Aug. 24, 2002 – The deadline for submitting suggestions for the theme contest announced earlier this summer has been extended to Friday, Aug. 30, to boost student participation. The contest is open to public school students, grades 4-12. Submissions to the contest should be no longer than one line and capture the student's creative view of his overall educational experience, or what they hope it to be. All entries should include the student's name, date of birth, address, contact number, grade school and principal's name.
Students are asked to drop off their entries to the following locations on St. Thomas: The Public Information Office at 44-46 Kongens Gade or the Curriculum Center in Tutu.
As an incentive, the Department of Education solicited prizes from local businesses for the contest so that students will become as creative as possible and will be rewarded for their efforts. The author of the theme selected will receive a grand prize worth $500 in school supplies, books and other merchandise.
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DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM STATISTICS
Aug. 23, 2002 – Recently published tourism statistics from the Bureau of Economic Research that indicate tourism dropped by 7.8 percent in the first six months of 2002 compared with the previous year have prompted a war of words from a couple of quarters.
For starters, Lauritz Mills, who heads the Bureau of Economic Research, sent out a press release saying, in essence, wait a minute, things aren't as bad as they seem.
"Let's put it in perspective," she said in a Source interview.
She said that across the Caribbean, tourism fell by double digits following Sept. 11. And she said that until September 11, Virgin Islands tourism was strong.
Thanks to a healthy winter, spring and summer in 2001 that offset plummeting figures after Sept. 11, overall tourism increased by 5 percent for 2001. While the number of cruise ship passengers increased by 7 percent for all of 2001, the number of air arrivals dropped by 3 percent.
Mills press release was followed by one from gubernatorial candidate John de Jongh that said the figures don't lie.
"We're in trouble and those at the top refuse to acknowledge it," deJongh said, calling for the creation of a Tourism Authority. "We need someone in authority who understands the basics of a tourism economy and who knows hwo to partner with all components of the industry…the airlines, the cruise ship companies, the hotels , the travel agents, the charter boat companies andall other the impacthe thi smost important segment of our economy."
The statistics reflect the downturn in the economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the plummeting stock market and the fact that major corporations are laying off workers left and right.
Bob Siefert, president of the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association and manager at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino, said that "bullet-proof" resorts like tony Caneel Bay Resort in St. John, Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda and the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis aren't affected, but places like the Divi suffer because their middle-income guests are worried if they'll have jobs next month.
And he said the fact that Carnival Cruise Lines has gone public with its departure from St. Croix due to crime problems hasn't helped.
A look at the January to June figures for 2002 and 2001 show that St. Croix took the biggest hit, with air arrivals down 11 percent over the previous year. In St. Thomas/St. John, the figure fell by only 4.4 percent.
Cruise passenger arrivals fell for those same six months by 28.7 percent over the year before in St. Croix, with the number dropping by 8.7 percent in St. Thomas/St. John.
And the hotel occupancy was down 8.1 percent in St. Croix for the June to July period compared to the previous year. In St. Thomas/St. John, the figure fell by 1.8 percent.
Since St. Thomas/St. John numbers are lumped together, the figures may not reflect St. John's reality. Kathy McLaughlin, who heads the St. John Accommodations Council, said that while January looked a little soft compared to the January before, bookings were strong throughout the spring.
"I did know we had a lot more last minute bookings," McLaughlin said. And McLaughlin said that she and other vacation villa managers were occasionally forced to come up with discount prices to fill the villas.
McLaughlin's remarks reflect what hoteliers said throughout the winter and spring season – that people were waiting until right before their departure to book to see what sales materialized, and of course, if it was safe to fly.
However, Richard Doumeng, former president of the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel Association, said given what the industry expected after Sept. 11, the winter season turned out better than expected.
The St. John vacation villa managers were joined by hoteliers across the territory in slashing prices.
"It's a double whammy," Siefert said.
Siefert said that a Virgin Islands government sponsored promotion gave guests the fourth night free, a 35 percent discount on the room rate and a $100 gift certificate that cost hoteliers $50 helped fill rooms but didn't generate as much revenue as would rooms sold at the usual rate.
Doumeng said that a look at the back page of the "New York Times" shows that rates at the upscale Renaissance Grand Beach Resort were lower than the more-middle of the road Bolongo Bay Beach Resort and Spa, which Doumeng manages.
"That's not good for the Renaissance and it's not good for Bolongo," Doumeng said.
The prognosis also appeared to be poor for improvements in the upcoming winter season.
"We’re not seeing anything," Siefert said.
As for Doumeng, he's not worrying yet. He said that long before Sept. 11, the travel industry created a "society of procrastinators and bargain hunters."
"It's not unusual to pick up 30 to 35 percent of the occupancy rate for the month in the month," Doumeng said.
David Yamada, who heads the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, and the organization's director, Beverly Nicholson, were both off island on Friday.
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.
For starters, Lauritz Mills, who heads the Bureau of Economic Research, sent out a press release saying, in essence, wait a minute, things aren't as bad as they seem.
"Let's put it in perspective," she said in a Source interview.
She said that across the Caribbean, tourism fell by double digits following Sept. 11. And she said that until September 11, Virgin Islands tourism was strong.
Thanks to a healthy winter, spring and summer in 2001 that offset plummeting figures after Sept. 11, overall tourism increased by 5 percent for 2001. While the number of cruise ship passengers increased by 7 percent for all of 2001, the number of air arrivals dropped by 3 percent.
Mills press release was followed by one from gubernatorial candidate John de Jongh that said the figures don't lie.
"We're in trouble and those at the top refuse to acknowledge it," deJongh said, calling for the creation of a Tourism Authority. "We need someone in authority who understands the basics of a tourism economy and who knows hwo to partner with all components of the industry…the airlines, the cruise ship companies, the hotels , the travel agents, the charter boat companies andall other the impacthe thi smost important segment of our economy."
The statistics reflect the downturn in the economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the plummeting stock market and the fact that major corporations are laying off workers left and right.
Bob Siefert, president of the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association and manager at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino, said that "bullet-proof" resorts like tony Caneel Bay Resort in St. John, Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda and the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis aren't affected, but places like the Divi suffer because their middle-income guests are worried if they'll have jobs next month.
And he said the fact that Carnival Cruise Lines has gone public with its departure from St. Croix due to crime problems hasn't helped.
A look at the January to June figures for 2002 and 2001 show that St. Croix took the biggest hit, with air arrivals down 11 percent over the previous year. In St. Thomas/St. John, the figure fell by only 4.4 percent.
Cruise passenger arrivals fell for those same six months by 28.7 percent over the year before in St. Croix, with the number dropping by 8.7 percent in St. Thomas/St. John.
And the hotel occupancy was down 8.1 percent in St. Croix for the June to July period compared to the previous year. In St. Thomas/St. John, the figure fell by 1.8 percent.
Since St. Thomas/St. John numbers are lumped together, the figures may not reflect St. John's reality. Kathy McLaughlin, who heads the St. John Accommodations Council, said that while January looked a little soft compared to the January before, bookings were strong throughout the spring.
"I did know we had a lot more last minute bookings," McLaughlin said. And McLaughlin said that she and other vacation villa managers were occasionally forced to come up with discount prices to fill the villas.
McLaughlin's remarks reflect what hoteliers said throughout the winter and spring season – that people were waiting until right before their departure to book to see what sales materialized, and of course, if it was safe to fly.
However, Richard Doumeng, former president of the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel Association, said given what the industry expected after Sept. 11, the winter season turned out better than expected.
The St. John vacation villa managers were joined by hoteliers across the territory in slashing prices.
"It's a double whammy," Siefert said.
Siefert said that a Virgin Islands government sponsored promotion gave guests the fourth night free, a 35 percent discount on the room rate and a $100 gift certificate that cost hoteliers $50 helped fill rooms but didn't generate as much revenue as would rooms sold at the usual rate.
Doumeng said that a look at the back page of the "New York Times" shows that rates at the upscale Renaissance Grand Beach Resort were lower than the more-middle of the road Bolongo Bay Beach Resort and Spa, which Doumeng manages.
"That's not good for the Renaissance and it's not good for Bolongo," Doumeng said.
The prognosis also appeared to be poor for improvements in the upcoming winter season.
"We’re not seeing anything," Siefert said.
As for Doumeng, he's not worrying yet. He said that long before Sept. 11, the travel industry created a "society of procrastinators and bargain hunters."
"It's not unusual to pick up 30 to 35 percent of the occupancy rate for the month in the month," Doumeng said.
David Yamada, who heads the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, and the organization's director, Beverly Nicholson, were both off island on Friday.
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.
PUBLIC IS INVITED TO LIVE ENVIRONMENTAL TELECAST
Aug. 23, 2002 – A "listening session" on environmental issues and policy will be conducted in the Virgin Islands on Monday by the National Environmental Policy Commission, a special group organized by the Congressional Black Caucus to define environmental issues and develop policy alternatives.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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.
PUBLIC IS INVITED TO LIVE ENVIRONMENTAL TELECAST
Aug. 23, 2002 – A "listening session" on environmental issues and policy will be conducted in the Virgin Islands on Monday by the National Environmental Policy Commission, a special group organized by the Congressional Black Caucus to define environmental issues and develop policy alternatives.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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.
PUBLIC IS INVITED TO LIVE ENVIRONMENTAL TELECAST
Aug. 23, 2002 – A "listening session" on environmental issues and policy will be conducted in the Virgin Islands on Monday by the National Environmental Policy Commission, a special group organized by the Congressional Black Caucus to define environmental issues and develop policy alternatives.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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.
The session will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a telecast from the University of the Virgin Islands, said a UVI release, with participation available in Room 401 of the Evans Center on the St. Croix campus and from Room 110 in the Business Education building on the St. Thomas campus.
Participants expected include V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen and South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, and federal, state and local officials.
The goal is to help policy makers understand the unique relationship between economic development and environmental protection, human health and environmental justice.
The session is open to the general public, government officials, business representatives, labor organizations, faith-based groups, health care organizations, community organizations, environmental justice communities and representatives, academics and researchers. Participants are encouraged to bring written remarks that move toward the goal. Those wishing to address the commission will be asked to limit remarks to three minutes. Registration is free and available at the door.
For more information contact Ragan DuBose at 843-792-5530 or send an email to luskr@musc.edu.
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 TESTING CONTINUES
Aug. 23, 2002 – Testing for federal Transportation Security Administration screener jobs began Wednesday on St. Croix, said Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen in a news release.
The tests are being given at the Buccaneer Hotel and will continue until the TSA has filled the jobs at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
Testing began about three weeks ago at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Spa on St. Thomas. "We need a lot of people for St. Thomas and St. Croix," a tester said.
For persons who are interested but haven't yet applied for one of 140 baggage and passenger screeners in St. Croix and 130 jobs in St. Thomas, it's not too late. Go online at www.tsa.dot.gov or call 888-328-6172 to apply. Online, under menu choice at left for "Employment Opportunities," choose "Security Screener Opportunities."
TSA officials first announced the 270 hiring figure in July. (See Feds: V.I. Airport Screeners to Increase Six-fold)
Those who make it through the application process receive notification to call 877-631-5627 or 888-328-6172, or to go online to www.monster.com to register for the test.
"Within a week, they'll get a call back," said one tester at the Buccaneer.
They will be given an appointment at 7 a.m., 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. When they show up at the Buccaneer or the Wyndham, they will be directed to the testing location. Their name must be on the list in order for the guard at the gate to let them in.
The federal screener jobs pay $23,600 to $35,400 depending on experience. Additionally, workers get what the federal government calls locality pay and federal government benefits (health insurance, life insurance, retirement, paid vacation, and sick leave).
Screeners now employed at the airports are being encouraged to apply for these jobs. Anyone with relevant experience, which could include military experience, would be a suitable candidate as well.
Cyril E. King Airport currently has 31 screeners and three supervisors. Henry E. Rohlsen Airport has 14 screeners and three supervisors. All work for Worldwide Flight Services Inc., which holds contracts with the airlines for the service.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, speak English, hold a high school or general equivalency diploma, pass hearing and visual tests, and able to lift suitcases.
The jobs are supposed to start by Nov. 19, the deadline handed down by President George W. Bush when he signed into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on Nov. 19, 2001. It shifts responsibility for airport screening from private companies to the federal government.
The agency is currently recruiting people for these full- and part-time positions at 429 airports across the country. As of Aug. 20, said the TSA Website, "TSA has hired over 16,500 screeners, more than half of the 30,000 [passenger screeners] needed by the November deadline."
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.
The tests are being given at the Buccaneer Hotel and will continue until the TSA has filled the jobs at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
Testing began about three weeks ago at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Spa on St. Thomas. "We need a lot of people for St. Thomas and St. Croix," a tester said.
For persons who are interested but haven't yet applied for one of 140 baggage and passenger screeners in St. Croix and 130 jobs in St. Thomas, it's not too late. Go online at www.tsa.dot.gov or call 888-328-6172 to apply. Online, under menu choice at left for "Employment Opportunities," choose "Security Screener Opportunities."
TSA officials first announced the 270 hiring figure in July. (See Feds: V.I. Airport Screeners to Increase Six-fold)
Those who make it through the application process receive notification to call 877-631-5627 or 888-328-6172, or to go online to www.monster.com to register for the test.
"Within a week, they'll get a call back," said one tester at the Buccaneer.
They will be given an appointment at 7 a.m., 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. When they show up at the Buccaneer or the Wyndham, they will be directed to the testing location. Their name must be on the list in order for the guard at the gate to let them in.
The federal screener jobs pay $23,600 to $35,400 depending on experience. Additionally, workers get what the federal government calls locality pay and federal government benefits (health insurance, life insurance, retirement, paid vacation, and sick leave).
Screeners now employed at the airports are being encouraged to apply for these jobs. Anyone with relevant experience, which could include military experience, would be a suitable candidate as well.
Cyril E. King Airport currently has 31 screeners and three supervisors. Henry E. Rohlsen Airport has 14 screeners and three supervisors. All work for Worldwide Flight Services Inc., which holds contracts with the airlines for the service.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, speak English, hold a high school or general equivalency diploma, pass hearing and visual tests, and able to lift suitcases.
The jobs are supposed to start by Nov. 19, the deadline handed down by President George W. Bush when he signed into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on Nov. 19, 2001. It shifts responsibility for airport screening from private companies to the federal government.
The agency is currently recruiting people for these full- and part-time positions at 429 airports across the country. As of Aug. 20, said the TSA Website, "TSA has hired over 16,500 screeners, more than half of the 30,000 [passenger screeners] needed by the November deadline."
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.
RULES PUTS OFF 2 BIG BUDGET BILLS UNTIL MONDAY
Aug. 23, 2002 – All but the biggest chunks of the government's Fiscal Year 2003 budget made their way through the Senate Rules Committee Thursday, despite the repeated efforts of one senator to bring proceedings to a halt.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who attended no Finance Committee budget hearings, made up for lost time Thursday, questioning the intent and financing of each bill, while opining far and wide on everything from Saddam Hussein and President Bush to Cruzan Rum sales at A.H. Riise.
The committee approved 23 of the 26 bills on the agenda, allowed one to die in committee, and postponed action until Monday on the executive branch budget and the voluminous Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2003. Also yet to be adopted is the Legislature's own FY 2003 budget, which originates in the Rules Committee.
Thursday's session was to have begun at 10 a.m. but was delayed for more than an hour awaiting the arrival of some St. Croix senators because their flight to St. Thomas was late. It was recessed shortly after it was convened, when Bryan demanded the post auditor's analysis of each bill on the agenda, so work didn't actually get under way until early afternoon.
After calling a half-hour recess around 6 p.m., the Rules chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, announced the executive budget and Omnibus bills would be heard on Monday, which had been scheduled for a full Senate session for final review of all the budget bills. Dowe said the full session would be changed to Tuesday and Wednesday.
The executive branch budget, the Omnibus bill and the legislative budget were to have been heard last in the afternoon. The other bills, which had gone through extensive review in the Finance Committee and mark-up sessions, were approved with little discussion. The only dissenting votes came from Bryan, who either abstained or voted "no" on all but three of the measures.
The bills approved include fund transfers, supplemental department appropriations, $29 million for the University of the Virgin Islands, a $4.5 million for WTJX-TV/the V.I. Public Television System to comply with the federally mandated conversion from analog to digital transmission, and additional funding for the territory's three carnival events.
Bryan quizzed Post Auditor Terry Drake on each bill, asking questions Drake sometimes couldn't answer. Things came to a head when Bryan demanded to know the breakdown of appropriations from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund. The fund is supported by excise taxes from rum sales on the U.S. mainland, and therefore fluctuates. Bryan demanded to know the present amount in the fund, a figure Drake could not supply.
Hansen noted, and her other colleagues agreed, that it is impossible to know the precise amount of money in the fund at any given time. "It is a projection," she said. "If people drink more rum next year, then it's more; and if they don't, it's less." She added that Bryan was fully aware of how the fund operated.
As Bryan continued to badger Drake, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel also came to the post auditor's defense. "The impression is that we don't get information; that is not so," she said. "We do get information."
More sparks over Lieutenant Governor's Office
Another hot-button topic of the day was the budget for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which Hansen and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II spoke out on in back-to-back press conferences last week. The Finance Committee cut James's budget by about $1.4 million from the increase the governor had proposed after James refused to appear before the committee himself, instead on two occasions sending his chief of staff. Hansen refused to hear testimony from the aide, so the budget never got an airing before the committee.
Bryan persisted in quizzing Drake about the $1.4 million cut. "These are people who deal with property taxes and insurance," Bryan said. "On the one hand, you are increasing salaries, and on the other hand, you are decreasing the salaries of others."
Drake's explanation of the committee's action was: "It was vacant positions that were cut from the lieutenant governor's office. There were no employees in the positions at the time."
Bryan disagreed, insisting that James's office had been shorted 25 positions. He said he would later offer an amendment on the office budget. "They don't have new employees to assess properties like Hovensa," Bryan said.
Hansen said, "If these positions were so important, why weren't they listed in the classified category? They're political positions." She added of James, "He should have come before the committee." She also pointed out that, had Bryan attended the budget hearings, he would have had all the information he needed.
Pickard-Samuel, a Finance Committee member, sided with Hansen, making it clear the committee had not reduced James's staff. "I don't want anyone in this community to think we cut anyone's salary," she said. James has said he was in the process of interviewing candidates for the positions and that he terminated the process because of the budget cut.
No support for privatization of clinics
A bill transferring the East End Family Health Center on St. Thomas to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corp. and the Frederiksted Health Center/Ingeborg Nesbitt Clinic to Frederiksted Health Care Inc. was not approved. It died in committee for lack of a second after Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved its adoption.
From the start, Hansen had opposed the transfer of the facilities from government status to not-for-profit operations, which Government House has cited as an example of its move toward privitization of certain government services. Administration officials had said the clinics at not-for-profits would be eligible for federal grant funding they could not receive as government entities.
At the last Finance Committee meeting, it was approved despite her protests on a 3-1 vote, with one abstention. Sens. Douglas E. Canton Jr., Cole and Dowe voted "yes," with Hansen voting "no" and Sen. Norman Jn Baptist abstaining. On Thursday, Cole found himself standing alone.
At the Finance hearing, Hansen had called the proposal, submitted by the governor, "very ridiculous." She compared it to giving the territory's hospitals semi-autonomy, which she said has been the downfall of Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix by creating jurisdictional problems within the facility. On Thursday, Hansen asked Dowe if the bill could be moved again in the Rules Committee. Dowe replied, "Yes, but not today." Hansen retorted, "I'll move it again. I'll move it to kill it."
As Bryan continued to try to hold the meeting hostage with his verbal attacks on Drake and his relentless questioning of issues already resolved in earlier meetings, Dowe criticized his colleague's tactics. "Every member of this body had the opportunity to attend budget hearings," Dowe said. "Today is not the time" to be raising questions already addressed, he said.
All of the budget bills were reported out to the full Senate on a "close rule," which means they cannot be amended on the floor — and effectively prevents any non-majority member from acting on them. The Rules Committee comprises all majority members.
Budget bills approved
The committee approved:
No. 24-0265 – to appropriate money to the Property and Procurement Department for operating expenses from Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0266 – to appropriate money to the University of the Virgin Islands for salaries and expenses, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0267 – to appropriate money to the Finance and Labor Departments for operating expenses from the Government Insurance Fund.
No. 24-0268 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Health Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0269 – to app ropriate a lump sum from the Indirect Cost Fund for salaries, operating expenses and other purposes of the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, Property and Procurement Department and Finance Department.
No. 24-0270 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Insurance Guaranty Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0271 – to appropriate funds from the Interest Revenue Fund.
No. 24-0272 – to appropriate funds from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund.
No. 24-0273 – to appropriate funds from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund.
No. 24-0274 – to appropriate funds from the Transportation Revolving Fund for salaries, fringe benefits, supplies and other services and charges for the Property and Procurement Department.
No. 24-0275 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the Sewage System Fund.
No. 24-0276 – to appropriate $10 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0277 – to appropriate funds to the Public Services Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0278 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund.
No. 24-0279 – to appropriate $4.5 million from the General Fund to WTJX/Public Television System.
No. 24-0280 – to appropriate funds from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Housing Parks and Recreation Department.
No. 24-0281 – to provide for operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee.
No. 24-0286 – to authorize the Office of Management and Budget director to allocate funds from the Miscellaneous Section of the 2003 Fiscal Year Budget to cover salary increases to each department and agency of the executive branch. *
No. 24-0287 – to amend the V.I. Code to permit the Property and Procurement commissioner to set fees for use of the government printing office.
No. 24-0288 – to appropriate funds to the Taxicab Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0289 – to appropriate funds from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Public Works Department, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0290 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Court and Judicial Council salaries and expenses, and for other purposes. *
No. 24-0291 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Public Defender's Office operating expenses. *
* These three bills were approved unanimously. On all of the others, Bryan cast the lone "no" vote or abstained.
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.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who attended no Finance Committee budget hearings, made up for lost time Thursday, questioning the intent and financing of each bill, while opining far and wide on everything from Saddam Hussein and President Bush to Cruzan Rum sales at A.H. Riise.
The committee approved 23 of the 26 bills on the agenda, allowed one to die in committee, and postponed action until Monday on the executive branch budget and the voluminous Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2003. Also yet to be adopted is the Legislature's own FY 2003 budget, which originates in the Rules Committee.
Thursday's session was to have begun at 10 a.m. but was delayed for more than an hour awaiting the arrival of some St. Croix senators because their flight to St. Thomas was late. It was recessed shortly after it was convened, when Bryan demanded the post auditor's analysis of each bill on the agenda, so work didn't actually get under way until early afternoon.
After calling a half-hour recess around 6 p.m., the Rules chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, announced the executive budget and Omnibus bills would be heard on Monday, which had been scheduled for a full Senate session for final review of all the budget bills. Dowe said the full session would be changed to Tuesday and Wednesday.
The executive branch budget, the Omnibus bill and the legislative budget were to have been heard last in the afternoon. The other bills, which had gone through extensive review in the Finance Committee and mark-up sessions, were approved with little discussion. The only dissenting votes came from Bryan, who either abstained or voted "no" on all but three of the measures.
The bills approved include fund transfers, supplemental department appropriations, $29 million for the University of the Virgin Islands, a $4.5 million for WTJX-TV/the V.I. Public Television System to comply with the federally mandated conversion from analog to digital transmission, and additional funding for the territory's three carnival events.
Bryan quizzed Post Auditor Terry Drake on each bill, asking questions Drake sometimes couldn't answer. Things came to a head when Bryan demanded to know the breakdown of appropriations from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund. The fund is supported by excise taxes from rum sales on the U.S. mainland, and therefore fluctuates. Bryan demanded to know the present amount in the fund, a figure Drake could not supply.
Hansen noted, and her other colleagues agreed, that it is impossible to know the precise amount of money in the fund at any given time. "It is a projection," she said. "If people drink more rum next year, then it's more; and if they don't, it's less." She added that Bryan was fully aware of how the fund operated.
As Bryan continued to badger Drake, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel also came to the post auditor's defense. "The impression is that we don't get information; that is not so," she said. "We do get information."
More sparks over Lieutenant Governor's Office
Another hot-button topic of the day was the budget for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which Hansen and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II spoke out on in back-to-back press conferences last week. The Finance Committee cut James's budget by about $1.4 million from the increase the governor had proposed after James refused to appear before the committee himself, instead on two occasions sending his chief of staff. Hansen refused to hear testimony from the aide, so the budget never got an airing before the committee.
Bryan persisted in quizzing Drake about the $1.4 million cut. "These are people who deal with property taxes and insurance," Bryan said. "On the one hand, you are increasing salaries, and on the other hand, you are decreasing the salaries of others."
Drake's explanation of the committee's action was: "It was vacant positions that were cut from the lieutenant governor's office. There were no employees in the positions at the time."
Bryan disagreed, insisting that James's office had been shorted 25 positions. He said he would later offer an amendment on the office budget. "They don't have new employees to assess properties like Hovensa," Bryan said.
Hansen said, "If these positions were so important, why weren't they listed in the classified category? They're political positions." She added of James, "He should have come before the committee." She also pointed out that, had Bryan attended the budget hearings, he would have had all the information he needed.
Pickard-Samuel, a Finance Committee member, sided with Hansen, making it clear the committee had not reduced James's staff. "I don't want anyone in this community to think we cut anyone's salary," she said. James has said he was in the process of interviewing candidates for the positions and that he terminated the process because of the budget cut.
No support for privatization of clinics
A bill transferring the East End Family Health Center on St. Thomas to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corp. and the Frederiksted Health Center/Ingeborg Nesbitt Clinic to Frederiksted Health Care Inc. was not approved. It died in committee for lack of a second after Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved its adoption.
From the start, Hansen had opposed the transfer of the facilities from government status to not-for-profit operations, which Government House has cited as an example of its move toward privitization of certain government services. Administration officials had said the clinics at not-for-profits would be eligible for federal grant funding they could not receive as government entities.
At the last Finance Committee meeting, it was approved despite her protests on a 3-1 vote, with one abstention. Sens. Douglas E. Canton Jr., Cole and Dowe voted "yes," with Hansen voting "no" and Sen. Norman Jn Baptist abstaining. On Thursday, Cole found himself standing alone.
At the Finance hearing, Hansen had called the proposal, submitted by the governor, "very ridiculous." She compared it to giving the territory's hospitals semi-autonomy, which she said has been the downfall of Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix by creating jurisdictional problems within the facility. On Thursday, Hansen asked Dowe if the bill could be moved again in the Rules Committee. Dowe replied, "Yes, but not today." Hansen retorted, "I'll move it again. I'll move it to kill it."
As Bryan continued to try to hold the meeting hostage with his verbal attacks on Drake and his relentless questioning of issues already resolved in earlier meetings, Dowe criticized his colleague's tactics. "Every member of this body had the opportunity to attend budget hearings," Dowe said. "Today is not the time" to be raising questions already addressed, he said.
All of the budget bills were reported out to the full Senate on a "close rule," which means they cannot be amended on the floor — and effectively prevents any non-majority member from acting on them. The Rules Committee comprises all majority members.
Budget bills approved
The committee approved:
No. 24-0265 – to appropriate money to the Property and Procurement Department for operating expenses from Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0266 – to appropriate money to the University of the Virgin Islands for salaries and expenses, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0267 – to appropriate money to the Finance and Labor Departments for operating expenses from the Government Insurance Fund.
No. 24-0268 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Health Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0269 – to app ropriate a lump sum from the Indirect Cost Fund for salaries, operating expenses and other purposes of the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, Property and Procurement Department and Finance Department.
No. 24-0270 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Insurance Guaranty Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0271 – to appropriate funds from the Interest Revenue Fund.
No. 24-0272 – to appropriate funds from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund.
No. 24-0273 – to appropriate funds from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund.
No. 24-0274 – to appropriate funds from the Transportation Revolving Fund for salaries, fringe benefits, supplies and other services and charges for the Property and Procurement Department.
No. 24-0275 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the Sewage System Fund.
No. 24-0276 – to appropriate $10 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0277 – to appropriate funds to the Public Services Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0278 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund.
No. 24-0279 – to appropriate $4.5 million from the General Fund to WTJX/Public Television System.
No. 24-0280 – to appropriate funds from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Housing Parks and Recreation Department.
No. 24-0281 – to provide for operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee.
No. 24-0286 – to authorize the Office of Management and Budget director to allocate funds from the Miscellaneous Section of the 2003 Fiscal Year Budget to cover salary increases to each department and agency of the executive branch. *
No. 24-0287 – to amend the V.I. Code to permit the Property and Procurement commissioner to set fees for use of the government printing office.
No. 24-0288 – to appropriate funds to the Taxicab Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0289 – to appropriate funds from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Public Works Department, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0290 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Court and Judicial Council salaries and expenses, and for other purposes. *
No. 24-0291 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Public Defender's Office operating expenses. *
* These three bills were approved unanimously. On all of the others, Bryan cast the lone "no" vote or abstained.
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.
RULES PUTS OFF 2 BIG BUDGET BILLS UNTIL MONDAY
Aug. 23, 2002 – All but the biggest chunks of the government's Fiscal Year 2003 budget made their way through the Senate Rules Committee Thursday, despite the repeated efforts of one senator to bring proceedings to a halt.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who attended no Finance Committee budget hearings, made up for lost time Thursday, questioning the intent and financing of each bill, while opining far and wide on everything from Saddam Hussein and President Bush to Cruzan Rum sales at A.H. Riise.
The committee approved 23 of the 26 bills on the agenda, allowed one to die in committee, and postponed action until Monday on the executive branch budget and the voluminous Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2003. Also yet to be adopted is the Legislature's own FY 2003 budget, which originates in the Rules Committee.
Thursday's session was to have begun at 10 a.m. but was delayed for more than an hour awaiting the arrival of some St. Croix senators because their flight to St. Thomas was late. It was recessed shortly after it was convened, when Bryan demanded the post auditor's analysis of each bill on the agenda, so work didn't actually get under way until early afternoon.
After calling a half-hour recess around 6 p.m., the Rules chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, announced the executive budget and Omnibus bills would be heard on Monday, which had been scheduled for a full Senate session for final review of all the budget bills. Dowe said the full session would be changed to Tuesday and Wednesday.
The executive branch budget, the Omnibus bill and the legislative budget were to have been heard last in the afternoon. The other bills, which had gone through extensive review in the Finance Committee and mark-up sessions, were approved with little discussion. The only dissenting votes came from Bryan, who either abstained or voted "no" on all but three of the measures.
The bills approved include fund transfers, supplemental department appropriations, $29 million for the University of the Virgin Islands, a $4.5 million for WTJX-TV/the V.I. Public Television System to comply with the federally mandated conversion from analog to digital transmission, and additional funding for the territory's three carnival events.
Bryan quizzed Post Auditor Terry Drake on each bill, asking questions Drake sometimes couldn't answer. Things came to a head when Bryan demanded to know the breakdown of appropriations from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund. The fund is supported by excise taxes from rum sales on the U.S. mainland, and therefore fluctuates. Bryan demanded to know the present amount in the fund, a figure Drake could not supply.
Hansen noted, and her other colleagues agreed, that it is impossible to know the precise amount of money in the fund at any given time. "It is a projection," she said. "If people drink more rum next year, then it's more; and if they don't, it's less." She added that Bryan was fully aware of how the fund operated.
As Bryan continued to badger Drake, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel also came to the post auditor's defense. "The impression is that we don't get information; that is not so," she said. "We do get information."
More sparks over Lieutenant Governor's Office
Another hot-button topic of the day was the budget for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which Hansen and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II spoke out on in back-to-back press conferences last week. The Finance Committee cut James's budget by about $1.4 million from the increase the governor had proposed after James refused to appear before the committee himself, instead on two occasions sending his chief of staff. Hansen refused to hear testimony from the aide, so the budget never got an airing before the committee.
Bryan persisted in quizzing Drake about the $1.4 million cut. "These are people who deal with property taxes and insurance," Bryan said. "On the one hand, you are increasing salaries, and on the other hand, you are decreasing the salaries of others."
Drake's explanation of the committee's action was: "It was vacant positions that were cut from the lieutenant governor's office. There were no employees in the positions at the time."
Bryan disagreed, insisting that James's office had been shorted 25 positions. He said he would later offer an amendment on the office budget. "They don't have new employees to assess properties like Hovensa," Bryan said.
Hansen said, "If these positions were so important, why weren't they listed in the classified category? They're political positions." She added of James, "He should have come before the committee." She also pointed out that, had Bryan attended the budget hearings, he would have had all the information he needed.
Pickard-Samuel, a Finance Committee member, sided with Hansen, making it clear the committee had not reduced James's staff. "I don't want anyone in this community to think we cut anyone's salary," she said. James has said he was in the process of interviewing candidates for the positions and that he terminated the process because of the budget cut.
No support for privatization of clinics
A bill transferring the East End Family Health Center on St. Thomas to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corp. and the Frederiksted Health Center/Ingeborg Nesbitt Clinic to Frederiksted Health Care Inc. was not approved. It died in committee for lack of a second after Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved its adoption.
From the start, Hansen had opposed the transfer of the facilities from government status to not-for-profit operations, which Government House has cited as an example of its move toward privitization of certain government services. Administration officials had said the clinics at not-for-profits would be eligible for federal grant funding they could not receive as government entities.
At the last Finance Committee meeting, it was approved despite her protests on a 3-1 vote, with one abstention. Sens. Douglas E. Canton Jr., Cole and Dowe voted "yes," with Hansen voting "no" and Sen. Norman Jn Baptist abstaining. On Thursday, Cole found himself standing alone.
At the Finance hearing, Hansen had called the proposal, submitted by the governor, "very ridiculous." She compared it to giving the territory's hospitals semi-autonomy, which she said has been the downfall of Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix by creating jurisdictional problems within the facility. On Thursday, Hansen asked Dowe if the bill could be moved again in the Rules Committee. Dowe replied, "Yes, but not today." Hansen retorted, "I'll move it again. I'll move it to kill it."
As Bryan continued to try to hold the meeting hostage with his verbal attacks on Drake and his relentless questioning of issues already resolved in earlier meetings, Dowe criticized his colleague's tactics. "Every member of this body had the opportunity to attend budget hearings," Dowe said. "Today is not the time" to be raising questions already addressed, he said.
All of the budget bills were reported out to the full Senate on a "close rule," which means they cannot be amended on the floor — and effectively prevents any non-majority member from acting on them. The Rules Committee comprises all majority members.
Budget bills approved
The committee approved:
No. 24-0265 – to appropriate money to the Property and Procurement Department for operating expenses from Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0266 – to appropriate money to the University of the Virgin Islands for salaries and expenses, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0267 – to appropriate money to the Finance and Labor Departments for operating expenses from the Government Insurance Fund.
No. 24-0268 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Health Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0269 – to app ropriate a lump sum from the Indirect Cost Fund for salaries, operating expenses and other purposes of the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, Property and Procurement Department and Finance Department.
No. 24-0270 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Insurance Guaranty Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0271 – to appropriate funds from the Interest Revenue Fund.
No. 24-0272 – to appropriate funds from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund.
No. 24-0273 – to appropriate funds from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund.
No. 24-0274 – to appropriate funds from the Transportation Revolving Fund for salaries, fringe benefits, supplies and other services and charges for the Property and Procurement Department.
No. 24-0275 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the Sewage System Fund.
No. 24-0276 – to appropriate $10 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0277 – to appropriate funds to the Public Services Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0278 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund.
No. 24-0279 – to appropriate $4.5 million from the General Fund to WTJX/Public Television System.
No. 24-0280 – to appropriate funds from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Housing Parks and Recreation Department.
No. 24-0281 – to provide for operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee.
No. 24-0286 – to authorize the Office of Management and Budget director to allocate funds from the Miscellaneous Section of the 2003 Fiscal Year Budget to cover salary increases to each department and agency of the executive branch. *
No. 24-0287 – to amend the V.I. Code to permit the Property and Procurement commissioner to set fees for use of the government printing office.
No. 24-0288 – to appropriate funds to the Taxicab Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0289 – to appropriate funds from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Public Works Department, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0290 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Court and Judicial Council salaries and expenses, and for other purposes. *
No. 24-0291 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Public Defender's Office operating expenses. *
* These three bills were approved unanimously. On all of the others, Bryan cast the lone "no" vote or abstained.
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.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who attended no Finance Committee budget hearings, made up for lost time Thursday, questioning the intent and financing of each bill, while opining far and wide on everything from Saddam Hussein and President Bush to Cruzan Rum sales at A.H. Riise.
The committee approved 23 of the 26 bills on the agenda, allowed one to die in committee, and postponed action until Monday on the executive branch budget and the voluminous Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2003. Also yet to be adopted is the Legislature's own FY 2003 budget, which originates in the Rules Committee.
Thursday's session was to have begun at 10 a.m. but was delayed for more than an hour awaiting the arrival of some St. Croix senators because their flight to St. Thomas was late. It was recessed shortly after it was convened, when Bryan demanded the post auditor's analysis of each bill on the agenda, so work didn't actually get under way until early afternoon.
After calling a half-hour recess around 6 p.m., the Rules chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, announced the executive budget and Omnibus bills would be heard on Monday, which had been scheduled for a full Senate session for final review of all the budget bills. Dowe said the full session would be changed to Tuesday and Wednesday.
The executive branch budget, the Omnibus bill and the legislative budget were to have been heard last in the afternoon. The other bills, which had gone through extensive review in the Finance Committee and mark-up sessions, were approved with little discussion. The only dissenting votes came from Bryan, who either abstained or voted "no" on all but three of the measures.
The bills approved include fund transfers, supplemental department appropriations, $29 million for the University of the Virgin Islands, a $4.5 million for WTJX-TV/the V.I. Public Television System to comply with the federally mandated conversion from analog to digital transmission, and additional funding for the territory's three carnival events.
Bryan quizzed Post Auditor Terry Drake on each bill, asking questions Drake sometimes couldn't answer. Things came to a head when Bryan demanded to know the breakdown of appropriations from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund. The fund is supported by excise taxes from rum sales on the U.S. mainland, and therefore fluctuates. Bryan demanded to know the present amount in the fund, a figure Drake could not supply.
Hansen noted, and her other colleagues agreed, that it is impossible to know the precise amount of money in the fund at any given time. "It is a projection," she said. "If people drink more rum next year, then it's more; and if they don't, it's less." She added that Bryan was fully aware of how the fund operated.
As Bryan continued to badger Drake, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel also came to the post auditor's defense. "The impression is that we don't get information; that is not so," she said. "We do get information."
More sparks over Lieutenant Governor's Office
Another hot-button topic of the day was the budget for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which Hansen and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II spoke out on in back-to-back press conferences last week. The Finance Committee cut James's budget by about $1.4 million from the increase the governor had proposed after James refused to appear before the committee himself, instead on two occasions sending his chief of staff. Hansen refused to hear testimony from the aide, so the budget never got an airing before the committee.
Bryan persisted in quizzing Drake about the $1.4 million cut. "These are people who deal with property taxes and insurance," Bryan said. "On the one hand, you are increasing salaries, and on the other hand, you are decreasing the salaries of others."
Drake's explanation of the committee's action was: "It was vacant positions that were cut from the lieutenant governor's office. There were no employees in the positions at the time."
Bryan disagreed, insisting that James's office had been shorted 25 positions. He said he would later offer an amendment on the office budget. "They don't have new employees to assess properties like Hovensa," Bryan said.
Hansen said, "If these positions were so important, why weren't they listed in the classified category? They're political positions." She added of James, "He should have come before the committee." She also pointed out that, had Bryan attended the budget hearings, he would have had all the information he needed.
Pickard-Samuel, a Finance Committee member, sided with Hansen, making it clear the committee had not reduced James's staff. "I don't want anyone in this community to think we cut anyone's salary," she said. James has said he was in the process of interviewing candidates for the positions and that he terminated the process because of the budget cut.
No support for privatization of clinics
A bill transferring the East End Family Health Center on St. Thomas to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corp. and the Frederiksted Health Center/Ingeborg Nesbitt Clinic to Frederiksted Health Care Inc. was not approved. It died in committee for lack of a second after Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved its adoption.
From the start, Hansen had opposed the transfer of the facilities from government status to not-for-profit operations, which Government House has cited as an example of its move toward privitization of certain government services. Administration officials had said the clinics at not-for-profits would be eligible for federal grant funding they could not receive as government entities.
At the last Finance Committee meeting, it was approved despite her protests on a 3-1 vote, with one abstention. Sens. Douglas E. Canton Jr., Cole and Dowe voted "yes," with Hansen voting "no" and Sen. Norman Jn Baptist abstaining. On Thursday, Cole found himself standing alone.
At the Finance hearing, Hansen had called the proposal, submitted by the governor, "very ridiculous." She compared it to giving the territory's hospitals semi-autonomy, which she said has been the downfall of Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix by creating jurisdictional problems within the facility. On Thursday, Hansen asked Dowe if the bill could be moved again in the Rules Committee. Dowe replied, "Yes, but not today." Hansen retorted, "I'll move it again. I'll move it to kill it."
As Bryan continued to try to hold the meeting hostage with his verbal attacks on Drake and his relentless questioning of issues already resolved in earlier meetings, Dowe criticized his colleague's tactics. "Every member of this body had the opportunity to attend budget hearings," Dowe said. "Today is not the time" to be raising questions already addressed, he said.
All of the budget bills were reported out to the full Senate on a "close rule," which means they cannot be amended on the floor — and effectively prevents any non-majority member from acting on them. The Rules Committee comprises all majority members.
Budget bills approved
The committee approved:
No. 24-0265 – to appropriate money to the Property and Procurement Department for operating expenses from Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0266 – to appropriate money to the University of the Virgin Islands for salaries and expenses, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0267 – to appropriate money to the Finance and Labor Departments for operating expenses from the Government Insurance Fund.
No. 24-0268 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Health Revolving Fund.
No. 24-0269 – to app ropriate a lump sum from the Indirect Cost Fund for salaries, operating expenses and other purposes of the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, Property and Procurement Department and Finance Department.
No. 24-0270 – to appropriate a lump sum from the Insurance Guaranty Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0271 – to appropriate funds from the Interest Revenue Fund.
No. 24-0272 – to appropriate funds from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund.
No. 24-0273 – to appropriate funds from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund.
No. 24-0274 – to appropriate funds from the Transportation Revolving Fund for salaries, fringe benefits, supplies and other services and charges for the Property and Procurement Department.
No. 24-0275 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the Sewage System Fund.
No. 24-0276 – to appropriate $10 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund.
No. 24-0277 – to appropriate funds to the Public Services Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0278 – to appropriate funds for Public Works Department operating expenses from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund.
No. 24-0279 – to appropriate $4.5 million from the General Fund to WTJX/Public Television System.
No. 24-0280 – to appropriate funds from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Housing Parks and Recreation Department.
No. 24-0281 – to provide for operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee.
No. 24-0286 – to authorize the Office of Management and Budget director to allocate funds from the Miscellaneous Section of the 2003 Fiscal Year Budget to cover salary increases to each department and agency of the executive branch. *
No. 24-0287 – to amend the V.I. Code to permit the Property and Procurement commissioner to set fees for use of the government printing office.
No. 24-0288 – to appropriate funds to the Taxicab Commission for operating expenses.
No. 24-0289 – to appropriate funds from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Public Works Department, and for other purposes.
No. 24-0290 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Court and Judicial Council salaries and expenses, and for other purposes. *
No. 24-0291 – to appropriate funds for Territorial Public Defender's Office operating expenses. *
* These three bills were approved unanimously. On all of the others, Bryan cast the lone "no" vote or abstained.
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.
TRAIL OF DYING TREES LEADS TO PREDATOR BEETLES
Aug. 22, 2002 – Is the East End of St. Thomas under beetle attack? Will it spread to include the entire island? Will we lose all our trees and century plants? Can we get anyone in the know to work on coming up with answers to these questions?
Months ago, one of my turpentine trees began looking ill, covered with blisters. Since my wife is professor emeritus at the University of the Virgin Islands, she contacted the UVI Cooperative Extension Service and requested a reading of the tree. The experts came and had a look. Their conclusion was: death by termites.
I am not an entomologist. I'm not even a very active "tree hugger." I do, however, enjoy my trees and do not want them destroyed by anything for any reason. I also believe termites eat dead wood, not live, and I am adamant that they do not leave tunnels I can poke my fingers into.
In time, the sickly looking tree with bumps became a very dead tree with hundreds of holes looking worse than Swiss cheese. To date, I have had four trees killed by something. One day, I found an ugly "termite" with long feelers that seemed to be a new kid on the block and to have sprung from another tree where the blisters were bursting, revealing more tunnels.
After taking a digital picture of the sucker, I put it on the Web with a little help from Island Resources Foundation principals Bruce Potter and Ed Towle, asking for identification. Within a couple of days, I had one opinion that my beetle was not a possibility for the tree troubles, and another which stated the beetle had a predilection for turpentine trees.
According to Prof. Michael Ivie: "These trees were killed by a native longhorn beetle called Lagocheirus araeniformis. It hits primarily turpentine trees but will hit others under either high populations or stressed trees. The host list for this beetle is quite long. It periodically kills even large trees by girdling the bark from underneath. Usually the first sign is a sudden collapse of the leafy parts of the tree, and then a sappy, smelly bark, and finally, the trap doors on a dead trunk and large limbs."
The larvae bore into the trunk of the tree, making an oval tunnel about one centimeter across. This is visible on the bare areas of the accompanying photograph. When nearly mature, they come out under the bark and feed in the cambium and create a very characteristic oval pupation gallery under the bark, visible in the photo as the circles of wood shavings.
Before pupating, they chew a groove almost through the bark, around the edges of the chamber from underneath, so that when it dries, it creates a trap-door that opens easily when the adult beetle emerges from the pupa. It lines the gallery with chewed wood strips. Anybody knowledgeable about West Indian entomology can spot this pest just from the pattern, as seen in the photo — on a turpentine tree, no less.
The feeding under the bark in large numbers girdles the tree. A few beetles will not hurt a mature tree, but a massive attack of this type will kill it very quickly.
So far, then, the consensus is: The beetle kills trees and the best thing to do is let nature take its course.
The Asian connection
As luck would have it, the May 27 issue of Time magazine carried an article on the Asian Long Horn Beetle, which looks like an extremely close cousin of my beetle. According to Time, the critter came to the United States from China in wood packing materials; has killed thousands of trees in New York, New Jersey and Michigan; has been spotted in warehouses throughout the United States; and threatens hardwood trees throughout the United States.
Well over a year ago, a resort several hundred yards upwind from my house opened trailer upon trailer of new furniture. If there were adult beetles in the trailers, they have had time to find their way to the area where I live, bore into my tree, go through a metamorphosis, hatch, and eat their way around and out of the tree — killing it.
Once I became aware and wary of beetles, I began wondering about my century plants, which were mysteriously dying from the center out. Close inspection of only slightly sick plants revealed one or more dark brown spots on the core branch of the plant. When I broke one off and began dissecting it with a machete, I found a small black beetle about the size of my little finger. It had burrowed into the center of the trunk, metamorphosed or whatever, then was burrowing out.
Within a week the center of the century plant's trunk had turned sickly yellowish and flopped over. Within a couple of weeks, the plant was all yellow. And within a couple more, the center of the plant had fallen out and what was still standing was dead, dead, dead.
In the more than 30 years I have lived in Estate Nazareth, this is the only time I have seen either of the beetles. It is the first time I have seen a tree with hundreds of tunnels you can put your finger in, and the first time I have witnessed a mass killing of century plants.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen either a tree filled with tunnels you can put your finger into or century plants dying from the center out.
I'm hoping nature will take its course and some reptile or other will feed on the beetles. Otherwise, we may need to take immediate action of some kind before our island is denuded. If enough of us are experiencing a problem, I am sure we can obtain assistance from federal agriculture specialists in Puerto Rico.
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.
Months ago, one of my turpentine trees began looking ill, covered with blisters. Since my wife is professor emeritus at the University of the Virgin Islands, she contacted the UVI Cooperative Extension Service and requested a reading of the tree. The experts came and had a look. Their conclusion was: death by termites.
I am not an entomologist. I'm not even a very active "tree hugger." I do, however, enjoy my trees and do not want them destroyed by anything for any reason. I also believe termites eat dead wood, not live, and I am adamant that they do not leave tunnels I can poke my fingers into.
In time, the sickly looking tree with bumps became a very dead tree with hundreds of holes looking worse than Swiss cheese. To date, I have had four trees killed by something. One day, I found an ugly "termite" with long feelers that seemed to be a new kid on the block and to have sprung from another tree where the blisters were bursting, revealing more tunnels.
After taking a digital picture of the sucker, I put it on the Web with a little help from Island Resources Foundation principals Bruce Potter and Ed Towle, asking for identification. Within a couple of days, I had one opinion that my beetle was not a possibility for the tree troubles, and another which stated the beetle had a predilection for turpentine trees.
According to Prof. Michael Ivie: "These trees were killed by a native longhorn beetle called Lagocheirus araeniformis. It hits primarily turpentine trees but will hit others under either high populations or stressed trees. The host list for this beetle is quite long. It periodically kills even large trees by girdling the bark from underneath. Usually the first sign is a sudden collapse of the leafy parts of the tree, and then a sappy, smelly bark, and finally, the trap doors on a dead trunk and large limbs."
The larvae bore into the trunk of the tree, making an oval tunnel about one centimeter across. This is visible on the bare areas of the accompanying photograph. When nearly mature, they come out under the bark and feed in the cambium and create a very characteristic oval pupation gallery under the bark, visible in the photo as the circles of wood shavings.
Before pupating, they chew a groove almost through the bark, around the edges of the chamber from underneath, so that when it dries, it creates a trap-door that opens easily when the adult beetle emerges from the pupa. It lines the gallery with chewed wood strips. Anybody knowledgeable about West Indian entomology can spot this pest just from the pattern, as seen in the photo — on a turpentine tree, no less.
The feeding under the bark in large numbers girdles the tree. A few beetles will not hurt a mature tree, but a massive attack of this type will kill it very quickly.
So far, then, the consensus is: The beetle kills trees and the best thing to do is let nature take its course.
The Asian connection
As luck would have it, the May 27 issue of Time magazine carried an article on the Asian Long Horn Beetle, which looks like an extremely close cousin of my beetle. According to Time, the critter came to the United States from China in wood packing materials; has killed thousands of trees in New York, New Jersey and Michigan; has been spotted in warehouses throughout the United States; and threatens hardwood trees throughout the United States.
Well over a year ago, a resort several hundred yards upwind from my house opened trailer upon trailer of new furniture. If there were adult beetles in the trailers, they have had time to find their way to the area where I live, bore into my tree, go through a metamorphosis, hatch, and eat their way around and out of the tree — killing it.
Once I became aware and wary of beetles, I began wondering about my century plants, which were mysteriously dying from the center out. Close inspection of only slightly sick plants revealed one or more dark brown spots on the core branch of the plant. When I broke one off and began dissecting it with a machete, I found a small black beetle about the size of my little finger. It had burrowed into the center of the trunk, metamorphosed or whatever, then was burrowing out.
Within a week the center of the century plant's trunk had turned sickly yellowish and flopped over. Within a couple of weeks, the plant was all yellow. And within a couple more, the center of the plant had fallen out and what was still standing was dead, dead, dead.
In the more than 30 years I have lived in Estate Nazareth, this is the only time I have seen either of the beetles. It is the first time I have seen a tree with hundreds of tunnels you can put your finger in, and the first time I have witnessed a mass killing of century plants.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen either a tree filled with tunnels you can put your finger into or century plants dying from the center out.
I'm hoping nature will take its course and some reptile or other will feed on the beetles. Otherwise, we may need to take immediate action of some kind before our island is denuded. If enough of us are experiencing a problem, I am sure we can obtain assistance from federal agriculture specialists in Puerto Rico.
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.
TRAIL OF DYING TREES LEADS TO PREDATOR BEETLES
Aug. 22, 2002 – Is the East End of St. Thomas under beetle attack? Will it spread to include the entire island? Will we lose all our trees and century plants? Can we get anyone in the know to work on coming up with answers to these questions?
Months ago, one of my turpentine trees began looking ill, covered with blisters. Since my wife is professor emeritus at the University of the Virgin Islands, she contacted the UVI Cooperative Extension Service and requested a reading of the tree. The experts came and had a look. Their conclusion was: death by termites.
I am not an entomologist. I'm not even a very active "tree hugger." I do, however, enjoy my trees and do not want them destroyed by anything for any reason. I also believe termites eat dead wood, not live, and I am adamant that they do not leave tunnels I can poke my fingers into.
In time, the sickly looking tree with bumps became a very dead tree with hundreds of holes looking worse than Swiss cheese. To date, I have had four trees killed by something. One day, I found an ugly "termite" with long feelers that seemed to be a new kid on the block and to have sprung from another tree where the blisters were bursting, revealing more tunnels.
After taking a digital picture of the sucker, I put it on the Web with a little help from Island Resources Foundation principals Bruce Potter and Ed Towle, asking for identification. Within a couple of days, I had one opinion that my beetle was not a possibility for the tree troubles, and another which stated the beetle had a predilection for turpentine trees.
According to Prof. Michael Ivie: "These trees were killed by a native longhorn beetle called Lagocheirus araeniformis. It hits primarily turpentine trees but will hit others under either high populations or stressed trees. The host list for this beetle is quite long. It periodically kills even large trees by girdling the bark from underneath. Usually the first sign is a sudden collapse of the leafy parts of the tree, and then a sappy, smelly bark, and finally, the trap doors on a dead trunk and large limbs."
The larvae bore into the trunk of the tree, making an oval tunnel about one centimeter across. This is visible on the bare areas of the accompanying photograph. When nearly mature, they come out under the bark and feed in the cambium and create a very characteristic oval pupation gallery under the bark, visible in the photo as the circles of wood shavings.
Before pupating, they chew a groove almost through the bark, around the edges of the chamber from underneath, so that when it dries, it creates a trap-door that opens easily when the adult beetle emerges from the pupa. It lines the gallery with chewed wood strips. Anybody knowledgeable about West Indian entomology can spot this pest just from the pattern, as seen in the photo — on a turpentine tree, no less.
The feeding under the bark in large numbers girdles the tree. A few beetles will not hurt a mature tree, but a massive attack of this type will kill it very quickly.
So far, then, the consensus is: The beetle kills trees and the best thing to do is let nature take its course.
The Asian connection
As luck would have it, the May 27 issue of Time magazine carried an article on the Asian Long Horn Beetle, which looks like an extremely close cousin of my beetle. According to Time, the critter came to the United States from China in wood packing materials; has killed thousands of trees in New York, New Jersey and Michigan; has been spotted in warehouses throughout the United States; and threatens hardwood trees throughout the United States.
Well over a year ago, a resort several hundred yards upwind from my house opened trailer upon trailer of new furniture. If there were adult beetles in the trailers, they have had time to find their way to the area where I live, bore into my tree, go through a metamorphosis, hatch, and eat their way around and out of the tree — killing it.
Once I became aware and wary of beetles, I began wondering about my century plants, which were mysteriously dying from the center out. Close inspection of only slightly sick plants revealed one or more dark brown spots on the core branch of the plant. When I broke one off and began dissecting it with a machete, I found a small black beetle about the size of my little finger. It had burrowed into the center of the trunk, metamorphosed or whatever, then was burrowing out.
Within a week the center of the century plant's trunk had turned sickly yellowish and flopped over. Within a couple of weeks, the plant was all yellow. And within a couple more, the center of the plant had fallen out and what was still standing was dead, dead, dead.
In the more than 30 years I have lived in Estate Nazareth, this is the only time I have seen either of the beetles. It is the first time I have seen a tree with hundreds of tunnels you can put your finger in, and the first time I have witnessed a mass killing of century plants.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen either a tree filled with tunnels you can put your finger into or century plants dying from the center out.
I'm hoping nature will take its course and some reptile or other will feed on the beetles. Otherwise, we may need to take immediate action of some kind before our island is denuded. If enough of us are experiencing a problem, I am sure we can obtain assistance from federal agriculture specialists in Puerto Rico.
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.
Months ago, one of my turpentine trees began looking ill, covered with blisters. Since my wife is professor emeritus at the University of the Virgin Islands, she contacted the UVI Cooperative Extension Service and requested a reading of the tree. The experts came and had a look. Their conclusion was: death by termites.
I am not an entomologist. I'm not even a very active "tree hugger." I do, however, enjoy my trees and do not want them destroyed by anything for any reason. I also believe termites eat dead wood, not live, and I am adamant that they do not leave tunnels I can poke my fingers into.
In time, the sickly looking tree with bumps became a very dead tree with hundreds of holes looking worse than Swiss cheese. To date, I have had four trees killed by something. One day, I found an ugly "termite" with long feelers that seemed to be a new kid on the block and to have sprung from another tree where the blisters were bursting, revealing more tunnels.
After taking a digital picture of the sucker, I put it on the Web with a little help from Island Resources Foundation principals Bruce Potter and Ed Towle, asking for identification. Within a couple of days, I had one opinion that my beetle was not a possibility for the tree troubles, and another which stated the beetle had a predilection for turpentine trees.
According to Prof. Michael Ivie: "These trees were killed by a native longhorn beetle called Lagocheirus araeniformis. It hits primarily turpentine trees but will hit others under either high populations or stressed trees. The host list for this beetle is quite long. It periodically kills even large trees by girdling the bark from underneath. Usually the first sign is a sudden collapse of the leafy parts of the tree, and then a sappy, smelly bark, and finally, the trap doors on a dead trunk and large limbs."
The larvae bore into the trunk of the tree, making an oval tunnel about one centimeter across. This is visible on the bare areas of the accompanying photograph. When nearly mature, they come out under the bark and feed in the cambium and create a very characteristic oval pupation gallery under the bark, visible in the photo as the circles of wood shavings.
Before pupating, they chew a groove almost through the bark, around the edges of the chamber from underneath, so that when it dries, it creates a trap-door that opens easily when the adult beetle emerges from the pupa. It lines the gallery with chewed wood strips. Anybody knowledgeable about West Indian entomology can spot this pest just from the pattern, as seen in the photo — on a turpentine tree, no less.
The feeding under the bark in large numbers girdles the tree. A few beetles will not hurt a mature tree, but a massive attack of this type will kill it very quickly.
So far, then, the consensus is: The beetle kills trees and the best thing to do is let nature take its course.
The Asian connection
As luck would have it, the May 27 issue of Time magazine carried an article on the Asian Long Horn Beetle, which looks like an extremely close cousin of my beetle. According to Time, the critter came to the United States from China in wood packing materials; has killed thousands of trees in New York, New Jersey and Michigan; has been spotted in warehouses throughout the United States; and threatens hardwood trees throughout the United States.
Well over a year ago, a resort several hundred yards upwind from my house opened trailer upon trailer of new furniture. If there were adult beetles in the trailers, they have had time to find their way to the area where I live, bore into my tree, go through a metamorphosis, hatch, and eat their way around and out of the tree — killing it.
Once I became aware and wary of beetles, I began wondering about my century plants, which were mysteriously dying from the center out. Close inspection of only slightly sick plants revealed one or more dark brown spots on the core branch of the plant. When I broke one off and began dissecting it with a machete, I found a small black beetle about the size of my little finger. It had burrowed into the center of the trunk, metamorphosed or whatever, then was burrowing out.
Within a week the center of the century plant's trunk had turned sickly yellowish and flopped over. Within a couple of weeks, the plant was all yellow. And within a couple more, the center of the plant had fallen out and what was still standing was dead, dead, dead.
In the more than 30 years I have lived in Estate Nazareth, this is the only time I have seen either of the beetles. It is the first time I have seen a tree with hundreds of tunnels you can put your finger in, and the first time I have witnessed a mass killing of century plants.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen either a tree filled with tunnels you can put your finger into or century plants dying from the center out.
I'm hoping nature will take its course and some reptile or other will feed on the beetles. Otherwise, we may need to take immediate action of some kind before our island is denuded. If enough of us are experiencing a problem, I am sure we can obtain assistance from federal agriculture specialists in Puerto Rico.
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.
