it is my sincere hope that the decision is based on a firm understanding of the science and mathematics behind the issue.

Editor's note: Dr. Adam W. Parr, Ph. D., is an associate professor of mathematics and math coordinator for the Science and Mathematics Division of the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

As a Virgin Islander and a mathematician who studies the theory of voting, I read with great interest about the recent filing of a federal lawsuit challenging the current system of electing legislators in the territory. The argument brought forth by the plaintiffs, Robert Hoffman and Joe San Martin, is not new, but this is the first time that it has been so loudly stated here in the Virgin Islands.
The issues involved are very controversial for many reasons, not the least of which is the unease that many people, including myself, have with assuming that individuals from the same demographic group will share similar political views. In writing this article I have attempted to ignore the controversy and focus simply on the mathematics behind the argument.
The main issue in this debate is the concept of "fairness" to minority groups. What is generally meant by fairness in this context is that if a group (majority or minority) constitutes a certain percentage of the population, then approximately that same percentage of the elected legislators should represent that group. For example, if 10 percent of the population is Hispanic, then about 10 percent of the legislators should represent the Hispanic group.
For various reasons, measuring this kind of fairness is a tricky business. The groups are not always fully organized and identifiable (you don't register to vote as a Hispanic), individuals can identify themselves with more than one group (a person can be both Hispanic and black) or none at all, and it's not always clear whether an elected official "represents" a specific group even if he/she is part of that group.
Additionally, it's not always easy to translate from percentages to the exact number of representatives that a group should have. For example, it may be determined that 10 percent of the seven St. Croix legislators should represent Hispanics. But 10 percent of 7 is 0.7 and, since senators are people, the group can't be represented by seven-tenths of a senator. There are methods to determine whether the 0.7 should be rounded up to one senator or rounded down to no senators, but none of the methods is perfect.
With these types of difficulties and limitations in mind, what can we rationally say about the current level of fairness to white and Hispanic voters in the territory? All of the raw data used in this analysis are taken from the 2000 census, which showed 108,612 people living in the territory. With 15 legislators, there are about 7,241 people per senator.
Put another way, one senator constitutes 1/15th, or about 6.7 percent of the Legislature. So a demographic group constituting 6.7 percent of the population should be represented by one senator. There are 15,198 Hispanics of any race (14 percent), 12,275 non-Hispanic whites (11.3 percent), and 76,696 (70.6 percent) non-Hispanic blacks in the territory. These numbers suggest that the Hispanic group should have 2 representatives, the non-Hispanic whites should have 1.7 representatives, and the non-Hispanic blacks should have 10.6 representatives.
(Note: The numbers don't always add up, because 4,445 (4.1 percent) of Virgin Islanders belong to none of these three groups.)
Currently there are 14 senators who are black, one (on St. Thomas) who is white, and none that are Hispanic. The situations on the individual islands are quite different. There are 7 senators from each district, so in each district a senator constitutes 1/7th, or about 14.3 percent, of that island's legislative contingent.
On St. Croix there are 53,234 people, of whom 11,277 (21.2 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 4,707 (8.8 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 35,003 (65.8 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Croix Hispanic group should have 1.5 representatives, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 4.6 representatives and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.6 representative.
On St. Thomas there are 51,181 people, of whom 3,712 (7.3 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 6,012 (11.7 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 39,369 (76.9 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Thomas Hispanic group should have 0.5 representative, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 5.4 representatives, and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.8 representative.
On St. John the issue is moot because there is only one senator "from" St. John. It is interesting to note, however, that since the population of St. John is only 4,197, then this type of logic would suggest that the St. John group should have only 0.58 representative.
All of these results are very interesting because they show that the measured level of "fairness" differs depending on whether we look at the entire territory or at the individual islands. For the entire territory it would seem that the white group is probably under-represented, the Hispanic group is definitely under-represented, and the black group is definitely over-represented.
However, looking at St. Thomas and St. Croix individually indicates that the Hispanic group is under-represented on St. Croix, but that the group is not large enough on St. Thomas to expect to have a representative. For the white group it's worse, because on neither island is the group large enough to automatically expect to have a representative.
The black group is definitely over-represented on St. Croix, but on St. Thomas this group is only slightly over-represented, and one could argue that the level of representation on St. Thomas is reasonable. Since there does seem to be some measurable unfairness, especially for the Hispanic group, the next problem is to decide upon a remedy for the situation.
According to The V.I. Daily News, the plaintiffs in the recent lawsuit are "demanding that a 'reapportionment board' carve St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John into districts whose residents would elect individual senators." This is potentially problematic because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against using race as a factor in drawing political boundaries.
The two most recent attempts at V.I. election reform — numbered seats and reducing the number of legislators — would just make matters worse. The former because the elections would be reduced to single-winner races, and the latter because in that case only a very large minority group could reasonably expect to have its own representative.
Another alternative is a voting method called "cumulative voting," which was the topic of a recent talk given by a guest speaker at the University of the Virgin Islands Mathematics Seminar. This method has commonly been used in other locales to remedy this type of situation and is very similar to our current method.
With cumulative voting, a St. Thomas or a St. Croix voter would still have seven votes, but he/she could decide to give more than one vote to a single candidate. For example, if a Hispanic St. Croix voter really wanted to elect, say, Juan Figueroa-Serville and/or Robert Acosta, she could cast four votes for Figueroa-Serville and three votes to Acosta, or even choose to give all seven of her votes to Acosta.
Cumulative voting has been shown to do a good job of closely matching a group's voting power to the group's size relative to the overall population. No matter what change (if any) is made to our current system of electing legislators, it is my sincere hope that the decision is based on a firm understanding of the science and mathematics behind the issue.

Editor's note: Dr. Adam W. Parr, Ph. D., is an associate professor of mathematics and math coordinator for the Science and Mathematics Division of the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

As a Virgin Islander and a mathematician who studies the theory of voting, I read with great interest about the recent filing of a federal lawsuit challenging the current system of electing legislators in the territory. The argument brought forth by the plaintiffs, Robert Hoffman and Joe San Martin, is not new, but this is the first time that it has been so loudly stated here in the Virgin Islands.
The issues involved are very controversial for many reasons, not the least of which is the unease that many people, including myself, have with assuming that individuals from the same demographic group will share similar political views. In writing this article I have attempted to ignore the controversy and focus simply on the mathematics behind the argument.
The main issue in this debate is the concept of "fairness" to minority groups. What is generally meant by fairness in this context is that if a group (majority or minority) constitutes a certain percentage of the population, then approximately that same percentage of the elected legislators should represent that group. For example, if 10 percent of the population is Hispanic, then about 10 percent of the legislators should represent the Hispanic group.
For various reasons, measuring this kind of fairness is a tricky business. The groups are not always fully organized and identifiable (you don't register to vote as a Hispanic), individuals can identify themselves with more than one group (a person can be both Hispanic and black) or none at all, and it's not always clear whether an elected official "represents" a specific group even if he/she is part of that group.
Additionally, it's not always easy to translate from percentages to the exact number of representatives that a group should have. For example, it may be determined that 10 percent of the seven St. Croix legislators should represent Hispanics. But 10 percent of 7 is 0.7 and, since senators are people, the group can't be represented by seven-tenths of a senator. There are methods to determine whether the 0.7 should be rounded up to one senator or rounded down to no senators, but none of the methods is perfect.
With these types of difficulties and limitations in mind, what can we rationally say about the current level of fairness to white and Hispanic voters in the territory? All of the raw data used in this analysis are taken from the 2000 census, which showed 108,612 people living in the territory. With 15 legislators, there are about 7,241 people per senator.
Put another way, one senator constitutes 1/15th, or about 6.7 percent of the Legislature. So a demographic group constituting 6.7 percent of the population should be represented by one senator. There are 15,198 Hispanics of any race (14 percent), 12,275 non-Hispanic whites (11.3 percent), and 76,696 (70.6 percent) non-Hispanic blacks in the territory. These numbers suggest that the Hispanic group should have 2 representatives, the non-Hispanic whites should have 1.7 representatives, and the non-Hispanic blacks should have 10.6 representatives.
(Note: The numbers don't always add up, because 4,445 (4.1 percent) of Virgin Islanders belong to none of these three groups.)
Currently there are 14 senators who are black, one (on St. Thomas) who is white, and none that are Hispanic. The situations on the individual islands are quite different. There are 7 senators from each district, so in each district a senator constitutes 1/7th, or about 14.3 percent, of that island's legislative contingent.
On St. Croix there are 53,234 people, of whom 11,277 (21.2 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 4,707 (8.8 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 35,003 (65.8 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Croix Hispanic group should have 1.5 representatives, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 4.6 representatives and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.6 representative.
On St. Thomas there are 51,181 people, of whom 3,712 (7.3 percent) are Hispanics of any race, 6,012 (11.7 percent) are non-Hispanic whites, and 39,369 (76.9 percent) are non-Hispanic blacks. These numbers suggest that the St. Thomas Hispanic group should have 0.5 representative, the non-Hispanic blacks should have 5.4 representatives, and the non-Hispanic whites should have 0.8 representative.
On St. John the issue is moot because there is only one senator "from" St. John. It is interesting to note, however, that since the population of St. John is only 4,197, then this type of logic would suggest that the St. John group should have only 0.58 representative.
All of these results are very interesting because they show that the measured level of "fairness" differs depending on whether we look at the entire territory or at the individual islands. For the entire territory it would seem that the white group is probably under-represented, the Hispanic group is definitely under-represented, and the black group is definitely over-represented.
However, looking at St. Thomas and St. Croix individually indicates that the Hispanic group is under-represented on St. Croix, but that the group is not large enough on St. Thomas to expect to have a representative. For the white group it's worse, because on neither island is the group large enough to automatically expect to have a representative.
The black group is definitely over-represented on St. Croix, but on St. Thomas this group is only slightly over-represented, and one could argue that the level of representation on St. Thomas is reasonable. Since there does seem to be some measurable unfairness, especially for the Hispanic group, the next problem is to decide upon a remedy for the situation.
According to The V.I. Daily News, the plaintiffs in the recent lawsuit are "demanding that a 'reapportionment board' carve St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John into districts whose residents would elect individual senators." This is potentially problematic because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against using race as a factor in drawing political boundaries.
The two most recent attempts at V.I. election reform — numbered seats and reducing the number of legislators — would just make matters worse. The former because the elections would be reduced to single-winner races, and the latter because in that case only a very large minority group could reasonably expect to have its own representative.
Another alternative is a voting method called "cumulative voting," which was the topic of a recent talk given by a guest speaker at the University of the Virgin Islands Mathematics Seminar. This method has commonly been used in other locales to remedy this type of situation and is very similar to our current method.
With cumulative voting, a St. Thomas or a St. Croix voter would still have seven votes, but he/she could decide to give more than one vote to a single candidate. For example, if a Hispanic St. Croix voter really wanted to elect, say, Juan Figueroa-Serville and/or Robert Acosta, she could cast four votes for Figueroa-Serville and three votes to Acosta, or even choose to give all seven of her votes to Acosta.
Cumulative voting has been shown to do a good job of closely matching a group's voting power to the group's size relative to the overall population. No matter what change (if any) is made to our current system of electing legislators, it is my sincere hope that the decision is based on a firm understanding of the science and mathematics behind the issue.

Editor's note: Dr. Adam W. Parr, Ph. D., is an associate professor of mathematics and math coordinator for the Science and Mathematics Division of the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

June 19, 2003 – A Bush administration proposal that would radically reconfigure the federal Head Start program has not found favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Delegate Donna M. Christensen.
The proposed legislation that would reauthorize Head Start also would change it into a block grant program with a narrow focus that eliminates some of the help that poor children receive under the current program, Christensen said.
Proponents have touted the bill as one that would improve the school readiness of disadvantaged children, she said, but in actuality it would hurt the very people it is intended to serve.
Christensen said in a release that giving states and territories control over the program would threaten the quality of education provided to children by eliminating the current extensive federal performance standards in place. "The federal standards create an early equality of opportunity for children who would otherwise spend a considerable portion of their formative years catching up," she said.
Eliminating those standards will subject children to disparities in educational quality, she said, adding that the most troubling aspect of the bill is that it places Head Start under state control during trying economic times. She pointed to the Virgin Islands' current "fiscal crisis" as an example.
"In my district, the government predicts a deficit of over $150 million," she told her Congressional Black Caucus colleagues. "States and territories would be tempted to use Head Start dollars to fill gaps in their own programs and spread dollars more thinly."
Christensen said the unfunded mandates of the Bush administration's Leave No Child Behind Act also will put pressure on localities to underfund their commitment to early childhood education.
Nationally, the Head Start program has given more than 20 million children a chance to succeed in school by providing high-quality, comprehensive pre-school services to the nation's poorest children and families, the release stated. Currently, about 13 percent of V.I. children under 5 years of age are eligible for the program.
Last month, the Human Services Department released the findings of a community- and self-assessment study that reflect the Head Start program's strengths and weaknesses. According to department officials, the program has an enrollment of 1,113 children — 78 percent of eligible V.I. youngsters.
The study found that 62 percent of Head Start parents are employed full-time, but 82 percent of those employees have a family income of $15,000 or below. And it found that 47 percent of Head Start families have no insurance.
According to the self-assessment, the major strengths of the Head Start program include the respect shown children, parents and staff by employees and others involved in the program; evident teamwork; a knowledgeable and active Policy Council; and partnerships with the community and government agencies.
Christensen said she is encouraged that scrutiny of the program reauthorization has begun very early. "Since we are still in the early stages, there is still an opportunity to address these issues," she said.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

June 19, 2003 – A Bush administration proposal that would radically reconfigure the federal Head Start program has not found favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Delegate Donna M. Christensen.
The proposed legislation that would reauthorize Head Start also would change it into a block grant program with a narrow focus that eliminates some of the help that poor children receive under the current program, Christensen said.
Proponents have touted the bill as one that would improve the school readiness of disadvantaged children, she said, but in actuality it would hurt the very people it is intended to serve.
Christensen said in a release that giving states and territories control over the program would threaten the quality of education provided to children by eliminating the current extensive federal performance standards in place. "The federal standards create an early equality of opportunity for children who would otherwise spend a considerable portion of their formative years catching up," she said.
Eliminating those standards will subject children to disparities in educational quality, she said, adding that the most troubling aspect of the bill is that it places Head Start under state control during trying economic times. She pointed to the Virgin Islands' current "fiscal crisis" as an example.
"In my district, the government predicts a deficit of over $150 million," she told her Congressional Black Caucus colleagues. "States and territories would be tempted to use Head Start dollars to fill gaps in their own programs and spread dollars more thinly."
Christensen said the unfunded mandates of the Bush administration's Leave No Child Behind Act also will put pressure on localities to underfund their commitment to early childhood education.
Nationally, the Head Start program has given more than 20 million children a chance to succeed in school by providing high-quality, comprehensive pre-school services to the nation's poorest children and families, the release stated. Currently, about 13 percent of V.I. children under 5 years of age are eligible for the program.
Last month, the Human Services Department released the findings of a community- and self-assessment study that reflect the Head Start program's strengths and weaknesses. According to department officials, the program has an enrollment of 1,113 children — 78 percent of eligible V.I. youngsters.
The study found that 62 percent of Head Start parents are employed full-time, but 82 percent of those employees have a family income of $15,000 or below. And it found that 47 percent of Head Start families have no insurance.
According to the self-assessment, the major strengths of the Head Start program include the respect shown children, parents and staff by employees and others involved in the program; evident teamwork; a knowledgeable and active Policy Council; and partnerships with the community and government agencies.
Christensen said she is encouraged that scrutiny of the program reauthorization has begun very early. "Since we are still in the early stages, there is still an opportunity to address these issues," she said.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

June 19, 2003 – A Bush administration proposal that would radically reconfigure the federal Head Start program has not found favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Delegate Donna M. Christensen.
The proposed legislation that would reauthorize Head Start also would change it into a block grant program with a narrow focus that eliminates some of the help that poor children receive under the current program, Christensen said.
Proponents have touted the bill as one that would improve the school readiness of disadvantaged children, she said, but in actuality it would hurt the very people it is intended to serve.
Christensen said in a release that giving states and territories control over the program would threaten the quality of education provided to children by eliminating the current extensive federal performance standards in place. "The federal standards create an early equality of opportunity for children who would otherwise spend a considerable portion of their formative years catching up," she said.
Eliminating those standards will subject children to disparities in educational quality, she said, adding that the most troubling aspect of the bill is that it places Head Start under state control during trying economic times. She pointed to the Virgin Islands' current "fiscal crisis" as an example.
"In my district, the government predicts a deficit of over $150 million," she told her Congressional Black Caucus colleagues. "States and territories would be tempted to use Head Start dollars to fill gaps in their own programs and spread dollars more thinly."
Christensen said the unfunded mandates of the Bush administration's Leave No Child Behind Act also will put pressure on localities to underfund their commitment to early childhood education.
Nationally, the Head Start program has given more than 20 million children a chance to succeed in school by providing high-quality, comprehensive pre-school services to the nation's poorest children and families, the release stated. Currently, about 13 percent of V.I. children under 5 years of age are eligible for the program.
Last month, the Human Services Department released the findings of a community- and self-assessment study that reflect the Head Start program's strengths and weaknesses. According to department officials, the program has an enrollment of 1,113 children — 78 percent of eligible V.I. youngsters.
The study found that 62 percent of Head Start parents are employed full-time, but 82 percent of those employees have a family income of $15,000 or below. And it found that 47 percent of Head Start families have no insurance.
According to the self-assessment, the major strengths of the Head Start program include the respect shown children, parents and staff by employees and others involved in the program; evident teamwork; a knowledgeable and active Policy Council; and partnerships with the community and government agencies.
Christensen said she is encouraged that scrutiny of the program reauthorization has begun very early. "Since we are still in the early stages, there is still an opportunity to address these issues," she said.

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June 19, 2003 – The sky was ominously gray but the occasion was festively sunny as government officials in silvery hard hats turned the ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt at Crown Bay on Thursday morning.
The occasion heralded the official start of construction on the Port Authority's Crown Bay Cruise Ship Facility, a project more than two decades in the making. Officials estimate the dock expansion and shopping development will be completed in June of next year.
Speakers held forth at a bandstand next to a large, decorative sign describing the project and giving its completion date as April 20, 2004.
The project's history has been like that – fraught with contradictions. Legal, environmental and logistical issues impeded its progress from the time that the Crown Bay Master Plan was unveiled in 1983.
A recent tug-of-war was between VIPA and The West Indian Co. over which would manage the development. Fifteen months ago, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull instructed them to develop it jointly after abruptly calling a halt to VIPA's agreement with two cruise lines to expand the dock and develop the commercial facility. Instead, VIPA resolved to do the project on its own. (See "Crown Bay expansion project is under way".)
In August 2001, VIPA signed a letter of intent with Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises for the two companies to invest a total of $31 million in expanding the dock and developing an adjacent shopping area. The plan sparked protests from the business community, which feared the loss of customers downtown and at Havensight Mall, and from WICO, which saw it giving the two cruise lines, which would have berthing priority at Crown Bay, control of the St. Thomas harbor. In March 2002, the governor called the deal off.
Since then, VIPA has been moving forward. American Bridge Co., an Orlando, Florida, construction firm, commenced work in January.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron, a VIPA board member, conducted Thursday's ground-breaking ceremony, incorporating a bit of humor about the governor's decision to call off the cruise ship deal. Stridiron and Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards, who by virtue of that position chairs the VIPA board, had favored the cruise ship arrangement.
"We came close to being fired," Stridiron said.
Addressing the crowd, Turnbull confirmed Stridiron's remarks. "I told them it was my way or they could go home," he said.
Turnbull said he is "excited" about the West Indian elements of the proposed design of the shopping complex being developed adjacent to the expanded dock. It is to have a sugar mill replica at its center, which the governor, a history professor, said would "preserve the history of the Virgin Islands."
Many government officials spoke at Thursday's ceremony, but there were two vacant chairs crying to be occupied. Notable by their absence were Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director from 1991 until last year, and his successor, Darlan Brin, whose previous position was as the Port Authority's lead planner. Finch was off-island, a spokesperson said, while Brin was expected but did not appear.
Both men played key roles in bringing the project to fruition. For Finch, an engineer, the Crown Bay development was probably the highest-profile project on his desk for three years. Brin, a 20-year veteran of the authority as chief planner, worked with Finch intensely both on the Crown Bay project and on St. John's Enighed Pond commercial port project. Official ground breaking for the Enighed Pond facility – three decades in the making – took place last week.
The Crown Bay dock, currently 200 feet in length on one side and 500 feet on the other, is being expanded to a length of more than 900 feet on both sides. This will allow some of the largest cruise vessels in use and under construction to berth at Crown Bay, VIPA officials said.
The land development is of a "mixed-use facility" that is "to be utilized for commercial purposes." Situated on six acres, it will total about 57,000 square feet. Occupying some 3,500 square feet of the complex will be a combined visitor center and "environmental/historical interpretive resources center" to be operated by the Tourism and Planning and Natural Resources Departments.
The Port Authority plans to lease 60 percent of the available commercial space to businesses serving local residents and the other 40 percent to businesses serving visitors, Richards said Thursday. She described the design plans, which call for a village-type setting with West Indian architecture, a waterfront promenade and the replica of a sugar mill. The commercial mix is to include a variety of restaurants, a communications center and a crew-service facility. There will be off-street parking at the site.
Other officials attending the ceremony included Lt. Gov. Vargrave Richards and Sen. Lorraine Berry, both of whom were members of the Cruise Ship Task Force in the 23rd Legislature; Brian Petersen, American Bridge Co. vice president; and Alfred Lloyd, WICO director of operations.

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June 19, 2003 – The Port Authority governing board has taken the first actions aimed at wooing air traffic to the territory since it raised airport landing and passenger fees on Feb. 1.
At its Wednesday meeting on St. Thomas, the board voted to waive the fees altogether for a second stop in the territory made by any flight coming from outside the territory through next May 31.
And it authorized its executive director to seek federal funding available to local communities with air service problems such as high fares and low traffic.
The procedure of flying from the mainland into St. Thomas, then on to St. Croix before returning to the States – or vice versa – is known in the industry as "wrap service."
Such wraps were common in the territory's overnight tourism heyday of the '80s when Pan Am, Eastern, American and Delta had multiple daily flights to the Virgin Islands. At present, the only airline providing such service is U.S. Airways, which has flights six days a week out of Philadelphia that land first on St. Thomas and then continue to St. Croix before heading back north. But USAir announced last month that it will discontinue that service as of Sept. 5.
The VIPA board's decision in January to raise landing and passenger fees by 25 percent on Feb. 1 at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix prompted outcries from all of the major airlines serving the territory – American, Continental, Delta, United and USAir.
American subsequently announced it was discontinuing ground operations, first at the St. Croix airport and then at the St. Thomas facility, contracting the work our to its subsidiary American Eagle. Meantime, American Eagle announced it was discontinuing commuter service between the two islands. Seaborne Airlines has expanded its inter-island flights, adding Frederiksted service on St. Croix, but the seaplanes do not utilize the territory's airports.
Airline and local hospitality industry officials have said that the major carriers' cutbacks in service locally are not totally due to the airport fee increases. Most of the nation's major airlines have been struggling to stay in business and reducing services in order to reduce costs since the Sept. 1, 2001, terrorist attacks. Additionally, representatives of the airlines serving the territory, like those of the cruise lines, have pointed to lack of passenger demand for service to St. Croix.
For years, VIPA has waived seaport fees for cruise ships calling at both St. Thomas and St. Croix; however, the ploy has not proven effective for St. Croix. Last year, three of the four cruise lines then calling at St. Croix took the island off their itineraries, citing two reasons: crime concerns and lack of passenger demand.
The same week in May that USAir announced its service reductions, a consulting firm contracted by the University of the Virgin Islands at the behest of the 24th Legislature reported on the findings of its $75,000 study on how to increase the territory's volume of air visitors. (See "Study: Value of air services to V.I. unrecognized".)
The Washington, D.C., consulting firm of Edwards and Kelcey found three problems in need of being addressed:
– Lack of understanding in the local community of the importance of quality air services to the V.I. economy.
– Lack of a comprehensive air services marketing strategy fundamental to increasing air arrivals to the territory.
– Lack of a clear local mandate for the creation and management of an ongoing air services marketing and development program.
Edwards and Kelcey proposed short-term, six-month and three-year action plans. The short-term proposal included seeking federal assistance for a Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program and developing incentives for airlines to operate in the territory. In its actions on Wednesday, the VIPA board followed the consultant's recommendations in both instances.
According to a VIPA release issued after Wednesday's meeting, "the board anticipates that the waiving of the second landing fee that is paid by airlines that offer wrap service will serve to defer some of the costs incurred by the airlines and further encourage air service to the territory – particularly St. Croix."
The board authorized Darlan Brin, Port Authority executive director, to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for a $500,000 grant from the Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program. "VIPA must submit the application to the FAA by June 30," the release stated, and the authority will "match the federal funds in order to offer incentives to airlines for the express purpose of attracting and increasing air traffic to the territory."
In other business, the board approved VIPA sponsorship of St. John's July Fourth Festival and of St. Croix's Crucian Festival, each to the tune of $10,000. This is the third year that the Port Authority has contributed to all three of the territory's carnival celebrations, the release stated.

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June 19, 2003 – The Port Authority governing board has taken the first actions aimed at wooing air traffic to the territory since it raised airport landing and passenger fees on Feb. 1.
At its Wednesday meeting on St. Thomas, the board voted to waive the fees altogether for a second stop in the territory made by any flight coming from outside the territory through next May 31.
And it authorized its executive director to seek federal funding available to local communities with air service problems such as high fares and low traffic.
The procedure of flying from the mainland into St. Thomas, then on to St. Croix before returning to the States – or vice versa – is known in the industry as "wrap service."
Such wraps were common in the territory's overnight tourism heyday of the '80s when Pan Am, Eastern, American and Delta had multiple daily flights to the Virgin Islands. At present, the only airline providing such service is U.S. Airways, which has flights six days a week out of Philadelphia that land first on St. Thomas and then continue to St. Croix before heading back north. But USAir announced last month that it will discontinue that service as of Sept. 5.
The VIPA board's decision in January to raise landing and passenger fees by 25 percent on Feb. 1 at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix prompted outcries from all of the major airlines serving the territory – American, Continental, Delta, United and USAir.
American subsequently announced it was discontinuing ground operations, first at the St. Croix airport and then at the St. Thomas facility, contracting the work our to its subsidiary American Eagle. Meantime, American Eagle announced it was discontinuing commuter service between the two islands. Seaborne Airlines has expanded its inter-island flights, adding Frederiksted service on St. Croix, but the seaplanes do not utilize the territory's airports.
Airline and local hospitality industry officials have said that the major carriers' cutbacks in service locally are not totally due to the airport fee increases. Most of the nation's major airlines have been struggling to stay in business and reducing services in order to reduce costs since the Sept. 1, 2001, terrorist attacks. Additionally, representatives of the airlines serving the territory, like those of the cruise lines, have pointed to lack of passenger demand for service to St. Croix.
For years, VIPA has waived seaport fees for cruise ships calling at both St. Thomas and St. Croix; however, the ploy has not proven effective for St. Croix. Last year, three of the four cruise lines then calling at St. Croix took the island off their itineraries, citing two reasons: crime concerns and lack of passenger demand.
The same week in May that USAir announced its service reductions, a consulting firm contracted by the University of the Virgin Islands at the behest of the 24th Legislature reported on the findings of its $75,000 study on how to increase the territory's volume of air visitors. (See "Study: Value of air services to V.I. unrecognized".)
The Washington, D.C., consulting firm of Edwards and Kelcey found three problems in need of being addressed:
– Lack of understanding in the local community of the importance of quality air services to the V.I. economy.
– Lack of a comprehensive air services marketing strategy fundamental to increasing air arrivals to the territory.
– Lack of a clear local mandate for the creation and management of an ongoing air services marketing and development program.
Edwards and Kelcey proposed short-term, six-month and three-year action plans. The short-term proposal included seeking federal assistance for a Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program and developing incentives for airlines to operate in the territory. In its actions on Wednesday, the VIPA board followed the consultant's recommendations in both instances.
According to a VIPA release issued after Wednesday's meeting, "the board anticipates that the waiving of the second landing fee that is paid by airlines that offer wrap service will serve to defer some of the costs incurred by the airlines and further encourage air service to the territory – particularly St. Croix."
The board authorized Darlan Brin, Port Authority executive director, to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for a $500,000 grant from the Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program. "VIPA must submit the application to the FAA by June 30," the release stated, and the authority will "match the federal funds in order to offer incentives to airlines for the express purpose of attracting and increasing air traffic to the territory."
In other business, the board approved VIPA sponsorship of St. John's July Fourth Festival and of St. Croix's Crucian Festival, each to the tune of $10,000. This is the third year that the Port Authority has contributed to all three of the territory's carnival celebrations, the release stated.

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