Funeral services for Juan Jacobs, age 61, of Bay Court, who died on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital, will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Viewing will begin at 9 a.m. Internment will be at Kingshill Cemetery.
He is survived by his sons Juan and Christopher Jacobs and Trevor Jones; daughters Maria and Anna Jacobs; sisters Maria M. Jacobs Serrano, Juanita Jacobs Edwards, Carmen Joseph Jacobs, Candita Maldonado Garcia and Maria Garcia; brothers Gilberto and Jose Jacobs; and many other relatives too numerous to mention.
JFL HOSPITAL TO CUT BACK ON NUMBER OF BEDS
Oct. 13, 2001 — Staff shortages and budget cuts have forced a reduction in the number of acute-care beds at St. Croix’s Juan F. Luis Hospital.
The reduction is being made to meet the patient-staff ratio set by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organization and Healthcare Financing Administration, according to a statement released by the hospital on Friday. Funding cuts and a dire need for nurses are the main reasons behind the move, said hospital spokeswoman Carol Lee.
Lee said hospital administrators have not decided on the number of beds that will be taken out of operation.
According to Lee, about 50 positions at the hospital have been cut over the last two years, during which time the hospital’s allotment from the V.I. general fund has been slashed by $2.2 million. She said a $2.5 million budget reduction for fiscal year 2002 will result in another 62 positions being cut.
In Senate Finance Committee budget hearings in August, Nellon Bowry, the hospital’s chief financial officer, told senators that the government’s funding of the facility has dropped each year since 1998, when it received $20.2 million. The hospital received $21.2 million in 1999, $18.9 million in 2000 and $16.5 in 2001.
At the same hearing, Darice Plaskett, vice president of nursing services at the hospital, said there is a need for 66 registered nurses, 46 licensed practical nurses, 29 certified nursing assistants, 13 unit secretaries, two clinical care coordinators and one head nurse. She said a critical shortage of nurses on the mainland is affecting the situation in the territory, particularly when other jurisdictions can offer signing bonuses of between $3,000 and $10,000.
The reduction is being made to meet the patient-staff ratio set by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organization and Healthcare Financing Administration, according to a statement released by the hospital on Friday. Funding cuts and a dire need for nurses are the main reasons behind the move, said hospital spokeswoman Carol Lee.
Lee said hospital administrators have not decided on the number of beds that will be taken out of operation.
According to Lee, about 50 positions at the hospital have been cut over the last two years, during which time the hospital’s allotment from the V.I. general fund has been slashed by $2.2 million. She said a $2.5 million budget reduction for fiscal year 2002 will result in another 62 positions being cut.
In Senate Finance Committee budget hearings in August, Nellon Bowry, the hospital’s chief financial officer, told senators that the government’s funding of the facility has dropped each year since 1998, when it received $20.2 million. The hospital received $21.2 million in 1999, $18.9 million in 2000 and $16.5 in 2001.
At the same hearing, Darice Plaskett, vice president of nursing services at the hospital, said there is a need for 66 registered nurses, 46 licensed practical nurses, 29 certified nursing assistants, 13 unit secretaries, two clinical care coordinators and one head nurse. She said a critical shortage of nurses on the mainland is affecting the situation in the territory, particularly when other jurisdictions can offer signing bonuses of between $3,000 and $10,000.
HOUSE LIKELY TO EXTEND RUM TAX REBATE
Oct. 13, 2001 — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve an extension of the current rate of the federal tax rebate that flows to the territory from V.I. rum sales on the mainland, providing an infusion of about $70 million a year into the local treasury, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen said Friday.
She said an extension of the rum cover-over for the Virgin Islands is included in the national economic stimulus package being worked on in the House Ways and Means Committee. The measure, expected to go to the floor of the House next week, would extend the current rebate of $13.25 per proof gallon, now scheduled to expire Dec. 31, for two more years. If the cover-over is not extended, the rebate rate will revert to its previous level of $10.50.
Under a congressionally mandated program for V.I. development, excise taxes on V.I. rum shipped to the U.S. mainland are rebated to the local treasury. This money currently accounts for more than 15 percent of the territory's total revenues, Christensen said, making it second only to tourism in generating funds for the V.I. government.
Last year, more than $70 million in federal rum taxes flowed into the territory's coffers. Without the rebate extension, Christensen said, the territory would lose between $15 million and $20 million a year in revenues.
She said she will continue to work toward getting Congress to lift the rum-tax rebate cap, which would pave the way for a permanent increase on the rate of rum revenues sent to the territory.
Assuming Congress approves the current economic stimulus measure, "We now have two years to work to that end," she said.
"I am grateful for the broad bipartisan support that our rum extension has received," she said, citing the Ways and Means Committee chair, Rep. Bill Thomas; the Trade Subcommittee chair, Rep. Phil Crane; and Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat Charles Rangel. "Working with Gov. Turnbull and his Washington counsel, we were able to secure the strong support of Chairman Crane for our rum extension early on, which made today's action possible," she said.
She said an extension of the rum cover-over for the Virgin Islands is included in the national economic stimulus package being worked on in the House Ways and Means Committee. The measure, expected to go to the floor of the House next week, would extend the current rebate of $13.25 per proof gallon, now scheduled to expire Dec. 31, for two more years. If the cover-over is not extended, the rebate rate will revert to its previous level of $10.50.
Under a congressionally mandated program for V.I. development, excise taxes on V.I. rum shipped to the U.S. mainland are rebated to the local treasury. This money currently accounts for more than 15 percent of the territory's total revenues, Christensen said, making it second only to tourism in generating funds for the V.I. government.
Last year, more than $70 million in federal rum taxes flowed into the territory's coffers. Without the rebate extension, Christensen said, the territory would lose between $15 million and $20 million a year in revenues.
She said she will continue to work toward getting Congress to lift the rum-tax rebate cap, which would pave the way for a permanent increase on the rate of rum revenues sent to the territory.
Assuming Congress approves the current economic stimulus measure, "We now have two years to work to that end," she said.
"I am grateful for the broad bipartisan support that our rum extension has received," she said, citing the Ways and Means Committee chair, Rep. Bill Thomas; the Trade Subcommittee chair, Rep. Phil Crane; and Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat Charles Rangel. "Working with Gov. Turnbull and his Washington counsel, we were able to secure the strong support of Chairman Crane for our rum extension early on, which made today's action possible," she said.
POLICE TOP BRASS NO SHOWS AT HEARING
Oct. 12, 2001 – Several senators lashed out at police brass when none of the top law enforcement officials showed up to testify at a Senate hearing Friday night on crime in the Virgin Islands.
The invited witnesses included Police Commissioner Franz Christian, Territorial Police Chief Jose Garcia and Deputy Police Chiefs Theodore Carty of St. Thomas and Novelle Francis of St. Croix, as well as local leaders of several federal law-enforcement agencies.
But none of the Virgin Islands Police Department officials made it to the hearing Friday before the Senate Government Operations Committee, leading several senators to question the responsiveness of police brass at a time when security is such an important issue.
"It is sorely distressing to me, the absence of people who were confirmed to be here," said Sen. Emmett Hansen II, the chairman of the committee. "We have to pay more than just lip service to law enforcement."
Christian wrote a letter to Senate leaders, saying that he could not attend the hearing because issues stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland were keeping him busy.
Despite the absence of police officials and representatives of most of the federal agencies that were invited, the hearings went on with testimony from Attorney General Iver Stridiron; Capt. Gaston Tuckett of the V.I. Housing Authority police; Barry Broome, the chairman of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce Crime Committee; and representatives from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Tuckett said the five-year-old V.I. Housing Authority police were losing their main source of funding through the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, but that housing officials were looking for ways to keep the force running with other funds.
"We’re in dying need of equipment, such as ammunition, bullet-proof vests and armament," he said, adding that officials would be focusing simply on keeping the officers employed.
While funding problems plague the Housing Authority police, other agencies are facing their own resource problems.
Keith Williams, the assistant officer-in-charge of the INS for the territory, said that the agency did not have the means to adequately patrol Virgin Islands waters to stop the flow of illegal immigrants to these shores.
"The lack of marine presence is one of our critical needs in the Virgin Islands to protect the shoreline and to curb the flow of undocumented aliens," he said.
Broome said the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, which has supported the police bike patrol and the training academy, would begin placing advertisements this month about the V.I. Project Exile program, designed to increase public awareness of the harsh penalties connected with carrying illegal firearms.
He noted that people, and specifically the business community, cannot afford to let high crime continue in the territory.
"If something happens downtown and one or two tourists are killed, that would be our Fountain Valley," he said, referring to the multiple murder on St. Croix in 1972 that severely damaged the island's tourism industry. "This issue of crime is serious," Broome said.
Hansen spoke about work being done by the Legislature and Gov. Charles Turnbull’s office to pass firearms legislation that would greatly increase penalties connected with carrying unlicenced weapons. Turnbull vetoed the bill earlier this year over sections about property forfeiture, but he has indicated he supported the intention to increase the penalties.
Hansen said he expected a version of the bill to go through soon, and that it would be one important step in curbing the high crime that continues to plague the territory.
"One way or another, we will see that the Virgin Islands are safe," Hansen said.
The invited witnesses included Police Commissioner Franz Christian, Territorial Police Chief Jose Garcia and Deputy Police Chiefs Theodore Carty of St. Thomas and Novelle Francis of St. Croix, as well as local leaders of several federal law-enforcement agencies.
But none of the Virgin Islands Police Department officials made it to the hearing Friday before the Senate Government Operations Committee, leading several senators to question the responsiveness of police brass at a time when security is such an important issue.
"It is sorely distressing to me, the absence of people who were confirmed to be here," said Sen. Emmett Hansen II, the chairman of the committee. "We have to pay more than just lip service to law enforcement."
Christian wrote a letter to Senate leaders, saying that he could not attend the hearing because issues stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland were keeping him busy.
Despite the absence of police officials and representatives of most of the federal agencies that were invited, the hearings went on with testimony from Attorney General Iver Stridiron; Capt. Gaston Tuckett of the V.I. Housing Authority police; Barry Broome, the chairman of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce Crime Committee; and representatives from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Tuckett said the five-year-old V.I. Housing Authority police were losing their main source of funding through the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, but that housing officials were looking for ways to keep the force running with other funds.
"We’re in dying need of equipment, such as ammunition, bullet-proof vests and armament," he said, adding that officials would be focusing simply on keeping the officers employed.
While funding problems plague the Housing Authority police, other agencies are facing their own resource problems.
Keith Williams, the assistant officer-in-charge of the INS for the territory, said that the agency did not have the means to adequately patrol Virgin Islands waters to stop the flow of illegal immigrants to these shores.
"The lack of marine presence is one of our critical needs in the Virgin Islands to protect the shoreline and to curb the flow of undocumented aliens," he said.
Broome said the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, which has supported the police bike patrol and the training academy, would begin placing advertisements this month about the V.I. Project Exile program, designed to increase public awareness of the harsh penalties connected with carrying illegal firearms.
He noted that people, and specifically the business community, cannot afford to let high crime continue in the territory.
"If something happens downtown and one or two tourists are killed, that would be our Fountain Valley," he said, referring to the multiple murder on St. Croix in 1972 that severely damaged the island's tourism industry. "This issue of crime is serious," Broome said.
Hansen spoke about work being done by the Legislature and Gov. Charles Turnbull’s office to pass firearms legislation that would greatly increase penalties connected with carrying unlicenced weapons. Turnbull vetoed the bill earlier this year over sections about property forfeiture, but he has indicated he supported the intention to increase the penalties.
Hansen said he expected a version of the bill to go through soon, and that it would be one important step in curbing the high crime that continues to plague the territory.
"One way or another, we will see that the Virgin Islands are safe," Hansen said.
RED CROSS HAS MANY NEEDS
Oct. 12, 2001 – The American Red Cross needs volunteers in St. John, said St. Thomas/St. John Director Yvonne Zinicola at a meeting Friday of the Rotary Club of St. John. And it needs to find a new home.
Zinicola said the Health Department told her it needs the space now occupied by the Red Cross at the Morris deCastro building across from the Cruz Bay waterfront.
"Potentially, we're going to be homeless," she said.
She added that the agency also has supplies stashed here and there all over St. John, which need to be consolidated.
Zinicola said that the St. Thomas/St. John Red Cross chapter has been in a state of recovery since Hurricane Marilyn devastated the territory in 1995.
One casualty has been collaborative efforts between the main office in St. Thomas and the St. John volunteers.
"We have to bridge the distance between the two islands. We're not two Red Crosses," she said.
Asked if St. John was ready should a disaster hit, Zinicola hedged. She said that while she was sure volunteers would respond, she was unsure if they were trained.
If the island can't come up with enough trained volunteers during a disaster, the Red Cross sends volunteers from the mainland.
"Then there are cultural differences," she said.
After hearing a post-Hurricane Marilyn tale about imported Red Cross volunteers vocally complaining in the U.S. Post Office line about a lack of air conditioning at their posh hotel, she said the heat was a factor for stateside volunteers used to a cooler climate.
She said St. John has about 20 volunteers.
Her entire chapter has been struggling. She said that the St. Thomas office went down with Hurricane Marilyn when it was inundated with three feet of water. Since then, they have moved several times.
When the St. Thomas office took a hit, vital records for both islands were lost.
While the Red Cross in the territory has, so far this year, been spared having to respond to a hurricane, the chapter remains on call to help with aid for Operation Enduring Freedom, America's campaign against terrorism. She said that the Red Cross serves as the link between families here and military personnel on the front lines when emergencies develop. The agency transmits messages and will facilitate bringing the armed forces member home if it is possible.
Zinicola said the chapter sent 10 volunteers and one staff member to assist in various stateside locations after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
To volunteer in either St. John or St. Thomas, call 774-0375.
Zinicola said the Health Department told her it needs the space now occupied by the Red Cross at the Morris deCastro building across from the Cruz Bay waterfront.
"Potentially, we're going to be homeless," she said.
She added that the agency also has supplies stashed here and there all over St. John, which need to be consolidated.
Zinicola said that the St. Thomas/St. John Red Cross chapter has been in a state of recovery since Hurricane Marilyn devastated the territory in 1995.
One casualty has been collaborative efforts between the main office in St. Thomas and the St. John volunteers.
"We have to bridge the distance between the two islands. We're not two Red Crosses," she said.
Asked if St. John was ready should a disaster hit, Zinicola hedged. She said that while she was sure volunteers would respond, she was unsure if they were trained.
If the island can't come up with enough trained volunteers during a disaster, the Red Cross sends volunteers from the mainland.
"Then there are cultural differences," she said.
After hearing a post-Hurricane Marilyn tale about imported Red Cross volunteers vocally complaining in the U.S. Post Office line about a lack of air conditioning at their posh hotel, she said the heat was a factor for stateside volunteers used to a cooler climate.
She said St. John has about 20 volunteers.
Her entire chapter has been struggling. She said that the St. Thomas office went down with Hurricane Marilyn when it was inundated with three feet of water. Since then, they have moved several times.
When the St. Thomas office took a hit, vital records for both islands were lost.
While the Red Cross in the territory has, so far this year, been spared having to respond to a hurricane, the chapter remains on call to help with aid for Operation Enduring Freedom, America's campaign against terrorism. She said that the Red Cross serves as the link between families here and military personnel on the front lines when emergencies develop. The agency transmits messages and will facilitate bringing the armed forces member home if it is possible.
Zinicola said the chapter sent 10 volunteers and one staff member to assist in various stateside locations after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
To volunteer in either St. John or St. Thomas, call 774-0375.
PARKING AT GRIFFITH LOT SOON TO BE PAID
October 12, 2001 – Traffic flow into and out of the parking lot by the Emile Griffith Ball Park will be affected as work begins on converting the space to a paid-parking facility. Starting Thursday, all traffic must enter and exit across from Island Block; no through traffic can come in from the Labor Department direction.
Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ira Hobson said paid parking is being instituted to generate revenues to repair and improve V.I. park facilities. "We have long enjoyed the privilege of free access to our parks," he said, but to continue this and make such improvements as bathroom facilities, it is necessary to raise funds." Work to be done, he said, includes repaving and lighting, with part of the initial funding coming from the U.S. Interior Department.
Hobson plans to use the management in place at the Fort Christian lot, with similar access controls and fees. Paid parking will be in effect until 5 p.m., he said, with no charge for evening parking for ball games.
There will be limited lot access over the next several weeks, according to a Government House release.
Hobson said the lot will be shut down for paving, which is scheduled to start Oct. 22. "Motorists are encouraged to plan for this loss of parking space while the department upgrades the parking lot and prepares it for reopening as a paid-parking facility," he said.
Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ira Hobson said paid parking is being instituted to generate revenues to repair and improve V.I. park facilities. "We have long enjoyed the privilege of free access to our parks," he said, but to continue this and make such improvements as bathroom facilities, it is necessary to raise funds." Work to be done, he said, includes repaving and lighting, with part of the initial funding coming from the U.S. Interior Department.
Hobson plans to use the management in place at the Fort Christian lot, with similar access controls and fees. Paid parking will be in effect until 5 p.m., he said, with no charge for evening parking for ball games.
There will be limited lot access over the next several weeks, according to a Government House release.
Hobson said the lot will be shut down for paving, which is scheduled to start Oct. 22. "Motorists are encouraged to plan for this loss of parking space while the department upgrades the parking lot and prepares it for reopening as a paid-parking facility," he said.
WAPA WORK TO RESTRICT LATE NIGHT TRAFFIC
Oct. 12, 2001 – Overhead electrical lines near Banco Popular past the entrance to Nova Scotia Bank and east to B and D Wholesale by the Western Cemetery will be removed by the V.I. Water and Power Authority from midnight Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday. During that time vehicular traffic will be restricted.
The area served by the overhead lines has been switched to the underground feeder to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital. During the removal, however, homes on Feeder 8A in the area may experience a brief power outage, the release from WAPA states. WAPA apologizes for the inconvenience.
The area served by the overhead lines has been switched to the underground feeder to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital. During the removal, however, homes on Feeder 8A in the area may experience a brief power outage, the release from WAPA states. WAPA apologizes for the inconvenience.
WIC OFFICE AT TUTU PARK MALL
Oct. 12, 2001 – The Health Department's Women, Infants and Children program has temporarily moved its office to Tutu Park Mall. The Knud Hansen office is closed for repairs until further notice.
To receive services, clients need to bring proof of identity that includes a photo. Passports, voter registration cards or other identification cards may be used.
To receive services, clients need to bring proof of identity that includes a photo. Passports, voter registration cards or other identification cards may be used.
2001 ECONOMIC SUMMIT IS BEING AIRED ON CABLE
Oct. 12, 2001 – The 2001 V.I. Economic Development Summit held in July "served as a forum for dialogue on alternatives to rebuilding the V.I. economy," in the words of a V. I. Legislature release. Attended by businesspersons, government officials, students and residents, the July 24th session was on St. Thomas; the 25th took place on St. Croix.
The July 24th session, "A Recovery Plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Part 1," will be aired at 2 p.m. Sunday. On Innovative St. Thomas/ St. John Cable TV it will be on Channels 71 and 57; on Innovative St. Croix Cable TV it will be on Channel 59.
The convention, sponsored by Sen. Adelbert "Bert" Bryan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, was the "first step towards addressing the financial crisis now facing the Virgin Islands," according to the release. That was before the recent terrorist attacks which have resulted in further concerns about the U.S. and V.I. economies.
This is a second chance to view the first session. The summit was first aired on Oct. 8, but due to technical difficulties St. Croix was not able to see the entire conference.
The July 24th session, "A Recovery Plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Part 1," will be aired at 2 p.m. Sunday. On Innovative St. Thomas/ St. John Cable TV it will be on Channels 71 and 57; on Innovative St. Croix Cable TV it will be on Channel 59.
The convention, sponsored by Sen. Adelbert "Bert" Bryan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, was the "first step towards addressing the financial crisis now facing the Virgin Islands," according to the release. That was before the recent terrorist attacks which have resulted in further concerns about the U.S. and V.I. economies.
This is a second chance to view the first session. The summit was first aired on Oct. 8, but due to technical difficulties St. Croix was not able to see the entire conference.
2001 ECONOMIC SUMMIT IS BEING AIRED ON CABLE
Oct. 12, 2001 – The 2001 V.I. Economic Development Summit held in July "served as a forum for dialogue on alternatives to rebuilding the V.I. economy," in the words of a V. I. Legislature release. Attended by businesspersons, government officials, students and residents, the July 24th session was on St. Thomas; the 25th took place on St. Croix.
The July 24th session, "A Recovery Plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Part 1," will be aired at 2 p.m. Sunday. On Innovative St. Thomas/ St. John Cable TV it will be on Channels 71 and 57; on Innovative St. Croix Cable TV it will be on Channel 59.
The convention, sponsored by Sen. Adelbert "Bert" Bryan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, was the "first step towards addressing the financial crisis now facing the Virgin Islands," according to the release. That was before the recent terrorist attacks which have resulted in further concerns about the U.S. and V.I. economies.
This is a second chance to view the first session. The summit was first aired on Oct. 8, but due to technical difficulties St. Croix was not able to see the entire conference.
