Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
I am going to make a case, compelling enough, for our representative in government (executive and legislative) would seriously consider. We all have been aware of the lack of consistent and efficient enforcement of our laws and regulations. In spite the fact that we have numerous agents and agencies responsible for enforcing our laws. Why are our laws not enforced? Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
I am congratulating the de Jongh/Francis administration for their response to the recommendations of the joint report from the federal and local Inspector General report concerning the alarming situation at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. However, I am concern that the corrective action to be taken by the administration, and hopefully the legislature would be thorough and not selective. We need a comprehensive review of all that went wrong and have an open public discussion of ways and means to avoid a repetition of such debacle. I am impressed with Gov. de Jongh effort to quickly replace some members of the board. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
It is our belief that had the police response to the killing of retired police sergeant Liston T. Gumbs, Sr. was more immediate and coordinated, the possibility of arresting the perpetrator would have been greater. It is possible that whoever was in charge of police operations had taken an aggressive posture and sought the killer in the immediate area of the incident and expand the search into all areas where they know delinquents hang out, they could have flushed out the killer. But that did not happen and has not happen. Why the police have not been more aggressive in pursuing this case as well as the other unsolved murders on the books? The Major Crime Unit in the VIPD is small and overworked. That diminishes their productivity. When is the Governor going to demand better action from the police leadership, he appointed them, he is responsible for their productivity or lack thereof. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
I received the sad news this Monday of the assassination of a brother in arms, a fellow Virginislander, the retired Police Sergeant Liston T. Gumbs, Sr. As I understand the circumstances of his killing, he was shot during a robbery at a grocery store in the Lindberg area on St. Thomas. It is said his killer was a male on a bike from the Kirwan Terrace residential area. Read the rest of this entry »
out·ra·geous
3 a: going beyond all standards of what is right or decent; violent
Outrageous.
That’s the only word for the cold-blooded homicide that occurred at Gov. Juan Luis Hospital Wednesday morning.
Somehow, in the early morning hours, five armed, masked men entered the hospital, incapacitated a guard, threatened maintenance personnel and made their way to Shadrach Frett’s hospital room on the third floor – where they shot him to death. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
As I continue to see the manifestation of lawlessness by all segments in our community; it becomes very apparent that the current administration has not made a dent in curbing the lawlessness, in spite their much publicized incidents of arrests. What we need is a concerted effort by the executive branch to take the lead, by example, in promoting compliance with our laws and ordinances. We are aware of several conditions where the “government” ( the executive branch in particular) is derelict. The administration has over one year in office, while many of us have been extremely patient, we now say enough is enough let us get on with fulfilling the promises made prior to election. It is time the administration show that it is serious in changing the climate of lawlessness, that is so pervasive in our community. I am conscious of the high degree of cynicism that exist but that does help correct our problems nor promote progress. Pride, unity, optimism and hard work does make a positive difference, it makes for progress. Read the rest of this entry »
There was chaos at the D.C. Canegata ballpark last week when gunmen pulled off an armed robbery at the Stop and Save Store just across the street.
The kids were in the middle of a game when the sound of gunfire rang out, and players and parents scattered, not knowing where the shots were coming from or, more critically, where they might land. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
Unfortunately for us the agencies in our government responsible for protecting the residents and keeping the peace seems not able to cope with the nightly discharge of all kinds of firearms. I lived in the area known as Garden Street, in the vicinity of the All Saints Cathedral and school. There are nightly discharges of firearms of different caliber. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
Yes, the question is asked, what can be done about the domestic terrorism to which the residents of the US Virgin Islands are subjected to, daily? When it is not homicides, it is robbery, rape and discharging of firearms any hour of the night and sometime in the day. What should we as residents, taxpayers, be doing to relieve our community of the threats posed by the criminal elements? What have other communities done to address the threats by the criminal elements which terrorizes the community? Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Opinion by J. J. Estemac
Anyone who is conscious of their surroundings, who is a casual observant, can see the lack of law enforcement in our community. The agencies and persons charged with the enforcement of our laws and regulations are blatantly derelict. Does the current administration consider law and order in our community of any importance, of any priority? Daily we see people violating laws, all kinds and categories of laws. Read the rest of this entry »
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