Mar. 6, 2002 – An adaptation from Anne Rice's seemingly endless string of vampire novels, "The Queen of the Damned" has, at least, a new twist — the vampire as rock star.
In some circles, all rock stars appear to be vampires, and from most reports, Stuart Townsend as vampire Lestat does little to dispel that notion. When Lestat awakens from a 200-year sleep to hear "something better than what I had left," he materializes with a new gig, rocking between feedings.
Townsend's Lestat bears ill comparison to Tom Cruise's subtle, even sympathetic portrayal of the same character in the 1994 "Interview with a Vampire." But then, Cruise behaved as a vampire should, not as the lead singer of a goth band.
Critic Roger Ebert laments the performance of the late Aaliyah as the title character, Queen Akasha. The 22-year-old r&b singer was killed in the crash of a small plane in the Bahamas last August. "Since this will be her only starring role," Ebert says, "it's sad her character has such narrow emotional range."
Well, on to the story. Lestat falls for Akasha, wouldn't you know it, but it's less than a mutual attraction. Ebert says Akasha "addresses her lover with the intimacy Queen Victoria would have lavished on her footman." But Lestat perseveres because he wants to be her king, and her blood "makes him wild," according to Ebert, who adds, "Nothing good can come of this."
Rock idols, of course, don't rock without fans, and Lestat has his share, notably Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), described as a "young woman with a fascination for the dark side." I suppose you could say that.
The movie, rated R for violence, was directed by Michael Rymer. It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
'QUEEN' IS GOTH (NOT GOTHIC) VAMPIRE TALE
Mar. 6, 2002 – An adaptation from Anne Rice's seemingly endless string of vampire novels, "The Queen of the Damned" has, at least, a new twist — the vampire as rock star.
In some circles, all rock stars appear to be vampires, and from most reports, Stuart Townsend as vampire Lestat does little to dispel that notion. When Lestat awakens from a 200-year sleep to hear "something better than what I had left," he materializes with a new gig, rocking between feedings.
Townsend's Lestat bears ill comparison to Tom Cruise's subtle, even sympathetic portrayal of the same character in the 1994 "Interview with a Vampire." But then, Cruise behaved as a vampire should, not as the lead singer of a goth band.
Critic Roger Ebert laments the performance of the late Aaliyah as the title character, Queen Akasha. The 22-year-old r&b singer was killed in the crash of a small plane in the Bahamas last August. "Since this will be her only starring role," Ebert says, "it's sad her character has such narrow emotional range."
Well, on to the story. Lestat falls for Akasha, wouldn't you know it, but it's less than a mutual attraction. Ebert says Akasha "addresses her lover with the intimacy Queen Victoria would have lavished on her footman." But Lestat perseveres because he wants to be her king, and her blood "makes him wild," according to Ebert, who adds, "Nothing good can come of this."
Rock idols, of course, don't rock without fans, and Lestat has his share, notably Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), described as a "young woman with a fascination for the dark side." I suppose you could say that.
The movie, rated R for violence, was directed by Michael Rymer. It starts Thursday at Market Square East on St. Thomas.
In some circles, all rock stars appear to be vampires, and from most reports, Stuart Townsend as vampire Lestat does little to dispel that notion. When Lestat awakens from a 200-year sleep to hear "something better than what I had left," he materializes with a new gig, rocking between feedings.
Townsend's Lestat bears ill comparison to Tom Cruise's subtle, even sympathetic portrayal of the same character in the 1994 "Interview with a Vampire." But then, Cruise behaved as a vampire should, not as the lead singer of a goth band.
Critic Roger Ebert laments the performance of the late Aaliyah as the title character, Queen Akasha. The 22-year-old r&b singer was killed in the crash of a small plane in the Bahamas last August. "Since this will be her only starring role," Ebert says, "it's sad her character has such narrow emotional range."
Well, on to the story. Lestat falls for Akasha, wouldn't you know it, but it's less than a mutual attraction. Ebert says Akasha "addresses her lover with the intimacy Queen Victoria would have lavished on her footman." But Lestat perseveres because he wants to be her king, and her blood "makes him wild," according to Ebert, who adds, "Nothing good can come of this."
Rock idols, of course, don't rock without fans, and Lestat has his share, notably Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), described as a "young woman with a fascination for the dark side." I suppose you could say that.
The movie, rated R for violence, was directed by Michael Rymer. It starts Thursday at Market Square East on St. Thomas.
'QUEEN' IS GOTH (NOT GOTHIC) VAMPIRE TALE
Mar. 6, 2002 – An adaptation from Anne Rice's seemingly endless string of vampire novels, "The Queen of the Damned" has, at least, a new twist — the vampire as rock star.
In some circles, all rock stars appear to be vampires, and from most reports, Stuart Townsend as vampire Lestat does little to dispel that notion. When Lestat awakens from a 200-year sleep to hear "something better than what I had left," he materializes with a new gig, rocking between feedings.
Townsend's Lestat bears ill comparison to Tom Cruise's subtle, even sympathetic portrayal of the same character in the 1994 "Interview with a Vampire." But then, Cruise behaved as a vampire should, not as the lead singer of a goth band.
Critic Roger Ebert laments the performance of the late Aaliyah as the title character, Queen Akasha. The 22-year-old r&b singer was killed in the crash of a small plane in the Bahamas last August. "Since this will be her only starring role," Ebert says, "it's sad her character has such narrow emotional range."
Well, on to the story. Lestat falls for Akasha, wouldn't you know it, but it's less than a mutual attraction. Ebert says Akasha "addresses her lover with the intimacy Queen Victoria would have lavished on her footman." But Lestat perseveres because he wants to be her king, and her blood "makes him wild," according to Ebert, who adds, "Nothing good can come of this."
Rock idols, of course, don't rock without fans, and Lestat has his share, notably Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), described as a "young woman with a fascination for the dark side." I suppose you could say that.
The movie, rated R for violence, was directed by Michael Rymer. It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.
In some circles, all rock stars appear to be vampires, and from most reports, Stuart Townsend as vampire Lestat does little to dispel that notion. When Lestat awakens from a 200-year sleep to hear "something better than what I had left," he materializes with a new gig, rocking between feedings.
Townsend's Lestat bears ill comparison to Tom Cruise's subtle, even sympathetic portrayal of the same character in the 1994 "Interview with a Vampire." But then, Cruise behaved as a vampire should, not as the lead singer of a goth band.
Critic Roger Ebert laments the performance of the late Aaliyah as the title character, Queen Akasha. The 22-year-old r&b singer was killed in the crash of a small plane in the Bahamas last August. "Since this will be her only starring role," Ebert says, "it's sad her character has such narrow emotional range."
Well, on to the story. Lestat falls for Akasha, wouldn't you know it, but it's less than a mutual attraction. Ebert says Akasha "addresses her lover with the intimacy Queen Victoria would have lavished on her footman." But Lestat perseveres because he wants to be her king, and her blood "makes him wild," according to Ebert, who adds, "Nothing good can come of this."
Rock idols, of course, don't rock without fans, and Lestat has his share, notably Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), described as a "young woman with a fascination for the dark side." I suppose you could say that.
The movie, rated R for violence, was directed by Michael Rymer. It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.
'WE WERE SOLDIERS' A TRIBUTE TO FIGHTING FORCES
March 6, 2002 – "We Were Soldiers" has come in for more praise as a tribute to the men who fought America's first, and possibly bloodiest, battle of the Vietnam war, than as a movie.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.
'WE WERE SOLDIERS' A TRIBUTE TO FIGHTING FORCES
March 6, 2002 – "We Were Soldiers" has come in for more praise as a tribute to the men who fought America's first, and possibly bloodiest, battle of the Vietnam war, than as a movie.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East on St. Thomas.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East on St. Thomas.
'WE WERE SOLDIERS' A TRIBUTE TO FIGHTING FORCES
March 6, 2002 – "We Were Soldiers" has come in for more praise as a tribute to the men who fought America's first, and possibly bloodiest, battle of the Vietnam war, than as a movie.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
The problem with the new movie, says Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Black Hawk Down" got there first, "and it got there better." Gillespie says it seems the current trend in war movies is not the "greater issues of war," but a focus on "who threw the grenades and took the bullets."
This may be true of "Black Hawk Down," but under Ridley Scott's direction, it is probably one of the strongest antiwar movies ever made.
"We Were Soldiers" stars Mel Gibson as Harvard-educated Lt. Col. Harold Moore, who led his forces into the 1965 Battle of La Drang Valley, the "Valley of Death," where about 400 U.S. soldiers were surrounded by some 2,000 North Vietnamese.
The movie follows Moore as he trains his men at Fort Benning, Ga., aided by cynical, growly Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott). Then we watch as he takes them into the field, where all hell breaks loose for the rest of the movie.
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington writes that the film is the Vietnam battle epic that supporters of the war have been waiting to see for more than three decades — since Vietnam became a cinematic symbol for national nightmare and the dark night of our soul in the 1970s via such movie classics as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" and "Platoon."
Yet, Wilmington says, "the war is a nightmare here, too, even if the American soldiers fighting it are portrayed as unabashed heroes, drawn with warm sympathy and high admiration." What it lacks is a traditional villain, he says. "Like the original 1992 book by the real-life Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, the film refuses to demonize the North Vietnamese, choosing to pay tribute to them as well."
As Gillespie sees it, some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the movie occur far from the battlefield, as Moore's wife, Julie ( Madeleine Stowe), and other military wives deliver the military's dreaded "We regret to inform you …" telegrams in person.
Greg Kinnear, as a brash young helicopter pilot, and Chris Klein also star in the two and a half hour long movie, which was directed by Randal Wallace. It is rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence and for language.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
ST. CROIX TO HOLD 33RD ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
March 6, 2002 – The 33rd annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebration will bring a lot of green and cheer to the historic streets of downtown Christiansted on Saturday, March 16.
The parade will feature scratch and steel-pan music, a colorful entourage of floats, jubilant Irish descendants and plenty of green. The procession will depart at 11 a.m. from the Christiansted Wharf and Hospital Street area and follow a route up Company Street and back down King’s Street to the wharf area.
In addition to the traditional Irish theme, the parade will be full of patriotic undertones this year.
Following the parade, a block party will be held on Church Street, in the wharf area. Food and drink, including local delicacies and traditional corned beef and cabbage, will be available.
Proceeds from the parade and party will go to local charities.
St. Croix's St. Patrick’s Day parade began in 1969 when a group of local businessmen convened in Harry’s Office Bar on Queen Cross Street in Christiansted for a "cool one," according to a release from the V.I. Tourism Department. The conversation turned to holidays and why St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t celebrated in the Virgin Islands when so many other holidays were and so many families were descendants of Irish overseers. Within minutes, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was formed.
Without further ado, a stakebed truck was commandeered, a piano put atop and the newly organized committee and fellow supporters were aboard singing Irish songs and saluting shoppers and shopkeepers who came out to see what all the noise was about.
And so, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade happened on St. Croix, and the parade is still going strong 33 years later.
The parade will feature scratch and steel-pan music, a colorful entourage of floats, jubilant Irish descendants and plenty of green. The procession will depart at 11 a.m. from the Christiansted Wharf and Hospital Street area and follow a route up Company Street and back down King’s Street to the wharf area.
In addition to the traditional Irish theme, the parade will be full of patriotic undertones this year.
Following the parade, a block party will be held on Church Street, in the wharf area. Food and drink, including local delicacies and traditional corned beef and cabbage, will be available.
Proceeds from the parade and party will go to local charities.
St. Croix's St. Patrick’s Day parade began in 1969 when a group of local businessmen convened in Harry’s Office Bar on Queen Cross Street in Christiansted for a "cool one," according to a release from the V.I. Tourism Department. The conversation turned to holidays and why St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t celebrated in the Virgin Islands when so many other holidays were and so many families were descendants of Irish overseers. Within minutes, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was formed.
Without further ado, a stakebed truck was commandeered, a piano put atop and the newly organized committee and fellow supporters were aboard singing Irish songs and saluting shoppers and shopkeepers who came out to see what all the noise was about.
And so, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade happened on St. Croix, and the parade is still going strong 33 years later.
ST. CROIX TURNS GREEN FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY
The 33rd annual St.Patrick’s Day parade and celebration will bring a lot of green and cheer to the historic streets of downtown Christiansted on Saturday, March 16.
The 11 a.m. parade will be followed by a party with eats – including corned beef and cabbage. Proceeds will go to local charities.
Further details are at Source section Things to do.
The 11 a.m. parade will be followed by a party with eats – including corned beef and cabbage. Proceeds will go to local charities.
Further details are at Source section Things to do.
PARK'S KING SAYS COURT TO ACT SOON IN TAXI CASE
March 6, 2002 – The St. John Taxi Association's case against the V.I. National Park should be before a U.S. District Court judge by the end of March, park Supt. John King said Wednesday.
No date has been set. "The judge will decide whether there's a bench ruling or a court procedure," King said.
The taxi association has taking the park to court because it believes the park is wrong in requiring that the association or its drivers pay an annual fee for a permit to operate in the park. The suit asserts that Congress has prohibited the National Park Service from charging fees for the use of park roads and overlooks. It further argues that the park's new Commercial Services Plan violates federal law and is unenforceable.
The suit asks for a permanent injunction against any park plan to charge taxi drivers a fee to use park facilities.
King has said the fee is for the use of park facilities such as beaches by visitors. At many national parks, he said, the county government owns the roads, but the tour operators nonetheless pay park fees. Permits are required under the park's Commercial Services Plan that went into effect Jan. 1.
According to King, St. John Taxi Association officials proposed that the park stop issuing warnings to drivers without permits until the matter is decided in court. King said he would not agree to that but instead suggested that the association get a permit with acknowledgment that it was doing so under protest. If the taxi association were to prevail in court, the park would return the $250 fee.
"We're not paying anything," countered Lorelei Monsanto, taxi association spokeswoman.
The park initially set the permit fees at $300 for independent drivers and $750 for associations and companies. In an effort at accommodation, King lowered the fees to $75 for independent drivers and $250 for associations and companies. No permits are required for taxi drivers who only transport people from point A to point B.
King said the park has issued 19 warnings and given a couple of drivers tickets for not having permits. He said he has told park rangers to be "conservative" in citing taxi drivers. "We don't want to exacerbate the situation," he said.
Many St. John Taxi Association drivers have gotten permits on their own because they want to continue to operate in the park, King said. To date, he said, 83 drivers — from associations as well as independent operators — have done so.
He said St. John has a total of 132 drivers who needed to get permits, 60 of them members of the St. John association. If the association gets a permit, it will cover all of its individual members.
The standoff between taxi drivers and park officials began last October, when many drivers at a public meeting on the subject said they would not pay to take tours through the park. Since then, other taxi groups, tour companies and individual drivers have gotten permits, but the St. John Taxi Association has steadfastly refused to do so.
Other tour operators such as those that conduct hiking excursions and daysails have been paying annual fees for permits for years. The new Commercial Services Plan, mandated by Congress, requires all tour operators to have permits.
No date has been set. "The judge will decide whether there's a bench ruling or a court procedure," King said.
The taxi association has taking the park to court because it believes the park is wrong in requiring that the association or its drivers pay an annual fee for a permit to operate in the park. The suit asserts that Congress has prohibited the National Park Service from charging fees for the use of park roads and overlooks. It further argues that the park's new Commercial Services Plan violates federal law and is unenforceable.
The suit asks for a permanent injunction against any park plan to charge taxi drivers a fee to use park facilities.
King has said the fee is for the use of park facilities such as beaches by visitors. At many national parks, he said, the county government owns the roads, but the tour operators nonetheless pay park fees. Permits are required under the park's Commercial Services Plan that went into effect Jan. 1.
According to King, St. John Taxi Association officials proposed that the park stop issuing warnings to drivers without permits until the matter is decided in court. King said he would not agree to that but instead suggested that the association get a permit with acknowledgment that it was doing so under protest. If the taxi association were to prevail in court, the park would return the $250 fee.
"We're not paying anything," countered Lorelei Monsanto, taxi association spokeswoman.
The park initially set the permit fees at $300 for independent drivers and $750 for associations and companies. In an effort at accommodation, King lowered the fees to $75 for independent drivers and $250 for associations and companies. No permits are required for taxi drivers who only transport people from point A to point B.
King said the park has issued 19 warnings and given a couple of drivers tickets for not having permits. He said he has told park rangers to be "conservative" in citing taxi drivers. "We don't want to exacerbate the situation," he said.
Many St. John Taxi Association drivers have gotten permits on their own because they want to continue to operate in the park, King said. To date, he said, 83 drivers — from associations as well as independent operators — have done so.
He said St. John has a total of 132 drivers who needed to get permits, 60 of them members of the St. John association. If the association gets a permit, it will cover all of its individual members.
The standoff between taxi drivers and park officials began last October, when many drivers at a public meeting on the subject said they would not pay to take tours through the park. Since then, other taxi groups, tour companies and individual drivers have gotten permits, but the St. John Taxi Association has steadfastly refused to do so.
Other tour operators such as those that conduct hiking excursions and daysails have been paying annual fees for permits for years. The new Commercial Services Plan, mandated by Congress, requires all tour operators to have permits.
VIRGIN ISLANDS HEAD BANDANA
Purchase your locally designed bandana today!
You can wear it in several creative ways … on your hat, on your head as a headband for sporting events or as a scarf around your neck – especially if you're going sailing or simply out on the town. This bandana is the perfect way to advertise our beautiful Virgin Islands as well as express your love for the V.I. Get your 5-color bandana, a replica of our Virgin Islands flag, for a low price of only $9.99.
For purchase information please contact: 340-690-5759 or in the U.S. 301-528-1575 or e-mail vibandanaplus@hotmail.com.
You can wear it in several creative ways … on your hat, on your head as a headband for sporting events or as a scarf around your neck – especially if you're going sailing or simply out on the town. This bandana is the perfect way to advertise our beautiful Virgin Islands as well as express your love for the V.I. Get your 5-color bandana, a replica of our Virgin Islands flag, for a low price of only $9.99.
For purchase information please contact: 340-690-5759 or in the U.S. 301-528-1575 or e-mail vibandanaplus@hotmail.com.
