This year's St. John Fourth of July Celebration offers more events in fewer days — and a prince for every princess. Its title, perhaps more telling than its proposer envisioned, is "The Dawn of a New Day for Festival Y2K."
With a one-third cut in government funding this year, the St. John Festival and Cultural Organization has reduced the annual fete to a six-day schedule while adding two new events to the official line-up — a boat show on July 1 and a foot race just before the big parade on July 4. To make it all happen, it's meanwhile looking to the private sector for generous donations.
"Our allotment was cut from $75,000 to $50,000, and we're urging businesses to donate as much as they can to put on the fireworks this year," committee chair Leona Smith said.
The fun officiall starts on eSaturday, June 3, with the Pan-O-Rama in the streets surrounding Cruz Bay Park. Coordinator Ira Wade says he has commitments from 11 steelbands and is awaiting word from two more.
Next comes the Prince and Princess Selection. The St. John Celebration, like its V.I. Carnival counterpart on St. Thomas, has had years where only girls — or more girls than boys — have entered the contest. But this year, Smith says, the committee has been successful in attracting three boys to pair up.
The duos of Nanyamka Kagan and Keith Abraham, Leyah Tonge and Imri Tonge, and Lemia Liburd and Jamal Jackson will vie for the young royals titles on Father's Day, June 18, in a pageant set to start at 6 p.m. at the Winston Wells Ballpark.
The following Saturday night, June 24, hundreds of spectators are expected to fill the ballpark to cheer on their favorites among the four contestants for this year's Miss St. John Queen Selection. LaToya Browne, Anesta Charlemagne, Suzette Kelly and Loralee Maduro will give it their all in the show that has traditionally been the most popular onstage event of the St. John Celebration. The competition is to begin at 7 p.m.
The coronation of this year's reigning royalty will be combined with the official opening of the St. John Festival Food Fair. Late visitors arriving by ferry will catch the live musical vibes of calypso and quelbe coming from the Cruz Bay Park bandstand that is a perennial feature of the fair. This year's food fair honoree is Enid Francis, a tradition bearer who shares her baking skills with visitors at the V.I. National Park's Annaberg restoration.
A funky fun time is promised for all who turn out for the St. John Calypso Show on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.. St. John's calypso program is locally produced and features performers not normally seen in other venues, singing original numbers with lyrics rich in melee. What it lacks in polish, it more than makes up for in fun. Big stars like The Mighty Pat from St. Croix and King Kan Fu Plentae from St. Thomas usually make an appearance, along with the reigning St. Thomas Monarch, in this case, Whadablee.
Thursday, June 29, will being the official opening at 7 p.m. of Daniel's Court, this year's festival village. It's named in honor of Harry Daniel, a retired police officer who is known for his civic involvement and is currently the president of the St. John Community Foundation. Also among his contributions, Smith points out, is heading up the Fourth of July committee and staying involved as a volunteer throughout the years.
Unlike the carnival celebrations on its larger sister islands, the St. John festival traditionally includes events for the athletically inclined. And this year there'll be even more.
The bicycle race, scheduled for Saturday, June 17, usually runs from Cruz Bay through the National Park by way of North Shore Road, then up the hill at Little Maho Bay to Centerline Road, and then sharply left and out toward Coral Bay. Triathletes love this event, but so do local weekend road warriors.
The half-mile swim, from Hawksnest Bay to Gibney Beach, is set for 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 2. And new this year is a parade day foot race right up the parade route, from the National Park Visitor Center past the Loredon Boynes Dock and up the road past Zone D Police Command. The race is set for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4.
Also new this year is a boat show that will be the prelude to the annual Boat Race. Racing fans from St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola and as likely as not Puerto Rico will have a chance to admire up close some of the custom-painted speed boats that will flash through the waters of Cruz Bay Harbor for the championship cup and bragging rights. Saturday, July 1, is the big day. The action starts at 10 a.m..
National Park Service ranger Denise Georges is back this year in charge of the Culture Day presentation set for Monday, July 3 — Emancipation Day in the Virgin Islands. Georges has been producing the Annaberg Cultural Fair in observance of Black History Month each February since about 1990. She's bringing some of the historians, storytellers and musicians who take part in that event with her this year to Cruz Bay Park. The program, which is to start at 2 p.m., is one of those unique opportunities for more recent arrivals to sit among St. Johnians gathered to take in the presentation, their faces glowing with quiet pride.
The festival finale kicks off just before dawn on Tuesday, July 4, with J'Ouvert.Young people — and some hardy party-ers not so young — from throughout the Virgin Islands stay up all night, as do some of the village booth operators, waiting for the bands to come. And when they come, they seldom disappoint. St. John J'Ouvert usually begins with an acoustic tramp led by a pan-around-the neck troupe that assembles in front of the Nazareth Lutheran Church. The big bands blaring away from fully-loaded tractor trailers follow shortly thereafter.
Those who've never been to St. John's carnival may be surprised to know that the little island puts on quite a Fourth of July parade. It's an event that draws St. Johnians of all stripes and ages. Those who want the best view start setting out their beach chairs two hours before the official 11 a.m. start. Small contingents of such St. Thomas troupes as Elskoe and Associates, the Hugga Bunch, Tropical Masqueraders, the Indians and the Stunts and Twirlers Majorettes never fail to impress. St. John's two major resorts, the Westin and Caneel Bay, send out their troupes to capture the judges' attention. Children from the public and private schools join the fun.
At the parade's end, by 2 or 3 p.m., throngs will converge on Daniel's Village for more music, mingling and merry-making in anticipation of the fireworks show starting at 9 p.m. in Cruz Bay Harbor.
Committee members say the Zamboni company is set to stage the annual spectacle of night sky lights, but more money is needed to pull the show off. Smith is asking that local businesses be especially generous this year, since the budget is tight.
Smith also noted that she plans to meet with police at Zone D Command and private security officials to see about installing surveillance cameras around the village to insure that all festival-goers have a safe and happy St. John Festival / Fourth of July Celebration.
There are those who bristle at "Fourth of July" as the title of the event, favoring "Third of July" in recognition of the greater local significance of that date — emancipation in the Danish West Indies, versus the American colonies' declaration of independence from England commemorated on July 4. But Smith says "Fourth of July Celebration" it officially is, and for now, at least, it will remain.

Qualifying women on St. Thomas and St. John have until Wednesday afternoon to take advantage of certificates worth $35 that could save their lives.
The certificates lower the usual cost of $125 for a mammogram down to $90. They're available to women over the age of 50 who don't have health insurance coverage for mammography.
May is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the nation and the territory, and the St. Thomas/St. John unit of the American Cancer Society has been offering the cash-off certificates all month — and will continue to do so through Wednesday, May 31.
Society president Fern LaBorde said the certificate program, which is offered twice yearly, began around 1990 and has gained popularity as public awareness about early cancer detection has grown. "It picked up as more persons became aware of the breast care information," she said.
Mammograms help doctors detect breast cancer in its early stages. "It makes a difference," said Dr. Kab Kim of St. Thomas Radiology Associates, the private practice where certificates are redeemed. "It has made a difference at the in situ stage, where you can't feel it and the doctor can't feel it. We're especially interested in that after the age of 65, when the number of in situ cases increases."
Kim said so many women have been coming forward to take advantage of the discounted mammograms that the clinic has stayed open on Saturdays and Sundays all this month to accommodate those unable to make it during the work week. An administrator said the number of mammogram appointments during certificate program months is two-and-a-half times the number during the rest of the year.
Another program, the federally subsidized V.I. Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program for low-income women, is available year-round.
Jennifer David works with the VIBC cancer detection program at the Knud-Hansen Complex on St. Thomas. She said 250 half-price mammogram certificates were distributed through her program. For indigent women, the program provides free screenings for both breast and cervical cancer.
In the first five months of this year, David said, her mammogram program has led to early detection of six cases of breast cancer, and 64 Pap smears yielded results which could indicate the presence of cervical cancer.
Clinical care coordinator Gail Rohan said the certificate program is not available on St. Croix. However, the free screenings offered through the VIBC early detection program are available to women throughout the territory, she said.
So far, Rohan said, 522 Virgin Islands women have signed up for the federally funded screening program. But that, she said, is nowhere near enough. According to 1990 Census figures, 1,300 women are eligible to take part, and she's "alarmed by the fact that women aren't running into our program for screenings."
She recognizes that mammography frightens many who do not understand its purpose. "You have to educate your community," she said. "Some women think, ‘Oh, you're just trying to put radiation in my body.' We haven't even reached the halfway mark of the women we have to serve."
And she fears that "there is a lot of cases on our island, women who know there's something wrong with their breast but are still in denial," fearful of coming forward to get the help that could literally save their lives.
That denial, Rohan said, may be bred by a number of factors. Many of the islands' more educated, affluent women to go off island to seek treatment. For those whose options lay at home, there is only radical mastectomy and chemotherapy.
Faced with those options, Rohan said, all too many women, especially women on St. Croix, reject medical treatment in favor of prayer and so-called natural cures. Some literally choose death over disfigurement, she said.
An article in a recent issue of Essence magazine said African-American women have less incidence of breast cancer than their Caucasian sisters but, once diagnosed, die of the disease at a higher rate — because their cancers are detected in later, less-curable stages. Officials working with breast cancer early detection programs in the Virgin Islands say they think that's also the case for the African-Caribbean population here.
Through Tuesday, the discounted mammography screening program offer an incentive to do something about that. To see about obtaining a certificate, call 775-5373. To make an appointment with Radiology Associates, call 774-0265.
Kim said the radiology center, located at the V.I. Medical Foundation Building behind the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, will be open this Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday (Memorial Day), Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Appointments are necessary, he said.

A final draft of a proposed long-term operating agreement between the V.I. government and the cruise industry is expected to be delivered to the Legislature the first week of June.
John deJongh Jr., president of the St. Thomas chamber and chairman of the public-private task force assigned to negotiate with the cruise lines, said Friday that he is drafting the final version of a five-year operating agreement so it can be reviewed by his colleagues. Once signed off on, it will be submitted to the Senate for approval.
The task force was formed in response to Sen. Roosevelt David’s proposal to increase the "head tax" levied on cruise ship passengers arriving in St. Thomas. Under that proposal, a $2.50 hike, which would come on top of a $7.50 passenger fee now collected by the West Indian Co. Ltd., would go to the general fund. Currently, $3.50 of the fee goes to WICO and $4 to the V.I. Port Authority.
David’s proposal sent cruise-dependent Charlotte Amalie merchants into the streets in protest. The St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce has also opposed the increase.
But after more than a year of negotiations, "We will have a consensus," deJongh said, adding that the "concerns of the local members" are addressed in the proposed agreement.
It stipulates a guaranteed number of port calls over five years that increases annually. The incremental increases are for both winter and summer seasons. If the cruise lines don’t deliver the guaranteed number of passengers, they would have to pay a penalty. The deal also has provisions for increasing ship calls to St. Croix, deJongh said.
The spring 2000 issue of Cruise Industry News cited a draft of the proposed long-term agreement. It said the cruise lines were offering St. Thomas in-season as well as summer-season traffic increases of 10 percent annually, with a 25 percent annual increase for St. Croix.
In its proposal, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association warned that the Virgin Islands could expect a reduction of about 400,000 passengers a year if the head tax legislation was approved. The reduction could take effect as early as the year 2006, the FCCA said. If the territory ratifies the new agreement, it is guaranteed 1.09 million passengers in the same year.
Members of the task force include deJongh; James O’Bryan from Government House; Pamela Richards of the Tourism Department; Sens. Vargrave Richards and Lorraine Berry; Gordon Finch, V.I. Port Authority; Edward Thomas, head of WICO; the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce; Bill Dowling, Cardow Jewelers; Filippo Cassinelli, A.H. Riise; the FCCA; Carnival Cruise Lines; Princess Cruise Lines; and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
"It’s definitely a cross-section in terms of business, the lines and government officials," deJongh said.

We addressed earlier this week some short term, even immediate, solutions to slow down the incidence of violence in the territory. But we know to really have a long term impact we must address the core issues causing the violence.
In order to address successfully what we feel is the strongest of the root causes, hopelessness and disenfranchisement, we have to offer unlimited and unconditional support to all children in this community, regardless of their circumstances.
We constantly pass the buck, blaming first the parents and then television or the Internet or the separation of families, while the children who grow up to become the predators slip between the cracks.
We know who they are. They are too often the offspring often of teenagers ill equipped to raise children. They are the children of drug addicts and AIDS victims. They are children with ineffective, absent or violent and abusive parents.
We need, as a society, to play parent to those children. We need to spend whatever it takes for whatever programs are required to see to it these lost children get the nurturing and education they need to grow up productive, positive and hopeful.
Hopeful kids, kids who are empowered, don't need guns.
We can begin with making sure that every single child who is eligible for Head Start is enrolled. We then have to move to an educational system that is focused on children and is willing to give up some of its administrative "perks" in deference to the needs of those children.
There is enough money to do this. We only need to change our priorities.
This "root cause" solution is long-term and complicated. But like the Back Street patrols, we need to start now.
We may not see the results immediately, but in the long run there will be far fewer predators on the streets ruining the lives of innocent bystanders and their families.

A bill aimed at mandating "character education" in public schools failed to make it out of the Senate’s Education Committee on Friday. But education officials say they're already working on a similar program.
The bill, authored by Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste, sought to establish set times in class and during weekly assemblies where teachers would attempt to instill positive character traits in students in grades K-12. Baptiste’s motion to move the measure out of committee didn’t receive a second and died.
People testifying on the bill had mixed opinions. Some said the lack of character education was the cause of many of the problems confronting educators in the territory. Others said such education was the responsibility of parents.
Glen Smith, president of the St. Thomas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said the AFT supports the concept of character education, but said the union was not in favor of another unfunded law. He did say the "decay" of families and the increase in single-parent families were taking a toll on kids’ behavior at school.
"Behaviors that were being taught in homes in the past aren’t being taught," he said.
Dr. Sofronio Navarrete, principal of Alexander Henderson Elementary on St. Croix, agreed. His school has already implemented a version of character education. He said the violence and rudeness seen among children result from a lack of discipline.
The problem "isn’t why Johnny can’t read," he said. "It’s why Johnny can’t tell right from wrong."
Claudette Petersen, president of the St. Croix Central High School Parent-Teachers Association, said she would rather teach her kids right from wrong than depend on teachers to do it.
"There is a need for this character building, but who is going to instill the character in my children?" she asked, adding that nobody can do it "better than I can."
"I don’t think we have teachers – a lot of them – (who) have character themselves," she said.
Baptiste said the bill was intended to ensure conformity as more schools implement such programs.
"Some schools are doing it, others are not," he said. "You would have everybody in the same line doing the same thing."
Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds said the department is already setting up workshops to address character education in the territory’s schools. She said the program at Henderson Elementary could be used as a guide.
"Character education is essential to the future of the community," she said. "We are, in fact, doing what is necessary."

There is something very strange going on in the business community when a Chamber of Commerce president defends a local monopoly and criticizes an independent agency for trying to level the playing field.
But that's what both St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce President John deJongh and VI Senator Anne Golden did when they criticized the VI Banking Board's decision to attach restrictions on its approval of VI Community Bank's purchase of Chase Manhattan Bank's local assets.
DeJongh was quoted as saying the Banking Board and other "government" agencies "must not continue to stifle private sector expansion and investment in our weak economy." Both deJongh and Golden cited the decline in the financial sector as reasons to oppose the Banking Board decision.
First of all, the Virgin Islands Banking Board is one of the most independent agencies there is, with four of its six members employed by the private sector. For nearly 10 months, the Board met regularly and rigorously studied the proposed sale of Chase Manhattan Bank, talking to bankers, regulators and financial experts about the proposed acquisition and its effect on the territory.
Secondly, there is ample evidence and information to show that Jeffrey Prosser's purchase of Chase would do more to HARM the current financial sector than to improve it. With VI Community Bank's already unfair tax benefits automatically applying to such a large entity as Chase, other banks might be compelled to pull out of the territory. Removing Chase from the tax rolls would also hurt the economy, something the senators who criticized the Board's decision don't seem to be concerned about.
Then there is the question of government deposits currently made to Chase. If Prosser purchased the bank, would he use these government deposits to fund his private ventures? And would he honor payroll checks even if there were insufficient funds in the government accounts? The implications for such a monopolistic communications firm such as Prosser's ICC controlling the purse strings for an entire island, is, to say the least, troubling.
Sen. Golden applauded the VI Community Bank for its "investment in the community under the Community Reinvestment Act," but she failed to mention that almost every other territorial bank has also complied with this Act by reinvesting in the community. The real question to ask is why VICB got gigantic tax breaks other banks did not, and if the VICB was in full compliance of its agreement with the Industrial Development Commission.
I can't speak for the Banking Board, but their condition on restricting a portion of the VI Community Bank's Board of Directors seems reasonable, when one considers the interlacing relationships that Prosser's companies have controlled in and out of government. Consider the fact that Prosser's wife sits on the VICB Board, along with Daily News CEO J'Ada Finch Sheen, and of course, convicted felon Ann Abramson. With the help of his buddy Roy Schneider, Prosser was able to stack both the Industrial Development Commission and the Public Utility Commission with his cronies, and defer taxes for his companies, effectively shutting out other telecommunications companies from doing business here.
If our Chamber president was really serious about bringing new business here, he should start by talking about reforming our unfair tax system that grants some companies unfair benefits over others. VICB's acquisition of Chase would, by undercutting the competition, create a very noncompetitive environment for business in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Editor's note: Michael Burton is the former Public Relations officers for the Lieutenant Governor's Office, which has oversight on banking issues for the territory. He was also a reporter for the V.I. Independent.

There is something very strange going on in the business community when a Chamber of Commerce president defends a local monopoly and criticizes an independent agency for trying to level the playing field.
But that's what both St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce President John deJongh and VI Senator Anne Golden did when they criticized the VI Banking Board's decision to attach restrictions on its approval of VI Community Bank's purchase of Chase Manhattan Bank's local assets.
DeJongh was quoted as saying the Banking Board and other "government" agencies "must not continue to stifle private sector expansion and investment in our weak economy." Both deJongh and Golden cited the decline in the financial sector as reasons to oppose the Banking Board decision.
First of all, the Virgin Islands Banking Board is one of the most independent agencies there is, with four of its six members employed by the private sector. For nearly 10 months, the Board met regularly and rigorously studied the proposed sale of Chase Manhattan Bank, talking to bankers, regulators and financial experts about the proposed acquisition and its effect on the territory.
Secondly, there is ample evidence and information to show that Jeffrey Prosser's purchase of Chase would do more to HARM the current financial sector than to improve it. With VI Community Bank's already unfair tax benefits automatically applying to such a large entity as Chase, other banks might be compelled to pull out of the territory. Removing Chase from the tax rolls would also hurt the economy, something the senators who criticized the Board's decision don't seem to be concerned about.
Then there is the question of government deposits currently made to Chase. If Prosser purchased the bank, would he use these government deposits to fund his private ventures? And would he honor payroll checks even if there were insufficient funds in the government accounts? The implications for such a monopolistic communications firm such as Prosser's ICC controlling the purse strings for an entire island, is, to say the least, troubling.
Sen. Golden applauded the VI Community Bank for its "investment in the community under the Community Reinvestment Act," but she failed to mention that almost every other territorial bank has also complied with this Act by reinvesting in the community. The real question to ask is why VICB got gigantic tax breaks other banks did not, and if the VICB was in full compliance of its agreement with the Industrial Development Commission.
I can't speak for the Banking Board, but their condition on restricting a portion of the VI Community Bank's Board of Directors seems reasonable, when one considers the interlacing relationships that Prosser's companies have controlled in and out of government. Consider the fact that Prosser's wife sits on the VICB Board, along with Daily News CEO J'Ada Finch Sheen, and of course, convicted felon Ann Abramson. With the help of his buddy Roy Schneider, Prosser was able to stack both the Industrial Development Commission and the Public Utility Commission with his cronies, and defer taxes for his companies, effectively shutting out other telecommunications companies from doing business here.
If our Chamber president was really serious about bringing new business here, he should start by talking about reforming our unfair tax system that grants some companies unfair benefits over others. VICB's acquisition of Chase would, by undercutting the competition, create a very noncompetitive environment for business in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Editor's note: Michael Burton was the Public Relations officer for the Lieutenant Governor's Office from Feb. 1 to Nov. 4 1999, which has oversight on banking issues for the territory. He was also a reporter for the V.I. Independent.

The Texas Society of the Virgin Islands 16th Annual Chili Cook-Off will be held on Sunday, Sept. 10 at Sapphire Beach Resort and Marina. All proceeds from the annual fund raiser go to the Queen Louise Home for the Aged, the local chapter of the American Red Cross, St. Thomas Swimming Association, Virgin Islands Institute for the Performing Arts, Family Support Network, St. Thomas Rescue, Kid-Scope and Dial-A-Ride. Interested in sponsoring, judging, cooking or volunteering? Call 776-3595.

Fasten your seat belts – here we go to Mars. It's 2020 and as "Mission to Mars"opens, we are at a backyard barbeque (it's reassuring to know they still exist), and Commander Luke Graham (Don Cheadle) is celebrating in preparation for his ill-fated jaunt to the red planet.
On Mars now, Graham and his crew discover something sticking out of the surface – a giant nose it turns out, on a giant face. His crew is sneezed into oblivion and Graham is left alone. Not to worry. A rescue mission from the World Space Station launches better known stars Woody Blake (Tim Robbins), his wife Terri (Connie Neilsen) and Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise) to the rescue.
Among other rescue shenanigans, Woody and Terri perform a weightless dance in space, but, from some reports, this isn't enough to counteract what one reviewer has described as "Mars Meets the Three Stooges." Anyhow, director De Palma brings to the movie a "high level of technical competence," if it does leave the story line lacking.
The rescuers' arrival on Mars shows them "standing inside a pure white space, like extras in a David Bowie video, with a holographic alien weeping at them and showing them pictures of dinosaurs." That, alone, should be worth the price of admission.
It is rated PG for sci-fi violence and language. It is playing at Market Square East.

"Black and White" is hardly black and white – more an array of several shades of gray. It takes place in New York where high school hipster Charlie and her pals start hanging out with a Harlem crowd highlighted by rap artist Rich Bower (Oli "Power" Grant), and his American Cream Team group who are surrounded by a group of Upper West Side "wiggers," white kids who want to be black.
Fascinated by this arresting clash of cultures, Sam Donager (Brooke Shields) and her "unhinged" husband Terry (Robert Downey Jr.), who just happens to be gay, decide to capture the whole phenomenon on camera.
But that's just the beginning – it gets much more convoluted than this. An NYPD detective wants revenge on his girlfriend who dumped him for a black basketball player Dean (real life Knick Allan Houston), and a friend of Bower's.
Enter Mike Tyson, played by guess who? Yup. Tyson does, and does not, depending, generate much sympathy. In fact, the entire film poses difficult questions. According to most reports, it reaches in too many directions. It encompasses an eclectic array of stars in small roles including Elijah Wood, Ben Stiller, Claudia Schiffer and Marla Maples, and members of WuTu Clan hip-hop group.
Nonetheless, Director James Topak assisted by David Ferrara, have made what is called an "incisive look at 21st century Manhattan's pop cultures." Topak, who won an Academny Award for his screenplay of "Bugsy," is given a hand for his audacity for using non-actors in an improvisatory setting.
The film has "wonderful New York ambiance,"and humor backing it up, even though the casts' changing cultural identities may be puzzling. Basically, they serve as mouthpieces for Topak's notions about race, sex and culture, according to one reviewer. And that, alone, should be worth a look/see. It is rated R for violence, sexuality and language.
It is playing at Market Square East.