Crucians In Focus

The economic situation has forced Governor John deJongh, Jr. to tighten the financial belt of government spending for 2010. To that end, he has submitted a proposed fiscal 2010 budget that includes eight unpaid holidays for government employees but contains no salary or benefit cuts for members of the executive or legislative branches of the government or other exempt government employees. Read the rest of this entry »

We are currently reviewing the decision of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals regarding case # 08-3897, Berne vs Government of the Virgin Islands. We will post our comments in the near future.

Property Tax Ruling – 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals – Case #08-3897

At a recently concluded Senate Finance Committee meeting it was disclosed that the company that operates the video lottery terminals (VLT’s) in the Virgin Islands, Southland Gaming, owes the Government of the VI (GVI) $22 million and counting. Not included in this collectible, is a smaller but significant sum of money (approximately $4 million) owed to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for uncollected Gross Receipt Taxes. By the way, did anyone watching the hearing notice anyone missing? Read the rest of this entry »

Click here to view the IRB filing against Senator James. Guess that’s one less vote for the repeal of Act 6905. Pay your taxes Senator!

Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac

It is an understatement to say, “these are trying times”. Now we can understand some of the foretelling or prophesies that have been talked about in different forums, but more particularly in the religious communities. Some cite the Holy Scriptures, some Nostradamus and some other sources. We are seeing the effect of globalization when it is built on greed, one of the lowest of passion. Greed knows no boundaries, geographic, national or racial. The same as evil, it comes in all nationalities, races, economies and social strata. There are evil individuals and groups in our government, national and local. Read the rest of this entry »

Opinion Article by Michael Springer Jr.

Sometimes the solutions to complex problems can start with simple steps and resources that are right in front of us.

Our economy, like many others, is in poor condition right now. The cost of living in the territories rivals major mainland urban areas. Basics like food and energy are stretching household budgets to the limit and businesses are struggling to pay their bills as well. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a most revealing comment; a comment that highlighted a fatal flaw in the direction some of our “leaders” believe will be beneficial to the Virgin Islands.

Just before the conclusion of two days of hearings on the now approved Diageo deal – hearings that contained impassioned testimony for and against – Senator Hill took the opportunity to verbalize a view that reminds us of the central issue blocking Territorial unity. Read the rest of this entry »

The sudden public emergence of the Captain Morgan distillery plan and the urgency with which the Governor is attempting to push this initiative through the Legislature should raise red flags across the territory, particularly among the residents of St. Croix.

Let me be clear – I am a strong proponent of economic development in the Virgin Islands and will encourage and support any initiative that will genuinely benefit the residents and the community. Read the rest of this entry »

What would candidate deJongh do to address our most pressing issue; the cost of living?

To date, we have witnessed:
-Press releases and press conferences on the formation of committees and task force groups Read the rest of this entry »

In the name of transparency, Crucians in Focus invites Governor deJongh to produce a list of all vacant board positions in the territory. The importance of such an action is clear when it comes to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (WMA). Did you know there are 3 vacancies on the 7 member WMA board? Did you know that the newest of the 4 sitting board members is Darryl Smalls, Governor deJongh’s Commissioner of Public Works? Did you know that the Governor can end the Environmental User Fee (EUF) debate by simply appointing 3 competent individuals who understand the risk this fee poses to our economy? Read the rest of this entry »