June 20, 2001 — University of the Virgin Islands officials have submitted legislation to the Senate that would set in motion plans for a state-of-the-art technology park on St. Croix.
At a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Frederiksted on Tuesday, Dr. Orville Kean, UVI’s president, unveiled a plan aimed at attracting "information-age job opportunities" to the territory. The research and technology park proposes to create a Silicon Valley-type community where off-island tech businesses would hire locals and improve the overall economy of the territory, Kean said.
The development would be financed by companies seeking to do business in the Virgin Islands and federal funds for operating expenses. It would be managed by a public corporation with a board of directors, according to the proposed bill.
The cost of the project would be about $50 million over about three years, with no funding coming from the government’s general fund. Kean said the proposed technology park, which would work in tandem with UVI on job training and placement, will create about 200 jobs in the first three years and some 2,000 jobs in the next 10 to 15 years. He said there are companies ready to begin construction by the end of the year.
Finance Committee chairwoman Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, who will sponsor the technology park bill, said the return on the initial $50 million investment over ten to 15 years will be about $500 million.
"This rate of return on any investment is fantastic," she said. "But even more significant is the jobs to be provided by the ancillary businesses, such as banking, that will result from activities at the research and technology park."
There are two reasons for developing the park on St. Croix, Kean said. The island’s economy is weaker than St. Thomas, and there are two fiber-optic systems – Global Crossing and AT&T – that run through the island.
COUPON BOOKS LET YOU DINE WELL AND DO GOOD
June 20, 2001 – If certain restaurants are seeing an upsurge in business in the middle of the off-season, it may have to do with the fact that the 2001 Rotary East dine-around coupon books are in distribution.
This year's book offers 27 two-for-one deals at St. Thomas dining establishments and four on St. John.
Priced at $15, the books are all but guaranteed to pay for themselves in two seatings — maybe even one, depending on where you dine and what you and your companion order.
Rotary East produces and markets the coupon books to raise fund for its scholarship program. Each year, the club awards a University of the Virgin Islands full-tuition scholarship to a graduate of Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.
It's a win-win-win-win-win situation. Coupon-book buyers get a lot of free food. Participating restaurants get a lot of customers who might not otherwise darken their doors. The Rotary club gets the proceeds for its scholarship fund. Deserving high school students get the means to attend college, which will benefit them as well as the community. And the college payments stay in the local community.
Here's who's offering what, all on the basis of "buy one, get a second one of the same or lesser value free." The deal in each case is for an entree, unless otherwise specified.
St. Thomas:
Frenchtown and West End — Chickie's Place, dinner; Epernay, dinner; The Grill, dinner; Hook, Line and Sinker, lunch; Island Beachcomber Hotel, dinner; The Pointe at Villa Olga, dinner.
In and above town — Marisol, lunch and dinner; Room With a View, late-night sandwich or dessert.
North Side — Tropicalia, dinner.
Mid-island — Bolongo Bay Beach House, dinner; Iggies, lunch; Polli's Mexican Restaurant, dinner; Sandra's Terrace, lunch and dinner; The Toad and Tart, dinner.
East End — Blue Moon Café, lunch; Bonnie's By the Sea, lunch and dinner; Dottie's Front Porch, dinner; East End Café, dinner; Frigate East, dinner; Grateful Deli, sandwich; Latitude 18, dinner; Molly Molones, lunch; Sopchoppy's Pub, dinner; XO, dinner.
St. John:
Cruz Bay– La Tapa, dinner; Mongoose Restaurant, dinner; Stone Terrace, dinner; Woody's Seafood Saloon, lunch.
You can buy as many coupon books as you like. They've available from any Rotary East member and at The Color of Joy in American Yacht Harbor. You also can order them by mail — for $16.50 including handling — by sending a check or money order to Rotary East, 6501 Red Hook Plaza, Ste. 201, STT 00802.
The rules for using the coupons are simple: A restaurant's coupon must be presented when placing an order. Coupons must be used by Dec. 15 and are not valid with any other offer. Courses other than the entree or other designated item are not covered, nor are beverages. And users are asked to tip based on the full menu price.
In addition to their appeal for person use, coupon books are popular for gift giving. They make a nice welcome to island newcomers and are an always-appreciated way of saying thanks for a job well done or congratulations on a special occasion.
This year's book offers 27 two-for-one deals at St. Thomas dining establishments and four on St. John.
Priced at $15, the books are all but guaranteed to pay for themselves in two seatings — maybe even one, depending on where you dine and what you and your companion order.
Rotary East produces and markets the coupon books to raise fund for its scholarship program. Each year, the club awards a University of the Virgin Islands full-tuition scholarship to a graduate of Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.
It's a win-win-win-win-win situation. Coupon-book buyers get a lot of free food. Participating restaurants get a lot of customers who might not otherwise darken their doors. The Rotary club gets the proceeds for its scholarship fund. Deserving high school students get the means to attend college, which will benefit them as well as the community. And the college payments stay in the local community.
Here's who's offering what, all on the basis of "buy one, get a second one of the same or lesser value free." The deal in each case is for an entree, unless otherwise specified.
St. Thomas:
Frenchtown and West End — Chickie's Place, dinner; Epernay, dinner; The Grill, dinner; Hook, Line and Sinker, lunch; Island Beachcomber Hotel, dinner; The Pointe at Villa Olga, dinner.
In and above town — Marisol, lunch and dinner; Room With a View, late-night sandwich or dessert.
North Side — Tropicalia, dinner.
Mid-island — Bolongo Bay Beach House, dinner; Iggies, lunch; Polli's Mexican Restaurant, dinner; Sandra's Terrace, lunch and dinner; The Toad and Tart, dinner.
East End — Blue Moon Café, lunch; Bonnie's By the Sea, lunch and dinner; Dottie's Front Porch, dinner; East End Café, dinner; Frigate East, dinner; Grateful Deli, sandwich; Latitude 18, dinner; Molly Molones, lunch; Sopchoppy's Pub, dinner; XO, dinner.
St. John:
Cruz Bay– La Tapa, dinner; Mongoose Restaurant, dinner; Stone Terrace, dinner; Woody's Seafood Saloon, lunch.
You can buy as many coupon books as you like. They've available from any Rotary East member and at The Color of Joy in American Yacht Harbor. You also can order them by mail — for $16.50 including handling — by sending a check or money order to Rotary East, 6501 Red Hook Plaza, Ste. 201, STT 00802.
The rules for using the coupons are simple: A restaurant's coupon must be presented when placing an order. Coupons must be used by Dec. 15 and are not valid with any other offer. Courses other than the entree or other designated item are not covered, nor are beverages. And users are asked to tip based on the full menu price.
In addition to their appeal for person use, coupon books are popular for gift giving. They make a nice welcome to island newcomers and are an always-appreciated way of saying thanks for a job well done or congratulations on a special occasion.
PRESERVING OCEAN WILDERNESS IS GROUP'S AIM
June 19, 2001 – Just weeks after opening an office on St. John, one of the nation's largest marine conservation groups has changed its name and announced a sweeping proposal to increase undersea protection efforts.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 693-7012.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 693-7012.
PRESERVING OCEAN WILDERNESS IS GROUP'S AIM
June 19, 2001 – Just weeks after opening an office on St. John, one of the nation's largest marine conservation groups has changed its name and announced a sweeping proposal to increase undersea protection efforts.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 776-4701.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 776-4701.
PRESERVING OCEAN WILDERNESS IS GROUP'S AIM
June 19, 2001 – Just weeks after opening an office in the Virgin Islands, one of the nation's largest marine conservation groups has changed its name and announced a sweeping proposal to increase undersea protection efforts.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 693-7012.
The Ocean Conservancy — formerly the Center for Marine Conservation — is pushing the creation of six "ocean wilderness" sites.
"We have an area beneath the waves that is 20 percent larger than the entire land area of the United States," Roger Rufe, conservancy president, said in a release. "Our ocean territory is the 'other America' — one that we don't protect or value enough. As a nation, we must value our oceans with the same conservation ethic that has saved so much of our land from destruction."
The National Wilderness Preservation System now encompasses 643 acres, or nearly 5 percent of all the land in the United States. The Ocean Conservancy wants to protect at least 5 percent of U.S. waters and key international sites as ocean wilderness.
It is proposing five U.S. sites and one in the Caribbean: areas within Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound in Alaska; the northwestern Hawaiian Islands; the Channel Islands off the sourthern California coast; Florida's Dry Tortugas; and the San Andres Archipelago east of Nicaragua.
"The underwater world is full of mountains taller than Mt. Everest, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, volcanoes, geysers, and wide-open plains," Rufe said. But the health of the oceans is rapidly deteriorating, the release stated: "From water pollution to oil drilling, from commercial fishing to seaborne shipping, from vessel grounding to invasive species, human activities have fundamentally altered the natural state of our oceans."
Based in Washington, D.C., and in existence as the Center for Marine Conservation for three decades, the Ocean Conservancy has regional offices in Alaska, California and Maine and field offices on St. John and in southern California, Virginia and the Florida Keys.
For more information about the organization and its goals, visit the www.oceanconservancy.org web site. The St. John office is staffed by Nick Drayton. He may be reached by calling 693-7012.
CHRISTIAN E. BEGRAFF JR. SERVICES MONDAY
Christian E. BeGraff Jr., known to his friends as "Uncle," "Chris," and "Brother B," of Prince Street, Christiansted, died Sunday, June 17, at Juan F. Luis Hospital. He was 78.
He was a member of the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus.
A first viewing will begin at 8 a.m. Monday, June 25, at the American Legion Post 85. A memorial service will begin at 8:35 a.m.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 25, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, with a viewing beginning at 10 a.m.
Interment will follow at Christiansted Cemetery.
He is survived by his daughters, Pauline and Florette BeGraff; grandchildren, Elizabeth Thurland, Inslee Carroll Jr., Kevin Petersen, and Irmalee Carroll; great-grandchildren, Marcus and Christina Thurland; sisters, Marie BeGraff, Viola Holley, and Desiree BeGraff; nieces, Sylvia Brady, Marie- Louise James, LaVerne Golden, and Colleen Hodge; nephews, Gerard Benjamin, Raymond "Bobby" Jones, Lowell Dyer, Rodell Phaire, and Ernest Phaire; great-nieces and nephews, Rodell Phaire Jr., Altina Phaire, Siobhan Phaire, Bernard Dyer, Gregory Dyer, Christine Dyer, Ronni Moorehead, Michael Brady Jr., Dwight Brady, Neil Brady, Raymond James, Desiree James, Shonda James, Kevin James, Neal Carrington, Erin Carrington, Jamal Carrington, Jared Carrington, Mario Golden Jr., LaMar Golden, Daren Golden, Desiree Golden, Johannes Benjamin Jr., Marjorie Benjamin, Yvonne Benjamin, Gloria Benjamin, Michael Benjamin, Linda Monroe; brothers-in-law, Victor and Ejnar Wilberkin; sisters-in-law, Daisy Jackson and Beryl Wilberkin; and many other relatives and friends.
Funeral arrangements are in the care of James Memorial Funeral Home.
He was a member of the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus.
A first viewing will begin at 8 a.m. Monday, June 25, at the American Legion Post 85. A memorial service will begin at 8:35 a.m.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 25, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, with a viewing beginning at 10 a.m.
Interment will follow at Christiansted Cemetery.
He is survived by his daughters, Pauline and Florette BeGraff; grandchildren, Elizabeth Thurland, Inslee Carroll Jr., Kevin Petersen, and Irmalee Carroll; great-grandchildren, Marcus and Christina Thurland; sisters, Marie BeGraff, Viola Holley, and Desiree BeGraff; nieces, Sylvia Brady, Marie- Louise James, LaVerne Golden, and Colleen Hodge; nephews, Gerard Benjamin, Raymond "Bobby" Jones, Lowell Dyer, Rodell Phaire, and Ernest Phaire; great-nieces and nephews, Rodell Phaire Jr., Altina Phaire, Siobhan Phaire, Bernard Dyer, Gregory Dyer, Christine Dyer, Ronni Moorehead, Michael Brady Jr., Dwight Brady, Neil Brady, Raymond James, Desiree James, Shonda James, Kevin James, Neal Carrington, Erin Carrington, Jamal Carrington, Jared Carrington, Mario Golden Jr., LaMar Golden, Daren Golden, Desiree Golden, Johannes Benjamin Jr., Marjorie Benjamin, Yvonne Benjamin, Gloria Benjamin, Michael Benjamin, Linda Monroe; brothers-in-law, Victor and Ejnar Wilberkin; sisters-in-law, Daisy Jackson and Beryl Wilberkin; and many other relatives and friends.
Funeral arrangements are in the care of James Memorial Funeral Home.
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Department of Labor, Division of Training, will be accepting applications for summer employment, from St. John residents between the ages of 15 to 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, June 26 to 28, at the St. John Department of Labor administrator's office.
For more information call the Division of Training, 776-3700, ext. 2087.
For more information call the Division of Training, 776-3700, ext. 2087.
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
June 19, 2001 — The Department of Labor, Division of Training, will be accepting applications for summer employment, from St. John residents between the ages of 15 to 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. beginning Monday at the St. John Department of Labor administrator's office.
The office will also accept applications during the same hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 26 and 27.
For more information call the Division of Training, 776-3700, ext. 2087.
The office will also accept applications during the same hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 26 and 27.
For more information call the Division of Training, 776-3700, ext. 2087.
LACK OF QUORUM SHUTS DOWN PSC MEETING
June 19, 2001 — The V.I. Public Services Commission on Tuesday was forced to cancel its meeting absent the four members needed for a quorum.
With a full complement of commissioners, the PSC board is made up of nine members, two of whom are non-voting, ex-officio members from the Senate. Currently there are six members, with all but one serving longer than their allotted terms. A seventh seat is vacant.
Members serve three-year terms and may serve until a successor is sworn in. The term of commission chairman Walter Challenger, the only commissioner present Tuesday, expired in June 1999.
At the meeting Tuesday, Challenger hinted that the problem with achieving quorum wasn't a matter of the expired terms but instead controversy surrounding the commission.
"It's not a lack of members," Challenger said, apparently alluding to frequent criticism by observers of the PSC under his tenure for its dealings with Innovative Telephone (formerly Vitelco), particularly Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg.
Last month, the PSC encountered another quorum problem when it approved the hiring of a consulting firm to conduct rate investigations on public utilities in the territory, including Innovative Telephone. The firm, AUS Consulting, was approved by only three members after Commissioner Desmond Maynard left the meeting shortly after it began, protesting the hiring of AUS.
That left three commission members present: Challenger, Patrick Williams and Alecia Wells. According to V.I. Code, the quorum for the body is four members. Williams, however, said it was legal for the meeting to continue because a quorum had been established before Maynard left. That prompted Donastorg, who sponsored the legislation calling for rate investigations, to say the PSC was operating improperly.
But on Tuesday, the meeting didn't even get going before Challenger called it off. At that point, he lambasted the media for criticizing his chairmanship.
"It's not easy to be in my position. I take it, most of the time I don't respond," he said. "I'm open like a book."
At a press conference Monday, Gov. Charles Turnbull said he had nominated several people for the PSC, but that they withdrew their names because they would have to go before the Senate in what would likely be a contentious confirmation process. He did say that he is working on putting together another batch of nominees.
Government House spokeswoman Rena McBrowne said the PSC is a board that "demands attention."
"It's been kind of difficult to get people," she said.
Meanwhile, the proposed agenda for Tuesday included items regarding interconnect agreements between, among other companies,Vitelco and Wireless World.
Other agenda items included the proposed rate investigations for Innovative Telephone, the V.I. Water and Power Authority, Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures, and Innovative Cable St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The PSC's current voting members are Challenger, Dora S. Hill and Maynard from St. Thomas; Williams and Luther Felix Renee from St. Croix; and Wells from St. John. There is one vacant St. Croix seat.
Commission members are paid $50 per board meeting, or about $38 after taxes.
Here is the current list of voting PSC members and their terms of appointment:
-– Alecia M. Wells, St. John, 4/22/98 – 4/21/01.
-– Walter L. Challenger (chair), St. Thomas, 6/3/96 – 6/2/99.
–- Desmond Maynard, St. Thomas, 7/11/95 – 7/10/98. (Maynard was reappointed for another three-year term.)
–- Dora S. Hill, St. Thomas, 6/3/96 – 6/2/99.
–- Patrick N. Williams, St. Croix, 3/12/97 – 3/11/00.
–- Luther Felix Renee, St. Croix. 7/24/98 – 7/23/01.
–- Vacancy, St. Croix.
With a full complement of commissioners, the PSC board is made up of nine members, two of whom are non-voting, ex-officio members from the Senate. Currently there are six members, with all but one serving longer than their allotted terms. A seventh seat is vacant.
Members serve three-year terms and may serve until a successor is sworn in. The term of commission chairman Walter Challenger, the only commissioner present Tuesday, expired in June 1999.
At the meeting Tuesday, Challenger hinted that the problem with achieving quorum wasn't a matter of the expired terms but instead controversy surrounding the commission.
"It's not a lack of members," Challenger said, apparently alluding to frequent criticism by observers of the PSC under his tenure for its dealings with Innovative Telephone (formerly Vitelco), particularly Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg.
Last month, the PSC encountered another quorum problem when it approved the hiring of a consulting firm to conduct rate investigations on public utilities in the territory, including Innovative Telephone. The firm, AUS Consulting, was approved by only three members after Commissioner Desmond Maynard left the meeting shortly after it began, protesting the hiring of AUS.
That left three commission members present: Challenger, Patrick Williams and Alecia Wells. According to V.I. Code, the quorum for the body is four members. Williams, however, said it was legal for the meeting to continue because a quorum had been established before Maynard left. That prompted Donastorg, who sponsored the legislation calling for rate investigations, to say the PSC was operating improperly.
But on Tuesday, the meeting didn't even get going before Challenger called it off. At that point, he lambasted the media for criticizing his chairmanship.
"It's not easy to be in my position. I take it, most of the time I don't respond," he said. "I'm open like a book."
At a press conference Monday, Gov. Charles Turnbull said he had nominated several people for the PSC, but that they withdrew their names because they would have to go before the Senate in what would likely be a contentious confirmation process. He did say that he is working on putting together another batch of nominees.
Government House spokeswoman Rena McBrowne said the PSC is a board that "demands attention."
"It's been kind of difficult to get people," she said.
Meanwhile, the proposed agenda for Tuesday included items regarding interconnect agreements between, among other companies,Vitelco and Wireless World.
Other agenda items included the proposed rate investigations for Innovative Telephone, the V.I. Water and Power Authority, Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures, and Innovative Cable St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The PSC's current voting members are Challenger, Dora S. Hill and Maynard from St. Thomas; Williams and Luther Felix Renee from St. Croix; and Wells from St. John. There is one vacant St. Croix seat.
Commission members are paid $50 per board meeting, or about $38 after taxes.
Here is the current list of voting PSC members and their terms of appointment:
-– Alecia M. Wells, St. John, 4/22/98 – 4/21/01.
-– Walter L. Challenger (chair), St. Thomas, 6/3/96 – 6/2/99.
–- Desmond Maynard, St. Thomas, 7/11/95 – 7/10/98. (Maynard was reappointed for another three-year term.)
–- Dora S. Hill, St. Thomas, 6/3/96 – 6/2/99.
–- Patrick N. Williams, St. Croix, 3/12/97 – 3/11/00.
–- Luther Felix Renee, St. Croix. 7/24/98 – 7/23/01.
–- Vacancy, St. Croix.
GOT MILK? SINCE WHEN? DOES IT MATTER?
At a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Economic Development chaired by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, an issue was hotly debated about enforcement of the milk pull date law. David Schuster representing Island Dairies and St. Thomas Dairies showed great concern over DLCA’s lack of enforcement of an approximately 15-year-old law requiring a 10-day shelf life for milk sold in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
As commissioner of DLCA, I became aware of this law by notification from Mr. Schuster. Our agency had no prior history or enforcement policy about this law that anyone could remember. However, we respect all laws and have developed a strategy for enforcement. The importers of pasteurized milk were informed in writing of this law and were required to pull their imported milk from the shelves 10 days from the date of pasteurization or face fines.
To understand the impact of this law, one must know a little of how imported milk is processed, shipped and marketed. There are currently four brands of milk being imported into the territory. They carry a shelf lives of 12, 14 and 18 days from the date of manufacture or pasteurization. With today’s technological advancements in pasteurization and refrigeration in shipping, these shelf life dates have become industry standards. Milk kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit is optimum for preserving quality, and today’s refrigerated shipping methods can easily achieve this temperature.
When you do the math on the date of pasteurization plus shipping to the islands, you have used approximately five of the 10 days of shelf life already. By Virgin Islands law, that leaves a retailer only five days to sell an inventory of milk. Yet supermarkets still import milk — because of customer demand and lower price in some instances.
Mr. Schuster’s argument is persuasive that his milk is the freshest on the market. Please note that this only applies to Island Dairies of St. Croix. There is no lengthy shipping time, and milk is produced daily from cows on St. Croix. Where Mr. Schuster falls short is when, through special legislation, an artificial barrier is used to deny Virgin Islands consumers a choice in their milk selection.
There is no doubt that our enforcement of the milk law has impacted the pricing and availability of stateside milk. Sometimes to the detriment of local milk producers, stores have had to discount imported milk to beat the deadline for removing it from their shelves, thereby making it more attractive to thrifty consumers.
As DLCA is mandated to protect the consumers against unfair trade practices such as special-interest legislation enacted only to protect one milk producer against competition, we must alert the public. Given that no one can argue successfully that 12-, 14- or even 18-day-old milk is in any great degree less nutritious or fresh than 10-day-old milk, why not let consumers decide what milk they wish to purchase?
Island Dairies and their counterpart on St. Thomas are one entity, an islandwide corporation called Trans-Caribbean Dairy Corp. They have recently been given a 25-year tax-benefit package that exempts them from most taxes and fees. I support this subsidization for many reasons. First and foremost, St. Croix has a large investment in capital and jobs for producing milk. We need to support this industry to protect against dependency on imports for our survival.
What does not make sense is extending these same benefits to St. Thomas Dairies, which imports all of its milk and reconstitutes it for local consumption. It also competes with Island Dairies for the same market. I have a hard time accepting Mr. Schuster’s argument of "fresh is best" when his company also sells imported fresh powder milk to reconstitute with local water in the marketplace.
The bottom line is, give the consumer the right to choose. If Mr. Schuster’s milk is the best tasting, freshest and most nutritious, then market it as such and win the customer’s loyalty. If the government needs to subsidize a local industry because of its strategic importance, then lobby the Legislature and governor for more milk subsidies.
But it is ultimately consumers who will prevail in their choice of product, and so it should be. Any artificial manipulation of the marketplace is bad policy for consumers and usually results in higher prices for an already overburdened public.
As commissioner of DLCA, I became aware of this law by notification from Mr. Schuster. Our agency had no prior history or enforcement policy about this law that anyone could remember. However, we respect all laws and have developed a strategy for enforcement. The importers of pasteurized milk were informed in writing of this law and were required to pull their imported milk from the shelves 10 days from the date of pasteurization or face fines.
To understand the impact of this law, one must know a little of how imported milk is processed, shipped and marketed. There are currently four brands of milk being imported into the territory. They carry a shelf lives of 12, 14 and 18 days from the date of manufacture or pasteurization. With today’s technological advancements in pasteurization and refrigeration in shipping, these shelf life dates have become industry standards. Milk kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit is optimum for preserving quality, and today’s refrigerated shipping methods can easily achieve this temperature.
When you do the math on the date of pasteurization plus shipping to the islands, you have used approximately five of the 10 days of shelf life already. By Virgin Islands law, that leaves a retailer only five days to sell an inventory of milk. Yet supermarkets still import milk — because of customer demand and lower price in some instances.
Mr. Schuster’s argument is persuasive that his milk is the freshest on the market. Please note that this only applies to Island Dairies of St. Croix. There is no lengthy shipping time, and milk is produced daily from cows on St. Croix. Where Mr. Schuster falls short is when, through special legislation, an artificial barrier is used to deny Virgin Islands consumers a choice in their milk selection.
There is no doubt that our enforcement of the milk law has impacted the pricing and availability of stateside milk. Sometimes to the detriment of local milk producers, stores have had to discount imported milk to beat the deadline for removing it from their shelves, thereby making it more attractive to thrifty consumers.
As DLCA is mandated to protect the consumers against unfair trade practices such as special-interest legislation enacted only to protect one milk producer against competition, we must alert the public. Given that no one can argue successfully that 12-, 14- or even 18-day-old milk is in any great degree less nutritious or fresh than 10-day-old milk, why not let consumers decide what milk they wish to purchase?
Island Dairies and their counterpart on St. Thomas are one entity, an islandwide corporation called Trans-Caribbean Dairy Corp. They have recently been given a 25-year tax-benefit package that exempts them from most taxes and fees. I support this subsidization for many reasons. First and foremost, St. Croix has a large investment in capital and jobs for producing milk. We need to support this industry to protect against dependency on imports for our survival.
What does not make sense is extending these same benefits to St. Thomas Dairies, which imports all of its milk and reconstitutes it for local consumption. It also competes with Island Dairies for the same market. I have a hard time accepting Mr. Schuster’s argument of "fresh is best" when his company also sells imported fresh powder milk to reconstitute with local water in the marketplace.
The bottom line is, give the consumer the right to choose. If Mr. Schuster’s milk is the best tasting, freshest and most nutritious, then market it as such and win the customer’s loyalty. If the government needs to subsidize a local industry because of its strategic importance, then lobby the Legislature and governor for more milk subsidies.
But it is ultimately consumers who will prevail in their choice of product, and so it should be. Any artificial manipulation of the marketplace is bad policy for consumers and usually results in higher prices for an already overburdened public.
