April 3, 2002 – Sen. Lorraine Berry has taken issue publicly with Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's unexplained firing of Amadeo Francis as Public Finance Authority director of finance and administration last December and the governor's announcement on March 22 of Kenneth Mapp as his successor.
"I have no problem with the governor giving Kenneth Mapp a job," Berry said Tuesday, "but I don't think he is the person for the PFA position. I think it is all politics, and I don't think Mapp's name will make any impact on the bond market."
On Monday, speaking on her weekly radio show, Berry referred to an editorial in the March 27 issue of The Avis "which raised some very prickly points, which trouble me greatly." She said the editorial wondered if there was truth to rumors that Mapp was given the job as a "political plum, as an incentive to bow out of the gubernatorial race, and also be of assistance" in the gubernatorial campaign on St. Croix.
Meanwhile, Mapp said on Wednesday that he will be paid $100 hourly, "exactly the same contract awarded to Amadeo Francis several years ago." Mapp said his contract is similar to those he has for consulting work in the private sector.
According to sources close to Government House, Francis is now being paid $200 an hour as a consultant, and Mapp was hired at $150 an hour.
Further, Mapp said, "I am paid only for the work I perform. I do not get paid for holidays or vacations, and I don't get government health insurance." He said he would make a copy of his contract available on Thursday.
Last November, Mapp, who was lieutenant governor in the one-term administration of Turnbull's predecessor, Roy L. Schneider, announced that he would run for governor this year. Although he is a Republican, he was expected to run as an independent. On Feb. 9, he announced that he had dropped out of the race, saying, "Now is not my time." He has not said whom he will support for the November election.
Berry said her telephone has been "ringing off the hook" with queries about the situation. On her radio show, she said that "the governor has a dark cloud hanging over his head by permitting the scenario painted by the St. Croix Avis to stand unquestioned."
Both Turnbull and Berry are longtime stalwarts of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands.
Berry said on Tuesday that taxpayers should be concerned, too.
In her radio commentary, she wondered why Francis, "a man of impeccable integrity, was unceremoniously dismissed by the governor" and noted that Francis's "services today are still being sought by the very same entity from which he was dismissed."
The PFA board, which Turnbull chairs by virtue of being governor, voted in February to bring Francis back as a "transitory adviser" to smooth the transition for what the board determined would be his two successors — separate individuals to handle the financial and administrative responsibilities. Calls to Francis were not returned Wednesday. He has not made any public comment about his dismissal by the governor or his rehiring by the board.
The PFA board vote to hire Mapp to succeed Francis as director of both finance and administration apparently was taken at a meeting at Government House on St. Thomas on March 21. The board has three public-sector and two private-sector members. One of the non-government members, St. Croix businessman Paul Arnold, said on March 22 that he was not at the meeting, nor was the other non-government member, St. Thomas accountant Roy D. Jackson.
Arnold said the board meeting, called for 10 a.m., had not started by nearly 1 p.m., when he had to leave to return to St. Croix. Arnold also said he had not been aware that naming Mapp to both PFA positions was on the agenda for the meeting.
A March 22 release from Government House stating that Turnbull had approved a contract between the PFA and Mapp said that Mapp's responsibilities will include "special concentration on the development of St. Croix" and that he "will advise the chairman on financial investments, assist in the general administration and operation of the PFA and monitor the many projects already under the PFA including the King's Alley project on St. Croix."

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Editor's note: This is an updated and expanded version of an article which was published early Monday in the St. Thomas Source.
April 1, 2002 – A weeklong "Humanities Festival" got under way Monday on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses of the University of the Virgin Islands and in downtown Charlotte Amalie. All events are free and open to the public.
The first day of the festival, presented by UVI's Humanities Division, featured a lecture by Gilbert Sprauve, professor of modern languages, who is not only an expert in linguistics and foreign languages but also a local culture bearer, especially as regards St. John, his home island. The final day includes soprano/piano recital. In between are a daily smorgasbord of events covering in a variety of approaches the humanities topics of debate, theater, poetry, journalism, literature, foreign languages and music.
While the majority of events are on St. Thomas, three presentations on Wednesday and Thursday will take place on St. Croix. In addition, several of St. Thomas events are being shared with the St. Croix campus via teleconferencing.
Building on the first Humanities Festival, held in 2000, "The festival celebrates the art of communication," Lorna Young-Wright, division chair on the St. Thomas campus, said in a UVI release. Representatives of the division's various academic areas began organizing the festival last October.
The festival theme, "Celebrating 40 Years of Artistic Expression in the Humanities," is a part of the wider celebration of UVI's 40th anniversary.
The festival opened at noon Monday with the Humanities Division hosting a ceremony honoring retiring UVI President Orville Kean. The final event is a modern languages society induction ceremony Sunday evening in the campus cafeteria.
The lecture by Sprauve, who is on pre-retirement sabbatical for the semester, was titled, "How About 'Right as Defined by Need' as Opposed to 'Might Makes Right'?" Sprauve said his "basic argument is that in our society socialization and acculturation within the family generally instill an ethic that clashes in very essential ways with that imposed institutionally, pedagogically and otherwise by the dictates of free enterprise efficiency and profitability."
He argued that academia "while usurping the language of reason has abrogated its traditional role as beacon of humanistic didacticism and foment." And, he added, "The present condition has much to do with shortcomings in the public policy process in our islands."
The schedule of events began Monday with a noontime opening ceremony in Chase Auditorium, followed by a lecture at 2 p.m. by Prof. Gilbert Sprauve, also in the auditorium, that was teleconferenced with the St. Croix campus. Remaining events are as follows:
Tuesday
2 p.m. — discussion on "Humanities and Sustainable Development," Chase Auditorium (teleconferenced with St. Croix campus). After Hurricanes Hugo and Marilyn, Prof. Gene Emanuel said, "the artist's landscape flattened." Everyone's landscape flattened and lost color, he said, but artists lost their inspiration. Farmers and people in general found their landscape altered, he said, and all need sustainable development to preserve and honor their surroundings.
7 p.m. — debate at the Harvey Student Center. The UVI student debate team, fresh from Caribbean successes in Guyana, will tackle the subject, "Be It Resolved: That the Institution of Marriage Remains One of the World's Most Popular Illusions." Debating in favor will be Sharyn Niles and her second, Paula Gumbs; arguing against will be Martha Joseph and her second, Amandy Williams. None of the four students is married.
Wednesday
4 p.m. — a "Celebration of 40 Years of Theatre Productions," Little Theater. This symposium/panel discussion, presented by speech and theater area faculty Rosary Harper, Dennis Parker and Michael Prenevost, will be a look at UVI theatrical productions from 1963 to the present. Parker said it's hoped that many individuals who have acted and worked backstage over the years will be on hand — including UVI Vice President Malcolm Kirwan, music faculty member Austin Venzen, Reichhold Center director David Edgecombe and community members Irose Payne, Hans Eisler, Wanda and Charmaine Dipnarine and Lee Vanterpool.
6 p.m. — panel on "Finding the Personal Artistic Voice Beyond the Marketplace," St. Croix campus Student Activities Center. Presenters will be St. Croix artists Maud Pierre-Charles, Gabrielle Di Lorenzo, Gerville Larsen, Alicia McKay and Cy Levine. The moderator is Valerie Combie, Humanities Division chair on the St. Croix campus.
7 p.m. — poetry reading, off campus at Bethania Hall, next door to Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church. This event is a continuation of the pattern established by poetry readings at the former L'Hotel Boynes a few years ago, metamorphosed into the present "Rock Lounge" presentations, all fostered by Mary Alexander of the Humanities Division. Students and community members are expected to read.
Thursday
2 p.m. — lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Melvin Claxton, Chase Auditorium (teleconferenced to St. Croix campus). Claxton, a member of the St. Thomas Source editorial advisory board, is a former UVI student who earned his Pulitzer while working at the V.I. Daily News; he currently is a senior investigative reporter for The Detroit News.
4 p.m — Erica Waters, editor-in-chief of "The Caribbean Writer," will present the Margaret Cobb McKay award, St. Croix campus Student Activities Center. The ceremony will be followed by readings of short fiction and poetry. Writers included are Di Lorenzo, Sagata Howell, Sharmaine Moiuette, Winston Nugent, Richard Schrader, Lolita Paiewonski and Edgar Lake.
5:30 p.m. — "Virgin Islands Music Tradition: Celebrating and Respecting Self," St. Croix campus Student Activities Center. Emanuel will moderate a panel consisting of Dimitri "Pikey" Copeman, Louis Ible, Stanley Jacobs of the Ten Sleepless Knights, Ernest "Prince" Galloway and Campbell "King Kun Fu Plentae" Barnes.
Friday
9 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. — student literary conference, Sports and Fitness Center, west mezzanine. The conference theme is "Literature and Life: Weaving the Threads of the New Millenium with Tradition and Vision." This daylong event is organized and managed by students and will have senior Kimberly Lloyd as mistress of ceremonies. Included are presentations of student papers and by student panelists. The keynote speaker is Jamaican author and poet Geoffrey Philp. For program details, see Showcase article, Festival features student-run conference.
5 p.m. — journalism forum on the First Amendment, Teacher Education Building, Room T101 (teleconferenced to St. Croix campus). Participants are attorneys Adriane Dudley and Frederick Watts and TV2 producer and news director Haven Daley.
7 p.m. — poetry slam, Music Education Building. This creative event includes impromptu poetry interspersed with music. Emanuel explained that one person will get up and present an impromptu poem; this person will be "answered" by another person with the attitude of "See, I can go you one better."
Saturday
9 a.m. — "Celebrating Creative Expressions at Sea," MacLean Marine Science Center dock. Particiants will board the UVI boat Willie Mac II for a cruise north toward Botany Bay; during the trip, they will write, draw and otherwise express themselves creatively. There'll be a video filmed aboard.
4 p.m. — "Humanities Celebration on the Green," Herman E. Moore Golf Course on campus, near the clubhouse. There will be music by the UVI Jazz Band, Concert Choir and Concert Band; a visual art display at the clubhouse; games a
nd food.
Sunday
4 p.m. — recital by JoAnne Stephenson, soprano, and Lorna Young-Wright, pianist, off campus at Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church. Stephenson is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Central Florida; Young-Wright is on the UVI music faculty. The recital is a "kickoff" to a European concert tour by the two.
6 p.m. — induction ceremony and celebration by the UVI chapter of the Alpha Mu Gamma National Collegiate Foreign Language Association, cafeteria.
The schedule will be updated as more specific information becomes available.

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April 1, 2002 – This week's Art Thursday gallery walk-about in Christiansted and nearby Gallows Bay has a couple of claims to fame.
For one, it was just last week that a film crew shooting a documentary about St. Croix for an Italian travel channel called "Marco Polo" called on a number of the art galleries.
For another, the Danica Art Gallery, one of the walk participants, is celebrating its first anniversary starting this Thursday. Owner Danica David is hosting a celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. that's part of the Art Thursday event. The gallery, located across from Government House, is showcasing art by the owner, Ginelle Encarnacion, John Jones and Judith King. There will be door prizes.
David has utilized her gallery as a venue for community exposure as well as a showplace for professional art. Works created by children last summer in a six-week art program that she conducted were displayed there afterward. In October, the gallery hosted a two-week exhibition marking the centennial of J. Antonio Jarvis's birth. The Danica anniversary exhibition will be up through the month of April, available for viewing during regular business hours, daily except Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The overall Art Thursday hours are also from 5 to 9 p.m. For this fifth monthly art walk, here's what's currently being featured at the participating galleries:
Campen Gallery — works by seven new artists.
Christiansted Gallery — paintings by Dino di Natale.
Danica Art Gallery — first anniversary exhibition as described above.
Gallery Gia — works by four St. John artists, Les Anderson, Kimberly Boulon, Deborah St.
Clair and Aimee Trayser.
Maria Henle Studio — Nocturnes.
Mark Austin Gallery — fine art and artisan work by Mark Austin.
Taller Larjas — a duo show of works by Barbara Gelardi and Stephanie Shoyer titled "Mermaids, Faeries and Jumbies."
Also keeping their doors open after hours for the art walk are three artisan shops:
I.B. Designs — introducing the new Karma design.
Iona Skye Gallery — showing Sara Cole's Polaroid transfers.
Jewelweed — featuring fine handmade jewelry.
"Come out and support Christiansted's art galleries," is the motto of the business owners who have banded together to host the open house "walks" on the first Thursday evening of each month. They are happy to welcome newcomers and greet old friends, one gallery owner noted, but what will make their efforts worth while is the purchase of art by those who drop by.
All of the galleries and shops are located in the downtown Christiansted district except for the Campen, which is in Gallows Bay. It's suggested that those doing the art walk make this one the first or last stop by car, while parking in town and strolling from place to place to see the others.
The galleries offer visitors making the rounds a complimentary wine sip.
And to satisfy after-walk appetites, seven in-town restaurants offer wine and dessert specials on Art Thursday evenings. They are Bacchus, the Bombay Club, Kendrick's, Indies, Rum Runners, Savant and Tutto Bene.

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April 3, 2002 – All week the University of the Virgin Islands campuses have been hosting "The Humanities," in all its varied expressions. Daytime and nighttime events have taken place across the St. Thomas campus from the cafeteria to the clubhouse, and in classrooms and conference rooms, and on the St. Croix campus as well on Wednesday and Thursday.
The events so far have been a mix of experts from home and afar; of academic and community creators; of speakers, debaters, and listeners; of writers and readers; of professors and students and non-students.
Friday is the students' day to shine: a daylong conference at the UVI St. Thomas campus Sports and Fitness Center, West Mezzanine: It's the students' show from start to finish, and from behind the scenes and up front.
Organized and managed by students, "Literature and Life: Weaving the Threads of the New Millennium with Tradition and Vision" takes place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Like the entire Humanities Festival, the program is tightly packed.
Friday morning starts off with opening of the plenary session by mistress of ceremonies (and UVI senior) Kimberly Lloyd, a welcome from Festival organizer and UVI Humanities Division chairwoman Lorna C. Young-Wright, and remarks by St. Croix Humanities Division chairwoman Valerie Combie. After a "cultural presentation" by Rumin Rougier comes the keynote address.
The keynote speaker is Prof. Geoffrey Philp of Miami-Dad College. Philp is known to readers of UVI's publication "The Caribbean Writer" as winner of the Canute Brodhurst award. A native of Jamaica who grew up in Kingston, he has published three poetry collections and a book of short fiction. His story, "My Brother's Keeper," is among writings of outstanding Caribbean writers in "The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories," published in 1999.
Philp, said UVI professor Gene Emanuel, "is a fresh voice coming to the marketplace." Philp is expected read in the St. Croix poetry event on Thursday.
The luncheon session will feature an address by retiring UVI president Orville Kean; awards for the Black History Month essay contest and the Presidential Award; and a cultural presentation by Tiffany Matthew. Essay contest winners, both university and high school students from both islands, will attend.
Panel sessions
Panels, including presentation of student papers, will take place throughout the day.
"The Kumbla and Beyond: Visions of Being …" at 10:45 a.m. is chaired by Dalton Carty. Panelists are Florence Marsh and Sarita Malcolm, from UVI St. Croix, and Martha Joseph and Mercedes Rodriquez, from UVI St. Thomas.
"Reality and Vision: Beyond Ordinary Experience" at 1:25 p.m. is chaired by Jamila Woods. Panelists are Alicia Gayadeen from UVI St. Croix and Kimberly Lloyd and Shamila Banwaree of UVI St. Thomas.
"Language and Life: Creole in Context" at 3:30 p.m. is chaired by Agnes Nicolas and includes panelists Derian Carty and Dalton Carty, both of UVI St. Thomas.
Special readings by Matthews and by "Ms. L. Smith" of UVI St. Thomas will occur at 2:30 p.m. The third panel will be followed by a 4 p.m. cultural presentation by Nyasha Mutundu, a UVI junior reigning as Miss UVI; remarks by Student Government Association president Martha Joseph; and closing remarks by Emanuel. It ends just in time for participants and audience to get to the 5 p.m. journalism forum.
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March 25, 2002 – A showing of experimental ceramic sculpture by Mark Hansen that incorporates digitally enhanced photography and of recent oils by Kimberly Boulon will open April 5 at Bajo el Sol Gallery in the Mongoose Junction shopping complex.
The artists, both longtime St. John residents, will be on hand to meet the public and discuss their work at the opening wine and cheese reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
Hanson "continues to explore different mediums. This time, his art finds expression in the unity of photography and ceramic sculpture," a release from the gallery states.
The owner of a woodworking business, Hansen has continued to draw on his fine-art schooling. A printmaking graduate of the State University of New York at Stonybrook, he spent three years at the Universal Limited Art Editions studio where such luminaries as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol printed their works. A longtime member of the St. John life drawing group, he has exhibited his oil paintings and pencil drawings on island.
Last year, he showed figure studies in clay. Now, he has expanded on the use of the human figure and incorporated his own photographic nudes into three-dimensional ceramic forms. "Even surprising to himself," the release states, "his art has entered the computer age."
Working with computer-enhanced digital photographs of the male and female form, Hansen now has found a process for transferring those images into kiln-fired sculptures. "The work is highly experimental and interesting, as well as beautiful," the release states.
Boulon's work is regularly represented at Bajo el Sol. "My drawings and paintings are a reflection of my emotional response to an idea or subject — the universal and the poetic — pulling from past experiences and present revelations," she says. "In this show, I am using both figures and landscapes in oil to express mood and atmosphere."
In her paintings, Boulon says, "the material must serve my motif, or it will not survive in my work, be it narrative or seemingly just a landscape." She explains that before she begins to paint a picture, "except when purely experimenting," she first asks herself "why I am painting it — what I hope to achieve — and then, what I am going to do to achieve it."
The answers, she says, will determine what medium she works in and such factors as shapes, colors, dominant values, color temperature and textures. "The goal is to stay faithful to my perception of my idea, whether it be a scene before me or an image from my memory or imagination," she adds. "As I am painting, my perception may change for the better. I stay open to that possibility."
The exhibition will be up through the end of April. Bajo el Sol is located in Mongoose II. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 693-7070.

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April 3, 2002 – All week the University of the Virgin Islands campuses have been hosting "The Humanities," in all its varied expressions. Daytime and nighttime events have taken place across the St. Thomas campus from the cafeteria to the clubhouse, and in classrooms and conference rooms, and on the St. Croix campus as well on Wednesday and Thursday.
The events so far have been a mix of experts from home and afar; of academic and community creators; of speakers, debaters, and listeners; of writers and readers; of professors and students and non-students.
Friday is the students' day to shine: a daylong conference at the UVI St. Thomas campus Sports and Fitness Center, West Mezzanine: It's the students' show from start to finish, and from behind the scenes and up front.
Organized and managed by students, "Literature and Life: Weaving the Threads of the New Millennium with Tradition and Vision" takes place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Like the entire Humanities Festival, the program is tightly packed.
Friday morning starts off with opening of the plenary session by mistress of ceremonies (and UVI senior) Kimberly Lloyd, a welcome from Festival organizer and UVI Humanities Division chairwoman Lorna C. Young-Wright, and remarks by St. Croix Humanities Division chairwoman Valerie Combie. After a "cultural presentation" by Rumin Rougier comes the keynote address.
The keynote speaker is Prof. Geoffrey Philp of Miami-Dad College. Philp is known to readers of UVI's publication "The Caribbean Writer" as winner of the Canute Brodhurst award. A native of Jamaica who grew up in Kingston, he has published three poetry collections and a book of short fiction. His story, "My Brother's Keeper," is among writings of outstanding Caribbean writers in "The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories," published in 1999.
Philp, said UVI professor Gene Emanuel, "is a fresh voice coming to the marketplace." Philp is expected read in the St. Croix poetry event on Thursday.
The luncheon session will feature an address by retiring UVI president Orville Kean; awards for the Black History Month essay contest and the Presidential Award; and a cultural presentation by Tiffany Matthew. Essay contest winners, both university and high school students from both islands, will attend.
Panel sessions
Panels, including presentation of student papers, will take place throughout the day.
"The Kumbla and Beyond: Visions of Being …" at 10:45 a.m. is chaired by Dalton Carty. Panelists are Florence Marsh and Sarita Malcolm, from UVI St. Croix, and Martha Joseph and Mercedes Rodriquez, from UVI St. Thomas.
"Reality and Vision: Beyond Ordinary Experience" at 1:25 p.m. is chaired by Jamila Woods. Panelists are Alicia Gayadeen from UVI St. Croix and Kimberly Lloyd and Shamila Banwaree of UVI St. Thomas.
"Language and Life: Creole in Context" at 3:30 p.m. is chaired by Agnes Nicolas and includes panelists Derian Carty and Dalton Carty, both of UVI St. Thomas.
Special readings by Matthews and by "Ms. L. Smith" of UVI St. Thomas will occur at 2:30 p.m. The third panel will be followed by a 4 p.m. cultural presentation by Nyasha Mutundu, a UVI junior reigning as Miss UVI; remarks by Student Government Association president Martha Joseph; and closing remarks by Emanuel. It ends just in time for participants and audience to get to the 5 p.m. journalism forum.
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April 3, 2002 – Some 23,000 military personnel are taking part in an intermediary training exercise off Puerto Rico this week that involves utilization of what the U.S. Navy calls the Vieques inner range.
Taking part in the exercise are the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and 10 other ships in its battle group, along with the aircraft they carry.
"They are preparing for regularly scheduled deployment into the Mediterranean and the Middle East region," said Lt. Fred Kuebler, spokesman for the Navy's Southern Command.
According to regional news agencies, the current exercise also involves the training of a thousand marines in helicopter landings.
The Vieques training range has been a flashpoint for Puerto Ricans and others protesting Navy practice bombing in the area. Military exercises had been suspended for almost a year following the accidental death of a civilian on the island. But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland, training resumed. However, there is now a significant difference: Under presidential directive, only non-explosive ammunition is being used.
Since the death of the civilian security guard in an exercise, Kuebler said, the Navy has used only empty shells in its exercises training warship gunners to fire on land- and sea-based targets.
Protestors have also returned to the area. As of Tuesday, five demonstrators had been arrested, according to national media accounts.
The current exercises are to continue for another week. Once the intermediate training is complete, the George Washington Battle Group will go on to advanced training later this year.

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April 3, 2002 – Some 23,000 military personnel are taking part in an intermediary training exercise off Puerto Rico this week that involves utilization of what the U.S. Navy calls the Vieques inner range.
Taking part in the exercise are the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and 10 other ships in its battle group, along with the aircraft they carry.
"They are preparing for regularly scheduled deployment into the Mediterranean and the Middle East region," said Lt. Fred Kuebler, spokesman for the Navy's Southern Command.
According to regional news agencies, the current exercise also involves the training of a thousand marines in helicopter landings.
The Vieques training range has been a flashpoint for Puerto Ricans and others protesting Navy practice bombing in the area. Military exercises had been suspended for almost a year following the accidental death of a civilian on the island. But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland, training resumed. However, there is now a significant difference: Under presidential directive, only non-explosive ammunition is being used.
Since the death of the civilian security guard in an exercise, Kuebler said, the Navy has used only empty shells in its exercises training warship gunners to fire on land- and sea-based targets.
Protestors have also returned to the area. As of Tuesday, five demonstrators had been arrested, according to national media accounts.
The current exercises are to continue for another week. Once the intermediate training is complete, the George Washington Battle Group will go on to advanced training later this year.

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.

April 3, 2002 – Some 23,000 military personnel are taking part in an intermediary training exercise off Puerto Rico this week that involves utilization of what the U.S. Navy calls the Vieques inner range.
Taking part in the exercise are the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and 10 other ships in its battle group, along with the aircraft they carry.
"They are preparing for regularly scheduled deployment into the Mediterranean and the Middle East region," said Lt. Fred Kuebler, spokesman for the Navy's Southern Command.
According to regional news agencies, the current exercise also involves the training of a thousand marines in helicopter landings.
The Vieques training range has been a flashpoint for Puerto Ricans and others protesting Navy practice bombing in the area. Military exercises had been suspended for almost a year following the accidental death of a civilian on the island. But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the mainland, training resumed. However, there is now a significant difference: Under presidential directive, only non-explosive ammunition is being used.
Since the death of the civilian security guard in an exercise, Kuebler said, the Navy has used only empty shells in its exercises training warship gunners to fire on land- and sea-based targets.
Protestors have also returned to the area. As of Tuesday, five demonstrators had been arrested, according to national media accounts.
The current exercises are to continue for another week. Once the intermediate training is complete, the George Washington Battle Group will go on to advanced training later this year.

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.

April 3, 2002 – More than $1.3 million in federal funds are coming to the Virgin Islands to increase access to health care and to help keep beachgoers healthy along the islands' shores.
The Environmental Protection Agency is providing $308,488 under the Coastal Recreation Water Monitoring and Public Notification initiative. The funding is to allow for timely testing of the water quality around area beaches and to post the proper warning signs if contamination levels make the beaches unsafe for bathing.
The national coastal waters project is designed to help states and territories protect their recreational boating and swimming areas.
Meanwhile the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be awarding $582,327 to Frederiksted Health Care Inc., which operates the Frederiksted clinic on St. Croix, and $513,747 to the St. Thomas East End Medical Corp., which operates the East End Clinic on St. Thomas. The funding is for testing and prevention programs to residents that use clinics as their primary health care providers.
Both clinics hold popular community health fairs, offering multiple screening tests for chronic ailments such as high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as inoculations for children.
The grant awards were announced by Delegate Donna Christian Christensen, who also circulated an invitation from the U.S. Justice Department to the nation's institutions of higher education to apply for Fiscal Year 2002 funding for programs to reduce violent crimes against women on campuses. April 16 is the deadline to apply; information is available by calling (202) 514-6121.

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