July 26, 2001 – The League of Women Voters will host a general membership meeting from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at the University of the Virgin Islands Chase Auditorium. A live tele-conference link to the St. Croix campus will be established for St. Croix members for participation in the discussion. Other interested groups are encouraged to attend.
On the agenda for discussion is the executive branch proposed FY 2002 budget. Other topics will include the fiscal and economic conditions of the Virgin Islands government.
Invited panelists include, Ira Mills, director for the Office of Management and Budget, Louis Willis, director for the Virgin Islands Internal Revenue Bureau, Bernice Turnbull , commissioner of the Finance Department and Nathan Simmonds head of the Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation.
New members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information contact. Norma Levin at 774-6147 or Jason Budsan at 777-7190 or e-mail
ch@islands.vi.
MARIN WILL BE MISSED
Dear Source,
We are deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Mark Marin. When we arrived on the island in 1989, Mark and Jackie were the some of the first people to extend a personal and warm welcome. That first impression never faded. Above all Mark was committed to the well being and success of the school and the Virgin Islands. We will all miss him.
Steve and Cara Mierl
Austin, Texas
We are deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Mark Marin. When we arrived on the island in 1989, Mark and Jackie were the some of the first people to extend a personal and warm welcome. That first impression never faded. Above all Mark was committed to the well being and success of the school and the Virgin Islands. We will all miss him.
Steve and Cara Mierl
Austin, Texas
LWV TO ADDRESS FY 2001 BUDGET
The League of Women Voters will host a general membership meeting from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at the University of the Virgin Islands Chase Auditorium. A live tele-conference link to the St. Croix campus will be established for St. Croix members for participation in the discussion. Other interested groups are encouraged to attend.
On the agenda for discussion is the executive branch proposed FY 2002 budget. Other topics will include the fiscal and economic conditions of the Virgin Islands government.
Invited panelists include, Ira Mills, director for the Office of Management and Budget, Louis Willis, director for the Virgin Islands Internal Revenue Bureau, Bernice Turnbull , commissioner of the Finance Department and Nathan Simmonds head of the Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation.
New members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information contact. Norma Levin at 774-6147 or Jason Budsan at 777-7190 or e-mail
ch@islands.vi.
On the agenda for discussion is the executive branch proposed FY 2002 budget. Other topics will include the fiscal and economic conditions of the Virgin Islands government.
Invited panelists include, Ira Mills, director for the Office of Management and Budget, Louis Willis, director for the Virgin Islands Internal Revenue Bureau, Bernice Turnbull , commissioner of the Finance Department and Nathan Simmonds head of the Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation.
New members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information contact. Norma Levin at 774-6147 or Jason Budsan at 777-7190 or e-mail
ch@islands.vi.
LWV TO ADDRESS FY 2001 BUDGET
July 26, 2001 — The League of Women Voters will host a general membership meeting from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at the University of the Virgin Islands Chase Auditorium. A live tele-conference link to the St. Croix campus will be established for St. Croix members for participation in the discussion. Other interested groups are encouraged to attend.
On the agenda for discussion is the executive branch proposed FY 2002 budget. Other topics will include the fiscal and economic conditions of the Virgin Islands government.
Invited panelists include, Ira Mills, director for the Office of Management and Budget, Louis Willis, director for the Virgin Islands Internal Revenue Bureau, Bernice Turnbull , commissioner of the Finance Department and Nathan Simmonds head of the Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation.
New members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information contact. Norma Levin at 774-6147 or Jason Budsan at 777-7190 or e-mail ch@islands.vi.
On the agenda for discussion is the executive branch proposed FY 2002 budget. Other topics will include the fiscal and economic conditions of the Virgin Islands government.
Invited panelists include, Ira Mills, director for the Office of Management and Budget, Louis Willis, director for the Virgin Islands Internal Revenue Bureau, Bernice Turnbull , commissioner of the Finance Department and Nathan Simmonds head of the Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation.
New members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information contact. Norma Levin at 774-6147 or Jason Budsan at 777-7190 or e-mail ch@islands.vi.
KEAN SAYS HE WON'T GIVE UP ON TECHNOLOGY PARK
July 25, 2001 – University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean said Wednesday that despite the fact that he will be retiring next year, he is intent on ensuring that the university's proposed Research Technology Park, designed to spur economic activity in the territory, becomes a reality.
"Even though I indicated that I will be retiring in about a year, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on this," Kean told a luncheon meeting of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.
"I've made a promise to the people of the Virgin Islands," he said. "I'm not running for office … but this is going to happen, and it's going to happen like I said."
Kean said the park will draw off-island investors in technology-related businesses to St. Croix because of the high-speed broadband Internet connections available through Global Crossing and AT&T.
While acknowledging that this is a major undertaking for UVI, Kean said it would create a strong partnership among the university, industry and government to create information-age opportunities for local employment, broaden the teaching and research capabilities of the university, and facilitate joint ventures with corporate partners in the development and marketing of new technologies and applications.
Kean recently introduced the plan to the Senate Finance Committee. He said Wednesday that he was unsure whether it would be acted on by the end of August.
"Our prospective anchor tenants wanted the bill to be in place by the end of June," he said. "Then, after the bill is passed, a park authority and a board will have to be put in place, which will take some time."
He said the university is trying to find ways in which this can be done quickly, because "there are folks who want to dedicate and break ground before the end of this year."
Kean said the university is looking to put the park on public land that he is hoping the government will make available. But, he said, "We would like to make the park as self-sufficient as possible and not to be a drain on the V.I. government." He was quick to add, "We don't know whether or not that can be done. We are exploring all kinds of possibilities."
One thing agreed upon, he said, is that the tenants will build their own structures, and so UVI is ooking for "strong companies that can build their own facilities."
Kean said similar projects have been very successful in other parts of the world.
Chamber members expressed concern about whether Kean's successor will see the park through. He offered this reassurance: "I'm the tip of the iceberg, and if you knock the tip off the iceberg, it will still be there."
He added, "These things that have happened to the university under my tenure have been the result of a whole lot of other people … If the Titanic had just hit the tip, it would still be around."
"Even though I indicated that I will be retiring in about a year, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on this," Kean told a luncheon meeting of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.
"I've made a promise to the people of the Virgin Islands," he said. "I'm not running for office … but this is going to happen, and it's going to happen like I said."
Kean said the park will draw off-island investors in technology-related businesses to St. Croix because of the high-speed broadband Internet connections available through Global Crossing and AT&T.
While acknowledging that this is a major undertaking for UVI, Kean said it would create a strong partnership among the university, industry and government to create information-age opportunities for local employment, broaden the teaching and research capabilities of the university, and facilitate joint ventures with corporate partners in the development and marketing of new technologies and applications.
Kean recently introduced the plan to the Senate Finance Committee. He said Wednesday that he was unsure whether it would be acted on by the end of August.
"Our prospective anchor tenants wanted the bill to be in place by the end of June," he said. "Then, after the bill is passed, a park authority and a board will have to be put in place, which will take some time."
He said the university is trying to find ways in which this can be done quickly, because "there are folks who want to dedicate and break ground before the end of this year."
Kean said the university is looking to put the park on public land that he is hoping the government will make available. But, he said, "We would like to make the park as self-sufficient as possible and not to be a drain on the V.I. government." He was quick to add, "We don't know whether or not that can be done. We are exploring all kinds of possibilities."
One thing agreed upon, he said, is that the tenants will build their own structures, and so UVI is ooking for "strong companies that can build their own facilities."
Kean said similar projects have been very successful in other parts of the world.
Chamber members expressed concern about whether Kean's successor will see the park through. He offered this reassurance: "I'm the tip of the iceberg, and if you knock the tip off the iceberg, it will still be there."
He added, "These things that have happened to the university under my tenure have been the result of a whole lot of other people … If the Titanic had just hit the tip, it would still be around."
ANTILLES HEADMASTER MARK MARIN IS DEAD
July 25, 2001 – Mark Marin, headmaster for the last 22 years at Antilles School, died Wednesday afternoon at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami after losing consciousness at his St. Thomas home Tuesday night.
According to family friends, Marin's son found him unconscious in the bedroom of his Caret Bay home. He reportedly had fallen earlier in the day and hit his head, and had then gone to rest.
He was taken to Roy L. Schneider Hospital and from there was transported by air ambulance Wednesday morning to Miami, where he died around 4 p.m. without having regained consciousness.
Elliott "Mac" Davis, president of the Antilles board of trustees, said it was his understanding that Marin was at home Tuesday night with his teen-age son, Luke, and was getting ready to prepare dinner for the two of them when he left the kitchen. His son later found him unconscious and summoned help. At Schneider Hospital, "they did a cat scan and found internal bleeding on both sides of the head," Davis said, suggesting a stroke or other brain trauma.
Marin's wife, Jackie, accompanied him to Florida.
Word of his death spread quickly through St. Thomas late Wednesday afternoon. At an emergency meeting of the Antilles board in the evening, trustees were in shock.
"Mark was at the absolute zenith of his career," Davis said, noting that they had been close friends for 17 years. "He had brought the school to heights that neither he nor I ever envisioned. He was proud beyond description of the work he had done and the achievements he had accomplished in educating young minds and producing the future leaders for our community."
The two Antilles administrators who worked most closely with Marin over the years were both off island. Polly Watts, head of the Lower School for the last 21 years, is vacationing in Europe. Kaye Knoepfel, who retired as Middle and Upper School head in the spring after 20 years working with Marin, was expected to arrive back on St. Thomas on Thursday.
Marin, a native of Michigan, was appointed headmaster in 1979 after having held administrative positions with Sts. Peter and Paul High School on St. Thomas and Aquinas College in Michigan. He received his bachelor's degree from Aquinas in 1971 and his master's from Columbia University two years later.
Under his direction, Antilles School grew in enrollment, academic achievement, physical plant, community outreach and endowment.
This past school year, Antilles won both the Science Bowl and the Quiz Bowl — reclaiming the Quiz Bowl title from archrival All Saints Cathedral School for the first time in eight years.
In 1999, the school embarked on an ambitious $6 million "Imagine the Possibilities" capital campaign to raise funds for new buildings and to create a $2 million endowment for financial aid and faculty enrichment in order to keep up with growing enrollment. The Henry L. Kimelman Library, including a computer center, was dedicated in February. In June, formal groundbreaking was held for the Knight Center, which will house a gymnasium, classrooms and other sports facilities. On the drawing board is a new auditorium, theater and fine arts complex.
Despite the private, non-parochial school's former reputation as an elitist "continental" institution, its enrollment demographics have changed in recent years to reflect greater racial, ethnic and economic diversity. Today, the student body is made up equally of white and non-white students, and the school awarded more than $700,000 in financial aid for the 2000-2001 school year. "It meant a lot to Mark to have that happen," Antilles development director Joan Amerling said Wednesday night.
The school, located on a 30-acre campus in Frenchman's Bay, has an enrollment of about 500 students, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and more than half of the students receive some financial assistance.
For the past 15 years, Marin was president of the Caribbean Association of Independent Schools. He was a member of the Caribbean Advisory Committee of the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and played a leadership role in the National Association of Independent Schools.
In January 2000 he was appointed a commissioner on elementary schools of the Middle States Association – one of only 21 commissioners nationwide.
He was an avid spearfishing diver and sportfishing enthusiast. Active in the local community, he was a founding member of the St. Thomas-St. John Interscholastic Athletic Association, a director and former president of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, and a former president of Rotary of St. Thomas.
He is survived by his wife, Jackie; and three children by a previous marriage: his son, Luke, who attends high school in Michigan but has been on St. Thomas for the summer, and two daughters, Amy, who just graduated from the University of Michigan, and another daughter Andrea, a student at Michigan State.
Funeral arrangements will be announced. Davis said that it was Marin's desire to be an organ donor and to be buried at sea off St. Thomas, and that his family was making arrangements for both wishes to be honored.
According to family friends, Marin's son found him unconscious in the bedroom of his Caret Bay home. He reportedly had fallen earlier in the day and hit his head, and had then gone to rest.
He was taken to Roy L. Schneider Hospital and from there was transported by air ambulance Wednesday morning to Miami, where he died around 4 p.m. without having regained consciousness.
Elliott "Mac" Davis, president of the Antilles board of trustees, said it was his understanding that Marin was at home Tuesday night with his teen-age son, Luke, and was getting ready to prepare dinner for the two of them when he left the kitchen. His son later found him unconscious and summoned help. At Schneider Hospital, "they did a cat scan and found internal bleeding on both sides of the head," Davis said, suggesting a stroke or other brain trauma.
Marin's wife, Jackie, accompanied him to Florida.
Word of his death spread quickly through St. Thomas late Wednesday afternoon. At an emergency meeting of the Antilles board in the evening, trustees were in shock.
"Mark was at the absolute zenith of his career," Davis said, noting that they had been close friends for 17 years. "He had brought the school to heights that neither he nor I ever envisioned. He was proud beyond description of the work he had done and the achievements he had accomplished in educating young minds and producing the future leaders for our community."
The two Antilles administrators who worked most closely with Marin over the years were both off island. Polly Watts, head of the Lower School for the last 21 years, is vacationing in Europe. Kaye Knoepfel, who retired as Middle and Upper School head in the spring after 20 years working with Marin, was expected to arrive back on St. Thomas on Thursday.
Marin, a native of Michigan, was appointed headmaster in 1979 after having held administrative positions with Sts. Peter and Paul High School on St. Thomas and Aquinas College in Michigan. He received his bachelor's degree from Aquinas in 1971 and his master's from Columbia University two years later.
Under his direction, Antilles School grew in enrollment, academic achievement, physical plant, community outreach and endowment.
This past school year, Antilles won both the Science Bowl and the Quiz Bowl — reclaiming the Quiz Bowl title from archrival All Saints Cathedral School for the first time in eight years.
In 1999, the school embarked on an ambitious $6 million "Imagine the Possibilities" capital campaign to raise funds for new buildings and to create a $2 million endowment for financial aid and faculty enrichment in order to keep up with growing enrollment. The Henry L. Kimelman Library, including a computer center, was dedicated in February. In June, formal groundbreaking was held for the Knight Center, which will house a gymnasium, classrooms and other sports facilities. On the drawing board is a new auditorium, theater and fine arts complex.
Despite the private, non-parochial school's former reputation as an elitist "continental" institution, its enrollment demographics have changed in recent years to reflect greater racial, ethnic and economic diversity. Today, the student body is made up equally of white and non-white students, and the school awarded more than $700,000 in financial aid for the 2000-2001 school year. "It meant a lot to Mark to have that happen," Antilles development director Joan Amerling said Wednesday night.
The school, located on a 30-acre campus in Frenchman's Bay, has an enrollment of about 500 students, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and more than half of the students receive some financial assistance.
For the past 15 years, Marin was president of the Caribbean Association of Independent Schools. He was a member of the Caribbean Advisory Committee of the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and played a leadership role in the National Association of Independent Schools.
In January 2000 he was appointed a commissioner on elementary schools of the Middle States Association – one of only 21 commissioners nationwide.
He was an avid spearfishing diver and sportfishing enthusiast. Active in the local community, he was a founding member of the St. Thomas-St. John Interscholastic Athletic Association, a director and former president of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, and a former president of Rotary of St. Thomas.
He is survived by his wife, Jackie; and three children by a previous marriage: his son, Luke, who attends high school in Michigan but has been on St. Thomas for the summer, and two daughters, Amy, who just graduated from the University of Michigan, and another daughter Andrea, a student at Michigan State.
Funeral arrangements will be announced. Davis said that it was Marin's desire to be an organ donor and to be buried at sea off St. Thomas, and that his family was making arrangements for both wishes to be honored.
VIDEO LOTTERY BILL MAKES A COMEBACK
July 25, 2001 – A video lottery bill vetoed by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull in May in the face of public outcry and vehement opposition by casino owners is once again on the governor's desk.
The bill, which allows video lottery terminals in the territory, slipped through the Senate near midnight last Thursday, buried amid the 114 sections of a voluminous amendment to the governor's 22-page supplemental appropriations bill.
In May, casino executives on St. Croix flatly said they would halt construction on an expansion of the Divi Carina Bay Casino if the legislation became law.
Sen. Emmett Hansen II, who had sponsored the measure, then did an about-face and asked Turnbull to veto it, reportedly after he was briefed on what approval of the legislation could mean. Now, Hansen is again signed on as a sponsor of the current bill.
According to Sen. Vargrave Richards, the legislation would have "negative social and economic consequences." In a release Wednesday, Richards said that in other jurisdictions video lotteries have led to a downward spiraling of quality of life due to drug infiltration, an increase in crime and lack of cash flow. He said researchers call video lottery the "crack cocaine of gambling."
Richards expressed concern about the "surreptitious" passage of the massive amendment — which he had no chance to address at the time because he was excused from that session. He said he thinks some of his colleagues also oppose the measure but "due to the nature of the 'closed rule' could not cast their vote in any other manner."
Richards wants to see Turnbull veto the video lottery measure again. "It is a bill that should be afforded public scrutiny," he said. "It is clearly a measure that has caused enormous controversy in scores of other jurisdictions, economically and socially."
Richards also said he feels the bill would hurt the potential for hotel and resort investment. "Many potential investors have voiced their lack of desire to further invest in the hotel industry," should the bill pass, he said.
The Casino Control Commission chair, Eileen Petersen, has adamantly opposed the bill. She said in May that because video gaming threatens the casino industry, prospective casino investors were ready to pull back if Turnbull didn't veto the legislation.
Gerald Karcher of Benton Construction, the firm that built the Divi Carina Bay Casino, said in May that the casino owners had stopped plans for an 11,000-square-foot expansion of the gaming area until Turnbull decided the fate of the video lottery bill. "We’ve been asked to shelve all further action until we see where this is going," Karcher told WSTX radio at the time, before Turnbull announced his veto.
The only supporter of Emmett Hansen's initial bill was Sen. David Jones. He scoffed at the idea of Divi halting its expansion, saying that a video lottery would hardly make a dent in the $47.6 million the casino has generated since it opened in March 2000. He noted that four states and
several Canadian provinces accommodate both casinos and a video lottery.
Video lottery terminals throughout the territory would generate about $24 million in annual revenues, with a portion going to the V.I. government, Jones said. "It’s been five years since the Casino Control Act was passed, and to date all we’ve seen is a remodeled hotel with 150 rooms," he said.
The legislation directs the executive director of the V.I. Lottery to "immediately take the neccessary steps and or action, to implement the provisions …"
Turnbull said in May that he vetoed the bill then because it ran counter to the Casino Control Act. "The public outcry that I have received from individuals, the business community and current and potential investors indicates further study is required," he said at the time.
Sen. Lorraine Berry was a vocal opponent of the bill from its outset. Berry, Jones, Hansen II, Petersen and Austin Andrews, lottery director, were unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
The bill, which allows video lottery terminals in the territory, slipped through the Senate near midnight last Thursday, buried amid the 114 sections of a voluminous amendment to the governor's 22-page supplemental appropriations bill.
In May, casino executives on St. Croix flatly said they would halt construction on an expansion of the Divi Carina Bay Casino if the legislation became law.
Sen. Emmett Hansen II, who had sponsored the measure, then did an about-face and asked Turnbull to veto it, reportedly after he was briefed on what approval of the legislation could mean. Now, Hansen is again signed on as a sponsor of the current bill.
According to Sen. Vargrave Richards, the legislation would have "negative social and economic consequences." In a release Wednesday, Richards said that in other jurisdictions video lotteries have led to a downward spiraling of quality of life due to drug infiltration, an increase in crime and lack of cash flow. He said researchers call video lottery the "crack cocaine of gambling."
Richards expressed concern about the "surreptitious" passage of the massive amendment — which he had no chance to address at the time because he was excused from that session. He said he thinks some of his colleagues also oppose the measure but "due to the nature of the 'closed rule' could not cast their vote in any other manner."
Richards wants to see Turnbull veto the video lottery measure again. "It is a bill that should be afforded public scrutiny," he said. "It is clearly a measure that has caused enormous controversy in scores of other jurisdictions, economically and socially."
Richards also said he feels the bill would hurt the potential for hotel and resort investment. "Many potential investors have voiced their lack of desire to further invest in the hotel industry," should the bill pass, he said.
The Casino Control Commission chair, Eileen Petersen, has adamantly opposed the bill. She said in May that because video gaming threatens the casino industry, prospective casino investors were ready to pull back if Turnbull didn't veto the legislation.
Gerald Karcher of Benton Construction, the firm that built the Divi Carina Bay Casino, said in May that the casino owners had stopped plans for an 11,000-square-foot expansion of the gaming area until Turnbull decided the fate of the video lottery bill. "We’ve been asked to shelve all further action until we see where this is going," Karcher told WSTX radio at the time, before Turnbull announced his veto.
The only supporter of Emmett Hansen's initial bill was Sen. David Jones. He scoffed at the idea of Divi halting its expansion, saying that a video lottery would hardly make a dent in the $47.6 million the casino has generated since it opened in March 2000. He noted that four states and
several Canadian provinces accommodate both casinos and a video lottery.
Video lottery terminals throughout the territory would generate about $24 million in annual revenues, with a portion going to the V.I. government, Jones said. "It’s been five years since the Casino Control Act was passed, and to date all we’ve seen is a remodeled hotel with 150 rooms," he said.
The legislation directs the executive director of the V.I. Lottery to "immediately take the neccessary steps and or action, to implement the provisions …"
Turnbull said in May that he vetoed the bill then because it ran counter to the Casino Control Act. "The public outcry that I have received from individuals, the business community and current and potential investors indicates further study is required," he said at the time.
Sen. Lorraine Berry was a vocal opponent of the bill from its outset. Berry, Jones, Hansen II, Petersen and Austin Andrews, lottery director, were unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
MOORHEAD: NELSON'S CHARGES MAKE NO SENSE
July 25, 2001 – Hovensa Vice President Alex Moorhead said Wednesday that claims that Bechtel International Inc. was hiring off-island workers over local workers and offering higher wages and better benefits to imported workers didn't make any sense.
The Avis reported earlier this week that Terrence Nelson, president of Our Virgin Islands Labor Union, said workers had staged a work stoppage Monday to bring attention to discrepancies in treatment and benefits between local and off-island workers.
But Moorhead, in a release from his office, said offering higher wages and benefits to imported workers would make no sense. "This would increase Bechtel's cost of completing the coker project, an increase in cost which Hovensa will not absorb."
He also said, "Replacing qualified workers with imported workers would also violate Bechtel's contract with Hovensa."
Bechtel International is the primary contractor on the construction of a the $535 million coker project at the Hovensa refinery.
This is not the first job action staged as a result of unrest at the refinery. In June hundreds of workers walked off the job claiming that James International Construction, a Bechtel International subcontractor, had imported workers from Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland while Bechtel laid off more than 60 local workers.
Nelson also said, in published reports, that off-island workers didn't have to take and pass a test administered before they are hired, but Moorhead said the adult education test is given to all workers "irrespective of the point of hire."
The test is to ensure, he said, that everyone who is hired to work on the coker project is able to read and understand warning signs and basic safety instructions.
Frederick Joseph, the subdistrict director for the United Steelworkers Workers of America, the union which represents the Bechtel employees, has questioned why Nelson is involved at all with the Bechtel employees, since it is the Steelworkers Union, not OVILU that represents them. He accused Nelson of deliberately creating unrest among the workers. Joseph told the Avis "When they lose their jobs by striking he better be prepared to take responsibility for his actions."
Moorhead invited Nelson or "anyone else who has knowledge of any instance of a qualified local worker being replaced by an imported work, or of an off island worker being exempted from pre-employment testing" to call his office, adding, "Any complaint that Hovensa finds to be supported by facts will be taken up with Bechtel's management for prompt corrective action."
About 2,000 workers were on the job at the height of the coker project in February. That number is now about 1,500 and will gradually decrease until the project’s estimated completion in February 2002.
The Avis reported earlier this week that Terrence Nelson, president of Our Virgin Islands Labor Union, said workers had staged a work stoppage Monday to bring attention to discrepancies in treatment and benefits between local and off-island workers.
But Moorhead, in a release from his office, said offering higher wages and benefits to imported workers would make no sense. "This would increase Bechtel's cost of completing the coker project, an increase in cost which Hovensa will not absorb."
He also said, "Replacing qualified workers with imported workers would also violate Bechtel's contract with Hovensa."
Bechtel International is the primary contractor on the construction of a the $535 million coker project at the Hovensa refinery.
This is not the first job action staged as a result of unrest at the refinery. In June hundreds of workers walked off the job claiming that James International Construction, a Bechtel International subcontractor, had imported workers from Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland while Bechtel laid off more than 60 local workers.
Nelson also said, in published reports, that off-island workers didn't have to take and pass a test administered before they are hired, but Moorhead said the adult education test is given to all workers "irrespective of the point of hire."
The test is to ensure, he said, that everyone who is hired to work on the coker project is able to read and understand warning signs and basic safety instructions.
Frederick Joseph, the subdistrict director for the United Steelworkers Workers of America, the union which represents the Bechtel employees, has questioned why Nelson is involved at all with the Bechtel employees, since it is the Steelworkers Union, not OVILU that represents them. He accused Nelson of deliberately creating unrest among the workers. Joseph told the Avis "When they lose their jobs by striking he better be prepared to take responsibility for his actions."
Moorhead invited Nelson or "anyone else who has knowledge of any instance of a qualified local worker being replaced by an imported work, or of an off island worker being exempted from pre-employment testing" to call his office, adding, "Any complaint that Hovensa finds to be supported by facts will be taken up with Bechtel's management for prompt corrective action."
About 2,000 workers were on the job at the height of the coker project in February. That number is now about 1,500 and will gradually decrease until the project’s estimated completion in February 2002.
OPEN-MIKE MUSIC CATCHING ON AT COLOR OF JOY
July 24, 2001 – The music goes on at the Color of Joy art gallery and boutique this Friday evening, with jazz guitarist Tony Oliver and a pair of Marty's on tap.
Keyboardist/vocalist Sally Smith, a regular at the weekly sunset get-togethers on the Marlin Deck at American Yacht Harbor, is off island. Filling in this week will be pianist/singer Marty Beechler "and musically inclined friends," including Marty Iorio on acoustic guitar, Color of Joy owner Corinne Van Rensselaer said.
There'll be complimentary wine, cheese and crackers along with the music from 6 to 8 p.m., with the gallery and gift shop remaining open for the occasion.
Fridays are evolving into "open-mike" nights with a tendency toward '70s rock and blues along with jazz on the broad deck overlooking the Red Hook marina docks. Last week's gathering was "another wonderful, well-attended evening," Van Rensselaer said, with Beechler, Iorio and fellow acoustic guitarist/singer Jerry Clifford serving up the rock and blues, and pannist Morgan Rael sitting in with Smith and Oliver on the jazz side.
Other musicians and singers are invited to stop by and join in. For more information, call Van Rensselaer or Mercedes Berruz at the gallery, 775-4020.
Keyboardist/vocalist Sally Smith, a regular at the weekly sunset get-togethers on the Marlin Deck at American Yacht Harbor, is off island. Filling in this week will be pianist/singer Marty Beechler "and musically inclined friends," including Marty Iorio on acoustic guitar, Color of Joy owner Corinne Van Rensselaer said.
There'll be complimentary wine, cheese and crackers along with the music from 6 to 8 p.m., with the gallery and gift shop remaining open for the occasion.
Fridays are evolving into "open-mike" nights with a tendency toward '70s rock and blues along with jazz on the broad deck overlooking the Red Hook marina docks. Last week's gathering was "another wonderful, well-attended evening," Van Rensselaer said, with Beechler, Iorio and fellow acoustic guitarist/singer Jerry Clifford serving up the rock and blues, and pannist Morgan Rael sitting in with Smith and Oliver on the jazz side.
Other musicians and singers are invited to stop by and join in. For more information, call Van Rensselaer or Mercedes Berruz at the gallery, 775-4020.
WINE DOWN OFFERS TASTE OF ITALIAN WINES
July 25, 2001 – This month's Da Da Wine Down, from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Cafe Amici, will feature the artwork of Edie Paljavcsik Johnson and BJ Arnold, and vintages of the northeastern Italy wineries of Cavit and Bertani.
A Bellows International representative will conduct an ongoing wine tasting seminar as long as supplies last. There is a $10 fee for the tastings and seminar.
The Bertani winery was founded in 1857 by two brothers. It's in the Italian province of Veneto, not far from Verona. Cavit wines are from the alpine region of Trentino; the company was founded in 1951.
Johnson, a St. Thomas resident since 1973, enjoys working in several mediums, especially watercolor, monotype and acrylic. She has won awards at Point Pleasant, Arts Alive, Art Expo and Caribbean Colour exhibitions and is represented on St. Thomas at the Blue Turtle Gallery. She teaches at the School of Visual Arts and Careers at the Fort Christian Museum.
Arnold, a professional portrait and wedding photographer for more than 20 years, has always enjoyed taking nature photographs for her own enjoyment. Inspired by the scenery of the Caribbean, she has kept a "photo journal" since moving to the territory.
Wine Downs featue different local artists and their work and different wines each month. They are held the last Friday of each month at Cafe Amici in Riise's Alley in downtown Charlotte Amalie. Admission is free and there are complimentary hors d'oeuvres. In addition to the wine tasting, there is a cash bar. Door prizes of dining certificates, wine and art will be awarded toward the end of the evening.
A Bellows International representative will conduct an ongoing wine tasting seminar as long as supplies last. There is a $10 fee for the tastings and seminar.
The Bertani winery was founded in 1857 by two brothers. It's in the Italian province of Veneto, not far from Verona. Cavit wines are from the alpine region of Trentino; the company was founded in 1951.
Johnson, a St. Thomas resident since 1973, enjoys working in several mediums, especially watercolor, monotype and acrylic. She has won awards at Point Pleasant, Arts Alive, Art Expo and Caribbean Colour exhibitions and is represented on St. Thomas at the Blue Turtle Gallery. She teaches at the School of Visual Arts and Careers at the Fort Christian Museum.
Arnold, a professional portrait and wedding photographer for more than 20 years, has always enjoyed taking nature photographs for her own enjoyment. Inspired by the scenery of the Caribbean, she has kept a "photo journal" since moving to the territory.
Wine Downs featue different local artists and their work and different wines each month. They are held the last Friday of each month at Cafe Amici in Riise's Alley in downtown Charlotte Amalie. Admission is free and there are complimentary hors d'oeuvres. In addition to the wine tasting, there is a cash bar. Door prizes of dining certificates, wine and art will be awarded toward the end of the evening.
