You’re not the least bit surprised are you? Of course Julito Francis was fired. Somebody had to go down and it wasn’t going to be Governor deJongh. We’ve already seen the sanitized version of the Thursday meeting where the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network voted unanimously to fire Francis. The governor is quoted as...
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You gotta’ love the spin. Here’s what the release on the Governor’s website said about the “release” of the federal funds allocated to the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network (VINGN) – funds that were frozen by the government after a scathing audit of operations in June. “I was always confident that our team would...
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Between the two of them they owe nearly $300,000 in delinquent taxes. Between the two of them there is a mountain of unkept promises about how they had the answer to our cripplingly expensive energy issues. But one is concentrating on a futile challenge to a federal warrant served recently on the Legislature. And...
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While we consider our analysis of Wednesday’s Broadband update meeting, we can’t help but note the disturbing similarities between last night’s session an many of the other significant public forums that started with a whimper, ended with a frustrated sigh. From the lack of responsiveness of Angel Dawson, clearly this week’s front-man for this...
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Well let’s start to connect some dots. It seems we will have to wait a little bit longer to hear the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority (PFA) explain the financial mismanagement of the broadband funds to the Legislature because they’ve got to explain it to the Federal authorities first. Sen. Shawn Malone has announced that...
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The Legislative committee that oversees the Territory’s Broadband initiative has told Governor John deJongh that immediate steps must be taken to include local businesses in the multi-million dollar initiative. The letter from Sen. Shawn Malone’s committee on Economic Development, Technology and Agriculture, was triggered after an August 5 Broadband update hearing when they learned...
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We know all about conflict of interest here in the Virgin Islands. We see it almost daily – in the letting of contracts, the appointment of government positions, in Mafoliegate. And the cronies still have their contracts, politician’s wives still have their jobs, and the Governor still has his gate. So why is it...
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One year and five days before the 29th Legislature approved the $38 million in borrowing for the Broadband project, Julito Francis told the US Department of Commerce he had already secured 20% of the matching funding for the initiative. This would have been a requirement for approval to receive $68 million in federal funds. On...
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Hey Virgin Islands, have we got a deal for you! Today, and today only (or maybe tomorrow, or next week), you can mortgage yourselves even further into the future and sink another $38 million into a project that has all the earmarks of another Government debacle in the making. All you need to remember...
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So in the end, it all came down to this: By a vote of 10 yes, 3 no, 1 absent and 1 excused, the Senate voted today to float $38 million in tax guaranteed bonds to fund the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network (VINGN), the high speed broadband initiative that has held us in...
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It only took 27 minutes Tuesday night for the Senate Rules Committee to pass an amended Broadband bill on to the Committee of the Whole to consider at Wednesday’s full hearing on St. Thomas. By a vote of 6-0-1, the Committee sent the hotly contested bill forward, with Senators Usie Richards, Chairman; Alicia Hansen;...
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It’s probably going to be a long night, but the blog is open for those who are listening to the Rules Committee make its mark on the Broadband proposal we all know so much about. The bill, which requests now $38 million if approved as amended last week, would allow the Virgin Islands Next...
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Commentary by Michael J. Springer Jr., President, Crucians In Focus Just bend over. After wasting our time with two weeks of bad theater and a morning filled with mindless conversation about the Public Services Commission, Sen. Louis Hill put forth his long awaited “amendment” to the Broadband bill – an amendment with enough loopholes to choke...
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You’d think that when your own expert blows holes in your revenue and operating model, you’d listen. Remember Dr. John Williams, the technology consultant who Sen. Shawn Malone invited to testify at the April 5 hearing of the Committee on Economic Development, Technology and Agriculture? Remember his calm and cogent warnings about flaws in...
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Well the timing on this is certainly going to be interesting. “Urgency” has been the byword in the discussions about the proposed Broadband initiative. When we first heard from Virgin Islands Next Generation Network (VINGN) President and CEO Julito Francis on March 24, he told the Senate that if they didn’t approve the bill...
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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.
