June 4, 2003 – Consumers and health professionals in the territory are advised to be on the alert for what are described as bottles of counterfeit Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, according to a release from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department.
Citing information from the federal Food and Drug Administration, the release said that Albers Medical Distributors has voluntarily recalled three lots of 90-count bottles, saying they contain counterfeit Lipitor and represent a potentially significant risk to consumers.
Labels on the bottles say "Repackaged by: MED-PRO, Inc. Lexington, Neb." in the lower left corner. The lots involved in the recall are:
– 20722V, expiration 09-2004.
– 04132V, expiration 01-2004.
– 16942V, expiration 09-2004.
"The FDA is urging health-care providers and patients alike to check the packaging very carefully" before using any Lipitor product," the release stated, and patients who have bottles with any of the label and lot indications cited should not use the medication but return the product to the place of purchase. According to the release, an FDA investigation into the matter is in progress.
For further information, call Alli Paul, DLCA director of consumer affairs, at 773-2226.
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FOR 'AFTER HOURS,' IT'S THE WINDWARD PASSAGE
June 4, 2003 – The next St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce "Business After Hours" get-together will be hosted by the Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel on the St. Thomas waterfront and sponsored by the Planning and Natural Resources Department and the hotel.
It's scheduled for June 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is open to members, guests and prospective members. Admission is free.
DPNR officials will provide information on various department projects under way and planned. As usual, the event will feature complimentary hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and the chamber's popular $2 cash bar.
To learn more, call the chamber office at 776-0100, or e-mail to the Chamber of Commerce.
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It's scheduled for June 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is open to members, guests and prospective members. Admission is free.
DPNR officials will provide information on various department projects under way and planned. As usual, the event will feature complimentary hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and the chamber's popular $2 cash bar.
To learn more, call the chamber office at 776-0100, or e-mail to the Chamber of Commerce.
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.
FOR 'AFTER HOURS,' IT'S THE WINDWARD PASSAGE
June 4, 2003 – The next St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce "Business After Hours" get-together will be hosted by the Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel on the St. Thomas waterfront and sponsored by the Planning and Natural Resources Department and the hotel.
It's scheduled for June 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is open to members, guests and prospective members. Admission is free.
DPNR officials will provide information on various department projects under way and planned. As usual, the event will feature complimentary hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and the chamber's popular $2 cash bar.
To learn more, call the chamber office at 776-0100, or e-mail to the Chamber of Commerce.
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.
It's scheduled for June 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is open to members, guests and prospective members. Admission is free.
DPNR officials will provide information on various department projects under way and planned. As usual, the event will feature complimentary hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and the chamber's popular $2 cash bar.
To learn more, call the chamber office at 776-0100, or e-mail to the Chamber of Commerce.
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.
AIRPORT SCREENER CUTBACKS END 3 ST. CROIX JOBS
June 4, 2003 – As the already high unemployment rate on St. Croix continues to rise, the federal government has embarked on a plan to lay off an undisclosed number of screeners at the territory's airports in an effort to "rightsize" the Transportation Security Administration's work force nationwide. So far, the effort has cost three St. Croix TSA workers their jobs.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
AIRPORT SCREENER CUTBACKS END 3 ST. CROIX JOBS
June 4, 2003 – As the already high unemployment rate on St. Croix continues to rise, the federal government has embarked on a plan to lay off an undisclosed number of screeners at the territory's airports in an effort to "rightsize" the Transportation Security Administration's work force nationwide. So far, the effort has cost three St. Croix TSA workers their jobs.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
AIRPORT SCREENER CUTBACKS END 3 ST. CROIX JOBS
June 4, 2003 – As the already high unemployment rate on St. Croix continues to rise, the federal government has embarked on a plan to lay off an undisclosed number of screeners at the territory's airports in an effort to "rightsize" the Transportation Security Administration's work force nationwide. So far, the effort has cost three St. Croix TSA workers their jobs.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
A TSA press release last Friday said the "rightsizing effort" began in March and has reduced that agency's payroll by 3,000 positions, "reaching the half-way mark in the effort to trim 6,000 positions by Sept. 30." The reduction, the release said, is driven in part by budget constraints.
"By ensuring that security checkpoints are fully staffed during peak times we have been able to make staffing adjustments that largely have gone unnoticed by travelers," the TSA administrator, Adm. James M. Loy, said. He said greater use of part-time screeners "will be important in providing the efficient and effective service air travelers have come to expect."
How the cutbacks will affect the territory's 188 screeners remains unclear. So far, according to TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover, the agency "is meeting its projections and is on schedule." She said three TSA workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix were let go and the agency "will be in a position to giver you final figures by the end of September, which is our target date to have a reduction of 6,000 screeners."
There have been no cutbacks reported at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
In March, the federal security director for the Virgin Islands said he didn't anticipate any cutbacks for the territory and that, in fact, his operation was then understaffed. (See "V.I. TSA chief doesn't see screener layoffs here".)
Stover said that while the agency's number of employees continues to change, the level of security "continues to be maintained at the highest level."
Even so, Delegate Donna M. Christensen issued a statement this week protesting the layoffs. She wrote to Loy, her release said, highlighting that "it was unfair to terminate TSA employees in the territory, who have been on the job for just six months, especially at a time when the unemployment rate on St. Croix has risen to twice the national average."
Christensen is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and told Loy that the layoffs "caused great distress" in the territory, especially for TSA employees who left other jobs in order to work for the federal government.
She also pointed out to Loy that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had told the congressional committee at his first appearance before the body that some airport security screeners who had failed background checks were hired anyway, in order to meet TSA deadlines. Christensen suggested to Loy that these workers be laid off first, "as well as the necessary realignment of the work force due to attrition and voluntary means."
Christensen noted that she and other Democrats on the committee have asked Loy to appear before the body to answer concerns on the issue.
Unemployment on St. Croix, according to the V.I. Labor Department, stands at about 14 percent and is rising. That figure is more than double the national rate of 6 percent for April 2003, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics. However, the jobless rate on St. Croix could be much higher because of the way the statistics are compiled, and some estimates run as high as 24 percent.
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.
RODGERS NOMINATED TO PORT AUTHORITY BOARD
June 4, 2003 – The governor has nominated James I. Rodgers to replace Sidney Lee on the Port Authority board. The nomination is for a three-year term and must be confirmed by the Legislature.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
RODGERS NOMINATED TO PORT AUTHORITY BOARD
June 4, 2003 – The governor has nominated James I. Rodgers to replace Sidney Lee on the Port Authority board. The nomination is for a three-year term and must be confirmed by the Legislature.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
RODGERS NOMINATED TO PORT AUTHORITY BOARD
June 4, 2003 – The governor has nominated James I. Rodgers to replace Sidney Lee on the Port Authority board. The nomination is for a three-year term and must be confirmed by the Legislature.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
Rodgers, like Lee a St. Croix resident, is a former teacher and assistant principal at Elena Christian Junior High School. He was the first principal of John H. Woodson Junior High School and was named assistant superintendent of schools for the St. Croix district in 1991.
He also owns and manages Neighborhood Laundry and is involved in Life Team Core, a ministry for youth at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He formerly served as vice president of the St. Croix Cable TV board, manager of Channel 13, chair of the St. Joseph High School board and vice president of United Way of St. Croix.
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.
FLACK CONCERT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CANCER CENTER
June 4, 2003 – Attendees at a fund-raiser Saturday night on St. Thomas for the territory's cancer care center will get to hear a lot about the planned facility, but they also will get to hear a concert by Roberta Flack.
What the two have in common is Dr. Bert Petersen Jr.
A native Virgin Islander who is a nationally known cancer specialist, Petersen is the lead medical planner for the center — dubbed its "physician champion."
He's also a New York City dweller who had occasion not long ago to attend a Roberta Flack concert there and to meet the artist after the show.
As Lorraine Baa-Elisha, who's chairing Saturday's event, relates it, Petersen engaged Flack in conversation "and casually said 'How would you like to come to the Virgin Islands and do a fund raiser?'"
And next thing you know, "she agreed to do a benefit concert," Baa-Elisha said. "We are not paying her anything; we are just playing her band."
The fund-raiser, which includes cocktails, dinner, presentations and the Flack concert at the end, will take place in the grand ballroom of Marriott Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort. Tickets are $150, the space can accommodate about 700 people, and there are just a few tables remaining unsold, Baa-Elisha said.
Formally called "The Caribbean Gala for Cure," the event is being hosted by the Roy L. Schneider Hospital board, chief executive officer Rodney E. Miller Sr., and the hospital administrative staff.
Petersen, a surgical oncologist at New York's Beth Israel Cancer Center and director of its Family Risk Program for Breast and Ovarian Cancer, will be there to introduce the team "working collaboratively to make this happen," Baa-Elisha said.
The team members include Miller; Amos Carty, hospital chief operating officer; Dr. Thelma Ruth Watson, medical director; Darryl Smalls, chief engineer; Stanley, Beaman & Sears, the Atlanta-based architectural firm; the Jaredian Design Group, the local architectural firm; Cancer CarePoint, the recruitment firm in charge of hiring oncologists and radiologists; and Oncology Solutions, the consultant on management, professional connections, analysis and marketing.
(For background on people and organizations involved in developing the cancer care center, see "Cancer care facility expected to open in 2004".)
The center will be located to the east of Schneider Hospital by the parking lot and the road leading to the Lockhart property, Baa-Elisha said. It will be a two-story structure, and "we're looking at a September groundbreaking and completion maybe 18 months out," she said. The cost is projected at $5.9 million.
And while it has been referred until now simply as "the center," the facility as of Saturday night will have an official name: The Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute.
At the fund-raiser Kimelman and her husband, Ambassador Henry Kimelman, will present a check for $310,000 that will be added to $540,000 they have given in years past to Partners for Health for the cancer center, for a total contribution of $850,000, Baa-Elisha said.
There will be a second presentation Saturday evening, this one by the cancer center team. It's their Dream Maker Award, and who will receive it "is a surprise," Baa-Elisha said.
The program booklet for the event describes various "naming opportunities" for those wishing to make major contributions in support of certain areas of the cancer center. These include the lobby area, a healing garden, the chemotherapy infusion suite, the radiology suite, the medical library, the medical auditorium and the "positive appearance center."
The evening will begin with a champagne reception at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m., to be followed by the two presentations. Flack will perform with her seven-member band for about an hour and a quarter, beginning at 9:30 p.m.
Flack began recording in the 1960s but was catapulted to stardom in 1972 when her 1969 recording of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was featured in the 1972 film "Play Misty for Me." She then teamed up with a college friend, Donny Hathaway, for a series of hit duets including "Where Is the Love" in 1972, "Killing Me Softly With His Song" in 1973 and "Feel Like Makin' Love" in 1974.
After Hathaway's death in 1979, she collaborated with Luther Vandross, Miles Davis and Sadao Watanabe, then found her niche again paired with Peabo Bryson for 1983's "Tonight I Celebrate My Love." She also recorded the 1991 hit single "Set the Night to Music" with Maxi Priest.
In a 1995 interview with the Toronto Sun, Flack said that "It's not the sound of the voice; it's the truth in the performance that counts … You have to live the song."
Baa-Elisha said she's gratified by the success she and her committee have had in attracting sponsors for the fund-raiser. Many of the tables have been taken by vendors with which the hospital does business, she said, and others have been claimed by local medical professionals. "The medical community has a really good support system," she said. "Doctors are purchasing tickets for nurses and others on staff who can't afford to come. Everybody understands the need for the center."
To see whether additional tickets are available, call Baa-Elisha at 776-8311, ext. 2282.
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.
What the two have in common is Dr. Bert Petersen Jr.
A native Virgin Islander who is a nationally known cancer specialist, Petersen is the lead medical planner for the center — dubbed its "physician champion."
He's also a New York City dweller who had occasion not long ago to attend a Roberta Flack concert there and to meet the artist after the show.
As Lorraine Baa-Elisha, who's chairing Saturday's event, relates it, Petersen engaged Flack in conversation "and casually said 'How would you like to come to the Virgin Islands and do a fund raiser?'"
And next thing you know, "she agreed to do a benefit concert," Baa-Elisha said. "We are not paying her anything; we are just playing her band."
The fund-raiser, which includes cocktails, dinner, presentations and the Flack concert at the end, will take place in the grand ballroom of Marriott Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort. Tickets are $150, the space can accommodate about 700 people, and there are just a few tables remaining unsold, Baa-Elisha said.
Formally called "The Caribbean Gala for Cure," the event is being hosted by the Roy L. Schneider Hospital board, chief executive officer Rodney E. Miller Sr., and the hospital administrative staff.
Petersen, a surgical oncologist at New York's Beth Israel Cancer Center and director of its Family Risk Program for Breast and Ovarian Cancer, will be there to introduce the team "working collaboratively to make this happen," Baa-Elisha said.
The team members include Miller; Amos Carty, hospital chief operating officer; Dr. Thelma Ruth Watson, medical director; Darryl Smalls, chief engineer; Stanley, Beaman & Sears, the Atlanta-based architectural firm; the Jaredian Design Group, the local architectural firm; Cancer CarePoint, the recruitment firm in charge of hiring oncologists and radiologists; and Oncology Solutions, the consultant on management, professional connections, analysis and marketing.
(For background on people and organizations involved in developing the cancer care center, see "Cancer care facility expected to open in 2004".)
The center will be located to the east of Schneider Hospital by the parking lot and the road leading to the Lockhart property, Baa-Elisha said. It will be a two-story structure, and "we're looking at a September groundbreaking and completion maybe 18 months out," she said. The cost is projected at $5.9 million.
And while it has been referred until now simply as "the center," the facility as of Saturday night will have an official name: The Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute.
At the fund-raiser Kimelman and her husband, Ambassador Henry Kimelman, will present a check for $310,000 that will be added to $540,000 they have given in years past to Partners for Health for the cancer center, for a total contribution of $850,000, Baa-Elisha said.
There will be a second presentation Saturday evening, this one by the cancer center team. It's their Dream Maker Award, and who will receive it "is a surprise," Baa-Elisha said.
The program booklet for the event describes various "naming opportunities" for those wishing to make major contributions in support of certain areas of the cancer center. These include the lobby area, a healing garden, the chemotherapy infusion suite, the radiology suite, the medical library, the medical auditorium and the "positive appearance center."
The evening will begin with a champagne reception at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m., to be followed by the two presentations. Flack will perform with her seven-member band for about an hour and a quarter, beginning at 9:30 p.m.
Flack began recording in the 1960s but was catapulted to stardom in 1972 when her 1969 recording of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was featured in the 1972 film "Play Misty for Me." She then teamed up with a college friend, Donny Hathaway, for a series of hit duets including "Where Is the Love" in 1972, "Killing Me Softly With His Song" in 1973 and "Feel Like Makin' Love" in 1974.
After Hathaway's death in 1979, she collaborated with Luther Vandross, Miles Davis and Sadao Watanabe, then found her niche again paired with Peabo Bryson for 1983's "Tonight I Celebrate My Love." She also recorded the 1991 hit single "Set the Night to Music" with Maxi Priest.
In a 1995 interview with the Toronto Sun, Flack said that "It's not the sound of the voice; it's the truth in the performance that counts … You have to live the song."
Baa-Elisha said she's gratified by the success she and her committee have had in attracting sponsors for the fund-raiser. Many of the tables have been taken by vendors with which the hospital does business, she said, and others have been claimed by local medical professionals. "The medical community has a really good support system," she said. "Doctors are purchasing tickets for nurses and others on staff who can't afford to come. Everybody understands the need for the center."
To see whether additional tickets are available, call Baa-Elisha at 776-8311, ext. 2282.
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.
