Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt endorsed a proposal to turn the Christiansted post office into a museum chronicling the African slave trade during a tour of the downtown historic district on Tuesday.
What remains to be seen, however, is if the U.S. Postal Service, which owns the historic building, will forego a $1.2-million selling price and instead give the building to the National Park Service.
Two years ago the Postal Service announced that it was leaving the 250-year-old Danish West Indies & Guinea Co. warehouse building in order to find a larger downtown location. The Park Service, the owner of the Christiansted National Historic Site in which the building sits, wants to turn the structure into a museum dedicated to the African slave trade.
As Interior secretary Babbitt oversees the Park Service. Standing in the post office lobby on Tuesday morning with St. Croix Park Service Superintendent Joel Tutein, Babbitt said he supported the museum idea.
"I endorse Superintendent Tutein’s position 100 percent," Babbitt said. "I’ll see what I can do about it."
Whatever Babbitt can do will have to happen soon because his tenure as secretary will end in December when President Clinton leaves office. Tom Pino, an asset manager for the Postal Service, didn’t return several calls to his office.
"We feel it should be a no-cost transfer," Tutein said, adding that the director of the Park Service also supports the plan and has pledged the $10 million needed to renovate the landmark building.
The management plan for the Christiansted National Historic Site, which includes Fort Christiansvaern, the Scale House, Customs House and Steeple Building, calls for the Park Service to tell the story of St. Croix between 1735 and 1917, when the Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark.
So far, military, religious and trade histories have been interpreted, but not that of the 50,000 enslaved Africans imported to St. Croix and sold on the stairs of Danish West Indies & Guinea Co. warehouse building, which now houses the post office.
Babbitt said the building should be remain in the public domain "as a perpetual exhibit of a very sad part of European history."

Dear Sir/Madam:
I am a Virgin Islander (from St. Thomas) who has been living in Sydney for the past 7 years. I am trying to get a list of all VI athletes that will be in Sydney for the games in the next couple of weeks. Is the list of 8 athletes in Tuesday's St. Thomas Source the complete list? I have tried to find out through the Sydney committee but they do not have that detailed (or do not give out) information.
It is a very exciting time here in Sydney, and I am looking forward to keeping my eyes out for any successes of Virgin Islanders in the games. The fact that we have representatives here for such an enormous event is success enough! I was fortunate enough to have been at the dress rehearsals for the opening ceremony this past Saturday night – what a thrill it was to see the Virgin Islands flag in the parade of athletes!
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Giglia "Gigi" Beretta Ph.D
Brisbane, Australia
[Ed. note: According to Dr. Cora Christian of the V.I. Olympic delegation, this is the complete list of V.I. Olympic athletes.
– Ben Beer (sailing);
– Ameerah Bello (sprints) — competed at the '96 Olympics and qualified in two events in Sydney, the 100 and 200 meters; Bello holds V.I. national records in both distances.
– George Gleason (swimming) — qualified at the USVI Olympic trials in March in the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley; he holds seven USVI swimming records, in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 200 and 400 individual medley.
– Lucy "Gigi" Hewitt (equestrian) — won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1998.
– Flora Hyacinth (long jump) — aims to make the finals again in the long jump, as she did in the '92 Olympics in Barcelona, and be in position for a medal.
– Jeff Jackson (hurdles) — qualified for Sydney at the '99 Pan American Games with a time of 13.84 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
– Bruce Meredith (sharpshooting) — represented the USVI in the '88, '92, and '96 Olympics and won a silver medal at the '95 Pan Am Games;
-Paul Stoeken (sailing).]

Caribbean Pelican Rides, the new ambhibious waterfront attraction, is offering free rides to the first five persons showing up at its Coast Guard dock location Sunday. Rides begin at 1 p.m and run hourly through 4 p.m.
The Pelican is the idea of local resident Sonya Nelthropp to provide a land and water tour of Charlotte Amalia Harbor. The craft, itself, is a British version of the World War 11 landing craft called a "duck." Nelthropp stressed that the tours would be fun for residents, as well as tourists. There are special rates for residents.

Caribbean Pelican Rides, the new amphibious waterfront attraction, is offering free rides to the first five persons showing up at its Coast Guard dock location Sunday. Rides begin at 1 p.m and run hourly through 4 p.m.
The Pelican is the idea of local resident Sonya Nelthropp to provide a land and water tour of Charlotte Amalia Harbor. The craft, itself, is a British version of the World War 11 landing craft called a "duck." Nelthropp stressed that the tours would be fun for residents, as well as tourists. There are special rates for residents.
The 55 minute tour takes you from the Coast Guard dock along Veterans Drive, through Frenchtown and to the ramp at Gregery channel, where it becomes a boat. It then kind of swims out by Water and Hassle Islands, providing a little history of St. Thomas, and winding up back at the Coast Guard dock where parking is provided.

The Senate Finance Committee will wind up its series of hearings on operations of the Internal Revenue Bureau in a 10 a.m. meeting Friday on St. Thomas.
Committee Chairwoman Lorraine Berry, in a letter requesting the appearance of Acting IRB Director Louis Willis at the meeting, stated that the "ills of the IRB are unacceptable."
She also said it "is apparent" to her that David Verdi, president of Independent Consulting Services Inc., the company hired by IRB to provide computer installation, will not attend Friday's hearing since he has failed to respond to numerous invitations.
Berry referred to issues that legislative Post Auditor Campbell Malone had cited in his analysis of the IRB's problems. Malone said the IRB's computer system, "the brain of the agency, reportedly … is virtually dead." He said that "possible improprieties, perhaps bordering on criminality may well [have undermined] the proper functioning of the IRB computer setup."
Berry's letter to Willis specifically asked for:
– An itemization and detailed description of the cost of his IRB reorganization plan, which he had revealed before the Committee last month, but with no details;
– Detailed explanation of all IRB changes required to improve effectiveness;
– Specific plans to collect the more than $100 million in current taxes due the government;
– Projected cost of reforms in the reorganization, and the impact on the IRB if the Fiscal Year 2001 budget provides insufficient funding.
Malone said because of conflicting and "non-realistic" evidence brought out so far in the hearings, the committee should refer questionable matters to the Attorney General or the U.S. Attorney's office. It was brought out in an August hearing that the conflict over payment to ICSI is already in the AG's office.
Berry said the final hearing will refer certain outstanding matters for further investigation and determination by legal authorities.
On Monday, Stephen Austin Monsanto, a former assistant to the director of the IRB, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in Territorial Court, according to court records.

The Senate Finance Committee will wind up its series of hearings on operations of the Internal Revenue Bureau in a 10 a.m. meeting Friday on St. Thomas.
Committee Chairwoman Lorraine Berry, in a letter requesting the appearance of acting IRB Director Louis Willis at the meeting, stated that the "ills of the IRB are unacceptable."
She also said it "is apparent" to her that David Verdi, president of Independent Consulting Services Inc., the company hired by IRB to provide computer installation, will not attend Friday's hearing since he has failed to respond to numerous invitations.
Berry referred to issues that legislative Post Auditor Campbell Malone had cited in his analysis of the IRB's problems. Malone said the IRB's computer system, "the brain of the agency, reportedly … is virtually dead." He said that "possible improprieties, perhaps bordering on criminality, may well [have undermined] the proper functioning of the IRB computer setup."
Berry's letter to Willis specifically asked for:
– An itemization and detailed description of the cost of his IRB reorganization plan, which he had revealed before the Committee last month, but with no details.
– A detailed explanation of all IRB changes required to improve effectiveness.
– Specific plans to collect the more than $100 million in current taxes due the government.
– Projected cost of reforms in the reorganization and the impact on the IRB if the Fiscal Year 2001 budget provides insufficient funding.
Malone said because of conflicting and "non-realistic" evidence brought out so far in the hearings, the committee should refer questionable matters to the attorney general or the U.S. Attorney's Office. It was brought out in an August hearing that the conflict over payment to ICSI is already in the AG's office.
Berry said the final hearing will refer certain outstanding matters for further investigation and determination by legal authorities.
On Monday, Stephen Austin Monsanto, a former assistant to the director of the IRB, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in Territorial Court, according to court records.

The $42 million payment of the government's 1990 Hurricane Hugo disaster loan from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt mentioned at a new conference Monday, is still pending at this stage.
Clarifying remarks made yesterday at a Government House press conference, Ferdinand Aranza, director of Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, said FEMA approved a loan to the Virgin Islands government not to exceed $89 million in 1990, of which the government has drawn down about $50 million. FEMA canceled $21 million, leaving about $29 million of the principal which it couldn't forgive — no matter how hard it tried, according to Aranza — because the V.I. government didn't have the proper documentation.
Interest accrued of roughly $13 million brings the outstanding debt to $42 million.
Aranza said that Interior and V.I. Congressional Delegate Donna Christian Christensen, had looked into a credit reform act passed in 1991 which could apply to the V.I. FEMA loan.
Aranza said he feels the $42 million has a good chance of being forgiven under the 1991 legislation. He said on average, loans from the past five or six years from states including Florida have been reduced by 95 percent under the same process.
Aranza said, "Based on the 95 percent forgiveness rates, we're pretty confident FEMA will reestimate the loan –- it's FEMA's call."
Aranza said Babbitt has written FEMA, the Interior's sister agency, requesting the loan forgiveness, and Aranza hopes it will be resolved before the end of this year.

Dear Editors:
I would like to respond to senatorial candidate Gaylord Sprauve's well-intentioned suggestion that the "complexion" of a potential judge be taken into consideration when choosing among equally qualified candidates in order to achieve "balance."
Were I in that select group of candidates for Territorial Court Judge, I personally would not wish to have my complexion or ethnic background enter into the equation at all. My educational background, my history in the court system, perceptions of my fairmindedness and/or color-blindness, my wisdom even. But my skin or my parents? Don't choose me by that.
What have I done with my opportunities? Choose me by that alone, please.
Elaine Penn
St. John

"A Fantasia of Fun for Carnival 2001" will be the theme for Carnival 2001. The theme submitted by Juan Christian, was the choice out of 112 entries.
In the announcement Monday, the V.I. Carnival Committee said Children's Parade will be on Friday April 27, 2001 followed on Saturday, April 28, by Adult Parade.

Lawrence Olive, director of the Virgin Islands Police Department's Motor Vehicle Bureau, announced Monday that effective immediately the agency can issue drivers' licenses again.
The new photography equipment has arrived for the St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix districts, according to a release from the Police Department.
Anyone holding a receipt for a drivers license is asked to report to the the bureau to complete the licensing process.
For more information contact the Bureau at 774-5765.