Rumors swirled furiously late Wednesday night as to whether or not a federal indictment has been handed down in the matter of Virgin Islands Governor John P. deJongh, Jr., and the spending of $490,000 in public funds to make enhancements to his private home in Estate Mafolie on St. Thomas.
We don’t know. We are checking.
But we promise that as soon as any information is confirmed, we will let you know. Read more »
“Nonsense!”
That’s how Sen. Michael Thurland described the Virgin Islands Reparation Movement Tuesday in an unprovoked outburst during the Legislative session.
During a discussion of an unrelated government land purchase, Thurland attacked the reparations initiative and those who believe in the movement that seeks acknowledgement of, and compensation for, the consequences of Denmark’s colonization and practice of slavery in the Virgin Islands.
It was a vicious attack on the movement spearheaded by reparations activist Shelley Moorhead and his organization, the African Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance (ACRRA). Moorhead is currently in Denmark meeting with representatives of the Danish government. The history of the organization, founded by Moorhead six year ago, has been a contentious one with the Virgin Islands government, which has promised but has not delivered financial support to the reparations initiative. Read more »
Guest Column by Cheryl Wade, MD, PC
It seems that just about everyone is getting cancer these days. It is happening to our families and to our friends. It is happening to us. Cancer is a life threatening disease and it terrifies us because we don’t understand it. There seems to be no way to predict why, when, or how with this disease. Here are some of the facts that we do know about cancer and some of the facts that we are rediscovering.
We are going to look at cutting edge science that points to cancer as a symptom of the breakdown of some of the body’s key operating systems on a cellular level. The cell is the basic operating unit of the body. Groups of cells working together make up our organs and tissues.
The material that I am sharing comes mainly from an article by Dr. Jeffrey Bland co- founder of the Institute for Functional Medicine. The article appears in the Mar/April issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.
What is becoming clear from current research is that each person’s cancer is slightly different on a molecular and cellular level than everyone else’s hence one size fits all does not quite work. There has to be some individualization of treatment. Read more »
The letter printed below was written by Atty. Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead in response to a letter by US Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY) concerning the case of Agent William Clark, an Federal Agent who was involved in a controversial shooting incident on St. Thomas. In September, 2008, Clark shot and killed Marcus Sukow, his neighbor, in the course of the domestic violence dispute involving Sukow and his girlfriend. Clark, who was off duty at the time, was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and two counts of using a dangerous weapon. His trial is currently pending in the Virgin Islands courts, scheduled to begin in October.
Controversy swirled immediately around whether the shooting was justified and whether Clark, an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent, had jurisdiction to take his actions and whether he was Constitutionally protected in the Virgin Islands. Read more »
There is Williams Delight; there is Nadir; and now there is Glyn and the surrounding areas on St. Croix where standing water is turning the landscape into a breeding ground for the dengue mosquito.
Crucians In Focus has received numerous phone calls and emails from the residents of Glyn, MonBijou and Frangipani who have tried in vain to get action from St. Croix Administrator Dodson James.
Maybe by publishing these photos we can get his attention. Or is this another example of a situation this Administration will not address until someone dies from the fever?
There is treatment for standing ponds like those pictured above and below that would help eradicate the deadly mosquito population and residents are frustrated that there is no response to their cries for action.
They said the water was running like river rapids through Nadir last week when torrential rainfall struck that flood-prone area in St. Thomas.
They watched as streets turned into sheets of fast moving water, carrying mud and debris into cars, yards and homes. They watched the level of the water in the Nadir Gut rise, and eventually overflow, as clogged output pipes and a failing system were unable to manage the flow.
They prayed that the rain would stop long enough or the levels to go down before the next wave – and they prayed that there wouldn’t be any kind of medical or other emergency, because there were periods when no aid could come in and no one could get out.
And when the clouds finally parted, and they had a chance to assess the damage, we wonder if they thought about how much of the calamity could have been avoided if the $1.3 million in reprogrammed funds from the Nadir Flood Control project had been left in place.
You remember those funds, don’t you? Those were the public funds that through the manipulations of Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr., his accomplices Sen. Carlton “Ital” Dowe, and certain other members of the Legislature, his legal staff and Administration, ended up illegally funding the improvements at the Governor’s private home at Estate Mafolie. Read more »
Was she there to defend the budget proposal or the Governor?
In a singsong presentation on the proposed FY2011 budget for the Office of the Governor, presenter Nellie C. Varlack was in turn petulant, proprietary and protective of her boss, Governor John P. deJongh, Jr.
And the tone and content of her presentation caused one senator to invoke the image of the “Men In Black” to describe the actions of this Administration.
Varlack, whose title is Director of Business and Administration, appeared Thursday in front of the Committee for Appropriations and Budget. The topic was supposed to be the $10.3 million budget request to operate the Office of the Governor, the Bureau of Economic Research and the Energy Office.
But it quickly became apparent that this was as much about the Governor as it was about the budget. And some of her comments caused us, and some of the Senators who questioned her, to alternately smirk and ultimately wonder whether this was a comedy routine or a campaign infomercial. Read more »
Crucians In Focus President Michael Springer today blasted the so called tourist protection program put forth on Thursday by Governor John P. deJongh, Jr, and Police Commissioner Novelle Francis.
Calling it the “Politics of Public Safety,” Springer called the Administration’s comprehensive plan to clean up Coki Point beach after the July 12 shootout in which a tourist was killed “segregationist” and warned that this approach would not have the desired effect.
In his news conference on Thursday, deJongh outlined the plan that will close Coki Point Beach for 10 days while several significant changes will be made in response to the shooting incident, including an increased police presence, debris removal, landscaping, and bathhouse construction. Pay no mind to the number of critical projects underway by government agencies for the local communities. Apparently no expense, human or monetary, will be spared. Read more »
You knew it was going to happen, but that doesn’t diminish the outrage we should all feel at the intensity of the response of this Administration to the July 12 shootout at Coki Point.
Now that a tourist has been killed by the crime and violence we have been forced to endure on a daily basis, a “comprehensive plan” for the renovation of Coki Point has been announced by Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr.
In a news conference Thursday, deJongh outlined the 10-day plan that includes closing the beach and executing a number of initiatives that should have been completed long ago for the local population, but are now priorities because a tourist was caught in the crossfire. And not one time in the broadcast was the fact that a local man was also killed even mentioned. It’s all about the tourists.
Anyone would think the problems at Coki Point are a new development. Read more »
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