Aug. 14, 2001 – The Friday night music scene at The Color of Joy will be livelier than ever this week, with the folk group Harmony Dem "joining the fray," as gallery/gift shop owner Corinne Van Rensselaer puts it.
Rest assured: There's no fray here. It's all very harmonious.
Harmony Dem currently is a trio, consisting of Polly Watts, Fred Watts and Don Edwards. They have been singing and playing together on St. Thomas for 12 years, and their combined years of residence on the island total almost 100! Formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the ensemble has maintained its appeal with strong harmonies supported by acoustic instruments including guitar, bass, autoharp, harmonica, steelpan, fiddle and mandolin.
Its repertoire is "Americana" — folk, rock, reggae, gospel, calypso, Cajun and blues tunes. A fixture for years of October Sunday Festivals, Chili Cook-Offs, and Arts Alive and Agricultural Fairs, the group had a regular gig at the old Barnacle Bill's and now performs frequently at Molly Molones. Its music "speaks to all ages and types of people — anyone who enjoys tapping their toes and singing along," Van Rensselaer says.
The end-of-week / start-of-weekend get-together will feature complimentary wine, cheese and crackers as usual on the American Yacht Harbor Marlin Deck at the scenic-side entrance to The Color of Joy. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Sally Smith will be there hosting the live entertainment as usual, too, with her own keyboard and vocal contributions.
For additional information, call 775-4020.
SOUNDS OF JOY TO INCLUDE HARMONY DEM
Aug. 14, 2001 – The Friday night music scene at The Color of Joy in Red Hook will be livelier than ever this week, with the folk group Harmony Dem "joining the fray," as gallery/gift shop owner Corinne Van Rensselaer puts it.
Rest assured: There's no fray here. It's all very harmonious.
Harmony Dem currently is a trio, consisting of Polly Watts, Fred Watts and Don Edwards. They have been singing and playing together on St. Thomas for 12 years, and their combined years of residence on the island total almost 100! Formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the ensemble has maintained its appeal with strong harmonies supported by acoustic instruments including guitar, bass, autoharp, harmonica, steelpan, fiddle and mandolin.
Its repertoire is "Americana" — folk, rock, reggae, gospel, calypso, Cajun and blues tunes. A fixture for years of October Sunday Festivals, Chili Cook-Offs, and Arts Alive and Agricultural Fairs, the group had a regular gig at the old Barnacle Bill's and now performs frequently at Molly Molones. Its music "speaks to all ages and types of people — anyone who enjoys tapping their toes and singing along," Van Rensselaer says.
The end-of-week / start-of-weekend get-together will feature complimentary wine, cheese and crackers as usual on the American Yacht Harbor Marlin Deck at the scenic-side entrance to The Color of Joy. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Sally Smith will be there hosting the live entertainment as usual, too, with her own keyboard and vocal contributions.
For additional information, call 775-4020.
Rest assured: There's no fray here. It's all very harmonious.
Harmony Dem currently is a trio, consisting of Polly Watts, Fred Watts and Don Edwards. They have been singing and playing together on St. Thomas for 12 years, and their combined years of residence on the island total almost 100! Formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the ensemble has maintained its appeal with strong harmonies supported by acoustic instruments including guitar, bass, autoharp, harmonica, steelpan, fiddle and mandolin.
Its repertoire is "Americana" — folk, rock, reggae, gospel, calypso, Cajun and blues tunes. A fixture for years of October Sunday Festivals, Chili Cook-Offs, and Arts Alive and Agricultural Fairs, the group had a regular gig at the old Barnacle Bill's and now performs frequently at Molly Molones. Its music "speaks to all ages and types of people — anyone who enjoys tapping their toes and singing along," Van Rensselaer says.
The end-of-week / start-of-weekend get-together will feature complimentary wine, cheese and crackers as usual on the American Yacht Harbor Marlin Deck at the scenic-side entrance to The Color of Joy. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Sally Smith will be there hosting the live entertainment as usual, too, with her own keyboard and vocal contributions.
For additional information, call 775-4020.
LUKE GASTON FUNERAL SERVICES
Luke Gaston, aka "Lukas Bob," age 56, of II Est. Castle Burke, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 9, at his residence. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15, at Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church with viewing at 9 a.m. Internment will take place at Kingshill Cemetery.
He is survived by his mother Marie Gaston; daughter Abigail Gaston; sons Godfrey, Christopher, Jude, Gregory and Uriah; grandchildren Malachi and Derandrea; sisters Mary Jane Gaston, Theodora Nestor, Andrea Antion Gaston; brothers Bernard, Gefery, James and Rogers Gaston; other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.
Professional arrangements are entrusted to James Memorial Funeral Home.
He is survived by his mother Marie Gaston; daughter Abigail Gaston; sons Godfrey, Christopher, Jude, Gregory and Uriah; grandchildren Malachi and Derandrea; sisters Mary Jane Gaston, Theodora Nestor, Andrea Antion Gaston; brothers Bernard, Gefery, James and Rogers Gaston; other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.
Professional arrangements are entrusted to James Memorial Funeral Home.
ANIMAL ANTI-CRUELTY BILL ON RULES AGENDA AGAIN
Aug. 14, 2001 – The beleaguered animal rights bill, backed now by the Police Department's St. Thomas-St. John district K-9 Unit and the National Park Service, is on the agenda for an Aug. 30 meeting of the Senate Rules Committee.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, bounced from committee to committee in both the 23rd and 24th Legislatures, finally, in June, advancing to Rules, normally the last lap before consideration by the full Senate. However, at the June Rules meeting, the bill was once again held in committee, by a 4-2 vote on a motion by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who has labeled the measure "a farce."
Sen. Carlton Dowe, the Rules Committee chair, wrote to Bryan earlier this month citing Aug. 30 as a proposed meeting date and asking him to have any proposed amendments to the bill prepared by that time. Dowe, himself a co-sponsor of the measure, has said he was in favor of sending it with a favorable vote to the full Senate at the June meeting but was voted down.
On Aug. 30, the bill is to be taken up following a hearing on nominations submitted by the governor. On Tuesday morning, Dowe's staff could not provide information on the nominees or the posts for which they have been nominated.
Support for the anti-cruelty bill has been building.
V.I. National Park Supt. John H. King recently wrote to Dowe endorsing the bill. "This legislation is long overdue," he said. "Not only has a connection been established between cruelty to animals and domestic violence, but many animals as well as the ecology of the Virgin Islands suffer as a result of the various forms of cruelty."
King emphasized a point of special interest to the Park Service: the abandonment of animals without making provision for their welfare. He told Dowe that as a result of such human irresponsibility, "the park is in the painful process of having to deal with numerous species of feral and exotic animals which threaten the existence of native species of wildlife and cause many problems with our forests."
The bill addresses abandonment of animals as a felony punishable by not more than three years of imprisonment and a fine of $1,000.
St. Thomas-St. John K-9 Corps officers have offered to testify before the committee on the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. A representative of the Family Resource Center also has volunteered to testify in this regard.
St. Thomas animal rights advocate Rita Roth, a long-time active supporter of the bill, has gathered 3,000 signatures on a petition calling for its passage. She also contacted the national Animal Legal Defense Fund, which is willing to send volunteers to the territory to conduct training seminars on dealing with animal cruelty for police officers, attorneys, animal control officers and animal welfare workers.
Officials of The Humane Society of the United States have written to Donastorg in support of his bill. The letter said 31 states have passed animal anti-cruelty legislation.
Dowe said he encourages all interested individuals and groups to attend the Rules meeting. Those wishing to testify are asked to telephone Dowe's office at 693-3671 or 774-0880.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, bounced from committee to committee in both the 23rd and 24th Legislatures, finally, in June, advancing to Rules, normally the last lap before consideration by the full Senate. However, at the June Rules meeting, the bill was once again held in committee, by a 4-2 vote on a motion by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who has labeled the measure "a farce."
Sen. Carlton Dowe, the Rules Committee chair, wrote to Bryan earlier this month citing Aug. 30 as a proposed meeting date and asking him to have any proposed amendments to the bill prepared by that time. Dowe, himself a co-sponsor of the measure, has said he was in favor of sending it with a favorable vote to the full Senate at the June meeting but was voted down.
On Aug. 30, the bill is to be taken up following a hearing on nominations submitted by the governor. On Tuesday morning, Dowe's staff could not provide information on the nominees or the posts for which they have been nominated.
Support for the anti-cruelty bill has been building.
V.I. National Park Supt. John H. King recently wrote to Dowe endorsing the bill. "This legislation is long overdue," he said. "Not only has a connection been established between cruelty to animals and domestic violence, but many animals as well as the ecology of the Virgin Islands suffer as a result of the various forms of cruelty."
King emphasized a point of special interest to the Park Service: the abandonment of animals without making provision for their welfare. He told Dowe that as a result of such human irresponsibility, "the park is in the painful process of having to deal with numerous species of feral and exotic animals which threaten the existence of native species of wildlife and cause many problems with our forests."
The bill addresses abandonment of animals as a felony punishable by not more than three years of imprisonment and a fine of $1,000.
St. Thomas-St. John K-9 Corps officers have offered to testify before the committee on the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. A representative of the Family Resource Center also has volunteered to testify in this regard.
St. Thomas animal rights advocate Rita Roth, a long-time active supporter of the bill, has gathered 3,000 signatures on a petition calling for its passage. She also contacted the national Animal Legal Defense Fund, which is willing to send volunteers to the territory to conduct training seminars on dealing with animal cruelty for police officers, attorneys, animal control officers and animal welfare workers.
Officials of The Humane Society of the United States have written to Donastorg in support of his bill. The letter said 31 states have passed animal anti-cruelty legislation.
Dowe said he encourages all interested individuals and groups to attend the Rules meeting. Those wishing to testify are asked to telephone Dowe's office at 693-3671 or 774-0880.
STRIDRION: 'SUPER MAX' SECURITY IS 'HELLACIOUS'
Aug. 14, 2001 – Calling it "hellacious," Attorney General Iver Stridiron on Tuesday described life at a Virginia prison where he and three other government officials were last Friday meeting with authorities and V.I. inmates.
Wallens Ridge State Prison is considered a Level 6 or "super max," for highest maximum-security, facility. It was opened in April 1999.
A Level 6 prison as defined by the Virginia Department of Corrections is for individuals serving single life, multiple life and life-plus sentences; and those who are disruptive or assaultive, are escape risks, or display severe behavior problems or predatory-type behavior.
Rehabilitation is not at the top of the priority list at Wallens Ridge, Stridiron said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference on St. Thomas. Security is.
Currently 15 Virgin Islands prisoners reside at the prison in Big Stone Gap, Va. A dozen of them previously were incarcerated in other mainland institutions.
When 90 prisoners were returned to the territory from mainland prisons last year, the Corrections Bureau director, Horace Magras, asked that those 12 be kept on the mainland. Looking at a staff of rookie corrections officers ill-equipped to handle more dangerous and disruptive prisoners, Stridiron agreed to Magras's request.
At Wallens Ridge, a typical day for the V.I. prisoners — who are together in a "segregation unit," as are prisoners from New Mexico, Connecticut and Virginia — is 23 hours in a cell and one hour of "recreation." That hour might consist of one of the three showers they are allowed each week, or time in a 6 by 9 foot outdoor cage that strongly resembles the dog cages at the Humane Society of St. Thomas.
The prisoners can get "sun" while in the cage, Stridiron said.
Before leaving their cells, prisoners are shackled hands and feet to ensure the safety of security personnel and other prisoners. Stridiron said two corrections officers walk each inmate to the shower or the outdoor cage.
Magras, who accompanied Stridrion to Wallens Ridge, said the facility was well managed and well controlled and meets the accreditation requirements of the American Correctional Association. He said the differences between St. Croix's Golden Grove Correctional Facility and Wallens Ridge are "startling."
At Golden Grove, Bradley "Hurtie" Maxwell could walk the grounds. Those days are over for Maxwell, confined at Wallens Ridge at least for now. Maxwell, a convicted murdered, escaped from prison twice in the Virgin Islands.
The V.I. prisoners could "earn their way back to the Virgin Islands," Stridiron said, but doing so would be a "Herculean task" that would depend entirely upon their behavior. The inmates also can earn their way to lower-level prisons if they behave themselves, he said.
Stridrion said he hoped that describing the severe conditions of Wallens Ridge at a press conference might have the effect of deterring some young people from pursuing a criminal lifestyle that could end them up there or at some other mainland maximum security facility.
"It's hardest on the families," the attorney general said, "especially the mothers and grandmothers" who cannot afford to travel to Wallens Ridge.
The V.I. prisoners currently serving time at Wallens Ridge are:
Dennis Blyden
Thomas Freeland
Beaumont Gereau
Matthew George
Delroy Josiah
Ruben Maduro
Bradley Maxwell
Eric Miller
Gent Mosby
Roy Parrott
Julio Perez
Ruben Rivera-Morena
Alrick Roberts
Roberto Smalls
Meral Smith
Wallens Ridge State Prison is considered a Level 6 or "super max," for highest maximum-security, facility. It was opened in April 1999.
A Level 6 prison as defined by the Virginia Department of Corrections is for individuals serving single life, multiple life and life-plus sentences; and those who are disruptive or assaultive, are escape risks, or display severe behavior problems or predatory-type behavior.
Rehabilitation is not at the top of the priority list at Wallens Ridge, Stridiron said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference on St. Thomas. Security is.
Currently 15 Virgin Islands prisoners reside at the prison in Big Stone Gap, Va. A dozen of them previously were incarcerated in other mainland institutions.
When 90 prisoners were returned to the territory from mainland prisons last year, the Corrections Bureau director, Horace Magras, asked that those 12 be kept on the mainland. Looking at a staff of rookie corrections officers ill-equipped to handle more dangerous and disruptive prisoners, Stridiron agreed to Magras's request.
At Wallens Ridge, a typical day for the V.I. prisoners — who are together in a "segregation unit," as are prisoners from New Mexico, Connecticut and Virginia — is 23 hours in a cell and one hour of "recreation." That hour might consist of one of the three showers they are allowed each week, or time in a 6 by 9 foot outdoor cage that strongly resembles the dog cages at the Humane Society of St. Thomas.
The prisoners can get "sun" while in the cage, Stridiron said.
Before leaving their cells, prisoners are shackled hands and feet to ensure the safety of security personnel and other prisoners. Stridiron said two corrections officers walk each inmate to the shower or the outdoor cage.
Magras, who accompanied Stridrion to Wallens Ridge, said the facility was well managed and well controlled and meets the accreditation requirements of the American Correctional Association. He said the differences between St. Croix's Golden Grove Correctional Facility and Wallens Ridge are "startling."
At Golden Grove, Bradley "Hurtie" Maxwell could walk the grounds. Those days are over for Maxwell, confined at Wallens Ridge at least for now. Maxwell, a convicted murdered, escaped from prison twice in the Virgin Islands.
The V.I. prisoners could "earn their way back to the Virgin Islands," Stridiron said, but doing so would be a "Herculean task" that would depend entirely upon their behavior. The inmates also can earn their way to lower-level prisons if they behave themselves, he said.
Stridrion said he hoped that describing the severe conditions of Wallens Ridge at a press conference might have the effect of deterring some young people from pursuing a criminal lifestyle that could end them up there or at some other mainland maximum security facility.
"It's hardest on the families," the attorney general said, "especially the mothers and grandmothers" who cannot afford to travel to Wallens Ridge.
The V.I. prisoners currently serving time at Wallens Ridge are:
Dennis Blyden
Thomas Freeland
Beaumont Gereau
Matthew George
Delroy Josiah
Ruben Maduro
Bradley Maxwell
Eric Miller
Gent Mosby
Roy Parrott
Julio Perez
Ruben Rivera-Morena
Alrick Roberts
Roberto Smalls
Meral Smith
MARKETING PLAN A MUST FOR ST. CROIX, GROUP SAYS
Aug. 14, 2001 — A private-sector business group tired of seeing St. Croix – and Frederiksted in particular – lose more business is planning to form its own marketing team.
The move by the Frederiksted Economic Development Association was announced this week in response to recent news that St. Croix will have about 50 fewer cruise ship calls during the upcoming winter season compared to last season. Cruise arrivals will drop from 154 to 103 in 2000-01. This is mainly because the Holland America line has discontinued the island as part of its itinerary and because the Nordic Empress will call every other week rather than weekly, according to the West Indian Company Ltd.
But according to cruise line industry officials, the cutback in St. Croix cruise ship calls occurred mainly because there has been no marketing of the Big Island by the V.I. government.
Michele Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, said in a previous Source story that member cruise lines "need to get information, they need to be encouraged by what St. Croix is doing and what St. Croix is willing to do. St. Croix needs to have a marketing marquee for themselves and not just be in the shadow of St. Thomas."
And that has spurred Frederiksted business owners to act, said Hugh Dalton, FEDA vice president.
"FEDA and I can no longer sit by and watch St. Croix crumble because of no marketing direction and lack of business development," Dalton said. "No one else seems to want to step forward . . . to fill that void for Frederiksted and St. Croix."
Dalton said FEDA will attempt to combine existing marketing tools on St. Croix and input from interested organizations to develop a course of action. He said the lack of cruise ship calls must be offset by other projects, including the prospects within the V.I. Port Authority’s economic development plan.
"The planning has already been done," Dalton said, "it’s the action that is missing. Hopefully the government will offer their resources to our efforts."
The aim is to minimize the revenue deficits that exist between St. Croix and St. Thomas, Dalton said. He said increases in cruise ship calls to St. Thomas will generate about $700 million in economic development for St. Thomas between 2001 and 2006 while St. Croix could lose $200 million during the same period.
Unise Tranberg, FEDA president, said "I’ve always said no one in government is looking out for the St. Croix interests and now we have to do something."
FEDA will hold a meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Frederiksted at Pier 69.
The 2001-02 cruise season opens on St. Croix with the arrival of the Infinity on Oct. 14.
The move by the Frederiksted Economic Development Association was announced this week in response to recent news that St. Croix will have about 50 fewer cruise ship calls during the upcoming winter season compared to last season. Cruise arrivals will drop from 154 to 103 in 2000-01. This is mainly because the Holland America line has discontinued the island as part of its itinerary and because the Nordic Empress will call every other week rather than weekly, according to the West Indian Company Ltd.
But according to cruise line industry officials, the cutback in St. Croix cruise ship calls occurred mainly because there has been no marketing of the Big Island by the V.I. government.
Michele Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, said in a previous Source story that member cruise lines "need to get information, they need to be encouraged by what St. Croix is doing and what St. Croix is willing to do. St. Croix needs to have a marketing marquee for themselves and not just be in the shadow of St. Thomas."
And that has spurred Frederiksted business owners to act, said Hugh Dalton, FEDA vice president.
"FEDA and I can no longer sit by and watch St. Croix crumble because of no marketing direction and lack of business development," Dalton said. "No one else seems to want to step forward . . . to fill that void for Frederiksted and St. Croix."
Dalton said FEDA will attempt to combine existing marketing tools on St. Croix and input from interested organizations to develop a course of action. He said the lack of cruise ship calls must be offset by other projects, including the prospects within the V.I. Port Authority’s economic development plan.
"The planning has already been done," Dalton said, "it’s the action that is missing. Hopefully the government will offer their resources to our efforts."
The aim is to minimize the revenue deficits that exist between St. Croix and St. Thomas, Dalton said. He said increases in cruise ship calls to St. Thomas will generate about $700 million in economic development for St. Thomas between 2001 and 2006 while St. Croix could lose $200 million during the same period.
Unise Tranberg, FEDA president, said "I’ve always said no one in government is looking out for the St. Croix interests and now we have to do something."
FEDA will hold a meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Frederiksted at Pier 69.
The 2001-02 cruise season opens on St. Croix with the arrival of the Infinity on Oct. 14.
'A.I.': A SPIELBRICK TAKE ON MAN AND MACHINE
Aug. 14, 2001 – The ice cap has finally melted. New York, and other coastal metropolises have taken their last breath and sunk. Millions have died, and those who haven't use robots for everything. This is the future world of "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence."
It is an unlikely world created by unlikely collaborators — the late Stanley Kubrick and the vibrantly alive Steven Spielberg.
"In the 1980s Stanley took me into his creative confidence to tell me an absolutely beautiful story that was impossible to forget," Oscar winning writer/director Spielberg, a longtime Kubrick friend, relates. "It was the blend of science and humanity that made me anxious for Stanley to tell it … and that's what made me want to tell it for him after he was gone."
Kubrick died in 1999, shortly after completing the controversial, erotic "Eyes Wide Shut," which received mixed reviews.
"A.I." is about a robot who has a desire to love. A cybertonics scientist, Professor Hobby (William Hurt), is determined to create a robot different from the obedient but unfeeling versions running loose. Eventually, he comes up with David (Haley Joel Osment), a beguiling robot boy anxious for the love he is programmed to receive.
David is adopted by a couple of which the wife (Frances O'Connor) herself has a little problem with loving. She makes a stab at loving David, but it doesn't come naturally, and when her real son returns home cured from a disease with which he had been frozen awaiting a cure, she sets David loose in the wilderness.
There he finds a gigolo robot (Jude Law) who, according to one reviewer, is "for sure more beautiful than any human, a candid and charming machine." The humans hate these robots and round them up in a Flesh Fair, a freaky event where the machines meet their ends. One reviewer claims a Kubrickian joke here: The humans are neurotic, the machines refined and good-natured.
The story is supposedly based on "Pinocchio," but David is given none of the charm of Pinocchio. He is said to be one-dimensional – so much so that even Osment's performance can't quite carry it off. Pinocchio got into mischief. David doesn't even smash bugs or put cherry bombs in the toilet tank. He just loves his mother and wants her to love him. Osment got an Oscar nomination for his brilliant performance in "Sixth Sense," but the writers for his new role prove too much even for him, according to the critics.
Kathleen Kennedy, the movie's producer and longtime Spielberg associate, summed it up: "Steven wanted to embrace and pay homage to Stanley … the movie has Spielberg's sensibilities all over it, but the subtext is Kubrick." That makes is a must-see for the cineaste and a pretty strong "maybe" for most other filmgoers.
It is rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violent images, and runs for 2 hrs. and 25 mins. It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
It is an unlikely world created by unlikely collaborators — the late Stanley Kubrick and the vibrantly alive Steven Spielberg.
"In the 1980s Stanley took me into his creative confidence to tell me an absolutely beautiful story that was impossible to forget," Oscar winning writer/director Spielberg, a longtime Kubrick friend, relates. "It was the blend of science and humanity that made me anxious for Stanley to tell it … and that's what made me want to tell it for him after he was gone."
Kubrick died in 1999, shortly after completing the controversial, erotic "Eyes Wide Shut," which received mixed reviews.
"A.I." is about a robot who has a desire to love. A cybertonics scientist, Professor Hobby (William Hurt), is determined to create a robot different from the obedient but unfeeling versions running loose. Eventually, he comes up with David (Haley Joel Osment), a beguiling robot boy anxious for the love he is programmed to receive.
David is adopted by a couple of which the wife (Frances O'Connor) herself has a little problem with loving. She makes a stab at loving David, but it doesn't come naturally, and when her real son returns home cured from a disease with which he had been frozen awaiting a cure, she sets David loose in the wilderness.
There he finds a gigolo robot (Jude Law) who, according to one reviewer, is "for sure more beautiful than any human, a candid and charming machine." The humans hate these robots and round them up in a Flesh Fair, a freaky event where the machines meet their ends. One reviewer claims a Kubrickian joke here: The humans are neurotic, the machines refined and good-natured.
The story is supposedly based on "Pinocchio," but David is given none of the charm of Pinocchio. He is said to be one-dimensional – so much so that even Osment's performance can't quite carry it off. Pinocchio got into mischief. David doesn't even smash bugs or put cherry bombs in the toilet tank. He just loves his mother and wants her to love him. Osment got an Oscar nomination for his brilliant performance in "Sixth Sense," but the writers for his new role prove too much even for him, according to the critics.
Kathleen Kennedy, the movie's producer and longtime Spielberg associate, summed it up: "Steven wanted to embrace and pay homage to Stanley … the movie has Spielberg's sensibilities all over it, but the subtext is Kubrick." That makes is a must-see for the cineaste and a pretty strong "maybe" for most other filmgoers.
It is rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violent images, and runs for 2 hrs. and 25 mins. It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
PFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Public Finance Authority Board of Directors will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, at the Office of the Governor on St. Thomas.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHY PUMP PRICES ARE SO HIGH
To the Source:
This is in response to the earlier Open Forum letter "Big Two aren't about to slash prices here".
It may be unfair to criticize solutions to high gas prizes as I sit here in Williamsburg, Va., where gas is currently around $1.30 per gallon, but I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Grybowski's ideas for lowering prices. He and I absorbed completely different lessons from our economics classes, but that may be because I didn't pay as much attention. One of the first things I remember as we started to draw supply/demand curves was that artificial price ceilings and floors create either waste or shortages.
I'm not such a believer in graphs and the power of the invisible hand that I think the free market and my Economics 101 class are perfect indicators of real world events, but it is general economic principle that price controls lead to artificial shortages. The idea is that if the government requires sellers to sell at a specific price, the sellers have no motivation to meet the market demand. The unintended consequence of a price control may be lines at gas stations. Of course, economics models are only decent at predicting situations in a perfect world.
Perhaps the gas distributors really are taking advantage of the situation and artificially increasing their prices. All things being equal, this is a pretty compelling scenario, given that gas prices on St. Croix are often 50 cents or more cheaper than on St. Thomas. That alone suggests the need for some governmental intervention. However, whether that means that price controls are in order isn't so clear.
Most gas stations on the mainland are more efficient, with automated pay-at-the-pump features and much less need for attendants. I haven't been home in over a year, but I don't think that local gas stations have all these features. A hidden factor in gas prices is federal and local taxes. A station in Williamsburg proper sells gas for $1.37 a gallon, while just across the county line, the same gas is $1.30 a gallon; and in rural Virginia or on military bases, that same gas is $1.22 a gallon.
How much is the tax on gasoline in the Virgin Islands? Even if we decide that high gas prices are caused by gas distributors, do we really want the government stepping in to set the prices? Who will decide what a fair price is? I shudder to think of our fuel system becoming anything like the Water and Power Authority. Gas prices might become the latest pawn in our electoral battles, with candidates offering progressively lower prices until no one is willing to supply gas to St. Thomas any more.
Lest I be labeled a critic with no ideas of my own, I will offer several solutions.
– First, someone (government agency, private group) needs to find out why gas prices are different between St. Thomas/St. John and St. Croix (unless this is obvious to everyone but me). I know that some difference is reasonable because the refinery is right there on St. Croix, but I don't think the huge difference in price can be explained solely through transportation costs. If it is just a matter of opening Hess stations on St. Thomas and St. John, then let's find someone with the money to do that.
– Second, our gasoline research group should find out why gas prices are so high — whether it's taxes, excess profits, supply issues, or high overhead. It's easy to demonize big business and energy companies; but while they sometimes gouge consumers, it is unfair to assume they always do. Governmental regulations and taxes have a way of driving costs up, and the increases get passed directly to consumers. Even if gas stations are inflating the prices, it may be simply a seasonal measure to allow for lower prices later in the year.
– Third, even if it is outright extortion, to expect the Virgin Islands government to fix anything is marvelously hopeful. I think we would all be better served if the government were left out of things, at least until it has dealt with more important problems. I was born on St. Thomas and spent my entire life there (until college/law school) and I will return when school is done, and I know just how important a car is. Our public transportation is woefully inadequate, and it's too hilly to bike anywhere, so a boycott of gas stations wouldn't really work. But any way that people could collectively reduce their consumption, whether it is car pooling or driving more fuel-efficient cars, would be a step in the right direction.
I realize that these ideas may seem woefully inadequate to those paying $2 a gallon. I was frustrated at paying $1.85 a gallon when I was home last summer, and I wish somebody would do something. However, relying on the government for a solution is overly optimistic at best and extremely dangerous at worst.
Travis Wheatley
Williamsburg, Va., and St. Thomas
This is in response to the earlier Open Forum letter "Big Two aren't about to slash prices here".
It may be unfair to criticize solutions to high gas prizes as I sit here in Williamsburg, Va., where gas is currently around $1.30 per gallon, but I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Grybowski's ideas for lowering prices. He and I absorbed completely different lessons from our economics classes, but that may be because I didn't pay as much attention. One of the first things I remember as we started to draw supply/demand curves was that artificial price ceilings and floors create either waste or shortages.
I'm not such a believer in graphs and the power of the invisible hand that I think the free market and my Economics 101 class are perfect indicators of real world events, but it is general economic principle that price controls lead to artificial shortages. The idea is that if the government requires sellers to sell at a specific price, the sellers have no motivation to meet the market demand. The unintended consequence of a price control may be lines at gas stations. Of course, economics models are only decent at predicting situations in a perfect world.
Perhaps the gas distributors really are taking advantage of the situation and artificially increasing their prices. All things being equal, this is a pretty compelling scenario, given that gas prices on St. Croix are often 50 cents or more cheaper than on St. Thomas. That alone suggests the need for some governmental intervention. However, whether that means that price controls are in order isn't so clear.
Most gas stations on the mainland are more efficient, with automated pay-at-the-pump features and much less need for attendants. I haven't been home in over a year, but I don't think that local gas stations have all these features. A hidden factor in gas prices is federal and local taxes. A station in Williamsburg proper sells gas for $1.37 a gallon, while just across the county line, the same gas is $1.30 a gallon; and in rural Virginia or on military bases, that same gas is $1.22 a gallon.
How much is the tax on gasoline in the Virgin Islands? Even if we decide that high gas prices are caused by gas distributors, do we really want the government stepping in to set the prices? Who will decide what a fair price is? I shudder to think of our fuel system becoming anything like the Water and Power Authority. Gas prices might become the latest pawn in our electoral battles, with candidates offering progressively lower prices until no one is willing to supply gas to St. Thomas any more.
Lest I be labeled a critic with no ideas of my own, I will offer several solutions.
– First, someone (government agency, private group) needs to find out why gas prices are different between St. Thomas/St. John and St. Croix (unless this is obvious to everyone but me). I know that some difference is reasonable because the refinery is right there on St. Croix, but I don't think the huge difference in price can be explained solely through transportation costs. If it is just a matter of opening Hess stations on St. Thomas and St. John, then let's find someone with the money to do that.
– Second, our gasoline research group should find out why gas prices are so high — whether it's taxes, excess profits, supply issues, or high overhead. It's easy to demonize big business and energy companies; but while they sometimes gouge consumers, it is unfair to assume they always do. Governmental regulations and taxes have a way of driving costs up, and the increases get passed directly to consumers. Even if gas stations are inflating the prices, it may be simply a seasonal measure to allow for lower prices later in the year.
– Third, even if it is outright extortion, to expect the Virgin Islands government to fix anything is marvelously hopeful. I think we would all be better served if the government were left out of things, at least until it has dealt with more important problems. I was born on St. Thomas and spent my entire life there (until college/law school) and I will return when school is done, and I know just how important a car is. Our public transportation is woefully inadequate, and it's too hilly to bike anywhere, so a boycott of gas stations wouldn't really work. But any way that people could collectively reduce their consumption, whether it is car pooling or driving more fuel-efficient cars, would be a step in the right direction.
I realize that these ideas may seem woefully inadequate to those paying $2 a gallon. I was frustrated at paying $1.85 a gallon when I was home last summer, and I wish somebody would do something. However, relying on the government for a solution is overly optimistic at best and extremely dangerous at worst.
Travis Wheatley
Williamsburg, Va., and St. Thomas
STRIDRION: 'SUPER MAX' SECURITY IS 'HELLACIOUS'
Aug. 14, 2001 – Calling it "hellacious," Attorney General Iver Stridiron on Tuesday described life at a Virginia prison where he and three other government officials were last Friday meeting with authorities and V.I. inmates.
Wallens Ridge State Prison is considered a Level 6 or "super max," for highest maximum-security, facility. It was opened in April 1999.
A Level 6 prison as defined by the Virginia Department of Corrections is for individuals serving single life, multiple life and life-plus sentences; and those who are disruptive or assaultive, are escape risks, or display severe behavior problems or predatory-type behavior.
Rehabilitation is not at the top of the priority list at Wallens Ridge, Stridiron said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference on St. Thomas. Security is.
Currently 15 Virgin Islands prisoners reside at the prison in Big Stone Gap, Va. A dozen of them previously were incarcerated in other mainland institutions.
When 90 prisoners were returned to the territory from mainland prisons last year, the Corrections Bureau director, Horace Magras, asked that those 12 be kept on the mainland. Looking at a staff of rookie corrections officers ill-equipped to handle more dangerous and disruptive prisoners, Stridiron agreed to Magras's request.
At Wallens Ridge, a typical day for the V.I. prisoners — who are together in a "segregation unit," as are prisoners from New Mexico, Connecticut and Virginia — is 23 hours in a cell and one hour of "recreation." That hour might consist of one of the three showers they are allowed each week, or time in a 6 by 9 foot outdoor cage that strongly resembles the dog cages at the Humane Society of St. Thomas.
The prisoners can get "sun" while in the cage, Stridiron said.
Before leaving their cells, prisoners are shackled hands and feet to ensure the safety of security personnel and other prisoners. Stridiron said two corrections officers walk each inmate to the shower or the outdoor cage.
Magras, who accompanied Stridrion to Wallens Ridge, said the facility was well managed and well controlled and meets the accreditation requirements of the American Correctional Association. He said the differences between St. Croix's Golden Grove Correctional Facility and Wallens Ridge are "startling."
At Golden Grove, Bradley "Hurtie" Maxwell could walk the grounds. Those days are over for Maxwell, confined at Wallens Ridge at least for now. Maxwell, a convicted murdered, escaped from prison twice in the Virgin Islands.
The V.I. prisoners could "earn their way back to the Virgin Islands," Stridiron said, but doing so would be a "Herculean task" that would depend entirely upon their behavior. The inmates also can earn their way to lower-level prisons if they behave themselves, he said.
Stridrion said he hoped that describing the severe conditions of Wallens Ridge at a press conference might have the effect of deterring some young people from pursuing a criminal lifestyle that could end them up there or at some other mainland maximum security facility.
"It's hardest on the families," the attorney general said, "especially the mothers and grandmothers" who cannot afford to travel to Wallens Ridge.
The V.I. prisoners currently serving time at Wallens Ridge are:
Dennis Blyden
Thomas Freeland
Beaumont Gereau
Matthew George
Delroy Josiah
Ruben Maduro
Bradley Maxwell
Eric Miller
Gent Mosby
Roy Parrott
Julio Perez
Ruben Rivera-Morena
Alrick Roberts
Roberto Smalls
Meral Smith
Wallens Ridge State Prison is considered a Level 6 or "super max," for highest maximum-security, facility. It was opened in April 1999.
A Level 6 prison as defined by the Virginia Department of Corrections is for individuals serving single life, multiple life and life-plus sentences; and those who are disruptive or assaultive, are escape risks, or display severe behavior problems or predatory-type behavior.
Rehabilitation is not at the top of the priority list at Wallens Ridge, Stridiron said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference on St. Thomas. Security is.
Currently 15 Virgin Islands prisoners reside at the prison in Big Stone Gap, Va. A dozen of them previously were incarcerated in other mainland institutions.
When 90 prisoners were returned to the territory from mainland prisons last year, the Corrections Bureau director, Horace Magras, asked that those 12 be kept on the mainland. Looking at a staff of rookie corrections officers ill-equipped to handle more dangerous and disruptive prisoners, Stridiron agreed to Magras's request.
At Wallens Ridge, a typical day for the V.I. prisoners — who are together in a "segregation unit," as are prisoners from New Mexico, Connecticut and Virginia — is 23 hours in a cell and one hour of "recreation." That hour might consist of one of the three showers they are allowed each week, or time in a 6 by 9 foot outdoor cage that strongly resembles the dog cages at the Humane Society of St. Thomas.
The prisoners can get "sun" while in the cage, Stridiron said.
Before leaving their cells, prisoners are shackled hands and feet to ensure the safety of security personnel and other prisoners. Stridiron said two corrections officers walk each inmate to the shower or the outdoor cage.
Magras, who accompanied Stridrion to Wallens Ridge, said the facility was well managed and well controlled and meets the accreditation requirements of the American Correctional Association. He said the differences between St. Croix's Golden Grove Correctional Facility and Wallens Ridge are "startling."
At Golden Grove, Bradley "Hurtie" Maxwell could walk the grounds. Those days are over for Maxwell, confined at Wallens Ridge at least for now. Maxwell, a convicted murdered, escaped from prison twice in the Virgin Islands.
The V.I. prisoners could "earn their way back to the Virgin Islands," Stridiron said, but doing so would be a "Herculean task" that would depend entirely upon their behavior. The inmates also can earn their way to lower-level prisons if they behave themselves, he said.
Stridrion said he hoped that describing the severe conditions of Wallens Ridge at a press conference might have the effect of deterring some young people from pursuing a criminal lifestyle that could end them up there or at some other mainland maximum security facility.
"It's hardest on the families," the attorney general said, "especially the mothers and grandmothers" who cannot afford to travel to Wallens Ridge.
The V.I. prisoners currently serving time at Wallens Ridge are:
Dennis Blyden
Thomas Freeland
Beaumont Gereau
Matthew George
Delroy Josiah
Ruben Maduro
Bradley Maxwell
Eric Miller
Gent Mosby
Roy Parrott
Julio Perez
Ruben Rivera-Morena
Alrick Roberts
Roberto Smalls
Meral Smith
