And now it rests in the hands of the Judge. On Monday, both sides in the court battle over the recall of four members of the St. Croix Board of Elections met Judge Wilma Lewis’ deadline to file all relevant motions in the case. Judge Lewis issued the order last week after the legal...
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Judge Wilma Lewis has had enough of the legal gymnastics. Per her order, the St. Croix Board of Elections (BOE) has until May 21 to respond to the lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands Action Group (VIAG) related to the stalled recall initiative that would force a recall election for four of its members. ...
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Maybe the stripes will be painted in gold. That’s the only reason we can come up with to explain the $750,000 that GlobeVest LLC estimated it would cost to construct a parking lot at its proposed sports complex on St. Croix. An October, 2009, letter from GlobeVest CEO James Sutherland to Governor John P. deJongh,...
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It’s like watching an animal feeding on its young. The St. Croix Board of Elections (BOE), still challenging the validity of a recall drive, has filed a defamation suit against a host of defendants, including one of its members, a member of the St. Thomas BOE, CIF President Michael Springer, between one and twenty...
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By now we all know that the GlobeVest deal was moved out of the Legislative Committee of Human Services, Parks and Recreation and on to the Rules Committee – but we can’t figure out why. Two voted yes; one voted no; one didn’t vote; and three just didn’t show up. And at the end of...
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They will gather again tonight to pitch the next “public-private” partnership that is going to save the Territory and will only cost us a few more tens of millions of dollars. The Committee on Human Services, Parks and Recreation will hold its second hearing at 6 p.m. on St Thomas to consider a proposed...
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It has already cost us a fortune in lost revenues to the General Fund and our relationship with Puerto Rico. And now the Diageo Deal is the focus of a lobbying campaign by our other Caribbean neighbors to officials in Washington DC that will focus even more attention on what’s left of the cover over...
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Why is Senate President Ronald Russell doing legal work for an “interested party” in the Innovative Communications Corporation (ICC) Bankruptcy case? Yesterday, Russell submitted to the District Court a “Motion For Administrative Claim” in the amount of $13,363 for legal services he has provided since July, 2010 to Cardinal Conner, identified in court papers...
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The plot thickens as former Senator David Jones has been identified as the behind the scenes “Bag Man” in the $20 million bribery scheme involving Virgin Islands government officials as revealed by the Daily Caller (DC) online newspaper. The bribes, according to the Department of Justice source, were for Governor John P. de Jongh,...
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The only people who were surprised that there was no bus service on Monday for the public school students on St. Croix were the students and their parents. It was no surprise to the owners of the Abramson Bus Company, who had notified the education administration that unless some $627,000 in outstanding invoices was...
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Playtime is over. The false respite of Carnival is done. While elected officials have been partying on our dime at the Festivities, we at CIF have taken a step back and the view is ominous – but not irreparable. You may not realize it, but the depth and scope of national attention on the...
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One of our bloggers posted this comment earlier today, and we’re interested to know if there’s more feedback like this out there about what you’re hearing from Virgin Islanders who returned home for Carnival. “Looks are deceiving. The Chief Exec was extremely uncomfortable. There were people who refused to shake his hand. In STT,...
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There’s a change in the air, and as the shenanigans that have perplexed us throughout this Administration start to get more and more national (and international) exposure, to quote one of our bloggers, “it’s getting hot.” And nowhere is the heat greater than on Government Hill, where the past five years of blatant disregard...
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Let there be no doubt – Governor John deJongh, Jr., has brought political pressure to bear on multi-million dollar contracts, throwing out local low bidders in favor of contractors of his choice, a Federal court has ruled. FederalNewsRadio.com is reporting that Virgin Islands Paving initially won the contract, bid through the Federal Highway Administration...
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Former St. Croix District Police Chief Oakland Benta has charged Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr., and other government officials with conspiracy in events that led to his ongoing suspension and “de facto” termination from the police department. The charges stem from a July 2009 incident at the home of former ICC owner Jeffrey Prosser...
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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.
