Dear Source,
Gov. Charles Turnbull's shell game of government funds can't continue much longer. The governor continues to tell anyone who will listen that his administration has made major economic progress in the last four years, but in reality the opposite is true. We have not created or identified new revenue streams, we have borrowed more than ever for operating purposes, and for FY 2003 we will rely on delinquent accounts for revenues. This is not economic growth.
Early in the week, Management and Budget Director Ira Mills forecast that FY 2002 revenues could be close to $62,000,000, or 11 percent, less than originally estimated. He explained that in light of this new prediction his staff was in the process of reducing spending levels for all governmental departs and agencies. I applaud Mr. Mills for his honesty and prudent reaction to the shortfall.
Yet, in light of this news, and the governor's inability to grow the private sector, we now have our government in financial risk in covering vendor payments and employee salaries. Doesn't the governor's recent decision to pay his top employees retroactive pay from last October 1 seem foolhardy at best and fiscally irresponsible at worst?
I'm sure I'm not the only one concerned about the shifting sources of money being used to keep the government afloat. I'm sure others were just as concerned when the governor took $4,000,000 from the V.I. Port Authority to cover cash-flow shortages to meet the needs of school maintenance and repairs. Now that same authority's management is predicting a $5,000,000 shortfall by the end of September, with the strong possibility that airport landing fees will have to be raised. This Territory can ill afford to jeopardize its fragile tourism economy by adding more fees to the airlines.
John de Jongh
St. Thomas
Candidate for Governor
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Dear Source,
Gov. Charles Turnbull's shell game of government funds can't continue much longer. The governor continues to tell anyone who will listen that his administration has made major economic progress in the last four years, but in reality the opposite is true. We have not created or identified new revenue streams, we have borrowed more than ever for operating purposes, and for FY 2003 we will rely on delinquent accounts for revenues. This is not economic growth.
Early in the week, Management and Budget Director Ira Mills forecast that FY 2002 revenues could be close to $62,000,000, or 11 percent, less than originally estimated. He explained that in light of this new prediction his staff was in the process of reducing spending levels for all governmental departs and agencies. I applaud Mr. Mills for his honesty and prudent reaction to the shortfall.
Yet, in light of this news, and the governor's inability to grow the private sector, we now have our government in financial risk in covering vendor payments and employee salaries. Doesn't the governor's recent decision to pay his top employees retroactive pay from last October 1 seem foolhardy at best and fiscally irresponsible at worst?
I'm sure I'm not the only one concerned about the shifting sources of money being used to keep the government afloat. I'm sure others were just as concerned when the governor took $4,000,000 from the V.I. Port Authority to cover cash-flow shortages to meet the needs of school maintenance and repairs. Now that same authority's management is predicting a $5,000,000 shortfall by the end of September, with the strong possibility that airport landing fees will have to be raised. This Territory can ill afford to jeopardize its fragile tourism economy by adding more fees to the airlines.
John de Jongh
St. Thomas
Candidate for Governor
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Aug. 3, 2002 – Two firefighters were slightly injured Saturday when an unidentified chemical substance ignited inside a trailer near a downtown St. Thomas gas station.
The incident took place around noon near the Polyberg Texaco station, about two blocks northeast of the Federal Building. Emergency crews from the Police Department, Fire Service, Emergency Medical Service and V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency responded quickly to the scene.
According to Merwyn Potter, Fire Service chief for the St. Thomas-St. John district, the two firefighters suffered inhalation injuries from noxious fumes as they tried to put out the fire inside the trailer. "They went in there because there was a fire involved," he said, and as water from a fire hose came in contact with some chemicals, it set off a reaction.
The two men were taken to nearby Roy L. Schneider Hospital, where they were treated and released. They then returned to the scene of the fire to continue working.
Clayton Sutton, VITEMA deputy director, said the trailer, which Texaco owns, was parked near the gas station. It contains the system that is used to keep the underground soil around the gas station clean.
Polyberg Texaco is a small gas station along a narrow roadway in a densely populated residential area, surrounded by two-story buildings. The station, which was open for business at the time of the incident, was not damaged, but Potter said about 20 people were evacuated from the area, including a family of six.
The station was closed for the remainder of Saturday but will reopen on Sunday, owner Tom Gutshall said.
Gutshall, who saw the smoke from his Raphune Hill home, called 911. "The response from the fire department, VITEMA and the haz-mat people and the police was extremely professional," he said. "I was very impressed."
Emergency workers spent several hours conducting a hazardous materials procedure to assess the situation. "We're still going through an assessment phase, trying to determine what it is" that caused the fire, Sutton said late Saturday afternoon.
Police had set up road blocks in the area, directing motorists away from the scene until the situation was resolved. As of 5:45 p.m. residents were being allowed back into the area.
Sutton said although the chemicals have not been identified, it is known that "they are not toxic and not explosive."
He said emergency managers will return to the site on Monday to conduct further tests seeking to identify the chemicals.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Aug. 2, 2002 – The Virgin Islands has received a jarring blow from the airline industry, one that is expected to affect a large portion of travelers to and from the territory and further cripple its troubled tourism market.
All of the nation's major air carriers very quietly last month discontinued their senior coupon programs that had allowed anyone at least 62 years of age to fly within the United States at deeply discounted rates. The move represents a major financial setback not only to V.I. and Puerto Rico seniors, but to anyone else 62 or older who travels to the islands.
American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways each had their own version of the booklets. Valid for one year, they contained four coupons good for one-way travel anywhere within the continental United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Two coupons were required for travel to Hawaii or Alaska. The booklets sold for about $675, varying with each airline. So, a round-trip from the territory to San Francisco and back, for instance, would cost about $340.
Although the programs have been discontinued nationwide, the Virgin Islands will suffer the most. The reason given by the airlines for the move is that many fares available to the general public are now cheaper than the coupons. This may be true in some parts of the country, but from the Virgin Islands, it costs at least $350 round trip to get to Miami, the nearest U.S. mainland airport, on top of the cost to one's actual destination beyond Miami.
Derryle Berger, vice president of Caribbean Travel, is incensed by the move. "It is a huge disservice to seniors, but particularly to the V.I. and Puerto Rico," she said. "It shows how little they truly care about their market. It hurts, and it hurts big."
Caribbean Travel, which opened in 1962, is the territory's oldest travel agency, and it has a large and loyal following. Berger, who was raised on St. Thomas and now works out of her new Florida home, said the consequences will be far-reaching. "We sell around 350 senior travel booklets a year," she said. "Now, what are our customers going to do?"
The argument that today's low fares are sometimes cheaper than the coupon booklets is "specious, as far as I'm concerned," Berger said. "That may be true for someone in California, but what about the Caribbean?"
And, she said, it won't just affect outbound residents. "Loads of people here in Florida use the booklets to travel to the V.I. at least a couple times a year," she said, noting the state's large expatriate population from the territory. There was a time when the islands "were the favored stepchildren, but we're not any more," she said. "The airlines have no regard whatsoever for taking care of people in the Caribbean, or their economy."
Further, Berger said, "It's a double-edged sword. We have people with a home or a business on St. Thomas who have a home in the U.S. People have made decisions on living in the islands, buying a condo there, because they can travel cheaply back and forth. I've had people buy as many as 20 coupon books a year. Now people will be lucky to afford one trip a year."
She said she was surprised not to have heard "a peep" from AARP — the American Association of Retired Persons. "That's the American association," she said. "We are part of America, and people should start raising holy hell."
Local AARP official urges action
If Denyce Singleton, AARP state director for the Virgin Islands, has anything to say about it, AARP members will be doing just that. Singleton urged all members to call the national headquarters and register a complaint, while making it clear that this is a "suggestion."
"We do not have the right to tell anyone how to develop rules. Whether they follow through, we're not sure, but at least we have made them aware of our voice," she said. "The situation has a totally different impact on us. We want to alert them that this is happening, and it doesn't impact all members equally."
The number for AARP members to call is (800) 424-3410, choosing option 5. Singleton noted, "You may have to explain what you're talking about, but be clear. Tell them you are lodging a complaint about the effect losing the senior discount travel books will have on you traveling from the Caribbean."
Singleton said the national AARP office documents all complaints and forwards them to the proper department. "This is going to impact those who have health problems more than most people," she said. "Travel is more than a luxury with a lot of residents who have to travel to the states for health care — to see a specialist, for instance, or have an operation."
She added, "We feel there is a definite possibility or opportunity to contract with the airlines and to add a senior discount as one of our member benefits, even if they up the age." The minimum age for AARP membership is 50.
AARP media spokesperson Tom Otwell in the association's Washington, D.C., office, said he was not aware of the impact the airlines' decision would have on the territory. He said he believed the association's agreement with USAir and Virgin Atlantic Airways was still intact, and for that reason, he said, AARP had not taken a public stand.
Source research found that Virgin Atlantic and USAir still do offer an AARP discount, but not a senior discount. But a USAir official said its AARP discount applies only to certain markets. Neither airline now offers coupon booklets, and prospective travelers must already be in the states to take advantage of the discount offers. Otwell could not be reached Friday afternoon for response to this information.
Lack of information adds to anxiety
Judith Grybowski, who taught nursing at the University of the Virgin Islands for 30 years and is now a professor emeritus, and her husband, Kirk, have become inveterate travelers since their retirement.
"It's another slap in the face to the Caribbean," Grybowski said of the canceled coupon programs. "It will greatly hamper my travel and that of my friends. In fact, about 10 of us just finished talking about it at lunch. Many people are right now rethinking their lives at this point; there's no question."
She said many friends who maintain homes both in the territory and in the states soon may not be doing that. "These people made decisions based on reasonable travel benefits," she said.
Grybowski said she was one of the lucky ones who heard about the booklets being discontinued. She managed to get a couple of the last ones available from Continental Airlines on Monday, the airline's final day for selling them.
She noted the airlines' lack of publicity or information about the move. "I had a long wait in line" at Cyril E. King Airport, she said, "and all sorts of older residents were coming to find out if the coupons they'd already purchased were good. The anxiety this produced is unconscionable. My heart reached out to them."
Further, "We know that agents at the counters didn't even know what was going on, and it's the same thing online," Grybowski said. "There's no question they don't know what they're doing. An 87-year-old traveler I know was just getting mad and angry."
The airlines' online Web pages as of Thursday and Friday still offered little information, with some still listing their coupon booklets as an option.
Hawaii has new appeal
Another frequent flier hard hit was Source columnist and editor Frank Jordan. A retired UVI journalism professor, he now divides his time between homes on St. Croix and in San Francisco.
Using American Airlines senior coupons, Jordan has traveled back and forth five or six times a year at a co
st of $338, including federal tax, for each round trip. Now, he said, he faces paying $600 or $1,055 or even $1,500 for the same round trip, depending on length of stay. The winter rates will be even higher, he has been told.
"I think I hear Hawaii calling," Jordan said.
Debby Hodge, manager of Southerland Travel's St. Croix office, was sympathetic to Jordan's plight. "American Airlines is cutting off their nose to spite their face," Hodge said. "They're looking in all the wrong places to make cuts. And, make no mistake about it, this will be a severe setback to the local economy on St. Croix."
According to an online article in the July 13 Washington Post travel section, Carole Grewe, a travel agent with Travel Networks in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said she did not notice the missing discount until she tried to reserve an American flight for a customer the day before. "They didn't even let travel agents know they were doing this," she told the Post. "This is going to hurt senior citizens."
Northwest Airlines gave as its reason for halting the sale of senior coupon books that it no longer wanted to allow the discounts "on top of already heavily discounted fares," the Post said.
However, Southwest Airlines said it was not touching its senior fares. A representative said Friday that the airline has no coupon booklets, but provides discounted fares for seniors. For instance, the fare from Fort Lauderdale to MacArthur Airport on Long Island would be $127 each way, he said. For Virgin Islanders, however, that would be on top of at least $350 round trip to get to Fort Lauderdale and back.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Aug. 2, 2002 – The Virgin Islands has received a jarring blow from the airline industry, one that is expected to affect a large portion of travelers to and from the territory and further cripple its troubled tourism market.
All of the nation's major air carriers very quietly last month discontinued their senior coupon programs that had allowed anyone at least 62 years of age to fly within the United States at deeply discounted rates. The move represents a major financial setback not only to V.I. and Puerto Rico seniors, but to anyone else 62 or older who travels to the islands.
American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways each had their own version of the booklets. Valid for one year, they contained four coupons good for one-way travel anywhere within the continental United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Two coupons were required for travel to Hawaii or Alaska. The booklets sold for about $675, varying with each airline. So, a round-trip from the territory to San Francisco and back, for instance, would cost about $340.
Although the programs have been discontinued nationwide, the Virgin Islands will suffer the most. The reason given by the airlines for the move is that many fares available to the general public are now cheaper than the coupons. This may be true in some parts of the country, but from the Virgin Islands, it costs at least $350 round trip to get to Miami, the nearest U.S. mainland airport, on top of the cost to one's actual destination beyond Miami.
Derryle Berger, vice president of Caribbean Travel, is incensed by the move. "It is a huge disservice to seniors, but particularly to the V.I. and Puerto Rico," she said. "It shows how little they truly care about their market. It hurts, and it hurts big."
Caribbean Travel, which opened in 1962, is the territory's oldest travel agency, and it has a large and loyal following. Berger, who was raised on St. Thomas and now works out of her new Florida home, said the consequences will be far-reaching. "We sell around 350 senior travel booklets a year," she said. "Now, what are our customers going to do?"
The argument that today's low fares are sometimes cheaper than the coupon booklets is "specious, as far as I'm concerned," Berger said. "That may be true for someone in California, but what about the Caribbean?"
And, she said, it won't just affect outbound residents. "Loads of people here in Florida use the booklets to travel to the V.I. at least a couple times a year," she said, noting the state's large expatriate population from the territory. There was a time when the islands "were the favored stepchildren, but we're not any more," she said. "The airlines have no regard whatsoever for taking care of people in the Caribbean, or their economy."
Further, Berger said, "It's a double-edged sword. We have people with a home or a business on St. Thomas who have a home in the U.S. People have made decisions on living in the islands, buying a condo there, because they can travel cheaply back and forth. I've had people buy as many as 20 coupon books a year. Now people will be lucky to afford one trip a year."
She said she was surprised not to have heard "a peep" from AARP — the American Association of Retired Persons. "That's the American association," she said. "We are part of America, and people should start raising holy hell."
Local AARP official urges action
If Denyce Singleton, AARP state director for the Virgin Islands, has anything to say about it, AARP members will be doing just that. Singleton urged all members to call the national headquarters and register a complaint, while making it clear that this is a "suggestion."
"We do not have the right to tell anyone how to develop rules. Whether they follow through, we're not sure, but at least we have made them aware of our voice," she said. "The situation has a totally different impact on us. We want to alert them that this is happening, and it doesn't impact all members equally."
The number for AARP members to call is (800) 424-3410, choosing option 5. Singleton noted, "You may have to explain what you're talking about, but be clear. Tell them you are lodging a complaint about the effect losing the senior discount travel books will have on you traveling from the Caribbean."
Singleton said the national AARP office documents all complaints and forwards them to the proper department. "This is going to impact those who have health problems more than most people," she said. "Travel is more than a luxury with a lot of residents who have to travel to the states for health care — to see a specialist, for instance, or have an operation."
She added, "We feel there is a definite possibility or opportunity to contract with the airlines and to add a senior discount as one of our member benefits, even if they up the age." The minimum age for AARP membership is 50.
AARP media spokesperson Tom Otwell in the association's Washington, D.C., office, said he was not aware of the impact the airlines' decision would have on the territory. He said he believed the association's agreement with USAir and Virgin Atlantic Airways was still intact, and for that reason, he said, AARP had not taken a public stand.
Source research found that Virgin Atlantic and USAir still do offer an AARP discount, but not a senior discount. But a USAir official said its AARP discount applies only to certain markets. Neither airline now offers coupon booklets, and prospective travelers must already be in the states to take advantage of the discount offers. Otwell could not be reached Friday afternoon for response to this information.
Lack of information adds to anxiety
Judith Grybowski, who taught nursing at the University of the Virgin Islands for 30 years and is now a professor emeritus, and her husband, Kirk, have become inveterate travelers since their retirement.
"It's another slap in the face to the Caribbean," Grybowski said of the canceled coupon programs. "It will greatly hamper my travel and that of my friends. In fact, about 10 of us just finished talking about it at lunch. Many people are right now rethinking their lives at this point; there's no question."
She said many friends who maintain homes both in the territory and in the states soon may not be doing that. "These people made decisions based on reasonable travel benefits," she said.
Grybowski said she was one of the lucky ones who heard about the booklets being discontinued. She managed to get a couple of the last ones available from Continental Airlines on Monday, the airline's final day for selling them.
She noted the airlines' lack of publicity or information about the move. "I had a long wait in line" at Cyril E. King Airport, she said, "and all sorts of older residents were coming to find out if the coupons they'd already purchased were good. The anxiety this produced is unconscionable. My heart reached out to them."
Further, "We know that agents at the counters didn't even know what was going on, and it's the same thing online," Grybowski said. "There's no question they don't know what they're doing. An 87-year-old traveler I know was just getting mad and angry."
The airlines' online Web pages as of Thursday and Friday still offered little information, with some still listing their coupon booklets as an option.
Hawaii has new appeal
Another frequent flier hard hit was Source columnist and editor Frank Jordan. A retired UVI journalism professor, he now divides his time between homes on St. Croix and in San Francisco.
Using American Airlines senior coupons, Jordan has traveled back and forth five or six times a year at a co
st of $338, including federal tax, for each round trip. Now, he said, he faces paying $600 or $1,055 or even $1,500 for the same round trip, depending on length of stay. The winter rates will be even higher, he has been told.
"I think I hear Hawaii calling," Jordan said.
Debby Hodge, manager of Southerland Travel's St. Croix office, was sympathetic to Jordan's plight. "American Airlines is cutting off their nose to spite their face," Hodge said. "They're looking in all the wrong places to make cuts. And, make no mistake about it, this will be a severe setback to the local economy on St. Croix."
According to an online article in the July 13 Washington Post travel section, Carole Grewe, a travel agent with Travel Networks in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said she did not notice the missing discount until she tried to reserve an American flight for a customer the day before. "They didn't even let travel agents know they were doing this," she told the Post. "This is going to hurt senior citizens."
Northwest Airlines gave as its reason for halting the sale of senior coupon books that it no longer wanted to allow the discounts "on top of already heavily discounted fares," the Post said.
However, Southwest Airlines said it was not touching its senior fares. A representative said Friday that the airline has no coupon booklets, but provides discounted fares for seniors. For instance, the fare from Fort Lauderdale to MacArthur Airport on Long Island would be $127 each way, he said. For Virgin Islanders, however, that would be on top of at least $350 round trip to get to Fort Lauderdale and back.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Aug. 2, 2002 – The Virgin Islands has received a jarring blow from the airline industry, one that is expected to affect a large portion of travelers to and from the territory and further cripple its troubled tourism market.
All of the nation's major air carriers very quietly last month discontinued their senior coupon programs that had allowed anyone at least 62 years of age to fly within the United States at deeply discounted rates. The move represents a major financial setback not only to V.I. and Puerto Rico seniors, but to anyone else 62 or older who travels to the islands.
American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways each had their own version of the booklets. Valid for one year, they contained four coupons good for one-way travel anywhere within the continental United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Two coupons were required for travel to Hawaii or Alaska. The booklets sold for about $675, varying with each airline. So, a round-trip from the territory to San Francisco and back, for instance, would cost about $340.
Although the programs have been discontinued nationwide, the Virgin Islands will suffer the most. The reason given by the airlines for the move is that many fares available to the general public are now cheaper than the coupons. This may be true in some parts of the country, but from the Virgin Islands, it costs at least $350 round trip to get to Miami, the nearest U.S. mainland airport, on top of the cost to one's actual destination beyond Miami.
Derryle Berger, vice president of Caribbean Travel, is incensed by the move. "It is a huge disservice to seniors, but particularly to the V.I. and Puerto Rico," she said. "It shows how little they truly care about their market. It hurts, and it hurts big."
Caribbean Travel, which opened in 1962, is the territory's oldest travel agency, and it has a large and loyal following. Berger, who was raised on St. Thomas and now works out of her new Florida home, said the consequences will be far-reaching. "We sell around 350 senior travel booklets a year," she said. "Now, what are our customers going to do?"
The argument that today's low fares are sometimes cheaper than the coupon booklets is "specious, as far as I'm concerned," Berger said. "That may be true for someone in California, but what about the Caribbean?"
And, she said, it won't just affect outbound residents. "Loads of people here in Florida use the booklets to travel to the V.I. at least a couple times a year," she said, noting the state's large expatriate population from the territory. There was a time when the islands "were the favored stepchildren, but we're not any more," she said. "The airlines have no regard whatsoever for taking care of people in the Caribbean, or their economy."
Further, Berger said, "It's a double-edged sword. We have people with a home or a business on St. Thomas who have a home in the U.S. People have made decisions on living in the islands, buying a condo there, because they can travel cheaply back and forth. I've had people buy as many as 20 coupon books a year. Now people will be lucky to afford one trip a year."
She said she was surprised not to have heard "a peep" from AARP — the American Association of Retired Persons. "That's the American association," she said. "We are part of America, and people should start raising holy hell."
Local AARP official urges action
If Denyce Singleton, AARP state director for the Virgin Islands, has anything to say about it, AARP members will be doing just that. Singleton urged all members to call the national headquarters and register a complaint, while making it clear that this is a "suggestion."
"We do not have the right to tell anyone how to develop rules. Whether they follow through, we're not sure, but at least we have made them aware of our voice," she said. "The situation has a totally different impact on us. We want to alert them that this is happening, and it doesn't impact all members equally."
The number for AARP members to call is (800) 424-3410, choosing option 5. Singleton noted, "You may have to explain what you're talking about, but be clear. Tell them you are lodging a complaint about the effect losing the senior discount travel books will have on you traveling from the Caribbean."
Singleton said the national AARP office documents all complaints and forwards them to the proper department. "This is going to impact those who have health problems more than most people," she said. "Travel is more than a luxury with a lot of residents who have to travel to the states for health care — to see a specialist, for instance, or have an operation."
She added, "We feel there is a definite possibility or opportunity to contract with the airlines and to add a senior discount as one of our member benefits, even if they up the age." The minimum age for AARP membership is 50.
AARP media spokesperson Tom Otwell in the association's Washington, D.C., office, said he was not aware of the impact the airlines' decision would have on the territory. He said he believed the association's agreement with USAir and Virgin Atlantic Airways was still intact, and for that reason, he said, AARP had not taken a public stand.
Source research found that Virgin Atlantic and USAir still do offer an AARP discount, but not a senior discount. But a USAir official said its AARP discount applies only to certain markets. Neither airline now offers coupon booklets, and prospective travelers must already be in the states to take advantage of the discount offers. Otwell could not be reached Friday afternoon for response to this information.
Lack of information adds to anxiety
Judith Grybowski, who taught nursing at the University of the Virgin Islands for 30 years and is now a professor emeritus, and her husband, Kirk, have become inveterate travelers since their retirement.
"It's another slap in the face to the Caribbean," Grybowski said of the canceled coupon programs. "It will greatly hamper my travel and that of my friends. In fact, about 10 of us just finished talking about it at lunch. Many people are right now rethinking their lives at this point; there's no question."
She said many friends who maintain homes both in the territory and in the states soon may not be doing that. "These people made decisions based on reasonable travel benefits," she said.
Grybowski said she was one of the lucky ones who heard about the booklets being discontinued. She managed to get a couple of the last ones available from Continental Airlines on Monday, the airline's final day for selling them.
She noted the airlines' lack of publicity or information about the move. "I had a long wait in line" at Cyril E. King Airport, she said, "and all sorts of older residents were coming to find out if the coupons they'd already purchased were good. The anxiety this produced is unconscionable. My heart reached out to them."
Further, "We know that agents at the counters didn't even know what was going on, and it's the same thing online," Grybowski said. "There's no question they don't know what they're doing. An 87-year-old traveler I know was just getting mad and angry."
The airlines' online Web pages as of Thursday and Friday still offered little information, with some still listing their coupon booklets as an option.
Hawaii has new appeal
Another frequent flier hard hit was Source columnist and editor Frank Jordan. A retired UVI journalism professor, he now divides his time between homes on St. Croix and in San Francisco.
Using American Airlines senior coupons, Jordan has traveled back and forth five or six times a year at a co
st of $338, including federal tax, for each round trip. Now, he said, he faces paying $600 or $1,055 or even $1,500 for the same round trip, depending on length of stay. The winter rates will be even higher, he has been told.
"I think I hear Hawaii calling," Jordan said.
Debby Hodge, manager of Southerland Travel's St. Croix office, was sympathetic to Jordan's plight. "American Airlines is cutting off their nose to spite their face," Hodge said. "They're looking in all the wrong places to make cuts. And, make no mistake about it, this will be a severe setback to the local economy on St. Croix."
According to an online article in the July 13 Washington Post travel section, Carole Grewe, a travel agent with Travel Networks in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said she did not notice the missing discount until she tried to reserve an American flight for a customer the day before. "They didn't even let travel agents know they were doing this," she told the Post. "This is going to hurt senior citizens."
Northwest Airlines gave as its reason for halting the sale of senior coupon books that it no longer wanted to allow the discounts "on top of already heavily discounted fares," the Post said.
However, Southwest Airlines said it was not touching its senior fares. A representative said Friday that the airline has no coupon booklets, but provides discounted fares for seniors. For instance, the fare from Fort Lauderdale to MacArthur Airport on Long Island would be $127 each way, he said. For Virgin Islanders, however, that would be on top of at least $350 round trip to get to Fort Lauderdale and back.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Aug. 2, 2002 – When Sen. Adelbert Bryan walked into the Legislative Conference Room in Frederiksted on Friday morning for a meeting of his Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee, he found himself alone.
None of his committee colleagues — Sens. Donald "Ducks" Cole, Roosevelt David, Emmett Hansen II, Norman Jn Baptiste, Vargrave Richards and Celestino A. White Sr. — were there.
Nor were any of the 35 representatives of mainly government but also some business sector offices and agencies — ranging from the governor to cruise line executives to the members of the Public Services Commission — who had been "invited" to testify.
The stated purpose of the meeting was "to receive written recommendations/proposals to formulate a plan for the economic recovery of St. Croix in particular and the entire United States Virgin Islands in general." The hearing on St. Croix and a similar one to follow on St. Thomas had been scheduled, postponed and rescheduled three times in recent months.
Saying "the interest is not here," Bryan proceeded to adjourn the Friday morning session. A press release from the Legislature's Office of Public Affairs on St. Croix later Friday stated that the committee's parallel hearing scheduled for Monday on St. Thomas also has been "canceled until further notice."
It was not the first no-show experience for Bryan at a meeting of the committee he chairs. On Feb. 26, the veteran St. Croix senator also adjourned a hearing after just two of 13 "invited" government officials and three of his six committee colleagues showed up.
Bryan had called that meeting to investigate how the Water and Power Authority calculates billing charges, the status of payments to WAPA by the V.I. Housing Authority and the Housing Parks and Recreation Department, and whether the Public Services Commission had recently authorized an increase for utilities, or had any rate increase pending.
Last September, Bryan resigned as chair of the committee and as vice president of the 24th Legislature after his colleagues declined to pass a bill he submitted. In November, he made his resignation as vice president official by means of a resolution but kept the committee chairmanship — and won legislative funding for a new economic recovery commission which he proposed to head. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull subsequently vetoed that idea.
Those "invited" to testify Friday were Gov. Charles W. Turnbull; Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II; Delegate Donna M. Christensen; Attorney General Iver Stridiron; Police Commissioner Franz Christian; Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett; Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards; Port Authority executive director Gordon Finch; Public Finance Authority director of finance and administration Kenneth Mapp; Education acting Commissioner Noreen Michael; Bureau of Economic Research director Lauritz Mills; Economic Development Authority director Frank Schulterbrandt; EDA assistant executive Nadine Marchena; Warren Bush, Small Business Development Center director; Alphonso Franklin, Our Town Frederiksted president; Frank Fox and Cassan Pancham, presidents of the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chambers of Commerce; John Deerkoski, president, PE & Associates; Giora Israel, vice president for strategic planning, Carnival Corp.; John Tercek, vice president for development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Inc.; Glenn Rothgeb, WAPA acting executive director; Carol Burke, William Lomax, Andrew Rutnik, G. Luz James, Ira Hobson and Claude Molloy, WAPA board members; Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director; and Desmond Maynard, Luther Renee, Jerris Browne, Valencio Jackson, Alric Simmonds, Alecia Wells and Verne David, PSC members.

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Aug. 2, 2002 – When Sen. Adelbert Bryan walked into the Legislative Conference Room in Frederiksted on Friday morning for a meeting of his Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee, he found himself alone.
None of his committee colleagues — Sens. Donald "Ducks" Cole, Roosevelt David, Emmett Hansen II, Norman Jn Baptiste, Vargrave Richards and Celestino A. White Sr. — were there.
Nor were any of the 35 representatives of mainly government but also some business sector offices and agencies — ranging from the governor to cruise line executives to the members of the Public Services Commission — who had been "invited" to testify.
The stated purpose of the meeting was "to receive written recommendations/proposals to formulate a plan for the economic recovery of St. Croix in particular and the entire United States Virgin Islands in general." The hearing on St. Croix and a similar one to follow on St. Thomas had been scheduled, postponed and rescheduled three times in recent months.
Saying "the interest is not here," Bryan proceeded to adjourn the Friday morning session. A press release from the Legislature's Office of Public Affairs on St. Croix later Friday stated that the committee's parallel hearing scheduled for Monday on St. Thomas also has been "canceled until further notice."
It was not the first no-show experience for Bryan at a meeting of the committee he chairs. On Feb. 26, the veteran St. Croix senator also adjourned a hearing after just two of 13 "invited" government officials and three of his six committee colleagues showed up.
Bryan had called that meeting to investigate how the Water and Power Authority calculates billing charges, the status of payments to WAPA by the V.I. Housing Authority and the Housing Parks and Recreation Department, and whether the Public Services Commission had recently authorized an increase for utilities, or had any rate increase pending.
Last September, Bryan resigned as chair of the committee and as vice president of the 24th Legislature after his colleagues declined to pass a bill he submitted. In November, he made his resignation as vice president official by means of a resolution but kept the committee chairmanship — and won legislative funding for a new economic recovery commission which he proposed to head. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull subsequently vetoed that idea.
Those "invited" to testify Friday were Gov. Charles W. Turnbull; Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II; Delegate Donna M. Christensen; Attorney General Iver Stridiron; Police Commissioner Franz Christian; Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett; Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards; Port Authority executive director Gordon Finch; Public Finance Authority director of finance and administration Kenneth Mapp; Education acting Commissioner Noreen Michael; Bureau of Economic Research director Lauritz Mills; Economic Development Authority director Frank Schulterbrandt; EDA assistant executive Nadine Marchena; Warren Bush, Small Business Development Center director; Alphonso Franklin, Our Town Frederiksted president; Frank Fox and Cassan Pancham, presidents of the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chambers of Commerce; John Deerkoski, president, PE & Associates; Giora Israel, vice president for strategic planning, Carnival Corp.; John Tercek, vice president for development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Inc.; Glenn Rothgeb, WAPA acting executive director; Carol Burke, William Lomax, Andrew Rutnik, G. Luz James, Ira Hobson and Claude Molloy, WAPA board members; Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director; and Desmond Maynard, Luther Renee, Jerris Browne, Valencio Jackson, Alric Simmonds, Alecia Wells and Verne David, PSC members.

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Aug. 2, 2002 – When Sen. Adelbert Bryan walked into the Legislative Conference Room in Frederiksted on Friday morning for a meeting of his Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee, he found himself alone.
None of his committee colleagues — Sens. Donald "Ducks" Cole, Roosevelt David, Emmett Hansen II, Norman Jn Baptiste, Vargrave Richards and Celestino A. White Sr. — were there.
Nor were any of the 35 representatives of mainly government but also some business sector offices and agencies — ranging from the governor to cruise line executives to the members of the Public Services Commission — who had been "invited" to testify.
The stated purpose of the meeting was "to receive written recommendations/proposals to formulate a plan for the economic recovery of St. Croix in particular and the entire United States Virgin Islands in general." The hearing on St. Croix and a similar one to follow on St. Thomas had been scheduled, postponed and rescheduled three times in recent months.
Saying "the interest is not here," Bryan proceeded to adjourn the Friday morning session. A press release from the Legislature's Office of Public Affairs on St. Croix later Friday stated that the committee's parallel hearing scheduled for Monday on St. Thomas also has been "canceled until further notice."
It was not the first no-show experience for Bryan at a meeting of the committee he chairs. On Feb. 26, the veteran St. Croix senator also adjourned a hearing after just two of 13 "invited" government officials and three of his six committee colleagues showed up.
Bryan had called that meeting to investigate how the Water and Power Authority calculates billing charges, the status of payments to WAPA by the V.I. Housing Authority and the Housing Parks and Recreation Department, and whether the Public Services Commission had recently authorized an increase for utilities, or had any rate increase pending.
Last September, Bryan resigned as chair of the committee and as vice president of the 24th Legislature after his colleagues declined to pass a bill he submitted. In November, he made his resignation as vice president official by means of a resolution but kept the committee chairmanship — and won legislative funding for a new economic recovery commission which he proposed to head. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull subsequently vetoed that idea.
Those "invited" to testify Friday were Gov. Charles W. Turnbull; Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II; Delegate Donna M. Christensen; Attorney General Iver Stridiron; Police Commissioner Franz Christian; Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett; Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards; Port Authority executive director Gordon Finch; Public Finance Authority director of finance and administration Kenneth Mapp; Education acting Commissioner Noreen Michael; Bureau of Economic Research director Lauritz Mills; Economic Development Authority director Frank Schulterbrandt; EDA assistant executive Nadine Marchena; Warren Bush, Small Business Development Center director; Alphonso Franklin, Our Town Frederiksted president; Frank Fox and Cassan Pancham, presidents of the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chambers of Commerce; John Deerkoski, president, PE & Associates; Giora Israel, vice president for strategic planning, Carnival Corp.; John Tercek, vice president for development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Inc.; Glenn Rothgeb, WAPA acting executive director; Carol Burke, William Lomax, Andrew Rutnik, G. Luz James, Ira Hobson and Claude Molloy, WAPA board members; Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director; and Desmond Maynard, Luther Renee, Jerris Browne, Valencio Jackson, Alric Simmonds, Alecia Wells and Verne David, PSC members.

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Aug. 2, 2002 – The off-again, on-again power outages that plagued St. Thomas and St. John on Friday morning were caused by a mechanical failure in the area known as the high yard at the Krum Bay plant.
"It's basically similar to the problems in November and January," Glen Rothgeb, acting executive director of the Water and Power Authority, said Friday evening.
Because the high yard equipment is old and it is so close to the plant, he said, the built-in safety measures cause all the units to shut down when something goes wrong.
In this case a lightning arrestor failed — a small thing, according to Rothgeb, but because of the aging equipment, enough to shut things down.
A new $50 million bond issue that WAPA plans for next year is expected to provide the money to remedy some of the problems, he said.
Earlier this week at a WAPA board meeting Rothgeb said that capital projects are needed to "improve the reliability of power."
Among the critical needs, he said, are extension of underground lines from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport to Frederiksted on St. Croix and from the Rehelio Hatchett Substation in Long Bay to the East End on St. Thomas, and construction of a substation on St. John.
"At this point," Rothgeb said Friday, "you could have a truck hit a pole and shut down the whole East End."
A minor injury to an employee was reported during the outage. The employee was taken to the hospital for treatment. He was working below where the arrestor failed. Rothgeb said, "You get a flash over…like welding sparks. A hot piece of metal hit him on the back," but Rothgeb said the employee wasn't burned. "He was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure."
Power was restored to all areas by 11:30 a.m.

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