Nov. 9, 2002 – Okay, sports fans, it's time to plan to come out and welcome the NCAA men's basketball players and their traveling fans who'll be coming for the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center later this month.
The second annual Paradise Jam Dockside Jamboree will be held at Havensight Mall from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, and lots of action is planned even though it's away from the basketball court.
Throughout the evening, fans can talk to and get autographs from team members from Brigham Young University, Kansas State, Toledo, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech and Michigan. Since the Paradise Jam Tournament gets under way the next day and you can't know which team will be champion, you'll have to get autographs from all the teams, just so you don't miss out.
At 6:30 p.m. there will be a short basketball clinic conducted by Kevin Cook, coach of the WNBA Houston Comets. There will also be a free-throw contest between players from Virgin Islands middle and high schools.
P'Your Passion and Bertha C. Boschulte Steel Orchestra will be among the bands providing the evening's entertainment. There'll be local foods, mocko jumbies, door prizes including Paradise Jam tickets, and stores open late for Christmas shopping.
Sponsors of the event are The West Indian Company, Ltd., Havensight Merchants and Professional Association, Cruzan Rum distributed by Premiere Wine and spirits, Coca Cola Bottling Company, and The Committee to Revive Our Culture.
Paradise Jam team / player news:
Every day changes the NCAA basketball season, and the Paradise Jam rosters are no exception to that.
The Michigan Wolverines will officially open their season in the Virgin Islands, says the Michigan Men's Basketball web site. They'll go from the Paradise Jam to open their home schedule Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Then they travel to Durham, N.C. to meet Duke University, where "Go Blue" will meet "Go Duke" Blue Devils.
But in news that just broke, the University of Michigan has self-imposed sanctions for misdeeds that reportedly occurred during the reign of the "Fab Five" – which included now-NBA player Chris Webber — back in the early '90s. The school has informed the NCAA that they will forfeit games won from 1992-1999 while four players were ineligible, which means forfeiting several Final Four victories and taking down four championship banners, and no longer mentioning them in programs; repay about $450,000 to the NCAA for postseason play; declare the men's team ineligible for participation in this season's tournaments; and place the men's basketball program on probation for two years.
But has this sad situation daunted the team about to open the 2002-2003 season? Apparently not, and the Virgin Islands can expect to see determined players playing good basketball when they come here. To read the positive comments of some of the current Michigan Wolverines about the situation, go to the Michigan Men's Basketball site. Looks like their attitude is "Play ball!"
And the Duke University women's basketball team has to rethink and replan, because sophomore guard-forward Monique Currie tore an anterior cruciate ligament just five seconds into an exhibition game on Nov. 5, and she'll be out for the season, according to the GoDuke website. Despite that, the USA Today/ ESPN poll the next day put Duke women at the top spot, with 25 of 39 first-place votes. The team returns six other letterwinners from last season, including junior Alana Beard, who has a locker-full of "best" and "first" records and accolades. She scored 19 points in 20 minutes of action in that same exhibition game. So the fans can expect to see how the No. 1 team reinvents itself as the season opens. And their attitude also will be "Play ball!"
For the complete playing schedule (men, Nov. 22-25; women, Nov. 28-30), see Source earlier article, Preseason #1 Duke Women to be at Paradise Jam
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.

Nov. 9, 2002 – Okay, sports fans, it's time to plan to come out and welcome the NCAA men's basketball players and their traveling fans who'll be coming for the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center later this month.
The second annual Paradise Jam Dockside Jamboree will be held at Havensight Mall from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, and lots of action is planned even though it's away from the basketball court.
Throughout the evening, fans can talk to and get autographs from team members from Brigham Young University, Kansas State, Toledo, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech and Michigan. Since the Paradise Jam Tournament gets under way the next day and you can't know which team will be champion, you'll have to get autographs from all the teams, just so you don't miss out.
At 6:30 p.m. there will be a short basketball clinic conducted by Kevin Cook, coach of the WNBA Houston Comets. There will also be a free-throw contest between players from Virgin Islands middle and high schools.
P'Your Passion and Bertha C. Boschulte Steel Orchestra will be among the bands providing the evening's entertainment. There'll be local foods, mocko jumbies, door prizes including Paradise Jam tickets, and stores open late for Christmas shopping.
Sponsors of the event are The West Indian Company, Ltd., Havensight Merchants and Professional Association, Cruzan Rum distributed by Premiere Wine and spirits, Coca Cola Bottling Company, and The Committee to Revive Our Culture.
Paradise Jam team / player news:
Every day changes the NCAA basketball season, and the Paradise Jam rosters are no exception to that.
The Michigan Wolverines will officially open their season in the Virgin Islands, says the Michigan Men's Basketball web site. They'll go from the Paradise Jam to open their home schedule Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Then they travel to Durham, N.C. to meet Duke University, where "Go Blue" will meet "Go Duke" Blue Devils.
But in news that just broke, the University of Michigan has self-imposed sanctions for misdeeds that reportedly occurred during the reign of the "Fab Five" – which included now-NBA player Chris Webber — back in the early '90s. The school has informed the NCAA that they will forfeit games won from 1992-1999 while four players were ineligible, which means forfeiting several Final Four victories and taking down four championship banners, and no longer mentioning them in programs; repay about $450,000 to the NCAA for postseason play; declare the men's team ineligible for participation in this season's tournaments; and place the men's basketball program on probation for two years.
But has this sad situation daunted the team about to open the 2002-2003 season? Apparently not, and the Virgin Islands can expect to see determined players playing good basketball when they come here. To read the positive comments of some of the current Michigan Wolverines about the situation, go to the Michigan Men's Basketball site. Looks like their attitude is "Play ball!"
And the Duke University women's basketball team has to rethink and replan, because sophomore guard-forward Monique Currie tore an anterior cruciate ligament just five seconds into an exhibition game on Nov. 5, and she'll be out for the season, according to the GoDuke website. Despite that, the USA Today/ ESPN poll the next day put Duke women at the top spot, with 25 of 39 first-place votes. The team returns six other letterwinners from last season, including junior Alana Beard, who has a locker-full of "best" and "first" records and accolades. She scored 19 points in 20 minutes of action in that same exhibition game. So the fans can expect to see how the No. 1 team reinvents itself as the season opens. And their attitude also will be "Play ball!"
For the complete playing schedule (men, Nov. 22-25; women, Nov. 28-30), see Source earlier article, Preseason #1 Duke Women to be at Paradise Jam
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Nov. 9, 2002 – The Government Employees Services Commission Health Insurance board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, in the library at the Department of Justice.Board members are urged to attend.

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Nov. 9, 2002 – Okay, sports fans, it's time to plan to come out and welcome the NCAA men's basketball players and their traveling fans who'll be coming for the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center later this month.
The second annual Paradise Jam Dockside Jamboree will be held at Havensight Mall from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, and lots of action is planned even though it's away from the basketball court.
Throughout the evening, fans can talk to and get autographs from team members from Brigham Young University, Kansas State, Toledo, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech and Michigan. Since the Paradise Jam Tournament gets under way the next day and you can't know which team will be champion, you'll have to get autographs from all the teams, just so you don't miss out.
At 6:30 p.m. there will be a short basketball clinic conducted by Kevin Cook, coach of the WNBA Houston Comets. There will also be a free-throw contest between players from Virgin Islands middle and high schools.
P'Your Passion and Bertha C. Boschulte Steel Orchestra will be among the bands providing the evening's entertainment. There'll be local foods, mocko jumbies, door prizes including Paradise Jam tickets, and stores open late for Christmas shopping.
Sponsors of the event are The West Indian Company, Ltd., Havensight Merchants and Professional Association, Cruzan Rum distributed by Premiere Wine and spirits, Coca Cola Bottling Company, and The Committee to Revive Our Culture.
Paradise Jam team / player news:
Every day changes the NCAA basketball season, and the Paradise Jam rosters are no exception to that.
The Michigan Wolverines will officially open their season in the Virgin Islands, says the Michigan Men's Basketball web site. They'll go from the Paradise Jam to open their home schedule Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Then they travel to Durham, N.C. to meet Duke University, where "Go Blue" will meet "Go Duke" Blue Devils.
But in news that just broke, the University of Michigan has self-imposed sanctions for misdeeds that reportedly occurred during the reign of the "Fab Five" – which included now-NBA player Chris Webber — back in the early '90s. The school has informed the NCAA that they will forfeit games won from 1992-1999 while four players were ineligible, which means forfeiting several Final Four victories and taking down four championship banners, and no longer mentioning them in programs; repay about $450,000 to the NCAA for postseason play; declare the men's team ineligible for participation in this season's tournaments; and place the men's basketball program on probation for two years.
But has this sad situation daunted the team about to open the 2002-2003 season? Apparently not, and the Virgin Islands can expect to see determined players playing good basketball when they come here. To read the positive comments of some of the current Michigan Wolverines about the situation, go to the Michigan Men's Basketball site. Looks like their attitude is "Play ball!"
And the Duke University women's basketball team has to rethink and replan, because sophomore guard-forward Monique Currie tore an anterior cruciate ligament just five seconds into an exhibition game on Nov. 5, and she'll be out for the season, according to the GoDuke website. Despite that, the USA Today/ ESPN poll the next day put Duke women at the top spot, with 25 of 39 first-place votes. The team returns six other letterwinners from last season, including junior Alana Beard, who has a locker-full of "best" and "first" records and accolades. She scored 19 points in 20 minutes of action in that same exhibition game. So the fans can expect to see how the No. 1 team reinvents itself as the season opens. And their attitude also will be "Play ball!"
For the complete playing schedule (men, Nov. 22-25; women, Nov. 28-30), see Source earlier article, Preseason #1 Duke Women to be at Paradise Jam.
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.

Nov. 9, 2002 – Tommy Starfish inaugurated his road signs Friday morning in an unveiling of sorts at the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort's wedding garden, which normally boasts another kind of veil.
Standing in front of the garden gazebo, Tommy displayed the five color-coded signs that are designed to help tourists, and residents, find their way around the island. Several years ago, numbered route signs were put around the island, but they have met with resistance from residents who claim not to understand them.
Angel Rojas, Public Works Department special assistant to the commissioner, laughed as he agreed with others at the ceremony that it is much easier to find something "down the corner from the Tamarind tree." Rojas was there to praise the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association's hospitality focus group responsible for the signs.
Edwin Davis, Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission chairman, was equally pleased with the work Tommy had done with the signs. Tommy is directing his volunteer committee to have all signs in place by the end of the year. The commission gave the hospitality group a grant for the project, which was further funded by cash donations. "When the signage presentation was made to us, we were impressed," Davis said.
David Yamada, Renaissance general manager and hotel association president, introduced Tommy at the gathering. "Now we will be able to help our tourists and ourselves getting from here to there," he said.
The color-coded signs, which will circle the island are:
– Orange – from the airport to Red Hook.
– Green – from town to Magen's Bay.
– Yellow – from Mafolie to Crown Bay through the North Side.
– Red – from Smith Bay to Four Corners via Skyline Drive.
– Blue – from Havensight to Red Hook.
Many of the signs are already in place. A bright orange sign greets one at the Legislature building and again at Red Hook, with components en route.

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Death Lurks in the Bush
Kate Grilley
Berkley Prime Crime
224 pp, $5.99 paperback
Nov. 10, 2002 – "Death Lurks in the Bush," the third in the Kelly Ryan mystery series, is a local treat for Virgin Islanders and a nostalgic slice of Caribbean life for ex-patriate continentals as well. Kelly runs a radio station on the fictitious island of St. Chris, a thinly disguised Virgin Island, and enjoys a limin' island lifestyle with her diverse collection of yuppie and native friends. She also has the unfortunate habit of getting involved in murders, which, a la Jessica Fletcher, she solves using her local knowledge and insights into human relationships.
In Kelly's current imbroglio, St. Chris is excitedly preparing for the arrival of the Queen of Denmark and everyone's gone the opposite of native: The restaurants are serving Tuborg, Danish Maries made with aquavit, red grout, and individual pizzas garnished with herring and pickled beets.
Queen Margrethe's childhood friend on St. Chris, Miss Maude, is looking forward to hosting a dinner party in her majesty's honor, but is desolated when her practice run proves disastrous, with most of the guests becoming ill. Is it ciguatera poisoning from the fish she served? Is it bush tea accidentally made with a poisonous plant? The flu?
When Miss Maude's lifelong friend Miss Lucy dies under suspicious circumstances, she becomes the main murder suspect. Then another, seemingly related, death leads Kelly and her policeman friend Benjamin to rethink those suspicions and intensify their search for the real killer.
While the plot is interesting enough to hold the reader's attention, the real enjoyment of this novel comes from its local color and island ambience. (You'll never guess the murder weapon, which may well be unique in the genre.) Readers with an affinity for things Caribbean will enjoy the local history described in the building of a "homestead house" on the fairgrounds, the lore of the weed women and the pageantry of Transfer Day celebrations.
Author Kate Grilley is a continental who has lived in the Virgin Islands for many years. She resides in Christiansted and commutes to work on St. Thomas, where she is a mortgage broker. Her previous Kelly Ryan mysteries are "Death Rides an Ill Wind" (can you guess the main event?) and "Death Dances to a Reggae Beat," which was nominated for several prestigious mystery awards including the Agatha, the Anthony, and the Macavity.

Editor's note: Sara Barnett is librarian who formerly was on the staff at the University of the Virgin Islands. She now resides in Florida.
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Nov. 8, 2002 – A St. Croix senatorial candidate and the president of the Crucian Coalition are calling upon several national and international election watchdog groups to investigate this week's general election in the Virgin Islands.
Hope Gibson and Juliete Liburd issued a release Friday afternoon saying they suspect "foul play" in the election process.
Gibson said she has asked the Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute, the Federal Election Commission, the United Nations Electoral Systems Bureau and the FBI to do "outside investigations into the possibility of wrongdoing," adding that she and Liburd, "would feel more comfortable having the questions answered from official outside sources."
As support for their assertion of questionable election results, Gibson and Liburd pointed to identical percentages in the voting differences between incumbent Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and his closest challenger, John de Jongh Jr. in both districts. However, upon analysis, the argument made by the two is not completely clear in terms of what the numbers mean.
The made their argument by saying "a 7.39 percent voting difference between Turnbull and de Jongh on St. Thomas/St. John and an identical 7.39 percent voting difference on St. Croix was highly unlikely to occur randomly."
One analyst said the way the numbers were calculated, they always equal the same percentage. Gibson could not be reached as of publication Friday night for clarification.
Nevertheless, talk shows on St. Croix have been inundated since Wednesday with callers questioning the validity of the posted election returns. And the disparity in the numbers has been widely questioned throughout the territory.
With eight candidates running, political analysts projected and the findings of various public opinion polls indicated that there would be a runoff in the race for governor. Few observers foresaw the wide margin between Turnbull and de Jongh or the minuscule returns for the other gubernatorial candidates.
John Abramson, elections supervisor, could not be reached Friday night for comment.

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.

Nov. 8, 2002 – A St. Croix senatorial candidate and the president of the Crucian Coalition are calling upon several national and international election watchdog groups to investigate this week's general election in the Virgin Islands.
Hope Gibson and Juliete Liburd issued a release Friday afternoon saying they suspect "foul play" in the election process.
Gibson said she has asked the Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute, the Federal Election Commission, the United Nations Electoral Systems Bureau and the FBI to do "outside investigations into the possibility of wrongdoing," adding that she and Liburd, "would feel more comfortable having the questions answered from official outside sources."
As support for their assertion of questionable election results, Gibson and Liburd pointed to identical percentages in the voting differences between incumbent Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and his closest challenger, John de Jongh Jr. in both districts. However, upon analysis, the argument made by the two is not completely clear in terms of what the numbers mean.
The made their argument by saying "a 7.39 percent voting difference between Turnbull and de Jongh on St. Thomas/St. John and an identical 7.39 percent voting difference on St. Croix was highly unlikely to occur randomly."
One analyst said the way the numbers were calculated, they always equal the same percentage. Gibson could not be reached as of publication Friday night for clarification.
Nevertheless, talk shows on St. Croix have been inundated since Wednesday with callers questioning the validity of the posted election returns. And the disparity in the numbers has been widely questioned throughout the territory.
With eight candidates running, political analysts projected and the findings of various public opinion polls indicated that there would be a runoff in the race for governor. Few observers foresaw the wide margin between Turnbull and de Jongh or the minuscule returns for the other gubernatorial candidates.
John Abramson, elections supervisor, could not be reached Friday night for comment.

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.

Nov. 8, 2002 – A St. Croix senatorial candidate and the president of the Crucian Coalition are calling upon several national and international election watchdog groups to investigate this week's general election in the Virgin Islands.
Hope Gibson and Juliete Liburd issued a release Friday afternoon saying they suspect "foul play" in the election process.
Gibson said she has asked the Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute, the Federal Election Commission, the United Nations Electoral Systems Bureau and the FBI to do "outside investigations into the possibility of wrongdoing," adding that she and Liburd, "would feel more comfortable having the questions answered from official outside sources."
As support for their assertion of questionable election results, Gibson and Liburd pointed to identical percentages in the voting differences between incumbent Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and his closest challenger, John de Jongh Jr. in both districts. However, upon analysis, the argument made by the two is not completely clear in terms of what the numbers mean.
The made their argument by saying "a 7.39 percent voting difference between Turnbull and de Jongh on St. Thomas/St. John and an identical 7.39 percent voting difference on St. Croix was highly unlikely to occur randomly."
One analyst said the way the numbers were calculated, they always equal the same percentage. Gibson could not be reached as of publication Friday night for clarification.
Nevertheless, talk shows on St. Croix have been inundated since Wednesday with callers questioning the validity of the posted election returns. And the disparity in the numbers has been widely questioned throughout the territory.
With eight candidates running, political analysts projected and the findings of various public opinion polls indicated that there would be a runoff in the race for governor. Few observers foresaw the wide margin between Turnbull and de Jongh or the minuscule returns for the other gubernatorial candidates.
John Abramson, elections supervisor, could not be reached Friday night for comment.

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.

Dear Source:
Gee whiz, I got lucky again with my poor methodology and sampling – let me see, all eight candidates in exact order, Gov. Turnbull squeaks in as predicted, six of eight races predicted within 1-2 percent, Chucky was predicted as extremely variable, and only one real last minute miss (de Jongh).
It is always easy to criticize the effort of a pollster, yet no one ever offers an apology for their incompetent assessment of my work, and with the exception of Bernard Hamilton and Raymond James, no one tries to do it with greater accuracy. I applaud the efforts of all competing polls, including straw polls of the schools, and will continue to mock academics who are either too lazy or two incompetent to try and offer the public better information.
I only wish that I were truly clairvoyant and not a skilled practitioner – then I would not have to work as hard or spend so much money to get good results.
John Boyd
St. Croix

Editor's note: 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.