Dec. 28, 2001 – A woman believed to be vacationing on St. Croix apparently drowned Thursday in the water off Hotel on the Cay in Christiansted Harbor.
At 1:38 p.m., the unidentified woman's body was pulled from the water by crew members of the St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures dive boat, which was heading out for an afternoon dive. Ed Buckley, co-owner of the SCUBA excursion business, told police that as he was taking the boat through the Water and Power Authority ship channel near the hotel, he saw what he thought was a snorkeler. As the boat got closer, however, he said, it was apparent the person in the water was not moving or using a mask and snorkel.
Crew members jumped into the water to retrieve the woman, who was clad in a black Lycra skinsuit and dive fins. Efforts to revive her began on the boat as Buckley called his wife at SCUBA's downtown Christiansted shop, and she in turn called 911. Within minutes, Buckley got the boat back to the Christiansted Boardwalk, where resuscitation efforts continued until an ambulance arrived.
A passenger on the dive boat said that the woman’s face was "blue" when she was pulled from the water and that she was unresponsive to the rescue efforts.
Hotel on the Cay staff members went to the boardwalk in an effort to determine if the victim, a Caucasian who appeared to be in her late 30s to early 50s, was a guest. Whether that was the case was not immediately clear.

Dec. 27, 2001 – One of the problems with dining downtown is finding a restaurant open after 5 p.m. Another is finding an establishment where the focus is more on food, most of it not cooked in a deep-fryer, than on drinks, and where you and your companion(s) can talk without screaming. Others are concerns about security – whether real or perceived — and, of course, parking.
From the late Trader Dan’s, Sparky’s and Arby’s to today’s Tavern on the Waterfront, meeting the challenge of dining on the St. Thomas waterfront after dark has become increasingly difficult.
Tavern on the Waterfront has tried to bring to downtown a quiet, relaxing zone of sophistication with exceptional food and drink. This is obvious by the fact they automatically add a 20 percent gratuity to your bill. The question is whether the management has been able to put together a package worth the tariff.
When we enter, we are seated at a table set for four complete with clean, white tablecloth, flatware, napery, butter dishes and a silk flower. What we see is what we get. From there on out, the bell tolls.
Would you like bread? No problem; it is $2 per person for two slices of French bread with a bit of spread, garlic flavor and sprinkle of chives or something else green. Rather have pita? No problem; $4 a pocket, please.
Ice water is free. Furthermore, it is good, with no aftertaste; the ice is good, too, and the waitress will fill your glass without your doing a song and dance for her attention. You do, however, have to ask for the water to start.
Bar drinks are priced relatively well, considering some of the competition on the island. Beers cost $3 and well drinks are $5.50.
The service is good when only a couple of tables are occupied, but things could get hectic if there were ever a crowd. When my friends and I dined, the single waitress and a gentleman acting as barker, general maintenance man, bartender and waiter served us.
The appetizers are the price of a stateside meal at a medium-priced diner. The least expensive is the house salad – a handful of good greens, a couple olives, half a tomato and dressing.
Some of the entrees come with vegetables; for those that do not, you can order a side dish for the price of another meal.
The entrees I observed looked quite good, and the ones I tasted were well prepared with light sauces. A friend had the Tuna Japanese that really hit the spot with our party and disappeared rapidly. The slice of tuna was seared and sliced over a bed of wild rice. Good soy-based sauce and dab of oriental hot green mush accompanied the tuna. The tempura was very well done, with a relatively dry batter which made it a pleasure to crunch into. The grouper was served in a light wine sauce which made the wild rice well worth eating and even improved the grilled broccoli, summer squash and zucchini.
Since we had all run over our budget, we passed on the dessert. As with several fine establishments on the island, we were offered an after-dinner drink. The brandy was good, but the amaretto was a generic brand that tasted watery.
The total cost? You add it up.
Before-dinner drink $5.50
Bread $2.00
House salad $9.00
Entree $25.00
Required gratuity $8.30
Total $49.80
Which comes to $100 for a couple to have dinner.
The restrooms are well maintained, clean, well stocked, etc. Unfortunately, this is one of those establishments which have replaced paper towels with an electric machine that works sort of — after a while.
The pleasant finale was that when I got to my car at Emancipation Garden, it had not been disturbed. Overall Tavern on the Waterfront offers rather a pleasant evening, as long as you have a large limit on your charge card.
Tavern on the Waterfront
Ambience: 4 stars
Food: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Value: 2 stars

Charlotte Amalie waterfront between Drakes Passage and Palm Passage
(340) 776-4328
Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon.- Sat.
Dinner 6-10 p.m. Mon.- Sat.
Seafood
Amex, MasterCard, Visa
Editor's note: The Tottering Taster is a senior citizen dedicated to enjoying good food who periodically dines in local establishments to bring Source readers unsolicited assessments biased in favor of an ultimate eating-out experience. The individual uses a pseudonym so restaurant personnel will not be able to identify the reviewer and try to influence the review.

Dec. 27, 2001 – In a special session called by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, the Senate passed legislation Thursday authorizing the government and the Public Finance Authority to issue $92 million in tax-exempt bonds for several public and private capital projects.
The governor called the last-minute session in the midst of the yearend holidays — Christmas, the Crucian Christmas Festival, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and New Year’s — to meet a Dec. 31 deadline for issuing bonds for capital projects.
Attracting the most attention from the lawmakers was $63 million destined for Hovensa as part of the long-term financing of the solid-waste disposal components of the company's ongoing coker project.
Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen set the tone for further questioning when she asked early on if Hovensa's funding had to be "linked" to the other projects.
The other projects in the $92 million bond issue are:
– $10 million maximum in funding for mortgages through the V.I. Housing Authority for multi- and single-family homes in the Louis E. Brown Development on St. Croix.
– $15 million maximum to fund mortgages for 236 residential rental projects at the Brown Development.
– $4 million maximum in funding through the PFA for sewage facilities for a St. Croix manufacturing facility.
Also on the agenda was the re-submission by Turnbull of legislation to change government department and agency budgets to lump-sum from line-item budgets, a proposal voted down earlier this year by the body, and legislation to authorize the governor to declare a state of economic emergency following any man-made catastrophe which would have a negative effect on the economy.
Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd sent the lump-sum proposal to the Finance Committee, where the line-item budget originated to begin with, and the emergency proposal to the Government Operations Committee.
The session then went into Committee of the Whole to take testimony from Amadeo Francis, PFA finance director; Alex Moorhead, Hovensa vice president; George Dudley, Hovensa attorney; Ira R. Mills, Office of Management and Budget director; and Conrad Francois, VIHA executive director.
Francis, who will leave his PFA post on Dec. 31 after being terminated by the governor earlier this month, impressed upon the senators the urgency and economic importance of approving the bond proposal. "This will undoubtably be my last appearance in this chamber," he said. "We need legislative approval, and it must be done by Dec. 31."
Bond availability 'something we use or lose'
Francis added, "This is a new venture for the PFA. It will establish us in the marketplace and make it easier in the future for the Virgin Islands to negotiate." He stressed, "This is not a gift; it is something we use or lose."
Francis explained that federal law allows states and territories to issue private activity bonds that are tax exempt each year. Under questioning by senators, he stated more than once, "Absolutely and positively, there is no cost to the government."
Moorhead and Dudley told the lawmakers that the government will immediately benefit by collecting about $340,000 in bond-issuance fees from Hovensa. Moorhead said, "It is not a novel proposition for tax-exempt bonds to be issued to finance a privately owned facility, as is allowed under a provision of the federal Internal Revenue Code. Approximately $6 billion in tax-exempt bonds were issued this year to finance projects for private companies in the U.S."
In addition to paying the fees, Moorhead said, Hovensa will reimburse the government for legal fees and any other expenses it incurs in issuing the bonds. He stressed the urgency of the authorization before the end of the year. "Unfortunately, $10.6 million of the maximum amount of $63 million in private-activity bonds authorized to be issued … have been carried forward from the government's volume cap … since 1998," he said. As Internal Revenue Service regulations prohibit a cap being carried forward for more than three years, he added, "if the bonds aren't sold by next Monday, the government's ability to do so will be lost."
Moorhead also said the government will realize substantial benefits from providing the tax-exempt financing, in that the sooner Hovensa exhausts the refinery's tax loss carry-forward, the sooner the territory will receive income-tax payments as a result of the improved competitive position the refinery will enjoy upon completion of the coker project.
The refinery has no exemption from income tax, Moorhead noted. He said most refineries with which Hovensa competes for the sale of petroleum products already have a coker which enables them to process less-expensive heavy crude oil and enjoy a lower average cost of crude than Hovensa's.
Subcontractor labor relations are an issue
There appeared to be little question of the advantages of issuing the bonds, but several senators raised the issue of labor relations with the subcontractors used by Hovensa. "The issue here is abusing local employees," Hansen said.
She said she could not vote for the bill because of current labor conditions with Wyatt V.I., a Hovensa subcontractor. Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste also objected to assisting Hovensa with financing the coker project when, he said, some of its subcontractors are violating local labor laws regarding listing positions with the Labor Department, hiring of residents, and racial discrimination. The senators took a lunch break to draft amendments regarding these issues.
Most of the lawmakers, while acknowledging labor issues with Hovensa subcontractors, said Hovensa itself is a good corporate citizen.
Hansen and Jn Baptiste offered amendments which were voted down. Hansen's was several pages long and touched on a myriad of issues severely restricting hiring and other personnel policies for Hovensa and other companies. The document was labeled "legal sufficiency not determined."
Sen. Carlton Dowe said although he supports employees' rights, he couldn't approve a proposal so broad and undefined in nature. He said the amendment needed work, and his colleagues agreed, voting it down along with a less-restrictive one from Jn Baptiste.
The senators passed an amendment by Sen. David Jones giving 10 percent of proceeds of each issue of bonds or notes to the St. Croix Community Development Foundation and related organizations on St. Thomas and St. John. Hansen amended that to include another 10 percent to go to a cancer center on St. Croix.
The session, which some had thought would take only a couple of hours, convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 4:30 p.m. It wasn't the first time this year that the governor called a last-minute session, several senators noted. Earlier, Turnbull called sessions to approve government health insurance contracts, to adopt legislation for the territory to get its share of the nationwide tobacco settlement, and to approve projects funded under the federal Community Development Block Grant program.
Questioned by Sen. David Jones about the hastily called session, Mills said it "wasn't the government's intention to hold the senators hostage." He said the legislation was sent to the Senate early in December, and when "we saw you weren't addressing it, we called the Senate president." He added that extensive legal matters with Hovensa had held up the issue.
A farewell to, and from, Francis
Liburd took the opportunity of Francis's appearance to remark upon his impending departure. "You are known throughout the world," Liburd said, "You represent a special kind of stature. I feel a real sense of loss. On behalf of everyone here, I want to thank you."
Francis said he felt he was leaving the PFA in a very good condition with a good reputation in the bond market. He praised Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull for her efforts.
"We're catching up," he said.
Francis said he hadn't the "slightest idea" who will succeed him, and he wouldn't comment on Turnbull's decision to terminate his contract. "I'll be available to anyone," he said. "If you need my advice, or if you just want to stop by to say hello."
Attending the session were Sens. Lorraine Berry, Roosevelt David, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Dowe, Alicia Hansen, Emmett Hansen II, Jn Baptiste, Jones, Liburd, Vargrave Richards and Celestino A. White Sr. Sens. Adelbert Bryan, Douglas Canton Jr., Donald "Ducks" Cole and Norma Pickard-Samuel were absent.

Dec. 27, 2001 – In a special session called by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, the Senate passed legislation Thursday authorizing the government and the Public Finance Authority to issue $92 million in tax-exempt bonds for several public and private capital projects.
The governor called the last-minute session in the midst of the yearend holidays — Christmas, the Crucian Christmas Festival, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and New Year’s — to meet a Dec. 31 deadline for issuing bonds for capital projects.
Attracting the most attention from the lawmakers was $63 million destined for Hovensa as part of the long-term financing of the solid-waste disposal components of the company's ongoing coker project.
Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen set the tone for further questioning when she asked early on if Hovensa's funding had to be "linked" to the other projects.
The other projects in the $92 million bond issue are:
– $10 million maximum in funding for mortgages through the V.I. Housing Authority for multi- and single-family homes in the Louis E. Brown Development on St. Croix.
– $15 million maximum to fund mortgages for 236 residential rental projects at the Brown Development.
– $4 million maximum in funding through the PFA for sewage facilities for a St. Croix manufacturing facility.
Also on the agenda was the re-submission by Turnbull of legislation to change government department and agency budgets to lump-sum from line-item budgets, a proposal voted down earlier this year by the body, and legislation to authorize the governor to declare a state of economic emergency following any man-made catastrophe which would have a negative effect on the economy.
Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd sent the lump-sum proposal to the Finance Committee, where the line-item budget originated to begin with, and the emergency proposal to the Government Operations Committee.
The session then went into Committee of the Whole to take testimony from Amadeo Francis, PFA finance director; Alex Moorhead, Hovensa vice president; George Dudley, Hovensa attorney; Ira R. Mills, Office of Management and Budget director; and Conrad Francois, VIHA executive director.
Francis, who will leave his PFA post on Dec. 31 after being terminated by the governor earlier this month, impressed upon the senators the urgency and economic importance of approving the bond proposal. "This will undoubtably be my last appearance in this chamber," he said. "We need legislative approval, and it must be done by Dec. 31."
Bond availability 'something we use or lose'
Francis added, "This is a new venture for the PFA. It will establish us in the marketplace and make it easier in the future for the Virgin Islands to negotiate." He stressed, "This is not a gift; it is something we use or lose."
Francis explained that federal law allows states and territories to issue private activity bonds that are tax exempt each year. Under questioning by senators, he stated more than once, "Absolutely and positively, there is no cost to the government."
Moorhead and Dudley told the lawmakers that the government will immediately benefit by collecting about $340,000 in bond-issuance fees from Hovensa. Moorhead said, "It is not a novel proposition for tax-exempt bonds to be issued to finance a privately owned facility, as is allowed under a provision of the federal Internal Revenue Code. Approximately $6 billion in tax-exempt bonds were issued this year to finance projects for private companies in the U.S."
In addition to paying the fees, Moorhead said, Hovensa will reimburse the government for legal fees and any other expenses it incurs in issuing the bonds. He stressed the urgency of the authorization before the end of the year. "Unfortunately, $10.6 million of the maximum amount of $63 million in private-activity bonds authorized to be issued … have been carried forward from the government's volume cap … since 1998," he said. As Internal Revenue Service regulations prohibit a cap being carried forward for more than three years, he added, "if the bonds aren't sold by next Monday, the government's ability to do so will be lost."
Moorhead also said the government will realize substantial benefits from providing the tax-exempt financing, in that the sooner Hovensa exhausts the refinery's tax loss carry-forward, the sooner the territory will receive income-tax payments as a result of the improved competitive position the refinery will enjoy upon completion of the coker project.
The refinery has no exemption from income tax, Moorhead noted. He said most refineries with which Hovensa competes for the sale of petroleum products already have a coker which enables them to process less-expensive heavy crude oil and enjoy a lower average cost of crude than Hovensa's.
Subcontractor labor relations are an issue
There appeared to be little question of the advantages of issuing the bonds, but several senators raised the issue of labor relations with the subcontractors used by Hovensa. "The issue here is abusing local employees," Hansen said.
She said she could not vote for the bill because of current labor conditions with Wyatt V.I., a Hovensa subcontractor. Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste also objected to assisting Hovensa with financing the coker project when, he said, some of its subcontractors are violating local labor laws regarding listing positions with the Labor Department, hiring of residents, and racial discrimination. The senators took a lunch break to draft amendments regarding these issues.
Most of the lawmakers, while acknowledging labor issues with Hovensa subcontractors, said Hovensa itself is a good corporate citizen.
Hansen and Jn Baptiste offered amendments which were voted down. Hansen's was several pages long and touched on a myriad of issues severely restricting hiring and other personnel policies for Hovensa and other companies. The document was labeled "legal sufficiency not determined."
Sen. Carlton Dowe said although he supports employees' rights, he couldn't approve a proposal so broad and undefined in nature. He said the amendment needed work, and his colleagues agreed, voting it down along with a less-restrictive one from Jn Baptiste.
The senators passed an amendment by Sen. David Jones giving 10 percent of proceeds of each issue of bonds or notes to the St. Croix Community Development Foundation and related organizations on St. Thomas and St. John. Hansen amended that to include another 10 percent to go to a cancer center on St. Croix.
The session, which some had thought would take only a couple of hours, convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 4:30 p.m. It wasn't the first time this year that the governor called a last-minute session, several senators noted. Earlier, Turnbull called sessions to approve government health insurance contracts, to adopt legislation for the territory to get its share of the nationwide tobacco settlement, and to approve projects funded under the federal Community Development Block Grant program.
Questioned by Sen. David Jones about the hastily called session, Mills said it "wasn't the government's intention to hold the senators hostage." He said the legislation was sent to the Senate early in December, and when "we saw you weren't addressing it, we called the Senate president." He added that extensive legal matters with Hovensa had held up the issue.
A farewell to, and from, Francis
Liburd took the opportunity of Francis's appearance to remark upon his impending departure. "You are known throughout the world," Liburd said, "You represent a special kind of stature. I feel a real sense of loss. On behalf of everyone here, I want to thank you."
Francis said he felt he was leaving the PFA in a very good condition with a good reputation in the bond market. He praised Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull for her efforts.
"We're catching up," he said.
Francis said he hadn't the "slightest idea" who will succeed him, and he wouldn't comment on Turnbull's decision to terminate his contract. "I'll be available to anyone," he said. "If you need my advice, or if you just want to stop by to say hello."
Attending the session were Sens. Lorraine Berry, Roosevelt David, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Dowe, Alicia Hansen, Emmett Hansen II, Jn Baptiste, Jones, Liburd, Vargrave Richards and Celestino A. White Sr. Sens. Adelbert Bryan, Douglas Canton Jr., Donald "Ducks" Cole and Norma Pickard-Samuel were absent.

Dec. 27, 2001 – Territorial Court Judge Ive Swan said Thursday that he sees serious, fundamental flaws in a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John against the V.I. government and the developers of the proposed Botany Bay resort.
"I see some problems. I see quite a bit of problems," Swan told Gwendolyn Wilds, EAST attorney, during a hearing on the lawsuit Thursday morning. "I've never seen anything like this."
Henry Feuerzeig, the attorney for defendants Botany Bay Partners, went even further; he suggested the court consider sanctions against EAST for filing a lawsuit that he said has no basis in law.
"In my 30-some years in my practice of law, I've never seen this," Feuerzeig said. "This complaint asks for things that are simply way beyond the power of this court."
Swan did not make any ruling Thursday regarding the suit. He said he would recuse himself from the case because the government's motion to dismiss was signed by Kerry Drue, Civil Division chief in the Attorney General's Office. Drue is Swan's stepdaughter.
But after recusing himself to avoid a possible conflict of interest, Swan urged Wilds to consider amending the EAST suit. He said he believes the suit asks the court to take actions that would violate the separation of powers among the three branches of government.
Last week, EAST filed the suit against Botany Bay Partners, the Legislature, the Planning and Natural Resources Department and other government agencies. EAST asked the court to rescind the Legislature's Dec. 11 vote to rezone land at Botany Bay, to enjoin the Legislature from sending the act to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to sign into law, and to restrain the Legislature from making what EAST called "arbitrary and capricious" changes to the territory's zoning maps in the future.
In the lawsuit, EAST claims the Legislature acted improperly by ignoring DPNR's recommendation to grant a zoning variance to Botany Bay Partners, rather than rezoning.
On Thursday, Swan said the Revised Organic Act and the V.I. Code clearly give the Legislature the power to enact zoning changes and to accept or reject recommendations from DPNR. The Organic Act also states that the Legislature must forward acts to the governor to be signed into law, an action that Swan said no court would ever interfere with.
"It is etched in marble, etched in bedrock, etched in granite, this principle of separation of powers," Swan said. "I can't imagine any judge would order a Legislature to repeal an act."
Wilds said she planned to amend the lawsuit, and attorneys for both sides agreed to a schedule for filing new court papers over the next month. Feuerzeig volunteered to write up the order for the judge to sign setting up the schedule for filing court motions.
It has not been decided which judge will be assigned to hear the case in Swan’s stead.
If the case is thrown out, the defendants could ask the judge to order the plaintiffs to pay their attorneys' fees.

Dec. 27, 2001 – With only a few days to go before the V.I. National Park starts enforcing its requirement that all tour operators hold permits, the two taxi associations that control tour activities at the Cruz Bay dock — the St. John Taxi Association, which has the majority of drivers, and the V.I. Taxi Association — have yet to get on board.
Lorelei Monsanto, the taxi drivers' spokeswoman, said they would not pay any fees.
"We have a surprise in store," she said, declining to give details.
Park Supt. John King said that taxi associations at the island's hotels, tour companies, and many taxi drivers who moonlight with their own tours have obtained their permits.
Once the regulations take effect on Jan. 1, King said, park rangers will start issuing tickets to taxi drivers who are conducting tours but do not have a permit windshield decal. Each ticket carries a $50 fine. King said that after three tickets, the drivers will have to appear in U.S. District Court.
He said the rangers will not issue tickets while there are passengers in the taxi vehicles. "We don't want the visitors to get in the middle of this," he said. Instead, the rangers will hand out the tickets while the passengers are visiting park sites or when the drivers return to Cruz Bay.
"We'll take down license numbers," King said.
He said park authorities have written to all tour providers within the last two weeks citing the park's authority to issue permits and enclosing a permit application.
Other tour operators, such as those that conduct hiking and kayaking excursions and day sails, have held permits for years. The park's new Commercial Services Plan, mandated by Congress, requires all tour operators to have permits. The park initially set the fees at $300 for independent drivers and $750 for associations and companies; after complaints from taxi drivers, King lowered the fees to $75 for independent drivers and $250 for associations and companies. Drivers who only transport people from point A to point B are exempt from the fees.
National Park Service officials held many meetings over the course of a year and a half seeking public input into and feedback on the new Commercial Services Plan. The taxi drivers have complained they were unaware the fees and permits were in the pipeline. As the Jan. 1 deadline for implementing the plan loomed, their objections surfaced.
At a meeting on Oct. 25 called by Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and at a Senate Committee of the Whole meeting on Nov. 5, many drivers were adamant that they would not pay the fees. King has said that tour operators at all of the other 385 national park facilities pay fees.

Dec. 20, 2001 – Get up early and grab your binoculars on Dec. 29 to join the V.I. Audubon Society's 23rd annual Christmas Bird Count on St. John.
"It's a traditional event. It generates good data for scientists here and at the [national] Audubon Society," Laurel Brannick-Trager, local chapter president, said.
Those wishing to participate must sign up with Wil Henderson, who coordinates team assignments, pairing those with enthusiasm but little or no birding experience with seasoned birders.
"I expect to see a good turnout of both birders and birds," Henderson said.
Brannick-Trager said the island is divided into four sections for the count: the North Shore, the Cruz Bay area, Bordeaux and Coral Bay. A team is assigned to each section.
The teams will assemble between 7 and 7:30 a.m. The day will wrap up around 2 p.m. at Skinny Legs Bar and Restaurant, where the bird watchers will gather to have lunch and compare notes.
While last year saw the highest bird count since Hurricane Marilyn swept through in 1995, Brannick-Trager said the number of birds sighted on St. John has declined since the 1970s. "It's probably loss of habitat," she said.
The most obviously missing species are warblers and shore birds. Henderson said that since conditions are about the same now as last year, he expects to have a similar count. However, recent rains that have produced lush foliage conditions could prevent bird counters from spotting all the warblers. "They're very hard to see in trees," he said.
The fact that no major hurricanes have hit St. John since 1995 has helped the bird population increase. The numbers had been rising since Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989, but Marilyn dealt the birds another blow.
In 2000, bird counters spotted 60 species and 1,915 individual birds. The year before, the numbers stood at 47 species and 1,242 individual birds.
Early conservationists started the bird count on the mainland 102 years ago as an alternative to the traditional Christmas hunt in which birds were shot. The count has since turned into a significant citizen-based conservation effort led by the National Audubon Society. To sign up for the St. John, count, call Henderson at 693-5915.

Dec. 27, 2001 – Across the territory, families are celebrating Kwanzaa.
"It's important to us and our heritage," said Laurel Hewitt-Sewer of St. John, who celebrates the Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 observance with her husband, Oswin, and her children, Oswin Jr., 16, and Zaid, 10.
Hewitt-Sewer finds it important to pass her belief system and information about the family's African heritage along to her children. "It's also to celebrate our culture," she said, noting that it is a time for families to be together.
She and her family try to practice the seven principles of Kwanzaa, called Nguzo Saba, throughout the year, she said. There is one principle for each day of the week-long observance.
According to www.theholidayspot.com, the principles are:
– Umoja, or "unity," which stresses the importance of togetherness for the family and the community, as reflected in the African saying "I am we," or "I am because we are."
– Kujichagulia, or "self-determination," requiring that African-Americans define common interests and make decisions that are in the best interest of family and community.
– Ujima, or "collective work and responsibility," reminding those celebrating Kwanzaa that they have obligations to the past, present and future and that they have a role to play in the community, society and the world.
– Ujamaa, or "cooperative economics," emphasizing collective economic strength and encourages meeting common needs through mutual support.
– Nia, or "purpose," encouraging African-Americans to look within themselves and to set personal goals beneficial to the community.
– Kuumba, or "creativity," making use of creative energies to build and maintain a strong and vibrant community.
– Imani, or "faith," which focuses on honoring the best of African-American traditions. It pushes for a higher level of life by affirming self-worth and confidence in the ability of African-Americans to succeed and triumph.
Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits of the harvest" in the African language Kiswahili, was founded in 1966 by California graduate student Maulana Karenga. Disturbed by the 1965 riots in the Watts area of Los Angeles, he decided that African-Americans needed an annual event to celebrate their common differences rather than the melting pot.
A Kwanzaa highlight is the Karumu feast, traditionally held on Dec. 31.
On Friday at 10 a.m., the Friends of the St. Thomas Libraries will hold a Kwanzaa celebration for children at the Enid M.Baa Library. The program will include a ceremony with the lighting of the Kwanzaa candles, drumming, storytelling and arts and crafts. For more information, call 777-3579.

Dec. 27, 2001 – All Post Offices on St. Croix will be closed on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2002, in observance of Adult Parade activities. There will be no retail services and/or carrier delivery services.
Express mail delivery to residential, business and post office boxes will be in effect.

Four Corners
by Diane Freund
MacAdam/Cage, 261 pp, $25
Being 12 years old is a country, complete with its own language, fears and villains. All of the last tend to exceed 10 feet. As one grows and matures, one adds layers of knowledge and sophistication which distance us from that former country. Very few accurate memories survive. In Diane Freund's "Four Corners," that is about to change.
Two sisters and a cousin paint a vivid picture of their lives in Upstate New York in the 1950s. Their town is so small that its center has buildings on just three corners, while the fourth remains empty, waiting for some unknown fulfillment.
Hard times have settled down on this family of seven. The mother is in a mental hospital and the father works as a bartender. Aunt Merle comes up from New York City to care for the children and she brings her two teen-agers, the last thing needed in this household, underfunded and oversaturated with children already.
The language is coarse and funny and cannily accurate. When Merle says these children have driven her sister crazy, you find yourself agreeing. She's tough, edging on mean, but one would have to be both, with steel shavings in the bloodstream, to take on this bunch. The meals alone boggle one's mind.
The stars are Rainey and Emily, sisters; and Joan, their Aunt Merle's daughter. These three nymphets (ages 10, 12 and 13), lovely looking, attract a horde of predators, some of whom are downright chilling. All of the children are starved for love, and their mother, when she is at home, exudes it like a scent. The sad part is how rare her times with them are due to her illness. She sees each child as a unique and special person, touching them lovingly, and they stretch and expand as we watch.
When the drama comes to a close and the characters recede in our vision, each trying to work out his or her own tangled destiny, we find we are loathe to see them go. Perhaps the real thrust of "Four Corners" is the way it vividly reminds us of that time when we were young — how frightening life could be, and how we coped with the scariest parts and never told a soul.
"Four Corners" is available at Dockside Bookshop in Havensight Mall on St. Thomas. To check out other Dockside favorites, click here.