The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to commit all of the territory's proceeds from the national tobacco settlement — anticipated to be nearly $50 million to be paid out over the next 25 years — to health care. The action came in the form of an amendment to legislation passed two years ago splitting the money 50/50 between health and union arbitration funds.
The amendment will now go to the Rules Committee. If Rules approves it, the measure will go to the full Senate. If passed, it will be sent to the governor for final action.
The legislation passed in March 1998 called for dividing the anticipated funds equally between the Health Revolving Fund and the Union Arbitration Fund. Health interests have sought to repeal the law and allocate all of the money to health care. Union representatives have vigorously opposed that idea.
Last month Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus introduced an amendment to allocate 80 percent to health concerns and 20 percent to the arbitration fund. Union leaders also opposed this move.
Tuesday's amendment was offered by Sens. Violet Anne Golden, Lorraine Berry, George Goodwin and Gregory Bennerson. Golden introduced the measure, which calls for distributing the territory's share of the settlement as follows:
– 36 percent to the Health Department for prevention and long-term care, with a special amount set aside for health-related capital improvement projects.
– 32 percent to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital for basic health care including a cancer center.
– 32 percent to the Juan F. Luis Hospital for basic care services including a cardiac treatment center.
Prior to the debate, Amadeo Francis, director of the Public Finance Authority, told the senators that before addressing the distribution of the tobacco funds, they needed to consider how the money — to be distributed to the territory over 25 years — could best be managed.
"The funds are contingent on the will of the people to smoke themselves to death," he said, adding that over the next 25 years the tobacco companies could go bankrupt. Also, he said, 20 years from now, with inflation, today's dollar could be worth 20 cents.
Francis said he had asked the investment firm of Salomon Smith Barney to analyze the possibilities for "securitizing" the payments that the V.I. government is to receive. In a detailed statement, he said one option would be to accept a lesser sum now, secured by another entity, and thereby protect the government from any future responsibility. "In other words," he said, "get it, get out and let somebody else assume the rest."
In other action, the Finance Committee approved a federal grant application from the Planning and Natural Resources Department for $100,000 to develop a water-quality management planning program for the territory. PNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett and his water quality manager, Hollis Griffin, testified in support of the measure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant would require no matching local funds.
Legislative post-auditor Campbell R. Malone said in his analysis of the proposal that there has been no territorial waste-treatment management plan in place for about 20 years. He said the government must have such a plan in order to be eligible for various EPA grant programs.
The Finance Committee also approved an appropriation transfer to pay personnel in the Office of Inspector General, correcting a technical error in the fiscal year 2000 Executive Budget Act. The corrected totals are $125,000 for unclassified workers and $387,757 for classified positions.
The change was needed to reflect the appropriate level of expenditures for each line item, and does not change the year's budget for the office, Malone said in his memorandum on the matter.

Another step toward settling the tobacco settlement funds was taken Tuesday as the Senate Finance Committee passed an amendment giving 100 percent of the monies to health care.
At issue was a law passed in March 1998, which divided the funds equally between the Health Revolving Fund and the Union Arbitration Fund. Health interests have sought to repeal the law, and give all the monies to health care.
Union representatives have vigorously opposed that idea.
Last month an amendment was introduced by Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus which allocated 80 percent of the funds to health concerns and the remaining 20 percent to the Union Arbitration Fund. Union representatives remained adamant that they should retain their 50 percent of the monies.
The amendment passed Tuesday, offered by Sens. V. Anne Golden, Lorraine Berry, George Goodwin and Gregory Bennerson, gives no money to the union fund.
Golden introduced the amendment, which would distribute the Virgin Islands' almost $50 million share of the settlement as follows:
– 36 percent to the Department of Health for prevention and long-term care, with a special amount set aside for health related capital improvement projects
– 32 percent to Roy L. Schneider Hospital for basic health care, including a cancer center
– 32 percent to Juan F. Luis Hospital for basic care services, including a cardiac treatment center.
Prior to the debate, Amadeo Francis, director of the Public Finance Authority, told the senators that before addressing the distribution of the tobacco funds, they needed to consider how the money could best be managed.
"The funds are contingent on the will of the people to smoke themselves to death," he said, explaining that it's possible that in 25 years the tobacco companies could go bankrupt. The funds allow $50 million to be distributed over a period of 25 years to the Virgin Islands government. Francis explained that because of inflation, in 20 years from now, today's dollar could be worth 20 cents.
Francis said he had asked the investment firm of Salomon Smith Barney to prepare an analysis on the possibilities of "securitizing" the payments that the V. I. government will receive in the next 25 years. In a detailed statement, Francis said this would mean accepting a lesser sum now, secured by another entity, and protecting the government from any future responsibility. In other words," he said, "get it, get out and let somebody else assume the rest."
The amendment will now go to the Rules committee, and then to the full Senate if it is approved by Rules. If passed, it will be forwarded to the governor for final action.
In other action, the Finance Committee approved a federal grant in the amount of $100,000 for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources water quality management planning, after taking supportive testimony from PNR commissioner Dean Plaskett and water quality manager Hollis Griffin. The grant requires no matching local funds.
The grant, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will be used for the sole purpose of planning a water quality management planning program for the territory.
Legislative post-Auditor, Campbell R. Malone, said in his analysis of the grant that the territory hasn't had an area-wide waste treatment management plan in place for approximately 20 years. He said the government must have such a plan in order to be eligible for other EPA federal grant programs.
The senators also approved an appropriation transfer to pay personnel in the V.I. Inspector General's office, correcting a transposition error contained in the Fiscal year 2000 Executive Budget Act. The correct amounts for unclassified and classified personal services in the FY 2000 budget are as follows: unclassified $125,000 and classified, $387,757.
The change is necessary in order to reflect the appropriate level of expenditures for each line item, and does not change the IG office's FY 2000 budget, Malone said in his memorandum on the matter.

Because a New York shoe manufacturer knowingly put an illegal foot forward, the territory will get $14,500.
According to a press release from V.I. Attorney General Iver Stridiron, the Virgin Islands joined a $34 million national settlement with 55 other attorneys general against the shoe maker, Nine West Group. The settlement came about in the U.S. District Court of New York after Nine West Group was accused of a wide-ranging price-fixing scheme.
It is alleged that Nine West Group entered into illegal agreements with shoe retailers to fix the price of women’s shoes over a span of 10 years starting in 1988. According to Stridiron, various Nine West Group divisions, including Easy Spirit, Enzo, Angiolini and Nine West ordered retailers not to discount certain shoes.
Nine West Group was accused of telling retailers that shoes couldn’t be discounted outside of certain time periods dictated by the manufacturer. In order to enforce what federal prosecutors called "illegal pricing policies", the Nine West Group gave discounts to cooperating retailers and withheld discounts or threatened to cancel or refuse to take orders from companies that wouldn’t cooperate.
As a result of the alleged illegal pricing agreements, prosecutors argued that consumers were denied an open, competitive market for certain Nine West Group shoes, and therefore paid higher prices.
Under the terms of the $34 million settlement, the Virgin Islands will use its share for women’s health, educational, vocational and safety programs, according to the AG. Also under the terms of the settlement, Nine West Group did not admit any liability or wrongdoing.

Gasoline at upwards of $2 a gallon has come to the Virgin Islands — on St. Thomas, for starters, but with St. John sure to follow in short order.
Retail gas stations on St. Thomas posted pump prices as high as $2.07 a gallon for full-service premium fuel Tuesday, reflecting increases from suppliers of up to 12 cents a gallon passed on to consumers over the weekend.
And that's not counting the additional nine-tenths of a cent that shows up in the small type on price boards, meaning the actual cost for full-serve premium reached nearly $2.08.
(All prices cited in this story exclude the nine-tenths cent additional.)
Gottlieb's Esso was selling full-service regular gas for $1.97 a gallon and premium for $2.07. Its self-serve rates were $1.87 for regular and $1.97 for premium. Prices varied at other St. Thomas Esso retailers, however. Tutu Esso, which offers only self-service, had regular for $1.85 and premium for $1.95. Meantime, Nadir Esso, a full-service-only station, was selling regular for $1.79 and premium for $1.89.
At the recently refurbished Tutu Texaco, the full-service prices Tuesday were $2.06 for premium and $1.96 for regular. The station had three prices posted on its big corner signboard — $1.86 for regular, $1.96 for premium and $1.93 for diesel fuel. The prices were for "self-serve," although the sign did not specify this, and no prices were posted in plain view for full-service.
Domino outlets appeared to have the best deals on both St. Thomas and St. John as the week began. At the St. Thomas Domino stations in Contant and Estate Thomas, the pump price to the general public Tuesday was $1.75 for regular and $1.85 for premium, with only full service offered. (Domino supplies discounted rates to taxi drivers.)
On St. John, where only full service is available, premium was selling for $1.99 and regular was $1.94 at O'Connor's Texaco. Office manager Sivilah Williams said the supplier had increased the price by six cents a gallon, but the station had not yet passed the cost on to consumers.
Domino Gas on St. John didn't raise its rates over the weekend, either, continuing to sell premium for $1.89 and regular for $1.84. Manager Lemuel Liburd said his price might seem cheap by comparison to his competition, but prices have been creeping up for eight months. Last summer, he said, he was selling regular gas for $1.54 a gallon.
It's the trickle-down effect of recent changes in the world's oil supply that have led service stations to raise their rates on St. Thomas, St. John and even St. Croix — where supplies direct from the Hovensa refinery have traditionally kept fuel prices far lower than on the other two islands.
At all stations contacted, operators predicted motorists will be seeing even higher prices at the pumps. "It depends on the world market," said Gottlieb's assistant manager, Mark Gottlieb.
Carl Boisson, vice president and manager of Esso Virgin Islands, said he couldn't remember the last time there has been a jump as dramatic as 12 cents a gallon at one time. "Right now, it looks like it's as high as it could be," he said, "but essentially it's a case of supply and demand . . . Wholesalers on St. Thomas tend to follow the market and not change the price right away, hoping it's a short-term fluctuation."
But when supplier increases continue unabated, Boisson said, the retailer has no choice but to pass along the price to the customer. "Unfortunately, we cannot absorb it forever, and that's what we saw last week," he said.
Several station managers said while customers have expressed shock at the higher prices, few have blamed the retailers or driven away in search of a better deal.
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik undertook a study of gas prices in the territory last fall, shortly after the first signs of increases became apparent. "They've been creeping up pretty steadily," he said of wholesale rates, and "as a result of that, the pump prices have been inching up."
Rutnik also said an unusually high demand for heating oil on the U.S. mainland this winter contributed to a reduction in the overall availability of petroleum products, forcing motor fuel prices higher.
Nationally, petroleum industry executives are predicting price hikes of up to 60 cents more a gallon by summer. Hovensa spokesman Alex Moorhead said even sheltered Crucian motorists will feel the impact. "Consumers on St. Croix are enjoying a lower retail price because the product doesn't go through as many hands as the gas product that's sold on St. Thomas," he said. "There may be other factors, but I think that's undeniable."
But Moorhead said he noticed an increase on St. Croix while fueling his personal vehicle over the weekend.
Calls to four stations on St. Croix found regular gas, which until recently sold for $1.09 a gallon, now priced 8 to 10 cents higher. Premium gas Tuesday was going for $1.17 at Five Corners Service Station, $1.18 at Diamond Crest Esso, and $1.19 at LaReine Service Station and Remy Esso at Estate Glynn.
Moorhead said world oil markets affect all of Hovensa's suppliers, even its partner, Petroleos de Venezuela. Hess Oil of the Virgin Islands and Petroleos formed their partnership in 1998 with a stated goal of saving costs by importing cheaper Venezuelan crude oil.
But Moorhead said since the coker needed to process the heavier crude has not been built yet, the St. Croix refinery has to rely on lighter, more expensive Venezuelan crude for its petroleum products, along with oil from other markets.
Rutnik expressed a hope often voiced in the past by politicians — that Hovensa could be persuaded to supply its product directly to St. Thomas and St. John, too, as a means of containing retail fuel costs territorywide.
He noted that the periodic consumer price surveys issued by his department are intended to encourage consumers to patronize businesses that give them the best price. Other than that, he said, there's little that can be done. Price controls can be imposed by executive order only in times of emergencies, such as hurricanes, he noted.
"It's a competitive market out there," Rutnik said. "Unfortunately, no one seems to be competing."

Gasoline at upwards of $2 a gallon has come to the Virgin Islands — on St. Thomas, for starters, but with St. John sure to follow in short order.
Retail gas stations on St. Thomas posted pump prices as high as $2.07 a gallon for full- service premium fuel Tuesday, reflecting increases from suppliers of up to 12 cents a gallon passed on to consumers over the weekend.
And that's not counting the additional 9/10 of a cent that shows up in the small type on price boards, meaning the actual cost for full-serve premium reached nearly $2.08.
(All prices cited in this story exclude the 0.9 cent additional.)
Gottlieb's Esso was selling full-service regular gas for $1.97 a gallon and premium for $2.07. Its self-serve rates were $1.87 for regular and $1.97 for premium. Prices varied at other St. Thomas Esso retailers, however. Tutu Esso, which offers only self-service, had regular for $1.85 and premium for $1.95. Meantime, Nadir Esso, a full-service-only station, was selling regular for $1.79 and premium for $1.89
At the recently refurbished Tutu Texaco, the full-service prices Tuesday were $2.06 for premium and $1.96 for regular. The station had three prices posted on its big corner signboard — $1.86 for regular, $1.96 for premium and $1.93 for diesel fuel. The prices were for "self-serve," although the sign did not specify this, and no prices were posted in plain view for full-service.
Domino outlets appeared to have the best deals on both St. Thomas and St. John as the week began. At the St. Thomas Domino stations in Contant and Estate Thomas, the pump price to the general public Tuesday was $1.75 for regular and $1.85 for premium, with only full service offered. (Domino supplies discounted rates to taxi drivers.)
On St. John, where only full service is available, premium was selling for $1.99 and regular was $1.94 at O'Connor's Texaco. Office manager Sivilah Williams said the supplier had increased the price by six cents a gallon, but the station had not yet passed the cost on to consumers.
Domino Gas on St. John didn't raise its rates over the weekend, either, continuing to sell premium for $1.89 and regular for $1.84. Manager Lemuel Liburd said his price might seem cheap by comparison to his competition, but prices have been creeping up for eight months. Last summer, he said, he was selling regular gas for $1.54 a gallon.
It's the trickle-down effect of recent changes in the world's oil supply that have led service stations to raise their rates on St. Thomas, St. John and even St. Croix — where supplies direct from the Hovensa refinery have traditionally kept fuel prices far lower than on the other two islands.
At all stations contacted, operators predicted motorists will be seeing even higher prices at the pumps. "It depends on the world market," Gottlieb's assistant manager Mark Gottlieb said.
Carl Boisson, vice president and manager of Esso Virgin Islands, said he can't remember the last time there has been a jump as dramatic as 12 cents a gallon at one time. "Right now, it looks like it's as high as it could be," he said, "but essentially it's a case of supply and demand. . . Wholesalers on St. Thomas tend to follow the market and not change the price right away, hoping it's a short-term fluctuation."
But when supplier increases continue unabated, Boisson said, the retailer has no choice but to pass along the price to the customer. "Unfortunately, we cannot absorb it forever, and that's what we saw last week," he said.
Several station managers said while customers have expressed shock at the higher prices, few have blamed the retailers or driven away in search of a better deal.
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik undertook a study of gas prices in the territory last fall, shortly after the first signs of increases became apparent. "They've been creeping up pretty steadily," he said of wholesale rates, and "as a result of that, the pump prices have been inching up."
Rutnik also said an unusually high demand for heating oil on the U.S. mainland this winter contributed to a reduction in the overall availability of petroleum products, forcing motor fuel prices higher.
Nationally, petroleum industry executives are predicting price hikes of up to 60 cents more a gallon by summer. Hovensa spokesman Alex Moorhead said even sheltered Crucian motorists will feel the impact. "Consumers on St. Croix are enjoying a lower retail price because the product doesn't go through as many hands as the gas product that's sold on St. Thomas," he said. "There may be other factors, but I think that's undeniable."
But Moorhead said he noticed an increase on St. Croix while fueling his personal vehicle over the weekend.
Calls to four stations on St. Croix found regular gas, which until recently sold for $1.09 a gallon, now priced 8 to 10 cents higher. Premium gas Tuesday was going for $1.17 at Five Corners Service Station, $1.18 at Diamond Crest Esso, and $1.19 at LaReine Service Station and Remy Esso at Estate Glynn.
Moorhead said world oil markets affect all of Hovensa's suppliers, even its partner, Petroleos de Venezuela. Hess Oil of the Virgin Islands and Petroleos formed their partnership in 1998 with a stated goal of saving costs by importing cheaper Venezuelan crude oil.
But Moorhead said since the coker needed to process the heavier crude has not been built yet, the St. Croix refinery has to rely on lighter, more expensive Venezuelan crude for its petroleum products, along with oil from other markets.
Rutnik expressed a hope often voiced in the past by politicians — that Hovensa could be persuaded to supply its product directly to St. Thomas and St. John, too, as a means of containing retail fuel costs territorywide.
He noted that the periodic consumer price surveys issued by his department are intended to encourage consumers to patronize businesses that give them the best price. Other than that, he said, there's little that can be done. Price controls can be imposed by executive order only in times of emergencies, such as hurricanes, he noted.
"It's a competitive market out there," Rutnik said. "Unfortunately, no one seems to be competing."

Vocalist Mary Cleere Haran and pianist/vocalist Richard Rodney Bennett bring a cabaret show of standards by George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hart and more to the St. John School of the Arts presentation in the grand ballroom of the Westin Resort.
For reservations and more information, click on Arts/Entertainment/Music. For ticket information and reservations, call 779-4322 or 776-6777.

The V.I. Casino Control Commission Monday restructured its licensing fees in hopes of attracting more hotel-casino investors to the territory.
At its monthly meeting, commission chairwoman Eileen Petersen said one of the major complaints she has fielded recently is the "non-competitiveness" of the territory’s casino licensing structure. She said high fees and the territory’s low population base, meager tourism traffic, low air traffic and lack of hotel rooms make prospective investors jittery.
"This makes investors think twice or three times," she said. "Couple that with high licensing fees and we scare away potential investors."
"If we are to remain competitive, we need to be prepared to make the necessary overtures."
With that, Petersen and commissioners Imelda Dizon and Lloyd McAlpin approved lower fees for two of the four hotel-casino options.
The first change will see fees for a Tier 1, 1,500-plus room hotel with a 20,000-square-foot casino reduced in half from $800,000 to $400,000 for the first two years. The renewal fee for the second two years will drop to $300,000 from $640,000.
Where originally there was no extra charge for adding additional casino floor space with a Tier 1 hotel, the commission will charge $50,000 for each additional 5,000 square feet of casino floor space added.
Licensing fees for a Tier 2 hotel with 300 to 1,400 rooms and a 10,000-square-foot casino will be cut to $200,000 from $350,000 for the first two years. A second two-year license will now cost $175,000 instead of $280,000.
Petersen said the goal of the Casino Control Act was to spawn more hotel rooms rather than a proliferation of casinos. But she said she’s been told that the former licensing fee schedule was "punishing" investors because more rooms meant higher fees.
"This will balance out," Petersen said. "It will not appear we are legally penalizing people who want to build hotel rooms."

Voters in the Virgin Islands should focus on what each candidate seeking elected office has to say on the very basic issues that face these islands. There are many more issues to be addressed, but by choosing three to focus on, the solutions of every other problem that continues to persist on our islands can be addressed.
Election Reform, Education and the Economy
Election Reform: The system for electing public officials does not work and the voter(s) must admit that. So what should be proposed as a solution for
providing better representation and accountability to the people?
Our islands are already divided into school districts.
Can I suggest that we look at the school districts and divide or group them into seven districts from which to elect seven senators each from both St. Thomas and St. Croix and give St. John one full time senator?
By electing individuals from the different districts, we will attract a wider cross section of our community and increase participation of voters in elections. Their participation will have a greater impact since they will be voting for an individual who is best qualified to represent their own communities.
Every community has common ground and it is this common ground on which to build a working relationship among other elected officials and residents of a community.
Too often we as a community we are letting the issues that divide us effect movement on the issues that can unite us and provide solutions to issues that continue to perplex us.
Some of the current elected officials are guilty of just that, fanning the flames of discontent for personal gain and media attention. This must change.
Voters young and old must send a clear message that fish fries, and large parties with big bands will not earn a vote.
Education Reform: We have a problem with public education. Failure to admit this will continue to be met with the continued failure of our public education system, and more importantly failure to meet our obligation as parents to the children are of our islands. An educated voter who has the ability to reason, once given the facts on an issue, can make a decision without the influence of others. We must look at our education system as a vehicle to empower young minds to think, debate, reason and talk in a manner that makes them eligible to join the worldwide job market.
A strong academic program focused on reading, writing, math, science, computers must be standard in all public schools.
Politics must be removed from the public school system.
A board should be set up in each school of teachers, and parents to provide oversight for directing management of the school on a day to day basis
by the principal.
The upper management within the Department of Education must be taken apart and more resources allocated directly to the school. A fee should be applied to each school and those same fees administer by the school’s board to address maintenance and improvements within the school.
The department of education can measure each school's progress with standardize testing to be done every two months at each school. Empower, with the proper training, parents, teachers and students in public school to contribute to a better school community.
Economy: We must realize that without a strong economy, we have no hope of addressing the financial demands on our communities. Effective tax collection, enforcement of current laws, and privatization of some government
functions are a must.
Government should not being doing what private enterprise can do. Government must encourage environmentally safe business to set up in the islands. The IDC program should be overhauled. Tourism promotion must be adequately funded. We must aim and do what is necessary to achieve a year round occupancy of 90 percent at our resorts and hotels. The downtown shopping area must come under some control to improve the shopping environment. Cruise ship arrivals should not be a measure of our success or failure as a destination.
Vinnie Mohannai
St. Thomas

The V.I. National Park's fiscal year 2000 performance plan includes installing animal-proof garbage receptacles, repairing the Cinnamon Bay film projection booth, maintaining the new mooring buoys, constructing a pier for emergency vessels, rebuilding the Francis Bay boardwalk, and eliminating the health threat of hookworm.
Also on the agenda are completion of projects started in fiscal year 1999 that include upgrading 22 miles of trail, employing temporary lifeguards, reducing beach erosion and repairing handicapped-access showers at Trunk Bay, and improving the park's water treatment plant.
The plan and documents detailing the federal budget appropriations and projected fee revenues are now available for public review, according to Supt. Russell Berry.
The goals are derived from the 1997 National Park Service Strategic Plan, which establishes a performance management process for the service nationwide. They include the following allocations:
– $935,060 for resource preservation and management.
Activities covered include maintaining the mooring buoys recently installed in park waters, maintaining the park's natural and cultural history collections, restoring resources, creating monitoring databases to detect whether resource conditions are improving or deteriorating, and routine land and water patrolling to ensure compliance with conservation laws.
Pending approval by the National Park Service and the Interior Department, about $263,000 in estimated park fee revenues will go toward the installation of pier facilities for NPS emergency response vessels and for rebuilding the Francis Bay boardwalk. About $64,000 in concession franchise fees will go for security fencing at Cinnamon Bay.
– $660,000 for visitor services.
Projects to be supported include development and implementation of new educational programs and continuation of current ones. Included is the cost of operating a visitor contact station and conducting patrols to provide visitors with park information.
Pending NPS and Interior approval, about $284,400 of the estimated park fee revenues will go to install animal-proof garbage receptacles, enhance and expand interpretive services and restore historic scenery at Annaberg, repair the Cinnamon Bay projection booth, upgrade the park's interpretation slide file and eliminate the hookworm health issue.
About $213,000 is earmarked to complete projects started in fiscal year 1999. These include rehabilitating 22 miles of trail; improving swimmer safety through temporary lifeguards; and reducing beach erosion, rehabilitating handicapped-access showers and upgrading utility systems at Trunk Bay. Pending federal approval, about $25,200 in estimated fee revenues will be used to improve the park water treatment plant facility.
– $950,000 for administration.
Expenditures will include payment of utilities and procurement, maintenance of concession program permitting processes and regulation of park commercial activities.
A copy of the plan, prepared in accordance with the federal Government Performance and Results Act, may be obtained by writing to PO Box 710 Cruz Bay, St. John VI 00831. It can also be accessed through the National Park Service web site, which can be reached by – clicking here. The 1997 Strategic Plan on which it is based can be found at the same Internet site.

The Police Department's Motor Vehicle Bureau in Subbase was closed Monday and continued to be closed Tuesday when workers called in sick.
Police Commissioner Franz Christian, while not having determined all the elements of what appears to be a job action, said he regretted the public inconvenience.
"All I can ask the public to do is bear with us as we try to determine the problem and address it," he said.
Luis "Tito" Morales, president of the Central Labor Council, said the Steelworkers Union was not involved with any plans Monday for a job action, but he is most sympathetic and supportive of the workers' issues.
"The staff has been reduced from 20 to eight on St. Thomas, St. John has only one inspector and St. Croix is woefully understaffed," Morales said, adding that working conditions at the territory's inspection lanes are "not the best."
Morales also said that some demands will be made on the government to adequately staff the Motor Vehicle Bureau offices and to improve physical conditions on St. John.
"I don't intend this place to run without adequate staff. If the government insists on it, I will bring charges against the Turnbull administration," he threatened.
Christian's comments on the issue indicated that the administration is aware of the chief complaint of the MVB staffers, and has already prepared to fill vacancies. "We still are not told of their concerns but if it is the staffing problems, they are being addressed," Christian said. "NOPAs have been processed and are en route to Government House for the governor's signature."
A major point was made Monday of the bureau's revenue-generating role. Morales said it makes little sense not to provide needed resources to an agency that delivers millions of dollars a year to the treasury.
"This office alone is responsible for $9 million a year," he said. "Its cost to operate is under $200,000. It is indeed sad that revenue-generating offices of the government are not staffed properly."
Christian acknowledged the importance to the government of the money collected daily by the MVB, which is why he is anxious to see the situation resolved quickly.
So far, only the St. Thomas MVB has been affected by the job action.