By Winston Nugent

He was called “The Voice of Harlem Radicalism.” He was born in Estate Concordia, St. Croix during Danish occupation of the now U.S. Virgin Islands.

When his mother and father died, he traveled to New York, an orphan at the age of 17 years old. He found odd jobs such as a bellhop and as an elevator operator. He was an intelligent and ambitious young man and so he decided to attend night school where he studied sociology, science, psychology, literature and drama.

As a result of confrontations with racial oppression, he gravitated to and joined the socialist party where he met African-Americans and Caribbean-Americans such as A. Phillip Randolph, Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Cyril Briggs, and Chandler Owen. These social activists and writer of the Harlem Renaissance admired his intellect, the nicknamed, The Black Socrates.” Read more »

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“Free Speech” has been silenced in the US Virgin Islands, and in this instance, the silence is golden.

Last week marked the end of a dark era in VI Radio, the era of one Roger W. Morgan (if that was his real name) when his ironically named talk show left the air. The departure marked the end of several months of controversy surrounding the radio host’s operation of a “foundation” that was never approved by the VI Government and conflicting information about his ownership of a radio station in Virginia.

He found an audience in those who relished his self-righteous, far right wing, divisive style, characterized by his patronizing and often outright rude behavior to those who attempted to participate in his program that held a different view. And while clearly we believe in everyone’s right to their own opinion, we won’t miss hearing his. Read more »

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Crime Stoppers is asking your help to solve the following crimes. Even the smallest bit of information may be just what law enforcement needs to solve these cases. Read more »

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(Editor’s Note: CIF would like to thank Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen for providing us with a copy of this report.)

The government that receives the rum cover-over has the discretion to spend it as it pleases, and legislation brought forth by Puerto Rico limiting its use would violate the Congressional intent of the rum rebate program.

That is the conclusion of a report issued by the Congressional Research Service on January 20, 2010. The report and its conclusion have been publicized recently by the Administration to support the financial arrangements regarding the use of the cover over revenues in the Diageo and Cruzan rum deals.

The report, attached here, provides a summary of the rebate program and is a balanced review of the issues raised by the recent VI rum deals. But equally interesting is the information contained in this report regarding the current and future costs of some of the provisions in both of those deals for the Virgin Islands. Read more »

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By Winston Nugent
The first boxer born in the Virgin Islands to ever become a world boxing champion was Emile Alphonse Griffith, born February 3, 1938, on St. Thomas.  As a young man he moved to New York.  It was by accident when he was discovered.

It is said as a teen he was working at a hat factory on a hot summer day when the owner of the hat factory agreed to his request to work shirtless. When the owner, a former amateur boxer noticed his frame, he took Griffith to trainer Clancy’s gym and as they would say, “the rest was history.”

He won the New York Golden Gloves in 1958 and turned professional that same year. Many in the boxing world recognized him as a three division world champion. He was a consummate fighter. He retired with a record of (85) wins; (25) knockouts; (24) loses and (2) draws. Read more »

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Those road repairs would be moving a lot quicker around here if there were only contractors who had the equipment and commitment to get them done.  That, in essence, is what Department of Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls told the Legislature Wednesday when questioned about the lack of progress on already funded road repair projects in the Virgin Islands.

But the president of Virgin islands Paving says Smalls is incorrect, and quickly corrected the “misconception” in a letter to the Senate president on Thursday.

Smalls continued his testimony by saying that he’s asked the contractors to lease more equipment to get the work done, but, alas, with little success.

This prompted Senate President Louis Patrick Hill to make this statement:

“So the companies are holding us hostage,” he said.

Not so, says VI Paving President Robert Schierloh. His company did respond to Smalls’ concerns about the disparity between the amount of work to be done and the available resources by securing a loan from Banco Popular and spending $1 million on new equipment since last October.

So naturally he was concerned with both Smalls’ testimony and Hill’s response. Read more »

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The excise tax on gasoline exported from the Virgin Islands and the condition of public housing communities were the topics of a letter from Sen. Nellie O’Reilly to an official of the Secretary of the Interior. 

In a letter dated February 1, 2010, O’Reilly thanked Anthony Babauta, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas, for visiting the territory and addressing the members of the 28th Legislature, and reminded him about some of her concerns. 

“One of the issues most critical to the territory’s future economic sustainability is the return of the excise taxes collected on gasoline exported to, and sold in the United States, from the Virgin Islands,” stated Senator O’Reilly. “The ability of the Virgin Islands government to receive a portion of these taxes would result in much needed revenues to our territory to fund infrastructure projects such as schools and hospitals.”  Read more »

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