VOL. 6; NO.2
March 2008
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS 3/6/08)-
Forty passengers traveling between St. Thomas and St. John got a
surprise security screening, the day after a special federal-local law
enforcement team performed similar checks at the seaplane dock.
Seven people with invalid immigration status were taken into custo-
dy, and officers confiscated at least 3 bags of marijuana during the
morning operation at the ferry dock in Red Hook.
The bags of passengers departing St. Thomas were sniffed by can-
ine units and some were chosen at random for hand searches and
metal detection screening. Eight ferry passengers were not carry-
ing photo ID, but Customs officers were able to ascertain their cit-
izenship through questioning.
Unannounced security checks may be performed at other trans-
portation departure points throughout the territory in the future.
The operations are being carried out by US Coast Guard, Federal
Air Marshals, V.I. Police Dept. and Port Authority, with help from
US DEA and Immigration and Customs.
ROSEAU, DOMINICA (AP 2/25/08)- A coalition of environmental-
ists announced plans to protest a planned Dominica oil refinery
that would be financed under Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's
PetroCaribe program to supply cheap fuel to poor nations. The
activists warn that the $76 million refinery, expected to produce
10,000 barrels of oil a day, could threaten the environment on this
lush island that promotes itself as the Caribbean's top ecotourism
draw.
Hotel operators are also strongly opposed to the refinery. But
backers say the facility will supply much needed jobs and diversify
Dominica's fragile agriculture-tourism based economy.
ST. CROIX, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS 3/3/08)- The US EPA recently
issued its latest Toxic Release Inventory data for chemicals re-
leased into the air, water and land by facilities in the territory. The
report shows a decrease of 24,000 pounds of sulfuric acid mist
from the HOVENSA oil refinery due to the processing of low sulfur
crudes at the fluid catalytic cracker. It also shows an increase in
total releases of TRI pollutants, largely attributed to volatile organic
compound emmisions from the refinery.
In a prepared statement, HOVENSA vice-president Alex Moorhead
estimated the increase was approximately 68,000 pounds and that
20,000 pounds of it was attributable to an increase in nitrates in the
water discharged by HOVENSA's wastewater treatment plant. The
statement went on to say, "Despite the increase in nitrates, the
company remained in compliance in its permit on the quality of
water released into the sea."
HOVENSA's TRI has decreased from 1,055,000 pounds in 1998 to
846,000 in 2006.
TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS 2/23/08)-
Through a project funded by the BVI National Parks Trust and the
United Kingdom Overseas Territories Program Fund, 28 additional
cages have been built for endangered Anegada rock iguanas. The
trust manages the Headstart facility, which provides a safe haven
for juvenile iguanas captured from the wilds, providing them with a
safe place to grow without threat from predators. After about 2
years of growth, the iguanas are large enough to survive and are
released back to the wild.
To date, about 100 iguanas have been added to the wild popula-
tion. The National Parks Trust works with international scientists
and the local community to ensure the long-term conservation of
the uniquely BVI reptiles. The rock iguana is endemic to Anegada.
The iguana's plight has inspired a range of actions to save them
from extinction and restore their population.
Research indicates that there are less than 300 of the iguanas
living in the wild, as the population is threatened by habitat loss
and predation by cats and snakes during their juvenile years. They
are the largest lizards in the BVI, growing up to 4 feet.
ST. CROIX, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS 2/28/08)- New Jersey devel-
oper Paul Golden announced that Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
will be the flagship hotel management company for his $250 mil-
lion casino resort development at Great Pond Bay. Construction
of the 400-room casino resort is expected to begin this spring
and open in 2010.
The 294 acre property will include a 25,000 square-foot casino,
conference center, 18 hole golf course, 17,000 square-foot spa
and fitness center, 4 restaurants, lounges and retail stores.
The project has been controversial because of concerns about
potential harm to the ecosystem of Great Pond Bay. In May,
2004 the St. Croix Costal Zone Management Committee granted
Golden a permit- by default- when they failed to act on the devel-
opers application within the required time.
When the committee reversed itself in July 2004, Golden filed an
appeal with the Board of Land Use Appeals, which eventually ruled
in his favor in January 2005. A month later, the V.I. Conservation
Society petitioned V.I. Superior Court for a writ of review to exam-
ine the board's action. However, in May 2006, the court affirmed
the issuance of the permit.
Environmentalist Olasee Davis stated: "In 1979, Great Pond Bay
was designated as one of 18 Areas of Particular Concern in the
Virgin Islands. APC's are areas with significant natural, cultural,
recreational, historical and/or marine resources. In 1993, then-
governor Farrelly signed into law the 18 APC's. The proposed hotel
and casino is within the boundaries of the Great Pond Bay APC,
which were established to protect the ecosystem. In front of the
proposed hotel development is the largest mangrove salt pond in
the Virgin Islands-covering acres of water with endangered species
and other wildlife. I agree we need a hotel and convention center,
but not in this APC. Are we so desperate that we are willing to de-
stroy our resources in the name of gaming?"
CAP-HATIEN, HAITI (AP 3/18/08)- While millions of Haitians go
hungry, containers full of food are stacking up in the nation's ports
because of government red tape- leaving tons of beans, rice and
other staples to rot under a sweltering sun or be devoured by
vermin. The port system is so corrupt, it has made Haiti a major
conduit for Columbian cocaine and led to backlogs so severe they
are being felt 600 miles away in Miami, where cargo shipments to
Haiti have ground to a standstill.
The problems are depriving desperate people of donated food.
Some are so poor they are forced to eat cookies made of dirt, salt
and vegetable oil to satisfy their hunger. "By the time the food gets
out of Customs it's expired and we're forced to burn it. The food is
there- it just can't get to the people", said Susie Krabacher, whose
Colorado-based Mercy and Sharing Foundation has worked in
Haiti for 14 years.
An AP investigation found the situation most severe in Cap-Hatien,
Haiti's 2nd largest city. Recently, garbage men shoveled a pile of
rotting pinto beans that had turned gray and crumbled to dust as
cockroaches and beetles scurried about. They had found the pu-
trid cargo by following a stench through stacked shipping contain-
ers to one holding 40,000 pounds of beans. It had been there
since November.
Haiti imports about 75% of its food supply. There is little room for
error in a country where almost half the population is undernourish-
ed. Cap Terminal normally has 50 containers in its yard. More than
200 are now stacked up, at least half belonging to Miami-based
Frontier Liner Services. That company, like several others, has
stopped shipping to Haiti until the delays are resolved and its emp-
ty containers are returned. Haiti-bound cargo traffic in Florida's
Miami River is at a virtual standstill.
Haitian President Rene Preval has called for a crackdown on illegal
contraband and a lowering of exorbitant container fees that are 3
times higher than in neighbouring Dominican Republic. But while
lawmakers haggle over the answers, precious food rots by the ton.
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS (AP 3/24/08)- Unusually large waves
churned by an Atlantic storm system have littered the beaches of
Barbados with broken coral in what could be a sign of damage to
reefs across the region. The amount of rubble on the islands west
coast suggests the coral took a heavy pounding.
The waves, reaching as high as 30 feet, lashed coastlines from
Guyana to the Dominican Republic as a large low pressure system
idled off the coast of Nova Scotia generating the swells. At their
peak a buoy north of the USVI recorded swells of 15 feet- the high-
est since 1991.Several countries reported flooding in coastal areas.
Coral reefs, already dying off across the Caribbean due to coastal
pollution, overfishing and disease, did not need this added burden
to their survival.
ST. THOMAS, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS 3/18/08)- On a terraced old
lot beside the 99 Steps in downtown Charlotte Amalie, student
archeologists have been sifting through St. Thomas' rich port his-
tory- one button, bead and bullet at a time. Syracuse University of
New York has begun a significant excavation at the historic
Magens Petersen homesite, now part of the 5-acre Blackbeard's
Castle.
The home was destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, but deco-
rative ironwork from the viranda still rises in perfect arches from
the old homes foundation. Since 1825, the property has made its
way through the hands of royally-appointed officials, Scottish
merchants and prominant local families.
Archeology is usually equated with prehistoric digs, but an exca-
vation like this one illuminates an urban Caribbean past that is
rarely explored in the field.The project will further the understanding
of how Virgin Islands residents met the requirments of their en-
vironment in the 18th century and beyond.
Joachim Melchior Magens, a high-ranking official appointed to the
Royal Council on St. Thomas was the first to reside on the prop-
erty with his 10 children. The McDougal's, a Scottish merchant
family, purchased the property in 1847 and held it until 1923.
Later, A.H. Lockhart Sr. acquired the land. It was last owned by
the Petersen family before Blackbeard's Castle picked it up after
the 1995 hurricane.
Syracuse brought down 11 students on their Spring Break. In June
a larger group will come to the site for 2 to 3 weeks of field work.
During this week-long period, the students turned up ceramics,
coral, beads and a bullet. They also found bones of cows, chickens
and goats. The property was one of the last in town to keep
livestock.
"St. Thomas is a fascinating place as a port, a meld of people",
said Christian Williamson, a Syracuse Doctoral student in Anthro-
pology. " The ships are bigger now, but you get merchants, and
Main Street is full of people from all over the world. It's very authen-
tic to what it was. This is simply an evolution that I see. I don't see
development and commerce as necessarily a bad thing, especially
when you connect it to history."
ST. CROIX, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS 3/24/08)- A group of indepent
filmmakers from Denmark are here filming a documentary about the
island's culture and shared history with Denmark- good and bad.
The group began filming the docudrama, titled "Blackman", on a
beach near Cotton Valley. In the scene, well-known Danish actor
David Dencik gives historical facts about the island, talking into a
hand-held camera.
In the film, Dencik's character is a recluse who goes on a journey
around St. Croix, visiting historical places and reflecting on the
negative impacts of more than 175 years of slavery and colonisa-
tion under the Danish flag.The films producer, Julie Sophie Vang,
said the film aims to point out the differences in the two cultures
while looking back at history.
The group will film more than 700 scenes over 13 days. "In Den-
mark we don't have huge budgets like films in America", said
Production Designer Katrine Hyllegaard. "While many big-budget
films focus on effects, our films are more about the subject matter
and the characters."
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (AP 3/18/08)- Painter Rafael Tufino,
who became a major Pueto Rican cultural figure with his depictions
of island life has passed at age 85, prompting 2 days of official
mourning. Known as the "Painter of the People", Tufino died of
lung cancer at a San Juan hospital.
Tufino's works, including landscapes and portraits, are in the col-
lections of institutions including the US Library of Congress and
New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
KINGSTON, JAMAICA (OBSERVER 3/11/08)- Reggae singer
Cocoa Tea has recorded a song in tribute to US presidential can-
didate Barack Obama, becoming the 2nd major Caribbean per-
former to endorse him with a tune. The lyrics refer to him as a
"trendsetter" and call on Americans to "unite as one" behind him.
The Mighty Sparrow, Trinidad's legendary Calypso composer,
recently released a track titled "Barack the Magnificent".
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK:
So, what to make of the stories reported in this latest edition...
The immigration "shakedown" in a US territory is interesting in the
fact that it revealed nothing or noone along the terrorist or contra-
band smuggling front, but was merely harassment of local resi-
dents. The time of day as well as day of the week that the
"surprise" screenings occurred show that the agencies involved
couldn't possibly have thought they were going to break up any-
thing major-save for dumb luck or a boatload of Chinese runaways.
And isn't it interesting they chose the week before Spring Break
insanity would be arriving. Wouldn't want to upset tourism, even
though those are the more opportune times for the baddies to
operate.
I put the two oil refinery stories together for a purpose. For
HOVENSA to actually be patting themselves on the back for
burping 24,000 less pounds of sulfuric acid into the air, yet over-
all dumping more pollutants into the sea is laughable. But hey,
their well within their permit....Does beautiful Dominica truly want
to run the risk of destroying their environment forever- on the lame
excuse that it will help their "fragile" economy? I'm completely in
favor of Mr. Chavez's efforts to bring adequate, fair-priced oil to the
region, but it must be done responsibly.
Same with the Paul Golden story. Do the gains of a few jobs and
dollars from gaming outweigh the loss forever to the coastal en-
vironment? People who come to a place to gamble, don't come
for the scenery- as long as there's a pool, they're happy. Las
Vegas has proven that. So build your hotel/casino/convention
center/golf course and on and on. But build responsibly and in a
way that isn't going to destroy what little is left of St. Croix's re-
sources.
The story on Haiti is just too sad to stomach. Didn't we learn any
of the lessons from the aid to Bangla-Desh stories of the '70's?
Or the Ethiopian famine relief stories of the '80's? We can't just
dump it on their doorstep and expect them to complete the job!
We have to see it all the way through- right to their bellies! We,
as a nation, helped cause the mess Haiti is in right now and we
can not, must not turn our backs on them. Dirt cookies, people!
I was in St. John when the giant swells came down from Nova
Scotia. I had noticed the phenomenon's generation the night be-
fore while perusing the Arawakroots on-line weather maps and
wondering what its impacts might be. The first-ever high surf
warning in the month of March, beach closures and erosion and
a few injuries. Locals I spoke with noted it was another addition
to an already strange winter weather season.
To finish- be they from the U.S. or be they from Denmark, it's
great to know that at least the last two occupiers of these
islands give a damn about their history and are willing to en-
lighten us- even on their very tight budgets.
Stay tuned, as the next quickly mashed together edition will
take the microcosm that is the Caribbean region, and shrink it
further to life on the island of St. John-good and bad.
Bill O'Smiley (aka Pato)
Editor-in-Chief
