Four new members with varying backgrounds have been nominated to fill expired seats on the Industrial Development Commission, Government House announced Tuesday.
Randolph Allen, a 39-year territory resident, has been selected for the vacant post of commission labor representative. Allen is the international representative for the United Steelworkers of America.
Well-known business leader and developer Neil Weiss, a 34-year island resident, will fill the position of John P. Woods. Weiss, along with a strong business background, has an extensive community service record with several organizations including United Way of St. Thomas, Rotary Club and the V.I. Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.
Malcolm Plaskett of St. Croix, a retired Labor Department official, and executive assistant to former Lt. Gov. Derek Hodge, will fill the post of Eling S. Joseph.
Another St. Croix resident, Mary Ann Pickard, will replace Marcia Hollins. Pickard is a retired educator and former senator.
The IDC board has seven members, headed by the commissioner of Tourism, appointee Rafael Jackson, and the director of the Internal Revenue Bureau, Claudette Farrington. Jackson will assume his new position March 20. The board has been without a permanent chairman since the current administration took office because there has been no permanent Tourism commissioner.
The other five members of the board cannot be IDC beneficiaries or V.I. or U. S. government employees. They serve three-year terms, with a maximum of three terms. One member must be under age 30 at the time of appointment, and that seat is still empty. All new members must be approved by the Legislature.
The IDC, a powerful commission, determines tax breaks to companies to encourage them to do business in the Virgin Islands.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said, "I look forward to the Legislature giving timely consideration to these very qualified nominees so that the important matters before the commission may be acted upon."

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) announced Monday that the company's board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to
$1 billion of its common stock from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions.
The stock repurchase is subject to prevailing
market conditions and other considerations.
Carnival Corporation Chairman and CEO Micky Arison stated, "Given the significant decline in our stock price over the last few weeks, the company believes that the purchase of its stock represents a very attractive investment."
Carnival Corporation is comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise line based on passengers carried, Holland America Line, Windstar Cruises, Cunard Line Limited, which operates the Cunard and Seabourn cruise brands, and interests in Costa Cruises and Airtours plc.
Combined, Carnival Corporation's various brands operate 45 ships in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe and other worldwide destinations.

The Young Democrats will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 29, at Galloway's located in Estate Diamond. All members and interested persons are invited to attend.
For additional information contact Jamila Russell, 719-9241.

The St. Croix International Triathlon
attracts professional triathletes from all over the world. This year's competition is scheduled for May 7, and will again feature the St. Croix Sprint Triathlon, which will also be run during the annual race.
The sprint race will allow amateur triathletes to compete in a similar race without the extensive training usually required to complete a full-length course.
As in past years, the St. Croix International Triathlon is sure to retain
its reputation for challenging professional triathletes with one of the most scenic and rigorous courses in the world. The race course, dubbed "Beauty and the Beast," features a 1.2-mile (two kilometers) swim from the beach at Hotel on the Cay to the dock at Fort Christiansvaern.
From there, participants will mount their bikes for a challenging but scenic 35-mile (55kilometers) bike race up and down hills, past coral bays and old sugar cane estates, to the infamous hill known as "The Beast."
Known to challenge even the most experienced cyclists, The Beast is a 600-foot ascent that is three-quarters of a mile long. The Beast requires strong leg strength,
appropriate gearing and is followed by steep descents for a welcomed period of rest in preparation for the foot race.
The run is 7.4 miles (12 kilometers) along country roadsides and through the grounds of The Buccaneer resort onto the finish line in downtown Christiansted, where participants
will be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of Crucians.
The triathlon race will serve as a qualifier for the Ironman Canada Triathlon, the Ironman USA Lake Placid and the Ironman California.
The St. Croix Sprint Triathlon will begin approximately 20 minutes after
the start of the international race from the same starting point on the beach by Hotel on the Cay.The sprint triathlon, dubbed "Beauty without the Beast," will include the following components: an 800-meter swim, a 13-mile bike leg and a 3.1-mile run. Participants are expected to cross the finish
line at the fort in Christiansted within one-to-two hours, in time to watch the finish of the longer race.
For more information about the St. Croix International Triathlon and the St.
Croix Sprint Triathlon, call Project St. Croix at (340) 773-4470, or visit
the Web site at www.stcroixtriathlon.com. For more information about St.
Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, call the Visitor's Center at (800) 372-USVI.

Dear Source:
I would like the to take the time to personally thank the crew at Cape Air in St. Croix and Puerto Rico for being so helpful and looking out for the interest of the athletes of the Virgin Islands.
This past weekend the Virgin Islands National Mountain Bike Team traveled to Puerto Rico to compete in an international competition. We had originally scheduled our flight with Air Sunshine. When we made the reservations we were very explicit that we would be traveling with bicycles and asked about additional charges, restrictions, etc.
Air Sunshine told us when we made the reservations that it would be no problem and that there would be no additional charges, so we went ahead and booked the tickets. However this was not the case when we arrived at the airport.
Air Sunshine made it quite clear that they were not interested in helping out our athletes by trying to charge us an additional $150.00 per bicycle and telling us take it or leave it. Unfortunately we did not have the financial means to take it.
That’s when Cape Air came to the rescue. They had overheard our dilemma and offered to fly us to San Juan with our bikes at no additional charge. They saved the day and all the time and training that our athletes had put in was not wasted. The V.I. Mountain Bike Team did exceptionally well, taking fourth and fifth in the Elite Category.
The staff at Cape Air showed that they truly care about the Virgin Islands and its people and that they are willing to go out of their way to help. What did the staff at Air Sunshine show?
Thanks again Cape Air, we will be seeing you often.

Michael McQueston
President V.I. Cycling Federation

Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints and aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
Actually, calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid-waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially, the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt every day," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction is insufficient, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and, as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated to cost approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

A St. Croix police officer was stabbed by a teenager during an early-morning scuffle Sunday.
According to the V.I. Police Department, an off-duty officer was assisting in breaking up a fight at the Bingo Building in Estate Orange Grove. After the altercation another scuffle broke out between the officer and two brothers, during which the officer was stabbed in the lower abdomen.
Maddy Dawod, 19, was arrested and charged with assault. The officer was admitted to Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment. The wound was not life-threatening.

Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group, Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste in place at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
But calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt everyday," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction isn’t sufficient, however, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated at approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints and aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
Actually, calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid-waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially, the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt every day," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction is insufficient, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and, as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated to cost approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

A broken sewer pipe Monday has forced the closure of Fort Frederik Beach in Frederiksted, just weeks after another discharge killed thousands of fish.
According to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, a sewer line near Estate La Grange broke. Personnel from the Division of Environmental Protection collected water samples at the beach just north of the cruise ship pier and then subsequently closed it to the public.
Harold Thompson, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said contractors had been secured to repair the broken sewer. He didn’t, however, say how long the beach would be closed.
The Carnival Cruise Lines ship the Destiny is scheduled to make its biweekly call to Frederiksted Wednesday morning.
Monday’s west end sewage problem follows another approximately two weeks ago that killed more than 1,100 fish in the canal that runs near the Legislature building at Lagoon Street to the ocean at Fort Frederik Beach.
The fish kill occurred when the Lagoon Street pump station failed and sent sewage into the canal, according to an enforcement officer with DEP. The pollution depleted oxygen and killed some 1,100 tilapia, snook, mullet and crayfish, he said.