Feb. 26, 2003 – The airline representatives in attendance at Wednesday's Port Authority board meeting did not come away with good news. The board held fast on its 25 percent increase in airport landing and passenger fees instituted on Feb. l.
Some of the carrier personnel had expressed optimism while waiting an hour and 45 minutes for the scheduled 10 a.m. meeting to begin as board members apparently huddled privately outside the board room. When the session convened, no explanation for the delay was given.
Any hope of retreat on the fee increases was quickly dashed as Cornell Williams, newly appointed VIPA deputy executive director, gave a PowerPoint presentation of the Port Authority's current financial condition. He reported that the agency's overall financial picture has not changed significantly since January. VIPA still is facing a $2 million deficit even with the fee increases, a situation it announced in January, he said.
Darlan Brin, VIPA executive director, sought and received board approval for a 10 percent rollback in salaries for 63 non-union management employees, including himself, for the balance of Fiscal Year 2003. He said the move would save about $700,000. The rollbacks will take effect immediately, he said.
Brin also received approval to continue studying cost-saving measures and to continue a dialogue with the airlines on the fee increases.
Explaining further cost-cutting measures to the board, Brin said the authority would save $1 million by spending only available federal funds on the Red Hook Marine Terminal project for the rest of the current fiscal year, delaying the expenditure of Port Authority funds on the project until the start of until FY 2004.
Without the revenues from the airport fee increases, VIPA could be in technical default with its bondholders, VIPA attorney Donald Mills said in response to questioning by Attorney General Iver Stridiron, a VIPA board member.
"If we retreat [from the increase], are we exposing ourselves to being called on the bonds?" Stridiron asked. Mills explained that if the bonds were to be called, that would mean $8 million that the authority — and, by extension, the airlines — could be liable for because of the signatory agreement VIPA has with the four major carriers in the territory.
The agreement provides for airport fees to be raised when VIPA has a shortfall in its Aviation Division and lowered when the division has a surplus.
Mills reiterated what he has said in previous meetings: "We have to make sure our rates are sufficient to generate revenue, so we have to raise the rates under our agreement."
The airlines did receive one concession. Board chair Pamela Richards got approval from her colleagues to set a one-year moratorium on the higher landing fees for airlines new to the territory or expanding their service locally. The move does not apply to the increases in passenger fees, she said.
Richards, who is Tourism commissioner and by virtue of that office chairs the VIPA board, said she finds it frustrating to compete with 32 other destinations in seeking to encourage more airlift to the territory when she has no incentives to offer.
She said she would be going to Germany in March to meet with representatives of new charter airlines and would like to have the moratorium offer to put on the table.
She also said that passenger fees from anticipated new traffic into the territory would offset the one-year loss of the landing fees.
The airline representatives present — Robert de Lugo, Delta Air Lines station manager; Calvin Presley, USAirways St. Thomas manager; and Joseph Hoffman, Continental Airlines airport business manager — did not appear to be impressed with Richards' proposal. They filed out of the room after learning there would be no change for them in the increased airport fees. One of the group commented: "At least they could have apologized for making us wait for an hour and 40 minutes to tell us no good news. It shows no respect."
Richards also made another proposal, which she called a "two for one." It would allow airlines to pay only one landing fee for flights from the States that land on St. Thomas then continue on to St. Croix before returning to the mainland.
The idea is one in place in the territory for cruise ships as an incentive to visit St. Croix. Those calling at both St. Thomas and St. Croix are exempt from port fees on St. Croix.
Mills urged the board to hold off on idea for airports until he checked with the Federal Aviation Administration on the legality of such a move. "They can be very strict about these things, and we don't want to run afoul," he said.
Stridiron said the proposal "raised many, many questions" and urged more study on the issue.
All VIPA board members attended the meeting: Kent Bernier, assistant to the governor for economic affairs, Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood, Leslie Milliner, Robert O'Connor Jr., Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett, Richards and Stridiron.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – The airline representatives in attendance at Wednesday's Port Authority board meeting did not come away with good news. The board held fast on its 25 percent increase in airport landing and passenger fees instituted on Feb. l.
Some of the carrier personnel had expressed optimism while waiting an hour and 45 minutes for the scheduled 10 a.m. meeting to begin as board members apparently huddled privately outside the board room. When the session convened, no explanation for the delay was given.
Any hope of retreat on the fee increases was quickly dashed as Cornell Williams, newly appointed VIPA deputy executive director, gave a PowerPoint presentation of the Port Authority's current financial condition. He reported that the agency's overall financial picture has not changed significantly since January. VIPA still is facing a $2 million deficit even with the fee increases, a situation it announced in January, he said.
Darlan Brin, VIPA executive director, sought and received board approval for a 10 percent rollback in salaries for 63 non-union management employees, including himself, for the balance of Fiscal Year 2003. He said the move would save about $700,000. The rollbacks will take effect immediately, he said.
Brin also received approval to continue studying cost-saving measures and to continue a dialogue with the airlines on the fee increases.
Explaining further cost-cutting measures to the board, Brin said the authority would save $1 million by spending only available federal funds on the Red Hook Marine Terminal project for the rest of the current fiscal year, delaying the expenditure of Port Authority funds on the project until the start of until FY 2004.
Without the revenues from the airport fee increases, VIPA could be in technical default with its bondholders, VIPA attorney Donald Mills said in response to questioning by Attorney General Iver Stridiron, a VIPA board member.
"If we retreat [from the increase], are we exposing ourselves to being called on the bonds?" Stridiron asked. Mills explained that if the bonds were to be called, that would mean $8 million that the authority — and, by extension, the airlines — could be liable for because of the signatory agreement VIPA has with the four major carriers in the territory.
The agreement provides for airport fees to be raised when VIPA has a shortfall in its Aviation Division and lowered when the division has a surplus.
Mills reiterated what he has said in previous meetings: "We have to make sure our rates are sufficient to generate revenue, so we have to raise the rates under our agreement."
The airlines did receive one concession. Board chair Pamela Richards got approval from her colleagues to set a one-year moratorium on the higher landing fees for airlines new to the territory or expanding their service locally. The move does not apply to the increases in passenger fees, she said.
Richards, who is Tourism commissioner and by virtue of that office chairs the VIPA board, said she finds it frustrating to compete with 32 other destinations in seeking to encourage more airlift to the territory when she has no incentives to offer.
She said she would be going to Germany in March to meet with representatives of new charter airlines and would like to have the moratorium offer to put on the table.
She also said that passenger fees from anticipated new traffic into the territory would offset the one-year loss of the landing fees.
The airline representatives present — Robert de Lugo, Delta Air Lines station manager; Calvin Presley, USAirways St. Thomas manager; and Joseph Hoffman, Continental Airlines airport business manager — did not appear to be impressed with Richards' proposal. They filed out of the room after learning there would be no change for them in the increased airport fees. One of the group commented: "At least they could have apologized for making us wait for an hour and 40 minutes to tell us no good news. It shows no respect."
Richards also made another proposal, which she called a "two for one." It would allow airlines to pay only one landing fee for flights from the States that land on St. Thomas then continue on to St. Croix before returning to the mainland.
The idea is one in place in the territory for cruise ships as an incentive to visit St. Croix. Those calling at both St. Thomas and St. Croix are exempt from port fees on St. Croix.
Mills urged the board to hold off on idea for airports until he checked with the Federal Aviation Administration on the legality of such a move. "They can be very strict about these things, and we don't want to run afoul," he said.
Stridiron said the proposal "raised many, many questions" and urged more study on the issue.
All VIPA board members attended the meeting: Kent Bernier, assistant to the governor for economic affairs, Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood, Leslie Milliner, Robert O'Connor Jr., Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett, Richards and Stridiron.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – The airline representatives in attendance at Wednesday's Port Authority board meeting did not come away with good news. The board held fast on its 25 percent increase in airport landing and passenger fees instituted on Feb. l.
Some of the carrier personnel had expressed optimism while waiting an hour and 45 minutes for the scheduled 10 a.m. meeting to begin as board members apparently huddled privately outside the board room. When the session convened, no explanation for the delay was given.
Any hope of retreat on the fee increases was quickly dashed as Cornell Williams, newly appointed VIPA deputy executive director, gave a PowerPoint presentation of the Port Authority's current financial condition. He reported that the agency's overall financial picture has not changed significantly since January. VIPA still is facing a $2 million deficit even with the fee increases, a situation it announced in January, he said.
Darlan Brin, VIPA executive director, sought and received board approval for a 10 percent rollback in salaries for 63 non-union management employees, including himself, for the balance of Fiscal Year 2003. He said the move would save about $700,000. The rollbacks will take effect immediately, he said.
Brin also received approval to continue studying cost-saving measures and to continue a dialogue with the airlines on the fee increases.
Explaining further cost-cutting measures to the board, Brin said the authority would save $1 million by spending only available federal funds on the Red Hook Marine Terminal project for the rest of the current fiscal year, delaying the expenditure of Port Authority funds on the project until the start of until FY 2004.
Without the revenues from the airport fee increases, VIPA could be in technical default with its bondholders, VIPA attorney Donald Mills said in response to questioning by Attorney General Iver Stridiron, a VIPA board member.
"If we retreat [from the increase], are we exposing ourselves to being called on the bonds?" Stridiron asked. Mills explained that if the bonds were to be called, that would mean $8 million that the authority — and, by extension, the airlines — could be liable for because of the signatory agreement VIPA has with the four major carriers in the territory.
The agreement provides for airport fees to be raised when VIPA has a shortfall in its Aviation Division and lowered when the division has a surplus.
Mills reiterated what he has said in previous meetings: "We have to make sure our rates are sufficient to generate revenue, so we have to raise the rates under our agreement."
The airlines did receive one concession. Board chair Pamela Richards got approval from her colleagues to set a one-year moratorium on the higher landing fees for airlines new to the territory or expanding their service locally. The move does not apply to the increases in passenger fees, she said.
Richards, who is Tourism commissioner and by virtue of that office chairs the VIPA board, said she finds it frustrating to compete with 32 other destinations in seeking to encourage more airlift to the territory when she has no incentives to offer.
She said she would be going to Germany in March to meet with representatives of new charter airlines and would like to have the moratorium offer to put on the table.
She also said that passenger fees from anticipated new traffic into the territory would offset the one-year loss of the landing fees.
The airline representatives present — Robert de Lugo, Delta Air Lines station manager; Calvin Presley, USAirways St. Thomas manager; and Joseph Hoffman, Continental Airlines airport business manager — did not appear to be impressed with Richards' proposal. They filed out of the room after learning there would be no change for them in the increased airport fees. One of the group commented: "At least they could have apologized for making us wait for an hour and 40 minutes to tell us no good news. It shows no respect."
Richards also made another proposal, which she called a "two for one." It would allow airlines to pay only one landing fee for flights from the States that land on St. Thomas then continue on to St. Croix before returning to the mainland.
The idea is one in place in the territory for cruise ships as an incentive to visit St. Croix. Those calling at both St. Thomas and St. Croix are exempt from port fees on St. Croix.
Mills urged the board to hold off on idea for airports until he checked with the Federal Aviation Administration on the legality of such a move. "They can be very strict about these things, and we don't want to run afoul," he said.
Stridiron said the proposal "raised many, many questions" and urged more study on the issue.
All VIPA board members attended the meeting: Kent Bernier, assistant to the governor for economic affairs, Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood, Leslie Milliner, Robert O'Connor Jr., Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett, Richards and Stridiron.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – A proposal before Congress to increase the duty-free allowances for U.S. residents returning from other Caribbean islands by $200 could hurt the Virgin Islands, according to a V.I. businessman whose customers are mainly tourists.
Vinnie Mohanani, in a letter released to the Source, wrote to U.S. Rep. William Thomas that the change would be a major blow to the Virgin Islands. Thomas, a California Republican, chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Our economy is still recovering from the effects of the hurricane season of 1995 and the tourism downturn as a result of fewer Americans traveling because of the tragic events of Sept. 11," Mohanani wrote. He pointed out that tourism is the territory's main source of revenue.
Mohanani, of the Dazzlers shop in Havensight Mall on St. Thomas, said the proposed increase in the duty-free allowance from other islands coupled with tax cuts proposed by President Bush will have a negative impact on the territory's treasury. "Our government is already struggling with a mountain of debt," he wrote.
U.S. visitors currently can take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free from the Virgin Islands, versus $600 worth from non-U.S. Caribbean islands.
According to the U.S. Customs Web site, a U.S. resident who has visited several islands flying different flags as well as the Virgin Islands still may take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free, but they must spend at least $600 of that amount in the Virgin Islands.
Delegate Donna M. Christensen noted that the proposed change would still give U.S. travelers to the territory a duty-free allowance $400 larger than that for other Caribbean islands. She said preferences such as the one now enjoyed by the Virgin Islands are not widely supported and are on their way out.
"We have to be prepared," she said.
The first wave of change came last November, Christensen said, when the duty-free allowance for U.S. residents returning from Europe went to $800 from $400. "It was the first increase in 20 years," she said.
Christensen said her office is working on strategies to maintain the territory's 2:1 preference as well as on ways to increase the viability of the territory's tourism product.
Mohanani could not be reached Wednesday for further comment. The president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, Cassan Pancham, did not return a phone call requesting comment. No one could be reached in Congressman Thomas's office for comment.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – A proposal before Congress to increase the duty-free allowances for U.S. residents returning from other Caribbean islands by $200 could hurt the Virgin Islands, according to a V.I. businessman whose customers are mainly tourists.
Vinnie Mohanani, in a letter released to the Source, wrote to U.S. Rep. William Thomas that the change would be a major blow to the Virgin Islands. Thomas, a California Republican, chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Our economy is still recovering from the effects of the hurricane season of 1995 and the tourism downturn as a result of fewer Americans traveling because of the tragic events of Sept. 11," Mohanani wrote. He pointed out that tourism is the territory's main source of revenue.
Mohanani, of the Dazzlers shop in Havensight Mall on St. Thomas, said the proposed increase in the duty-free allowance from other islands coupled with tax cuts proposed by President Bush will have a negative impact on the territory's treasury. "Our government is already struggling with a mountain of debt," he wrote.
U.S. visitors currently can take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free from the Virgin Islands, versus $600 worth from non-U.S. Caribbean islands.
According to the U.S. Customs Web site, a U.S. resident who has visited several islands flying different flags as well as the Virgin Islands still may take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free, but they must spend at least $600 of that amount in the Virgin Islands.
Delegate Donna M. Christensen noted that the proposed change would still give U.S. travelers to the territory a duty-free allowance $400 larger than that for other Caribbean islands. She said preferences such as the one now enjoyed by the Virgin Islands are not widely supported and are on their way out.
"We have to be prepared," she said.
The first wave of change came last November, Christensen said, when the duty-free allowance for U.S. residents returning from Europe went to $800 from $400. "It was the first increase in 20 years," she said.
Christensen said her office is working on strategies to maintain the territory's 2:1 preference as well as on ways to increase the viability of the territory's tourism product.
Mohanani could not be reached Wednesday for further comment. The president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, Cassan Pancham, did not return a phone call requesting comment. No one could be reached in Congressman Thomas's office for comment.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – A proposal before Congress to increase the duty-free allowances for U.S. residents returning from other Caribbean islands by $200 could hurt the Virgin Islands, according to a St. Thomas businessman whose customers are mainly tourists.
Vinnie Mohanani, in a letter released to the Source, wrote to U.S. Rep. William Thomas that the change would be a major blow to the Virgin Islands. Thomas, a California Republican, chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Our economy is still recovering from the effects of the hurricane season of 1995 and the tourism downturn as a result of fewer Americans traveling because of the tragic events of Sept. 11," Mohanani wrote. He pointed out that tourism is the territory's main source of revenue.
Mohanani, of the Dazzlers shop in Havensight Mall, said the proposed increase in the duty-free allowance from other islands coupled with tax cuts proposed by President Bush will have a negative impact on the territory's treasury. "Our government is already struggling with a mountain of debt," he wrote.
U.S. visitors currently can take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free from the Virgin Islands, versus $600 worth from non-U.S. Caribbean islands.
According to the U.S. Customs Web site, a U.S. resident who has visited several islands flying different flags as well as the Virgin Islands still may take home $1,200 worth of goods duty free, but they must spend at least $600 of that amount in the Virgin Islands.
Delegate Donna M. Christensen noted that the proposed change would still give U.S. travelers to the territory a duty-free allowance $400 larger than that for other Caribbean islands. She said preferences such as the one now enjoyed by the Virgin Islands are not widely supported and are on their way out.
"We have to be prepared," she said.
The first wave of change came last November, Christensen said, when the duty-free allowance for U.S. residents returning from Europe went to $800 from $400. "It was the first increase in 20 years," she said.
Christensen said her office is working on strategies to maintain the territory's 2:1 preference as well as on ways to increase the viability of the territory's tourism product.
Mohanani could not be reached Wednesday for further comment. The president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, Cassan Pancham, did not return a phone call requesting comment. No one could be reached in Congressman Thomas's office for comment.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – Classes were canceled at Elena Christian Junior High School on Wednesday after someone broke into and vandalized the cafeteria and then set fire to a nearby office, Fire Service Chief Roberto Santos said.
Two units from the Richmond Fire Station, about seven firefighters in all, were called to the school in La Grande Princesse around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, Santos said.
He said they waded through a lot of smoke to the source of the small fire inside the kitchen staff supervisor's office adjacent to the kitchen.
"There was a break-in at the school," and the perpetrators "ransacked the place," spraying dry chemicals from school fire extinguishers all over, Santos said. "They then forced their way into the office and must have set the place on fire."
He said the flames were contained to the one small room, and there was no visible damage from the fire outside the office. He said it was not clear exactly how the fire was started but that it was deliberately set and that the case is under investigation by both the Fire Service and the Police Department.
He said he did not know the value of property lost or damaged.
Fire Service personnel remained on the scene until a little after 8 a.m., Santos said, assisting school officials in clearing the area of smoke.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Education Committee chair embraced the vandalism and fire as an opportunity to focus on lack of security in the territory's public schools. After visiting Elena Christian, Sen. Ronald Russell called school security a "No. 1 priority." Expensive equipment and supplies are at stake, he said, and there must be safeguards to protect property when school is not in session.
"Only in cases of emergency will police personnel guard the campuses after hours and on weekends," Russell said in a release. "I will re-evaluate this policy and do the best thing for the students." He said the issue will be addressed at the next Education Committee hearing.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – Pistarckle Theater is presenting a free event on Friday in celebration of Black History Month — a dramatic reading of the play "The African Company Presents Richard III."
The reading, in which Pistarckle actors will read from the script, is set for 8 p.m. under the stars in Tillett Gardens, where the theater is located.
The work, by Carlyle Brown, is a play about a play. It relates the beginnings of the black theater movement in the United States, focusing on the first African-American theatrical company, which announced on Sept. 21, 1821, a production of Shakespeare's "Richard III" in New York City
A promotion for a current production of Brown's play by The Black Theatre Troupe Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona, states: "The African Company of New York was putting on plays in a downtown Manhattan theater attended by whites and blacks 40 years before Lincoln ended slavery and 50 years before black Americans earned the right to vote. Timed perfectly for this important month, 'The African Company Presents Richard III' tells how the drama of this progressive group reached further than the stage. It tells how they used the personal and the historical, the comic and the angry to propel their company."
In the case of "Richard III," the biggest obstacle the company had to overcome was not prejudice on the part of audiences but, of all things, competition. The prestigious Park Theatre in mid-town Manhattan was about to reopen following a disastrous fire with a mounting of "Richard III" starring a famed British Shakespearean actor imported for the occasion. The Park's manager, Stephen Price, was a determined sort, having, among other things, leased a rival theater for a full year to keep it shut down and invoked specious fire-code violations to close competing productions down, according to an online review of the Brown's play by Laura V. Blanchard.
According to Blanchard, the actors playing Richard and another character in the African Company production were arrested "for reasons that remain a mystery," and on Oct. 1 the company moved from its initial setup to a new location, where it was "again forced to close down." She cites theater historian Samuel Hay as stating that these moves had to do with politics:
"The question was whether African Americans owning or renting property should be allowed to vote. New York Sheriff Mordecai Noah, a pro-slavery Tammany Hall Democrat, was against voting rights for blacks who were affiliated with the forward-looking Federalist Party. As editor of the powerful National Advocate newspaper, he printed derisive reviews of African Company performances to show that blacks were incapable of attaining the higher arts. He also wrote plays that Stephen Price produced."
James Hewlett, the prime mover of The African Company, portrayed King Richard in the production. In one dramatic scene of Brown's play, Hewlett and actress Ann Johnson are rehearsing a seduction scene in "Richard III" that Johnson finds difficult. Blanchard cites a reviewer of Brown's play, who wrote that Hewlett reminds Johnson "about the theatricality of their status as free blacks … about the rage they each must suppress when faced with their economic and sexual oppressors … and about the actor's freedom to transcend social categories."
For more background on Brown's play and the original African Company production, see the 1995 review of "The African Company Presents Richard III: a play by Carlyle Brown" by Laura V. Blanchard, then vice chair of the Richard III Society, American Branch.
As part of the St. John Arts Festival, Pistarckle gave its first reading of Brown's work on Sunday at the St. John School of the Arts. "It was beautifully received!" Pistarckle artistic director Nicola Emerich says. She said the play should appeal to high school students as well as adults.
On Friday, a complimentary champagne reception will precede the reading. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Pistarckle Theater lobby.
Attendees may also want to come early to enjoy the monthly Da Da Wine Down get-together, being held for the first time at JKay's restaurant in Tillett Gardens. The event, from 5 to 8 p.m., features an art exhibition, complimentary hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar and an optional guided wine tasting. (See "Wine Down on the road; first stop, Tillett Gardens".)
The Pistarckle audience is invited to stay after the play reading to take part in a discussion with the actors to be moderated by University of the Virgin Islands theater professor Rosary Harper and Reichhold Center for the Arts director David Edgecombe. UVI faculty member Gene Emanuel also will take part.
The reading, part of Pistarckle's community outreach program, is being funded in part with a grant from the V.I. Humanities Council. Emanuel is serving as humanities evaluator of the project.
For more information, call 775-7877.

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Feb. 26, 2003 – The February Dada Wine Down — this Friday — will be at a new venue, JKay's restaurant in Tillett Gardens.
Host Rick Kingsland is taking the monthly art show and wine-tasting event on the road, with a variety of stops to come.
The paintings of John L. Chinnery and "natural art" and leatherwork by Felix will be showcased at Friday's gathering. Bellows International will be conducting the wine tasting and seminar, this one featuring Fetzer wines — Sundial Chardonnay, Knight Valley Cabernet, Echo Ridge Sauvignon Blanc and Eagle Peak Merlot.
The Wine Down, from 5 to 8 p.m., is free and open to the public. There will be complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. There's a $10 fee for the optional wine tasting and seminar, which will be ongoing throughout the evening.
The Wine Down can serve as a prelude to the 8 p.m. presentation in Tillett Gardens by Pistarckle Theater of a reading of the play "The African Company Presents Richard III." The reading, in celebration of Black History Month, is free and open to the public, with teen-agers especially encouraged to attend. (See "Pistarckle to do reading of black history play".)
Chinnery was born on Tortola and moved to St. Thomas in the late 1960s. A 1972 graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School, he holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration from the Philadelphia College of Art, now known as The University of the Arts, in Philadelphia.
He exhibited his work previously at the April 2002 Dada Wine Down. He also has had showings in Pennsylvania and New York, including at The Philadelphia Sketch Club, The University of the Arts annual staff exhibition, the Art Institute of Philadelphia, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and PNC Bank.
After pursuing a career as a freelance artist and art teacher in southeastern Pennsylvania, Chinnery returned to St. Thomas in December of 2001 "to capture the beauty the islands have to offer." His work is represented on St. Thomas at Blue Turtle Gallery and Pissarro Gallery.
Felix, who uses only his first name as an artist, also is a second-time Wine Down exhibitor having previously shown his "natural art" works at one held last September. This time, he will be showing coconut sculpture, detailed leatherwork and other craft items.
He says his art is an evolution of what he has been doing all his life — "picking things up to see what I could make out of them." Coconuts and the products of the coconut palm are the primary materials he use for his birds, fish, butterflies, dragonflies, jewelry boxes, dolls, masks, wall plaques and jewelry.
Felix has been designing V.I. Carnival costumes on Thomas since 1995 and saw his creations win last year's Junior King and Queen of the Band awards. He is currently in his native Trinidad creating costumes for carnival there. His work can be seen at Camille Pissarro Gallery and Native Crafts on St. Thomas and at Kareso Gallery on St. John.

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Parents and guardians of students attending the Joseph Sibilly Elementary School are advised that there will be no classes held on Friday, Feb. 28. faculty and staff members will participate in a professional development workshop.
Classes will resume on Monday, March 3.

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