The territory's health care facilities are receiving federal attention thanks to a visit hosted by Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christian-Christensen.
Christiansen announced Monday that officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will tour facilities on St.Thomas, St. John Monday, and will tour St. Croix on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with local health officials.
The visits are a follow-up to Christiansen's 1999 hearings on health care.
Federal officials from DHHS are Dr. Marilyn Gaston, assistant
surgeon general and associate administrator of the Bureaus of Primary Care, Dr.Nathan Stinson, director of the Office of Minority Health, Ms. Marsha
Martin, special assistant to Health secretary Donna Shalala, Dr. Joel
O'Neil, director of AIDS Programs at the Health Resources and Service
Administration, Dr. Bernard Arons, director of the Federal Center for
Mental Health Services, and Mr. Lou Shiro, director of the Division of
Medicaid and State Operations.
Representing the USDA are Chris Alsop, deputy administrator of Community Programs at USDA and Glen Walden, program director of the Community Facilities Program in Florida.
In addition to assistance for the Department of Health, USDA officials will also meet with fire, police and education officials with regards to their building and facility needs.
The visit and subsequent meetings will address issues raised in week-long hearings held in the territory last January by Christensen and outline how the federal government can be of greater assistance to the territory.

Rotary East will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Elysian Beach Resort. Guest speakers will bee Joe Aubain and Torgen Jaohnson on the waterfront beautification project.

Pistarckle Theater annouces auditions for A Musical Comedy Review will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14 at the American Yacht Harbor, 2nd floor.
Actors are asked to prepare a song and bring their own sheet music. If not, music will be provided.
Production dates are March 3,4,5,10,12.
Backstage support is also needed – publicity, stage manager, ushers, properties and set, dressers, sound and light crew.
For more information call 775-7877.

The Industrial Development Commission is about to revoke benefits for "a couple" of companies and advise two more that they are in danger of losing their tax incentives, according to IDC director Frandelle Gerard.
She would not name any of the companies, saying they must be notified first.
"We have a process that allows for the immediate revocation of benefits" if a company does not have an active presence in the Virgin Islands, she said. "We have a couple that we’re getting ready to do that to."
In addition, "we do have two (beneficiaries) pending a hearing that’s been approved by the board," she said.
A hearing is required before the commission can revoke benefits or impose penalties on a company if it fails to comply with a major provision of its IDC agreement, Gerard said. The most common problems are a failure to hire the required percentage of V.I. residents (generally 80 percent) or to purchase goods and services locally.
Under IDC regulations, a local supplier can offer prices up to 15 percent higher than an off-island competitor.
Virgin Island businesses that are part of large national or international corporations seem to have the most trouble with the "buy V.I." provisions. Often they conflict with corporate policies of centralized purchasing.
Gerard sympathizes, but said IDC beneficiaries have to find a way around the corporate system in that case. "They fix it or lose their benefits. That’s how I see it."
It will probably be at least February before any hearings are held. The beneficiary is supposed to get 30 days' notice, and Gerard said, "we should have notices out by the end of the month." The commission also must advertise the hearings two weeks before they are held.
A third party, such as a retired judge, will sit as the adjudicator at the hearings, she said.
The IDC announced several weeks ago that it is finally getting serious about monitoring compliance with the provisions of IDC agreements.
Gerard said the process is "ongoing" and includes a meeting sometime this week of the interagency task force set up to coordinate efforts of the various government departments to which a company must report.
"We’ve done a couple of visits" to inspect properties, she said.
Additionally, "we sent out a lot of letters advising people they were not in good standing" because they had failed to give the commission quarterly and/or annual reports.
She indicated the commission is getting good cooperation on that front. In some cases, the company had sent the required report to another government agency and failed to copy the IDC. In some instances, the commission discovered it had misfiled reports. In others, company personnel were not aware of the requirement.
Overall, Gerard said, "I am finding that there are many beneficiaries who not only adhere to the law, but go beyond." Those who comply with the provisions of their IDC agreements are "the majority."

Those of us who immensely enjoyed the beautiful lights and holiday ambiance these past nights in Frederiksted ought to express our gratitude to the Gentlemen of Jones, Rotary West, WAPA and various other civic-minded groups and businesses that made it all happen. This year, King Street and Budhoe Park were exceptionally beautiful.
The festival village, however, was another story. It amazes me that we have over forty years of experience in this business and the quality of our village has not significantly improved. You would think that by now we should be professionals at creating top-notch festival extravaganzas. At minimum, you would think that by now we would have nicely paved and well laid out festival grounds with good drainage; clean bathrooms with water and light; nicer booths equipped with running water; a permanent well-designed stage with state of the art acoustics and lighting to exhibit our people’s diverse talents and fine musical entertainment.
A few nights ago, as a few family members and friends were trying to enjoy the festival atmosphere, everything came to a sudden halt as a heavy downpour of rain unscrambled the crowd of several hundred villagers. Musicians hurriedly tried to cover their expensive equipment. Parents with toddlers in their arms and senior citizens ran for shelter under the FEMA blue tarps that were spread in between some of the booths. Several police officers ran into the booth of a friendly vendor. Everyone just scampered for whatever little shelter they could find. Then, as the rain subsided, people made a mad dash for their vehicles through deep puddles of water in uneven terrain and through thick mud. In the parking lot, a running stream of water blocked our path to the car. A few vehicles filled with children and parents were helplessly stuck in the mud. That night, the rain literally stopped the festival.
Of course, no one on this Earth can do anything about the timing of the God-sent precious rain; but much can be done about the design, planning and infrastructure of future festival villages and grounds.
After all these years, our festival village should look like a beautiful holiday theme park. It should be spectacular and exceptional in the Caribbean. It should be something to marvel and make us all proud. It should be a profitable revenue-generating cow for boosting our entertainment industry and tourism.
The fact is that we can do a whole lot more to preserve and enhance this wonderful Crucian fiesta tradition. However, besides mounting an extra special effort to upgrade the caliber of our village, we must also depart from the old last-minute approach and start planning immediately for Festival 2001. Perhaps, the same businesses that helped to illuminate Budhoe Park should sponsor and lead the planning of Festival Village 2001.
Carmelo Rivera is a business consultant on St. Croix.

Teams of distance runners made history by going on record for completing the first marathon relay road race of the century.
The race was run from Point Udall – the eastern-most point under the U.S. flag — in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, to Fort Frederik in Frederiksted, with the finish near the exact spot where the emancipation of slavery in the Danish West Indies took place 151 years ago.
The event, part of the Virgin Islands Millennium "Past, Present, Future: A Millennium Vision" celebration, hosted by the Government of the Virgin Islands and a fund-raiser for the Red Brick Reading Club, saw runners stretched out across the island with the lead team, Virgin Islands Pace Runners, consisting of Sheldon Williams, George Jules, Wallace Williams, Marlon Williams, Lawrence Lockhart and George Cannon finishing the 26.2 mile distance in 2 hours 38 minutes 54 seconds.
The second-place team, the Tigers, came in at 3 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds. The Tigers were comprised of Donald Shillingford, Leslie Caesar, Milton Francis, Anita Thurston, Barrymore Berley and Leopold Fredericks.
The third place team in 3 hours 33 minutes and 40 seconds and first place female team was The South Shore Swingers with: Elena Shaubah, Susan Armstrong, Dulcie Crowther, Denise Blanchette, Theresa Harper and Sue Brown.
The fourth place team in 3 hours 34 minutes and 41 seconds was Millennium Women with Shelly Anderson, Rachel Witty, Jo Shim, Crisandra Poulos, Dana Branch and Will Franks.
The fifth place team in 3 hours 38 minutes and 4 seconds was Coast Guard Special with Wes Whitehurst, Bob Halk, Elizabeth Armstrong, Bill Hockensmith, Roger Hatfield and Bill Mahoney.
The sixth place team in 3 hours 46 minutes and 43 seconds was Millennium Madness with Luis Gomez, Page Frederick, Jack Branch, Van Wood, Janet Branch and Bob Guilford. The seventh place team in 4 hours 4 minutes and 54 seconds was Running Music with: Kathy Bennett, Joel Ureta, Kiersten Peterson, Gunnar Sunden, Debbie Aronstein and Stewart Ketchum.
The eight place team in 4 hours 20 minutes and 3 seconds was The Goddesses with Kim Rice, Terry Chretien, Azalea Galiber, Cathy Prince, Marie Elise Witmer and Leslie Repp.
For more information, V.I. running schedule, call 777-0258 or visit: www.virginislandspace.org

Here are the results for the annual Children’s Race on St. Croix, which was held before the Festival 2000 Children’s Parade in Frederiksted on Friday.
Miles Lowman and Jawana Goodwin were the male and female victors in the annual race. Thirteen year old Lowman took the lead early in the half-mile race and won with an excellent time of 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Jawana Goodwin, also 13, led the girls down King Street, the parade route, to the finish line at Fort Frederik.
Morgan Locke was the second male finisher in 2:20; Shelby Cruz was the female finisher in 2:37; Travis Morton was the third male in 2:41; 6 year old Nicole Galiber was the third female in 4:50.
The Finishers Male: 1. Miles Andre Loman 2:1034 Good Hope School; 2. Morgan Locke 2:20.69 Good Hope School; 3. Travis Morton 2:41.81 V.I. Express Track Club; 4. Jkendai Goodwin 2:42.21 St. Croix Track Club; 5. Jnuru Goodwin 2:43.24 St. Croix Track Club; 6. Devin Locke 2:43.77 Good Hope School; 7. Tyson Henderson 3:29.34 Team Henderson; 8. Raphael Henderson 3:32.09 Team Henderson; 9. Alex Bradbury 3:44.10 10. Alfredo Henderson 3:45.60 Team Henderson; 11. Jordon Henderson 3:46.12 Team Henderson; 12. Angelo Galiber 3:55.10 Good Hope School; 13.Dallas Henderson 3:59.20 Team Henderson The Finishers Female: 1. Jawana Goodwin 2:20.69 St. Croix Track Club; 2. Nicole Galiber 4:50.02; 3. Zarah Henderson 4:53.10 Team Henderson.
For more information call V.I. Pace Runners 777-0258 or visit

An equipment protest and an early start have combined to set Stars and Stripes two points out of second place in the Louis Vuitton Cup to challenge for the America's Cup. Only two teams will advance from the semi finals.
A protest by the Nippon Challenge last week, contesting the use of an Australian built rudder, was resolved on Sunday with the penalty of the point Team Dennis Conner had gained by winning the race against Nippon on the water. Nippon was not awarded a point however.
In the Louis Vuitton semifinals, every win is worth one point, with a total of ten races sailed by each boat.
The protest room setback was followed by a tough race on the water. The match between Stars and Stripes and Prada, the highly ranked Italian Team, started with Stars and Stripes just over the start line. The return behind the line at the start gave Prada a 40-second lead right off the bat. Helmsman Ken Read and his crew, including the V.I.'s Peter Holmberg, closed the gap on the down wind legs, but were unable to get close enough to pass.
Torben Grael, tactician on Luna Rossa, on beating Stars & Stripes: "We had a fantastic start today. Francesco had the side I wanted to be. We were full speed going the right way, right on the gun. We had a good lead with Stars & Stripes being over the line. It was unlucky for them and good for us. What happened basically was not a speed problem."
Paul Cayard's AmericaOne team leads the semi finals with six point and three races remaining. Prada is in second with five points and three races. Team Dennis Conner now is in third with three points, however due to time taken for damage repair, they have four races left.

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has expressed regret about the decision by Beal Aerospace to discontinue its efforts to locate its corporate headquarters on St. Croix.
In a press release late Sunday night Turnbull said, "I have spoken to Beal officials about their decision and requested them to reconsider. They promised to take the matter under advisement."
The governor went on to say that the Virgin Islands needs to reconsider how it treats potential investors.
"If we are serious about wanting new investments, we must work harder to welcome and encourage outside investors and avoid setting up unnecessary barriers to development. We must become more investor friendly if we are to compete in the newly developing global economy."
On Friday afternoon in a three sentence statement Beal announced its intention to abandon efforts to build its corporate offices and primary assembly facility on St. Croix, and to instead seek expansion opportunities in the United States.
The statement came after news earlier last week that the State of Florida offered the company an unspecified incentive package to locate the assembly and headquarters facility with the Spaceport Florida Authority at Cape Canaveral.
Beal was also forced into court after the governor and the Legislature had approved a land swap agreement between the company and the V.I. Government that would have given the company property held in public trust at Great Pond Bay where the company wanted to construct its facility in exchange for other land elsewhere owned by Beal.
On Dec. 15 Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews granted a permanent injunction stopping the land swap.
Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, who asked for the injunction, broke down and wept in the court room after Andrews' decision, saying she was finally supported in her efforts to protect the people's rights.
At the time Beal said they planned to appeal the decision. The company's short release on Friday gave no indication why the company changed its mind.

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has expressed regret about the decision by Beal Aerospace to discontinue its efforts to locate its corporate headquarters on St. Croix.
In a press release late Sunday night Turnbull said, "I have spoken to Beal officials about their decision and requested them to reconsider. They promised to take the matter under advisement."
The governor said the Virgin Islands needs to reconsider how it treats potential investors.
"If we are serious about wanting new investments, we must work harder to welcome and encourage outside investors and avoid setting up unnecessary barriers to development," he said. "We must become more investor-friendly if we are to compete in the newly developing global economy."
On Friday afternoon, in a three-sentence statement, Beal announced its intention to abandon efforts to build its corporate offices and primary assembly facility on St. Croix, and instead to seek expansion opportunities in the United States.
The statement came after news earlier last week that the State of Florida offered the company an unspecified incentive package to locate the assembly and headquarters facility with the Spaceport Florida Authority at Cape Canaveral.
Beal was forced into Territorial Court after the governor and the Legislature approved a land-swap agreement between the company and the V.I. government that would have given the company property held in public trust at Great Pond Bay where the company wanted to construct its facility in exchange for other land it owned elsewhere.
On Dec. 15 Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews granted a permanent injunction stopping the land swap.
Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, who asked for the injunction, broke down and wept in the courtroom after Andrews' decision, saying she was finally supported in her efforts to protect the people's rights.
At the time Beal said it planned to appeal the decision. The company's release Friday gave no indication why the company changed its mind.