By now you know that on Thursday afternoon, Sen. Adlah “Foncie” Donastorg turned himself into Frederiksted police after being charged with domestic violence by the Virgin Islands Justice Department.

The charges stem from an alleged incident in January involving a 19-year-old St. Thomas woman who, oddly enough, was not identified. The specific charges are one count of assault in the third degree, under the V.I. domestic violence statute; one count of aggravated assault and battery; one count of brandishing a deadly weapon (firearm); and one count of using a dangerous weapon (firearm) in the commission of a crime of violence.

Donastorg’s Attorney Lee Rohn called the Justice Department’s insistence on pressing the charges a “travesty” and said the alleged victim has already admitted the charges are false and that she was offered cash to make them.

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Rohn said that Donastorg felt “persecuted,”  believes that the motivation for the charges is political and that he intends to fight the charges and bring to justice those involved in this episode. Read more »

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Sovereignty, status and native rights are the major areas of review for the US Congress as they evaluate the draft Virgin Islands Constitution submitted by the Fifth Constitutional Convention. 

The draft was submitted to Congress by President Barack Obama on February 26, 2010, and Congress has 60 days to review the document and make its recommendations.

Hearings on the document will be held March 17 in Washington, DC and local testifiers are being invited, according to a press release from Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen. However, based on tight legislative schedules, there will be no hearings held locally to discuss the document, the release said. 

President Obama wrote that he had received the draft from Virgin Islands Governor John P. deJongh, and that deJongh had “expressed his concerns about several provisions of the proposed Constitution. ” As a result, Obama requested and received input from the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior whose analysis concluded that “several features of the proposed constitution warranted analysis and comment,”  and fowarded those concerns, along with the draft, to Congress. (attached below)

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Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that he didn’t have to die.

Let us begin by offering our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and community that is now mourning the senseless death of Hernan “Puchy” Santos, 43, who was gunned down late Saturday night in the Marley Homes in Frederiksted, St. Croix. May they find strength during this most difficult time from the prayers of their community and all who learn of this tragedy.

He was a husband, father, son, brother, role model and contributor. He was a man who, like many of us, had his struggles. But he worked his way through them and at the time of his death was the owner of Yee Feed Shop, his own business, the realization of a dream he never thought was possible but one he worked and sacrificed for until it was his. And now he is dead.

Sometimes death by crime becomes so common it becomes impersonal; we become desensitized but in this case, in the words of his brother Jaime, we begin to feel the crushing, personal reality of the loss.

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His Administration hasn’t exactly been a model of financial responsibility.

There’s the Diageo deal, the Fortune deal, the property tax debacle, the relentless borrowing for operating expenses…

But sometimes you got to give Jack his jacket – and Governor John P. deJongh sure knows how to get a great Return On Investment (ROI) in his real estate deals.

Back in April of 2001, John and Cecile deJongh paid $295,000 for Parcel #23-8  Estate Mafolie. Read more »

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By Winston Nugent

Roy Innis was born, June 6, 1934 on St. Croix. His father, Alexander Innis who was a police officer, died when he was only six years old, and so his mother, Georgianna Innis decided to leave St. Croix and move to New York. She did not send for him until 1947 as she was sending for the rest of his brothers and sisters as money became available.

With his youthful and impressionable mind, he arrived on the “main land,” and went through a cultural shock. This came about as a result of the fact that, the Virgin Islands was a predominantly black society, and where he had moved to, Harlem, New York at the time, racial discrimination was commonplace with the “in-your-face” white supremacy attitude. It is said, during that time, racial confrontation caused many African-American to begin questioning their intellect and the competence of their own race. Read more »

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Life in the Virgin Islands is very stressful lately and when we ran across this photo in the CIF archives of the “Brain Trust At The Bayside” we decided to offer it as a bit of stress relief and a reminder that on St. Croix, this is where the real decisions get made!  Read more »

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Anyone remember these words?

“I cannot support the further issuance of debt under the allusion that this will solve our problems. We must develop a comprehensive solution.” – Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr., 2007 State of the Territory Address

 

We remembered this week when the governor’s financial team told the Senate that without another $100 million in borrowing that the government will run out of money by June.

In what has become a familiar tactic, the Senators heard hours of alarmist testimony concluding with a warning that the only answer is to swiftly approve the additional borrowing when the Governor sends down the bill.

If they don’t, we are told, services will halt and people will lose their jobs.

Let’s put aside for a moment the recent news about the near “junk bond” status of the existing debt. It may be folly to think the markets would extend any more credit even if the request was granted. Let’s not consider the fact that all the viable revenue streams, most visibly property taxes the government has chosen not to collect, are already committed to other expenses and the amount of revenues that are being collected are continuing to fall. And while we’re at it, let’s forget about the fact that for the past three years, appropriations have exceeded available revenue including this year FY 2010, when appropriations were $300 million higher than available resources.

Senators, stop this madness now. Here are the facts and the next steps and please note borrowing more money is nowhere on the list. Read more »

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The Governor can say what he wants about the US Inspector General’s (IG) report on the Mafoliegate scandal, but the local IG is standing firm on its conclusions.

“We do stand behind every single fact on that report. There is nothing on that response that sways us or moves us,” Hannibal Ware, the U.S. agency’s assistant regional manager, told Business Week magazine.

The response Ware is referring to is a defiant letter Governor John deJongh sent in rebuttal to the federal report that concluded he was not authorized to spend $490,000 in public funds earmarked for road repair on security enhancements at his private home at Estate Mafolie on St. Thomas. The office’s report had recommended the money be returned.

In his response, deJongh not only refuted the IG’s conclusion, he declared he would not pay back the funds without a court order and further, in an act of dangerous defiance, questioned the competence and integrity of the investigator who prepared the report. Read more »

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Crime Stoppers is asking your help to solve the following crimes.  If you know something, please report it.  Even information that seems insignificant may be just what law enforcement needs to solve these cases.

St. Croix:  Detectives need your help to identify two or three black males, approximately 18 to 25 years of age, who have been involved in recent armed robberies near the seaplane parking area in Christiansted.  The men, wearing dark clothing and masks, were last seen running toward the Watergut Housing Community.  Please help police identify these robbers.  The minimum reward for an arrest is $890.

St. John:  A burglary occurred at 13C Carolina in Coral Bay on the night of February 6.  While the occupants slept, someone entered the residence and removed two LG cell phones and a CD player with an iPod dock.  Please help police identify this burglar.  The minimum reward for an arrest is $710. 

St. Thomas:  Police are requesting your assistance with a shooting that occurred in the area of Simmonds Alley on February 17 at about 4:00 a.m.  A 43 year-old male victim was shot at least once and later died at the hospital.  Help police find his killer(s).  The minimum reward for an arrest is $1,070.    Read more »

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By Winston Nugent 

“Where have all the soldiers gone?” 

The lyrics of this song have been a question in the minds of quite a few Virgin Islands Veterans and their families for approximately ten years. And it is becoming an obsession for some due the fact that the executive branch, the legislature, and the local veteran’s administration, were informed that the exploits and deeds of American War Veterans have been memorialized through the erection of monuments, such as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Veterans Memorial Wall in Puerto Rico. 

At several meetings and gatherings, St. Croix’s veterans were lectured on the fact that many of their brothers and sisters have given their lives for the protection of peace, liberty and democracy, and there is no memorial in honor of the over 3,000 of them in the Territory. Until this day, the powers that might be, have not seen the need to preserve, memorialize, and promote their heroic deeds. 

What total disrespect!  Read more »

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Scrutiny of the deal with Diageo, LLC, to produce Captain Morgan Rum in the Virgin Islands has gone international, and President Barack Obama has been cautioned that the $2.7 billion subsidy to the rum producer may result in allegations of unfair trade practices from the global community.

And whatever your opinion of the deal, most would agree that the maintenance of the current cover-over structure, from which Diageo will receive its’ $2.7 billion payout, is a critical factor in the financial future of the US Virgin Islands.

The message was delivered to President Obama by Miguel Lausell, Chairman of the National Puerto Rican Coalition.  He told the President that the deal with the Virgin Islands, which will return nearly 50% of the cover over revenues generated from the sale of Captain Morgan Rum in the United States to Diageo, could open the country up to accusations of unfair trade practices from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and create an imbalance in the competitive rum market.

Felix Serralles, president of the family owned Peurto Rico based Serralles distillery that has produced Captain Morgan in the past, added that the size of the subsidy seemed out of proportion to good business practice, stating, “The subsidies will be almost twice the price of the production of the rum.” Read more »

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