US Virgin Islands News

How to find a job on St. John

You can get your job through The New York Times. The Inquiring Iguana saw this ad in the Sunday paper.

St. John real estate to be sold for back taxes

The Virgin Islands government has begun turning the wheels to sell 84 parcels of land on St. John to settle back taxes.

A total of 1,161 properties across all three islands are set to be auctioned soon, unless their owners pay the 10 years (!) of taxes which are due.

You can see a list of the real estate parcels which are moving toward auction by clicking here.  However, it offers no description of the properties.

The largest delinquent taxpayers are Arsene Massac, oweing $513,468 and the Egbert Marsh Trust, which owes $259,412.

Overall, the owners of the delinquent properties owe a total of about $9.5 million.

St. John: No growth

The 2010 Census figures for the U.S. Virgin Islands show there has been a decline in population.  No previous Census report showed losses.

On April 1, 2010, the population of the Territory was 106,405, the Census Bureau said.  That's a decrease of 0.2 percent from 2000, or about 200.

The number of people on St. John also fell, by 27, to 4,170.

A graphical representation of population movement showed the East End population decreasing 10-18%, while Cruz Bay and Coral Bay saw a decline of 1-10%.  The Central region's population grew as much as 9.9%.

Cenus said that next year it will release demographix information about St.John.  That data will describe "social, economic and housing characteristics for the Island," the Bureau said in a statement.

Coral Bay to get new hotel, Deli Grotto's new owner

Taking a cue from the successful couple who opened Cruz Bay Hotel, the new owners of the old Voyages restaurant building are reported planning to launch a similar, but much larger operation. The new hotel will be "green," sensitive to preserving the environment. 

According to Merry at Islandia Real Estate, the Coral Bay venture will have 20 to 27 rooms.  Cruz Bay Boutique has six.  The Coral Bay property's rooms will also be "reasonably priced," Merry said.  It will have a parking lot.

Back in Cruz Bay, the Deli Grotto at Mongoose Junction has changed hands.  According to recent reviews via TripAdvisor, the new owner is maintaining the quality that made Dan Sheffy's spot a standout for almost seven years. He formally listed the place for sale in the winter of '08, asking $475,000.

Presidio del Mar sells, half off

Presidio del Mar has been sold.  Finally.

The six bedroom, six bath villa is located in the north shore enclave of Peter Bay.

Cruz Bay Realty reports the deal was done at $14 million.

Originally offered, more than a year ago for north of $30 million, the 13,000 square foot villa was repriced to $18.9 million in May this year. The seaside mansion sits on a 1.6 acre lot  with "commanding views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea." It also has an outdoor kitchen, and a pool room.

Live the dream: How to move to St. John

Every week or so, the Inquiring Iguana receives an e-mail from someone, or couple, who have decided they can't stand it any longer.  They are in love with St. John and just HAVE to move to the island.

Of course, they then ask: 

• Where can we live?
• Where can we get a job?
• Is it expensive to live there?

Of course, the Iguana smiles to himself and responds gently in an e-mail, with a few facts of island life. Housing is scarce; food is expensive, and be prepared for a thin job market unless you're willing to make beds, pour drinks, or wash dishes.

But, all of this is a needlessly-long introduction to a newcomer to St. John and St. Thomas: William Torrillo.

He's a professionally-trained and experienced chef, a Web marketing guru, and an accomplished photographer. 

"I decided I needed to make the islands my home," he said.  And so, while working as Staff Photographer at Seal Island resorts, he saved up his money.  He also spent several years as a trainer and cook with the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne. Now, he's working out of Red Hook, while full-timing it at the Ritz Carlton as a cook.  With a partner, he also caters for private dinners, parties, in the BVI and VI.

In his spare time (!) he's launched a photography business. Specializing in weddings, musicians and bands, and aerials. Two of his concentrations are architecture (can you say 'villas'?) and food and wine.

The Iguana heard of Torrillo when Gretchen Labrenz of Cruz Bay Realty said he was going to shoot new pictures of Blue Tang, our two-bedroom w pool villa at Great Cruz Bay.

In his spare time (?!), Torrillo has created several Websites.  One is Fottocini.com, focusing on chefs and food ... "behind the scenes of the world's best kitchens."  You think that iPhone picture you took of dinner is good?  See what he's done here.

But, wait, there's more.  He's also working on a VI travel guide while blogging and posting gorgeous island shots at Oldmango.com.  "It's a journey through my lens, with travel tips, recipes, and lots of photos of course," he said.

Now, the reasons for such a long item about Torrillo are several.  First, of course, he did a gorgeous job with Blue Tang, and we hope those shots will interest people in considering the property for their rental property/second home.

Second, Torrillo has made his move to the islands the right way.  He came with skills, talent, a fierce ambition, and a realistic point of view.  The Inquiring Iguana is willing to bet he hasn't yet spent "a day at the beach".  Too busy working.

St. John: the morning after the morning after

Lots of checking and looking around on the island Monday after Tropical Storm Irene dumped cisterns-full of water on the island. (About four inches of rain were reported on St. Thomas, six inches on St. John.) Followed by lots of cleaning up of palm branches and other minor debris.

Tyler Anderson of Catered To (managers of Blue Tang ) had his folks out inspecting his several dozen villas.  By and large, no damage.

The view from Great Expectations Tuesday morning.

Kristin Demong, owner of Great Expectations, one of our advertisers, e-mailed to say, "Amazingly, our webcam stayed on the entire storm (until WAPA turned off power for 30 minutes Monday morning! And, then it was up again).  Only damage was one broken banana plant but I will take that in trade for a full cistern!)."

The St. Thomas airport is open.

The St. John Source reported that despite many boat owners not moving to safer harbors, only one sailboat was sunk - in Coral Bay.  The Source also quoted the superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park saying his people removed a large tree that fell across the North Shore Road at Maho Bay and pushed boulders off the road between Hawksnest Bay and Peace Hill. Read the full story. 

The Department of Natural Resources advised the public in a statement, "To refrain from swimming and bathing in coastal waters throughout the territory until it completes beach water quality testing."

The weather forecast for today is mostly cloudy wkith a high of 87 degrees, 0% chance of rain.

Irene, the morning after, on St. John

Goodbye, Irene!

Tropical Storm Irene raked across St. Croix during the night, bringing heavy winds and rain to the territory including St. John.  The Governor declared a State of Emergency. The Sprauve School in Cruz Bay was opened as an emergency shelter.  Winds of 40-60 miles an hour blew through the islands accompanied by as many as 10 inches of rain.

At about 6 p.m. Sunday, video of the storm was taken by Scooterlkn, using his Motorola cell phone, from Grande Bay. "So much for that end of summer vacation, eh?!," he said. (The fact that it's on YouTube this morning suggests there's some power in Cruz Bay.)

Checking some of the island's Webcams, it appears power was still out in some places. The St. John Spicecam went down Sunday morning. Villa Serendipity at Chocolate Hole failed Sunday night, but was back online by 9:30 a.m. Monday.

In Coral Bay, Crabby's posted on Storm Carib Sunday night that power was still on.

"Well, we decided to board up the east and south facing windows, and that was a  good decision.  We continue to get rain along with wind gusts reaching 35 knots  -- not as impressive as Bethany Man, who is getting 55 knot gusts, but pretty alarming when you think that something could potentially be flying your way in it. "

On Gifft Hill, Beachguyvi1 posted, "We are getting slammed. Many trees down...horrible winds and rain. Thank God for rum punch!"

Monday morning, all flights scheduled to depart St. Thomas before Noon had been canceled. Afternoon departures were shown as operating. FlightStats.com

Hurricane Watch posted, 7" rain possible

Tropical Storm Irene is expected to pass to southwest of the island, nearer St. Croix.  But its 150 mile-wide storm wind field means there will be heavy weather in the Virgin Islands between now and Tuesday.

The latest statement from the National Weather Service:

A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for ... Puerto Rico...Vieques...and Culebra

On the forecast track...Irene will pass near Puerto Rico tonight or early Monday and approach the Dominican Republic on Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph...85 km/h...with higher gusts.  Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or so...and Irene could become a hurricane on Monday. 

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles...240 km...mainly to the north of the center. 

Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin this afternoon in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico...and in the Dominican Republic early Monday.  

Hurricane conditions are expected over Puerto Rico...Vieques...and Culebra tonight...and over the Dominican Republic on Monday. 

Rainfall...Irene is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 4 to 7 inches in the Leeward Islands...Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands...with isolated maximum amounts of up to 10 inches.

Read the latest NWS info here.

Moving to "bag" the plastic bag

Members of the St. John Rotary are planning to talk with the island's largest grocery stores about eliminating plastic bags.  At the club most recent meeting, a plan to contact merchants was discussed.
There have been other efforts to try to reduce the use of plastic on the island.  One problem is that plastic bags too often find their way into the waters of the island and end up wrapped around coral reefs.

A few years ago, Friends of the VI National Park made cloth bags available. Dolphin Market offered discounts to shoppers who used them.

In other news, Rotary's planning continues for the tasty annual fund raiser, Flavors.  Kind of hectic right now as they try to line up restaurants and bars to participate in the event, since many of those businesses are closing for the end of summer/hurricane season.  

The event will be held at the Westin, Oct. 28.