After careful consideration, we at CIF have decided to treat the Governor, and his disgraceful, irresponsible, juvenile performance during the State of the Territory Address the same way you treat a recalcitrant child. We’re pretty much going to ignore it. But not entirely. Sure, we’ve got the audio, painful as it is to review...
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Join us here to begin blogging on activities surrounding Operation Yellow Cedar and subsequently the 2012 State of the Territory Address. The blog will open at 6 p.m. The Address is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tell us what you see and hear, both before and during the address, as we listen to...
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There will be “good news” and “highlights” of this past year’s accomplishments in tonight’s State of the Territory Address, according to published reports. And as we await this belated 2012 address, we wonder what can they possibly be? This time last year he told us “I believe that we must work hard to improve...
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What is the Hovensa refinery required to provide to the Virgin Islands now that it has shut down its operations? Nothing. What provisions are there in the Third Extension Agreement that define any compensation Hovensa owes the Virgin Islands if it decides to stop refining oil? None. It’s not a lease. It’s not a...
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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? ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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. ecess! 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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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Those who are serious about recalling members of the St. Croix Board of Elections can now join an organized movement to make that happen. Recall Petitions for Election Board members Ana L. “Anita” Davila, Carmen Golden, Dodson K. James, Lisa Harris-Moorhead, Esq., Rupert W. Ross, Jr., and Raymond J. Williams were submitted to the...
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Join us tonight for a live blog during the Alpine Energy Group hearing before the Legislature beginning at 6 p.m. Yesterday’s hearing on St. Thomas went well into the night, wrapping up around midnight. But it is expected that tonight’s hearing, because of the effect this project will have on St. Croix, already overloaded...
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Really Governor? We are still shaking our heads at this one. In your wife’s car, in the night, with a 35-year-old woman who, by the way, is not your wife, in a parking lot at UVI, doing who knows what? Really Governor? Here in two audio clips is the full conversation between “Recon” Olive...
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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.
