Sept. 24, 2001 – Attorney General Iver A. Stridiron was appointed by Gov. Charles Turnbull on Sept. 19 to the V.I. Water and Power Authority Board. He fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett.
The governor said that the appointment does not require approval by the Legislature.
Turnbull also said that Stridiron will not receive any additional money for serving on the board except for a per diem rate for travel expenses.

Sept. 25, 2001 — While the U.S. General Accounting Office continues to review the legality of recently designated national monuments in the territory, the National Park Service is proceeding with the development of interim management plans for the areas.
Last month, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen said she had spoken with the GAO officials who are charged with issuing a legal opinion on the disagreement over ownership of the submerged monument lands, which were established in the waning days of the Clinton administration to protect reefs and fisheries. Christensen said that an answer will come sometime in October.
In the meantime, Joel Tutein, superintendent of the National Park Service units on St. Croix, said that his staff has sent interim management plans to NPS administrators on the mainland for approval. NPS authorities at the V.I. National Park on St. John have done the same thing.
In the last days of his administration, President Bill Clinton created the 12,700-acre V.I. Coral Reef National Monument off St. John and expanded the Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix by 18,000 acres. The designation and expansion ban fishing, anchoring and other activities in the area in order to conserve and restore reef ecosystems and marine life. This has raised the ire of local politicians who claim the submerged lands in question belong to the people of the Virgin Islands.
According to Clinton's proclamation, the National Park Service has two years to prepare a management plan for Buck Island and three years to do so for the St. John monument.
Before that, however, Tutein said, interim plans will be reviewed by NPS officials and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and then placed in the National Register. The plans will be in effect during a 30-day public comment period and then "stay in place as interim regulations until a management plan is completed," Tutein said.
The regulations will address prohibitions in the monument areas of such things as anchoring, fishing and collecting shells or artifacts, Tutein said.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has asked that U.S. Interior Secretary Gail Norton, who oversees the National Park Service, not declare the monuments valid, because of what he termed the "questionable" manner in which her predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, delineated the submerged lands. Also to be resolved is the debate over who owns the areas in question.
According to former V.I. senator Virdin Brown, who now chairs the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council, all submerged lands within three miles of the territory's land masses were transferred to the Virgin Islands government by an act of Congress in 1974. Thus, he said, only that body can change the ownership of the lands.
Tutein, meanwhile, said that meeting the management plan timeline established in the monument designations will be difficult, even with the $350,000 each earmarked for the Buck Island and St. John efforts.
"The clock has been ticking" since the designations were declared, Tutein said. "I hope to start the general management plan by the end of the calendar year." Even so, he said, he will be "surprised if we can get through the process in two years."
If the GAO review of the ownership issue gives the NPS the go-ahead, Norton has said, local residents will be able to voice any concerns during the management plan development process, which will entail town meetings and public comment periods. Tutein said the process will include the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.
"The general management plan process itself calls for all stakeholders to comment on the plan," Tutein said.
At the V.I. National Park on St. John, Supt. John King also made it clear it would take congressional legislation to change the parameters of the designation. He has said the designation around St. John means no fishing in the waters of the Coral Reef National Monument except for bait fishing in Hurricane Hole and hard-nose fishing on the south shore of St. John, both by permit.
No anchoring will be allowed, King said, but moorings will be installed in Hurricane Hole for hurricane damage mitigation and in areas within the monument off St. John's south shore for recreational use.

Sept. 25, 2001 – Government House issued a press release Monday afternoon saying the governor's financial advisers "have been meeting regularly" since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland "to assess the financial impact of the crisis and to develop plans to counter an expected economic downturn."
But the release also stated that the administration "intends to move forward plans to place unionized government employees on their negotiated step increases."
The release came hours after a senator said on the floor of the 24th Legislature earlier Monday that Gov. Charles W. Turnbull wanted the lawmakers to "stop the step increases" scheduled to begin taking effect with the current pay period.
There was no mention in the release of Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen's comment in a full Senate session Monday that the governor "has been calling all morning to get us to stop the step increases." Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd subsequently told colleagues he had just telephoned Gov. Charles W. Turnbull about the matter — and that Turnbull's words to him were "I said no such thing."
The release stated: "There should be no retreat from the course this administration has set to provide some degree of economic relief to government employees."
The Legislature approved the step increases earlier this year after the administration announced a projected $100 million windfall in revenues for the current fiscal year. Talk of a possible retreat on the move came up in the Senate Monday in connection with debate over the state of the territory's economy.
In the Government House release, Turnbull referred to an "initial economic downturn as a result of the terrorist attacks" two weeks ago on the mainland. But it stated: "While there are sound reasons to proceed with caution and to curtail all unnecessary spending … there are no plans or intentions to roll back the salary increases that are the result of the administration's careful strategy to bring the territory from fiscal debts to recovery."
However, Turnbull was quoted as saying, "This is clearly not the time to engage in an unrestrained spending flurry until there has been a proper assessment of the long-term economic impact of the ongoing crisis."
Given the losses in revenue already being felt in the territory with tourist arrivals down to a trickle, at least five senators have called for a re-examination of the record $550 million budget now undergoing a final vote. There has been no response from the administration, and Sens. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen and Norma Pickard-Samuel have said nothing is going to stop the budget worked out over two months by the Finance Committee and the majority bloc from being passed.
Government House also announced that Turnbull left the territory Monday afternoon to go to New York City. The purpose of the trip, it said, is to attend the funeral of a family member. The governor is expected to return to the territory "later this week," the release stated.

Sept. 24, 2001 – After a poignant voicing of "America the Beautiful" by senators and gallery alike Monday morning, the 24th Legislature began a final vote on the Fiscal Year 2002 budget bills, a process expected to take another two days to complete.
Before they got to the bills, however, lengthy debate arose over whether there is a need to review the record $551 million budget in light of the effects the mainland terrorist attacks are having on the Virgin Islands' economy.
Sen. Vargrave Richards asked, "How are we going to sustain this economy? Are we in la-la land? This is going to affect us for two to five years." He pointed out that other tourism locations — Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico — already are taking action. "They are concerned about the impact of the airline cutbacks on tourism," he said. He pointed out that Florida is considering waiving the state aviation fuel tax, and Hawaii has removed airport landing fees.
"The U.S. Congress came together to work on this problem," Richards said. "We aren't an entity unto ourselves."
Sens. Lorraine Berry, Emmett Hansen II and Richards have contacted Gov. Charles Turnbull since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, asking him to readdress his optimistic FY 2002 revenue projections. Berry urged the governor to call a meeting of the executive and legislative branches and his national financial advisers to go over the FY 2002 budget.
On Monday, Sen. David Jones agreed with their concerns. "If the budget is not revisited, we are giving the governor and Ira Mills [Office of Management and Budget director] free license to determine our priorities," Jones said. He said property and casualty insurance will be adversely affected, and "without a good insurance program, no investor will have confidence in coming here."
Jones asked the post auditor for the current balance in the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund. "I have an idea that will help protect people on welfare after the federal Welfare Reform Act goes into effect next year, by putting them to work on the anti-litter program," he said. "There are four times as many welfare recipients on St. Croix than on St. Thomas; we have to protect them."
Sen Norma Pickard-Samuel objected. "There are some very talented people on welfare," she said. "We can't have them working for anti-litter."
Jones said the work would not be demeaning. "What I am suggesting is an interim program to give them a form of sustenance to feed their families," he said. "We have to think ahead."
Returning to the impact of the recent terrorism, Sen. Roosevelt David said, "The effects are catastrophic. How can we use the hotel occupancy tax when the hotels aren't occupied? Gross receipts taxes won't be there with no sales. With people on unemployment, who will pay income tax?" He, too, said the governor needs to call a meeting on the budget projections.
Liburd: Turnbull will meet on fiscal concerns
Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd told the body he had heard from the governor. "He will meet with all of us, his cabinet, and the business sector to discuss the whole picture," Liburd said. He added that the governor didn't say when the meeting would take place.
The leadership of the territory's hotel associations and chambers of commerce presented a series of agreed-upon recommendations for dealing with the current economic crisis to administration aides on Friday. They are awaiting a meeting with the governor and top financial officers to talk about implementing their ideas.
Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen said she had heard from the governor, too, on another subject. "He has been calling all morning to get us to stop the step increases," she said, to the obvious surprise of some of the senators.
Richards said after a brief recess that he had called the governor, who had told him, "I said no such thing."
(In mid-afternoon, Government House issued a release stating that "despite the initial economic downturn as a result of the terrorist attacks," the Turnbull administration "intends to move forward plans to place unionized government employees on their negotiated step increases.")
Zoning variance to stay
Before breaking for lunch, the Senate voted down a proposal sponsored by Pickard-Samuel seeking to repeal legislation passed in the 23rd Legislature granting a zoning variance for the food wholesaler Merchant's Market to construct and operate a warehouse in an otherwise residential Smith Bay neighborhood. Several Smith Bay residents seeking to halt the construction were in the gallery.
Several senators said they understood the residents' concerns, but they already had cast their votes in favor of the measure. The variance was approved a year ago and work on the property began last February. Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg warned that the matter would wind up incourt if the variance were repealed. He said he would seek an alternative site for the facility, perhaps some government-owned land in the area.
Jones said repealing the variance would send a bad message to investors in general and to Merchant's Market in particular, noting that the firm has already invested $1 million in the project.
The repeal measure was defeated, 11-3, with Sens. Pickard-Samuel, Celestino White and Alicia Hansen casting the "yes" votes.
Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole expressed his continuing frustration at the administration's dragging its feet on a solution to the territory's solid-waste disposal problem. He pointed out that even a short-term solution isn't on the table. Caribe Waste Technologies has been hired to build a gasification plant, Cole said, but it hasn't even come before the Legislature, and the project will take years.
Caribe Waste Technologies won a competitive bidding process last year to build a plant to end the territory's need to use the Bovoni and Anguilla landfills. But the proposed deal depends on the Water and Power Authority ageeing to purchase water and electricity from CWT. WAPA announced last week that its board would not vote on the matter until at least the start of October. The Federal Aviation Administration has threatened to close the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix at the end of 2002 if the Anguilla landfill isn't closed.
Cole also said the administration's financial agencies should get Delegate Donna Christian Christensen to address Congress about a financial aid package for the Virgin Islands, an issue brought up at a Rules Committee meeting last week. Liburd said Dutko, the Washington, D.C., lobbying group the majority hired earlier this year, will be addressing the problem.
In addition to the budget bills, the committee approved legislation sponsored by Cole and Pickard-Samuel revising the V.I. Safe Water Act to make it consistent with national drinking water standards. It authorizes the regulation of materials used in rainwater catchment systems, including water hauled by trucks to cisterns as part of the public water system.
Budget measures approved
The FY 2002 budget bills passed on Monday were:
Bill No 24-0112 – $1.7 million for operating expenses of the Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund.
Bill No. 24-0113 – $24.6 million for University of the Virgin Islands salaries and expenses, and for other purposes.
Bill No. 24-0114 – $2.6 million from the Government Insurance Fund for Finance Department operating expenses.
Bill No. 24-0115 – $2.7 million from the Health Revolving Fund to the General Fund.
Bill No. 24-0116 – $5 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund to theGeneral Fund.
Bill No. 24-0117 – $3.2 million from the Indirect Cost Fund for Office of Management and Budget, Personnel Division, Property and Procurement Department, and Finance Department salaries and operating expenses, and for other purpos es.
Bill No. 24-0118 – $3.5 million from the Interest Revenue Fund to the General Fund.
Bill No. 24-0119 – $70.2 million from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund, with $25.2 million to go into the General Fund and $44.7 million to pay debt service on outstanding government bonds.
Bill No. 24-0120 – $3.1 million from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund to the General Fund.
Bill No. 24-0121 – $6.4 million from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Public Works Department, and for other purposes.
Bill No. 24-0122 – $306,881 for V.I. Taxicab Commission operating expenses.
Bill No. 24-0123 – $169,174 from the Transportation Revolving Fund for Property and Procurement Department salaries, fringe benefits, supplies and other services and charges.
Bill No. 24-0124 – $750,000 from the Sewage System Fund for Public Works Department operating expenses.
Bill No. 24-0125 – $514,322 for Public Services Commission operating expenses.
Bill No. 24-0126 – $1.9 million from the interest earned on bond proceeds to the General Fund.
Bill No. 24-0127 – $1.5 million from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund for Public Works Department operating expenses.
Bill No. 24-0128 – $479.7 million for executive branch operations.
Bill No. 24-0130 – $400,000 for Public Employees Relations Board operating expenses and $103,473 for the Labor Management Committee.
Bill No. 24-0133 To establish the the Disaster Recovery Contingency Revolving Fund.
Bill No. 24-0135 – amending the V.I. Code to increase to $25,000 from the current $5,000 the amount of prior fiscal-year obligations that can be paid by departments and agencies from current-year appropriations.
At the start of the session, Liburd announced it would recess at 5:30 p.m. However, after a two-hour lunch break, the meeting reconvened at 4 p.m. and recessed at 7 p.m. Liburd said the Senate's St. Thomas telephone system was entirely down and this had caused the long lunch break.
Thirteen senators were present for the morning proceedings, with Sen. Adelbert Bryan absent and Sen. Douglas Canton Jr. excused. In the afternoon, all were present except Bryan. The session is to resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday on St. Thomas.

Sept. 24, 2001 – A family fun day that's also a fund-raiser for American Red Cross relief efforts under way in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as for the agency's local chapter, is set for Sunday on the beach at the Bolongo Bay Beach Club.
From noon to sunset by Iggies Beach Bar and Grill, there will be live music and food, drinks and commemorative T-shirts for sale. There'll also be activities for kids and a raffle of prizes "already up to $5,000 in value and growing" that includes a stay at the Divi Carina Bay Resort on St. Croix, according to Bryan Hollenbaugh, one of the event organizers.
All of the talent is volunteer, all of the food and drink is being donated, and so are all of the raffle prizes, Hollenbaugh said. And all of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross — "90 percent for terrorist disaster relief, and 10 percent for our local Red Cross chapter, to keep them going as well," he said.
The event is being called — what else? — United Ah We. "We want to provide an outlet where people of our community can support a great cause while being able to reflect on what has happened as well as how we're going to move forward," the other organizer, Paul Doumeng, said. Admission is free.
Doumeng, who manages Bolongo Bay, said he and Hollenbaugh, who is general manager of WIVI-FM/Pirate Radio (96.1 FM), came up with the idea to raise funds for the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families. Doumeng said he's put benefits together before, but this one is different: "Nobody likes to call somebody and solicit funds or product," he said, "but this time it's been easy — because it's for a benefit that everybody understands."
The music will probably start around 1 p.m. "We'll be starting with jazz, float through acoustic, then move into reggae, calypso and rock," Hollenbaugh said. Louis Taylor and Friends and the Sax Cymbals will be serving up the jazz. Cymbals leader Rusty Vellek said the two groups will join forces after separate sets, and other "musicians are invited to bring instruments and voices and join the jam." Other bands already signed on are Tahra Richardson's TNT, Steve Richmond's Wize Gize, the reggae group Solidarity and a Florida rock band named Intense.
When all of the guest artists have done their turns, Bolongo Bay's house steelpan ensemble, Band in the Sand, will close things out.
The Florida group is a part of the mix, Hollenbaugh said, because Pirate Radio had already been "looking at doing a joint promotion" with Iggies because the band was coming to St. Thomas to do a record promotion with the station. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, he called Doumeng "and said let's do something different. It went from being a couple of separate things to something that is steamrolling pretty rapidly."
Attractions for youngsters will include a water-dunk tank and face painting. "It's about 'Let's go to the beach, bring the kids, spend some money and do some good,'" Doumeng said. He said the commemorative T-shirts feature "a big American flag."
Putting together a variety of music was one way of "trying to get a good cross section of the entire island to come out," Doumeng said.
Product donations are coming from Bellows International, Quality Foods and Coca-Cola Bottling of the V.I., Hollenbaugh said. And the Offshore Bar and Cyber Cafe and the Green House will be running additional bars on the beach, again with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. Seaborne Airlines is flying the visiting band from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas.
That's all great, Hollenbaugh said, but what makes it even better is that "nobody is asking for credit. Nobody said 'Put up my banner' or 'Do this to promote us.' Their attitude is that 'We just want to help you guys be able to generate the funds for this cause.'"
Anyone wanting to volunteer or contribute to Sunday's effort can reach Hollenbaugh by calling 774-1972 or e-mailing to pirateradiovi@aol.com. Or call Doumeng at 775-1800 or Yvonne Vinacola at the St. Thomas-St. John chapter of the American Red Cross at 774-0375.

Sept. 24, 2001 – A family fun day that's also a fund-raiser for American Red Cross relief efforts under way in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as for the agency's local chapter, is set for Sunday on the beach at the Bolongo Bay Beach Club.
From noon to sunset by Iggies Beach Bar and Grill, there will be live music and food, drinks and commemorative T-shirts for sale. There'll also be activities for kids and a raffle of prizes "already up to $5,000 in value and growing" that includes a stay at the Divi Carina Bay Resort on St. Croix, according to Bryan Hollenbaugh, one of the event organizers.
All of the talent is volunteer, all of the food and drink is being donated, and so are all of the raffle prizes, Hollenbaugh said. And all of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross — "90 percent for terrorist disaster relief, and 10 percent for our local Red Cross chapter, to keep them going as well," he said.
The event is being called — what else? — United Ah We. "We want to provide an outlet where people of our community can support a great cause while being able to reflect on what has happened as well as how we're going to move forward," the other organizer, Paul Doumeng, said. Admission is free.
Doumeng, who manages Bolongo Bay, said he and Hollenbaugh, who is general manager of WIVI-FM/Pirate Radio (96.1 FM), came up with the idea to raise funds for the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families. Doumeng said he's put benefits together before, but this one is different: "Nobody likes to call somebody and solicit funds or product," he said, "but this time it's been easy — because it's for a benefit that everybody understands."
The music will probably start around 1 p.m. "We'll be starting with jazz, float through acoustic, then move into reggae, calypso and rock," Hollenbaugh said. Louis Taylor and Friends and the Sax Cymbals will be serving up the jazz. Cymbals leader Rusty Vellek said the two groups will join forces after separate sets, and other "musicians are invited to bring instruments and voices and join the jam." Other bands already signed on are Tahra Richardson's TNT, Steve Richmond's Wize Gize, the reggae group Solidarity and a Florida rock band named Intense.
When all of the guest artists have done their turns, Bolongo Bay's house steelpan ensemble, Band in the Sand, will close things out.
The Florida group is a part of the mix, Hollenbaugh said, because Pirate Radio had already been "looking at doing a joint promotion" with Iggies because the band was coming to St. Thomas to do a record promotion with the station. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, he called Doumeng "and said let's do something different. It went from being a couple of separate things to something that is steamrolling pretty rapidly."
Attractions for youngsters will include a water-dunk tank and face painting. "It's about 'Let's go to the beach, bring the kids, spend some money and do some good,'" Doumeng said. He said the commemorative T-shirts feature "a big American flag."
Putting together a variety of music was one way of "trying to get a good cross section of the entire island to come out," Doumeng said.
Product donations are coming from Bellows International, Quality Foods and Coca-Cola Bottling of the V.I., Hollenbaugh said. And the Offshore Bar and Cyber Cafe and the Green House will be running additional bars on the beach, again with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. Seaborne Airlines is flying the visiting band from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas.
That's all great, Hollenbaugh said, but what makes it even better is that "nobody is asking for credit. Nobody said 'Put up my banner' or 'Do this to promote us.' Their attitude is that 'We just want to help you guys be able to generate the funds for this cause.'"
Anyone wanting to volunteer or contribute to Sunday's effort can reach Hollenbaugh by calling 774-1972 or e-mailing to pirateradiovi@aol.com. Or call Doumeng at 775-1800 or Yvonne Vinacola at the St. Thomas-St. John chapter of the American Red Cross at 774-0375.

Sept. 24, 2001 – Friends of Edward O'Brien are invited to join his family in a celebration of Edward's life at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Peter Mountain Great House.
In addition, a viewing will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at the Creque Chapel prior to a private burial at sea.
O'Brien died Sunday in a parachuting accident on St. Thomas.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara O'Brien; his daughter, Kelly O'Brien; a brother, Thomas; and two sisters, Maureen Grasso and Kathleen Guglielmo.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Edward O'Brien Fund at Antilles School, Frenchman's Bay No. 16-1, St. Thomas VI 00802.
A tribute to O'Brien will be established in the new sports facility at the school, the Mark C. Marin Center.

Sept. 24, 2001 – Kenrick Maynard shot down Adolph Hyman Sr. on a Savan street and then stood over him firing shot after shot into his body from an assault rifle, witnesses testified in the opening day of Maynard's trial Monday.
Maynard is charged with first-degree murder and various firearm and assault charges related to events in July 1999. If convicted of the first-degree murder of Hyman, he will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Assistant Attorney General Lofton Holder presented evidence Monday that Maynard was involved in a fight at the St. John Fourth of July celebration in 1999. Maynard was stabbed several times in the fight, which involved Kimba George and Leslie Hyman, one of Adolph Hyman's sons, witnesses testified.
Leslie Hyman testified Monday that he was outside the Friendly Bar in Savan on July 26, 1999, when Maynard approached him from behind and shot him five or six times. He was wounded in the arm, the leg and the side of his chest, he said as he showed jurors some of his scars.
Adolph Hyman Sr., who was in Atlanta at the time of the shooting, returned to St. Thomas after learning that his son had been wounded, according to testimony from Maria Weekes, the elder Hyman's long-time girlfriend.
On July 28, 1999, Weekes testified, she was walking down General Gade with Adolph Hyman Sr. and Adolph Hyman Jr. when Maynard approached them in the area of the Red Ball Grocery. Maynard opened fire with what police later determined to be an AK-47 assault rifle, hitting her in the foot as she tried to get out of the way, she told the court.
Maynard then shot Adolph Hyman Sr. as he tried to run away, then stood over his body pumping shots into him, Weekes said.
"This man roll up and give him seven more shots," she said, pointing to Maynard, who sat with defense attorney Stephen Brusch. After Maynard left the scene in a car and ambulance crews arrived, she said, she went over to her dead boyfriend. "I held his head in my lap," she said. "My life is gone with him."
In questioning of witnesses, Brusch noted that Maynard had been stabbed repeatedly in the Fourth of July fight with the relatives of Adolph Hyman Sr. and that Leslie Hyman was carrying an unlicensed .380-caliber handgun at the time he was shot.
Brusch also noted that Leslie Hyman did not report the Fourth of July fight to police, that he did not tell investigators who had shot him on July 26, and that he was never charged with carrying what he admitted was an illegal firearm.
Maynard, who has also used the name Samuel Blyden, was arrested in Georgia last year on a warrant in connection with the murder charge.
The murder trial is expected to continue Tuesday before Territorial Court Judge Rhys Hodge.

Dear Editor,
After lengthy and painful efforts to rationalize the behavior of our government in regards to many public policies, in particular the fiscal state of affairs, I must surmise that the entire legislative and executive branches have lost their minds. There is no other explanation for the madness that is happening.
What does the governor base his rosy picture of the local economy on? Especially when the rest of the country is facing recession, does it not stand to reason that people will engage in leisure travel less? Isn't leisure travel where we make most of our money? I'm no economist, but, please . . .
As for the Legislature, the squandering of money at a giddy pace is appalling. Priorities are entirely out of order. Waste needs to be reduced (by layoffs if necessary and definitely by reducing so-called "capital expenditures" which are really pork in disguise), if we are going to pay teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and other important and essential government employees what they are worth. Millions of dollars for a house plot at Drakes Seat is a gross example of misguided priorities.
I hate to say it, but our attitudes toward outside companies must change. While we must protect the interests of the islands, including the environment and our way of life, common ground must be found in negotiations. We can't have it "our way or no way" all the time. In these days of a global economy, no man is an island unto himself.
Dwayne Henry
Virgin Islander studying law in North Carolina.

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.

Sept. 24, 2001 – There's a silver lining for the Virgin Islands in the dark economic clouds on the horizon as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: The S/S Norway will be returning to St. Thomas and St. John for another year of service starting the last week of this year.
Norwegian Cruise Lines and its new parent company, Star Cruises, had announced plans to reposition the Norway to Asia beginning with the winter season. Its "farewell Atlantic crossing" sailed out of Miami on Sept. 2, bound for Southampton, England, with arrival on Sept. 18. But with the global unrest now, NCL/Star Cruises has now decided to continue homeporting the ship in Miami for Eastern Caribbean cruises calling at Sint Maarten, St. Thomas and St. John, and the privately owned Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.
The Caribbean itinerary will begin Dec. 23 and continue "through at least December 2002," according to a release from The West Indian Co. The Norway will call in the territory on Thursdays, beginning Dec. 27.
"This is exceptionally good news in light of events of the last few days as we attempt to stabilize our tourism economy," Edward Thomas, WICO president, said in a release Monday. "The S/S Norway has been an economic staple, especially for Main Street, and its return for the peak of the season bodes very well for all of us."
The Norway has a passenger capacity of 2,032 and carries a crew of 900. With a draft of 35 feet, the ship is one of the few that has never docked at St. Thomas, instead anchoring in the outer harbor and transporting personnel to and from the waterfront aboard two large tenders that are carried from port to port aboard the vessel itself.
Before entering back into service in the Caribbean, the Norway will be in dry dock in Europe for the next three months undergoing refurbishing.
The bright blue vessel with its familiar twin smokestacks has been calling weekly at St. Thomas for two decades. In the 1990s, a morning drop-off stop at St. John was added, with passengers allowed to disembark, see St. John, then travel to St. Thomas by ferry to board the ship from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront in the afternoon. The ship, the longest in the world until megavessels began making their appearance in the '90s, was built in 1962 and christened the France. It re-emerged as the Norway in 1980 and last underwent refurbishment in 1996.