Sen. Judy Gomez, who chairs the new 23rd Legislature's Youth and Human Services Committee, presented plans for a youth summit this week, saying she wanted "all entities responsible for youth issues" to be represented.
That would include the Education, Human Services, Health, and Housing, Parks and Recreation departments.
The date of the summit will not be set until the new heads of the departments are named, Gomez said.
"We want to avoid working with the interim people on this summit, so we're going to wait until we know who the permanent cabinet members will be," she said, adding that she thought that would happen very soon.
Gomez said she was interested in working with other agencies as well, including the National Guard and Public Safety, to address youth violence in the territory. She said she hoped those two agencies would help establish a "boot camp" in the Virgin Islands.
Asked where funding for such a project might come from, she said that the Law Enforcement Planning Commission had some grants available for programs and that National Guard involvement would be helpful too.
A boot camp, she said, should address the educational and psychological needs of young people — "not just disciplinary needs."
"A lot of the people who end up in the criminal justice system may not have a high school education," Gomez said, predicting that a boot camp experience with training programs would go a long way in turning out productive citizens.
Another goal of the youth summit, according to the senator, would be to identify all the agencies in the territory that deal with youth and decide which were effective and which needed to be improved or abolished.
Still another aim, she said, was to make sure that programs already in place are reaching and fulfilling the needs of the targeted population.
While the government has been unable to obtain some of the money that is available to fund youth programs, Gomez said, that money might be accessed by working through private agencies.
Gomez said the territory needs more and earlier education programs for young children, "even earlier than 3 years old."
"I was an elementary school teacher, and I can tell you we could identify the problem children even in kindergarten," she said.
She believes education programs should start almost at infancy.
Finally, she said, parenting skills must be addressed.
"Anyone can have a baby, but not everyone has parenting skills," Gomez said. "That's why we have to start educating the whole person."

In addition to the great benefits of art as education, communication and spiritual recreation, it has tremendous potential for revitalizing an economically down-trodden area.
Having just returned from Fredriksted and the post-inaugural ceremonies for newly elected Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James, I am once again hoping that the arts will be recognized as the breath of fresh air that can bring life back into this sad skeleton of a once-proud and serenely beautiful seaside town.
Nothing increases property values and stimulates economic growth faster than the influx of working artists who create studios, workshops and galleries out of formerly abandoned, unused or debilitated buildings, storefronts, warehouses, etc.
This "gentrification" process has been well-documented all across America and exists from north to south, east to west — Soho in New York, Santa Monica in Los Angeles, the Torpedo Art Factory in Alexandria, Va., Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and Taos, N.M., to name a very few.
One of the most interesting areas that offers considerable comparison to the Virgin Islands is South Beach, Fla. This is the lower part of Miami Beach, that became totally derelict and dangerous as the older winter residents died off or were unable to maintain their properties, and the area fell on hard times.
Gradually the eccentric Art Deco-style two- and three-story hotels became more and more rundown or abandoned, attracting riff-raff, drunks and drug dealers. The city was encouraged by many to raze and clear the area of all the buildings, in an attempt to rid it of the undesirables.
A struggle began between the city and a group of preservationists, led by the late Barbara Capitman, who realized what a national treasure existed in this small, 20-block neighborhood with its incredible proliferation of 1940s style Art Deco buildings.
This style of architecture had all but become extinct in America. Nowhere else does it exist in such a concentrated or beautiful setting — right on the ocean. Many of the hotels look like fanciful cruise ships oddly sitting on the beach, or old-fashioned Hollywood sets from a bygone era.
The preservationists battled the politicians, and in the 11th hour won out. That was around 1968, and gradually over the next 20 years artists moved into the (then mostly NOT rehabilitated) buildings. Slowly the developers came on their heels, and one by one the hotels are being restored.
Right now it is one of the hottest spots in the sun, and the same "condo" you may have been able to buy five years ago for less than the price of a car is worth $500,000 today.
Cafes, restaurants, flower shops, book stores, grocery stores, galleries, decorators, clothing and furniture retailers, food shops, and almost any small business offering goods and services to a thriving local community and an affluent visiting one are there making a very good living.
Because this place is accessible to all of America, Canada and Mexico by car, the chances of it becoming overwhelmed, overcrowded and overdeveloped are great.
The same is not true here, as we will continue to enjoy a certain prestige by virtue of the distance and required air travel.
We have architecture of far greater interest historically and aesthetically. Our beautiful towns are set on the water and lined with palm trees. Of special note is Frederiksted with its distinctive gingerbread architecture, a result of its unique history.
The town, which was founded in 1751, was nearly washed away by a tidal wave in 1867, and lost more buildings in the historic Fireburn labor revolt of 1878. At the time of rebuilding, the ornate Victorian style was in vogue, and the picturesque gingerbread architecture that dominates Strand and Queen streets dates from then.
With its breathtaking sea view and wide streets full of empty but awe-inspiringly handsome buildings in all stages of dishabille, it is the perfect place to grow art.
St. Croix can also boast another great town, Christiansted, with its own impressive history and excellent city plan dating back to 1747, a botanical garden, a golf course and THREE museums, all of which go begging for the support of more visitors, more attention, more operating capital.
Every time I visit St. Croix, and particularly Frederiksted, I am dumbfounded by its laconic, fading beauty and saddened by its strange abandonment. I fail to understand what is going on there.
Are you as baffled as I am, or am I missing something? Can someone please explain this strange mystery to me?

The English Proficiency Exam will be administered on Thursday, Feb.11 in the Classroom Administration Bldg at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
The deadline to sign up for the exam is Wednesday, Feb.3. No walk-ins will be accepted.
Register at the UVI Admissions office, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or call 693-1150.

The Reichhold Center will present a "Youth Expression Concert" on Saturday, Jan.30, at 8 p.m. featuring Savoir, Robert Luke, James Gittens Jr. and others.
For information call 693-1550.

All members of GERS over the age of 30 are invited to a pre-retirement workshop to be held Wednesday, Feb.3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The meeting will be held in the Conference Room on the 3rd floor of the GERS Building.
Learn more about your benefits: Social Security, legal rights, health insurance coverage, system benefits, and how to secure your financial future.
For additional information and registration, call Mrs. Lorraine Gumbs-Morton or Ms. Julia Grant at 776-7703 ex. 4203 or 4202.
Registration deadline is Friday, Jan.29.

The Government Employees System will hold a pre-retirement workshop Wednesday, Feb.3, from 8:30 until 4:30 p.m. for members over 30 years of age.
The meeting will be held in the GERS Conference Room on the 3rd floor of the GERS Building.
Learn about your benefits: Social Security, legal rights, health insurance coverage, securing your financial future, system benefits and much more.
For additional information and registration, call Mrs. Lorraine Gumbs-Morton or Ms. Julia Grant at 776-7703 ex. 4203 or 4202.
Registration deadline is Friday, Jan.29.

In the last race of Key West Race Week, the Italian team on BRAVA closed the gap with VIM III, skippered by Peter Holmberg to win IMS class II. The finish was so close that even with the sophisticated equipment on these racing craft, the crew had to wait until the results were announced by the race committee. BRAVA finished the regatta with a total score of 20 points, with VIM and HEATWAVE tied for second one point behind. To add a little extra heartbreak, the tie score was broken in favor of HEATWAVE sailed by Ken Read. After five days of close racing, and a final race of "fighting off BRAVA with everything we have," the disappointment of missing by so little is evident in Peter Holmberg's final update.
On the Melges 24 race course the bad news continues with the V.I. team scoring a "did not finish" in the final race. This dropped the Tortola and St. Thomas Team into a final position of 12th. This is still very respectable in a fleet of 50 boats, but just finishing the last race in the middle of the pack would have put Robbie Hirst and Chris Rosenberg into the top ten.

Members of the Narcotics Strike Force were observed leaving their location in Sub Base this morning wearing black ski masks and entering vehicles.
Lt. Angel Santos, director of the strike force, confirmed the operation, begun Thursday, was not finished as of 8:45 a.m. Friday, but said it was "about to wrap up."
As soon as it is complete, he said, a press release will be issued.
On Thursday, Narcotics Strike Force agents and officers from other agencies staged raids throughout St. Thomas and St. John, confiscating crack-cocaine, vehicles, handguns and marijuana.
The St. Thomas raids were conducted Thursday at Bovoni, Oswald Harris Court, Hospital Ground and Ulke Gade.
Other agencies involved in the raids included the Planning and Natural Resources Department, Special Operations Bureau, Special Response Team and the V.I. Housing Authority Police, according to the Daily News.
Officials declined to discuss the details of the raid.
Several arrests on drug and related charges were recorded on the police blotter Thursday, the Daily News reported, including possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, though it was unclear whether they were related to the raids.

In reaction to a "misleading" headline in the Daily News on Saturday, the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association has issued a press release saying it is very concerned about the cancellation of GoGo's charter flight into the territory and clarifying its position.
The headline read: "Charter flights cancelled; Tourism officials say they aren't worried."
"The only reason we said we weren't concerned is that there were so few people on the flights that were scheduled to come in for the next six weeks, we were able to secure other seats on American Airlines flights for them," Beverly Nicholson, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, told St. Thomas Source.
"Of course we're worried," she said.
One airline, American, dominates the destination and that is of real concern, Nicholson said.
She also said the Hotel Association supports having a territorial airline, as mentioned by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull in his State of the Territory address this month.
"We have even written a letter of support to Ralph Blanchard," she said.
Blanchard has been trying for more than a decade to help the Virgin Islands develop its own airline. At a meeting of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce last November, he said it could be done for an investment of $10 million.
The Hotel Association has no interest in being in the airline business, she said.
"We're in the hotel business, not the airline business. We can, however, develop programs that would be mutually supportive if we have some control over the costs of airfare.
"For example, in the summer the hotels run specials — pay for five night and get six and seven free.
"That's worth an average of $300. We might be better off to put those dollars toward a 'companion fly free' type of special on the airfare."
Nicholson said the 1998 Christmas season was "wonderful" — the best since 1995.
In a telephone survey of the hotels for January, she said occupancy was in the mid-60-percent range: "Still the best since 1995, but not great."
February is looking stronger, she said, but March is still "soft."

I don't understand why Virgin Islanders are so surprised that our children are in crisis.
Simply put, our children are in crisis because many of the adults in our community are also in crisis.
Just ask people like Michal Rhymer of
the Family Resource Center. She spends her days scrutinizing the level of violence in our families. If our families are in crisis, doesn't it naturally follow that our children will be in crisis also?
Clearly, many adults have not learned effective problem-solving techniques and solve most of their problems through less that constructive means.
We must understand that our children will not do as they're told; they'll do
what they know.
Too many of our children see an unparalleled cycle of violence, unprecedented in Virgin Islands history. Because they are seeking solutions to their own dilemmas, children observe our negative,
destructive behavior and conclude that this is an effective way to live.
Hence, our children die because someone "dissed" them by looking at them "funny." They die because he was talking to "his" girl. They die because he stepped on my brand new $200 sneakers.
To say that this is a national crisis is an understatement. Our community needs to declare a national crisis on behalf of our children and begin to formulate a community-wide response to the travesty in which most of our children are living.
That is why I no longer support programs that will not intervene with the entire family, for the root of our problems with our children lies in the instability and the vulnerability of our families.
The economics of these islands is a leading culprit in this instability. Parents can't supervise and intervene effectively if they're not around. Too many of our parents must work long hours to survive.
Fathers — many of whom are absent from their
homes — must step forward to save their sons from the destructive vultures of crime, ignorance and apathy. Mothers must demonstrate through their constructive behavior that promiscuity and early pregnancies complicate the lives of their young daughters.
Too many of our daughters are now victims of
domestic violence at ridiculously early stages of their lives, even before our
daughters have had a chance to define who or what they are.
A society is judged by the quality of life that it offers its children. How can we continue down this path of self-destruction and point our fingers at the children who are the victims of adult psyches that perpetuate a cycle of violence?
We must say what is true: Our children are dying because we have asked them to join us in our own self-destruction.
We should declare national shame at this situation. Then, let's get going with positive solutions.
One final comment: What is wrong with our children is not outside of themselves;
it is the house that we've built inside that is out of kilter. Therefore, when we look for solutions, let's look for holistic solutions that reflect the understanding that before we build a house, the foundation must be strong.