The League of Women Voters' luncheon meeting, scheduled for 12 noon on Monday, Sept. 24, has moved to Room With a View at Bluebeard's Castle.
The guest speakers will be former Senator Osbert Potter and Mr. Mark Augenblick, Chairman and CEO of Caribe Waste Technologies. They will speak about the proposed gasification technology for the treatment of waste in the Virgin Islands.
For more information and reservations, contact Mrs. Eleanor Cerge at 776-9357, Mrs. Elizabeth Delagarde at 776-0287, or Jason Budsan at 777-7190.
REVISE FISCAL 2002 BUDGET, 3 SENATORS SAY
Sept. 20, 2001 – Three senators are on record as saying they think the governor's Fiscal Year 2002 budget needs to be reworked in light of the terrorist attacks on the mainland and the resulting effect on tourism and, thus, the Virgin Islands economy.
The whole administrative budget package is being considered by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. Whatever is approved is to go before the Rules Committee on Saturday, and whatever is approved there is scheduled to be put to a final vote by the full Senate on Monday and Tuesday.
In recent days, Sens. Lorraine Berry and Emmett Hansen II have written separately to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull asking him to redo his FY 2002 revenue projections, which envision a healthy V.I. economy and a continuation of the income-tax "windfall" the governor and his fiscal aides announced in June for FY 2001. Sen. Vargrave Richards has said airline cutbacks make a total review of the budget essential.
(In addition, Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen said on Wednesday that she intends to submit proposals to revise the budget, including making sure all money in the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund goes for advertising. (See "Hansen: Bailout could subsidize flights to V.I.")
Berry urged the governor to call a meeting of executive officials, the legislative branch and his national financial advisers to go over the FY 2002 budget before the full Senate considers it next week. "I suggest you confer soon … about the impact on our economy stemming from national anxiety over air travel," Berry wrote the governor. In a release, Berry noted that she had urged the governor to the same effect in a personal conversation shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Hansen said on Tuesday that he was not urging an executive/ legislative meeting. "Whatever formula the governor … deems necessary to readdress the budget will do," he said, adding that whatever the Legislature sends him, "he will have to implement and line-item veto."
The governor "needs to look at the individual department spending," Hansen said. "The Tourism Department is chock full of nonclassified positions."
Hansen said he has been working with the Finance Committee, "going from 10 a.m. right through 1 a.m." in recent days. "We need to put more money toward revenue-generating departments," he said.
Sen. Vargrave Richards called on Monday for a review of the proposed budget. Cutbacks by the airlines are "going to have a major impact on the territory," he said. "We need to look at every single capital project on the table and see how we can get each one started. It's necessary we get these projects going — like the St. Croix boardwalk for one — to offset the impact on tourism."
Richards added, "The Legislature is going to have to revisit the present budget in planning for 2002, with the hotels down about 10 percent now and probably worse by the beginning of season."
The whole administrative budget package is being considered by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. Whatever is approved is to go before the Rules Committee on Saturday, and whatever is approved there is scheduled to be put to a final vote by the full Senate on Monday and Tuesday.
In recent days, Sens. Lorraine Berry and Emmett Hansen II have written separately to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull asking him to redo his FY 2002 revenue projections, which envision a healthy V.I. economy and a continuation of the income-tax "windfall" the governor and his fiscal aides announced in June for FY 2001. Sen. Vargrave Richards has said airline cutbacks make a total review of the budget essential.
(In addition, Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen said on Wednesday that she intends to submit proposals to revise the budget, including making sure all money in the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund goes for advertising. (See "Hansen: Bailout could subsidize flights to V.I.")
Berry urged the governor to call a meeting of executive officials, the legislative branch and his national financial advisers to go over the FY 2002 budget before the full Senate considers it next week. "I suggest you confer soon … about the impact on our economy stemming from national anxiety over air travel," Berry wrote the governor. In a release, Berry noted that she had urged the governor to the same effect in a personal conversation shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Hansen said on Tuesday that he was not urging an executive/ legislative meeting. "Whatever formula the governor … deems necessary to readdress the budget will do," he said, adding that whatever the Legislature sends him, "he will have to implement and line-item veto."
The governor "needs to look at the individual department spending," Hansen said. "The Tourism Department is chock full of nonclassified positions."
Hansen said he has been working with the Finance Committee, "going from 10 a.m. right through 1 a.m." in recent days. "We need to put more money toward revenue-generating departments," he said.
Sen. Vargrave Richards called on Monday for a review of the proposed budget. Cutbacks by the airlines are "going to have a major impact on the territory," he said. "We need to look at every single capital project on the table and see how we can get each one started. It's necessary we get these projects going — like the St. Croix boardwalk for one — to offset the impact on tourism."
Richards added, "The Legislature is going to have to revisit the present budget in planning for 2002, with the hotels down about 10 percent now and probably worse by the beginning of season."
REVISE FISCAL 2002 BUDGET, 3 SENATORS SAY
Sept. 20, 2001 – Three senators are on record as saying they think the governor's Fiscal Year 2002 budget needs to be reworked in light of the terrorists attacks on the mainland and the resulting effect on tourism and, thus, the Virgin Islands economy.
The whole administrative budget package is being considered by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. Whatever is approved is to go before the Rules Committee on Saturday, and whatever is approved there is scheduled to be put to a final vote by the full Senate on Monday and Tuesday.
In recent days, Sens. Lorraine Berry and Emmett Hansen II have written separately to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull asking him to redo his FY 2002 revenue projections, which envision a healthy V.I. economy and a continuation of the income-tax "windfall" the governor and his fiscal aides announced in June for FY 2001. Sen. Vargrave Richards has said airline cutbacks make a total review of the budget essential.
(In addition, Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen said on Wednesday that she intends to submit proposals to revise the budget, including making sure all money in the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund goes for advertising. (See "Hansen: Bailout could subsidize flights to V.I.")
Berry urged the governor to call a meeting of executive officials, the legislative branch and his national financial advisers to go over the FY 2002 budget before the full Senate considers it next week. "I suggest you confer soon … about the impact on our economy stemming from national anxiety over air travel," Berry wrote the governor. In a release, Berry noted that she had urged the governor to the same effect in a personal conversation shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Hansen said on Tuesday that he was not urging an executive/ legislative meeting. "Whatever formula the governor … deems necessary to readdress the budget will do," he said, adding that whatever the Legislature sends him, "he will have to implement and line-item veto."
The governor "needs to look at the individual department spending," Hansen said. "The Tourism Department is chock full of nonclassified positions."
Hansen said he has been working with the Finance Committee, "going from 10 a.m. right through 1 a.m." in recent days. "We need to put more money toward revenue-generating departments," he said.
Sen. Vargrave Richards called on Monday for a review of the proposed budget. Cutbacks by the airlines are "going to have a major impact on the territory," he said. "We need to look at every single capital project on the table and see how we can get each one started. It's necessary we get these projects going — like the St. Croix boardwalk for one — to offset the impact on tourism."
Richards added, "The Legislature is going to have to revisit the present budget in planning for 2002, with the hotels down about 10 percent now and probably worse by the beginning of season."
The whole administrative budget package is being considered by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. Whatever is approved is to go before the Rules Committee on Saturday, and whatever is approved there is scheduled to be put to a final vote by the full Senate on Monday and Tuesday.
In recent days, Sens. Lorraine Berry and Emmett Hansen II have written separately to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull asking him to redo his FY 2002 revenue projections, which envision a healthy V.I. economy and a continuation of the income-tax "windfall" the governor and his fiscal aides announced in June for FY 2001. Sen. Vargrave Richards has said airline cutbacks make a total review of the budget essential.
(In addition, Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen said on Wednesday that she intends to submit proposals to revise the budget, including making sure all money in the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund goes for advertising. (See "Hansen: Bailout could subsidize flights to V.I.")
Berry urged the governor to call a meeting of executive officials, the legislative branch and his national financial advisers to go over the FY 2002 budget before the full Senate considers it next week. "I suggest you confer soon … about the impact on our economy stemming from national anxiety over air travel," Berry wrote the governor. In a release, Berry noted that she had urged the governor to the same effect in a personal conversation shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Hansen said on Tuesday that he was not urging an executive/ legislative meeting. "Whatever formula the governor … deems necessary to readdress the budget will do," he said, adding that whatever the Legislature sends him, "he will have to implement and line-item veto."
The governor "needs to look at the individual department spending," Hansen said. "The Tourism Department is chock full of nonclassified positions."
Hansen said he has been working with the Finance Committee, "going from 10 a.m. right through 1 a.m." in recent days. "We need to put more money toward revenue-generating departments," he said.
Sen. Vargrave Richards called on Monday for a review of the proposed budget. Cutbacks by the airlines are "going to have a major impact on the territory," he said. "We need to look at every single capital project on the table and see how we can get each one started. It's necessary we get these projects going — like the St. Croix boardwalk for one — to offset the impact on tourism."
Richards added, "The Legislature is going to have to revisit the present budget in planning for 2002, with the hotels down about 10 percent now and probably worse by the beginning of season."
PROPOSED WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANT PRICED AT $180M
Sept. 20, 2001 — More light was shed Wednesday on the proposed $180 million facility being touted as the panacea to the territory’s solid waste woes.
Mark Augenblick, chairman and CEO of Caribe Waste Technologies, the company leading a group of firms proposing to finance, build, own and operate a waste-to-energy gasification plant, told members of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce that the project cannot move ahead without the backing of the Water and Power Authority.
WAPA’s decision is expected to come at a board meeting Thursday. If the gasification plant does go forward, it will be the most costly project ever undertaken by the V.I. government. In real costs, the territory would be paying about $37 million a year for 30 years in order to dispose of its solid waste.
WAPA is a major part of the picture because it could reduce the government’s costs by about $11 million to $12 million a year over the 30 years — by purchasing the water and power generated from the plant, Augenblick said. While the Turnbull administration is supporting CWT’s proposal, it is not clear what the WAPA board will decide.
If WAPA were to sign a contract with CWT to purchase power and water -– something the utility’s management has said it doesn’t need — that would leave the government with payments of approximately $25 million a year. Augenblick said that cost would likely be covered by grants and subsidies from the federal government and by a solid waste "user fee" for homes and businesses. That fee could range from about $1 to $18 a month for residents to $100 a month for businesses, he said.
Augenblick said that after paying bond holders, the French company that would actually operate the facility and other miscellaneous costs, CWT is looking at $4 million a year in tax-free profit as part of the Economic Development Agency program.
"What is left over, if anything, goes to us," Augenblick said, adding that "at the end of the day, we are the final point of responsibility."
Environmental implications
Just as staggering as the economics of the project are the environmental implications. Augenblick didn't bat an eye when he told chamber members Wednesday that any type of garbage other than nuclear waste can be disposed of in the proposed facility: tires, refrigerators, batteries, construction debris — anything.
Under CWT’s proposal, garbage from St. John and St. Thomas would be barged to a single waste-to-energy plant on St. Croix. The facility could be built adjacent to the Gordon Finch Molasses Pier or on the St. Croix Alumina property, Augenblick said. The plant, he said, will allow the government to close the Bovoni and Anguilla landfills. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the territory to close the Anguilla facility by the end of 2002 because birds that feed off of it pose a danger to aircraft at the nearby Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
Obtaining required permits and constructing the plant will take at least 30 months, Augenblick said. He expressed the view that the FAA might extend its deadline if it knew the V.I. government had entered into a contract to construct an enclosed waste-disposal facility.
"This is 100 percent recyclable," Augenblick said. "Nothing gets dumped into a landfill. This is a waste-processing facility. There will be nothing dumped on St. Croix."
To dispose of waste, CWT is proposing to use a gasification process, a technology owned by a Swiss company called Thermoselect. Through a process explained on CWT’s website, waste is compressed and then intensively heated by conduction. The resultant synthesis gases are cleaned and then used to drive high-efficiency, low-speed gas engines that produce electricity.
Currently there are three municipal waste gasification plants in operation, one each in Germany, Japan and Italy. Permits have been granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a facility in Arkansas.
Because the EPA has approved permits on the mainland and because German air-quality standards are more strict than those in the United States, Augenblick said, CWT is confident that the technology can pass muster anywhere in the world.
When told the gasification process sounds too good to be true, Augenblick said it is proven. "Buy into this project. It is real. It is what it is," he said. "It is not perfect. It is expensive. It is there."
Heavy lifting not enough without support
At the Chamber of Commerce function on Wednesday, former Sen. Holland Redfield told Augenblick that CWT must have the government's administrative branch by its side as it goes through the legislative approval process.
If WAPA decides to sign on, the project would then be subject to public hearings, and then the Legislature would have to approve the contract between CWT and the government. In the past, Redfield said, outside businesses such as Beal Aerospace and Southern Energy had the administration’s tacit support, but when it came time to stand before the Legislature, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull was nowhere to be seen, and the ventures ultimately failed.
The administration, Redfield told Augenblick, "is going to force you to do the heavy lifting," but the project "will not succeed unless they stand with you."
Augenblick said he has already encountered opposition to the proposal from some senators. He said some skeptics in the government view the company as one that is bent on raping the Virgin Islands.
"I do business from Chile to Shanghai," he said. "It is humbling to do business here." Still, he said, "I believe if we took a vote today, we’d get the votes.
"Maybe I'm dreaming, and we'll be like all those other businesses here. We will see."
Mark Augenblick, chairman and CEO of Caribe Waste Technologies, the company leading a group of firms proposing to finance, build, own and operate a waste-to-energy gasification plant, told members of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce that the project cannot move ahead without the backing of the Water and Power Authority.
WAPA’s decision is expected to come at a board meeting Thursday. If the gasification plant does go forward, it will be the most costly project ever undertaken by the V.I. government. In real costs, the territory would be paying about $37 million a year for 30 years in order to dispose of its solid waste.
WAPA is a major part of the picture because it could reduce the government’s costs by about $11 million to $12 million a year over the 30 years — by purchasing the water and power generated from the plant, Augenblick said. While the Turnbull administration is supporting CWT’s proposal, it is not clear what the WAPA board will decide.
If WAPA were to sign a contract with CWT to purchase power and water -– something the utility’s management has said it doesn’t need — that would leave the government with payments of approximately $25 million a year. Augenblick said that cost would likely be covered by grants and subsidies from the federal government and by a solid waste "user fee" for homes and businesses. That fee could range from about $1 to $18 a month for residents to $100 a month for businesses, he said.
Augenblick said that after paying bond holders, the French company that would actually operate the facility and other miscellaneous costs, CWT is looking at $4 million a year in tax-free profit as part of the Economic Development Agency program.
"What is left over, if anything, goes to us," Augenblick said, adding that "at the end of the day, we are the final point of responsibility."
Environmental implications
Just as staggering as the economics of the project are the environmental implications. Augenblick didn't bat an eye when he told chamber members Wednesday that any type of garbage other than nuclear waste can be disposed of in the proposed facility: tires, refrigerators, batteries, construction debris — anything.
Under CWT’s proposal, garbage from St. John and St. Thomas would be barged to a single waste-to-energy plant on St. Croix. The facility could be built adjacent to the Gordon Finch Molasses Pier or on the St. Croix Alumina property, Augenblick said. The plant, he said, will allow the government to close the Bovoni and Anguilla landfills. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the territory to close the Anguilla facility by the end of 2002 because birds that feed off of it pose a danger to aircraft at the nearby Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
Obtaining required permits and constructing the plant will take at least 30 months, Augenblick said. He expressed the view that the FAA might extend its deadline if it knew the V.I. government had entered into a contract to construct an enclosed waste-disposal facility.
"This is 100 percent recyclable," Augenblick said. "Nothing gets dumped into a landfill. This is a waste-processing facility. There will be nothing dumped on St. Croix."
To dispose of waste, CWT is proposing to use a gasification process, a technology owned by a Swiss company called Thermoselect. Through a process explained on CWT’s website, waste is compressed and then intensively heated by conduction. The resultant synthesis gases are cleaned and then used to drive high-efficiency, low-speed gas engines that produce electricity.
Currently there are three municipal waste gasification plants in operation, one each in Germany, Japan and Italy. Permits have been granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a facility in Arkansas.
Because the EPA has approved permits on the mainland and because German air-quality standards are more strict than those in the United States, Augenblick said, CWT is confident that the technology can pass muster anywhere in the world.
When told the gasification process sounds too good to be true, Augenblick said it is proven. "Buy into this project. It is real. It is what it is," he said. "It is not perfect. It is expensive. It is there."
Heavy lifting not enough without support
At the Chamber of Commerce function on Wednesday, former Sen. Holland Redfield told Augenblick that CWT must have the government's administrative branch by its side as it goes through the legislative approval process.
If WAPA decides to sign on, the project would then be subject to public hearings, and then the Legislature would have to approve the contract between CWT and the government. In the past, Redfield said, outside businesses such as Beal Aerospace and Southern Energy had the administration’s tacit support, but when it came time to stand before the Legislature, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull was nowhere to be seen, and the ventures ultimately failed.
The administration, Redfield told Augenblick, "is going to force you to do the heavy lifting," but the project "will not succeed unless they stand with you."
Augenblick said he has already encountered opposition to the proposal from some senators. He said some skeptics in the government view the company as one that is bent on raping the Virgin Islands.
"I do business from Chile to Shanghai," he said. "It is humbling to do business here." Still, he said, "I believe if we took a vote today, we’d get the votes.
"Maybe I'm dreaming, and we'll be like all those other businesses here. We will see."
PORT AUTHORITY BOARD OKS BUDGET WITH CONCERNS
Sept. 19, 2001 – In an abbreviated board meeting Wednesday on St. Thomas, the Port Authority board approved the agency's Fiscal Year 2002 budget — with guarded recommendations about port activity in the coming months in light of the terrorists attacks on the U.S. mainland.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron, as board vice chair, conducted the meeting in the absence of Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards, the board chair, as she wasn't able to get a flight out of St. Croix in time for the meeting.
Stridiron and board member Kent Bernier, the governor's economic adviser, also had logistical problems. Both were scheduled to attend an 11 a.m. meeting with Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, which was delayed until 11:30 a.m., when Stridiron had to recess the Port Authority meeting as the six-member board then had no quorum.
Lloyd Romeo, director of administration and finance, outlined VIPA's FY2002 budget, which proposes $56.6 million in spending, $21.3 million of it for capital projects. The budget is financed primarily from anticipated port revenues, estimated at $45.6 million. The balance will come from federal grants. The authority does not receive any money from the government General Fund.
Capital projects that VIPA has under way or intends to initiate in FY 2002:
St. Thomas — development of the Red Hook Marine Facility, continued harbor dredging, upgrading of the Charlotte Amalie waterfront apron, expansion of the Crown Bay dock and development there of a new shopping center, a project under contract with Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Lines.
St. Croix — expansion and renovation of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport terminal, extension of the airport runway and upgrading of the Gallows Bay Dock.
St. John — development of the long-planned $16 million Enighed Pond cargo facility, as soon as VIPA receives the funding from the V.I. government.
The budget was drafted before the Sept. 11 terrorist events. In that context, concerns were raised by board members Wednesday. Stridiron said, "We need to be cautious. The authority may face a lower number of incoming aircraft, and a consequent revenue downstream." Romeo added, "This is our slow period now, but if it doesn't turn around, we will have to revisit this budget."
A drop in aircraft landing fees is one consideration. Another is security. Bernier reminded the board of the costly additional airport security personnel VIPA had to hire during the Gulf War in 1991. He asked David Mapp, VIPA assistant executive director, if federal funds would be available to hire extra personnel. Mapp said that in 1991 VIPA's request to the Federal Aviation Administration for such assistance was denied.
Bernier and Stridiron urged Mapp to keep close records of the extra personnel costs. "We should quantify that, in hopes of trying to recover some of these funds," Stridiron said. He recommended that Dean Plaskett, Planning and Natural Resources commissioner, do the same.
In other action, the board approved contracts to Betteroads Asphalt Corp. for airport taxi paving, Oshkosh Truck Corp. for a new airport fire truck and Sweep and Vac Unlimited for a new airport pavement-sweeping apparatus. It also allocated $100,000 for a request for proposals for the St. Croix Industrial Park to invite firms to conduct a preliminary work assessment for the park and a hotel site.
Maurice Kurg, president of Seaborne Airlines; Hortense Rowe, Sen. Adelbert Bryan's chief of staff; and Mel Plaskett, representing the Global Museum Conference, were in the audience. All were awaiting board decisions which were deferred to the next board meeting, tentatively to take place next week at a day and time to be announced.
Attending the meeting were board members Stridiron, Bernier, Dean Plaskett, Leslie Milliner and Wayne Callwood. Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, is off island.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron, as board vice chair, conducted the meeting in the absence of Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards, the board chair, as she wasn't able to get a flight out of St. Croix in time for the meeting.
Stridiron and board member Kent Bernier, the governor's economic adviser, also had logistical problems. Both were scheduled to attend an 11 a.m. meeting with Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, which was delayed until 11:30 a.m., when Stridiron had to recess the Port Authority meeting as the six-member board then had no quorum.
Lloyd Romeo, director of administration and finance, outlined VIPA's FY2002 budget, which proposes $56.6 million in spending, $21.3 million of it for capital projects. The budget is financed primarily from anticipated port revenues, estimated at $45.6 million. The balance will come from federal grants. The authority does not receive any money from the government General Fund.
Capital projects that VIPA has under way or intends to initiate in FY 2002:
St. Thomas — development of the Red Hook Marine Facility, continued harbor dredging, upgrading of the Charlotte Amalie waterfront apron, expansion of the Crown Bay dock and development there of a new shopping center, a project under contract with Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Lines.
St. Croix — expansion and renovation of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport terminal, extension of the airport runway and upgrading of the Gallows Bay Dock.
St. John — development of the long-planned $16 million Enighed Pond cargo facility, as soon as VIPA receives the funding from the V.I. government.
The budget was drafted before the Sept. 11 terrorist events. In that context, concerns were raised by board members Wednesday. Stridiron said, "We need to be cautious. The authority may face a lower number of incoming aircraft, and a consequent revenue downstream." Romeo added, "This is our slow period now, but if it doesn't turn around, we will have to revisit this budget."
A drop in aircraft landing fees is one consideration. Another is security. Bernier reminded the board of the costly additional airport security personnel VIPA had to hire during the Gulf War in 1991. He asked David Mapp, VIPA assistant executive director, if federal funds would be available to hire extra personnel. Mapp said that in 1991 VIPA's request to the Federal Aviation Administration for such assistance was denied.
Bernier and Stridiron urged Mapp to keep close records of the extra personnel costs. "We should quantify that, in hopes of trying to recover some of these funds," Stridiron said. He recommended that Dean Plaskett, Planning and Natural Resources commissioner, do the same.
In other action, the board approved contracts to Betteroads Asphalt Corp. for airport taxi paving, Oshkosh Truck Corp. for a new airport fire truck and Sweep and Vac Unlimited for a new airport pavement-sweeping apparatus. It also allocated $100,000 for a request for proposals for the St. Croix Industrial Park to invite firms to conduct a preliminary work assessment for the park and a hotel site.
Maurice Kurg, president of Seaborne Airlines; Hortense Rowe, Sen. Adelbert Bryan's chief of staff; and Mel Plaskett, representing the Global Museum Conference, were in the audience. All were awaiting board decisions which were deferred to the next board meeting, tentatively to take place next week at a day and time to be announced.
Attending the meeting were board members Stridiron, Bernier, Dean Plaskett, Leslie Milliner and Wayne Callwood. Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, is off island.
PLANS FOR 7 NAVY SHIPS TO VISIT NOW REMOTE
Sept. 19, 2001 – Ten days ago, working plans to welcome seven visiting U.S. Navy warships — including an aircraft carrier — to the territory by the end of September had local service providers and suppliers looking forward to a much-needed infusion of visitor spending.
Now, with the Navy on war alert in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, those plans have been put on indefinite hold, according to local residents in the know, and Navy communications reflect a stark change of policy with regard to saying anything about plans at all.
On Sept. 9, Frank Farmer, a member of the United Service Organization (USO) board on St. Thomas, had put out a call for volunteers and donations of food, drink and paper products for naval personnel who would be aboard "ships in the territory later this month."
The next day, Farmer told the Source the ships were from the USS John F. Kennedy Battle Group, including the Kennedy aircraft carrier itself. He had just asked James O'Bryan at Government House for help getting the USO building on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront ready to receive visitors and was about to call AT&T "to get extra phones put in."
He noted that the visit plans were tentative. "It's always tentative with the Navy," he explained, "and then, a week prior to their arrival, we know for sure."
Navy League national director Norma Kennedy confirmed on Sept. 10 that the USS Kennedy would be visiting Sept. 25-29. She knew because her "good friend Mo," the carrier's commanding officer, Capt. Maurice Joyce, was planning to stay at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, where Kennedy works, and "I made his room reservation."
In fact, she said, there already were 40 reservations at the Reef from Navy personnel who would be in port. She added that plans to leave on Sept. 13 for a vacation in Europe would keep her from greeting her many friends among the "typical ship's compliment of 5,800 military personnel."
Also on Sept. 10, Cmdr. John Kirby, Second Fleet public affairs officer in Norfolk, Va., said Navy ships would be visiting the islands "later this month" and that the visit would be "in conjunction with some of our exercises."
According to published reports, the Navy had notified Puerto Rican officials on Sept. 7 that a new round of Navy bombing exercises off Vieques "could begin as soon as Sept. 24" and could last 23 days. Under a 1983 agreement, the Navy is required to give the Puerto Rico government 15 days' notice before the start of exercises.
Kirby added, "We make it a policy not to discuss specific ships, ports or dates, but these are ships of the USS John F. Kennedy's Battle Group, and they will be visiting some ports down there."
That same afternoon, Linda Oliver of the Navy's agent in the territory, C&C Port Services, said the USS Kennedy and six as yet unnamed warships from the carrier's Battle Group were expected. She said plans were being made with the Port Authority for two of the vessels to berth at the Crown Bay dock Sept. 20-24, while two others would anchor off St. John in Pillsbury Sound and another was scheduled to visit St. Croix.
On Sept. 25-29, Oliver said, the Kennedy was scheduled to anchor south of Hassel Island and begin tendering "over 5,000" crew to and from the Coast Guard dock at King's Wharf. At the same time, she said, the seventh ship would be visiting St. Croix.
A day later, all plans were put on hold by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. National reports late that day, Sept. 11, said the USS Kennedy had been ordered to the New York area.
Sindi Coombs, owner of C&C Port Services, said later that her mainland Navy contacts had "not heard from the ships either for a cancellation or a confirmation" of the planned Virgin Islands calls. "It could be nothing more than the ships are so busy doing whatever they're doing that they haven't had time to respond," she said. But "if they're needed in other parts of the world, that's fine," she added, because "they'll come back."
On Sept. 12, Kennedy said she hadn't heard anything but felt sure that the aircraft carrier was "not coming in," because of the reports that it had been deployed to New York.
An e-mail to Kirby on Friday asking for an update on whether Navy ships would be visiting local ports as planned brought the terse response on Saturday that "For security purposes, I am not going to discuss the future movements of our ships."
Also on Saturday, Coombs said she still had received no word from the Navy. But, having advised suppliers that the visits might be off, she "had not had one complaint from a vendor" about the potential loss of revenues. "If the Navy ships come," she said, "we are going to be hosting men and women who will probably be going to war for us in the near future." As such, she said, they should be "treated with as much respect and patriotism as we can muster."
On Sunday, Frank Farmer's wife, Cynthia, said they now do not expect to see the USS Kennedy this month, because of the Navy being put on war readiness. When next the carrier does call in the islands, "We will have to be more than ready to show them how much they are appreciated," she said. "We should greet them with a round of applause," she said, "no matter what."
Now, with the Navy on war alert in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, those plans have been put on indefinite hold, according to local residents in the know, and Navy communications reflect a stark change of policy with regard to saying anything about plans at all.
On Sept. 9, Frank Farmer, a member of the United Service Organization (USO) board on St. Thomas, had put out a call for volunteers and donations of food, drink and paper products for naval personnel who would be aboard "ships in the territory later this month."
The next day, Farmer told the Source the ships were from the USS John F. Kennedy Battle Group, including the Kennedy aircraft carrier itself. He had just asked James O'Bryan at Government House for help getting the USO building on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront ready to receive visitors and was about to call AT&T "to get extra phones put in."
He noted that the visit plans were tentative. "It's always tentative with the Navy," he explained, "and then, a week prior to their arrival, we know for sure."
Navy League national director Norma Kennedy confirmed on Sept. 10 that the USS Kennedy would be visiting Sept. 25-29. She knew because her "good friend Mo," the carrier's commanding officer, Capt. Maurice Joyce, was planning to stay at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, where Kennedy works, and "I made his room reservation."
In fact, she said, there already were 40 reservations at the Reef from Navy personnel who would be in port. She added that plans to leave on Sept. 13 for a vacation in Europe would keep her from greeting her many friends among the "typical ship's compliment of 5,800 military personnel."
Also on Sept. 10, Cmdr. John Kirby, Second Fleet public affairs officer in Norfolk, Va., said Navy ships would be visiting the islands "later this month" and that the visit would be "in conjunction with some of our exercises."
According to published reports, the Navy had notified Puerto Rican officials on Sept. 7 that a new round of Navy bombing exercises off Vieques "could begin as soon as Sept. 24" and could last 23 days. Under a 1983 agreement, the Navy is required to give the Puerto Rico government 15 days' notice before the start of exercises.
Kirby added, "We make it a policy not to discuss specific ships, ports or dates, but these are ships of the USS John F. Kennedy's Battle Group, and they will be visiting some ports down there."
That same afternoon, Linda Oliver of the Navy's agent in the territory, C&C Port Services, said the USS Kennedy and six as yet unnamed warships from the carrier's Battle Group were expected. She said plans were being made with the Port Authority for two of the vessels to berth at the Crown Bay dock Sept. 20-24, while two others would anchor off St. John in Pillsbury Sound and another was scheduled to visit St. Croix.
On Sept. 25-29, Oliver said, the Kennedy was scheduled to anchor south of Hassel Island and begin tendering "over 5,000" crew to and from the Coast Guard dock at King's Wharf. At the same time, she said, the seventh ship would be visiting St. Croix.
A day later, all plans were put on hold by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. National reports late that day, Sept. 11, said the USS Kennedy had been ordered to the New York area.
Sindi Coombs, owner of C&C Port Services, said later that her mainland Navy contacts had "not heard from the ships either for a cancellation or a confirmation" of the planned Virgin Islands calls. "It could be nothing more than the ships are so busy doing whatever they're doing that they haven't had time to respond," she said. But "if they're needed in other parts of the world, that's fine," she added, because "they'll come back."
On Sept. 12, Kennedy said she hadn't heard anything but felt sure that the aircraft carrier was "not coming in," because of the reports that it had been deployed to New York.
An e-mail to Kirby on Friday asking for an update on whether Navy ships would be visiting local ports as planned brought the terse response on Saturday that "For security purposes, I am not going to discuss the future movements of our ships."
Also on Saturday, Coombs said she still had received no word from the Navy. But, having advised suppliers that the visits might be off, she "had not had one complaint from a vendor" about the potential loss of revenues. "If the Navy ships come," she said, "we are going to be hosting men and women who will probably be going to war for us in the near future." As such, she said, they should be "treated with as much respect and patriotism as we can muster."
On Sunday, Frank Farmer's wife, Cynthia, said they now do not expect to see the USS Kennedy this month, because of the Navy being put on war readiness. When next the carrier does call in the islands, "We will have to be more than ready to show them how much they are appreciated," she said. "We should greet them with a round of applause," she said, "no matter what."
SOURCE DOWN FOR SEVERAL HOURS WEDNESDAY
Sept. 19, 2001 – A combination of network and server problems at BellSouth in Florida caused the Virgin Island Source publications to be inaccessible for several hours Wednesday.
No one at OnePaper Inc., the company which provides the template for all three Source publications, could say exactly what the problems were.
Joanna Dame, president of OnePaper, said she was in constant contact with technicians, but when the server goes down, it is hard to pinpoint the exact problem.
The Source regrets any inconvenience as a result of the interruption.
No one at OnePaper Inc., the company which provides the template for all three Source publications, could say exactly what the problems were.
Joanna Dame, president of OnePaper, said she was in constant contact with technicians, but when the server goes down, it is hard to pinpoint the exact problem.
The Source regrets any inconvenience as a result of the interruption.
PLANS FOR 7 NAVY SHIPS TO VISIT NOW REMOTE
Sept. 19, 2001 – Ten days ago, working plans to welcome seven visiting U.S. Navy warships — including an aircraft carrier — to the territory by the end of September had local service providers and suppliers looking forward to a much-needed infusion of visitor spending.
Now, with the Navy on war alert in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, those plans have been put on indefinite hold, according to local residents in the know, and Navy communications reflect a stark change of policy with regard to saying anything about plans at all.
On Sept. 9, Frank Farmer, a member of the United Service Organization (USO) board on St. Thomas, had put out a call for volunteers and donations of food, drink and paper products for naval personnel who would be aboard "ships in the territory later this month."
The next day, Farmer told the Source the ships were from the USS John F. Kennedy Battle Group, including the Kennedy aircraft carrier itself. He had just asked James O'Bryan at Government House for help getting the USO building on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront ready to receive visitors and was about to call AT&T "to get extra phones put in."
He noted that the visit plans were tentative. "It's always tentative with the Navy," he explained, "and then, a week prior to their arrival, we know for sure."
Navy League national director Norma Kennedy confirmed on Sept. 10 that the USS Kennedy would be visiting Sept. 25-29. She knew because her "good friend Mo," the carrier's commanding officer, Capt. Maurice Joyce, was planning to stay at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, where Kennedy works, and "I made his room reservation."
In fact, she said, there already were 40 reservations at the Reef from Navy personnel who would be in port. She added that plans to leave on Sept. 13 for a vacation in Europe would keep her from greeting her many friends among the "typical ship's compliment of 5,800 military personnel."
Also on Sept. 10, Cmdr. John Kirby, Second Fleet public affairs officer in Norfolk, Va., said Navy ships would be visiting the islands "later this month" and that the visit would be "in conjunction with some of our exercises."
According to published reports, the Navy had notified Puerto Rican officials on Sept. 7 that a new round of Navy bombing exercises off Vieques "could begin as soon as Sept. 24" and could last 23 days. Under a 1983 agreement, the Navy is required to give the Puerto Rico government 15 days' notice before the start of exercises.
Kirby added, "We make it a policy not to discuss specific ships, ports or dates, but these are ships of the USS John F. Kennedy's Battle Group, and they will be visiting some ports down there."
That same afternoon, Linda Oliver of the Navy's agent in the territory, C&C Port Services, said the USS Kennedy and six as yet unnamed warships from the carrier's Battle Group were expected. She said plans were being made with the Port Authority for two of the vessels to berth at the Crown Bay dock Sept. 20-24, while two others would anchor off St. John in Pillsbury Sound and another was scheduled to visit St. Croix.
On Sept. 25-29, Oliver said, the Kennedy was scheduled to anchor south of Hassel Island and begin tendering "over 5,000" crew to and from the Coast Guard dock at King's Wharf. At the same time, she said, the seventh ship would be visiting St. Croix.
A day later, all plans were put on hold by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. National reports late that day, Sept. 11, said the USS Kennedy had been ordered to the New York area.
Sindi Coombs, owner of C&C Port Services, said later that her mainland Navy contacts had "not heard from the ships either for a cancellation or a confirmation" of the planned Virgin Islands calls. "It could be nothing more than the ships are so busy doing whatever they're doing that they haven't had time to respond," she said. But "if they're needed in other parts of the world, that's fine," she added, because "they'll come back."
On Sept. 12, Kennedy said she hadn't heard anything but felt sure that the aircraft carrier was "not coming in," because of the reports that it had been deployed to New York.
An e-mail to Kirby on Friday asking for an update on whether Navy ships would be visiting local ports as planned brought the terse response on Saturday that "For security purposes, I am not going to discuss the future movements of our ships."
Also on Saturday, Coombs said she still had received no word from the Navy. But, having advised suppliers that the visits might be off, she "had not had one complaint from a vendor" about the potential loss of revenues. "If the Navy ships come," she said, "we are going to be hosting men and women who will probably be going to war for us in the near future." As such, she said, they should be "treated with as much respect and patriotism as we can muster."
On Sunday, Frank Farmer's wife, Cynthia, said they now do not expect to see the USS Kennedy this month, because of the Navy being put on war readiness. When next the carrier does call in the islands, "We will have to be more than ready to show them how much they are appreciated," she said. "We should greet them with a round of applause," she said, "no matter what."
Now, with the Navy on war alert in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, those plans have been put on indefinite hold, according to local residents in the know, and Navy communications reflect a stark change of policy with regard to saying anything about plans at all.
On Sept. 9, Frank Farmer, a member of the United Service Organization (USO) board on St. Thomas, had put out a call for volunteers and donations of food, drink and paper products for naval personnel who would be aboard "ships in the territory later this month."
The next day, Farmer told the Source the ships were from the USS John F. Kennedy Battle Group, including the Kennedy aircraft carrier itself. He had just asked James O'Bryan at Government House for help getting the USO building on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront ready to receive visitors and was about to call AT&T "to get extra phones put in."
He noted that the visit plans were tentative. "It's always tentative with the Navy," he explained, "and then, a week prior to their arrival, we know for sure."
Navy League national director Norma Kennedy confirmed on Sept. 10 that the USS Kennedy would be visiting Sept. 25-29. She knew because her "good friend Mo," the carrier's commanding officer, Capt. Maurice Joyce, was planning to stay at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, where Kennedy works, and "I made his room reservation."
In fact, she said, there already were 40 reservations at the Reef from Navy personnel who would be in port. She added that plans to leave on Sept. 13 for a vacation in Europe would keep her from greeting her many friends among the "typical ship's compliment of 5,800 military personnel."
Also on Sept. 10, Cmdr. John Kirby, Second Fleet public affairs officer in Norfolk, Va., said Navy ships would be visiting the islands "later this month" and that the visit would be "in conjunction with some of our exercises."
According to published reports, the Navy had notified Puerto Rican officials on Sept. 7 that a new round of Navy bombing exercises off Vieques "could begin as soon as Sept. 24" and could last 23 days. Under a 1983 agreement, the Navy is required to give the Puerto Rico government 15 days' notice before the start of exercises.
Kirby added, "We make it a policy not to discuss specific ships, ports or dates, but these are ships of the USS John F. Kennedy's Battle Group, and they will be visiting some ports down there."
That same afternoon, Linda Oliver of the Navy's agent in the territory, C&C Port Services, said the USS Kennedy and six as yet unnamed warships from the carrier's Battle Group were expected. She said plans were being made with the Port Authority for two of the vessels to berth at the Crown Bay dock Sept. 20-24, while two others would anchor off St. John in Pillsbury Sound and another was scheduled to visit St. Croix.
On Sept. 25-29, Oliver said, the Kennedy was scheduled to anchor south of Hassel Island and begin tendering "over 5,000" crew to and from the Coast Guard dock at King's Wharf. At the same time, she said, the seventh ship would be visiting St. Croix.
A day later, all plans were put on hold by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. National reports late that day, Sept. 11, said the USS Kennedy had been ordered to the New York area.
Sindi Coombs, owner of C&C Port Services, said later that her mainland Navy contacts had "not heard from the ships either for a cancellation or a confirmation" of the planned Virgin Islands calls. "It could be nothing more than the ships are so busy doing whatever they're doing that they haven't had time to respond," she said. But "if they're needed in other parts of the world, that's fine," she added, because "they'll come back."
On Sept. 12, Kennedy said she hadn't heard anything but felt sure that the aircraft carrier was "not coming in," because of the reports that it had been deployed to New York.
An e-mail to Kirby on Friday asking for an update on whether Navy ships would be visiting local ports as planned brought the terse response on Saturday that "For security purposes, I am not going to discuss the future movements of our ships."
Also on Saturday, Coombs said she still had received no word from the Navy. But, having advised suppliers that the visits might be off, she "had not had one complaint from a vendor" about the potential loss of revenues. "If the Navy ships come," she said, "we are going to be hosting men and women who will probably be going to war for us in the near future." As such, she said, they should be "treated with as much respect and patriotism as we can muster."
On Sunday, Frank Farmer's wife, Cynthia, said they now do not expect to see the USS Kennedy this month, because of the Navy being put on war readiness. When next the carrier does call in the islands, "We will have to be more than ready to show them how much they are appreciated," she said. "We should greet them with a round of applause," she said, "no matter what."
HANSEN: BAILOUT COULD SUBSIDIZE FLIGHTS TO V.I.
Sept. 19, 2001 – Hire a transportation expert so the Virgin Islands gets a share of the $24 billion aid package requested by airlines that suffered catastrophic financial losses related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That's Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen's suggestion.
She envisions the money being used to subsidize airfares for visitors to the territory. Once they arrived, she said, their spending would help keep the territory's hospitality businesses afloat.
"The airfare price will be so tempting that people will take the opportunity to relax their minds in another part of America where they can be safe," the veteran St. Croix legislator said Wednesday.
Hansen, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, also is calling for money to advertise the territory as a tourism destination now. She declined to specify a funding source, saying only that she will unveil her plan Thursday, when her committee meets for what is scheduled to be its final work on the administration's Fiscal Year 2002 budget.
"If we do what we have to do, there will be no downturn in the economy," she predicted.
As part of the move to bring tourists here for the near future, she is calling for an advertising campaign in nearby Puerto Rico. Additionally, she wants subsidies for Seaborne Airlines to run flights from San Juan and to persuade Boston Harbor Cruises to start its high-speed ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix in the next few weeks, rather than in December as is now planned.
In a release circulated from her office late Tuesday night, Hansen announced that she was sponsoring legislation for the Virgin Islands to donate $10 million from the General Fund, or $5 million each from the Transportation Trust Fund and the Land Bank Fund, "to be employed to benefit the families of those who succumbed in the tragic act." She described her plan as "a symbolic gesture."
On Wednesday, Hansen suggested that the $10 million donation would garner the territory good publicity. She also said that V.I. residents should add $1 each to the kitty. "When the dust settles, the mayor of New York will be telling people to have their conventions here," she predicted.
Meantime, she said, she is pushing for the creation of a V.I. tourism authority. She said she has a bill in the works, using the Hawaii Tourism Authority as a blueprint and drawing on work done on a bill creating an authority that the 23rd Legislature approved in its final hours last December. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull subsequently vetoed that measure, objecting to the private sector having majority representation, and the 24th Legislature failed to achieve an override.
Hansen said the idea of a tourism authority is gaining support among her colleagues. "We getting the senators one by one," she said.
She said the authority would have experts on board, not political appointees. And if the members saw the need for tourism-related legislation, they could propose what would work best, rather than kowtowing to the administration's policies.
Hansen repeated her pledge to use 100 percent of the money generated from the territory's 8 percent hotel occupancy tax for advertising. The hotel tax is the sole source of revenues for the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund. Historically, the fund has been tapped for other purposes as well, including annual appropriations for the territory's three carnival celebrations.
"I'm trying my best to correct this, and I'll try to appropriate additional money," she said. She is proposing that money to fund V.I. Carnival, the Crucian Christmas Festival and the St. John Festival come from Anti-litter and Beautification Commission funds, rather than from the tourism advertising fund.
Hansen also called for stepping up efforts to proceed with capital improvement projects that are already funded. "They're moving like snails," she said.
She said the construction projects would provide work for people who might lose their jobs if the hospitality industry suffers a downturn as predicted.
She envisions the money being used to subsidize airfares for visitors to the territory. Once they arrived, she said, their spending would help keep the territory's hospitality businesses afloat.
"The airfare price will be so tempting that people will take the opportunity to relax their minds in another part of America where they can be safe," the veteran St. Croix legislator said Wednesday.
Hansen, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, also is calling for money to advertise the territory as a tourism destination now. She declined to specify a funding source, saying only that she will unveil her plan Thursday, when her committee meets for what is scheduled to be its final work on the administration's Fiscal Year 2002 budget.
"If we do what we have to do, there will be no downturn in the economy," she predicted.
As part of the move to bring tourists here for the near future, she is calling for an advertising campaign in nearby Puerto Rico. Additionally, she wants subsidies for Seaborne Airlines to run flights from San Juan and to persuade Boston Harbor Cruises to start its high-speed ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix in the next few weeks, rather than in December as is now planned.
In a release circulated from her office late Tuesday night, Hansen announced that she was sponsoring legislation for the Virgin Islands to donate $10 million from the General Fund, or $5 million each from the Transportation Trust Fund and the Land Bank Fund, "to be employed to benefit the families of those who succumbed in the tragic act." She described her plan as "a symbolic gesture."
On Wednesday, Hansen suggested that the $10 million donation would garner the territory good publicity. She also said that V.I. residents should add $1 each to the kitty. "When the dust settles, the mayor of New York will be telling people to have their conventions here," she predicted.
Meantime, she said, she is pushing for the creation of a V.I. tourism authority. She said she has a bill in the works, using the Hawaii Tourism Authority as a blueprint and drawing on work done on a bill creating an authority that the 23rd Legislature approved in its final hours last December. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull subsequently vetoed that measure, objecting to the private sector having majority representation, and the 24th Legislature failed to achieve an override.
Hansen said the idea of a tourism authority is gaining support among her colleagues. "We getting the senators one by one," she said.
She said the authority would have experts on board, not political appointees. And if the members saw the need for tourism-related legislation, they could propose what would work best, rather than kowtowing to the administration's policies.
Hansen repeated her pledge to use 100 percent of the money generated from the territory's 8 percent hotel occupancy tax for advertising. The hotel tax is the sole source of revenues for the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund. Historically, the fund has been tapped for other purposes as well, including annual appropriations for the territory's three carnival celebrations.
"I'm trying my best to correct this, and I'll try to appropriate additional money," she said. She is proposing that money to fund V.I. Carnival, the Crucian Christmas Festival and the St. John Festival come from Anti-litter and Beautification Commission funds, rather than from the tourism advertising fund.
Hansen also called for stepping up efforts to proceed with capital improvement projects that are already funded. "They're moving like snails," she said.
She said the construction projects would provide work for people who might lose their jobs if the hospitality industry suffers a downturn as predicted.
