Despite the absence of Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull, the Senate Finance Committee proceeded full speed ahead Monday. "It's do or die," said Lorraine Berry, committee chairwoman. "Today is the last meeting."
And for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, it was indeed "die," as four of DPNR's appropriation requests died in committee, one was tabled indefinitely and one was approved.
Dean Plaskett, DPNR commissioner, said he had been told by the Office of Management and Budget in July not to touch certain funds until they were cleaned up. As of last Thursday, they still haven't been "cleaned up," Plaskett said, adding that the "freeze" by OMB still exists.
Plasket said the department was getting by on federal funds.
He said that Attorney General Iver Stridiron told OMB earlier this year that the funds couldn't be touched without an amendment from the Legislature.
Though amendments were brought forth Monday, they failed to get the necessary vote. Plaskett offered figures for the appropriations he had been given, but some of the senators didn't accept Plaskett's figures as they weren't official amounts, since Turnbull was not present with the up-to-date fund figures.
The four bills killed by the committee were for salaries, operating expenses and other purposes. They concerned the Fish and Game Fund for $97,826; the Natural Resource Reclamation Fund, $1.5 million, and the Air Protection Fund, $1.5 million. The lawmakers also rejected a bill to increase the emergency expenditures cap from $275,000 to $1.5 million.
The senators were about equally divided on the measures which would have allowed Plaskett to dip into the funds, as none of the accurate fund balances were available. The Finance commissioner notified Berry that she could not appear Monday as scheduled because independent auditors were conducing an audit of the Virgin Island finances.
Sen. Violet Anne Golden said, "I could almost predict these funds don't exist" over Plaskett's statement that "we collected them." Golden said passing the appropriations would be "acting in futility, acting on misinformation."
Sens. Gregory Bennerson and George Goodwin agreed with Golden that they should not appropriate funds they were not certain existed. They asked Post Auditor Campbell Malone if he would verify the funds, and Malone said that to date he had not received any balances.
Voting against the Fish and Game, Reclamation Fund and Air Protection fund were Sens. Golden, Bennerson and Goodwin. Voting for the measures was Sens. Berry, David Jones and Roosevelt David.
The committee adjourned for lunch and a caucus at 1 p.m. but did not get under way again until after 6 p.m. Eleven bills were acted on, completing the 23rd Legislature's Finance Budget hearings.
Approved and sent to the Rules Committee were bills establishing an Economic Development Authority encompassing several entities including the Industrial Development Commission, enacting the V.I. Technology Enterprise Act of 2000, an appropriation for the Public Defender's office, a bill for the operation of the V.I. Government for Fiscal Year Oct. 2000 to Sept. 2001 including almost all the government agency appropriations with an amendment affecting the Insurance Guaranty Fund, and the Omnibus Act of 2001.
The meeting adjourned shortly before 10 p.m. A complete account of all the above measures will be in the Thursday Source.
The Rules Committee will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to Rules Committee Chairwoman Golden.

The Virgin Islands doesn't have a National Public Radio station, but it does have a public one – WIUJ-FM, licensed to V.I. Youth Development Radio Inc.
The station, found at 102.9 on the FM dial, is perhaps best known for is live V.I. Senate coverage. But on Sundays, for nine straight hours, it's a whole different lineup – of one musical "special" after another, with formats for just about all audio tastes. Here's what there to hear:
1 to 2 p.m. – "The Sunday Classics with Charlene." Host Charlene Dick intersperses classical music albums with background on the composers and performing artists. She typically previews classics concerts scheduled in the territory, featuring the music of the artists booked to perform.
2 to 3 p.m. – "The Doug Lewis Show." This program features an eclectic mix of adult album alternative music, encompassing classic rock, folk, blues, r&b, Celtic and Cajun music, with lots of trivia and a historical context.
3 to 6 p.m. – "The Latin Show." Pete Martinez hosts three hours of Hispanic music and talk, sharing information pertinent to the Hispanic community.
6 to 7 p.m. – "Putumayo World Music Hour." The best of world music.
7 to 8 p.m. – "Me and Jimmy." Host Heinrich Lockhart serves up an hour of the music of that son of a son of a sailor who made cheeseburgers essential eating in paradise, Jimmy Buffett.
8 to 10 p.m. – "Blues in Paradise." Host Mark Hillsman presents two hours of the best in both modern and classic blues.
On WIUJ, as a public radio forum, "we offer an alternative to the commercial stations," says Lewis, known off-air as Assistant Attorney General Douglas Dick (and husband of Charlene, yes). Broadcasting at 3,000 watts from studios on Mountaintop, WIUJ "reaches all of the USVI and BVI and eastern Puerto Rico," he says, and "on a good day, as far as Anguilla and St. Martin."
Under the direction of general manager Leo Moron, with funding from the V.I. government, WIUJ has been on the air for years, outliving many a commercial station. Even so, it has never attracted the following of the commercial ones, in part for lack of familiarity among the listening public. With their mixed bag of offerings, the Sunday hosts are hoping to get the ear of more local music appreciators. The hosts are all volunteers, Doug Dick says, "but we have underwriters for the shows."
Throughout the rest of the week, the station's programing typically includes V.I. Legislature sessions, along with pop, Caribbean and jazz music. Historically, it has also carried educational programs and has provided training opportunities for students interested in radio work.
The Sunday programs are all live and local "except for the syndicated Putumayo World Music," Dick says. The deejay format started "in September of 1999 with me and Char. Last April, our programs took a hiatus until this past September while the station developed the overall Sunday format. Hillsman, the last show added, started about a month ago."
Both of the Dicks and Hillsman are alumni of WIVI-FM, where they hosted similar shows.
To learn more about the station or get involved as a volunteer, telephone 777-9485 or 776-1029, or e-mail to wiuj@us.net

The WAPA Governing Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, in the Port Authority Conference Room on the second floor of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
For more information contact Patricia Blake Simmons at 774-3552.

The WAPA Governing Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, in the Virgin Islands POrt Authority Conference Room on the second floor of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
For more information contact Patricia Blake Simmonds at 774-3552.

The WAPA Governing Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, in the Virgin Islands Port Authority Conference Room on the second floor of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
For more information contact Patricia Bake Simmonds at 774-3552.

Dear Source:
Having lived as a snowbird on St. Croix for 21 years (Sugar Beach), it's totally baffling to me why we do not commercially produce St. Croix-grown fruits and vegetables. I've been assured by experts that it can be done, and yet the government hasn't gotten the message. This could be one answer to providing the government with many extra dollars to pay its bills and honor its commitments.
I recently spent three weeks in Sicily – and witnessed a huge coast-to-coast harvest of fruits and vegetables of every description and variety. Almonds, dates, olives, wheat, citrus … on and on it goes, all over the island.
Can you suggest why we are not doing as even Antigua and St. Lucia have done? Does our government not understand that it can be done, and it can be profitable and provide work for many island residents? I do not understand this. Can you shed some light on this for this frustrated condo owner?
Sam Pasco
West Hartford, CT and St. Croix

It took a little prodding in the press for the Department of Finance to release $100,000 to the Casino Control Commission, but the body now has the funding to conduct a background check on a prospective hotel-casino investor.
In a Casino Commission meeting on Dec. 1, chairwoman Eileen Petersen went public with a warning that if the Division of Gaming Enforcement didn’t receive an infusion of money into an empty impress fund used to conduct background checks, the process would be slowed indefinitely. At the time, Petersen said she knew of no reason why the funds hadn't been released because part of the application fee goes into the impress fund for investigations.
But on Monday, Petersen said Finance had released the money and the investigation of a possible new St. Croix casino investor is under way.
"Golden Gaming is the one we’re focusing on now," she said. "I was almost panicking. Not only me, but the investor. But we were able to appease his concerns."
Golden Gaming LLC applied for a Tier II hotel-casino license last month. If approved, the facility would be built on the east end of St. Croix. Licensing fees for a Tier II hotel, which must have 300 to 1,400 rooms and a 10,000-square-foot casino, are $200,000 for the first two years. A second two-year license costs $175,000.
Intensive background checks on a casino applicant are a normal part of the approval process, which also includes a verification of the project's financial viability.
St. Croix’s first casino, the Divi Carina Bay Resort, opened in March 2000 and now employs approximately 400 people, 276 of whom were either born in the territory or have lived here for at least five years.
A second casino application, by a Colorado-based company, was rejected by the commission after the company proposed that it be allowed to add the mandated amount of rooms over an extended time.
The third application was filed by Mario de Chabert, a St. Croix businessman and attorney. His project, an eight-story, 193-room casino-hotel on his family's property near Sunny Isle Shopping Center, is expected to break ground early next year.
Golden Gaming would be the fourth license filed with the CCC since 1996.

The Casino Control Commission has officially barred the first person from the Divi Carina Bay Casino for allegedly trying to manipulate a slot machine with a powerful magnet.
After taking into consideration testimony given by Mark Bodio and Division of Gaming Enforcement personnel at their Dec. 1 meeting, casino control commissioners have voted to bar Bodio from entering St. Croix’s lone casino again.
On Aug. 5, casino employees noticed Bodio moving a metal object up and down the side of an electronic slot machine. Upon closer investigation, casino manager Anton Kuipers said the object was a magnet.
Bodio, however, said he used the magnet as a money clip. He said that as he was pulling it out of his pocket, the powerful magnet jumped out of his hand and stuck to the machine.
Apparently, Casino Control commissioners didn’t buy the story. CCC chairwoman Eileen Petersen said Monday that they voted to exclude Bodio from the casino.
Petersen said that while Bodio, a St. Croix resident, is the first to be barred from the casino, he isn’t the first to run afoul of the rules. She said other gamblers who have been confronted simply agreed not to return to the casino. Bodio, however, challenged the accusations and appeared before the commission on Dec. 1 to plead his case, albeit unsuccessfully.
There was some worry prior to the opening of St. Croix’s first casino in March that cheats would descend on the newly opened venue to take advantage of green personnel. But Petersen said that for the most part things have gone smoothly, mostly because the word is out that the casino and the CCC run a "tight ship."
"There were some alleged card counters that came in," she said. "But we haven’t had any major incidents. I think we have done very well in that regard."

Fellow physicians, nurses, hospital staff, family, friends and well-wishers turned out Saturday night to heap praise on Dr. Leighmin J. Lu, the 2000 Physician of the Year.
Lu, 66, has provided medical care on St. Thomas for almost 38 years and has been chief of psychiatry at Roy L. Schneider Hospital for 29 years.
The award was presented during the Annual Physician Award Gold and White Ball at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel and was sponsored by the Roy L. Schneider Hospital Medical Staff, The Virgin Islands Medical Society and the Virgin Islands Medical Institute.
A native of Taiwan, Lu came to St. Thomas in 1963 after obtaining his M.D. degree at the Medical School of National Taiwan University. He traveled to the mainland in 1967 to pursue training in psychiatry at Indiana State University Medical Center and completed his residency at the Boston State Hospital in Massachusetts.
Dr. Lu is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology and is an active member of both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association.
He and his wife, Janet, are the parents of three sons, all of whom have pursued medical careers.
Among those praising Lu's years of service to the Virgin Islands community: RLS Hospital Chief Executive Officer Eugene Woods, Medical Director Thelma Ruth Watson, President of the V.I. Medical Society Dr. Frank Odlum and Dr. Cora Christian of the V.I. Medical Institute. Dr. Alfred O. Heath served as Master of Ceremonies.
Recently, Dr. Lu led the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Behavorial Health Unit at Schneider Hospital.

Members of the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas are still doing the arithmetic, but one thing is clear after Sunday's fund-raising auction at the Old Stone Farmhouse.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull is all set to furnish a drawing room in fine West Indian style.
Turnbull was among about 100 bidders at the auction which featured dozens of pieces of antique furniture, many of them pieces from a Guyanese estate. The governor made off with a mahogany hat rack, a splendid reproduction of a West Indian-style parlor table, a circa 1840 mahogany and caned chaise lounge from Barbados and a Louis XVI-style loveseat sofa. And he got a couple of them for a song, like many of the other pieces that were bid upon.
About 250 people joined the governor at the second annual auction, which raised money for the congregation to help maintain the St. Thomas Synagogue, designated earlier this year as a National Historic Landmark.
Some were surprised that artworks by local artists drew some of the highest bids of the day: paintings by Don Dahlke and Rae Kehoe each brought in $2,900, matched by the same amount for a 100-year-old mahogany and Spanish cedar wardrobe from Curacao.
But there were bargains galore: a fantastic Art Deco dressing table with three-part mirror from Barbados, about 70 years old, was notable among them with a winning bid of just $400.
A spokeswoman for the congregation said they hope to improve further on the auction next year by opening the main gate to the farm house (so attendees don't have to walk all the way around) and improving on parking, which spread far up and down Mahogany Run Road on Sunday.