The revised budget finally submitted to the Legislature by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull late Tuesday has been reduced to $432 million from the original $486 million budget submitted May 30.
The $54 million reduction will come from a combination of the governor's mandate to reduce government department and agency budgets by 10 percent to 15 percent, elimination of five holidays, 50-50 cost sharing of retirement and health insurance premiums and an early retirement package, according to a release Tuesday evening from Government House.
"Without immediate corrective actions such as the ones recommended here, the prospect of more delayed paydays, layoffs, furloughs and/or reduced workweeks for government employees will become a reality," Turnbull said.
"These recommended actions together with efforts already under way, such as adherence to a strict hiring freeze, attrition initiative and significant reduction sin payroll and overtime costs, will make good on my pledge to contain government spending consistent with anticipated revenues," he said in the release.
The release did not say which five government holidays will be targeted for elimination, but any proposal to cut holidays is likely to meet with opposition from the unions. So too is Turnbull's proposed change to a 50-50 split between the government and the employees in sharing retirement and health-insurance premiums.
Recent audit reports from both the V.I. Bureau of Audit and Control and the U.S. Interior Department reveal abuse of overtime in the Public Works Department and mismanagement of grant monies, among other areas where cost-savings could be instituted.
Tuesday's release promised to accelerate planning, reorganize and consolidate government functions, eliminate duplication of efforts and increase efficiency.
Despite implications that direct layoffs are not part of the austerity plan, sources say it has been strongly recommended by federal officials that numbers of government employees be reduced.
The Legislature is slated to begin budget hearings Wednesday after a three-week delay.

A sometime-St. Thomas jazz musician is livening up our shores once again with his trumpet and flugelhorn.
Duke Jones lived in the territory for about five years before Hurricane Hugo, and he says the islands have left a sentimental mark on him.
Currently appearing at the Bakkeroe's Club in Marriott's Frenchman's Reef with the Jazmyn Duo, he has fond memories of the old Gladys' Cafe in a courtyard off Main Street, where he played regularly with local vibraphonist Mario de Chabert.
"How the island has changed, " he muses, remembering other gigs at the late Barnacle Bill's in Sub Base, too.
He originally came to St. Thomas with his then-wife, Michelle Schultebrandt, whom he met in New York.
Settling in for a month on St. Thomas is a nice change of pace, Jones says, for someone who is "traveling 11 months a year now. It used to be you'd play for two months, then four. Not now."
The most interesting travel by far, he says, has been his recent trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he played with internationally acclaimed trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
"It's a really big country," Jones said of South Africa. "You look, and then you look some more. There's just no end."
His plans are to return to that vast land on an annual basis to perform with Masekela.
Jones, a youthful 47, got his start in White Plains, New York. No one else in his family was musical, he says — "They were all engineers, into electronics."
But playing in the high school band decided him on where he was going to go. The band, which went by the name Atlantic Stars, went professional right after high school. You may remember its popular hit "Always." His career has also embraced work with a spectrum of other groups, from Kid Creole and the Coconuts to The Temptations.
Jones can be heard live and in person nightly through the end of August except Monday at Bakkeroe's from 9 p.m. until around 1 a.m. Come November, he'll have a CD out, "Duke Jones and Friends."

What's out there? Well, The Blair Witch Project, for one, and it's garnering more current publicity than if the real thing were to land in Times Square at high noon.
The film, made on an almost zero budget by Hollywood standards, an estimated $35,000, was created and directed by a group of young, green film makers led by Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick and Gregg Hale.
It is about another three student film makers, two guys led by a girl, your first hint of trouble ahead, who set out in 1994 to the Maryland Black Hills woods in search of a legendary witch. Supposedly this powerful hag has held sway in her territory for something like two hundred years performing all sorts of nasty, cruel witchlike deeds.
The trios spend eight days with their handheld camera equipment and recorders on, even as strange things happen that would send most ordinary folks running for cover. They become increasingly lost, confused and quarrelsome and become history, themselves.
Despite thousands of hours searching the Black Hills, none of the film makers, nor any of their photographic gear is ever found, and the search is abandoned. Then, one year later, a bag full of their film cans, videos and tapes turn up.
. The Blair Witch Project, then, is the found footage of their frightening ordeal before their total disappearance. When we are told at the outset that the footage we are about to see was created a year ago, the first set of chills sets in. There is nothing supernatural in this, but the woods, tents, isolation and their increasing fear are filmed in a series of starts and stops much more terrifying than any set of computer created graphics.
The movie, which reputedly had grossed $1,000,000 as of last month, is rated R and labeled "too intense and frightening for children." It will start Thursday at Cinema One.

With a title like Tea with Mussolini, it's got to be good. And it looks to be just that. This film by the talented Italian Director Franco Zeffirelli is loosely based on his autobiography. As for the title, it refers to a real life event the 76-year old director remembers from his childhood.
The year is 1935 and in Italy Mussolini is still regarded as a benevolent leader, "the gentleman who makes the trains run on time." An English lady -– one of a set of English and American women who live in Florence and have established lives away from their home countries –- evidently does have an audience with the dictator, thus adding a little more panache to their already sophisticated little group.
Calling themselves "The Scorpioni," the ladies comprise two Americans, played by Lily Tomlin and Cher, (yes, Cher), and three Englishwomen, portrayed by Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith. They are living in Florence to indulge their appreciation of Italian art and architecture.
However, they do get a more realistic taste of Italy when Mary, Joan Plowright, adopts Luca, a 7- year old Italian orphan, played by Charlie Lucas. Enter World War II. Lucas, now played by Baird Wallace, has joined the Italian resistance and comes home to find his surrogate mother and her friends taken into custody as enemies of Italy. As he works to free them ,we are given a unique perspective on Italy during the war years, which mirrors Zefferelli's own experience, as the fictional Luca is, of course, Zefferelli.
The film is rate PG, and opens Thursday at Caribbean Cinemas at Market Square East.

With tropical storm Emily hovering down near Barbados, uncertain in which direction to strike, it’s difficult to pay attention to other news. But some recent events deserve comment.
Former Sen. John Tutein’s indictment was announced Tuesday. He’ll be arraigned Sept. 1 on federal and territorial charges of attempting to bribe Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus to support legislation favorable to Innovative Communications Corp., owned by the Virgin Islands’ own communication mogul, Jeffrey Prosser.
This sensational accusation got even wilder with the disclosure in the indictment that among the inducements allegedly offered Petrus was a mobile TV broadcast van. What does a mobile TV broadcast van have to do with this case? Why would Petrus want this esoteric piece of equipment? Where would Tutein find one to give him? So far as we know, the only such van belongs to public television station WTJX and was last seen parked behind the studio atop Sub Base, waiting for the next Carnival parade.
Perhaps the Daily News, whose headlines now can be read from a passing vehicle, maybe even a mobile TV broadcast van, could look into these strange goings-on? Except that Prosser now owns the newspaper, which must be a source of embarassment, if not concern, to the news staff. In any event, this is a story to be followed.
Meanwhile, Gov. Charles Turnbull says he’ll ask the courts to uphold his veto of a Senate bill that ordered him to reorganize his Executive Branch. Turnbull and Senate leaders should talk this over, work it out. The courts are traditionally leery of getting involved in disputes between the other two branches of government, and Turnbull was going to reorganize Government House anyway. Bottom line here: We’ve got more important problems to take care of.
The good news, bad news award goes to the government for its intention to pay off a $35 million short-term loan it took out earlier this year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the government is going to pay off that loan by floating a $100 million bond issue that will take us deeper into debt.
The winner of the most optimistic declaration of the week award has to be Rudolph Krigger, financial guru to the governor, who declared that the territory’s bond issues are popular because they’re exempt from all income taxes. Well, yes, until investors begin to worry about whether the Virgin Islands can pay off the bonds when the time comes.
Finally, there’s cheerful news for the University of the Virgin Islands — if it plays its cards right.
St. Croix’s first gambling casino just might open by the end of the year. We know this because Public Works next month is going to start repairing the South Shore road, otherwise known as Pothole Heaven, on the big island. That’s the road you have to take to reach the casino.
And residents of St. Croix shortly will be taking classes in how to deal blackjack, spin the roulette wheel and supervise a craps table. The classes will be taught — get this — by a Professor of Gaming from the Community College of Southern Nevada. For Southern Nevada, read Las Vegas.
UVI, as a result of its latest reorganization, now sports a president, four vice presidents, one provost and two chancellors. (Or is it two provosts and one chancellor? The mind reels.)
President Orville Kean wants more money from the Legislature for his underpaid faculty. He’s missing a bet by not establishing on the St. Croix campus a Department of Gaming, perhaps under the Mathematics and Science Division, that would supply casinos a steady supply of college-trained dealers. The casinos would pay the government. The government would pay UVI. The university’s financial people could apply some of the money to salary increases for English teachers.
In Las Vegas this is known as skimming, and it’s illegal. But this is our university we’re talking about, not some community college in Las Vegas.
Four vice presidents, two chancellors and a provost. Is that what they call a full house?
Editors' Note: Frank J. Jordan is a local radio commentator, former UVI journalism professor and former NBC News executive.

After a quiet first two months of hurricane season, August now has three tropical storms on the map at once according to the latest weather service reports.
Tropical Storm Dennis has formed from the strong tropical wave that caused Monday's heavy rains. Tropical Storm Cindy is still projected to go north of the Virgin Islands. Tropical Storm Emily, now to the east of Barbados, is the most likely to threaten the Virgin Islands.
Early projections for Emily have the small storm becoming a level one hurricane during Wednesday and Thursday while heading in a northwest direction. This movement heads Emily towards the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles. Weather services suggest close monitoring of this storm.
Editor's note: For detailed weather information, including regular updates on Emily's progress, click on the rainbow icon above the menu on St. Thomas Source or St. Croix Source.

Following his Aug. 13 arrest on bribery charges, former V.I. Sen. John Tutein was indicted Tuesday on nine federal and territorial offenses by a federal grand jury on St. Thomas.
Tutein, 41, faces charges of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and the territorial offenses of bribery of public officials and inducement to conflict of interest. Tutein, a vice president in St. Croix businessman Jeffrey Prosser’s Innovative Communication Corp., is charged with two counts each of the territorial offenses.
Officials in the U.S. Attorney's Office could not be reached Tuesday night for comment on why the Tutein matter had been referred to the federal grand jury after federal charges previously were filed or whether the grand jury's indictment signals a broader inquiry into the bribery issue.
According to U.S. Attorney James Hurd, the indictment alleges that from about October 1998 through Feb. 5, 1999, Tutein offered to give Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus and other individuals cash, a van and a mobile TV broadcast van worth a combined $177,000. The offer was allegedly made in connection with a series of transactions involving the V.I. government.
During Senate deliberations May 21 on the proposed ICC-V.I. government land swap, Petrus accused Tutein of offering him an envelope full of $100 bills last October in exchange for support on an upcoming issue. Tutein denied the accusations.
The so-called "Prosser deal" would have involved ICC purchasing 2,800 acres of land on St. Croix’s northwest shore for less than $30 million. Prosser would have turned over to the V.I. government 1,000 acres of improved, subdivided land, which would have been given to government workers in lieu of some $200 million they are owed in retroactive wages. He would also have given nearly $10 million for public projects to be built on all of the territory’s islands.
In return, Prosser would have received full tax breaks for 10 of his companies for 30 years, valued between $180 million and $3.5 billion.
The controversial proposal was considered by Gov. Charles Turnbull, then pulled by Prosser after intense criticism from union officials and others in the community. However, senators revived the deal and approved it 8-7. It was during their deliberations that Petrus made his accusations. Turnbull vetoed the bill.
The maximum penalty for bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The territorial offense of bribing public officials carries penalties of five years and a $1,000 fine. The maximum penalty for inducement of conflict of interest is five years and a $5,000 fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction because the V.I. government receives more than $10,000 in federal funds annually.
Tutein will be in court Sept. 1 for his arraignment on the grand jury indictment.

Following his Aug. 13 arrest on bribery charges, former V.I. Sen. John Tutein was indicted on nine federal and territorial offenses by a federal grand jury Tuesday on St. Thomas.
Tutein, 41, faces charges of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and the territorial offenses of bribery of public officials and inducement to conflict of interest. Tutein, a vice president in St. Croix businessman Jeffrey Prosser’s Innovative Communication Corp., is charged with two counts each of the territorial offenses.
According to U.S. Attorney James Hurd, the indictment alleges that from on or about October 1998 through Feb. 5, 1999, Tutein offered to give Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus and other individuals cash, a van and a mobile TV broadcast van worth a combined $177,000. The offer was allegedly made in connection to a series of transactions of the V.I. government.
During Senate deliberations on the ICC-V.I. government land swap on May 21, Petrus accused Tutein of offering him an envelope full of $100 bills last October in exchange for support on an upcoming issue. Tutein denied the accusations.
The ICC-government land transaction would have involved Prosser’s company purchasing almost 2,000 acres of land on St. Croix’s northwest shore for approximately $30 million. Prosser would have turned over to the V.I. government 1,000 acres of improved, subdivided land, which would have been given to government workers in lieu of some $200 million they are owed in retroactive wages.
He would have also given nearly $10 million for public projects to be built on all of the territory’s islands.
In return, Prosser would have received full tax breaks for 10 of his companies for 30 years, valued between $6 million and $3.5 billion.
The controversial proposal was considered by Gov. Charles Turnbull, then pulled by Prosser after intense criticism in the community. The deal, however, was revived and approved 8-7 in the Senate, during which Petrus made his accusations, but was eventually vetoed by Turnbull.
The maximum penalty for bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The territorial offense of bribing public officials is five years and a $1,000 fine. The maximum penalty for inducement of conflict of interest is five years and a $5,000 fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction because the V.I. government receives more than $10,000 in federal funds annually.
Tutein will be in court next on Sept. 1 for his arraignment on the grand jury indictment.

The Saint Croix Foundation has just launched its new web site at www.onepaper.com/stcroixfoundation.
Through the online newsletter, The Vanguard, visitors now have an opportunity to learn more about the critical role this community foundation plays in the development of the Virgin Islands and St. Croix in particular.
While the Saint Croix Foundation has made significant impact in the community since 1991, many people are not aware of its existence or its influence.
"This web site will give us broader reach not only in the Virgin Islands but globally, helping us to get the word out about what we are doing," says Stephanie Hodge, associate executive director.
In introducing the AmeriCorps program to the Virgin Islands, the Foundation has provided community-based organizations with much-needed resources and scores of youngsters with hands-on experience in building communities.
Through its anti-crime initiatives, the Foundation has upgraded the police academy curriculum and has helped raise funds to maintain police vehicles. Additionally, the Foundation recently offered the V.I. Police Department free space in Sunday Market Square to relocate its Christiansted operations until a bigger space is identified. The St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association has spearheaded a fundraising campaign to renovate and outfit the space.
The Saint Croix Foundation has acquired seven buildings in Sunday Market Square — commonly referred to as Times Square — and will begin rebuilding the first structure on Oct. 1. This will mark the initial step in revitalizing the area.
In the area of economic development and education, the Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, has opened the Women's Business Center, a resource center for women entrepreneurs. Visit the Center's web site at www.wbcvi.org to find out more.
The Saint Croix Foundation is also involved in a host of other activities too numerous to mention. Visit the web site, find out all about the Foundation's accomplishments in the community, and meet the staff and the Board of Directors who make it happen.
As a community-based organization, the Saint Croix Foundation also wants to
know more about what other organizations are doing and welcomes information.
Please email that information to stxfound@att.net or call (340)773-9898.
In launching its web site, the Saint Croix Foundation becomes the eighth Virgin Islands organization to go online with the OnePaper Inc. network of community publications. All of the V.I. publications, including The Vanguard, can be accessed through the OnePaper home page at www.onepaper.com.

Another malfunction of the LBJ pump station has forced the Department of Public Works to discharge partially treated sewage over Long Reef.
With the latest pump failure, though, DPW Commissioner Harold Thompson said that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved the use of up to $130,000 from the Corrective Action Trust Fund to begin emergency repairs at the LBJ and Figtree pump stations.
No date has been for when the work will be completed.
In the meantime, Thompson said DPW is adding chlorine to the sewage before it is discharged into the sea. Because of that, he urged the public to avoid the water from the LBJ area west to La Grande Princesse.
"Water quality in that area will be tested by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources," Thompson said. "The results will be made available to the public."
Along with the thousands of residents who live along the affected shoreline is condo row. Adam Hoover, director of Antilles Resort Management Inc., operator of Club St. Croix, Colony Cove and Mill Harbor resorts, said the company is monitoring the situation.
Earlier this summer, he said the malfunctioning pump had cost the resorts hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue because of sewage discharges and ensuing beach closures. August, however, is the one of the slowest months for the resorts.
"I don’t have the same problem as before," Hoover said. "This is about the deadest time for tourism."
Still, he said residents in the area can’t utilize the beach. But Hoover said Thompson and DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett have been working on the issue for the past several months.
"What we’re all trying to do is deal with this situation, which isn’t good for anybody," Hoover said. "I see enough movement by Public Works and DPNR to deal with this issue. I don’t see that it’s going to go into the tourist season."
The territory's struggle to meet federal Clean Water Act requirements is decades old. Since the early 1980s, the EPA and the Department of Justice have levied millions of dollars worth of fines for the territory's wastewater noncompliance. In 1985 and 1994, the Department of Justice, on behalf of the EPA, sued the V.I. government to force it to properly treat sewage being released into near-shore waters.
In 1996, the two parties signed a consent decree that called for specific steps to be taken, such as the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on St. John and one near the Mangrove Lagoon on St. Thomas.
St. Croix’s wastewater system, however, is antiquated and prone to malfunctions.The LBJ station pumps sewage from the Christiansted area up and over the hilly mid-island area to the Figtree station just east of HOVENSA. From the Figtree station, the sewage is pumped to DPW’s wastewater treatment plant near the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
The sewage is treated at the plant and then piped approximately a mile out to sea where it is released.