The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island Branch of the Republican Party of the V.I. will hold its monthly meeting at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at its headquarters located on the 3rd floor of the Drug Farm Pharmacy Bldg., Sugar Estate Road.
The public is invited to attend.
For more information call 776-1448, 777-8701 or 774-5764.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island Branch of the Republican party will hold its monthly meeting at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at its headquarters located on the 3rd floor of the Drug Farm Pharmacy Bldg., Sugar Estate Road.
The public is invited to attend.
For additional information call 776-1448, 777-8701 or 774-5764.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island Branch of the V.I. Republican Party will hold its monthly meeting at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at its headquarters located on the 3rd floor of the Drug Farm Pharmacy Building, Sugar Estate Road.
The public is invited to attend.
For additional information call 776-1448, 777-8701 or 774-5764.

Furneral services for Hilda Leonard McClean, who died Oct. 8, will be at 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 15, at Christ Church Methodist.
Viewing will be at 8 a.m. at the church and internment at Western Cemetery.
She is survived by son Vernon McClean; daughters Alicia Richards, Cresida Raimer, Melva Downing, Doris Watley, and Rita Baptiste; step-children Elroy, Einar, and Kelvin McClean and Alexis Callwood; 22 grandchildren; 24 great grandchildren; other realatives and friends too numerous to mention.

Oct. 9, 2001 – Progress on the Enighed Pond commercial port recently inched along when the Federal Highway Administration announced its findings that the project would have no significant environmental impact on Enighed Pond. The FHA still must sign off on the project, something Port Authority planner Darlan Brin said probably won't happen until November.
Brin now thinks that the actual construction will start by June or July of 2002. Last January, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said he expected it to start within three months. The project has been in the works for about 30 years.
"Not doing the pond has slowed the development of this island down," St. John resident Norm Gledhill said. When the project is completed, commercial vehicles will enter the island at Enighed Pond, rather than the Creek, which will help alleviate traffic congestion in Cruz Bay.
Passenger ferries are expected to shift operations to the Creek, which now is used primarily by commercial traffic such as barges. This would take pressure off the Cruz Bay waterfront, another high-traffic area.
Gledhill faults the Port Authority for the delays. "I believe that the Port Authority does not want to see this," he said.
Brin said that work on transplanting coral from one side of the pond to the other began about a month ago. The move is one of the requirements imposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when it issued a permit on Dec. 28, 1999.
St. John's Coastal Zone Management Committee granted the Port Authority a one-year extension on its CZM permit for the project in June of 2000. The permit was first issued in 1989 and had been extended by the CZM committee several times before.
Brin said the contract to transplant the coral took effect before the CZM permit expired, which satisfied the permit requirements. No one on the St. John CZM committee could be reached for comment Tuesday.
The V.I. government will fund the $16 million Enighed Pond project with money from GARVEE bonds, to be repaid with Federal Highway Administration funds that the territory routinely receives.
Planning for the project began in 1971. In 1985, the Port Authority anticipated it would cost about $4 million and expected to start construction by the end of that year. However, numerous obstacles stood in its way.
After the local government and the Port Authority wrangled over ownership of the land, the Legislature decided in favor of the Port Authority. Once that was resolved, the Port Authority secured the required CZM permit, which has since been extended repeatedly. The Port Authority then had to secure the Army Corps permit, a process which took several years. That permit expires Nov. 3, 2004.

Oct. 10, 2001 — A six-hour Senate Finance Committee meeting Tuesday night will likely produce a handful of initiatives aimed at stimulating the economy in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the mainland and subsequent retaliatory strikes.
The most immediate effort will be pushing through legislation for the V.I. Technology Park. University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean told senators that if a proposed bill becomes law by the end of October, a business forum can be held in December.
Top representatives from 40 to 50 of the nation’s leading tech universities and companies have shown interest in attending the forum, Kean said. Attendees could represent Microsoft, Stanford University, KPMG, AT&T, IBM, Deutsche Bank and Sun Microsystems.
The forum, Kean said, "would be the first in a series to promote the territory and the technology park."
But, he added, "there will be no interest for the forum without having the legislation in place."
Finance Committee Chairwoman Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen vowed to push the technology park legislation through the Senate, which has tentatively scheduled a full session for Oct. 25.
Kean also noted that 18,000 hotel room nights will be generated by four NCAA basketball tournaments scheduled for November at UVI’s new Sports and Fitness Center on St. Thomas.
Wendell Snider, president of the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association, was less optimistic in his appraisal of the near future, particularly for the Big Island. He said that since Sept. 20, retailers, restaurants and taxi drivers have seen business slump 25 percent, 60 percent and 75 percent respectively compared to last year.
As of Monday, Snider said, 70 tourists and about 170 business travelers were staying in hotels on St. Croix. He said St. Thomas had 538 rooms occupied, which is less than the number of rooms at the Frenchman’s Reef Hotel.
"Our economy is basically shut down and revenues for our local government won’t be there for at least 90 days," Snider said.
Along with revisiting the idea of a public-private tourism authority, Snider said that hoteliers, particularly small inn owners, will need help with mortgage payments and Water and Power Authority bills. For example, Snider said for the 37-room Hibiscus Beach Resort, which he manages, his WAPA bill accounts for 15 percent of his expenses.
"With the occupancy we have, it will be virtually impossible to pay their WAPA bill," he said. "Yes, we need a deferment or a step down. That would be helpful to the industry."
John de Jongh Jr., president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, said any stimulus package must contain language that establishes a tax reform commission, a tourism authority and a provision to hire a transportation consultant. A plan that puts the Turnbull administration, the Legislature and the private sector on the same page needs to be developed, he said.
"While I don’t prescribe to doom and gloom, I do think we need to be practical," de Jongh said.
He noted that discussions with Turnbull advisers concerning a temporary moratorium on gross receipts taxes showed this wasn’t possible because a recent bond issue is backed by GRT revenue.

Oct. 9, 2001 – Caneel Bay Resort had 33 unexpected guests early Tuesday morning when illegal aliens from China swam ashore at the resort's Scott Beach on Hawksnest Bay. All were men between the ages of 19 and 34.
"We gave them sandwiches," Luigi Romaniello, the hotel's resident manager, said.
Police Lt. Rene Garcia said police received a call from resort security officers alerting them to the situation at 1:45 a.m. Romaniello said that as soon as the security officers realized the people on the beach were Chinese, they recognized it was an immigration situation.
"They knew it wasn't a major issue," he said in response to a question about the anxiety experienced by the nation since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Romaniello said the security officers didn't see the boat that dropped the men off near the beach. Police arrived to take the illegal aliens into custody soon after being called, he said. They were turned over to U.S. Immigration officials at 10:45 a.m.
St. John is favored dropoff location for aliens to enter the United States illegally. In fact, Romaniello said, illegal aliens have come ashore at Caneel Bay Resort before. However, most boat captains prefer to make their drops at more remote bays.
Many Chinese illegal aliens are from the Fujian province, where they pay thousands of dollars for transportation to the United States.

Oct. 9, 2001 – Expressing determined optimism, a panel of island business people took a look at "The Next 12 Months" Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the Advertising Club of the Virgin Islands.
Addie Ottley of WSTA radio moderated the panel consisting of Zona Corbin, Little Switzerland marketing director; Terry Robinson, Draughting Shaft owner; Randy Kneedler, Caribbean Auto Mart general manager; and Alex Treml, owner of Alexander's Café and catering service.
Their assignment for the luncheon meeting at The Pointe at Villa Olga was to discuss how their businesses are coping with the economic aftermath of last month's terrorist attacks.
Although the panel members tried their best to be upbeat about their prospects for the approaching season, Ottley said there is something critical the community has been missing. "There's a blank space between the government offices and economics," he said. "We have received no real direction from the governor and the Legislature."
Ottley, who owns WSTA Radio and hosts "The Morning Show," said he hoped that a meeting of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and members of the 24th Legislature being held Tuesday on St. Croix would change that.
No representative of the Tourism Department attended the meeting, although the Ad Club president, Norita Lee, had invited them. No other government representatives were in attendance.
Kneedler and Robinson said the current economic situation has made a new customer orientation necessary.
Instead of emphasizing new-vehicle sales, "We're having a change of focus to the service area," Kneedler said. "We are working closer with customers about servicing the older cars." He added, "We are moving on a day-to-day basis; 12 months is too long." While he has not seen a sales decline yet, he said, "It's a little early."
Robinson said challenges are nothing new to The Draughting Shaft. "We've been faced with Cost-You-Less and Office Max, so we're used to it." he said, adding that his office supply shop is currently concentrating on journals, diaries and holiday greeting cards. "People are wanting to put their thoughts down on paper, and probably this year they'll feel the urge to send more old friends cards, keep in touch, reaching out to people," he said.
Treml, however, said his business has lost a lot of catering jobs because of group travel cancellations. "We had a big group from Pepsi at the end of the month, but they've canceled," he said. "There was a big biotech group, about 580, who were staying at the Reef. They were shut down for four days to redo security and they canceled." But, he added, "some groups have rescheduled from November to January; so, I think things will improve."
Treml said he thinks the news media have overplayed people's fear of flying. "I'm cautiously optimistic," he said. "Working in a bar, you hear things. I think it will get better."
Another thought Treml shared: "I don't think the bombing [in Afghanistan] will have much effect on tourism. I think it will be a war of detectives and bean counters."
Corbin was decidedly unfazed."We are looking for a strong season," she said of the local Little Switzerland operation. "Most of the ships have been at 85 percent capacity, and we are getting ships that have been rerouted from the Mediterranean and the Asian countries."
Little Switzerland has shops in downtown Charlotte Amalie and in Havensight Mall, the prime hunting grounds of cruise ship shoppers. "Americans love to shop, we love to travel, we're spoiled," Corbin said. "Americans aren't going to stay home. We have to greet them and make them feel welcome, feel safe."
Alex Randall IV, WSTA Radio's "Good New Guy," noted the current low airfares to San Juan and said the port authority there had worked together with the airlines, lowered its landing fees and managed not to lay any of it employees off.
That prompted Lisa Schmidt, Cape Air marketing director, to say that "St. Thomas and Boston's Logan Airport have the highest landing fees in the nation. They're outrageous."
Schmidt, who said Cape Air is moving forward with a full winter schedule, said a group of local airline representatives had approached the Port Authority about lowering the fees. "They not only didn't lower them; they are raising a passenger charge by 15 percent until they pay for the new tower at the St. Croix airport," she said.
Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, could not be reached for a response Tuesday afternoon.
Schmidt, who is a member of the governor's newly formed Tourism Advisory Council, suggested members of the Ad Club "get behind Tourism Commissioner Pam Richards' campaign."
Ottley raise the question, "Are we preparing the island if we do get more cruise ships? Are we cleaning up the island?" He said the territory is experiencing a "drag" that hasn't been taken care of yet. "We need a positive, realistic approach from the government," he said. "Keep that in mind, and act accordingly."
The next Ad Club meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13 at the same location. Edward Thomas, president of The West Indian Co., is to be the speaker.

Oct. 9, 2001 – Expressing determined optimism, a panel of island business people took a look at "The Next 12 Months" Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the Advertising Club of the Virgin Islands.
Addie Ottley of WSTA radio moderated the panel consisting of Zona Corbin, Little Switzerland marketing director; Terry Robinson, Draughting Shaft owner; Randy Kneedler, Caribbean Auto Mart general manager; and Alexander Treml, owner of Alexander's Café and catering service.
Their assignment for the luncheon meeting at The Pointe at Villa Olga was to discuss how their businesses are coping with the economic aftermath of last month's terrorist attacks.
Although the panel members tried their best to be upbeat about their prospects for the approaching season, Ottley said there is something critical the community has been missing. "There's a blank space between the government offices and economics," he said. "We have received no real direction from the governor and the Legislature."
Ottley, who owns WSTA Radio and hosts "The Morning Show," said he hoped that a meeting of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and members of the 24th Legislature being held Tuesday on St. Croix would change that.
No representative of the Tourism Department attended the meeting, although the Ad Club president, Norita Lee, had invited them. No other government representatives were in attendance.
Kneedler and Robinson said the current economic situation has made a new customer orientation necessary.
Instead of emphasizing new-vehicle sales, "We're having a change of focus to the service area," Kneedler said. "We are working closer with customers about servicing the older cars." He added, "We are moving on a day-to-day basis; 12 months is too long." While he has not seen a sales decline yet, he said, "It's a little early."
Robinson said challenges are nothing new to The Draughting Shaft. "We've been faced with Cost-You-Less and Office Max, so we're used to it." he said, adding that his office supply shop is currently concentrating on journals, diaries and holiday greeting cards. "People are wanting to put their thoughts down on paper, and probably this year they'll feel the urge to send more old friends cards, keep in touch, reaching out to people," he said.
Treml, however, said his business has lost a lot of catering jobs because of group travel cancellations. "We had a big group from Pepsi at the end of the month, but they've canceled," he said. "There was a big biotech group, about 580, who were staying at the Reef. They were shut down for four days to redo security and they canceled." But, he added, "some groups have rescheduled from November to January; so, I think things will improve."
Treml said he thinks the news media have overplayed people's fear of flying. "I'm cautiously optimistic," he said. "Working in a bar, you hear things. I think it will get better."
Another thought Treml shared: "I don't think the bombing [in Afghanistan] will have much effect on tourism. I think it will be a war of detectives and bean counters."
Corbin was decidedly unfazed."We are looking for a strong season," she said of the local Little Switzerland operation. "Most of the ships have been at 85 percent capacity, and we are getting ships that have been rerouted from the Mediterranean and the Asian countries."
Little Switzerland has shops in downtown Charlotte Amalie and in Havensight Mall, the prime hunting grounds of cruise ship shoppers. "Americans love to shop, we love to travel, we're spoiled," Corbin said. "Americans aren't going to stay home. We have to greet them and make them feel welcome, feel safe."
Alex Randall IV, WSTA Radio's "Good New Guy," noted the current low airfares to San Juan and said the port authority there had worked together with the airlines, lowered its landing fees and managed not to lay any of it employees off.
That prompted Lisa Schmidt, Cape Air marketing director, to say that "St. Thomas and Boston's Logan Airport have the highest landing fees in the nation. They're outrageous."
Schmidt, who said Cape Air is moving forward with a full winter schedule, said a group of local airline representatives had approached the Port Authority about lowering the fees. "They not only didn't lower them; they are raising a passenger charge by 15 percent until they pay for the new tower at the St. Croix airport," she said.
Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, could not be reached for a response Tuesday afternoon.
Schmidt, who is a member of the governor's newly formed Tourism Advisory Council, suggested members of the Ad Club "get behind Tourism Commissioner Pam Richards' campaign."
Ottley raise the question, "Are we preparing the island if we do get more cruise ships? Are we cleaning up the island?" He said the territory is experiencing a "drag" that hasn't been taken care of yet. "We need a positive, realistic approach from the government," he said. "Keep that in mind, and act accordingly."
The next Ad Club meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13 at the same location. Edward Thomas, president of The West Indian Co., is to be the speaker.

There will be an important meeting for all bands participating in Band-O-Rama 2002 at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Carnival Committee office on Lower Kronprindsens Gade. Contact Margaret Moore, Music Committee Chairperson, at 714-2088 for more information.