Oct. 1, 2001 – As the territory braces for more layoffs amid predictions of dire economic fallout locally from the war on terrorism, it has one ace in the hole: a super-healthy unemployment fund.
But administration and legislative initiatives to reduce that fund are still moving ahead.
Labor Commissioner Cecil Benjamin brushed aside the idea Monday that a dramatic increase in layoffs might strain the fund. "It's over-solvent" now, he said, and "it's too early" to tell just what demands will be made on it in the near future.
Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel, whose bill to adjust the fund made it through the first committee in early September, said the cushion in the fund is so big that it will take about 15 years to use it up.
"This is not going to last for the next 10 to 15 years," she said of the current international crisis. "I have more confidence in America than that."
The fund now stands at a little over $60 million. According to Pickard-Samuel, federal officials say reserves of $20 million to $24 million would be acceptable for the Virgin Islands.
That range is considered sufficient to cover the average number of claims for unemployment compensation for a two-year period. That average is based on prior years' performance.
Benjamin said the territory's unemployment rate "doesn't fluctuate much." It hovers around 6 to 8 percent and "seldom goes beyond that."
Pickard-Samuel said unemployment claims have been running a little over $4 million a year and have been paid out of the interest being earned by the fund. "We're not even touching the principal," she said.
There have been cries for years for the V.I. government to change the way in which employers pay into the unemployment fund. The criticism have come both from local business leaders and from the federal government, which acts as custodian of the fund.
In every jurisdiction nationwide, employers are required to pay a percentage of their workers' salaries into the fund in order to cover benefits to workers who are laid off. The percentage for a given business is supposed to be based on the demands placed on the fund by that employer's workers. But in the Virgin Islands the system has been marked by wide swings in the level of contributions required of employers — and, in general, by overly high contributions.
Pickard-Samuel's bill to amend the system was reported out of the Labor and Veterans Affairs Committee, which she chairs, on Sept. 7. She said on Monday that she expects the measure to be considered by the Rules Committee at its next meeting, set for Oct. 12.
Like Benjamin, Pickard-Samuel said she is not worried that the use of the fund will increase significantly because of the current economic downturn. "Now is the time more than ever to pursue that bill," she said, adding that employers need the tax relief it will bring.
But at the same time she is offering employers a break by lowering their payments into the fund, she also plans to amend the bill to levy a surcharge on them of 0.1 percent of wages paid. That money would filter through the insurance fund but would remain at the disposal of the local government for use in computer and Internet services training programs. That, she said, translates into retraining for laid-off workers.
Although Pickard-Samuel failed to get a similar amendment through her own committee, she said she has reworked it and expects it to pass the next time.
Meanwhile, Benjamin said the Labor Department is working on its own version of unemployment insurance fund reform.
"We are proposing a brand-new structure to give a sort of relief to employers," he said. The proposal, not yet drafted, will be a "more permanent solution" than Pickard-Samuel's bill, he said.
Under the administration's plan, it would take 12 years to bring the territory's unemployment insurance fund down gradually to the federally recommended level of reserves — assuming that unemployment rates remain constant.

Oct. 1, 2001 – As the territory braces for more layoffs amid predictions of dire economic fallout locally from the war on terrorism, it has one ace in the hole: a super-healthy unemployment fund.
But administration and legislative initiatives to reduce that fund are still moving ahead.
Labor Commissioner Cecil Benjamin brushed aside the idea Monday that a dramatic increase in layoffs might strain the fund. "It's over-solvent" now, he said, and "it's too early" to tell just what demands will be made on it in the near future.
Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel, whose bill to adjust the fund made it through the first committee in early September, said the cushion in the fund is so big that it will take about 15 years to use it up.
"This is not going to last for the next 10 to 15 years," she said of the current international crisis. "I have more confidence in America than that."
The fund now stands at a little over $60 million. According to Pickard-Samuel, federal officials say reserves of $20 million to $24 million would be acceptable for the Virgin Islands.
That range is considered sufficient to cover the average number of claims for unemployment compensation for a two-year period. That average is based on prior years' performance.
Benjamin said the territory's unemployment rate "doesn't fluctuate much." It hovers around 6 to 8 percent and "seldom goes beyond that."
Pickard-Samuel said unemployment claims have been running a little over $4 million a year and have been paid out of the interest being earned by the fund. "We're not even touching the principal," she said.
There have been cries for years for the V.I. government to change the way in which employers pay into the unemployment fund. The criticism have come both from local business leaders and from the federal government, which acts as custodian of the fund.
In every jurisdiction nationwide, employers are required to pay a percentage of their workers' salaries into the fund in order to cover benefits to workers who are laid off. The percentage for a given business is supposed to be based on the demands placed on the fund by that employer's workers. But in the Virgin Islands the system has been marked by wide swings in the level of contributions required of employers — and, in general, by overly high contributions.
Pickard-Samuel's bill to amend the system was reported out of the Labor and Veterans Affairs Committee, which she chairs, on Sept. 7. She said on Monday that she expects the measure to be considered by the Rules Committee at its next meeting, set for Oct. 12.
Like Benjamin, Pickard-Samuel said she is not worried that the use of the fund will increase significantly because of the current economic downturn. "Now is the time more than ever to pursue that bill," she said, adding that employers need the tax relief it will bring.
But at the same time she is offering employers a break by lowering their payments into the fund, she also plans to amend the bill to levy a surcharge on them of 0.1 percent of wages paid. That money would filter through the insurance fund but would remain at the disposal of the local government for use in computer and Internet services training programs. That, she said, translates into retraining for laid-off workers.
Although Pickard-Samuel failed to get a similar amendment through her own committee, she said she has reworked it and expects it to pass the next time.
Meanwhile, Benjamin said the Labor Department is working on its own version of unemployment insurance fund reform.
"We are proposing a brand-new structure to give a sort of relief to employers," he said. The proposal, not yet drafted, will be a "more permanent solution" than Pickard-Samuel's bill, he said.
Under the administration's plan, it would take 12 years to bring the territory's unemployment insurance fund down gradually to the federally recommended level of reserves — assuming that unemployment rates remain constant.

Sept. 25, 2001 – A ceremony to distribute last season's trophies will mark the opening of the 2001-2002 season of the Susthens Vialet Over Forty Modified Pitch Softball League. The ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Emile Griffith Ball Park on St. Thomas, and games will begin at 1 p.m.
The first game will be a rematch between last season's champion, the Movements, and the division runner-up, the Bapos. The rest of the schedule includes Ambassadors vs. Ninjars at 3 p.m., Roughnecks vs. Dynamics at 5 p.m., and Silver Bullets vs. Oilers at 7 p.m., according to a release. The league has a total of 10 teams. The teams not playing at the opener are Savages and Royals.
The Ambassadors is a St. John team, and the slate of games on three Sundays will be played at Winston Wells Ball Park in Cruz Bay. Those scheduled dates are Nov. 18, Jan. 13, and Feb. 3.
The season is expected to finish before Carnival. Regular play is scheduled through February, with playoffs in March, according to spokesperson Karl Callwood. Weather may affect the schedule.
The season is foreshortened, said Callwood, due to the pullout of the group that had formerly organized the league. Three weeks ago the V.I. Amateur Sports Association stepped in and quickly got the season set. The full schedule of games will be released later today.

Oct 1, 2001 – One of the administration's top financial officers warned Monday that just because funds have been appropriated to departments and agencies doesn't necessarily mean they'll be there for the spending.
"We can't release allotments for which we have no resources," Ira Mills, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said. And, he added, "We can't be said to be holding back money if there's no money to hold back."
Mills was one of three administration financial officers speaking on the "Topp Talk" show on WVWI Radio Monday morning. Joining him were Louis Willis, Internal Revenue Bureau director, and Kent Bernier, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's economic adviser.
The government's budget is based on revenue projections, Mills said, and since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, those projections have changed. For Fiscal Year 2001, which ended Sunday, the Legislature recently passed two supplemental appropriation bills, he noted. "And what we are going to have to do is delay as long as possible many of those items — to make sure the mandatory items are covered. As the revenues shrink, we have to be more cautious."
Similar concerns were expressed by several senators about the Fiscal Year 2002 budget, but that budget was passed by the Legislature last week and sent to Government House with no changes to reflect the recent and projected losses in revenue due to tourist cancellations since Sept. 11. Sens. Lorraine Berry, Emmett Hansen II and Vargrave Richards had written to the governor about these concerns but had received no response as of last Friday.
Government House announced on Sunday that Turnbull had signed two measures into law that were passed by the Senate last week — allocating federal community development funds and contracting for medical and dental insurance for government workers. But there was no information concerning his response to the FY 2002 budget.
Mills said some departments, starting with Police Department, "will get their full allocation." The governor's other priorities – education and health care – come next, he said.
"Everyone will see his item as a priority," he acknowledged, "but that doesn't give us any authority to release allotments for which we have no resources."
Mills also cautioned nonprofit agencies who have allotments coming, "Don't make any commitments until you have the money in hand."
Private sector can 'sustain themselves'
Talk show host Sam Topp asked Bernier what the government could do to aid the territory's hotels, which currently are reporting less than 15 percent occupancy. The St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association president, Richard Doumeng, said last week that several hotels won't be able to stay open if they don't get some immediate relief. The business sector has proposed, among other things, a four-month deferral in paying gross receipts taxes and electric and water bills.
Bernier had no answer, except to say, "They'll be able to sustain themselves." He referred to recent meetings between administration officials and leaders of the territory's two hotel associations and two chambers of commerce. "We have discussed a gross receipts tax break or something from WAPA," he said, "but there's no need to react until we see how great the impact is further down the road, until we get more data."
Bernier added, "We've been trying to bring something to the table to help," he said. But Mills said even a temporary tax break isn't an option, because the government's tax revenues are pledged to bond issues. "We will see which members are adversely affected, and see if we could make some accommodations without upsetting the bond holders," he said.
Bernier described a new tourism initiative the private and public sectors are launching. The government, he said, is "putting $3.5 million toward advertising the V.I. destination." He described the project to offer New York and Washington, D.C., relief workers a week's free vacation in the Virgin Islands that was proposed by the hotel associations and chambers of commerce last week. "The government is supplying 1,000 airline tickets, and the hotels are supplying 500 rooms free of charge for the rescue workers for a seven-day stay," he said.
Bernier said Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards would be on a radio show later in the week to explain another tourism campaign which includes a free airplane ticket for every one purchased for travelers across the nation, as well as 25-percent-discounted hotel rates and a money-back guarantee on cancellations.
Bernier said he is going to Aruba this week to attend a two- or three-day meeting with cruise line officials. "We are projecting excess cruise ship calls," he said, given public concern about travel in the Middle East and Asia. Already, Norwegian Cruise Lines/Star Cruises have announced they will return the Norway to the Caribbean at the end of this year after it is refurbished, instead of pursuing earlier plans to reposition it in Asian waters.
Focus on getting capital projects going
Both Mills and Bernier said getting capital projects on line is the immediate answer to the territory's economic ills. Bernier said, "We're not trying to stay in the box with just the hotel association." He said a technical park proposed by the Port Authority on St. Croix is under way, and that expansion of the Divi Carina Bay Resort and development of a new 300-room hotel and casino by Golden Gaming, both on St. Croix, and the Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas and the Enighed Pond cargo port on St. John will be started by the end of the year.
"We are mobilizing all of our forces to diversify the economy," Bernier said.
Mills said, "We are working in Washington, D.C., with the Tourism Department and the House of Representatives to be part of the multimillion-dollar recent nationwide package developed to take care of tourism."
Willis said the impact on the territory from the terrorist attacks was less severe than if it had come in a month when the agency collects high gross receipts and hotel room taxes. "September and October are always the slowest months" for tourist arrivals, he noted.
Hotel room-tax revenues are typically about $300,000 in September and October, Willis said, compared with $1.1 million in February and March. He said he would have to wait until the tax revenues come in to see exactly how much the bureau has been affected.
Willis said he see "a light" coming on for St. Croix. "So far this year, we've had $120 million in St. Croix tax revenues, and that's just through August," he said. Previous years' taxes had totaled around $118 million for the whole year, he said.

Oct. 1, 2001 – Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has declared October "Energy Awareness Month in the Virgin Islands.
Nationwide, the observance "promotes awareness of energy issues, appliance efficiency, environmental protection and practical resources in renewable energy," Turnbull said.
A Government House release announcing the proclamation noted that the territory "has the great potential to benefit from the sun, wind and sea that surrounds us and to maximize these elements for the production of alternative energy sources."

Oct. 1, 2001 – Power outages Monday on the East End of St. Thomas and on St. John were caused when "a termination failed on the underground feeder to the East End substation," according to a Water and Power Authority release.
WAPA workers were tieing the East End feeders into the operational system and had restored service to all areas except the Ridge Road, 7D and 9D feeders and a portion of St. John, the release said.
The utility company expected to complete the process of repairing the splice in the underground system Monday evening, it said.

Oct. 1, 2001 – Faced with a massive drop-off in overnight tourism traffic since the terrorist attacks on the mainland, what the territory needs to do now is "plan and not panic," Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards said Monday.
"Obviously, we are negatively impacted, but we need to plan," she said. "It's not just the Virgin Islands; it's a global problem."
Richards said she is meeting in the territory on Monday and Tuesday with representatives of Ogilvy & Mather/Atlanta and Martin Public Relations, the government's mainland advertising and public relations agencies. She said she plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday to present the department's campaign to combat the tourism slump.
Meantime, she outlined what she said are several projects the Tourism Department is implementing to combat the territory's steadily worsening economy in the wake of the attacks.
At a Port Authority board meeting Friday, Richards, who as Tourism commissioner chairs the board, persuaded the body to contribute $1 million to jump start V.I. promotion efforts.
She said the money and $2 million from the Tourism Department will be used in a joint effort with the territory's two hotel associations and two chambers of commerce to give free one-week vacations to 500 rescue workers from New York and Washington, D.C. The Tourism Department's contribution will be airline tickets for the workers and a guest for each one, she said, while the business groups will provide complimentary hotel rooms, gift bags and merchant discount coupons.
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, announced the initiative, put forth by the business groups, last week but at that time had not secured government funding for the airline tickets. Doumeng and other business leaders have met with government representatives several times since the Sept. 11 attacks to present strategies to lessen the economic impact on the territory of the massive numbers of visitor cancellations.
The free-vacation program is now in effect, although related advertising won't be launched until next week, Richards said. It will run through the end of the year, she said.
At the same time, a program formed to provide similar vacations for survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma federal building bombing attack has been reactivated on St. Croix for immediate family members of victims of the Pentagon attack, Richards said. She said St. Croix CARES ("Caribbean Arms Reaching Every Survivor"), a not-for-profit organization, is offering vacations the weekend of Dec. 7-10 — Dec. 7 is Pearl Harbor day — that include airfare, hotel accommodations and meals. "The restaurant response in the first program was phenomenal," Richards said, and she expects this to hold true again.
Also, for the general public, she said a coming campaign will offer one free airline ticket with each one purchased from anywhere across the country to the Virgin Islands, and 25 percent off V.I. hotel room rates.
Richards also said Delegate Donna Christian Christensen is seeking to have the territory included in an economic relief package the federal government is putting together for the tourism industry. "We're in touch with the delegate on a regular basis," the commissioner said. "We think we qualify for some of that package."
She said the advertising campaign for the 500 vacations for rescue workers will begin with radio spots late next week. She said the spots will closely reflect Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's message to the nation in the wake of the attacks and will be partnered with the American Red Cross. In his message extending condolences to those who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks and rescue efforts, Turnbull states, "Although our islands are some 900 miles away from the U.S. mainland, we have always considered ourselves citizens of America."
Turnbull's message is posted on the Tourism Department web site. To view the text, which has been positioned above the standing words of welcome from the governor, click on the "Welcome Center" bar at the lower left of the web site main page.
Richards also said that the advertising that was running before Sept. 11 is continuing. She did not mention print campaigns, and as far as television spots, she said, Tourism personnel are monitoring what's going on. In the case of TV, "We're not sure we're ready yet," she commented.
At Wednesday's press conference, "We'll be discussing something positive for the tourism industry," she said.

Dear Source,
This is in response to Malik Sekou's opinion. Mr. Sekou, although I'm not a professor such as yourself and I agree partly in what you say as to our government, I think you're a little off base. Although our government is far from perfect, there is no such thing as a perfect government; anyone who lives in the Virgin Islands knows this all too well. I do believe our government tries to do what's best for the overall good of the USA.
Mr. Sekou, if you have ever lived abroad, you know how bad it is in some other countries: In some places you would have been jailed, or worse, for the comments you made. But that's what sets America apart from everywhere else.
In most of those Muslim countries, the controlling government has terrorist factions trying to kill them and take over. They're using Islam in a perverted way to influence young and old to do terrible things, just like many of the evangelists and religious leaders here in America.
[Congresswoman Barbara] Lee, in my opinion, is just trying to get attention, and she knew that vote would get her in the news. I doubt that, if someone came up to her and assaulted her on the street, she would try to blame herself. No, Mr. Sekou, she would defend herself. We must defend ourselves from this monstrous group of rebels — because, if we don't, they will strike again, even if it takes 10 years, and it will be much worse. The world together should rid itself of these terrorists. The reason so many other nations are joining the cause is that they know that right now we are the enemy of the terrorist, but in 10-20 years they could be next.
Every time something like this happens, out comes the "Blame America First Group," which is absurd. Mr. Sekou, if your adult child cut someone off in traffic one day, and late that same night the man he cut off in traffic attacked your family and yourself for what your child did, would you defend your home and family? Yes, you would, with all your might, even though your child was wrong for the traffic violation, and the man who attacked your family was wrong in attacking your family. You must defend them. You must defend them, even if your child is wrong; I don't know a parent who wouldn't. We must defend ourselves, and, since they run and hide only to attack again, we must go and find them.
We may not agree with what our leaders do, but in times of crisis, we must support them. If we don't, we become divided, and then America will fall, and then, Mr. Sekou, I can guarantee you won't have the same freedom as you do now.
Jim Richardson
Philadelphia, Pa.

Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Dear Source,
This is in response to Malik Sekou's opinion. Mr. Sekou, although I'm not a professor such as yourself and I agree partly in what you say as to our government, I think you're a little off base. Although our government is far from perfect, there is no such thing as a perfect government; anyone who lives in the Virgin Islands knows this all too well. I do believe our government tries to do what's best for the overall good of the USA.
Mr. Sekou, if you have ever lived abroad, you know how bad it is in some other countries: In some places you would have been jailed, or worse, for the comments you made. But that's what sets America apart from everywhere else.
In most of those Muslim countries, the controlling government has terrorist factions trying to kill them and take over. They're using Islam in a perverted way to influence young and old to do terrible things, just like many of the evangelists and religious leaders here in America.
[Congresswoman Barbara] Lee, in my opinion, is just trying to get attention, and she knew that vote would get her in the news. I doubt that, if someone came up to her and assaulted her on the street, she would try to blame herself. No, Mr. Sekou, she would defend herself. We must defend ourselves from this monstrous group of rebels — because, if we don't, they will strike again, even if it takes 10 years, and it will be much worse. The world together should rid itself of these terrorists. The reason so many other nations are joining the cause is that they know that right now we are the enemy of the terrorist, but in 10-20 years they could be next.
Every time something like this happens, out comes the "Blame America First Group," which is absurd. Mr. Sekou, if your adult child cut someone off in traffic one day, and late that same night the man he cut off in traffic attacked your family and yourself for what your child did, would you defend your home and family? Yes, you would, with all your might, even though your child was wrong for the traffic violation, and the man who attacked your family was wrong in attacking your family. You must defend them. You must defend them, even if your child is wrong; I don't know a parent who wouldn't. We must defend ourselves, and, since they run and hide only to attack again, we must go and find them.
We may not agree with what our leaders do, but in times of crisis, we must support them. If we don't, we become divided, and then America will fall, and then, Mr. Sekou, I can guarantee you won't have the same freedom as you do now.
Jim Richardson
Philadelphia, Pa.

Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Oct. 1, 2001 – Have you ever yearned to buy local or Caribbean antique furniture, but been frustrated by the paucity of expert help for collectors? Two members of the St. Thomas Historic Trust will remedy that, in a lecture on collecting V.I. and Caribbean antique furniture at 6 p.m. Thursday at the V.I. Cultural Heritage Institute, 5-6 Kongens Gade, St. Thomas.
Philip Sturm, a longtime collector, and Felipe Ayala, who observes island homes and furnishings on the television program "Inside", will make the presentation as part of the Institute's "Pass It On" program. They will provide for novice and experienced collectors a wealth of information on collecting antique furniture locally. They will educate collectors on determining authenticity and quality of a piece of furniture, and will answer questions.
The "Pass It On" project is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and is supported by the V.I. Humanities Council. For information, call the Institute at 774-9537.