Just what did the Legislature accomplish yesterday? 

They authorized one hundred and twenty million dollars in new borrowing – taking the Territory into more than one billion dollars of collective debt and supported with no revenue stream the Governor found acceptable to collateralize it – and what problems will it solve? 

And why borrow it now? 

Despite evidence to the contrary, those who supported the borrowing used threats of imminent disaster to try to bully the public into believing that if they did not do this, right now, that today the lights would be out. 

After a late start, the Senate spent another two hours bashing the media for protesting their three days of secret meetings; bashing Sen. Craig Barshinger with accusations of comments that no one in their right mind believes he made; rambling on through a resolution about solar panels that the Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen later said was a waste of their time (but included conversation about the task force they’d need to put together to go to Washington to help her explain the initiative); and resolving to hold an “economic summit’ later this year – for what? What economy? 

And then there were the two bills – one to authorize the Governor to borrow yet another $120 million and a second to raise gross receipt taxes from 4.5% to 5% to fund the borrowing. The first one passed – by a vote of 10-5; the second one didn’t – by a vote of 8-7. 

And the lackluster measures attached to the borrowing bill that were supposed to represent “funding” would give no lender confidence in making the loan. The defeat of the gross receipts measure all but rendered the borrowing bill moot.  Read more »

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That’s what we know about “BR12-1287- The Employment Relation & Economic Recovery Act of 2012, and for other purposes” that the Legislature will be considering today.

After five days of closed door meetings, their reported solution is another $120 million in borrowing that includes $69 million owed to Hovensa by the Water and Power Authority. The other $60 million is supposed to be earmarked for salaries and tax refunds.

Last we heard, the Governor wanted $90 million to close the budget gap. Now it’s $120 million and half of that goes to WAPA? Read more »

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How do you “earn” a bachelor’s and a master’s degree on the same day without attending a single class?

You do it the Alicia Hansen way – you buy it.

How long has it been since Hansen told the truth?

And how long is it going to take before this documented prevaricator is removed from the Senate and from our midst?

Ten years ago, in an interview with the Daily News, Hansen said she held two college degrees – a bachelor’s and a master’s degree – from St. Regis College, a Jesuit run university in Denver, Colorado.

When the Daily News checked with St. Regis, they said they’d never heard of her.

When a Daily News reporter confronted Hansen about the discrepancy, she said she was “offended” that they were checking up on her, and said she would explain everything at a news conference later that week.

But she never did.

Shortly thereafter, the newspaper got a call from a St. Regis University in Dominica, an online institution that had been exposed as a degree mill that required little more than a few hundred dollars to award you any degree you chose.

That St. Regis reported that they had conferred upon student Hansen (who they could not confirm had taken any classes) a BA in political science and an MA in public administration on the same day – June 5, 2001, and that she had achieved this startling feat with a 3.8 (out of 4.0) grade point average.

Right there, you’ve got to start wondering… Read more »

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At your request, we’re launching this Open Forum for suggestions to our Government (which is clearly having trouble coming to agreement on how to get out of this latest mess), about what needs to happen when they come back from “recess” on Tuesday.

In a move that left all of us shaking our heads in disbelief, Sen. President Ronald Russell went through the motions of two anthems, prayer and the introduction of two Senate “pages” on Friday before announcing that In light of the Hovensa closure, the much-anticipated session, originally called to deal with some of those other pesky financial issues we are facing, would stand in recess until Tuesday.

The Senate also requested, and the Governor complied, that the annual State of the Territory Address, originally scheduled for Monday, January 23, be postponed. It has been rescheduled for Monday, January 30 as has Operation Yellow Cedar, a planned demonstration of public dissatisfaction to precede the speech.

So, clearly, they need our help. Read more »

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Update: After a three hour delay in the start of this pivotal meeting, Senate President Ronald Russell delivered this message from the Legislature in St. Thomas.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This action not only defers resolution on the financial issues facing the Territory, but also disrupts the planned Operation Yellow Cedar demonstration that has been long planned for Monday night, to coincide with the annual State of the Territory Address, if the address is indeed postponed.

More as this story develops.

If there has been a more critical Legislative session, we can’t remember it.

Before all eyes turned to Hovensa and its impending closure, the issues of government terminations, fiscal mismanagement and the Alpine Energy Group proposal were top of mind. And Hovensa notwithstanding, those issues remain critical, may in fact be even more critical, in light of the events of the past two days.

The Hovensa closing was no surprise – it is inconceivable that the largest employer in the Territory only contacted your Governor the night before the closing – and it has devastated this already embattled community. But let’s not let the shock drive us into even more destructive decisions. This is no time to lose focus.

The deceptively brief agenda for today’s Legislative session states “BR-12-1287- The Employment Relation & Economic Recovery Act of 2012, and for other purposes.”

Other purposes indeed.

Here are the priorities as we see them:

1. Borrowing Is Off The Table – it was never a good idea, but the departure of the Hovensa refinery, and the $60 million it contributed to the VI Economy, makes the Territory a risk no borrower will take. And in any case, $90 million won’t cover three months of payroll – and then what? Done. Read more »

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Crucians In Focus has received the following response from Paul Chakroff, Executive Director of the St. Croix Environmental Association, to an article entitled “Conflicts, Contradictions Abound In Alpine Support System; Why Is The SEA Testifying In Favor Of AEG?” We have printed his response in its entirety.

The sections in italic represent excerpts from the CIF article to which Chakroff is responding.

Michael Springer, President
Crucians in Focus

Dear Michael,

Thank you for publishing the Crucians in Focus article Conflicts, Contradictions Abound In Alpine Support System; Why Is The SEA Testifying In Favor Of AEG? I am happy to address the issues you have raised. Below I have addressed your statements or questions (in ital.) point by point.

Why would Paul Chakroff, Executive Director of St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) testify in favor of the Alpine Energy Group (AEG)?
St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) has endorsed waste-to-energy (WtE) and the technology proposed, not Alpine Energy Group.

The Legislature is holding hearings on the latest AEG proposal Tuesday on St. Thomas and Wednesday on St. Croix. Hearings on both islands begin at 6 p.m…. A review of the testifiers reveals all the usual participants, and one that caused us to question why an organization that was forcefully against the original Alpine proposal would now stand in favor of their newest plan…. A visit to the SEA website may have provided part of the answer to this question. If you were an organization committed to the preservation of the environment of the Virgin Islands, would you accept donations from some of the donors on this list?
Yes! SEA seeks and welcomes grants, contracts AND charitable donations from all sectors. There are many motivations for people, foundations or corporations to make charitable donations: EDC requirements, tax benefits, environmental impact mitigation, guilt, philosophical agreement, financial advantage, etc. The challenge to me is to ensure that a) donations are used according to any stated wishes of the donors, and b) charitable donations do not influence my advocacy position vis-à-vis the donor. There are both legal and ethical rules that apply here.
Let’s take HOVENSA as an example. For many years SEA has received $10,000 – $20,000 per year from this corporate citizen. We restrict their donation to our environmental education program and do not allow the donation to influence our advocacy position regarding our review of their air or groundwater pollution emissions. Our testimony on HOVENSA permit applications has not been particularly favorable to HOVENSA and I am happy to share that with you or your readers if you are interested in reviewing it. Similarly with DIAGEO, I am currently discussing a project designed to mitigate air pollution impacts on the people residing in Bethlehem Village and Profit Hills. If receipt of funding by SEA for education or environmental impact mitigation is a problem for you for your readers, we have to agree to disagree about a fundamental difference in opinion.

Any guesses as to who the “Anonymous” donor might be?
SEA’s anonymous donors are private individuals who shall remain anonymous until they instruct me otherwise.

Time certainly does bring about a change. Back when Alpine brought its first proposal to the VI in 2008, Chakroff had a completely different view of the company, its proposal, and even whether it was qualified to bid on the contract in the first place. Those contracts are still in place for the current Alpine proposal. What changed his mind? 

Read more »

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It’s official.

The Hovensa refinery on St. Croix will be shutting down and will provide its last supply of oil to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority in June.

Sources told CIF early Wednesday that meetings were being held to notify staff of the impending action.

Last week, Goldman Sachs reported that Hess Oil was considering the closure or sale of the refinery due to its recent financial difficulties. The Sachs report indicated that some action at the refinery was anticipated by mid-2012. Read more »

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If there has been a more critical Legislative session, we can’t remember it.

Before all eyes turned to Hovensa and its impending closure, the issues of government terminations, fiscal mismanagement and the Alpine Energy Group proposal were top of mind. And Hovensa notwithstanding, those issues remain critical, may in fact be even more critical, in light of the events of the past two days.

So as we all watch and listen on Friday, CIF will host a live blog, beginning at 10 a.m. The deceptively brief agenda states “BR-12-1287- The Employment Relation & Economic Recovery Act of 2012, and for other purposes.”

Other purposes indeed. Read more »

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Dr. Eddie Donoghue, a vocal opponent of the Alpine Energy Group, has filed a letter of complaint with US Inspector General Mary Kendall outlining what he calls “fraudulent conduct and perjury revealed in testimony” from the principals in the Alpine deal last week before the Legislature.

The letter, printed here in its entirety, addresses three areas Donoghue is asking the IG to pay particular attention to: 1.)  Founding, Incorporation, Registration, and Licensing of Alpine; 2.) Perjury before the legislature and the public,  and; 3.) Ongoing litigation between R.W. Beck and E3 Consulting 2007-2010.

The letter is printed below in its entirety. Audio clips have been added by CIF from the testimony before the Legislature last week.

January 16, 2012

Inspector General Mary Kendall                                                                                                  

United States Department of the Interior

Office of Inspector General

Washington, DC 20240

Subject:  Fraudulent conduct and perjury revealed in testimony regarding contractual agreement between Alpine Energy Group, Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority

Dear Inspector General:

In accordance with your request to be informed of wasteful practices, fraud and abuse related to the Department of Insular Affairs, documentary and testimonial evidence reveals that Alpine Energy Group, LLC (AEG), the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, along with other V.I. government agencies, and individuals outside the government have embarked on fraud, collusion and perjury with respect to the contracts entered into between the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, the Virgin Islands Waste Management  Authority and Alpine Energy Group. Below, I will present a number of dubious transactions, which were seemingly fraudulent, then allude to court documents to demonstrate the fraudulent conduct and perjury of Donald Hurd, now president of Alpine, and Hugo Hodge, executive director of WAPA. These matters will be delineated in separate sections below and the documentary evidence attached where necessary. Read more »

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Commentary by Michael J. Springer, Jr., President, Crucians In Focus

It is impossible to imagine how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, would think of us in the Virgin Islands today. His was a life of service, courage and sacrifice given in the spirit of humanity.

How different might our lives be if our elected officials adopted any one of these values that guided Dr. King’s life?

Look at the issues facing us right now.

• A Legislature that has failed to aggressively address the findings of an audit that identified close to $7 million in inappropriately used funds;
• An Administration that continues to ignore the consequences of its gross financial mismanagement and its impact on the community – including the most recent wave of terminations- without any significant benefits cut from the executive and legislative branch operations;
• Crippling energy bills, and the impending vote on the Alpine Energy Group proposal that has been shown to be another expensive and binding financial noose around an already strangled community neck;
• An elections system that has evaded its responsibility in clarifying its certification of Sen. Alicia Hansen, and has driven the community to call for a recall of most of the St. Croix Board of Elections; Read more »

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