US Virgin Islands News

St. John VI rental villa

For weeks, I've been meaning to make a video about Blue Tang, our rental two-bedroom villa.  Click the play arrow below.

Senate candidate suggests real estate value freeze

During a Candidates Forum at the Westin Resort, former At Large Senator Craig Barshinger floated the idea of freezing real estate values as a way of preventing huge tax increases for local property owners.

Barshinger reminded the forum of California's Proposition 13 which assesses property values when they are bought and when they are sold.  In the meantime, the value is steady and taxes increase only by the rate which levies rise.

A report of the meeting was published by the St. John Source at http://www.onepaper.com/stjohnvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1212901586

Barshinger is running in the September primary to compete against incumbent Carmen Wesselhoft in November, was one of three candidates who appeared the the meeting organized by the Coral Bay Community Council.  Also attending were two other St. Johnians running in the the primary, Harry Daniel and Loreli Monsanto.  Two other sitting Senators did attend, but Wesselhoft did not.

Feds OK money for Coral Bay water

Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, completed his visit to St. John by announcing a grant of $981,000 to begin construction of a potable water system in Coral Bay. 

The plan is for the Water and Power Authority to build a water desalinization plant on the eastern end of the island.  Coral Bay has no source of water other than rain collected in cisterns or water trucks delivering from Cruz Bay where public water from St. Thomas is piped in.

The money will be used to purchase an acre of land, and build piping for the desal plant.

Kempthorne also met with Gov. John de Jongh (pictured together) to agree on steps for finding land for construction of a high school on St. John.  They visited a 10-acre site which has been proposed as a location for the school.

Land Sharks' Triathalon this weekend

On the heels of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, St. John’s toughest athletic event is set for Sunday. 

The 10th annual Love City Triathlon will pit contestants on a course that includes a half-mile swim, a 14-mile bike ride, and a four-mile run.  The event begins in Maho Bay at 7 a.m., circles St. John, and ends at the Annaberg Ruins.  Participants can compete as individuals or in relay team.

A “digest” version of the event, the Duathalon, will also begin Sunday morning with a course including a half-mile swim and a 3.4 mile run.

Last year’s men’s and women’s division winners were both from St.Maarten.  Race organizers this year expect contestants from all three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Tortola.

Registration forms are available on St. John at the Tap Room at Mongoose Junction.  The race's Web site is here: http://8tuffmiles.com/landssharks.htm

Property owners, the tax bill may be in the mail

Ignoring the fact federal courts have not given the Virgin Islands permission to collect property taxes at the new, crushingly-high reassessment rates, the VI government said it was sending out the bills. - because it’s nearly broke.

According to a report by the Virgin Islands Daily News, attorneys for the VI told the federal court:

The government must immediately send out the 2006 property tax bills so that it can collect property taxes this fiscal year, avert a financial crisis, pay its current expenditures, allocate budgeted funds to various government agencies and departments to ensure their continued operation, meet its educational responsibilities to the children of the Virgin Islands, provide necessary social services to its residents, and pay its contractual obligations to government employees, vendors and lenders.  (Full story here: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17627901)

Property tax values have been frozen since 2003, by federal court order.  The Court has not lifted its injunction which would allow the government to collect taxes at the new rates.

It appears the VI government is trying to force the issue and get the Court to rule on the reassessments that were completed last year.  Attorneys for property owners on St. John and St. Thomas have contested the new values.

Jet Blue offered nonstop NYC to STT

The VI’s could have had a direct Jet Blue flight from New York ... if the Virgin Islands government had agreed to guarantee the company $1.5 million.  That proposal was reported by a committee appointed by the Governor working to maintain air service to the Territory in the face of cutbacks.  The “offer” was rejected.

Jet Blue was not alone in trying to pry cash from the Territory in  exchange for scheduling flights into St. Thomas.  Continental Airlines wanted $1 million for a weekly flight from Newark. US Airways ”considered dropping one weekly seasonal Charlotte-St. Croix flight” if it didn’t get $1 million, according to a report published ion the Virgin Islands Daily News.

Now, we know the airlines are in trouble.  United is asking as much as $9 for a “fresh” snack.  Now we learn the airlines are asking for cash for service.  The Tourism Commissioner said there have been no such payments. But the VIs have committed $1.6 million in marketing partnerships with four airlines to promote their flights in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale.

This Daily News story (read it here: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article?id=17627816) just makes the airlines sound thuggish, desperate and heavy-handed.  Without air service, the islands’ tourism business goes in the dumper. You could say the airlines have their foot on the throat of the local economy.  Is Vladimir Putin running the airlines?

Fireworks over Cruz Bay

Better late than never ... this video of this year's July 4th Celebration was posted on YouTube

Video Lottery ... yes or No

News that Video Lottery Terminals are open for business at Wharfside set off a bunch of comments. What do you think?

Video Lottery opens at Wharfside

If you just have to gamble, St. John’s willing to help.  The new Parrot Club caters to folks who like action with 55 Video Lottery Terminals blinking and flashing.   It's at Wharfside Village in the newly remodeled and air-conditioned space where Larry’s Landing used to be. 

Wikipedia says a Video Lottery Terminal “is similar to a slot machine, except that it is connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager using a random number generator ... VLTs can be thought of as computerized scratch-off lottery tickets.”

Southland Gaming is the business behind the Club. It also operates two gaming machine franchises on St. Thomas and the Divi Carina Bay Beach Casino on St. Croix.

The general manager of the Parrot Club is Brian Conley. He gave the St. John Sun Times’ Bob Tis a tour during a soft opening late in July. He described the Club’s many flat screen TVs, plush carpeting, and bar. The long-time reporter also saw “a line of shiny young women with platinum hair and makeup ... waiting to fill out applications for employment.”

Conley said, “Some people love it, and some people don’t.  But this is going to be a very upscale entertainment center and I think it is enhancing the entire complex.” VLT’s are also available on at Fred’s, Cap’s Place, and the laundromat.

• Read the Sun Times story here: http://stjohnsuntimes.com/node/525

Bar Wars serves up $ for animals

The 8th Annual Bar Wars competition at the Beach Bar raised $3,500 for the St. John Animal Care Center. 

The early August tradition on the sand in Cruz Bay found teams of four and eight people competing to show off the best bar tending and serving techniques - yielding spills, pratfalls, and laughs galore.  “Teams progressed to the next round in traditional ways - by winning or offering financial inducements to the judges.  All “bribe” money went directly to the ACC, as did proceeds from sale of event t-shirts.