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...
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Commentary by Michael J. Springer, Jr., President, Crucians In Focus Do we have a solid waste problem? Yes. Are our energy costs too high? Yes. Is the Alpine Energy waste-to-energy proposal the answer to these problems? No. There are a lot of reasons the Senate should say no to the Bovoni lease that...
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Why would Paul Chakroff, Executive Director of St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) testify in favor of the Alpine Energy Group (AEG)? 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...
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Q. Why should the Legislature reject the Alpine Energy Group (AEG) proposal on Monday? A. Because based on documents we’ve read, Alpine should never have been allowed to bid on the project in the first place. Q. Why else should the Legislature reject the Alpine Energy Group proposal on Monday? A. Because if they...
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There will be new jobs, the environment will improve, scholarships will flow and we will never have to build a landfill again. That’s essentially what Executive Director of the VI Waste Management Authority May Adams Cornwall told the Senate in the private forum August 15, in her pitch for approval of the waste to...
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Once again the airwaves are full of talk of the Anguilla Landfill, and with the talk, and a new federal deadline of January 31, 2012 to shut it down, there is once again talk of Alpine Energy. And after checking the Alpine website, it seems that plans are much farther down the road than...
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The Alpine Energy Group has temporarily withdrawn its application for the AEG Anguilla Power Project on St. Croix and has postponed the public hearing originally scheduled for September 28 while that proposal is revised. According to Andy Hixon, Vice President of Environmental & Permitting, “the primary reason for the delay is to give Alpine...
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September 28 is going to be a big energy day in the Virgin Islands. While the Public Services Commission is meeting on St. Thomas to consider an extension of the current Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause (LEAC) rate, Alpine Energy Group will be holding a public hearing at 6 p.m. at the University of the...
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The Virgin Islands Legislature voted Monday to deny a lease to Alpine Energy Group for land to construct a waste to energy plant in the Bovoni area on St. Thomas. In a vote of 11 against and 4 in favor, the action sends the Territory back to the drawing board for an acceptable solution...
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Editor’s Note: Since the public hearing on St. Croix last month, there have been rumblings that some revision of the Alpine Energy deal is in play. According to statements on radio by Sen. Craig Barshinger, the revised plan would all but eliminate the use of pet coke from the waste to energy process. There are...
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Virgin Islands residents are being bombarded by full page ads, almost weekly, paid for by the ratepayers through WAPA by way of the LEAC ( Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause). There is one point I want to make quite clear which is the following: WAPA belongs to the people of the V.I.! That point needs...
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It was standing room only at Gertrude’s Restaurant on St. Croix as some 250-300 residents came out to the Alpine Town Hall Meeting to discuss the waste-to-energy proposal for the Virgin Islands. The three and a half hour meeting was sponsored by Crucians In Focus and the Virgin Islands Ratepayers Association and was presented...
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An open forum that will provide an opportunity to discuss all aspects of the Alpine Waste-To-Energy project is the goal of the Town Hall Meeting Wednesday, January 13, from 6-8 p.m. at Gertrude’s Restaurant, St. Croix. The meeting is being sponsored by Crucians In Focus (CIF) in conjunction with the Virgin Islands Ratepayers Association. Admission...
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Virgin Islands Senator Craig Barshinger and a group of other Senators and government officials are scheduled to be in Jacksonville, Florida Wednesday to tour an energy plant that uses petroleum coke, the controversial fuel planned for use in the Alpine Energy Group waste-to-energy plants in the US Virgin Islands. Barshinger is chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development, Energy...
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Jacksonville plant location, ties to financier, raise concerns We’ve done a little “fact-finding” of our own into the PetCoke burning plant Sen. Craig Barshinger and his committee members are going to visit in Florida on Wednesday and what we’ve found is troubling. Barshinger is chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development, Energy and Technology committee. As...
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More than half of the contributions Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen has received in the current election cycle are linked to a Washington contractor who is the subject of a federal inquiry.
According to an article today in the Washington Post, Christensen has received at least $37,000 from contractor Jeffrey Thompson, who is suspected of using “straw” or phantom donors to evade contribution limits that are set for candidates running for office. His operations have drawn the attention of Federal authorities.
According to the article, Thompson’s accounting firm Thompson, Cobb, Brazilio and Associates, has 189 contracts with the federal government, worth $17.1 million. The company has done some business in the Virgin Islands, auditing grant funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Highway Administration. TCBA recently advertised for an accounting position based in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Recently, Christensen has urged the Federal Election Commission to investigate the election system of the Virgin Islands, citing public discontent with the way the Board of Elections in operating. Perhaps this current development will hasten their acceptance of her request.
As many of you heard recently, CIF President Michael Springer, at left, delivered the first in a series of radio announcements that will target specific issues and offer analysis on our most pressing concerns.
The feedback on the comments was extremely positive, so CIF will sponsor then as often as possible, and we thank those of you who have already donated! But airtime costs money and we're seeking your help.
If you'd like to help keep our voices on the air, please donate whatever you can using the PayPal button below. We thank you in advance for your support.
