PriceSmart, an international membership discount chain, will soon open an outlet in St. Thomas.
PriceSmart's website describes the business as a "U.S. style shopping warehouse" and announces that an outlet is "coming soon" to St. Thomas.
No company spokesman was available for comment Friday or Saturday. But informed sources say the groundbreaking will be within a month or two, and the project is scheduled for completion early next year. The warehouse will be about 54,000 square feet – making it larger than most island supermarkets and larger than Cost-U-Less.
PriceSmart reportedly is leasing land for the warehouse from Sammy Harthman near Fort Mylner. Harthman referred all inquiries to the company.
Marcus White, who sources say will be construction manager for the project, also declined comment. Tracy Roberts, who is designing the building, could not be reached for comment.
PriceSmart lists 12 locations on its website, including the U.S.V.I., where it already operates or intends to operate soon: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Chiriqui Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, China, Saipan and the U.S.
It acquired much of its South American and Latin American business in 1998 when it bought out a Panamanian-based company called PSC, SA.
It lists a San Diego, Calif., address for its headquarters.
PriceSmart would be the first large-scale members-only discount chain in the V.I. Typically such operations charge an annual or monthly fee as dues and offer substantial savings on a wide variety of products.

Employees of the V.I. Water and Power Authority on St. Croix walked off the job Friday to protest poor working conditions, inadequate training and a slumping morale at the Estate Richmond power plant.
The workers said the management style of Gregory Willocks, assistant executive director of WAPA, was affecting morale. Willocks oversees St. Croix operations for the public utility.
The workers were expected to meet in St. Croix Saturday with the upper management of WAPA and members of the governing board. About six employees were to present their individual issues at the meeting in WAPA's offices at Sunny Isle.
The chairwoman of the board, former Sen. Carol Burke, said Friday afternoon she has been aware of the morale problem for some time. "At least 10 complaints have reached me since I became a member of the WAPA board," she said.
Burke said Friday's walkout had nothing to do with WAPA's proposed joint venture with Southern Energy. "I have yet to hear anyone say it has any connection to the proposed deal."
Burke said she was mindful that WAPA cannot antagonize its employees. "WAPA has to continue to function; any issues that come up with management cannot be ignored," she said. "We need our employees."
Burke and another board member, G. Luz A. James, were on hand to speak with the protesting workers Friday.

Senator Judy M. Gomez and the Virgin Islands Promise will host a Summer Camp Fair at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, in the Emancipation Garden.
Parents are invited to come out and meet Camp Managers and obtain information on available programs for children during the summer.
The Department of Human Services will be available to provide information.

The Government Employees' Retirement System invites members over 30 years of age to participate in a Pre-retirement Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, in the Port Authority Administration Building Conference Room.
Learn more about Social Security, System benefits, health insurance coverage, and securing your financial future.
For addition information or to pre-register, call Mrs. Lorraine G. Morton at 776-7703 ext. 4203.

An unidentified St. Thomas man was shot to death Friday night in Estate Contant. Police have no suspects, no motive and no weapon used in the latest murder on this island.
Police were summoned to the Soto Town area of Contant after receiving reports that a man standing outside a nearby bar was shot by an unknown assailant. Persons at the scene reported that a morgue attendant removed the body at around 11:30 p.m.
This marked the sixth murder on St. Thomas this year and the eighth in the territory.
As of the same time last year, the territory had tallied 11 murders, five of them on St. Thomas.
Police have released little information on the most recent fatal shooting.
The homicide investigation continues. Anyone with information should contact police at 774-4050, 774-2196 or the emergency number, 911.

Teaching young people to pay their own way is an obligation of our school system. In St. Louis, I finished elementary school in 1950 and I graduated from Vashon High School in 1954. I was living in a public housing project, Carr Square Village. Obviously, we were poor.
Each week, for 50 cents a week, I purchased from my homeroom teacher a public transportation student bus pass. Where my mother, a housewife, and my father, a shipping clerk, got the 50 cents a week per four children I will never know. I think the minimum wage was 50 cents, or 75 cents at the most, per hour.
At my high school, there were 2,500 students. We people of color could attend three high schools in St. Louis: Washington Technical, a vocational school; Vashon High, an academic school wherein counseling was behavior oriented; and Sumner High, an academic school wherein counseling was college-prep oriented. We all paid the 50 cents per week for our bus passes.
School buses were for the physically challenged students; regular students rode public transportation on the regular bus routes. Sure, students cheated by showing their passes and then slipping them to friends behind them, avoiding the eye of the driver. And surely students rode the back bumpers of buses and climbed through windows opened by other students on board. But all in all, the transportation system was successful and fulfilled the needs of the students.
Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds is correct in her pursuit to have students pay for transportation. Isn't teaching students not to expect a free ride one of the pursuits of education? I think Dr. Simmonds is wrong to set different fees for elementary and high school students. All should pay the same price for a student pass.
Taking inflation and earned-income levels into current-day considerations, I suggest $7 a week. Passes should be sold by home-room teachers, who would turn the money over to the bus company. School buses ought to be eliminated. We should use regularly scheduled Vitran transportation, thereby supplementing our general mass transit revenues. Also, I suggest that passes be good for use outside of school hours, including on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. This would allow students to get to know their island home by riding the buses.
I estimate that 10,000 elementary, junior and high school students, public and private, are available to use the Vitran system territory-wide. At $7 each per week, they would generate $70,000 per week, $280,000 per month, and $3.36 million per year for Vitran, with the Education Department having nothing to do with their bus transportation and thus saving $5 million or so in its budget. The money collected from students would give Vitran the sustained cash flow needed to meet the normal costs of providing service to the general public.
The only transportation cost to the Education Department would be for Special Education.
I offered this proposal to the Public Works Department some time ago and have had no response.
Krim Menelik Ballentine
St. Thomas

Dear Source:
I was a citizen and long time resident of the island of St. Croix. I lived there for the most part of my life.
I am now residing in California and I sometimes feel like I have lost touch with my island roots.
A dear friend of mine informed me of St. Croix Source. I am very pleased with this website and in turn have saved it in my favorite places folder.
I now get to see exactly what transpires in my little island of St. Croix without spending money in excessive long distance calls. Though it seems that every time my dear St. Croix takes a step forward, it takes 3 steps backward with the bureaucracy of our government.
I applaud and encourage the great news reporting that is brought to we islanders away from home. I only wish that there were more good news to report. I truly enjoy reading every tidbit of information you can provide and hope to read more. If anyone would like to get in contact with me regarding my email..I would prefer to have someone contact me at my email address sxytrini@aol.com. Keep up the good work!
Michelle Ramnarine

UVI Summer Band Camp
The University of the Virgin Islands will conduct its Summer Band Camp for children ages 9 through 16 from June 26 through August 4. The camp will take place in UVI’s new, air-conditioned Music Building, which has plenty of classrooms, an individual practice room, band room, choir room and a percussion room.
Individual and group lessons are available for all campers. Performance recitals featuring faculty and campers will take place every two weeks.
Registration will take place on Thursday and Friday, June 15 and 16, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the UVI Music Department. The fee is $350 and includes the cost of lunch and a snack each day. Please call 693-1192 for further information.
Free "Dress for Success" workshop
The UVI Cooperative Extension Service’s Family and Consumer Science Program on the St. Croix campus will hold a free workshop entitled, "Dressing & Preparing for Success," June 13 and 14 from 9 a.m. to noon. The workshop will be held at the UVI Research and Extension Center, Room 133. Contact Mrs. Rosalind Browne at 692-4094 or 692 -4097 for more information.

The Republican Party will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, at the Bridge Club next to Mango Tango.
The inadequacy of penalties levied against those arrested caryying unlicensed firearms will be discussed.
Complimentary wine and cheese will be served.

The Republican Party will meet from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, at the Legislature building on St. John.
The inadequacy of penalties levied against those arrested caryying unlicensed firearms will be discussed.
Complimentary wine and cheese will be served.