July 10, 2001 – USVI Project Exile, a tough new program to combat gun crimes in the territory, was launched Tuesday morning by local and federal officials. It will send anyone convicted of a crime using a gun to an off-island prison.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron said, "This is a most important initiative in our war against crime in the Virgin Islands. Gun crime is one of the most daunting problems throughout our country, and some states have taken the lead in innovative programs to combat this scourge. We in the V.I. are also plagued with a high incidence of these crimes."
Because of that, Stridiron said, "We have brought together a number of agencies, both local and federal, to help us combat this matter. This is not so much an innovative program as an initiative to stem the tide of gun violence in the V.I."
Joining Stridiron was a bevy of local and federal law enforcement officials along with members of the Senate and the private sector.
U. S. Attorney David Atkinson reinforced Stridiron's remarks. "This is a joint venture of law enforcement officers to announce in a single voice the kickoff of V.I. Project Exile and the formation of the V.I. Firearms Trafficking Task Force."
Atkinson said the exile program is patterned after a highly successful program in Richmond, Va., that has reduced gun violence by 40 percent since 1997. He said it is "similar to the task force we are forming here today by signing a memorandum of understanding." Atkinson said Richmond's significant decrease in crime was due to a public education campaign getting across the message: "If you commit a crime using a gun, you'll do time, hard time."
Orlando Blanco, resident agent for the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, echoed Atkinson: "If you are caught doing a crime with a gun in the V.I., you're going to do hard time, and if you are caught with an illegal firearm you will do time and be exiled from your community. You will not be here to commit more crimes."
The task force will comprise seven agencies. It will include one full-time attorney each from the offices of the U.S. attorney and the V.I. attorney general who will be equal partners, sometimes cross-designated in duties. Rounding out the task force will be one full-time FBI agent, two Safe Street Task Force officers from the V.I. Police Department, two other VIPD officers, and two officers from the local ATF office. The U.S. Marshal's office will responsible for moving prisoners going to the mainland.
However, people who have unregistered weapons will be given a chance to give them up through an amnesty program announced by Bruce Hamlin, assistant Police commissioner, standing in for Commissioner Franz Christian. Hamlin said the weapons may be turned in to any police station, and a receipt will be issued. The territory-wide program commenced Tuesday and runs through July 31. A limited cash incentive is being offered on certain firearms.
Unlicenced firearms are considered illegal as are guns whose serial numbers have been obliterated, machine guns or automatic weapons.
Fitzroy Williams, chief of the V.I. Housing Police, issued a special plea to youths in all the housing projects. He said their guns could be turned in to the Housing Police office.
Stridiron stressed the seriousness of the program. "This is not a band-aid approach, something we are going to start and get lots of publicity and then we all go away. We intend to be tough as nails on persons who commit gun crimes." To illustrate his point, Stridiron said the first prisoner in the new program is being shipped out of the territory Wednesday.
Stridiron noted that the St. Thomas jail is viewed by some as a "vacation, with a waterfront view three squares a day, work-release programs and girlfriend visits." The exile program will bring true punishment in prisons in the states, he said.
The V.I. Justice Department will fund the program from funds realized from housing federal immigration detainees at the soon-to-be-completed extension to the prison annex in the Sub Base, Stridiron said. He said last year St. Croix received about $500,000 in federal funds from housing the prisoners, and he anticipates the St. Thomas annex housing facilities will bring in about $1 million annually.
In response to a reporter's inquiry about the National Rifle Association's opposition to gun amnesty programs, Stridiron said, "Speaking for Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and myself, we couldn't care less." Stridiron said the NRA's position on amnesty or exile programs is of no interest to the local government.
Sen. Carlton Dowe, who, along with Sens. Emmett Hansen II and Donald "Ducks" Cole has been working with the law enforcement agencies to develop the project, said he is proposing a $100,000 appropriation in the Senate this week to fund the Exile Program.
Hansen, with the support of 12 of his colleagues, has drafted legislation for tougher gun laws and penalties. It is on the agenda at a meeting of the Committee on Government Operations, Planning and Environmental Protection at 10 a.m. Thursday on St. Thomas.
Barry Broome, chairperson of the St. Thomas –St. John Chamber of Commerce crime committee, which has been pushing for two years for implementation of a program to reduce illegal handguns in the territory, said "the chamber's role will be to execute an effective advetising campaign to publicize the program and educate the community on the severe penalties" associated with possession of illegal weapons.
Chamber president John de Jongh Jr. said, "Though law officers have said this program isn't unique, it is special for us. It is the first time we have seen in a meaningful way that the government has included the private sector as an equal partner with the law enforcement agencies in this initiative. I compliment them."
De Jongh also praised Dowe for getting "all the players to sit together and commit to this important initiative."
For a full description of Virginia's Exile program, see www.virginiaexile.com.

July 10, 2001 — About the only thing insurance industry representatives and politicians agreed on during a Senate committee meeting Monday is that commercial and homeowners’ insurance in the territory is too expensive.
Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, who also serves as the commissioner of Banking and Insurance, spoke about the scope of the problem. Because of the lack of capacity and the ensuing high cost for coverage, many customers are only partially renewing policies or opting out of more expensive windstorm coverage. That leaves them vulnerable to hurricanes.
And even though the territory has withstood strong storms since the devestation caused by Hurricanes Hugo and Marylin in 1989 and 1995 respectively, rates remain high.
"With the mitigation efforts the Virgin Islands has done . . . there is no way we will receive the loses we’ve had in the past," James said. "And that is something insurance companies need to look at because it is very significant."
Still, the risk for insurance companies is great, causing many to avoid doing business in the territory. And the ones that do are not cheap.
Lloyd's of London’s representative in the territory, St. Thomas attorney Henry Feuerzeig, said that a number of factors need to come together before rates become afforadable. There needs to be a period of time without major claims, more insurance carriers and time for market forces to play out.
"There is a lack of capacity in the Virgin Islands at rates that are affordable," Feuerzeig said, adding that the territory is too dependent on Lloyd's of London syndicates, which manage between 55 percent and 60 percent of the insurance in the islands. "Only the free market will solve that."
Lloyd's and other companies are looking to increase rates, primarily to offset the escalating cost of reinsurance. According to David Ridgway, president of the Virgin Islands Insurance Association, the cost of reinsurance has increased "considerably." Reinsurance is essentially an insurance policy that companies buy to cover themselves.
Ridgway agreed with Feuerzeig that additional insurance companies need to enter the Virgin Islands market to drive down prices. But considering the numbers Lloyds has dealt with over the decade, attracting more companies could be difficult.
Feuerzeig said that since 1988, Lloyd's has taken in about $286.4 million but paid out $412 million.
"Simple math says that is a losing proposition," he said.
Meanwhile, James said that at the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors last week he was successful in winning the adoption of a resolution calling for Congress to establish a federal insurance program to protect individuals in disaster-prone states and territories.
The conference members also voted to promote the establishment of a federal reinsurance program to enhance and improve state insurance programs created in response to natural disasters.
Feuerzeig said a program similar to the national flood protection program could help the territory, but that it would need to be funded with "billions of dollars."
However, he said the territory "can’t get that in the immediate future."

July 10, 2001 — About the only thing insurance industry representatives and politicians agreed on during a Senate committee meeting Monday is that commerical and homeowners’ insurance in the territory is too expensive.
Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, who also serves as the commissioner of Banking and Insurance, spoke about the scope of the problem. Because of the lack of capacity and the ensuing high cost for coverage, many customers are only partially renewing policies or opting out of more expensive windstorm coverage. That leaves them vulnerable to hurricanes.
And even though the territory has withstood strong storms since the devestation caused by Hurricanes Hugo and Marylin in 1989 and 1995 respectively, rates remain high.
"With the mitigation efforts the Virgin Islands has done . . . there is no way we will receive the loses we’ve had in the past," James said. "And that is something insurance companies need to look at because it is very significant."
Still, the risk for insurance companies is great, causing many to avoid doing business in the territory. And the ones that do are not cheap.
Lloyd's of London’s representative in the territory, St. Thomas attorney Henry Feuerzeig, said that a number of factors need to come together before rates become afforadable. There needs to be a period of time without major claims, more insurance carriers and time for market forces to play out.
"There is a lack of capacity in the Virgin Islands at rates that are affordable," Feuerzeig said, adding that the territory is too dependent on Lloyd's of London syndicates, which manage between 55 percent and 60 percent of the insurance in the islands. "Only the free market will solve that."
Lloyd's and other companies are looking to increase rates, primarily to offset the escalating cost of reinsurance. According to David Ridgway, president of the Virgin Islands Insurance Association, the cost of reinsurance has increased "considerably." Reinsurance is essentially an insurance policy that companies buy to cover themselves.
Ridgway agreed with Feuerzeig that additional insurance companies need to enter the Virgin Islands market to drive down prices. But considering the numbers Lloyds has dealt with over the decade, attracting more companies could be difficult.
Feuerzeig said that since 1988, Lloyd's has taken in about $286.4 million but paid out $412 million.
"Simple math says that is a losing proposition," he said.
Meanwhile, James said that at the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors last week he was successful in winning the adoption of a resolution calling for Congress to establish a federal insurance program to protect individuals in disaster-prone states and territories.
The conference members also voted to promote the establishment of a federal reinsurance program to enhance and improve state insurance programs created in response to natural disasters.
Feuerzeig said a program similar to the national flood protection program could help the territory, but that it would need to be funded with "billions of dollars."
However, he said the territory "can’t get that in the immediate future."

Sen. Bryan says he wants to model the US Virgin Islands on Singapore, an island on the tip of the Malay Peninsula.
As a former vice president of the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands, I would like to emphasize one additional difference between the 4.5-million-person former British colony and the US Virgin Islands — a distinction that may have escaped Sen. Bryan, but which is of great importance to the League of Women Voters:
In spite of being nominally a democracy, Singapore is a repressive regime which is guilty of countless infringements on the civil rights of its citizens and repeated seizures of newspapers and magazines which displease the government, which has been controlled since independence in 1965 by the Lee family, including the current Deputy Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) — it was his father who outlawed chewing gum.
Here are some data on Singapore from the CIA
Area:
total: 647.5 square kilometers , or about 402 square miles
land: 637.5 square kilometers or 395 square miles
water: 10 square kilometers or 6.2 square miles
Economy – overview: Singapore is blessed with a highly developed and successful free-market economy, a remarkably open and corruption-free business environment [Note that this CIA assessment of a "corruption-free business environment" is at variance with the State Department which says government corruption, especially as it relates to the use of police to thwart civil rights is a significant problem.], stable prices, and the fifth highest per capita GDP in the world. Exports, particularly in electronics and chemicals, and services are the main drivers of the economy. The government promotes high levels of savings and investment through a mandatory savings scheme and spends heavily in education and technology. It also owns government-linked companies (GLCs) – particularly in manufacturing – that operate as commercial entities and account for 60 percent of gross domestic product. As Singapore looks to a future increasingly marked by globalization, the country is positioning itself as the region's financial and high-tech hub.
GDP: purchasing power parity – $98 billion (1999 est.)
GDP – real growth rate: 5.5% (1999 est.)
GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $27,800 (1999 est.)GDP – composition by sector:
agriculture: Negligible
industry: 28 percent
services: 72 percent
And from the Asian Human Rights Commission, this summary by a Singapore writer, of a meeting held in March of 2000 to discuss setting up an Singapore national human rights committee:
"Each of the speakers brought to the audience's attention that there was a lot of work to be done regarding human rights in Singapore. Basically, the idea of human rights not only needs to be concentrated upon by the government, but effort from the citizens is also needed. Singaporeans should not be afraid to discuss human rights. There was mention about the concept of 'self-censorship' in Singapore and how many Singaporeans consciously or unconsciously 'restrict' their own actions or the actions of others who dare to discuss the topic of human rights in Singapore."
Finally, the US State Department Human Rights Report for 2000 says about Singapore:
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were significant problems in some areas. The Government has wide powers to limit citizens' rights and to handicap political opposition. There were occasional instances of police abuse; however, the Government investigates and punishes those found guilty, and the media fully cover allegations of mistreatment. Caning, in addition to imprisonment, is a routine punishment for numerous offenses. The Government continues to rely on preventive detention to deal with espionage, organized crime, and narcotics. The authorities sometimes infringe on citizens' privacy rights.
The Government did not change the wide array of laws and government practices, or the informal methods of government influence, that continue to restrict freedom of speech and the press significantly and limit other civil and political rights. Government intimidation and pressure to conform result in the practice of self-censorship among journalists. Government leaders historically have utilized court proceedings, in particular defamation suits, against political opponents and critics. These suits, which consistently have been decided in favor of government plaintiffs, have chilled political speech and action, and created a perception that the ruling party uses the judicial system for political purposes. While no new defamation suits were filed during the year, some opposition leaders remain at risk of bankruptcy because of efforts by ruling party members to collect damages awarded in previous years. In June an opposition party leader lost a legal appeal to forestall payment of damages stemming from a 1998 defamation lawsuit filed against him by PAP members. There was a moderate level of ongoing debate in newspapers and Internet chat groups on various public issues, and the Government established a Speakers' Corner in a public park to facilitate the ability of persons to speak in public on a range of issues. However, government restrictions on such persons still inhibited their ability to speak freely. The Government significantly restricts freedom of assembly and association. Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unification Church are banned; however, freedom of religion otherwise generally is respected. There is some legal discrimination against women, which affects benefits for children and husbands in limited cases. The Government has moved actively to counter societal discrimination against women and minorities, but violence and some discrimination against women and reports of trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution persist. Foreign workers are vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse.
All-in-all, now that I study on it, maybe Singapore IS the model that Sen. Bryant seeks.
Bruce Potter

Editor's note:Bruce Potter is president of Island Resources Foundation, a not-for-profit research organization that has done extensive marine research in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. He served as acting director of the V.I. Energy Office at one time in the late 1970s.

July 10, 2001 — The V.I. Casino Control Commission announced Monday that it has received its fifth casino gambling application, about two weeks after the body partially approved the territory’s fourth hotel-casino venture.
Robin Bay LLC, which is doing business as Seven Hills Beach Resort and Casino, filed its application Monday, according to Casino Commission chairwoman Eileen Petersen. In a release, Petersen said the venture will include a Tier II hotel-casino with 300 rooms and a minimum of 100 time-share units. The resort will feature a 20,000-square-foot casino, an 18-hole golf course, restaurants and retail shops.
According to the V.I. Casino Control Act passed in 1995, a Tier II hotel-casino must consist of 300 to 1,400 rooms and a 10,000-square-foot casino. Application fees are $200,000 for the first two-year license and $175,000 for the one after that.
On June 28, after about three days of closed-door sessions, the Casino Commission gave Paul Golden of Golden Gaming LLC a year to prove the integrity of his financial backing for his proposed 400-room hotel-casino somewhere on the island’s east end. Golden also must prove that the resort is suitable for the island and that his team has the experience to operate such a facility. If Golden, who is from New Jersey, is successful in all regards, he will be granted a casino license.
It took the V.I. Division of Gaming Enforcement about eight months of background investigations before public hearings into Golden Gaming’s proposal began.
Golden Gaming's Tier II casino license application was the fourth filed with the commission since 1996. Only one has resulted in a casino-hotel being operated on St. Croix: The Divi Carina Bay Resort opened in March 2000.
A second application, by a Colorado-based company, was withdrawn after the commission balked at allowing the company to add the mandated number of rooms over time.
The third application was from St. Croix businessman and attorney Mario de Chabert. His project, an eight-story, 193-room casino-hotel on his family's property near Sunny Isle Shopping Center, is in limbo because de Chabert is suffering from health problems.
Petersen said the most recent application proves that St. Croix is a stable gaming jurisdiction.
"It takes time to build the basic foundation for the casino industry," Petersen said. "And the commissioners recognize that investors were hesitant to pursue opportunities here until they were fully convinced of our commitment to running a legitimate operation."

July 9, 2001 – Efforts to refloat the St. John-built ketch Breath are under way in the southern Bahamas, where the 42-foot sailboat ran aground in the darkness early in the morning of the Fourth of July.
Breath was built and captained by long-time St. John resident Peter Muilenburg. He attributed the mishap to an unusually strong current combined with squally winds and rough seas. He was on his way to Jacksonville, Fla., with a stop in the Dominican Republic.
In a telephone conversation after the accident, Muilenburg told his good friend, fellow sailor and St. John businessman Terry McKoy that he was sailing with his wife, Dorothy; his father, John; and two crewmen, Miska Fuchs and Steve Baranowski, when they ran aground on a reef in the southern Bahamian islands. No one was injured, he told McKoy, and all five were able to walk across the coral reef to safety.
Royal Bahamian Defense Force personnel rescued Muilenburg and his crew after sunrise and transported them the 40 miles to Matthew Town on the island of Great Inagua.
The purpose of Muilenburg's phone call was to ask his St. John neighbors to help him persuade the U.S. Coast Guard to help pull Breath off the reef before it was too late. McKoy says he immediately called on St. John sailor George Courlas and ham radio operator George Cline for assistance.
"We found out that the Coast Guard is restricted by international treaties from engaging in salvage operations," McKoy said. "We were concerned that if Peter didn't get a commercial salvage operator, he might lose the boat." Courlas and Cline did some hustling, found the Bahamian Salvage Company of Rum Cay and got the firm in touch with Muilenburg. After a hasty aerial inspection, it was agreed that the 20-ton gaff-rigged vessel could be successfully salvaged from its position, resting upright on its keel and hard-aground on a remote reef.
Meanwhile, McKoy went looking for and found a loan (from an anonymous lender) of the $14,000 needed to cover the expected costs of patching, refloating, towing and repairing the sailboat. He plans to repay the loan with contributions from the St. John community.
"Peter never asked for any money," McKoy said. "The loan and the fund-raising was our idea. We knew that if we put out an appeal, many people would respond."
Contributions to the "Refloat Breath" effort are being placed in the St. John Revolving Fund, according to fund administrator Cidney Hamling. "Under these unusual circumstances," she said, "the fund's board of directors approved this method" to help McKoy, Courlas and Cline collect contributions to repay the loan.
Checks can be made out to the St. John Revolving Fund marked "Refloat Breath" and addressed to "Refloat Breath" c/o Connections, PO Box 37, St. John VI 00831-0037.

July 10, 2001 — Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen told V.I. police officials Monday that she will try to find $5 million to bolster the force.
Hansen, chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, called Monday’s meeting to find out what the department needs most in order to fight crime. For Police Commissioner Franz Christian, the answer was easy: bodies.
To reach a full complement of officers, the department needs an additional 30 to bolster the 215 now on St. Croix and 20 more in the St. Thomas-St. John district to supplement the 232 now on the force, Christian said. With Gov. Charles Turnbull’s recent approval of a plan to pay salary step increases owed to government workers, plus benefits and training, the price tag comes to approximately $43,000 per officer, or $2.1 million.
Additionally, the department needs 150 new vehicles, at about $3.7 million, and new radios for officers, at a cost of about $300,000, Christian said.
Hansen asked the police officials what they could do without but still meet their staffing and equipment needs. Christian said costs could be cut by supplying less equipment to individual officers. That would bring the cost per officer to about $39,000, or about $1.95 million for the 50 needed officers.
V.I. Police Chief Jose Garcia said the force could get by with 95 new vehicles. At about $23,500 per vehicle, that would cost about $2.2 million.
Combined with the cost for the radios and an undetermined amount for a staff psychologist, the total immediate need for the department is about $4.4 million. Hansen told the police officials that she may be able to tell them if she can locate the needed funds by Wednesday, when her committee goes over the $40 million-plus appropriations bill recently submitted by Turnbull.

July 10, 2001 — Richard Grant, a 16-year member of Rotary Mid Isle on St. Croix and president of Premium Finance Co., assumed the position of governor of Rotary District 7020 on Sunday.
The district is comprised of 57 Rotary clubs with 2,000 members from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barths and Haiti.
At his inauguration in the packed ballroom at St. Croix Government House on Sunday, Grant acknowledged the challenges awaiting him over the next year. One of the first will be spurring the territory’s approximately half-dozen or so Rotary clubs and clubs in the district to enlarge their memberships. That, he said, will allow the clubs to do what they do best: serve the community.
"I challenge the community to join Rotary so that together we can serve the community," Grant said. "Together we can do extraordinary things."
Over the years, Rotary Mid Isle has donated time and money to St. Croix’s Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged, the Bethlehem House Shelter and other community organizations.
As district governor, Grant will also be involved with projects such as polio eradication in countries like Haiti. He will travel to all the countries in the district. Additionally, as part of the position, the Rotary district conference will be held on St. Croix in May 2002. About 500 Rotarians and their spouses are expected to attend.
Grant is married to Dr. Rita Dudley Grant and has a 15-year perfect attendance record at Rotary Mid Isle.
Rotary was founded in 1905 by Chicago lawyer Paul P. Harris, who wanted to kindle fellowship among members of the business community, according to the Rotary website. Harris and his colleagues rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name.
Today Rotary boasts approximately 1.2 million members in more than 29,000 clubs in 161 countries.

July 9, 2001 – The "biggest little fishing event in the Virgin Islands," the annual Bastille Day Kingfish Tournament, is Sunday at Hull Bay.
Hosted by the Northside Sportfishing Club, the annual competition is a traditional high point of the annual French Heritage Week observances on St. Thomas. It draws the highest participation of any inshore fishing event of its kind in the territory, according to a release.
Part of the attraction is prizes, and part is a day of partying with plenty of food, drink and live music at the beach.
"We’re expecting more than 350 anglers this year and are grateful for the positive response we’ve received from all our sponsors," tournament director Monica Lester said. Sponsorships have made it possible to keep the entry fees low — $35 for adults and $20 for juniors ages 8 to 16, she said.
This year's prime sponsors, Coors Light and Snapple, both distributed by Bellows International, will provide the $2,000 prize for largest kingfish and the $500 prize for the third-largest. Offshore Marine Services will award the Best Captain a 9-foot inflatable dinghy with an 8hp engine. FedEx will provide the $750 prize for the second-largest kingfish.
Other prizes will go to those reeling in the largest jack, barracuda, bonito, tuna, mackerel and dolphin. There also are awards for Best Boat, Best Female Angler, Best Male Angler, Best Junior Female Angler and Best Junior Male Angler.
There will even be prizes for onshore games open to the public starting at 1:30 p.m. — with the North Side Civic Association helping to organize events.
And junior anglers have a chance at prizes unconnected to their catch. I Do Video & Photography is sponsoring a drawing of nine of their names from a hat. The first eight will each receive $50, and the ninth will get $100.
Registrations will be accepted up until the captains' meeting at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hull Bay Hideaway. Entry forms can be obtained from E&M Grocery, Bryan's Electrical and Neptune Fishing Supplies.
Fishing starts at 5:30 a.m. Sunday and ends at noon. Weighing and judging will be from noon to 2 p.m., while the anglers get to enjoy an open bar. For the public, there will be food and drink available and music throughout the afternoon and into the evening, with the awards ceremony set for 8 p.m. at Hull Bay Hideaway.
The tournament was founded by the Northside Sportfishing Club in 1987. Proceeds benefit the Joseph Sibilly School, St. Thomas Rescue, the local chapter of the American Red Cross and the Victim Advocates program.

July 9, 2001 – Members of the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands were clear Monday that they thought Sen. Adlebert Bryan's Draft Sustainable Economic Development Plan was vague, at best.
The plan was presented by members of Bryan's staff to the league at a luncheon meeting.
Hortense Rowe, Bryan's chief of staff, originally intended to show a 23-minute video tape of Bryan talking about the plan, but audio problems with the tape left Rowe and Julius Jessup, Bryan's economic researcher, to answer questions about the 44-page document that was handed out as people entered the luncheon.
Rowe said Bryan welcomed criticism by the league members, who she said had had a copy of the plan for two months.
Attorney and league board member Edith Bornn started the questioning saying she has read the document, "It's very vague. I want to know, what is the next step?"
Rowe said Bryan's Economic Summit, to be held July 24 on St. Thomas and July 25 on St. Croix would be the next step. ,
She said Bryan had "searched the globe for people who will be presenters at the summit." She said in his research, Bryan found the V.I. to be most comparable to Singapore and had used that island nation of 4.5 million people as an example of what could be done in the V.I. to establish sustainable economic growth.
But at least one member wasn't buying the Singapore comparison. Richard Hall, professor at the University of the Virgin Islands said the problems of an island of 4.5 million people to that of a territory of 108,000 were "radically different."
It was also pointed out that Singapore didn't have a very good track record on the environment, an issue near and dear to the mission of the league.
The goals of the plan, referred to as its "vision" are to "establish the foundation for sustainable development …through addressing the educational and career opportunities for VI youth, developing an environment for nurturing globally and regionally competitive export and import-substitution oriented firms and industries, providing for the protection of our natural resources with market oriented recycling activities, providing the territory with the data necessary to properly plan and manage our economic and social development, streamlining and making transparent any government processes that interact with the VI economy, and by pursuing development plans that value the quality of life for all VI residents."
Rowe enthusiastically described the territory and its young people as being part of the global workforce, thanks to the Internet. She said Bryan's plan will assure the youth of the V.I. a chance, through education reform, that will offer "a workforce that will restore investor confidence."
One part of the plan suggests that $4 million be pulled from the University of the Virgin Islands' budget and used to "send 200 students to a $20,000 a year Ivy League institution with full scholarships."
The plan goes on to say, " It could provide nearly 400 students with a scholarship of $10,000. Those are 400 MIT trained engineers, economists, educators coming back to the USVI every year."
This idea met with immediate skepticism ranging from, "where would these 400 people find jobs," asked by Hall, and "where do you find an Ivy League school that costs $20,000 a year," from league board member Rosalie Ballentine, to "this has been tried before and they don't come back," from board member Norma Levin.
League member Trudie Prior said she'd prefer to see money put into the educational system for all students to benefit, but educator Ruth Thomas said, "help the brightest," by making sure they get money to go to college.
Jessup said everyone should be allowed to get a higher education.
The discussion didn't get much further into the plan, but several people were skeptical about yet another plan.
League Vice President Debra Brown Roumo closed the meeting on behalf of the league saying, the league was concerned about three things:
– the broad approach taken with the plan.
– the lack of a statement of a viable means of implementation.
– the reality of the plan's legal and political pitfalls.
"Where does this document fit in with the myriad of other plans? We've heard it all before," she said.
Rowe assured the league that all the vagueness of the plan would be address at the upcoming "summits," saying she was "bursting with enthusiasm" for the events.